ut he gave them very little trouble. His cough was much
aggravated, as were the wasting night-sweats; and he could walk only a
few steps without assistance. Soon after having got to Hastings, I was
summoned away to attend a court-martial at Leeds, which kept me there
for upwards of a fortnight. On my return, Mr. Smith expressed a lively
anxiety to hear from me a detailed account of "how the military managed
law." He seemed never tired of hearing of those "curious proceedings,"
as he styled them. I spent nearly two hours a day with him during the
remainder of my stay, accompanying him in long drives whenever the
weather permitted. Weak though his body was, his mind was as active and
strong as ever. I saw several as heavy "sets" of papers, from time to
time, forwarded by his clerk from London, according to Mr. Smith's
orders, as I had ever seen even in his chambers. When I implored him to
send them back, and take a real holiday, he answered simply, "No; they
_must_ be attended to,"--and he did so: though I saw him once unable
from weakness to lift a brief from his knees to the table. I never
beheld so calm and patient a sufferer. He never repined at the fate
which had befallen him, nor uttered a word showing impatience or
irritability. When we drove out together, he generally said little or
nothing the whole time, lest his cough should be aggravated, but was
very anxious to be talked to. Once he suddenly asked me, when we were
driving out, "Whether I really ever intended to permit him to see the
sketch of Follett, which I was preparing." I parried the question, by
asking him, "Whether he thought Sir William Follett a great
lawyer."--"Certainly," said he, "if there _be_ such a character as a
great lawyer. What thing of importance that only a great lawyer could
do, did not Follett do? He _necessarily_ knew an immensity of law; and
his tact was a thing quite wonderful. I was a great admirer of
Follett.... I once heard him say, by the way, that either he had applied
for the place of a police magistrate, or would have accepted it, if it
had been offered, soon after he had come to the bar; so that it is quite
a mistake to suppose that he was all at once so successful.... And I can
tell you another little fact about Follett: though perhaps no man took
so few notes on his brief, during a cause: this was not always so; for,
when he first came to the bar, he took most full and elaborate notes of
every case, and prepared his arguments