c o 
ton, who were brought to the bar in' Weftminlter-hall, 
before the louls commiffioned for their trial, February 19, 
1600. After he had laid open the nature of the treafon, 
and the many obligations the earl of-Effex was under to 
queen Elizabeth, he is faid to have clofed with thefe 
words, that, “ by the juft judgment of Gcd he of his 
earldom fhould be Robert the laft, who of a kingdom 
thought to be Robert the firft.” 
In May 1603 lie was knighted by king James; and the 
fame year managed the trial of fir Whiter Raleigh at Win- 
chefttr, whither' the term was adjourned on account of 
the plague being in London. He lefi'ened himfelf greatly 
in the opinion of the world, by his treatment of that un¬ 
fortunate gentleman ; for he exerted a fury and fcurrility 
of language againft him hardly to be paralleled. The 
refentment of the public was fo conlpicuous on this oc- 
cafion, that Shakelpeare, in his comedy of the “ Twelfth 
Night,” hints at this cruel behaviour of fir Edward Coke 
at Raleigh’s trial; but which that great lawyer generally 
exerciftd towards the unfortunate. He was likewile re¬ 
proached with this in a letter which fir Francis Bacon 
wrote to him after his own fail, wherein we have the fol¬ 
lowing palf.ige : “ As your pleadings were wont to infuJt 
our milery, and inveigh literally againft the perfon, I’o 
are you (till careleis in this point, to praife and difgrace 
upon flight grounds, and that luddenly; fo that your 
reproofs or commendations are for the molt part neglefited 
and contemned, when the cenfure of a judge coming (low, 
but lure, fhould be a brand to the guilty, and a crown 
to the virtuous. You vv 11 jeft at any 'man in public, 
without any refpefit to the perlon’s dignity or your own. 
This, d.i(graces your gravity more than it can advance the 
opinion of your wit; and lo do all your afilions, which 
we fee you do direfitly with a touch of vain-glory. You 
make the laws too much lean to your opinion, whereby 
you lliew yourlelf to be a legal tyrant, &c.” January 27, 
1606, at the 1 trial of the gunpowder confpirators, and 
.March 2S following, at the trial of the jsfuit Garnet, he 
made two very elaborate fpeeches, which were foon after 
pubiifned in quaito, 1606. Cecil, earl of Salifbury, ob¬ 
served in his fpcech upon the latter trial, “ that the evi¬ 
dence had been fo well diftributed and opened by the at¬ 
torney-general, that he had neverheard fuch a mals of mat¬ 
ter better contracted, nor made more intelligible to the 
jury.” This appears to have been really true; fo true, 
that many to this day efteem this laft fpeech, efpecially, 
his mafterpiece. 
It was probably in reward for this fervice, that he was 
appointed lord chief jullice of the common-pleas. The 
motto he gave upon his rings, when he was called to the 
degree of lerjeant, in order to qualify him for this pro¬ 
motion, was, Lex cjl tutijfima cajfis ; “ the law is the fafeft 
helmet.” October 25, 1613, he was made lord chief juf- 
tice of the king’s bench ; and in November was (worn cf 
his majefty’s privy-council. In 1615, the king delibe¬ 
rating upon the choice of a lord chancellor, when that 
poll Ihould Become vacant by the death or refignation of 
Egerton lord Eilefmere, fir Francis Bacon wrote to his 
majefty a letter upon that iubjecf, wherein he has the fol¬ 
lowing paffage, relating to the lord chief jullice : “ If you 
take my lord Coke, this will follow; firft, your majefty 
fhall put an over-ruling nature into an over-ruling place, 
which may breed an extreme; next, you fhall blunt his 
induftries in matter of finances, which feemeth to. aim 
at another place; and, laftly, popular men are no fure 
mounters for your majefty’s laddie.” The difputes and 
animofities between thefe two great men are well known. 
They feem, as a certain writer observes", to have been 
perfonal ; and they lafted to the end of their lives. Coke 
was jealous of Bacon’s reputation in many parts of know¬ 
ledge; by whom again he was envied for the high repu¬ 
tation he had acquired in tine: each aiming to bead- 
mired particularly in that, in which the other excelled. 
