Madame une telle, the wife of Monsieur un tel, exclusiveness are gone by in England; baron et banquier.'-Trollope, vol. ii. pp. 215, 216.

At least, however, they are free from morgue in their own circles, when every banking plebeian animal, that might come between the wind and their nobility, is shut out. Alas! those who indulge in such illusions need only turn to Mrs. Trollope's chapter on La Crème-an inner circle of exclusives who hold themselves ineffably superior to the rest.

A lady of very noble birth and large fortune' tells an acquaintance of Mrs. Trollope's that she would gladly pay onethird of her income to ensure her only daughter admission to La Crême. Another, similarly situated, makes the authoress her confidante:

"I would consent," said she, almost with tears in her eyes, "I would consent to do anything that could be proposed to me, could I at once see my daughters de la crême. . . Ah! c'est impossible pour une étrangère d'imaginer ce que c'est!"-vol. ii. p. 284.

An animated clever young man' of the set asks 'a lovely and high-born damsel,' not belonging to it, to dance. Three middle-aged married dancing ladies, crême de la crême, rush upon him :

***Have you asked the Countess **** de **** to dance?" inquired one of them. "Yes, I have!" was the bold reply. "You positively must not dance with her!" cried the three creamy fair ones in a breath—" at least, if you do, you will cease to be one

of us."

"What am I to say to her?" "6 Say to her!" ex claimed one of the trio,-a short round lady of thirtysix, pitted with the small-pox, and of very doubtful credit of any kind, excepting crême credit-" What are you to say to her?-say that you are engaged to dance with me." The young man looked enchanted of course, muttered something about a mistake to the fair young girl, and the next moment felt himself in possession of the full-blown honour and glory of spinning round the room with one of the ugliest women in it.'-vol. ii. pp. 285, 286.

and though it is obviously impossible to prevent any given number of persons from congregating and attempting to reestablish an oligarchy, we are quite sure that the attempt would be ineffectual, and that the sense of their importance would extend very little beyond the set. 'I banish you from Sinope-' 'And I condemn you to stay in it.'

Mrs. Trollope says, that 'an almost preternatural exaltation of the voice into a sharp shrill scream in addressing each other,' is the great external symbol of the clique, to which the ladies appear to attach the highest importance; yet in the teeth of this and her other revealings she declares,

'In no society can there be found a tone more entirely and beautifully devoid of affectation than in that of Vienna.'-vol. ii. p. 288.

At the same time we think it proper to declare that our comments are directed

rather against Mrs. Trollope's description of this society than the society itself: we cannot allow a false standard, injurious to our own countrymen and countrywomen, to be set up; but our own conviction is, that the Viennese nobility are really distinguished by that high-bred ease and independence of demeanour which their peculiar position is so well adapted to confer; and we suspect that Mrs. Trollope has been the subject of a mystification in more instances than one. For example:

'A young lady, who for the first time in her life was enjoying the honour of dancing in the presence of the empress, but who had not been elected crême, in the thoughtless and undiscriminating gaiety of her heart presented her outstretched hands to a gentleman who was.

'He stared at her for a moment in unmeasured amazement, and then dropped his eyes, and remained motionless as a petrified statue. The poor blushing girl turned to a second, but for her sins, poor child!

he too was crême of crême. . . . . .

"Moi!" he muttered with a sort of hysteric laugh, and, turning away, sheltered himself in earnest conversation with the lady of the clique who stood next to him.'-vol. ii. p. 286.

The very same thing happened a few years since at a watering-place in the west of England. The gentleman was a halfpay lieutenant, the lady the curate's daughter, and the cream' was principally composed of the families of two broken- We shall have her next mistaking the down baronets, a lieutenant-colonel on dos-à-dos figure in a quadrille for conhalf-pay, a retired wine-merchant, and an tempt. The dance in question was the ex-apothecary who had dubbed himself cotillon; and the supposed coldness or M.D. In most of our provincial towns rudeness of the cavalier a piece of playful the same absurdities are rife: even the coquetry. Her other dancing story is devoted district of Bloomsbury has its cream and so all-pervading is the taste for such distinctions, that we fear it is in the very nature of mankind to try and intrench themselves within the ideal circle of a caste. But the decline of Almack's is a clear proof that the palmy days of

VOL. LXV.

