VI PREFACE. 



The old adage, that "All work and no play makes Jack a dull 

 boy," is as trite as it is true nunc, et semper, et in scecula. 



I am borne out in these views by precedent from the Greeks and 

 Romans, who equalized their time for studying 1 the arts and sciences 

 which elevate the mind, with manly sports which invigorate the 

 body. 



If I wanted a modern precedent for the purpose of proving' that a 

 taste for sporting pursuits is entirely consistent with the dignity of a 

 barrister, I mig'ht allude to the well-known fact, that many of our ablest 

 lawyers have been among the keenest sportsmen of their time j and 

 at the present day, the Bench and the Bar are adorned with several 

 such distinguished individuals : not the least in importance among 

 whom is, our venerable and active Lord Chancellor : who, if report 

 says truly, is so well skilled in the science of the trigger, that he 

 occasionally brings down the stag at a distance of two or three 

 hundred paces. Surely, then, one of his youngest brethren " in 

 stuff," who, although he shoots with a larger gun, has not yet 

 acquired so long a range, may be forgiven for a rare wild-goose 

 chace in the " daft" days of merry yule. 



Influenced by considerations such as these, I fearlessly and undis- 

 guisedly submit the following pages to the hands of a generous- 

 minded and discerning public. 



London, August 31> ; 1859. 



