"One day be was furprised by a gentleman of Lincoln's Inn, who could take the liberty of entering his rooms without the ceremonious introduction of a fervant, in the fingular act of practifing the graces of a speaker at a glafs, while Pope fat by in the character of a friendly preceptor. Mr. Murray on this occafion paid him the handfome compliment of, 'Tu es mihi Mæcenas.

"The great benefit refulting from an early friendhip between Murray and Pope, was, that the young and graceful jurifprudent could not be more fedulous to acquire éclat in his profeffion than the poet was to proclaim in bewitching verfe the reputation of his friend.

Bishop Warburton, in his annotations on Pope's imitation of the Sixth Epistle of the First Book of Horace, addreffed to Mr. Murray, elegantly defines the friendship fubfifting between them in a fingle sentence: Mr. Pope had all the warmth of affection for this great lawyer, and indeed no man ever 'more deferved to have a poet for his friend; in the obtaining of which, as neither vanity, party, nor fear, had a fhare, fo he fupported his title to it by all the offices of a generous and true friendship.'

"Young and gay, and feduced as he was, by feeing how defpotically Pope reigned in the regions of literature, is it matter of wonder, that feveral of the friends of Mr. Murray, on his entrance into life, fhould be not a little apprehenfive of his having manifefted too great an attention to the belles lettres and to the regions of pleature?"

"The fears, however, of Mr. Murray's friends, that the gaiety of his heart would militate against that patient affiduity fo abfolutely neeeffary to improvement and fuccefs

in his legal character, were foon laid afide, by his having been early employed in bafinefs of ferious importance, which fully engaged not only his attention, but also his affections, fince human nature would have revolted at the trials in which he perievered early in life, if he had not really loved his profeffion.`

"In 1732, we find our tyro in the law affociated with the two fhining lights in the court of chancery, as they were emphatically ftyled, lord Talbot and lord Hardwicke, then his majesty's attorney and folicitor general, in a cause of appeal heard at the bar of the house of lords, on the 12th of March, 1732-3, relating to the purchase of fome fouth-fea ftock in the memorable year 1720. "The counfel for the appellant were

P. Yorke.

Will. Hamilton.

"For the re- 1 C. Talbot. fpondent, JW. Murray.

"A fine and fertile field this for our tyro to travel over, to explore, and, by exploring, to exercise his dawning genius and opening ta lents. A year pregnant with credulity, circumvention, and fraud, could not fail, under the auspices of a Talbot to be fingularly fortunate and favourable to his young friend and colleague.

"A refpite of four days only intervened before Mr. Murray appeared again at the fame bar, and was claffed with the fame great colleagues as counfel for the young marquis of Annandale. From fo fplendid and fo early an introduction into bufinefs; from his being affociated in his maiden causes with the two greatest luminaries of the law, we may conclude with Horace, Nofcitur ex fociis. May we not expect to find him frequently in the fame good company?

"Accordingly, in the following

усаг,

year, 1733, we find him engaged as counsel in three appeals; and in 1734 in a still greater number." "The natural and acquired advantages, which characterised the eloquence of Mr. Murray, were fo confpicuous, even on the fpur of occafion, and his perception was fo quick, as to enable him to fine upon any emergency. A circumftance of this kind occurred, in the year 1737, in the celebrated caufe between Theophilus Cibber and Mr. Sloper, wherein Mr. Murray was the junior counfel for the defendant. The leading counfel being fuddenly feized with a fit in the court, the duty of the fenior devolved on the junior counsel, who at first modeftly declined it, for want of time to ftudy the cafe. The court, to indulge him, poftponed the cause for about an hour; and only with this preparation, he made fo abie and eloquent a defence, as not only to reduce the defendant's damages to a mere trifle, but to gain for himself the reputation, which he highly deferved, of a moft prompt, perfpicuous, and eloquent pleader.'

"The familiar friends of lord Mansfield have frequently heard him recur with fingular pleasure to his fuccefs in this caufe, and the confequences which flowed from it. His own perfpicuous manner of introducing it cannot fail to please, and raise emulation in young men of genius.

"From this trivial incident, he was accustomed to fay: Business 'poured in upon me on all fides; and, from a few hundred pounds 'a year, I fortunately found myself, in every fubiequent year, in pof'feffion of thousands,'

"It may be deemed fomewhat curious to obferve that a fimilar accident, however trivial, brought another great luminary in the law

into full bufinefs. Mr. Dunning (afterwards lord Afhburton) had perfevered in going the Western circuit fix or feven years, without any great emolument, until one of the leading counfel on the circuit, who was afflicted with the gout, and who having discovered abilities in, had engaged, our tyro to read and make obfervations on his briefs; on briefs which Mr. Ser jeant Glynn's feeble hands could not fupport. He handed them over to his young friend, who fhone fo much in his new fphere, as from that day, and from the bufinefs of general warrants, which trod on the heels of it, his fame like another Murray's was recorded."

"On the 20th of November, 1738, he married lady Elizabeth Finch, one of the fix daughters of Daniel earl of Winchelfea; a marriage, which added fortune and fplendid family connexions to the advantages of noble birth, and great fame, which Mr. Murray previously poffeffed.

"With this lady he lived in great harmony and domeftic happinefs almost half a century. Lady Mansfield, who was exemplary through life in diligent, uniform, and unremitted attention to the difcharge of her domeftic concerns, and of every religious duty, died the 10th of April, 1784.

"In the fame year, 1738, there were fifteen or fixteen appeals heard and determined in the house of lords, and in no lefs than eleven of that number was Mr. Murray employed as counfel, either for the appellants or refpondents."

