The Sun.
London, England, 1829-11-02 00:00:00

THE LONDON UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE.

For intelligence, variety, learning, and an ardent
spirit of philosophical and literary inquiry, this
Magazine is worthy the source from which it ema-
nates. It represents with admirable fidelity the
intellect of a rising University, whose every on-
ward step in the paths of science is seven-
leagued. Oxford, if we remember rightly, pub-
lished a short time since a periodical of similar
pretensions, which was carried on solely by
Oxonians, and was in every respect a faithful re-
presentation of the University mind. The ex-
periment was, however, unsuccessful, and no
wonder, it was heavy, prosing, and spiritless, de-
ficient in activity, deficient in freshness of
thought, deficient in fancy, deficient, in short, in
every quality in which it should have abounded.
For the present periodical we anticipate no such
failure. It is full of freshness, of the young
green sap of knowledge, and shoots forth its
various roots with all the lusty vigour of health.
The first article, entitled, " On the Improve-
ment of Education," though it treats of a subject
intolerably hacknied, and consecrated from time
immemorial to stupidity, though, in fact, it
treads that debateable land on which prosing
dulness may pasture unmolested, is yet spirited
and argumentative in its remarks, easy, fluent;
and happy in its language. " A Sketch from

Ole Bcotti:), mr" is, however, much more to

our taste, and 'se suspect to that of our readers
also. Seldom has Mi.. -Jeffrey, the subject of
this a e
been more correctly or
inure gyriegoalro) EsslysilY u'utrayed. The writer hits
him off evidently from the walla impressions of
the moment, and places the acute, practised,
and sarcastic advocate. before us in all the vivid-
ness of reality. We give the following extract
as a specimen ; it is descriptive of a cause which
Mr. Jeffrey is supposed to have much at heart,
and in which, notwithstanding his earnestness, he
is defeated :
" How I pitied the poor jurors! The Solicitor-Gene-
ral had marshalled on his side a strong phalanx of law, so
that when he sat down, each looked on Jeffrey as a men
in the forlorn hope, with not a leg to stand on. Their
faces were turned towards him with an air of listless ex-
pectancy, approaching to indifference ; but as the speaker
proceeded, I could perceive their features quickening into
excitement and uneasiness, as though indicating a suspi-
cion that they had jumped rather too quickly to a conclu-
sion. Jeffrey perceived his advantage, but did not suffer
it to hurry him. lie kept his keen eye fixed on that of
the foreman : and continued speaking with such a calm
and convincing air as seemed to insure conviction. He
called for a cup of coffee, and on its being brought, took it
into his hand, stirred it with the utmost indifference and
sang-froid, and continued sipping a little at short inter-
vals. He looked as if i.e were at breakfast in his own
study. Strangers, attorneys, jury, advocates, and the
judge, all gazing on him with fixed earnestnese, and he
sipping and speaking, and speaking and sipping, as if he
were dictating at home to the amanuensis. The Solicitor-
General looked at the Judge, and he at the Solicitor
again, and they smiled. About an hour afterwards Jef-
frey perceived the latter drinking out of a tea-cup. ' Is
that tea, or coffee, Mr. Solicitor-General ?' he inquired,
paus'ng a moment-.-. if it's coffee, I'll thank you for a
cup, for mine is done.' This certainly appeared rather
artificial. He would occasionally fold his arms on his
breast, and say, Now, gentlemen of the jury, let us
pause for a moment or two, to look about us, and see
where we have got to,' and then, with a few emphatic
pauses, recapitulate his leading arguments ; and thus keep
them full in the recollection of his hearers. The facts of
the case were shortly these :—The late Lord Bute had
appointed a Mr. Cooper, a theological student at Glasgow
University, to be private tutor to his son, and after a few
years, in compensation for his services, had presented him
with a bond of annuity for life. Some time afterwards
his Lordship procured Mr. Cooper some livings in Wales,
to the amount of 3001. a year, and in 1811 Mr. C. sur-
rendered to his Lordship the bond of annuity. Ia 1820
he died ; and the present action was brought by the
father of the deceased, to claim from the present Marquis
the annuity due from 1811 to 1820 inclusive. The case
was tried on the two following issues: was the deceased
sane or not at the time of giving up this bond? and was
the obligation extinguished by its surrender I The great
point which the plaintiff's Counsel laboured to establish
was the insanity of Mr. Cooper, at the time of giving up
the bond ; and, certainly, evidence was adduced, which
was irrefragable. It was, however, wonderful to see the
confidence and apparent sincerity with which Mr. Jeffrey
undertook to grapple with the whole body of the obnox-
ious testimony, and explain away the most incontrovertible
manifestations of madness, into any thing but madness.—
He had a reason ready for every thing. One circum-
stance adduced in strong corroboration of the alleged
insanity of the plaintiff was, that he one morning leaped
front his bed, with nothing on but his shirt, and a night-
cap, and sallied forth with a sword in one hand and a pis-
tol in the other, in pursuit of a—hen, which he chaced
thrice round the garden. This was a desperate fact, and
stoutly sworn to ; but our Counsellir found nothing in it
indicative of madness'—and, after convulsing the Court
with laughter by a ludicrous caricature of this insane ex-
ploit, instructed the Jury to look at it in no other point of
view than as the fro icksomeness of an eccentric young
man ! On one occasion he said to the Jury, with the
most impenetrable sang froid, ' Gentlemen, I address you
as men of plain and simple understandings.' I observed
the Jury ; and each of them looked at the other with an
odd air of wonder and concern, to hear themselves the sub-
jects of such a sorry compliment ! What I chiefly ad-
mired in Jeffrey was, iris choiceness of expression, and sin-
gular felicity of illustration. _ _

