me.

began to be heard with a civil but visible impatience. Under these circumstances he was attacked in the manner we have mentioned. He rose from the woolsack, and advanced slowly to the place from which the chancellor generally addresses the house, then fixing on the duke the look of Jove when he grasps the thunder, I am amazed'-he said, in a level tone of voice—'at the attack the noble duke has made on Yes, my lords,' considerably raising his voice, 'I am amazed at his grace's speech. The noble duke cannot look before him, behind him, or on either side of him, without seeing some noble peer who owes his seat in this house to his successful exertions in the profession to which I belong. Does he not feel that it is as honourable to owe it to these, as to being the accident of an accident? To all these noble lords the language of the noble duke is as applicable and as insulting as it is to myself. But I don't fear to meet it single and alone. No one venerates the peerage more than I do ;-but, my lords, I must say, that the peerage solicited me, not I the peerage. Nay more, I can say, and will say, that as a peer of parliament, as speaker of this right honourable house, as keeper of the great seal, as guardian of his majesty's conscience, as lord-high-chancellor of England, nay, even in that character alone in which the noble duke would think it an affront to be considered, as a man, I am at this moment as respectable,-I beg leave to add, I am at this time as much respected, as the proudest peer I now look down upon.' The effect of this speech both within the walls of parliament and out of them, was prodigious. It gave Lord Thurlow an ascendancy in the house which no chancellor had ever possessed: it invested him, in public opinion, with a character of independence and honour; and this, though he was ever on the popular side in politics, made him always popular with the people." In appearance Lord Thurlow was stern of aspect, with harsh but regular and strongly marked features. His eyebrows were large and shaggy, protruding over his penetrating eyes which gleamed with intellect. Lavater said, on seeing a portrait of him: "Whether this man be on earth or in hell, I know not; but wherever he is, he is a tvrant, and will rule if he can."

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The following sketch of Thurlow, when attorney-general, appeared in 1777: "Mr Thurlow's political character is little known; though his political conduct, and private and professional character, are pretty notorious. On the resignation of Mr Dunning in 1770, he succeeded that gentleman, under the patronage of the house of Bedford, as solicitor-general; and early in the ensuing year, within the period of ten months, he succeeded Sir William de Grey, appointed chief-justice of the common-pleas, in the office of attorney-general. Two circumstances attended the sudden elevation of Mr Thurlow, very uncommon, and we believe unprecedented; which were, that he was appointed solicitor-general from a state of some degree of professional obscurity, and before he was so much as known or matriculated within the hallowed walls of St Stephen; and that of course he arrived to the high post he now occupies, before he had any striking opportunity of displaying his talents in the lucrative trade of parliamentary warfare. Mr Attorney's operative or active principles are, we pre sume, well-known,-so well, that we take the liberty to think that there is not a man in England of any party, size of understanding,

or political complexion, whose business, views, or amusements, have led him to speculations of this kind, that is not firmly persuaded, and satisfactorily informed, of the steadiness, uniformity, and inflexibility of the overruling principle which governs and directs this great officer's conduct. Though earth, hell, and heaven were to club their influences, and unite in threatening him with worldly disgrace, future punishment, and eternal reprobation, they must carry their threats into actual execution, before they could intimidate him from pursuing the great priniple of his nature. There is, however, something bold, explicit, decisive, and open in his public conduct, which many of his partisans, who make high pretensions to public virtue and political perfection, are total strangers to. Whether it were the shutting up the port of Boston, or blowing it up, and rasing it to its lowest foundations, by a globe of compression,2-whether it were to establish the Turkish, the Gentoo, or the Romish religion in the province of Canada,—whether it were to bring criminals home to England to be tried for offences committed in America, or hang them by the more expeditious method of martial law, accompanied, for the sake of variety, by the knout or bow-string,whether it were to prevent the descendants of George II. from marrying before their cogitative and generative faculties were arrived at their full growth, or to pass an edict for their castration,-whether it were to new-model the charters of the East India company, or annihilate them by proclamation, or whether to pass a law to extirpate rebellion in America, or for extirpating the inhabitants,- -we presume would make very little difference with this great lawyer and statesman, provided he were fully persuaded that such measures would redound to the honour of his royal master, the prosperity of his country, the security of the constitution, and the preservation of the state. After this open, candid, and Thurlowan manner of delineating this gentleman's character, developing his political opinions, and tracing his motives to their true source, it will be needless to add any more than that he promises fair to be shortly placed in a situation where he will be intrusted with the use, keeping, and direction of the king's conscience.

