The eventful period of our melancholy history, alluded to above, required the exertions, not of the reasoning faculty to demonstrate difficult propositions, or unfold hidden stores of learning, hived up by years of laborious application, but it demanded, and the supply was equal to the demand, the highest order of imaginative eloquence, that could melt the toughest heart, awaken the sleeping sympathies of the soul and bend them to the desired purpose-that could stir up indignation or cause tears to flow, subdue the reason through the influence of the affections, or when all else failed, confound and terrify those who were insensible to softer emotions. The grand qualities of the soul, competent to produce effects so great, are no longer required; Demosthenic eloquence is not wanted every day, and therefore does not now exist to the same extent as formerly in the learned profession. This is no doubt true; but it may fairly be asked, if the occasion required, would the mighty orator arise? We rather think not; at least amongst the seniors of the bar who daily appear before the public, and with whose talents and powers, as far as they go, we are familiar-learning and research they undoubtedly display-consummate skill with the most gentlemanly address -but the mighty attributes of the ora*tor are not to be found amongst them. Now, there is nothing presumptuous in this assertion; if nature's brightest gift, perfected by art, were possessed by them, it would occasionally appear in a single sentence or a word, betraying the master spirit, as grains of gold, washed down by the stream, tell of the rich mine that constitutes their more distant source. Legal subtleties, technicalities, and facts could not always chain down to their vulgar level the more divine qualities of the soul; they would escape from the contagion of dullness, exhibiting their godlike nature in bright pictures, which genius alone can draw; or if a due regard for propriety and the first object of a rational speaker, to deliver himselfsuitably to the subject, would prevent them soaring, on ordinary occasions, to the height to which the broad wings of their imagination might raise them, they would, at least, lift the subject, be it ever so humble, and dignify it by chaste and elegant expression. For the attainment of justice, or the faithful per

formance of professional duty, this might not be necessary; but if it did not, and it could not, interfere with either, a display of eloquence, on suitable occasions, could not fail to be as laudable as attractive. Neither has the want of this winning faculty been compensated by a closer logic, or a greater conciseness of expression; for those who are in the habit of attending the courts at the more lively and bustling periods, when the twelve good men, and true, stand together to hear the evidence," will not complain of a want of diffusiveness in the speakers.

What demonstrates the unpleasant truth, that first-rate genius is a scarce commodity, at the present time, with the legal profession, is the somewhat indifferent figure that several experienced members of the Irish bar have made of late years in the house of commons. Surely, without any fear of losing character, they might indulge on so glorious a stage in the happiest flights of oratory, and prove, if they could, their mental excellence; but with the exception of a few, (some of whom we almost regret having vacated their seats in the zenith of their fame, although they were called to high and honorable preferment,) they have seldom ventured to soar above mediocrity. If the reader were to turn over the pages of the Irish debates of thirty-five years ago, and compare the lawyers of that day, as speakers, with those of the present day, humiliating to the latter would be the contrast. But may not genius and cultivated eloquence exist amongst the juniors of the profession, if not to be found amongst the seniors? It may, and no doubt it does. We are convinced a large portion of unemployed and splendid ability might be met with among the younger members of the bar. We do not, however, mean to include that troublesome class who expect to make a rapid progress in legal practice and repute, upon the mere strength of a successful course of academic discipline, and who entertain extravagant pretensions on the most ridiculous grounds; nor yet amongst the numerous class of vastly clever young gentlemen, the ornament of the teatable and ball-room, and the shining lights of debating clubs, whose future greatness has been often predicted by

old grandmothers and maiden aunts. We might seek for it, where alone we could expect to find it, amongst that serious and select class of industrious, thoughtful, clear-headed young men, of strong capacity, extensive knowledge, and a natural power of eloquence fashioned and improved by study, for the display of which the right opportunity is wanting, and which on occasions of little moment they dare not evince. The condition of such men at the Irish Bar is unenviable enough: with that modesty and sensitiveness inseparable from true talent, they shrink from such a notoriety as they might probably attain by sacrificing their time and abilities in advocating the designs or furthering the purposes of the demagogue and his faction. Poverty and obscurity are in their eyes preferable to money, and a name acquired by such disreputable practices. They are contented to waste the flower of their youth, in dry, painful and laborious study, patiently expecting, at some future day, that employment for their talents from which shallow and obtrusive mediocrity has, for the present, excluded them. They sit month after month and year after year, preserving the respectability of their characters, although enduring many a privation. Amongst them we believe there exists a high order of eloquence, enriched by learning, and cultivated by industry and taste. They may not be noisy in their patriotism, nevertheless their love of country is pure, ardent, and consistent. How few amongst them figure at the political arenas, to violate the decorum of their profession; and how fatal would it be for the tranquillity and safety of their country if they suffered themselves to be influenced by the seditious spirit of the day-if they lent the aid of their character and eloquence to the wild project of "Repeal," and humiliated themselves by following in the wake of the most capricious and remorseless Cleon that, in the name of liberty, ever tyrannised over a misguided people.

