160 KEVISING BARRISTER 



One of these worthies I remember superintending the 

 revision of the votes for the borough ; and my vote, 

 among others, having been objected to, prompted the 

 barrister who stood by his side — a man of literary celebrity 

 — to ask me if I had ever been at Rome. Surprised at 

 such a question, as foreign to the purpose, and somewhat 

 thrown oif my guard, I answered, " No." 



"But you have written about Rome," said he, "and 

 therefore I conclude you must have been there." 



Seeing by the smirking smile of his adviser that the 

 two were endeavouring to raise a laugh at my expense in 

 consequence of their having been disappointed in their 

 object, which was to disqualify me — " It is true," I said, 

 " I have written of Rome, but it does not follow that I 

 should have been there. You, I believe, have written of 

 Ten Thousand a Year, but it does not necessarily follow 

 that you ever did, or ever will, possess such an income, 

 either from your professional or your literary exertions." 



This retort — a thing in which I was by no means an 

 adept — had the desired effect, and put a stop to the 

 impertinent allusions of my querists. 



But it would be doing an injustice to the town and to 

 the profession were I to omit due mention of the worthy. 

 There are, no doubt, men of high honour and principle 

 among them — gentlemen in the real sense of that word — 

 who would scorn to descend to the machinations that are 

 productive of so much evil to many a noble family, such 

 sorrow to parents, and such gross scandal to the University. 

 And the evil does not rest here, but spreads its baneful 

 influence over other orders of this motley community. 

 Besides bill-discounters and money-lenders at exorbitant 