"Mr Thurlow, among so numerous a body as the house of commons is composed of,-in such an assemblage of different sentiments, principles and interests,-in such a conflict or combustion of wits, arguments, faction, and absurdity,—must, for many reasons, be always considered as a first-rate speaker. Probably the public may imagine, that we have misplaced him in this noble and honourable catalogue. It may be so; but after the testimony of impartiality we have just given, our judgment alone we presume will remain to be impeached. Such as it is, however, we must follow it; as it is the only guide we have hitherto permitted to lead us, or mean in future to follow. On this ground therefore we are not ashamed to affirm, that Mr Thurlow is by much the most useful speaker and forcible and powerful orator on the part of administration in the house of commons. He combats his adversaries with almost every species of argument,—from the naked, unqualified, unsupported flat assertion, or round contradiction, down to the sarcastic joke. He is always plausible, and is the best advocate in a weak cause we ever remember to have heard. Without the graces of

Sce Romanzow's account of the storm of Bender by the Russians.

elocution, a chosen arrangement of words, a harmony of voice, or diversity of cadence, there is an expression of countenance denoting a conviction of truth, a manner of pressing his arguments seemingly arising from the same source, accompanied by a certain energy of expres sion, which united, render him most formidable and powerful in the line of parliamentary persuasion. Were his speeches to be committed to paper, were time given to separate the corn from the chaff and dust which he scatters around in order to blind his auditors,-were they to be naturally tried by the touchstone of truth, sought through the medium of reason and sober investigation,-they would often appear in all their naked deformity; sophistry would be too often found substituted for argument, and mere confident assertion for indisputable facts; but in the blind heat of debate,-where the attack and defence is sudden and unforeseen,-where majorities are to be soothed, hurried, misled, or furnished with plausible apologies for their voting against their own conviction,-where it is the business, nay, employment of the advocate to conceal, exaggerate, or explain away, where the speaker, from his particular situation, is far removed from any degree of responsibility for his assertions, opinions, or public counsels,-where few are capable of judging, fewer to detect, and where complete detection would be the work of as many days, as the mode of parliamentary discussion affords hours,—Mr Thurlow is not only a first-rate orator, but, to borrow an expression from himself, he is an orator of the first impression."

A very amusing account of Thurlow and Lord Rosslyn, then attorney and solicitor-general, is given in Gibbon's posthumous works, where that author very appropriately describes them, as the lion and the unicorn supporting the king's arms, represented by Lord North, who generally sat between them in a drowsy state, unless roused by the thunders of Thurlow's stentorian voice. The department of apologies and excuses was generally consigned to the smooth tongued, supple Wedderburn, while the more arduous task of beating down young prattling members, or bullying the experienced practitioners, was intrusted to the stern and threatening Thurlow. It was owing to this latter circumstance, that Lord North usually distinguished him by the striking appellation of the masque de fer,-a personage who at that time occupied the attention of most of the historians of Europe. To Lord Thurlow was committed the difficult task of defending the ministers for the innumerable blunders in America. To a friend, who asked him what possible justification he could offer for a repetition of the same mistakes, he replied: "Oh! that is very easy. Because one fool did a foolish thing, that's the best reason in the world why another fool should do another foolish thing." "I like Thurlow," said Dr Johnson, "he always sets to work at an argument like a man who is in earnest;" and so he really did: it formed the leading feature of his character. Lord Thurlow expressed a wish to meet Mr Horne Tooke, and they dined together at a mutual friend's house. The latter was ill, out of spirits, and cut no great figure, and they parted with no very high opinion of each other. After dinner Mr Tooke having observed, that notwithstanding the English constitution had been so dreadfully mangled, there was yet enough left to make it well worth any man's while to die ou the scaffold in its defence. "Perhaps so," replied Thurlow,

"but

you must not talk in that manner, Mr Tooke, or your friend Sir Francis will laugh at you." In a word, the character which Lord Clarendon has drawn of one of the statesmen of his time, has a good deal of resemblance to that of Lord Thurlow. "Of a morose and cynical temper, just in his administration, but vicious under the appearances of virtue, learned beyond any man of his profession, but intractable, stiff, and obstinate, proud, and jealous." It has been said that Lord Thurlow never trembled but once in his life, and that memorable event occurred when he took his seat on the chancery bench. While the oaths were administering, he showed evident signs of confusion, pulling out alternately two large gold snuffboxes, which he usually carried in his waistcoat pockets, until at last his hand shook so much, that he could not put on the lids, the boxes fell into the middle of the court, and his state-robes were covered with snuff; nor was it until an oath was seen quivering on his lips, like the muttering of distant thunder, that he regained his composure.

