A MONOMANIAC. 



91 



however, for the writ, making the 

 best use he could of the observations 

 in the brief. The judge was per- 

 fectly astonished, and the audience 

 amazed. The judge said, ' I never 

 heard of such a writ ; what can it 

 be that adheres pavimento ? Are 

 any of you gentlemen at the bar 

 able to explain this 1' The Bar 

 laughed. At last, one of them said, 

 ' My Lord, Mr. Boswell last night 

 adhcesit pavimento. There was no 

 moving him for some time. At 

 last, he was carried to bed, and he 

 has been dreaming about himself 

 and the pavement.' " 



PARLIAMENTARY REPRIMAND. 



In the reign of George II., one 

 Crowle, a counsel of some eminence, 

 made some observation before an 

 election committee, which was con- 

 sidered to reflect on the House it- 

 self. He was accordingly summoned 

 to appear at their bar ; and, on his 

 knees, he received a reprimand from 

 the Speaker. As he rose from the 

 floor, with the utmost nonchalance, 

 he took out his handkerchief, and 

 wiping his knees, coolly observed, 

 that " it was the dirtiest house he 

 had ever been in in his life." 



EQUIVOCAL ILLUSTRATION. 



Sir Fletcher Norton was noted 

 for his want of courtesy. When 

 pleading before Lord Mansfield on 

 some question of manorial right, 

 he chanced unfortunately to say : 

 "My Lord, I can illustrate the 

 point in an instance in my own 

 person : I myself have two little 

 manors." The judge immediately 

 interposed, with one of his blandest 

 smiles, " We all know it, Sir Flet- 

 cher." 



LORD ERSKINE'S POINTS. 

 A gentleman, who has examined 

 several of Lord Erskine's briefs, 

 states that the notes and interlinea- 

 tions were few, but that particular 

 parts were doubled down, and 



dashed with peculiar emphasis ; 

 his plan being to throw all his 

 strength upon the grand features of 

 the case, instead of frittering it 

 away upon details. 



LORD KENTON'S LAPSUS. 

 Lord Kenyon, on the trial of a 

 bookseller for publishing Paine's 

 Age of Reason, in his charge to the 

 jury, enumerated many celebrated 

 men who had been sincere Chris- 

 tians ; and, after having enforced 

 the example of Locke and Newton, 

 proceeded : " Nor, gentlemen, is 

 this belief confined to men of com- 

 parative seclusion, since men, the 

 greatest and most distinguished, 

 both as philosophers and as mo- 

 narchs, have enforced this belief, 

 and shown its influence by their 

 conduct. Above all, gentlemen, 

 need I name to you the Emperor 

 Julian, who was so celebrated for 

 the practice of every Christian 

 virtue^ that he was called Julian 

 the Apostle /" 



A MONOMANIAC. 



It is very well known that, by 

 the laws of England, the Lord- 

 Chancellor is held to be the guar- 

 dian of the persons and property 

 of all such individuals as are said 

 to be no longer of sound mind and 

 good disposing memory in fine, to 

 have lost their senses. Lord-Chan- 

 cellor Loughborough once ordered 

 to be brought to him a man against 

 whom his heirs wished to take out 

 a statute of lunacy. He examined 

 him very attentively, and put va- 

 rious questions to him, to all of 

 which he made the most pertinent 

 and apposite answers. "This man 

 mad ! thought he ; " verily, he is 

 one of the ablest men I ever met 

 with." Towards the end of his 

 examination, however, a little scrap 

 of paper, torn from a letter, was 

 put into Lord Loughborough's 

 hands, on which was written " Eze- 

 kiel." This was enough for such 



