ELLEEAY. 149 



Robertson's* infinite delight ;" " the next day De Quincey and Wil- 

 liam Garnet dined with me here, Billy and Mrs. Balmer officiating." 

 He adds, "Party here very agreeable," which one can well believe. 

 " To-morrow," he goes on, " Garnet, Robertson, and self take coach 

 to Keswick, and thence proceed to Buttermere and Ennerdale. I 



* His friend Patrick, afterwards Lord Robertson, one of the most witty and warm-hearted of 

 men. He was born m 1793; called to the Scotch bar in 1815; elected Dean of Faculty in 1842; 

 raised to the bench in 1843; died in 1S55. Lockhart wrote many a rhyming epitaph upon him, 

 one of which is quoted elsewhere. On another occasion, he is reported to have written, " Peter 

 Kobertson is ' a man' " to use his own favorite quotation, " cast in Nature's amplest mould. He is 

 admitted to be the greatest corporation lawyer at the Scotch bar ; and he is a vast poet as well as 

 a great lawyer. Silence, gentlemen, for a song by Peter Eobertson : — 



" Come listen all good gentlemen of every degree ; 

 Come listen all ye lady -birds, come listen unto me; 

 Come listen all you laughing ones, come listen all ye grave ; 

 Come listen all and every one, while I do sing a stave. 



" One morning, I remember me, as I did lay in bed, 

 I feJt a strange sensation come a throbbing through my head; 

 And I thought unto myself, thinks I, Where was it I did dine? 

 With whom ? Oh, I recall the name, — 'twas Baron Brandy wine. 



" Let me see : Oh, after turtle we had punch, the spirits' rain, 

 And, if I'm not mistaken, we had iced hock and champagne, 

 And sundry little sundries, all which go to make one merry, 

 An intervening toss, or so, of some superb old sherry. 



" Well, then, to be dramatic, wo must needs imbibe a dram 

 (A very sorry sort of pun — the perpetrator Sam) ; 

 And then to port and claret with great industry we fell, 

 Which, sooth to say, appeared to suit our party pretty well. 



" Then biscuits all bedevilled we designedly did munch, 

 To gain a proper relish for that glorious bowl of punch, 

 But after that I cannot say that I remember much, 

 Except a hiccup-argument 'bout Belgium and the Dutch. 



" Such were my recollections, and such I sing to you, 

 Good gentlemen and lady-birds — upon my soul it's true; 

 And if you wish to bear away the moral of my song, 

 It's this — for all your headaches let the reasons still be strong." 



" Oh, Petrus, Pedro, Peter, which you will, 

 Long, long thy radiant destiny fulfil, 

 Bright be thy wit, and bright the golden ore, 

 Paid down in fees for thy deep legal lore. 

 Bright be thy claret, brisk be thy champagne, 

 Thy whiskey-punch a vast, exhaustless main, 

 With thee disporting on its joyous shore, 

 Of that glad spirit quaffing ever more. 

 Keen be thy stomach, potent thy digestion, 

 And long thy lectures on 'the general question,' 

 While young and old swell out the general strain, 

 We ne'er shall look upon his like again." 



