was so husky and choked with phlegm, that it refused utterance to the sentiments which were dictated by his superior intelligence. In consequence of this physical impediment, he lay always under a necessity of involuntarily announcing his intention to address the house, some time before he actually rose, by the repeated attempts which he made to clear his throat. But all these imperfections and defects of configuration were obliterated by the ability which he displayed. In spite of the monotony of his tones, and his total want of animation, as well as grace, yet so powerful was reason when flowing from his lips, that every murmur became hushed, and every ear attentive. It seemed, nevertheless, the acute sophistry of a lawyer, rather than the speech of a man of the world, or the eloquence of a man of letters and education. Every sentence, though admirable in itself, yet resembled more the pleading of the bar than the oratory of the senate; so difficult is it for the most enlightened intellect to throw off the habit of a profession. Dunning neither delighted nor entertained his hearers; but he subdued them by his powers of argumentative ratiocination, which have rarely been exceeded. They soon afterwards raised him to the peerage, and just in time to attain that elevation, as his constitution speedily sunk under accumulated disorders, which hurried him prematurely to the grave. This extraordinary man, who was not exempt from great infirmity of mind, felt or perceived so little his corporeal deficiencies as to consider his person with extraordinary predilection. Fond of viewing his face in the glass, he passed no time more to his satisfaction than in decorating himself for his appearance in the world. He and Barré, who were fellow-labourers in the same vineyard, represented likewise the same borough, Calne, and belonged or at least looked up to the same political chief, Lord Shelburne. They, consequently, were animated by no common principle of union or of action with Fox and Burke, except one, that of overturning the administration. On all other points, a secret jealousy and X rivalry subsisted between the adherents of the Shelburne and the Rockingham parties." "'* - In his speech to the electors of Bristol, Mr. Burke, in referring to Sir George Savile's bill for relieving the catholics, pronounced the following panegyric upon Mr. Dunning: "The seconder was worthy of the mover and the motion: I was not the seconder; it was Mr. Dunning, recorder of this city. I shall say the less of him, because his near relation to you makes you more particularly acquainted with his merits. But I should appear little acquainted with them, or little sensible of them, if I could utter his name on this occasion without expressing my esteem for his character. I am not afraid of offending a most learned body, and most jealous of its reputation for that learning, when I say he is the first of his profession. It is a point settled by those who settle every thing else; and I must add (what I am enabled to say from my own long and close observation), that there is not a man of any profession, or in any situation, of a more erect and independent spirit, of a more proud honour, a more manly mind, a more firm and determined integrity." + SIR WILLIAM JONES. WILLIAM JONES, whose reputation as a lawyer has been almost forgotten in his skill as a linguist, and in his extensive and elegant acquirements as a scholar, was born in London in the year 1746. His father was a person of much information and of considerable celebrity as a man of science, and had acquired the friendship of Newton and other distinguished persons of his day. He died about three years after the birth of his son William, who was left to the care of his mother, a woman of * Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 41. + Burke's Works, vol. ii. p. 300. 2d ed. strong mind and great good sense, who devoted herself with affectionate zeal to the performance of this duty, Rejecting altogether the system of severity which was at that period so much in vogue, she taught her son to love instruction by rendering it pleasant to him. Her prin cipal endeavour was to instil into him a desire for information, and to his incessant questions her answer invariably was, read, and you will know: a maxim to which, in after life, he often acknowledged his obligations. Having thus imbibed from his mother an early taste for literature, he was placed, in the year 1753, at Harrow-school, then under the superintendence of Dr. Thackeray. During the first two years of his residence at Harrow, he was distinguished rather by his diligence than by the superiority of his talents. At the end of that period he had the misfortune to break his thighbone, an accident which detained him at home for up wards of a year. But this period was not mispent. His excellent mother was his constant companion; and under her care he became acquainted with some of our best English writers. On his return to school, he was placed in the same class in which he would have