The Irish standard., 1896-07-25
ions. When at the bar.it seemed assifs %
amount Of work could fatigue him Te e.


some kind Of rhythmic movement With
his thoughts Then, he carried the old
fashioned bandana handkerchief, spssol-
mems of which are now rare among those
practicing in the high, courts. sg. iss
i To professional work bringing in an
income of 100000 a year, Sir Ghaffes
| added the luxury OF being an NJ. n, and
was in the house of commons during
years when that itself was labor which
! told on the strength and energies or
many men, He1 was afrequent speaker
at political meetings and6passed agreat
deal Of the time at his club. Some people
4 thought he must have found out these
cret Of doing without sleep. 81,
Now that his Lorship has risen to the dig
nifty of being Lord Chief Justice, he may
look back with some wonder at the amonlt
of work which he got through everyday
! for nine months in the year-that being
about the length of the legalWorkin
An English judge does not have an idleSMe
There is his attendance in court andahin
chambers; there are frequent consultations
on questions of law; there are meetingAp.
the judges to frame rules for Insertions fl
the white book, and fixing circuits, aud
| finally there are the Assize Courts to be att
tended to. Lord Russell attends the house
Of lords when any bills are before it in
which, as lawyer, he feels particular in
terest, but the glamour of parliamentary
| life apparently ceased for him when he lost
the more democratic glow of the other
house. The upper house is too frigid on Or
| dirary occasions for his mercurIal tempera-
ment
| His Lordship looks exceedingly well,on
the bench, which is compliment not TO-
be paid to every English Judge. The judi
cial costume is too academic for some men,
and there are faces which never look well
under wig. Lord Russell looks better
| in uniform than out of it.. When he was at
! the bar no member looked in gown and
bands and wig better than he did. When
speaking, Russell's dark gray, luminous
eyes, so full Of deep feeling and serious
| thought, gave him points over all rivals.
1t was always thought a great thing toSse-
cure Sir Charles RusselPs services ina
breach of promise case, or In q divorce suit,
or in any kind of suit where pathos could
form a good setting for the tragedy Of life.
In losing Sir Charles the English bar lost
! it's finest orator. He stood alone. There
was no one like him. and no one of equal
merit. Some people praised his oratory at
the expense of his legal knowledge, and they
said he was no lawyer. Some people find
! it: difficult to praiseya man highly. as the;
possessor OF two qualities. It draws Stee!
much on their generosity. But Sir George
Lewis7-no mean judge said Russell was a
lgreat lawyer and the best verdict getter in
the Kingdom There is more than the usual
friendship between counsel and client sub
sist:ng between the two men. 1t was Mr..
Lewis who discovered the fine qualities*of
Mr.. Russell, and for a quarter of a century
4 iofS into oh 90
partly on Lewis advice that Russell took
silk" in 1872, and it was when Sir Charles
was Her Majesty's Attorney General that
Mr.. Lewis became Sir George, which goes
some little distance toward showing that
gratitude among lawyers really does exist.
The English bar as at present constituted,
lis not rich in oratory, and the style Of many
of it's ablest men should be stldiously
avoided. There are some admirabl speak
ers, but you want to follow them as closely
as the three steps of a syllog:sm,. which
makes the head ache. There are speakers
logical and terse, logical but diffuse, hunor-
GUS and superficial, pathetic and blatant
adroit and straightforward; but there! is
not a single "silk' who at command can
give such an intellectual elevation to his
subject, while playing on the mere emo
t:onal qualities Of his audience, as Sir
Charles could and often did. BY nature be
was generously endowed with the intellect
ual capacity to attract and captivate, and at
the same time to- sway the sympathies even
to the shedding of tears, which at times
would g!isten IN his own eyes. In the Colin
Cambell divorce case, which lasted nineteen
days. Sir Charles was said to have reached
his highest point Of pathetic el0quence, as
| in the French-Brewster divorce case he
reached his highest point Of scorn. When
he was elevated to the bench Lord Russell
had to put aside all outbursts of oratorical
passion, together with his snuff box. IL ).
4 The English bar is not a good school for
oratory as a fine art. There is not single
Judge on the bench, the Lord Chief justices
excepted, who could make a good. telling
political platform speech. The bench al
! ways discourage any tendency to hortd:
rhetoric; and when a Junior says sonae-
thing which he thinks pretty he is generally
interrupted and asked for his authority s
Since he has been on the bench it has been
noticed that Lord Russell IS keeping Up the
old tradition, and generally pulls up man l
| when he is travelling outside pleadings tor
the sake Of style. y ~ s,s ). ia Il t !,
In his early dayszhe had asgood deal ta
| put up with from older men and Judges who
thought to prnne down his exuberance, and
he might have been snuffed out, as SO many;
men have been, but for the splendid cons
bative element with which lie was endowed.
If he could help it he would not be sat on;
| and was often very irritable when intera
rupted. His native wit made him formfdasss
able One day Sir D:gby Seymour, Qs g.a;
| keptip flow Of small talk when Russell
was speaking. &. 5sS ,s So. S's sssEs,
81 visa you would be quiet, Saymore,,'s' r 4
said Russell with his Irish accent. :ts s s
s3..N name is Seymour, il you p.easessss.
| replied the learned gentle enlan.s Nth mock
dignity. IS ssE,
hen wish you would see more and.
sayfless.' was the rejofnd err 81; # sts. 81 = 4
But Russell was always kind tnTens
and when he stung it was simply II d SELF
defense. ~; isS-ss ssi gasfss
ut Isl not perhaps generally known that
the Lora Chef Justice at one time Spraez:
ticed as q soIic tor. was sarticled tosa
I1irtni sitl .l1eWTy County Down, lrelan1,s
tsN1efe born, but finished his. articles,
Iii Lincolnsss4 Inn, where ne mad noth.ng to
lido but eat 5his d.nners IA order 5eeursssl
Its.ea ,'s Every hing rlpsY ;aslia
fhe exan,sn ions become every sIl
ses two. Ruasel::',s trail ms sos
ono ca gave I'm aslya tages
ftlsvs. and it4is sobsar hat
/ Js,sr: not now l..sten tn ai1y