who
listened enraptured to his eloquence and flashes of wit, which as
Hamlet says 'were won't to set the table in a roar,' have endeavoured
by giving to the world his literary labours, or even a sketch of his
life, to preserve his memory from oblivion. Henry Cooper was the son
of an eminent counsellor of Norwich, a gentleman of powerful mind,
whose legal knowledge has rendered him one of the first consulting men
of the day. Even at his present advanced age of near eighty, he may
be seen early of a morning taking his accustomed walk, or if the
weather be too severe for exercise, found in his library surrounded by
his books and papers.

Raised by his own perseverance, and in a great measure self-educated,
it is not to be wondered at if from such a father, the subject of our
sketch, acquired those habits of perseverance and industry which
enabled him by system to attain knowledge and fame in his profession.

Upon being called to the bar his convivial powers and talent for
conversation introduced him to Erskine, who found so much pleasure in
his society, that they became not mere friends, but inseparable
companions, and plunged together in the gay round of pleasure, which
the world too temptingly presents to men whose minds enable them to
watch its interests and guide the machine by which society is
regulated. To all who knew him, and the thoughtless life he led, it
was a matter of surprise how and when he found time to attend to the
numerous cases of his clients, for his field of action soon became
extended; yet we will venture to pronounce and feel confident of being
borne out by those who knew him, that in no one instance did the cause
of the party he advocated suffer.

In the Court he appeared as well acquainted with the words of his
brief, as if it had been for months the object of his most serious
attention; not a thread or a link of evidence escaped him, and so
persuasive was his manner, so argumentive his style of language, that
the jury frequently received the impressions he wished to convey, and
their feelings generally, if not their judgment, went in favour of his
client. He used, on some occasions, to plead in the Norfolk Courts,
and we have frequently seen him opposed to his father as a special
pleader. The old gentlemen, strong in the possession of his youthful
intellect, which time even to the pr