after his elevation to the woolsack overwhelm Gibbon with
hospitable civilities. Eldon was an Oxford Essayist in his young, the
compiler of 'The Anecdote Book' in his old days; and though he cannot be
commended for literary tastes, or sympathy with men of letters, he was
one of the many great lawyers who found pleasure in the conversation of
Samuel Johnson. Unlike his brother, Lord Stowell clung fast to his
literary friendships, as 'Dr. Scott of the Commons' priding himself more
on his membership in the Literary Club than on his standing in the
Prerogative Court; and as Lord Stowell evincing cordial respect for the
successors of Reynolds and Malone, even when love of money had taken
firm hold of his enfeebled mind. Archdeacon Paley's London residence was
in Edward Law's house in Bloomsbury Square. In Erskine literary ambition
was so strong that, not content with the fame brought to him by
excellent _vers de societe_, he took pen in hand when he resigned the
seals, and--more to the delight of his enemies than the satisfaction of
his friends--wrote a novel, which neither became, nor deserved to be,
permanently successful. With similar zeal and greater ability the
literary reputation of the bar has been maintained by Lord Denman, who
was an industrious _litterateur_ whilst he was working his way up at the
bar; by Sir John Taylor Coleridge, whose services to the _Quarterly
Review_ are an affair of literary history; by Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd,
who, having reported in the gallery, lived to lake part in the debates
of the House of Commons, and who, from the date of his first engagement
on the _Times_ till the sad morning when "God's finger touched him,"
while he sat upon the bench, never altogether relinquished those
literary pursuits, in which he earned well-merited honor; by Lord
Macaulay, whose connexion with the legal profession is almost lost sight
of in the brilliance of his literary renown; by Lord Campbell, who
dreamt of living to wear an SS collar in Westminster Hall whilst he was
merely John Campbell the reporter; by Lord Brougham, who, having
instructed our grandfathers with his pen, still remains upon the stage,
giving their grandsons wise lessons with his tongue; and by Lord
Romilly, whose services to English literature have won for him the
gratitude of scholars.

Of each generation of writers between the accession of Elizabeth and the
present time, several of the most conspicuous names are either found on
the ro