NORMS, EDWIN. 



NORTH, SIB DUDLEY. 



T&ORRI 



; and ho also published early in life one or mure political 



MORRIS, EDWIN, an eminent ethnological and philological 

 writer, was born at Tauntou on the 24th of October 1795. In i - 1 1. 

 immediately after the peace, he travelled on the Continent as private, 

 tutor in a family, and remained for some time abroad, chiefly in the 

 south of Italy. After his return to England ho was appointed in 1826 

 to a post in the East India House, from which he retired with a 

 pension in 1S36, in consequence of the arrangements connected with 

 the renewal of the charter. In the same year his extensive knowledge 

 of languages led to his election as auiitant-secretary to the Royal 

 Asiatic Society ; an office which involved the chief share in the editor- 

 ship of the Society's ' Transactions.' In 1847 be received from govern- 

 ment tho appointment of Translator to the Foreign Office, fie was 

 appointed in 1856 principal secretary to the Royal Asiatic Society. 



Mr. Norris is the editor of the ' Ethnographical Library,' commenced 

 In 1 S53, to embrace accounts of voyages to savage countries and other 

 contributions to ethnographical science. Tho last edition of Prichard's 

 ' Natural History of Man' appeared with additions under his superin- 

 tendence in 1S55. A ' Grammar of the Fulah Language, from a M.S. 

 by the Kev. R. M. Macbrair in the British Museum,' is also ' edited 

 with additions by E. Norris,' and a ' Grammar of tho Bornu or Kapuri 

 Language ' (Svo, London, 1853), was developed by him from a series 

 of dialogues sent home from Bornu by Richardson the African traveller, 

 who died before his return to England. In addition to these acknow- 

 ledged works, Mr. Norris has been frequently engaged in superintend- 

 ing the publications of the Bible Society in the Tohitian and other 

 languages, and has been a contributor to the ' Penny Cyclopaedia,' the 

 ' Penny Magazine,' and other works of large circulation. His present 

 reputation is however chiefly founded on papers which have appeared 

 in the "Transactions of the lioyal Asiatic Society.' In one in 1845 

 ' On the Kapur-di-Qiri Rock-inscription,' he pointed out the method of 

 deciphering an alphabet which was previously unknown, and the dis- 

 covery was characterised by Professor H. H. Wilson, in a paper which 

 accompanied that of Mr. Norris, as " an unexpected and interesting 

 accession to our knowledge of the palaeography and ancient history of 

 India." A paper 'On the Assyrian and Babylonian Weights,' and 

 another ' On the Scythic Version of the Behutnn Inscription,' are also 

 of peculiar value. The whole of Sir Henry Rawlinson's papers on the 

 cuneiform inscriptions, sent from Persia and published in the Society's 

 ' Transactions,' passed through Mr. Norris's hands as editor, and it is 

 stated in a recent number of the ' Athentnum ' that he is now engaged 

 with Sir Henry in preparing for publication the series of Nineveh 

 inscriptions, to be issued under the sanction of the Trustees of the 

 ; Museum. These labours have within the hut fow years raised 

 Mr. N orris's name to a high position, and it is perhaps- gtill better 

 known abroad than at home. The University of Bonn spontaneously 

 conferred on him in June 1855 tho honorary degree of Doctor of 

 Philosophy. 



NORTH, FRANCIS, BARON GUTLDFORD, lord keeper of tho 

 great seal of England, the immediate elder brother of the following, 

 was born on the 22nd of October 1637. He acquired the rudiments 

 of education at a school at Isleworth, where he appears to have been 

 taught some rigid Presbyterian principles, which left very little trace 

 on his mini) hi subsequent life. In 1653 he was admitted fellow-com- 

 moner of St. John's College, Csmbridge. He afterwards became a 

 member of the Middle Temple. He passed his time gravoly and 

 studiously, and appears early to have resolved not to leave any plan 

 untried, whether by intellectual exertion or less commendable means, 

 to obtain wealth, power, and distinction. His relaxation consisted of 

 music meetings, hearing Hugh Peters preach, and occasional convivial 

 suppers with fellow-students very small items of dissipation, the 

 nature of the times and the habits of tho young lawyers of the Resto- 

 ration considered. He was well connected, and received some aid 

 and auspices from his relatives in his early struggles. His practice 

 however was for some time insufficient to satisfy his expectations, 

 and be was sunk in despondency when he was token in hand by Sir 

 Jeffrey Palmer, the attorney-general, who saw in the character of the 

 young barrister something for which the crown lawyers of such times 

 might find use. Sir Jeffrey's son dying about this time, much f t!.,- 

 burin us destined for him fell to the lot of his father's favourite, 

 young Francis North. He went on tho Norfolk circuit, which brought 

 him into the neighbourhood of bis family interest ; but he was careful 

 to let no Influence that seemed likely to aid him slip from his handn. 

 " He was exceeding careful," says his brother, "to keep fair with tho 

 cocks of the circuit, and particularly with Serjeant Earl, who had 

 almost a monopoly. The serieant was a very covetous man, and 

 when none would starve with him in journeys, this young gentleman 

 kept him company. 



