very
great ridicule, not only of the lawyers, but of the law itself, which to
me did not seem altogether prudent in a man in his lofty station in the
law; diverting it certainly was, but prudent in the Lord Chancellor I
shall never think it." The fun of Mountfort's imitations was often
heightened by the presence of the persons whom they held up to
derision--some of whom would see and express natural displeasure at the
affront; whilst others, quite unconscious of their own peculiarities,
joined loudly in the laughter that was directed against themselves.

As pet buffoon of the tories about town, Mountfort was followed, at a
considerable distance of time, by Estcourt--an actor who united wit and
fine humor with irresistible powers of mimicry; and who contrived to
acquire the respect and affectionate regard of many of those famous
Whigs whom it was alike his pleasure and his business to render
ridiculous. In the _Spectator_ Steele paid him a tribute of cordial
admiration; and Cibber, noticing the marvellous fidelity of his
imitations, has recorded, "This man was so amazing and extraordinary a
mimic, that no man or woman, from the coquette to the privy counsellor,
ever moved or spoke before him, but he could carry their voice, look,
mien, and motion instantly into another company. I have heard him make
long harangues, and form various arguments, even in the manner of
thinking of an eminent pleader at the bar, with every the least article
and singularity of his utterance so perfectly imitated, that he was the
very _alter ipse_, scarce to be distinguished from the original."

With the exception of Kenyon and Eldon, and one or two less conspicuous
instances of judicial penuriousness, the judges of the Georgian period
were hospitable entertainers. Chief Justice Lee, who died in 1754,
gained credit for an adequate knowledge of law by the sumptuousness and
frequency of the dinners with which he regaled his brothers of the bench
and learned counsellors. Chief Justice Mansfield's habitual temperance
and comparative indifference to the pleasures of the table did not cause
him to be neglectful of hospitable duties. Notwithstanding the cold
formality of Lord Hardwicke's entertainments, and the charges of
niggardliness preferred against Lady Hardwicke's domestic system by
Opposition satirists, Philip Yorke used to entertain the chiefs of his
profession with pomp, if not with affability. Thurlow entertained a
somewhat too limited circ