THE STORY OF MY LEGAL EXAMINATION. 209 



prospect he held out was a brilliant one. " oMake a speech," 

 said he, rising with the occasion, for he was of a sanguine 

 temperament. " Everyone says ' clever, very clever : who is 

 he?' Then they all want to know you. Some question 

 arises, of importance ; you make another speech. Judges 

 immediately point you out as the rising man : then you get 

 into the House, make a hit there, your fortune's made, and 

 you're Lord Chancellor — the highest dignity in the kingdom." 



As he had evidently made up his mind as to my future 

 position, I could only try to see it in the same light, and 

 reply, "Yes," though I felt that unless there should be a 

 great change in the British Constitution, some considerable 

 time might elapse before he would see me on the woolsack. 

 This, however, I kept to myself, and admitted to my uncle 

 that my elevation to the chancellorship was not such a very 

 improbable thing after all. He then began to tell me stories 

 of chancellors who had begun life by sweeping out offices, or 

 as errand-boys, or by holding horses, until I secretly regretted 

 not having chosen the sweeping profession as the true road 

 to legal preferment. 



Being upon the subject, he pointed to the example of 

 Lord Chancellor Somebody, who was at the bar for ten 

 years without getting a brief, and was one day about to 

 throw up the profession in disgust, and enlist, when a brief 

 came, he spoke splendidly, and his fortune was made. I 

 realised myself in that portion of the history where he hadn't 

 any business ; but this I kept to myself. 



It was decided that I should go to the bar. The entrance 

 being obtained by either passing an examination, or attend- 



p 



