HIS DEFERENCE TO THE JUDGES.

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Temple acquaintance, which consisted of young Mr. Palmer and Mr. Edward Hyde the lord chancellor's son and some others of that family, who introduced his lordship to their patrons: which shows that in the erecting of a lawyer inns of court commons and conversation may be of vast use. In circuit practice there is need of an exquisite knowledge of the judge's humour as well as his learning and ability to try causes; and his lordship was a wonderful artist at nicking a judge's tendency to make it serve his turn, and yet never failed to pay the greatest regard and deference to his opinion: for so they get credit; because the judge for the most part thinks that person the best lawyer that respects most his opinion. I have heard his lordship say that sometimes he hath been forced to give up a cause to the judge's opinion, when he was plainly in the wrong, and when more contradiction had but made him more positive; and besides that in so doing he himself had weakened his own credit with the judge, and thereby been less able to set him right when he was inclined to it. For, when he found it went against the grain, he would not teaze, as the way is, to get credit with the countrymen who would be apt to say, "Look what pains he takes;" but for that time since there was no remedy let the matter go. And all this without blame with respect to his clients, for he could do no more in any respect but might do worse by many. And a good opinion so gained often helps at another time to good purpose and sometimes to ill purpose; as I heard it credibly reported of Serjeant Maynard, that being the leading counsel in a small-fee'd cause, would give it up to the judge's mistake and not contend to set him right that he might gain credit to mislead him in some other cause in which he was well fee'd.

55. There were some judges came that circuit, of whose abilities time hath kept no record, unless in the sinister way, as Morton, Archer,' &c. If such expressed any thing

1 Sir William Morton was made a judge of King's Bench in 1665. He was a zealous supporter of Charles I. during the Civil War. He sentenced Claude Duval the highwayman, and prevented his receiving a pardon. Sir John Archer was appointed a judge of the Common Pleas, 4th November, 1663; removed in Christmas vacation 1672.

in favour of his lordship's client, he would echo, "Ay, my lord;" and then the other side fretted at him, as one that knowing better ought not to say so. Once Archer noted a difference between a renunciation of an executorship upon record, and in pais. "Ay, my lord," quoth the counsel; which made the judge as fierce as a lion, when he was so backed; and woe be to the other side if they contradicted it; though it was no better than arrant nonsense. There came other judges who were, and ever will be, famous among the learned in the laws; as Wadham Windham,' and the Lord Chief Justice Hales. His lordship had no way to court these, but by his learning and strength of reason. Hales had an early opinion of his lordship's skill in the law, and believed he would grow eminent in the profession. For once when the court was sat he perceived him crowding very hard to get in, and from the bench spoke to the people to make way for the little gentleman, "for," said he, "he will soon make way for himself." In short his lordship took all the pains he could to settle himself well in circuit practice. He used to say that the circuit found him business for the town and the town for the circuit.

56. One thing was principally his care which was to take good instructions in his chamber. He examined carefully the issue as the pleadings derived it; and perused all the deeds if it were a title and not seldom examined the witnesses if it were fact; by this he was enabled to make a judgment of the cause and to advise his client as to going on or not. And the attorney as well as the client by his care and dexterity in probing the cause, starting objections, inventing points, foretelling events, and what the judge will say, and the like, observed his character, and that he might be depended on, which engaged both afterwards to come to him again; especially the attorneys, who love such

Holding his office quamdiu se bene gesserit, he refused to surrender it, although prohibited from exercising his judicial functions. (T. Raym. Rep. 217.)

Appointed one of the judges of the King's Bench in 1660. The references in the margin of Fitzherbert's Natura Brevium, to the Year Books and Reports, display the industry and learning of this eminent lawyer.

HIS FRIEND MR. COLEMAN.

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as have skill, and take pains to credit them by securing the best event a cause will bear.

