Tri. To study the law Old F. The law ! Tri. I am most resolutely bent on following that profession. Tri. Absolutely and irrevocably fixed. Old F. Better and better! I am overjoyed. Why, 't is the very thing I wished. Now I am happy! [Tristram makes gestures as if speaking.] See how his mind is engaged! Tri. Gentlemen of the Jury Old F. Why, Tristram ! Tri. This is a cause Old F. O, my dear boy! I forgive you all your tricks. I see something about you now that I can depend on. [Tristram continues making gestures.] Tri. I am for the plaintiff in this cause Old F. Bravo! bravo! books, directly! Tri. "T is done, Sir. Old F. What, already! Excellent boy! I'll go and order your Tri. I ordered twelve square feet of books, when I first thought of embracing the arduous profession of the law. Old F. What, do you mean to read by the foot? Tri. By the foot, Sir; that is the only way to become a solid lawyer. Old F. Twelve square feet of learning! Well Tri. I have likewise sent for a barber Old F. A barber! What, is he to teach you to shave close? Tri. He is to shave one-half of my head, Sir. Old F. You will excuse me if I cannot perfectly understand what that has to do with the study of the law. Tri. Did you never hear of Demosthenes, Sir, the Athenian orator? He had half his head shaved, and locked himself up in a coalcellar. Old F. Ah, he was perfectly right to lock himself up, after having undergone such an operation as that. He certainly would have made rather an odd figure abroad. Tri. I think I see him now, awaking the dormant patriotism of his countrymen, lightning in his eye, and thunder in his voice; he pours forth a torrent of eloquence, resistless in its force; the throne of Philip trembles while he speaks; he denounces, and indignation fills the bosom of his hearers; he exposes the impending danger, and every one sees impending ruin; he threatens the tyrant, they grasp their swords; he calls for vengeance, their thirsty weapons glitter in the air, and thousands reverberate the cry! One soul animates a nation, and that soul is the soul of the orator! Old F. O, what a figure he will make on the King's Bench! But, come, I will tell you now what my plan is, and then you will see how happily this determination of yours will further it. You have [Tristram makes extravagant gestures, as if speaking] often heard me speak of my friend Briefwit, the barrister Tri. Who is against me in this cause Old F. Zounds! he does n't hear a word I say! Why, Tristram! Tri. I beg your pardon, Sir; I was prosecuting my studies. Old F. Now, attend Tri. As my learned friend observes attention. Old F. Well, my friend the counsellor Go on, Sir; I am all Tri. Say learned friend, if you please, Sir. We gentlemen of the law always Old F. Well, well, - my learned friend Old F. Will you listen, and be silent? Old F. My friend, I say, has a ward who is very handsome, and who has a very handsome fortune. She would make you a charming wife. Tri. This is an action Old F. Now, I have hitherto been afraid to introduce you to my friend, the barrister, because I thought your lightness and his gravityTri. Might be plaintiff and defendant. Old F. But now you are grown serious and steady, and have resolved to pursue his profession, I will shortly bring you together; you will obtain his good opinion, and all the rest follows, of course. Tri. A verdict in my favor. Old F. You marry and sit down, happy for life, Tri. In the King's Bench. Old F. Bravo! Ha, ha, ha! But now run to your study-run to your study, my dear Tristram, and I'll go and call upon the counsellor. Tri. I remove by habeas corpus. Old F. Pray have the goodness to make haste, then. [Hurrying him off.] [Exit.] Tri. Gentlemen of the Jury, this is a cause Old F. The inimitable boy! I am now the happiest father living. What genius he has! He'll be lord chancellor, one day or other, I dare be sworn. I am sure he has talents! O, how I long to see him at the bar! 43. SALADIN, MALEK ADHEL, ATTENDANT. -New Monthly Magazine. Attendant. A stranger craves admittance to your highness. Atten. That I know not. Sal. Whom? Atten. Thy royal brother! Sal. Bring him instantly. [Exit Attendant.] Now, with his specious, smooth, persuasive tongue, Fraught with some wily subterfuge, he thinks To dissipate my anger. He shall die! [Enter Attendant and Malek Adhel.] Leave us together. [Exit Attendant.] [Aside.] I should know that form. Now summon all thy fortitude, my soul, Nor, though thy blood cry for him, spare the guilty! [Aloud.] Well, stranger, speak; but first unveil thyself, For Saladin must view the form that fronts him. Malek Adhel. Behold it, then! Sal. I see a traitor's visage. Mal. Ad. A brother's! Sal. No! Saladin owns no kindred with a villain. Mal. Ad. O, patience, Heaven! Had any tongue but thine Uttered that word, it ne'er should speak another. Sal. And why not now? Can this heart be more pierced O, thou hast made a desert of this bosom! Mal. Ad. Thou art softened; - I am thy brother, then; but late thou saidst Sal. Was it traitor? True! Thou hast betrayed me in my fondest hopes! But on this breaking heart the name is stamped, Thinkest thou I'm softened? By Mohammed! these hands Fall from them at thy fate! O, monster, monster! The brute that tears the infant from its nurse Is excellent to thee, for in his form The impulse of his nature may be read; Mal. Ad. Go on! go on ! "T is but a little while to hear thee, Saladin; And, bursting at thy feet, this heart will prove Its penitence, at least. Sal. That were an end Too noble for a traitor! The bowstring is A more appropriate finish! Thou shalt die! Mal. Ad. And death were welcome at another's mandate! If that, in all thy armies, can be found Sal. O, doubt it not! They 're eager for the office. Perfidy, So black as thine, effaces from their minds All memory of thy former excellence. Mal. Ad. Defer not, then, their wishes. Saladin, If e'er this form was joyful to thy sight, This voice seemed grateful to thine ear, accede To my last prayer: O, lengthen not this scene, Sal. This very hour! [Aside.] For, O! the more I look upon that face, The more I hear the accents of that voice, The monarch softens, and the judge is lost In all the brother's weakness; yet such guilt, And vengeance it shall have! What, ho! who waits there? [Enter Attendant.] Atten. Did your highness call? My forces in the court. Tell them they come To view the death of yonder bosom-traitor. And, bid them mark, that he who will not spare His brother when he errs, expects obedience, Silent obedience, from his followers. [Exit Attendant.] Mal. Ad. Now, Saladin, The word is given; I have nothing more Without thy love, thy honor, thy esteem, Thinkest thou, thy slumbers render quieter, Thy waking thoughts more pleasing, to reflect, Thy harshness made him carry to the grave? Sal. Speak, then; but ask thyself if thou hast reason To look for much indulgence here. Mal. Ad. I have not! Yet will I ask for it. We part forever; This is our last farewell; the king is satisfied; O, torturing recollection! one kind word From the loved tongue which once breathed naught but kindness. Still silent? Brother! friend! beloved companion Of all my youthful sports! are they forgotten? Smile at my agonies! nor hear that voice Pronounce my doom, which would not say one word, For the last time, and call him Sal. [seizing his hand]. Brother! brother! Mal. Ad. [breaking away]. Now call thy followers, |