" After all that I have said, I fear it will be thought a
hazardous experiment, if I presume to present the reader
with the substance of one or two loose notes wl►ich I took
of many happy sallies of Mr. Jeffrey. Those who heard
him well know the difficulty of the task. A further proof
of Mr. Cooper's insanity was, that during his residence
at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he groundlessly fancied
himself the aversion of the whole University—shunned by
the students and hated by the tutors—and, in consequence,
abruptly took his departure.
" And now, gentlemen of the Jury,' continued Mr.
Jeffrey, folding his arms on his breast, and standing in an
easy and negligent attitude, ' we come to another of the
card-built castles of our opponents. Mr. Cooper, con-
ceiving himself an object of ridicule to both students and
tutors, abruptly leaves Cambridge ; and is, therefore, for-
sooth, if we are to admit the clever casuistry of my
Learned Friend (Mr. Robertson), insane. Why, gentle.
men, every man who does a very absurd and unaccountable
action, with his eyes open, may be called, to a certain ex-
tent, insane ; that is, not of a sound, well-ordered mind.
But, with regard to this Mr. Cooper, I am apt to think
his conclusions were not quite so chimerical and ground-
less, as to his being an object of curious speculation and
droll remark to those around him. I will go so far as to
say, that if lor Mr. Robertson were at Cambridge, and
received similar treatment to that which Mr. Cooper re-
ceived, we should be apt, at least I know I should, to de-
camp without much ceremony. It is, I say, very possible
that Mr. C. might be shunned at Cambridge, and there-
fore feel inclined to run back to dear Scotland and her
consolations. This, I am apt to imagine, shows rather
sagacity and spirit than madness. Let it be remembered
that Mr. Cooper went to Cambridge at a comparatively
late period of life, when he would be no meet companion
for his light-hearted juniors. And in what character did
he mingle with the gay, spirited, and high-bred crowd, at
an English University—with the bright tribes of Eton,
Harrow, and Westminster ? What did he appear to them,
other than a great, gloomy, hulking Scotch Dominic.,
wandering about like a 'statue stepped from its pedestal to
take the air,' having nothing in common with the viva-
cious youngsters around him, but his cap and gown ?
And then again, when the fastidious ears of the Etonians
would be shocked by hearing the strains of Virgil or
Horace shouted in the rich Northern brogue, and ghastly
guttural intonations of Mr. Cooper, not unaccompanied,
perchance, with a false quantity to add to its attractions;
is there, I ask, any thing extraordinary in supposing them
to be amused with these and similar gaucheries of the raw
Caledonian? Nothing more natural, lam sure, gentle-
men :—the simple fact of the case is this: Mr. Cooper
was very eccentric—a Scotelunan—an elderly eccentric
Scotchinan ; and his companions were very free and quiz
zical, and the consequence is unavoidable. He was fair
game for them, and not being able to stand the chase, he
took to Scotland again for shelter. Now was not this the
very best thing he could do?—I think it would have been
a much more unequivocal symptom of insanity, had he re-
mained at Cambridge. I cannot, therefore, hut admire the
ingenuity and hardihood of my Learned Friend, in ground-
ing on this part of Mr. Cooper's conduct a plea of insanity.
Had I, in short, as I said before, been in Mr. Cooper's
circumstances, I am sure I should have taken a similar
step; but to be brought in ►nad for it, oh, it is prepos-
terous !' lam conscious that this is but an imperfect at-
tempt to embody in words the subtle, etberial, and
evanescent spirit of Mr. Jeffrey's wit and sarcasm.' "

