JET. 45.] POSITION WITH THE BAR. 459 



" Montholon has written an excellent letter to 

 O'Meara, saying he had done all he could to prevent 

 the Bertrands from getting into this sad scrape, so 

 ruinous to their character, but in vain ; and adding, 

 that Bertrand is to have a place through the interest 

 of Fitzjames. Yours ever, H. BROUGHAM." 



Before the spring circuit we had reason to believe 

 that Jonathan Eaine might leave it ; and if this hap- 

 pened, we should have been reduced to one silk gown 

 (Scarlett). The injury to many who were my seniors 

 in standing, as Pollock and others, was now becoming 

 so serious, that I was pressed to lay the matter before 

 Eldon, and to urge him to remedy the grievance. I 

 did this very reluctantly, but the evil was undeniable, 

 and the pressure upon me was too great to be resisted. 

 Accordingly I wrote to the Chancellor as follows : 



" LINCOLN'S INN, February 25, 1823. 



" MY LOKD, I take the liberty of calling your Lord- 

 ship's attention to the application which I formerly 

 made for a Patent of Precedence ; and I trust that 

 your Lordship will pardon me if I add a statement 

 of the reasons which induce me, upon the promotion 

 of Mr Sergeant Hullock, to pursue this course. 



" If my own convenieoce alone were in question, I 

 should not now trouble your Lordship ; but I am in- 

 duced to renew the application in consequence of the 

 injurious effects occasioned to others by my want of 

 standing, especially on the northern circuit, the incon- 

 venience to which clients are frequently subjected, and, 

 I may add, recommendations proceeding from a high 

 j udicial quarter, where those inconveniences are known. 



