Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-25
SUCCESSFUL LAWYERS.


Lord BrOugham-Sir Mathew Hale
Sir VIM. JOnes-LOrd EIdOR-TheIl
Work and Their Pay.
Considering the prominent share
of the affairs of life which falls tC
these much versed in the practic,
OF law, it is not singular that honor
and credit so largely attend the L.
gal profession. There are few DO.
sitions more influential than that o.
a great lawyer or a learned iadge
and, although this profession, like
all other, has its sneaks and its pet
tifoggers, the bar has always
abounded in honorable and high
minded men. Sir Walter Scott has
has said that "a barrister of exr
tended practice, if he has any tai
ents at all, is the best companion in
the world" Taken as class, law
yers see much of society, and their
pursuits are adapted to give them
great insight into human character.
Sir Henry Finch, who was a Judge
in the reign of Charles l, used to
say that lawyer ought to read all
the morning and talk all the AFTER
noon. The late Lord Brougham,
who was a paragon of versatility,
used to spend the whole day in try
a ing the most tedious and intricate
causes, then dine, go into Parlia-
ment Immediately after dinner, and
speak for hours in his vehement
and eloquent style, and then go
home to solve mathematical prob
lens, or write an encyclopedia ar
ticle before going to bed.
Some great lawyers, indeed, have
insisted that the profession de-
mands the undivided energies Of its
followers. Sir Matthew Hale de-
clared that "the law will admit of
no rival, nothing to go even with
it, and Sir William Jones says:
"My ultimate knowledge of the ma
ture Of my profession obliges me to
assure you that it requires the achole
man, and admits of no concurrent
pursuits" Yet so far were these
men from bearing out their precept
by their practice, that Hale wrote
and published a multiplicity of
rbooks On divinity and the classics,
while the extraordinary range Of
Sir William Jones pursuit of litera-
ture has made him one of the
Most noted of English Photographic
authors. "Poets and power
ty," said Chancellor Talbot,
'are the only things needed
by the law student" And
Lord Eldon, who was an extraor~
binary example Of what severe and
steady application will do for a
man without brilliant talents, when
he dedicated himself to the law,
used to get up in the morning at 4
o'clock to study, and work late at
night with a wet towel wrapped
around his head. He has often
told the young law student, that to
succeed at the bar, it was necessary
to live like a hermit and work like
n horse. Eldon himself rose from
being the son of a coal dealer,
without a shilling in the world, to
an Earldom. a fortune of many
hundred thousand pounds, and the
Lord CHARACTERISTIC Of England,
The sole secret of his
success was energy and application.
Early IN life, when destined for the
clerical profession, he persuaded a
beautiful and interesting girl to
elope with him. They were mars
ried, and Eldon was at once set
down by his acquaintance as a lost
man, so far as success in life was
concerned. But they found their
mistake, when he at once relin-
qnished all idea of the church, and
began TO study for the bar. He
worked so hard as to excite the APP
prehensions Of his medical friends,
but with the spur that moved him,
no came off victorious, and ulti-
mately raised himself TO the rank
of the most eminent barristors.
X X