قراءة كتاب The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction Volume 17, No. 496, June 27, 1831

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The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction
Volume 17, No. 496, June 27, 1831

The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction Volume 17, No. 496, June 27, 1831

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debater. In so many details (which he himself goes through with unwearied and unshrinking resolution) the spirit of the question is lost to others who have not the same voluntary power of attention or the same interest in hearing that he has in speaking; the original impulse that urged him forward is forgotten in so wide a field, in so interminable a career. If he can, others cannot carry all he knows in their heads at the same time; a rope of circumstantial evidence does not hold well together, nor drag the unwilling mind along with it (the willing mind hurries on before it, and grows impatient and absent)—he moves in an unmanageable procession of facts and proofs, instead of coming to the point at once—and his premises (so anxious is he to proceed on sure and ample grounds) overlay and block up his conclusion, so that you cannot arrive at it, or not till the first fury and shock of the onset is over. The ball, from the too great width of the calibre from which it is sent, and from striking against such a number of hard, projecting points, is almost spent before it reaches its destination. He keeps a ledger or a debtor-and-creditor account between the government and the country, posts so much actual crime, corruption, and injustice against so much contingent advantage or sluggish prejudice, and at the bottom of the page brings in the balance of indignation and contempt, where it is due. But people are not to be calculated into contempt or indignation on abstract grounds; for however they may submit to this process where their own interests are concerned, in what regards the public good we believe they must see and feel instinctively, or not at all. There is (it is to be lamented) a good deal of froth as well as strength in the popular spirit, which will not admit of being decanted or served out in formal driblets; nor will spleen (the soul of opposition) bear to be corked up in square patent bottles, and kept for future use!

"Mr. Brougham speaks in a loud and unmitigated tone of voice, sometimes almost approaching to a scream. He is fluent, rapid, vehement, full of his subject, with evidently a great deal to say, and very regardless of the manner of saying it. As a lawyer, he has not hitherto been remarkably successful. He is not profound in cases and reports, nor does he take much interest in the peculiar features of a particular cause, or show much adroitness in the management of it. He carries too much weight of metal for ordinary and petty occasions: he must have a pretty large question to discuss, and must make thorough-stitch work of it. Mr. Brougham writes almost, if not quite, as well as he speaks. In the midst of an election contest he comes out to address the populace, and goes back to his study to finish an article for the Edinburgh Review, sometimes indeed wedging three or four articles (in the shape of refaccimentos of his own pamphlets or speeches in parliament) into a single number. Such indeed is the activity of his mind that it appears to require neither repose, nor any other stimulus than a delight in its own exercise. He can turn his hand to any thing, but he cannot be idle. There are few intellectual accomplishments which he does not possess, and possess in a very high degree. He speaks French (and, we believe, several other modern languages) fluently: is a capital mathematician, and obtained an introduction to the celebrated Carnot in this latter character, when the conversation turned on squaring the circle, and not on the propriety of confining France within the natural boundary of the Rhine. Mr. Brougham is, in fact, a striking instance of the versatility and strength of the human mind, and also in one sense of the length of human life, if we make a good use of our time. There is room enough to crowd almost every art and science into it. If we pass 'no day without a line,' visit no place without the company of a book, we may with ease fill libraries or empty them of their contents. Those who complain of the shortness of life, let it slide by them without wishing to seize and make the most of its golden minutes. The more we do, the more we can do; the more busy we are, the more leisure we have. Mr. Brougham, among other means of strengthening and enlarging his views, has visited, we believe, most of the courts, and turned his attention to most of the constitutions of the continent. He is, no doubt, a very accomplished, active-minded, and admirable person."

Lord Brougham married, in 1816, Mary Anne, relict of John Slade, Esq., of Hill street, Berkeley-square; by whom he has one daughter. Lady Brougham's maiden name was Eden: she is nearly related to the Auckland and Handley families. At her marriage with Mr. Slade, in 1808, she was accounted an extremely beautiful young woman; and she was still possessed of great personal charms at the period of her second union. Lady Brougham had by her former marriage a son, who inherits his father's estate, and is an. officer in the army, and a daughter. Lady Brougham brought no property to her husband but her jointure of £1,500 a-year, and the house No. 5, Hill-street.

Lord Brougham was born in 1779, and is, consequently, in his fifty-second year.

Footnote 1: (return)

We are aware of having already quoted these particulars, from the Spectator newspaper, at page 412 of the Mirror, vol. xvi. but their repetition here is essential to the completeness of the present Memoir. Of Lord Brougham's family, in connexion with Brougham Castle, in Westmoreland, there were many conflicting statements at the period of his lordship's elevation to the peerage towards the close of last year. The Chancellor is said to have had a latent claim as heir-general to the Barony of Vaux, (whose arms are to be seen on the tower of Brougham Castle,) and hence his creation by that title. Some exclusive information, obligingly furnished, (at the Chancellor's request, in reply to our application) by a relative of his lordship, will also be found at length in the Mirror, vol. xvi. but for the reader's convenience we quote its substance: "Before the time of the Norman Conquest, the manor and lordship of Brougham (then called Burgham) were held by the Saxon family of de Burgham, from whom the Lord Chancellor is lineally descended. After the Conquest, William the Norman granted to Robert de Veteripont, or Vipont, extensive rights and territories in Westmoreland; and among others, some oppressive rights of seigniory over the manor of Brougham, then held by Walter de Burgham. To relieve the estate of such services, Gilbert de Burgham, in the reign of King John, agreed to give up absolutely one-third part of his estate to Robert de Veteripont, and also the advowson of the rectory of Brougham. This third comprises the land upon which the castle is built, and the estate afterwards given by Anne Countess of Pembroke, (heiress of Veteripont,) to the Hospital of Poor Widows at Appleby. Brougham Castle, if not built, was much extended by Veteripont; and afterwards still more enlarged by Roger Clifford, who succeeded, by marriage, to the Veteripont possessions. The manor house, about three quarters of a mile from the castle, continued in the Brougham family; and part of it, especially the gateway, is supposed to be of Saxon architecture: at all events, it is the earliest Norman. The chapel is also old, except the roof, which was renewed in the year 1659. In the year 1607, Thomas Brougham, then Lord of the Manor of Brougham, died without issue male, and the estate was sold to one Bird, who was steward of the Clifford family; the heir male of the Brougham family then residing at Scales Hall, in Cumberland. About 1680, John Brougham of Scales, re-purchased the estate and manor of Brougham from Bird's grandson and entailed it on his nephew, from whom it

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