^T. 3>-j - EARL GREY. 269 



making him retract and behave as shabbily as lie had 

 at first been bullying. I was counsel for a man who 

 had published a blasphemous book, and Lord Ellen- 

 borough made a clumsy attempt at mixing me up 

 with the man and his opinions. I instantly fired into 

 him, told him I understood his insinuation, that no 

 man should dare utter such things without instant 

 and public contradiction, and that I told him in the 

 face of the court and the world that the insinuation 

 was false (or utterly groundless, I forget the word). 

 He was as meek as a lamb, and said he had used no 

 insinuation, and tried to explain it away. But I 

 would not allow him ; and I again gave him the flat 

 contradiction as loud as I could roar it out, appealing 

 to the court and the bar, and saying that I should 

 defend my character and my profession as long as I 

 could utter. He knocked under, and I enjoyed the 

 satisfaction of having the united voice of the bar 

 loudly with me; and afterwards I concluded my speech 

 with again recurring to it, and dealing out to Ellen- 

 borough and Garrow, as well as to the Saints, a good 

 round thrashing, talked about their canting, their 

 bawling out their faith, and their making godliness 

 a great gain. 



"It is fit you should know these matters, as the 

 papers dare not publish all I said, and Perry and the 

 enemy will of course misrepresent it. I may add that 

 I previously warned Wilberforce that if the prosecu- 

 tion went on they must expect severe handling, and 

 that the work in question (of which the author has 

 been long dead) could only be circulated or known by 

 such proceedings. They were aware of their danger, 

 and now, I believe, blame themselves. 