19

open to an obvious objection. On the continent everybody dances with everybody, without regard to rank or the cere mony of an introduction; but the acquaintanceship ends with the dance. No objection therefore could be made to a man's dancing with a girl on the ground

of her not belonging to his set; for the simple reason that it would mean nothing. The chief defect in Mrs. Trollope's admirable book on America was a tendency to mistake peculiarities of language and manners, common to every country in a given state of civilisation, for national ones. She has been guilty of the same error here:

'You must not, however, imagine that, because there is much of aristocratic exclusiveness here, the society is afflicted by the mildew of ceremonious stateliness. You could not adopt an opinion more foreign to the truth. The general tone, on the contrary, is that of more friendliness and ease than I remember anywhere. All the ladies address each other by their Christian names; and you may pass evening after evening, surrounded by princesses, countesses, &c., without ever hearing any other appellations than "Therese," "Flora," " Laura," or Pepé."-vol. ii.

forgiven now, both for the sake of the words, which to my mind have much wisdom in them, as well as be cause the speaker is one of those who must submit to have what they utter remembered.

'While talking of some of the strange blunders that had occasionally been made by politicians, he said, as nearly as I can recollect and translate the words (for he conversed with me in French), "I believe that the science of government might be reduced to principles as certain as those of chemistry, if men, instead of theorising, would only take the trouble patiently to observe the uniform results of similar combinations of circumstances."'-vol. ii. pp. 10. 11.

There is a fatality about Mrs. Trollope in this book. Her descriptions, as well as her theories, are almost invariably contradicted by her facts; and if Lawrence's portrait had not familiarised us with the prince's regular, expressive, finely-chiselled and genuinely aristocratic face, we should expect, after her flattering sketch, The simplicity of this remark reminds to see a dumpy, square-featured, vulgar

pp. 315, 316.

us of the traveller who expressed his as- looking man. If the above be a fair spetonishment at finding that even the little cimen of his colloquial excellence or pochildren in France spoke French. Mrs. litical sagacity, our illusion regarding Trollope may depend upon it that English both is over: but it is quite impossible duchesses and countesses are in all these that he could have recommended governWe would as particulars exceedingly like their sisters ing men in this manner. of Vienna. It is recorded indeed, by an mode of killing fleas is to take them by soon credit his telling her that the best down their throats, as lately recommendthe nape of the neck and pour prussic acid

American traveller, with wonder near akin to Mrs. Trollope's, that on the most splendid day of the Eglintoun tournament the Queen of Beauty, on her throne and ined in the Charivari. 'Instead of theoristhe very height of her magnificence, was distinctly called Georgy' by a lady who had not even the excuse of relationship for the 'audacity.'

Far the most prominent figure in the social group is Prince Metternich; and Mrs. Trollope says she had the good fortune to be honoured with a great deal of his society. The scene of her first interview is the English ambassador's :

ing, observe the uniform results of similar combinations;' and then do, what?-why Mrs. Trollope does not, that combinations theorise! Prince Metternich knows, if of circumstances never are similar, any more than human faces are alike. He is the very last man in Europe to entertain such doctrines; yet she coolly, though we believe unconsciously, fixes on him the very worst conceits of a Bentham or a Sieyes. Bentham's proposal for reducing 'At some word or signal given, Sir Frederick the credibility of witnesses to a science Lamb left the room and returned with a very lovely woman on his arm, followed by a gentleman whom was based on the same fallacy; and Sièyes the least observant eye that ever served "to guard actually supposed himself to have effected its master 'gainst a post" could not mistake for an or- what Prince Metternich is represented dinary mortal. I had expected to see not only a d s- propounding as a novelty. 'One day,' tinguished man, but one who bore the impress of being so on his brow, and neither the seeing nor hear- says Dumont, after breakfasting with M. ing Prince Metternich can ever have disappointed de Talleyrand, we were walking together any one; his whole person, countenance, and de- in the Tuileries: the Abbé Sièyes was meanour are indicative of high station, commanding more communicative than usual; he was intellect, and very finished elegance. He led me to in a fit of familiarity and openness, and, dinner, and I had the advantage of his conversation while it lasted; for the table was not only as round, after speaking of many of his works, his but as large as King Arthur's, rendering general con- studies, and his manuscripts, he made this versation of course impossible. Were I to tell you remark, which struck me:-"La politique what I thought of the quality of his conversation, you est une science que je crois avoir achevée.' might perhaps say that my admiration was the natural result of listening to opinions I approved: so I If he had but measured its forms-if he will for the present enjoy the recollection of all I had but conceived the extent and difficulheard in silence. Nevertheless, there was one ob