In the years 1739 and 1740, we find Mr. Murray engaged thirty cafes of appeal to the house of lords; a greater number, we prefume, than in the course of the prefent century has, in any two fucseeding years, fallen to the lot of

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any

any one of the most eminent counfel at the bar, thofe great lumina ries Talbot and Yorke not excepted; so rapid, fo extenfive, and fo unparalleled was the fuccefs of Mr. Murray! and when it is confider ed, that ten years only intervened between the commencement of his practice at the chancery bar in 1732, and his appointment to the office of folicitor-general in 1742, a very flattering and fair conclution may be drawn, that his legal fame and his extenfive practice were not confined to the houfe of lords."

"Mr. Murray, having previously and prudently determined to eftablifh his fame in the line of his profeffion, before he commenced his political career, did not take his feat in parliament as member for Boroughbridge till the year 1742, foon after he had been appointed his majefty's folicitor-general. The reafon he affigned for refifting the folicitation of his friends to fit in parliament, fome years antecedent to that period, was, that he found many very refpectable friends on both fides of the houfe. His own forcible and favourite question could not eafily be answered: Why fhould he be hafty in forming his attachment to one party, while he enjoyed the patronage of all parties?"

cellor of the univerfity of Cambridge, on the appointment of a fucceflor; and lamented that at Oxford the civil-law lectures, and the opportunities of gaining legal knowledge by that channel, were, when contrafted with thofe of the fifter univerfity, in the most degraded and unworthy fituation. He then expreffed an anxious with, that an able profeffor of civil law might be fought for and invited to fill the vacant feat. Dr. Jenner was the person thought of by the duke of Newcastle; yet he paid Mr. Murray the compliment of asking him, if he could recommend any gentleman who would fill it with greater ability. Antecedent to the establishment of the Vinerian profefforfhip, the late Mr. Juftice Blackftone, who was then at the bar, and had given proofs that he poffeffed thofe qualifications which early pointed him out as the most worthy to be promoted on this occafion, was by Mr. Murray introduced and warmly recommended to the duke of Newcastle, who con. fidered it as part of his duty to probe a little the political principles of the new candidate, by addreffing Mr. Blackstone, Sir, I can rely on 'your friend Mr. Murray's judgmentas to your giving law-lectures in a good style, fo as to benefit the ftudents; and I dare fay, that I may fafely rely on you, whenever any thing in the political hemi. phere is agitated in that univerfity, you will, fir, exert yourself ' in our behalf.' The answer was, Your grace may be affured that I

law-lectures to the best of my poor abilities.' 'Ay! ay!' replied his grace haftily, and your duty in

tunately for the new candidate, be only bowed affent; and a few days afterwards he had the mortification

to hear that Dr. Jenner was appointed the civil-law profeffor. Nothing less than the love of fcience could, under thefe circumftances, have induced Mr. Murray and fome other friends of Mr. Blackstone strongly to recommend and perfuade him to fit down at Oxford, and to read law-lectures to fuch fudents as were difpofed to attend him. The plan was not only attended with profit and peature in the first instance, but foon afterwards happily fuggefted the idea to the mind of Mr. Viner to establish a real law-profefforfhip in the univerfity of Oxford, and who fo proper to fill it with éclat, and add luftre to the inftitution, as Mr. Blackftone, whofe Commentaries on the Laws of England, on their first appear ance in the world, drew this high tribute of respect and approbation from lord Mansfield? On a brotherpeer's having asked him, as a friend, what books he would advife his fon to read, who was determined to be a lawyer, the chief juftice replied, My good lord, till of late I could 'never, with any fatisfaction to myself, answer that question; but, 'fince the publication of Mr. 'Blackftone's Commentaries, I can 'never be at a lofs. There your fon will find analytical reafoning 'diffused in a pleafing and peripicuous style. There he may imbibe imperceptibly the first principles on which our excellent laws are founded, and there he may become acquainted with an uncouth crabbed author, Coke upon 'Littleton, who has difappointed ' and disheartened many a tyro, but who cannot fail to please in a modern drefs."

"In 1754, Sir Dudley Ryder, his majesty's attorney-general, was advanced to the dignity of lord chief juftice of the court of king's bench; and on that occafion his majefty's

folicitor-general, Mr. Murray, was promoted to fill the high ftation of the king's attorney-general. This promotion did not. alienate him from the honourable fociety of Lincoln's Inn, whofe chief ornament he had many years been; but the interval was not long before he ceased to be a member of that fociety.

"In 1756, the death of lord chief juftice Ryder gave rife to a fecond fucceffion, and the king's attorney-general was appointed to that high office.

"Previous to his taking his feat as lord chief juftice, the ufual ceremony of taking leave of alma mater, or the law-fociety of which he was a member, was to be refpectfully obferved. Whether the origin of this laudable cuftom is to be claffed among those good old fosterfathers who have contributed to raise emulation in the ftudents of the fociety, or whether it was defigned to manifeft the gratitude of the latter, for the honour which every high character confers on the fociety; whatever laudable motive introduced the ceremony, no man of fenfibility could be prefent in Lincoln's Inn Hall, when the honourable Mr. Yorke, on whom devolved the honour of making the complimentary fpeech to the new lord chief juftice, and of prefenting him with a votive offering of a purfe of gold, in the name of the fociety, without being forcibly ftruck with the favourable impreffion, that he was the worthy fon of the great lord Hardwicke. A fair occafion this for Mr. Murray to retaliate, who elegantly admitted and avowed, that Laudatus à laudato viro made unmerited praite itself pleafing."

"Thursday, November 11, 1756, lord Mansfield took his place as lord chief juftice."

"Before lord Mansfield had been

fix