The Press.
London, England, 1857-12-26 00:00:00

coining incidents should be foreshadowed in
order to awake a suspended interest ; but in
biography the interest should gradually grow,
and though general reflections may be intro-
duced at the beginning, the incidents should
never be catalogued in a preliminary state-
ment. In the life of Lord Bacon there is,
on the first pages, a long enumeration of
the main incidents of Bacon's story, which
would occupy nearly a column of the type
now under our reader's eye, and it is con-
nected only with small dashes and semicolons.
We never saw so long a sentence in prose,
and it is certainly ono of the " curiosities of
" literature."

The frequent inaccuracy of the facts, also,
and the want of originality in his materials,
must also largely detract from the intrinsic
merits of the authorship. The works of pre-
vious writers have been used by the noble
author in a wholesale manner ; and he has
thought (in legal parlance) that he had a
" common of estovers " even in the most
special biographies. Mr. Foss has recently
retaliated on the noble author with a severity
that to ordinary writers would be excruciating ;
but Lord Campbell has a theory of his own on
the right of appropriation. In original re-
search the work is certainly most deficient.
Through ten volumes Lord Campbell has
written with nisi-prias ability, his rank and
station securing him a full court, if not
always an assenting jury. He collects, he
reprints, he restates, but he does not find,
discover, nor positively decide. He follows
the beaten road, and he startes out no new
path. In no case does he bring together such
facts and views as alter our opinions of the
subject. The opinion of the political world
on Thurlow and Wedderburne is just now
what it was before he wrote their lives. The
fact is that he wrote so fast, and comoiled
with such grasping energy, that it would be
vain to expect original views in his series of
exploits in literary appropriation.
Yet there was something fine in Lord Camp-
bell, in advanced years, resolving to aim at
literary fame ; and if he had chosen to pur-
sue literature as a profession, he would have
ranked extremely high. His book is certainly
a groat success ; and even when he has been re-
moved from the scene, it may (with compe-
tent and learned editorship) enjoy much post-
humous vogue for many years to come.
We could, if necessary, justify these remarks
by detailed references to this work throughout,
but space is wanted. In this new edition
are some original notes which are of interest
at the present time, and wo shall cite some of
them. With respect to the legality of life
peerages, Lord Campbell originally wrote :
The Crown certainly might grant a peerage for life ;
and, in some instances, this prerogative might be usefully
exercised; but there would be much danger of its being
abused; and, with all the defects of the hereditary branch
of the Legislature, there would be great difficulty in finding
a substitute for it, or in altering the mode of its formation.
—Note to lit Edition, 1847.

That opinion was quoted against him in the
debate on life peerages, and it had some pass-
ing effect. Lord Campbell here appends a
new note :

In fairness I allow this note to remain, as it was cited
against me in the debates on " Life Peerages " in 18A6.
But after the fullest consideration of the subject, I now
record my solemn opinion that the Crown cannot by patent
grant a peerage for life to a commoner with the privilege
of sitting in Parliament, and that a writ of summons to
the House of Lords under such a patent is a nullity, although
'the writ without the patent, coupled with a sitting under
it, would create an hereditary barony descendible to fe-
' males as well as males.—Note to 4th Edition, September,
I 1857.

There is a lengthy final note appended to this
new edition. The following anecdote of Lord
Melbourne is strikingly characteristic ; we
cite it from the last note :
From the formation of Lord Melbourne's second Ad-
ministration in 183), the Great Seal had been in imminent
peril. When, to the astonishment of the public, the de.
termination was announced that it was not to be restored
to Lord. Broug,hain, the new Prime Minister did Inc the
honour to consult me about his law arrangements, and
asked my opinion of his scheme of putting the Great Seal
into commission. Among other objections, I pointed out
that, according to this arrangement, the Cabinet would be
mops conrilii. " Oh'" said he, " I will advise them on
questions of law myself, and we shall do all the better
without lawyers." o.—" Yon, to be sure, have had the ad-
vantage of studying the law, and being called to the bar
and going a circuit; but do you mean to say that perma-
nently the Cabinet could go on without the Chancellor