stood had not his studies been interrupted; a circumstance which stimulated his industry, and developed the extraordinary powers of acquisition with which he was gifted. His progress was now rapid; and in his twelfth year he was removed into the upper school, where he distinguished himself by the performance of various exercises not required by the discipline of the school. He made copious translations, into English verse, of the Latin poets; and at this early age composed a dramatic piece on the story of Meleager, which was acted by himself and his schoolfellows. So great was his diligence, that he devoted to study many of the hours usually allotted to recreation; and his acquirements were consequently such as to attract the attention of the masters, and the admiration of his associates. Amongst the latter, Dr. Bennett, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, and the celebrated Dr. Parr, were his most intimate friends. The former has drawn a pleasing sketch of Sir William Jones's character at this period. "I knew him from the age of eight or nine years, and he was always an uncommon boy. Great abilities, great particularity of thinking, fondness for writing verses and plays of various kinds, and a degree of integrity and manly courage, of which I remember instances, distinguished him even at that period. I loved him, and revered him; and, though one or two years older than he was, was always instructed by him from my earliest age." Dr. Thackeray's opinion of the capacity and talents of his pupil was expressed in terms equally strong. "So active," he said, "was the mind of Jones, that if he were left, naked and friendless, on Salisbury Plain, he would, nevertheless, find the road to fame and riches." The zeal and industry of young Jones were such during the latter part of his residence at Harrow, that he frequently devoted the night to study, taking coffee and tea as an antidote to drowsiness; till at length, his eyesight being affected, such close application to his studies was forbidden. In the seventeenth year of his age, his mother determined to remove him to the university, though strongly advised by Mr. Serjeant Prime and others of her friends to place him at that early age under the superintendence of some eminent special pleader. Accordingly, in the spring of 1764, he was entered at University College, Oxford; but the course of study, at that time pursued there, by no means satisfied his expectations. Instead, therefore, of confining himself to the usual discipline of the college, he continued the course of classical reading which had become so grateful to him during his pupilage at Harrow; and also employed a considerable portion of his time in those oriental studies for which he was afterwards so much celebrated. Having discovered a native of Aleppo in London, he persuaded him to change his residence to Oxford, and with his assistance he mastered the Arabic, and subsequently the Persic. His vacations were generally spent in London, where he frequented the fencing school of Angelo; while at home, his time was occupied in the perusal of the best authors in the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. Although Mr. Jones had, shortly after his arrival at the university, been unanimously elected one of the four scholars on the foundation of Sir Simon Bennett, and looked forward with confidence to the prospect of a fellowship at some distant period, yet the smallness of his fortune induced him to accede to an offer made to him on behalf of Lord Spencer to become private tutor to his son Lord Althorpe, at that time only seven years of age. Soon after the acceptance of this offer he was elected fellow on the foundation of Sir Simon Bennett. While in attendance upon his pupil at Althorpe and in London, Mr. Jones continued to prosecute his oriental studies; and when yet in the 21st year of his age he commenced his Commentaries on Asiatic Poetry. In the year 1767, he accompanied the family of Lord Spencer on a continental tour; and while at Spa, with that versatility of accomplishment which was a distinguishing feature of his mind, he availed himself of the services of Janson, a celebrated dancing-master. He continued to reside for several years in the family of Lord Spencer, and at Harrow with his pupil, during which time he formed some valuable friendships, especially with a distinguished oriental scholar, Count Reviczki, afterwards the imperial minister at Warsaw, and ambassador at the court of England. During the same period also he translated into French the Life of Nadir Shah from the Persian, a task which he undertook by the desire of the King of Denmark. In the year 1770, Mr. Jones was induced, by the advice of his friends, who were anxious that his fine talents should have an adequate field for their display, to resign his situation as tutor to Lord Althorpe, and to apply himself to the study of the law. He had, a few years before, been led by curiosity to peruse the treatise of Fortescue, De Laudibus Legum Anglia, which appears to |