George, Marquess Townshend.

BORN A. D. 1723.-DIED A. D. 1807.

GEORGE, fourth viscount and first Marquess Townshend, was born on the 28th of February, 1723, and named after his godfather George I. After having distinguished himself at the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, Culloden, and Laffeldt, he was employed in 1759, being then a brigadier-general, as third in command of the expedition against Quebec. In the decisive battle fought on the heights above the town, he was actively engaged at the head of the left wing, until informed that the chief command had devolved on him; Wolfe being killed and Monckton severely wounded.

Townshend was subsequently engaged at Fellinghausen, and served a campaign in Portugal under Count de la Lippe Buckbourg. From 1747, until his accession to the peerage, on the death of his father in 1764, he represented his native county, Norfolk, in parliament, of which he was a particularly active and distinguished member. In 1767 he was appointed lieutenant of Ireland, in which office, however, he was superseded by Lord Harcourt, who, it is said, on arriving at the castle, about three o'clock in the morning found his predecessor carousing with a few jovial companions. "Well, my lord," said Townshend, after congratulating his successor, "though you did come upon us very unexpectedly, you must do us the justice to admit that you have not found us napping." In 1772 he was promoted from the post of lieutenant-general of the ordnance, to the head of that department; and in 1787 the king raised him to a marquisate. At the time of his death, which occurred on the 14th September, 1807, he was a field-marshal, colonel of the second regiment of dragoon-guards, governor of Jersey, lord-lieutenant of Norfolk, high-steward of Tamworth, Yarmouth, and Norwich, and D. C. L. He had been twice married: first, to a daughter of the earl of Northampton; and secondly, to a daughter of Sir William Montgomery, by both of whom he had children. His brother, who died chancellor of the exchequer at an early age, was more eloquent;

but Lord Townshend spoke often, and was always heard with particular attention.

Lord Townshend was, as his ancestors were, a whig—that is, a firm friend to those principles which were established at the revolution. In parliament he acted an independent part; and though himself an officer in the standing army, he had, by his perseverance, a principal share in carrying a bill for the establishment of a constitutional militia. He sometimes voted against the king's ministers, but oftener with them. In private as in public life Lord Townshend was a man of the strictest honour; he had a sound strong understanding, with a vein of humour peculiar to himself. His manners were frank and open; and in the various situations of his life, his benevolence and his humanity were as conspicuous as his firmness and his courage.

Carleton, Lord Borchester.

BORN A. D. 1722.-died a. D. 1808.

THIS veteran soldier was one of the oldest officers in the British army. He was descended from an ancient family residing many ages at Carleton in Cumberland, whence the survivors removed to Ireland. Of the family, three brothers, who espoused the royal cause in the 17th century, lost their lives at the battle of Marston-moor; a fourth, who survived the restoration, was rewarded for his loyalty with the bishopric of Bristol. From this prelate his lordship was directly descended.

He was born in the year 1722, and at an early period entered the guards, in which corps he continued until the year 1748, when he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the 72d regiment. Upon the breaking out of the seven years war, his professional knowledge was put to an honourable test. In 1758 he embarked with General Amherst for the siege of Louisburg, where his active exertions obtained him considerable reputation. In the next year he was at the siege of Quebec under Wolfe; where his important services did not escape the notice of his superiors. He was singled out as a proper officer to be detached with an adequate force to secure a post on the western point of the Isle d'Orleans, a service which he effectually performed. Some time after he was again detached to dislodge the French from Point-au-Trempe, twenty miles distant from Quebec, where he was equally successful. The next service in which Colonel Carleton was engaged, was at the siege of Belleisle, where he acted in the capacity of brigadier-general, having been honoured with that rank on the spot on which he received his first wound from the enemy. The public despatches of General Hodgson, who commanded on this expedition, spoke in terms highly flattering of the conduct of the brigadier. In February, 1762, he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army, and soon afterwards embarked for the siege of Havannah. In this arduous enterprise our hero had his full share of honourable toil. On the 10th of June he was detached from the camp into the woods between Coximar and Moro, with a body of light infantry and grenadiers, who invested the Moro castle; and on the 11th he carried the Spanish redoubt upon Moro hill.