57. I am advanced so far in these observations, as, without more, it may plainly be perceived that from an humble beginner rejoicing at a cause that came to him, his lordship soon became cock of the circuit; and every one that had a trial rejoiced to have him on his side. There was another gentleman, who grew up together with his lordship in the circuit practice with nearly the same speed, one Mr. Coleman, of the Burnt Ely family in Suffolk. And as it happily fell out there was no sort of emulation or competition to create uneasiness betwixt them, for they were for the most part opposed: if one of them was for the plaintiff the other was for the defendant, and from the beginning to the end held not only a fair correspondence but were very good friends; and how could it be otherwise when both were ingenuous good lawyers, ready speakers, candid gentlemen, and who in pursuit of their own improved each other's interest? Mr. Coleman had a very comely aspect and a very voluble tongue. It was said that an attorney asked his client that stood behind him, which of those two gentlemen should be his counsel ? Who? said he, "why that nimble chaps there." It fell out that this gentleman died immaturely else he had fallen into that track of preferment as Sir William Jones fell into; of which there is an account elsewhere. There were divers serjeants and others that went the same circuit, but none that could cope with these two. I have heard them relate passages in their circuit practice, to make the company merry. As when they two have been together and a brace of serjeants to boot, and they knew a flat nonsuit in the cause, which the others did not see, they stood aside and left the brethren to wrangle with the court about nothing, till having laughed and sneered enough, one stepped forward and cutting the thread the cause fell all at once.

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58. I have here showed divers instances of his lordship's favourable means of showing his abilities, but little or nothing of his conduct in any particular matter; and because his character may better appear by such than by general eulogies, I will subjoin one or two of his dexterous exploits. The Lady Dacres had suits depending against

1

Chute, the eldest son of her husband then deceased, for a sum of money secured upon land by her marriage contract; which Chute had married her daughter, and dying left upon her hands four grandchildren to take care of. She entered upon the estate and took the profits for divers years, by which she became accountable. His lordship, being sensible that his aunt ran great hazards of being called to an account by the eldest son at his full age, and instead of having debt being made a debtor, advised her to get a decree and a manager appointed and she to answer only what monies she actually received, and as things fell out afterwards the reasons for this precaution appeared most lively, for it preserved her (who kept no good account) from oral testimonies of imaginary values, which had pinched her to the quick if she had not had that defence. That course in Chancery is more common of late than it was then; and it fell not under every one's cap to give so good advice. His lordship had much to do with this aunt; who used him but scurvily; as will appear from what I am going to relate.

59. She had a bill in Chancery against her and his lordship must draw her answer; which Serjeant Fountain2 perused and directed to be more full in a chief point of fact. Which was done, and then other counsel told her she had confessed too much and the answer must be taken off the file and mended; which with leave of the court was also done and no harm yet. But his lordship's father asked her jocularly, "if she gave his son any fees for the business he did her?" This made her think it a plot of the young lawyer (but far from any colour of truth) to get money out of her; for he never saw a penny of her money for all his pains in trotting to and fro and doing business for her. And from that time she threw him off, accusing and railing at him all the town over for falsifying her answer and making her swear what was not true (if it had stood), to the ruin of her cause. And herein she served herself another way, for her adversary defamed her

1 See § 10.

2 John Fountain, of Salle in Norfolk. He was made serjeant by Richard Cromwell in 1658, and was one of the commissioners of the Great Seal in 1660. He died in 1671.

for swearing and unswearing and it was not amiss to have a button in the room. But she carried the quarrel so high as to get one of no small account to let Sir Jeoffry Palmer know what a snake (meaning his lordship) he had in his bosom. In short she intended his ruin if possible. But the merriment which the good attorney-general made with his cousin North for his early practice was a diversion sufficient. All this is not unseasonable to be remembered, because it reflects upon his lordship the singular virtue of humanity. For all the while she defamed him in this manner, which was for several years, he made no replies but by smiling, and paid her all the devoirs due to such a parent and served and assisted her in all her exigencies, she never failing to make use of him when she found it might be of profit to her and yet she never could afford him a good word to his and her dying days.

60. His lordship had a relation, one Mr. Whitmore of Balms near London, a humoursome old gentleman but very famous for the mere eating and drinking part of housekeeping. He was owner of Waterbeach near Cambridge and took a fancy that his estate ought not to pay tithes and ordered his tenants expressly to pay none, with promise to defend them. The parson had no more to do but to go to law, and by advice brought an action of debt for treble damages upon the statute against substraction of tithes. The tenants got the whole demand to be put in one action; and that stood for trial at the assizes. Then he consults his cousin North and retains him to defend this cause; but shows him no manner of title to a discharge. So he could but tell him he would be routed and pay treble value of the tithes and that he must make an end. This signified nothing to one that was abandoned to his own testy humour. The cause came on and his lordship's utmost endeavour was to fetch him off with the single value and costs; and that point he managed very artificially: for first he considered that Archer was the judge and it was always agreeable to him to stave off a long cause. After the cause was opened, his lordship for the defendant stepped forwards and told the judge that "this would be a long and intricate cause, being a title to a discharge of tithes which would require the reading a long series of