servation that I am tempted to record, despite my ty of a complete system of legislation—he usually firm resolution of never repeating "table- would not have held this language: pretalk" unless the names be withdrawn: but I must be sumption in this line, as in all others, is

the surest sign of ignorance."* We fully acquit Prince Metternich of any presumption of the sort.

3.

Second Reading of a Bill for the better Administration of Justice in the Court of Chancery. Ibid. 1836.

Letter to Viscount Melbourne on the Court of Chancery, and the appellate Ju risdiction of the House of Lords. By A. Lynch, Esq., M.P. 1836.

4. Suggestions for a Reform of the Proceedings in Chancery. By W. A. Garratt, M.A., Barrister. 1837.

5. On the Unsatisfactory State of the Court of Chancery. By G. Spence, Esq., Q. C. 1839.

6.

In Mrs. Trollope's grand political conclusion we perfectly agree. Though such a state of things may do very well for Austria, it does not follow that it would do very well, or do at all, for England; and we are by no means anxious to barter our birthright for a mess of pottage, even with the best possible securities for being allowed to finish it in peace. The epicurean philosophy is an exceedingly pleasant philosophy, but it is not the most elevating-Epicuri de grege porcus-and life has higher objects than the gratification of the senses, or the calm, unexciting, unambitious enjoyments of society. Milton, THE works whose titles we have transcribBacon, Shakspeare, Dante, Newton-ed would seem to demonstrate, if they do these are a few of the products of popular institutions and stirring times. Would it be better for the world if they had been clipped or pressed down to the dead level of mediocrity?

First Address to the Public on the Court of Chancery. By the Same. 1839. 7. Second Address. 1839.

nothing else, the existence of a general conviction amongst well-informed and able men, that considerable reforms are required in our courts of equity, and that the time is fast approaching when some attempt to carry them into effect must be made by the legislature. Indeed one should think that it was only necessary to lay the actual state of the matter before the intelligent people of this country, in order to ensure success to almost any measure for curing or even mitigating the evils which exist." Yet we are by no means confident that this will be the case; for it is one of the remarkable features of our times, that whilst men are in a state of feverish anxiety for alteration, they disregard those real, practical improvements, which are to the people the weightier matters of the law,' busying themselves

Let Austria, then, plume herself as much and as long as she pleases on her tranquillity-we have no wish to part with our juries, our parliaments, our public meetings, and our press, dearly as we have been obliged to pay for some of them since Reform ministries began tampering with the machinery; nay, despite of Whiggery and Chartism, we do not hesitate to say that even revolutionary disturbances and disturbers have their use. In times of public corruption (to borrow the beautiful simile of Lord Erskine), they act like the winds, lashing before them the lazy elements, which, without the tempest, would stagnate into pes-about the 'mint, anise, and cummin' of tilence; in times of factitious excitement and unhealthy craving like the present (to borrow the equally beautiful illustration of Lord Mansfield), the shock may serve to rouse the better part of the nation out of their lethargy, and bring the mad partly enough, to select such as, upon the back to their senses, as men intoxicated are sometimes stunned into sobriety.