Coke was the greatell lawyer of his time, but could 
be nothing more. If Bacon was not fo, we can aicnbe 
V0L0IV. No. 236. 
IC E. 
757 
it only to his aiming at too great an univerfality of 
learning. 
Sir Thomas Overbury’s murder in the Tower now broke 
out, at the diftance of two years after ; for Overbury died 
September 16, 1613, and the judicial proceedings againft 
his murderers did not commence till September, 1615. In 
this affair fir Edward a filed with great vigour, and, as 
fome think, in a manner highly to be commended ; yet 
his enemies, who were numerous, and had formed a de- 
fign to humble his pride and infolence, took occafion, 
from, certain circumflances, to reprefent him in a bad 
light both to the-king and people. Many circumflances 
concurred at this time to halien his fall. He was led to 
oppofe the king in a difpute relating to-his right of grant¬ 
ing commendams ; and James, did not like to have his 
prerogative difputed, even in cafes where it might well 
be quellioned. He had a contell with the lord-chancellor 
Egerton, in which it is univerfally allowed that he was 
much to be blamed. Sir Edward, as a certain hiltorian 
informs us, had heard and determined a cafe at common 
law; after which it was reported that there had been 
juggling. The defendant had prevailed with the plain¬ 
tiff’s principal witnefs not to attend, or give any evidence 
in the caufe, provided he could he excelled. One of the 
defendant's agents undertook to excule him; and, carrying 
the man to a tavern, called for a gallon of fa ok, and 
bade him drink. As foon as he had put his lips to the 
liquor, the defendant’s agent quitted the room. When 
this witnefs was called, the court was informed that he 
was unable to come; to prove which, this agent was 
produced, who depofed, “ that he left him drinking in 
fuch a condition, that if he continued in it but a quarter 
of an hour, he was a dead man.” For want of that per- 
fon’s teftimony the caufe was loft, and a verdifil given for 
the defendant. The plaintiffs, finding themfelves injured, 
carried the bufinefs into chancery; but the defendants, 
having had judgment at common law, refrfed to obey 
the orders of that court. Upon this, the lord chancellor 
committed them to prifon for contempt of the cour t: the)' 
petitioned againft him in the liar-chamber; the lord chief 
juftice Coke joined with them, fomented the difference, 
and threatened the lord chancellor with a premunire. The 
chancellor then made the king acquainted with the bu- 
finels; who, after conl’ulting fir Francis. Bacon, then his 
attorney general, and fome other lawyers upon the af¬ 
fair, jultified the lord chancellor, and gave a proper re¬ 
buke to Coke. 
Roger Coke gives a different account of the occafion 
of the chief jullice’s difgrace ; and informs us, that he 
was one of. the firft who felt the effefils of the power of 
the rifing favourite, Villiers, afterwards duke of Buck¬ 
ingham. The author of the notes on Wiiion’s Life of 
James, publiflied in the fecond volume of Kennet's Com¬ 
plete Hiltory of England, tells us, “ that Sir Edward loft 
the king’s favour, and fome time after his place, for 
letting fall fome words upon one of the trials, importing 
his fufpicion that Overbury had been poifoned to prevent 
the difcovery of another crime of the fame nature, com¬ 
mitted upon one of the higheft rank, whom he termed a 
fweet prince; which was taken to be meant of piince 
Henry.” Whatever were the caufes of his difgrace, which 
it is probable were many, he was brought upon his knees 
before the council at Whitehall, June, 1616 ; and offences 
were charged upon him by Yelverton, the folicitor-gene- 
ral, implying, amongll other things,, fpeeches of high 
contempt uttered in the feat oi juftice, and uncomely 
and undutiful carriage in the prefence of the king, the 
privy council, and judges. Soon after, he prefentcd him¬ 
felf again at the council-table upon his knees, when fe- 
cretary Winwood informed him, that report had been 
made to his"majefty of what had palled there before, to¬ 
gether with the anfwer that he had given, and that too 
In the moil favourable manner; .that his majefty was no 
ways latisfied with refpefit to any of the heads ; but that 
notwithftanding, as well out of ins own clemency, as in 
9 G regard 