The following is a summing up of Mr. Jef-
frey's character :

" In Court Mr. Jeffrey is not chatty or communicative
with his legal brethren ; but, on the contrary, is silent
and reserved. I do not recollect seeing his anxious and
restless countenance once relax into a smile. He has his
full share of lively sensibility, nay rather irritability, which
is so frequently allied to great powers. I never saw a man
more apparently free from vanity or conceit. His chief
failing is en impatience in minor matters. The few op-
portunities I have had of observing Mr. Jeffrey more
closely, convinced me of the truth of a remark made by one
of his warmest admirers, that a' too restless display of ta-
lent, a too undisguised statement of all that can be said for
and against a question, is, perhaps, the greatest fault that
can be attributed to him.' This remark applies equally to
his writings and to his pleadings in Court. He appears
too apt at times to sink the Counsel in the Reviewer; but,
at the same time, he contrives to effect a corresponding
change in his hearers. Whether, however, in his charac-
ter of writer or speaker, it is delightful to follow his rapid
and graceful movements from one sparkling sentence to an-
other, and from one harmonious cadence to another, al-
ways lively, always ingenious, always piquant. As a law-
yer, Mr. Jeffrey appears rather familiar with principles
than practice; but paramount as he is in so many other

ebartteters, it is surely no heavy hardship for him to yield
he pslm of legal tact to others.
"In company Mr- Jeffrey is, as a friend styled him a
glorious creature.' His buoyant spirits never flag, his in-
tellectual energies never dr•op. 11,- is acute, eloquen., and
,on-,mun;cative to the last. Wiwi out being that odious
tlang, a profe.sed taker, he is the I fe of the select circle
in which he moves, centre of attr xt:dn, the mirror of
courtt,y. Lott cannot advance any U ing differing in an)
r. speet from his opinions, without being sure of a brilliant
and often unanswerable reply. It is worth committing th,
fault, for the sake of the punishment. I cannot conceive
r higher treat Than to see Mr. Jeffrey and Mr. Coleridg•
brought together, and engaged in a Metaphysical struggle.
When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tng of war.'
" No twin can be lung in Mr. Jeffrey's comp:my with-
out a consciousness of belt; in communi.m with the con
,entrated spirit of the age. It is a man's own fault if iT
part from him without instruction ;—without amusement
he cannot."

" The Gamester" is a graceful sketch in verse,
replete with tenderness and simplicity of feeling,
and a very creditable sample of the poetical talent
of the University. We regret that our limits
prevent us subjoining an extract. " Lord
Byro►►'s Cain" is a bold and promising metaphy
sical treatise ; it is manifestly, however, the pro-
duction of a young and unfledged writer. The
ideas are vigorous and abundant, but not pro-
perly marshalled : they want concentration and
arrangement, qualities which are the slow but
sure growth of mature thought and tried ex-
perience. " The Blue Rout" is a lively intel-
ligent sketch, pointed without sarcasm, and
broad without coarseness. "On the Origin of
Juries," evinces a very creditable reach of in-
formation, though it scarcely possesses the
merit of novelty, so indispensable in these days
of literary excitement. "On the Eloquence of
the French Bar," is an answer to some remarks
on the same subject that appeared some months
since in that able journt►l, the " Foreign Re-
view." It is ingenious, but possesses no one
feature sufficiently attractive to entitle it to any
very lengthened consideration. " On the Be-
nefit of a Classical Education," is penned in a
fine generous and manly spirit. None decry
the classics, but those who are hopeless of
becoming acquainted with them ; and we are
glad to see a young writer take up the cudgels
in their favour in the right spirit of youthful
enthusiasm. On the whole the present number
of this Magazine (which is only the second), is
a superior one, and if followed up with the same
spirit with which it has set out, can scarcely fail
of becoming generally popular.