The memoir of the lord keeper by his brother, Roger North, is one 

 of tho most ample developments of private life and habits during the 

 17th century which our literature possesses. We ro let into all tl.e 

 hopes and fears of the young aspirant his paltry and dUhonest 

 tricks, bis intenee selfishness, his moral cowardice, his trimming 

 polities "<! his readiness to do aoy work that persons well intrenched 

 U power might st before him. The book is all tho more curious 

 because Its author treats these qualities as prudential virtues, and 

 exhibits them as that patient perseverance in well doing which finally 



brought him who practised them to solid honour and wealth. Stand- 

 ing between a Shafteebury and a Jeffreys, North's character had some 

 features which may well have appeared commendable, and perhaps 

 the not unnatural indignation which his character has elicited from 

 Lord Campbell, seems rather disproportionate when the nature of the 

 times is considered. The brother is particularly instructive in 

 describing his attempts to obtain a rich wife, bestowing hearty com- 

 mendation on the skill aud intrepidity with which he foiled every 

 effort to ally him to any one under the desired standard of wealth. 

 Other qualifications appear not to have given him much concern. 



North brought himself into notice at court by pleading against the 

 privileges of parliament in the Writ of Error brought into the House 

 of Lords upon the judgment of tho King's Bench in tho old case of 

 the prosecution of the five members for holding the Speaker in the 

 chair. On this occasion he was rewarded with a silk gown. On the 

 20th of May 1671, he was made solicitor-general ; and on the promotion 

 of Sir Heneage Finch to the woolsack, he succeeded him as attorney- 

 general on the 12th of November 1673. On the 25th of January 1675, 

 he was made lord chief justice of the Common Pleas. This was at tho 

 period of the curious disputes for jurisdiction between the Common 

 Pleas and the King's Bench, founded on no higher motive than tho 

 fees paid by the suitors. The King's Bench had engrossed so much 

 business by the fictitious use of the writ of ' latitat,' that " the proper 

 court sat idle, and bad scarce enough to countenance their coming to 

 Westminster Hall every day in the term." North retaliated by a 

 dexterous use of the ' capias ; ' and we are told that " after this process 

 came into common use, it is scarce to be conceived how the court 

 revived and flourished, being, instead of vocation in term, rather 

 term in vacation, so large was the increase of trials by nisi prius out 

 of the court, as also of motions and pleas in the court" These 

 struggles are well known to have had great influence in the practical 

 extension of the jurisdiction of the three courts of Westminster Hull 

 to all ordinary questions of civil right. 



On the death of Lord Nottingham, the great seal was confided to 

 North's keeping on the 20th of December liJS2. On this occasion, 

 and in the presence of the king and some of the most accouiplUhed 

 courtiers of the ng,-, he was not so much dazzled as to lose sight of 

 his own ultimate interest. Knowing that, from the difficulty felt by 

 the king in obtaining parliamentary supplies, it was intm .led that the 

 new lord keeper should have no salary beyond the fees of his office, 

 and conscious that he was the only person who had at that juncture 

 a substantial claim on the appointment, he refused to touch the seals 

 until, " for his Majesty's honour," they were accompanied by a pension 

 of 2000/. a year. As a judge, he was almost invariably in favour of 

 the prerogative, and seldom if ever endangered his influence at court 

 by his independence. A bolder and still less scrupulous instrument 

 of power was however gradually undermining him in his latter days 

 in the person of Jeffreys, who e ascendancy and presumption seem to 

 have completely broken the spirit of the lord keeper. He died on the 

 5th of September 1685. He was, in private life, a moral man even for 

 an ordinary age, and a miracle in the reign of Charles II. On his 

 professional merits, Lord Campbell emphatically says, " He had as 

 much law as he could contain, but he was incapable of taking an 

 enlarged and commanding view of any subject." 



( North, Liwt of tin fforlht; Campbell, Lira ufthe Chanccllori,vol. iii.) 



NORTH, SIR DUDLEY, the third son of Dudley, Lord N..rth, 

 Boron of Kelting, was born on the 16th May 1641. In childhood he 

 was lively aud active, and having strayed from his custodiero, he was 

 stolen by a gipsy or beggar, and with difficulty recovered. He made 

 little progress in literary education, and his brother and biographer 

 tells us that he " had a strange bent to traffic, and while he was at 

 school, drove a subtle trade among the boys by buying and selling. 

 In short, it was considered that he had learning enough for a merchant, 

 but not phlegm enough for any sedentary profession, which judgment 

 of him was mode good by the event." Being " bound to a Turkey 

 merchant upon the ordinary terms to be sent abroad," he was sent as 

 supercargo to Archangel and Smyrna, He left an animated and 

 curious journal of hU voyage to Archangel, nnd his subsequent pro- 

 gress by Italy to Smyrna, published by his biographer. It is not the 

 production of a scholar, but it is full of amuving descriptions and 

 sagacious remarks. After a residence for some time, in Smyrna, where 

 be suffered from disease, he removed to a factory at Constantinople. 

 He acquired a knowledge of Turkish, of which he said "that for 

 scolding and ruling it was more apt than any other language." He 

 left some curious information about Turkish manners, particularly as 

 to the administration of justice, with which he had some practical 

 experience. His experience and observations are generally printed in v 

 his memoirs as he wrote them; hut on some occasions, when his 

 brother professes to render them in his own language, tho biographer 

 being a practicing Knglish barrister, makes a singular jumble of tho 

 Turkish administration by putting his allusions to it into the technical 

 phraseology of the English law. 



Very few dates are given in his biography, bnt it is stated that 

 Dudley on his way home having touched at Smyrna, left that place on 

 25th March 1580. He wrote, as to his journey homeward, a ' Voyage 

 from Smyrna, with an Account of Turkey, en: .ttera little 



known in Europe,' left unfinished. He spent his latter yoars in 

 London. Soon after his return he was chosen sheriff, and knighted, 



