lence was complete, he drew
back two paces, put himself in an oratorical _pose_, as though he were
about to speak, and then, disappointing the expectations of the
assembly, deliberately raised forwards and upwards the skirts of his
frock-coat. Having thus arranged his drapery he performed a slow
gyration--presenting his huge round shoulders and unwieldy legs to the
populace. When his back was turned to the crowd, he stooped and made a
low obeisance to his vacant chair, thereby giving the effect of
caricature to the outlines of his most protuberant and least honorable
part. This pantomime lasted scarcely a minute; and before the spectators
could collect themselves to resent so extraordinary an affront, the
sergeant once again faced them, and in a clear, rich, jovial tone
exclaimed, "_He_ called me a rope-dancer!--after what you have seen, do
you believe him?"

With the exception of the man who started the cry, every person in the
dense multitude was convulsed with laughter; and till the end of the
election no turbulent rascal ventured to repeat the allusion to the
sergeant's former occupation. At a moment of embarrassment, Mr.
Disraeli, in the course of one of his youthful candidatures, created a
diversion in his favor by telling a knot of unruly politicians that he
_stood on his head_. With less wit, and much less decency, but with
equal good fortune, Sergeant Wilkins took up his position on a baser
part of his frame.

The electors who respected Mr. Wilkins because he was a successful
barrister, whilst they reproached him with having been a stage-player,
were unaware how close an alliance exists between the art of the actor
and the art of the advocate. To lawyers of every grade and speciality
the histrionic faculty is a useful power; but to the advocate who wishes
to sway the minds of jurors it is a necessary endowment. Comprising
several distinct abilities, it not only enables the orator to rouse the
passions and to play on the prejudices of his hearers, but it preserves
him from the errors of judgment, tone, emphasis--in short, from manifold
blunders of indiscretion and tact by which verdicts are lost quite as
often as through defect of evidence and merit. Like the dramatic
performer, the court-speaker, especially at the common law bar, has to
assume various parts. Not only should he know the facts of his brief,
but he should thoroughly identify himself with the client for whom his
eloquence is displayed. On the the