ART. IX.-1. On the Present unsettled Con-
dition of the Law and its Administration.
By John Miller, Esq., Q. C., of Lin-
coln's-Inn. London, 8vo. 1839.
2. Substance of a Speech by Henry Lord
Langdale, in the House of Lords, on the

Souvenirs sur Mirabeau, fchap. iii.

political measures, the only object of which is to aggrandise one party at the expense of the other. And even in those institutions of the country to which their attention is directed, they seem, perverse

whole, best effect their original purposes, whilst they utterly neglect those which require, and are really susceptible of much improvement. We believe that this disease of the body politic arises principally from the neglect of that which ought to be the cardinal maxim in all reforms, viz. never to make any alteration at all till you are not only prepared, first, to show defects in the existing system requiring amendment; but, secondly, also to produce another plan with its details arranged, which, if carried into effect, will be liable to fewer objections, and be a material imThe reprovement upon the old one.

Those of our readers who take an interest in this subject are aware that in the year 1824, King George IV. was advised to issue a Commission for inquiry into some of these matters. Those commissioners made a report in 1826; and that report,which undoubtedly contained many useful suggestions, was afterwards acted upon by Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst's orders, in 1828; by the Acts of Parlia ment 1 Wm. IV. c. 36, 2 Wm. IV. c. 58, and 3 and 4 Wm. IV. c. 94, and subsequently by Lord Chancellor Brougham's orders of December, 1833.

formers of our day take only the first and | gether to remove. And we now proceed more easy branch of the proposition. to the consideration of these remedies. They begin, and, ordinarily speaking, they succeed well enough in showing defects in our institutions-for what human invention is free from them ?-but they seldom touch upon the second part of it, or, if they do, it is only to demonstrate, by lamentable failure, their capacity for destruction, and their total incapacity for producing anything rational in the place of what they would destroy. We propose in the present article to bind ourselves by this test, and in doing so we hope to point out, not, indeed, a plan with all its details, but a course by which the details of a plan can be arranged, so as to accomplish at all events a better system of practice in our equity courts.

But that Commission laboured under the capital defect that it was of too limited a nature to be capable of attacking the The two great defects in these courts real evils of the court. It was pointed to are expense and delay; both great, and the practice of the court alone, and to the both increasing. It is difficult to present question whether any part of the business these properly and candidly to the con- of equity could be properly transferred to sideration of the public. Many of the other tribunals. It had no authority to complaints are made by persons who are amend the pleadings or the mode of takreally ignorant of the true cause, although ing evidence, or the delays arising from they are acutely sensible of the incon- the introduction of unnecessary parties, venience, and they often, in consequence, or those occasioned by intermediate appropose remedies, which, if acted upon, would be far worse than the disease. Lord Langdale well observes that delay cannot always be avoided, and that it is not always to be imputed to the court in which it occurs. There are, he says, cases in which unnecessary delay to a great extent may be imputed to the neglect or misconduct of the parties or their agents. There are also cases in which the truth cannot be investigated and ascertained without the consumption of a great deal of timecases of long pending accounts-of intricate transactions-cases of complicated and artfully concealed fraud--cases of trust, the execution or breach of which may extend over a long series of years. Now all these are cases of delay; and these are the cases above all others which are generally found to be the subject of declamatory attacks on the Court of Chancery, and cited as proofs of unnecessary delay there. But admitting most fully, as we do, the truth and force of these observations, we believe it will still be found-and the noble judge whose opinion we have cited will, we are quite sure, be the first to allow -that there are real and effective causes of both expense and delay--unnecessary delay and unreasonable expense, we mean -existing in our courts of equity, which it is in the power of the legislature to diminish, and, as to some of them, alto

peals and rehearsings. Its real effect, we believe, has been somewhat to facilitate the arrival of the cause at the stage of being set down for hearing; and this may perhaps account for the increased and increasing arrears in the paper of causes before the present judges, as compared with their predecessors. But this Commission which was a failure, may serve at least to show how inefficient any plan of reform in courts of equity must be which shall not give proportionate efficiency to each part of the court. If you facilitate the preliminary stages of the cause, and do not provide additional facilities for hearing it, you only alter the place where the delay occurs without remedying the delay itself. And again, if you increase the judicial establishment ever so much, leaving the Masters' offices in their present state, you will do nothing towards the real object,-which ought to be the termination of the suit, and the adjustment of the rights of the respective par. ties, within a reasonable time, and at a reasonable expense.

