d for some
years prudent juniors, anxious to win the favorable opinion of anti-wig
justices, declined to obey the growing fashion. Chief Justice Hale, a
notable sloven, conspicuous amongst common law judges for the meanness
of his attire, just as Shaftesbury was conspicuous in the Court of
Chancery for foppishness, cherished lively animosity for two sorts of
legal practitioners--attorneys who wore swords, and young Templars who
adorned themselves with periwigs. Bishop Burnet says of Hale: "He was a
great encourager of all young persons that he saw followed their books
diligently, to whom he used to give directions concerning the method of
their study, with a humanity and sweetness that wrought much on all that
came near him; and in a smiling, pleasant way he would admonish them, if
he saw anything amiss in them; particularly if they went too fine in
their clothes, he would tell them it did not become their profession. He
was not pleased to see students wear long periwigs, or attorneys go with
swords, so that such men as would not be persuaded to part with those
vanities, when they went to him laid them aside and went as plain as
they could, to avoid the reproof which they knew they might otherwise
expect." In England, however, barristers almost universally wore wigs at
the close of the seventeenth century; but north of the Tweed advocates
wore cocked hats and powdered hair so late as the middle of the
eighteenth century. When Alexander Wedderburn joined the Scotch bar in
1754, wigs had not come into vogue with the members of his profession.

Many are the good stories told of judicial wigs, and amongst the best of
them, is the anecdote which that malicious talker Samuel Rogers
delighted to tell at Edward Law's expense. "Lord Ellenborough," says the
'Table-Talk,' "was once about to go on circuit, when Lady Ellenborough
said that she should like to accompany him. He replied that he had no
objection provided she did not encumber the carriage with bandboxes,
which were his utter abhorrence. During the first day's journey Lord
Ellenborough, happening to stretch his legs, struck his foot against
something below the seat; he discovered that it was a bandbox. Up went
the window, and out went the bandbox. The coachman stopped, and the
footman, thinking that the bandbox had tumbled out of the window by some
extraordinary chance, was going to pick it up, when Lord Ellenborough
furiously called out, 'Drive on!' The bandbox, according