But if the glory of the Bar for brilliant and effective oratory has been diminished, their capacity and fitness for dispatch of business has wonderfully increased. A division of labor has, of

late years, sprung up in the profession. We have now what was unknown some thirty years ago, a distinct and almost exclusive Chancery Bar; and it can be asserted beyond the shadow of dispute, that there is not in the empire a more learned and accomplished class of practitioners than its leaders are at present. Comparisons are odious; but if the reader were to witness the studied superciliousness of Sugden, and others whom we might mention in Westminster Hall, and to contrast it with the calm, respectful, and grave deportment of our eminent Chancery practitioners, his respect for the latter would be not a little increased. What is more to their praise, it is not only to the Court they are invariably polite, they are equally so to their juniors in the profession; they do not deal in sarcastic remarks, nor do they ever stoop to evince a mean and discreditable jealousy; on the contrary, always accessible and friendly, they seem to take a pleasure in lending their assistance and the benefit of their experience whenever sclicited, and this in the kindest spirit. Were Englishmen to visit our courts more frequently, they would disabuse their minds of the absurd notion, that with us Irish, in law as in every thing else, all is confusion and blunder; they would see with what regularity, temper, and decorum, the business of our courts is conducted. The Exchequer would shew them how business could be dispatched, and the Master of the Rolls teach them a species of regularity to which they have been hitherto strangers. They would be surprised to find, that some of the legal functionaries talked more indifferent declamation in the courts of Westminster, than any six lawyers in the Four Courts of Dublin. It is true, the prejudice which existed in the minds of Englishmen, as to the bombast of the Irish bar, is disappearing fast; the utter failure of Mr. Phillips, and the comparative failure of Mr. Sheil, are strong proofs that the days of " rhetorical flourish," if ever they existed, are past; and that even eloquence, unaccompanied by sound knowledge and industry, must fail, when placed in competition with practical ability.*

The usual course of legal education for the Irish bar, is just as dry and technical as for the English, and just as well qualified to extinguish taste and genius. It would not be possible for a young Irish barrister to commit more fatal mistake, than that of seeking to establish his fame by a flowery appeal to the passions; it would be the short road to obscurity-the attornies would listen to his fine sentences with a sagacious shrug; if he attempted to quote poetry they would quit the court in indignation; but if they heard the aspirant for their favour argue a special demurrer successfully, turn round his opponent from a defect in an affidavit, or save the costs of a motion by some sharp point of practice, then indeed, would these unpoetical gentlemen smile most encou ragingly, and congratulate the matterof-fact tyro on the flattering prospect of future professional eminence.

Before we conclude, we feel disposed to throw out a few hints to those who are thinking of putting their names on Kings' Inns, not for the purpose of discouragement, but as suggestions which it may be not unuseful to remember.

In the first place, the law is the tardiest of all professions: it is no uncommon thing to speak of a young man, of fifteen years standing at the bar, and it is the general and almost natural course of events, for a man of fair talents and competent knowledge to remain seven or ten years without holding a brief, a severe trial this to the most patient, a wearisome probation to him who has some little independence; but to the individual who depends solely on his own exertions for support, it is attended with a distressing series of hardships and privations. What more painful than the struggle to preserve a gentlemanly appearance on scanty means,-to endure for years that sick

ness of the heart, which medicine cannot cure, arising from hope deferredto dread the circuit, from the certainty of being drained of his small resources, without the return of a single guineato experience tedious vacations, affording ample time for study and gloomy reflections, and what is worse, to endure idleness in the midst of a busy term-of the most irksome character because altogether involuntary. The bright prospects formed in the glow and enthusiasm of youth, are overcast by such dispiriting realities, the lofty expectations not unwarrantably entertained, from a consciousness of talent, are chilled by disappointment and neglect; insomuch that the young lawyer begins to doubt the existence of that capacity and judgment on which he had relied for eminence and fame. The elastic spirit is thus not unfrequently crushed, fine sentiments destroyed, and the hopes of a generous ambition blighted. The sympathies are deadened in his bosom, and if, at last, he creeps into business, he wades through it like a laborious drudge, uncheered by the enlivening influence of a noble emulation, and advancing in years, learns to deride the feelings and emotions in which he once delighted to indulge.

There is an extremely foolish observation, frequently made by people who take credit for great discernment, that the surest way for a man to rise in the profession of the law, is not to be possessed of a shilling at starting; this sounds extremely well; but we put a plain question, how is the unfortunate young barrister, destitute of fortune or connection, to exist, during the years of his perilous probation,-what is he to do, until the wonderful opportunity occurs which is to bring him at once to wealth and fame; and for how many years may he not wait, notwithstanding the most constant application of his energies to professional studies, before "the