The reform of the common law was conducted on different principles; and it is important to bring these into contrast, that it may be seen whether the application of them to the courts of equity would not be productive of much advantage. The commissioners of common law were

empowered "to inquire into the course gratitude of those who are now ready to of proceeding in actions from the first perish.'

dited."

process and commencement to the termi- Upon these subjects, the present Masnation thereof, and into the process, prac- ter of the Rolls, in his evidence before tice, pleading, and other matters connect- the Chancery Commissioners, says, this ed therewith, and to inquire whether any 'Unnecessary delay, vexation, and exand what parts thereof might be conve- pense, may be ascribed to the established niently and beneficially discontinued, al practice of the court, to the established tered, or improved; and what, if any, system of pleading, to the established alterations, amendments, or improve. mode of obtaining evidence.' He adds, ments, might be beneficially made there. in another place, an instance showing the in, and how the same might be best car- evil of making all persons interested parried into effect, and whether and in what ties to the cause ;-that on one occasion, manner the despatch of the general busi. where fifty or sixty persons were inteness in the said courts might be expe- rested, and were all made parties to the suit, the case, after an ineffectual litigaThe original commissioners made three tion of some years, was obliged to be setreports, and many of their suggestions tled by a private arrangement on account were carried into effect by Lord Tenter- of the difficulty of bringing it to a hearden's bills. The process of the courts was ing. Persons not acquainted with the made uniform and simple-the practice practice of the court will hardly believe regulated and made uniform by orders of this; but it is easily explained. The the judges the necessity for bills of in- death of each party causes the suit to terpleader and for commissions to exam- abate, till the representative of the deine witnesses almost put an end to-and ceased becomes a party in his stead. lastly, a power, limited as to time and Now suppose the cause set down for degree, was given to the judges by act of hearing-a death occurs-all proceedings parliament for amending the pleadings, are thereupon stayed-he leaves an exewhich has been acted upon greatly to the cutor-it becomes necessary to prove the advantage of the suitors, and which, hav- will in the Ecclesiastical Court; when ing expired by efflux of time, was last this has been done, a supplemental bill year renewed to them for five years becomes necessary to make this executor longer, and will probably, as it undoubt- a party; he must put in his answer-and edly should, be made perpetual at some by the time all this has been accomplishfuture period. ed, some other person dies, and the same We believe that much might be done process has to be renewed :-the Court in the Court of Chancery if such a plan of Chancery thus realizing the punishwere applied to it. Very few persons, ment of Sisyphus in the infernal region we believe, doubt that the pleadings in to its unhappy suitors, who roll the cause equity may be shortened; or that the up the hill of the chancellor's paper with mode of taking evidence is most expen- labour and sorrow, and just as they arrive sive and utterly ineffective; or that the within sight of his lordship's wig, down rule requiring all persons, however re- goes the stone rattling away to the botmotely interested, to be made parties to tom of the precipice. According to our a bill-the most fertile source of delay parliamentary returns, the average morand expense in the whole proceeding-tality in England amounts annually to at may be advantageously modified; or that least one in fifty persons; so that in a the inconvenience and waste of time and suit in which there are fifty persons enexpense arising from interlocutory ap-gaged as parties, it is almost impossible peals should at least be restrained by to arrive at a decision. some additional regulations.* It would be something to remedy these evils; and if nothing more were done, the commissioners would entitle themselves to the

* In the case of Townsend v. Champernoune in the Exchequer, there were three interlocutory ap. peals to the House of Lords between the original decree in 1821, and the hearing of the cause on fur ther directions in 1839. It is now compromised, or else there would undoubtedly have been a fourth appeal.

What, then, is the practical conclusion which we would draw from all this? Simply this, that it is expedient to give a power, not merely of deliberation, but of legislation, to some body of persons on these and other such subjects. And we think, upon the whole, that it would be best to follow the precedent already made, and to vest in the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls, the Vice-Chancellor, the Lord Chief Baron, the Equity Baron