suddenly without any actual confinement to his room or his bed. His lordship married the honourable miss Yorke, eldest daughter of the earl of Hardwicke, lordhigh-chancellor of Great Britain; but left no children, and thus the title became extinct.

As an officer, lord Anson was distinguished for inflexible perseverance; and a command of temper which rendered him intrepid in the midst of danger, and sedate in every change of fortune. In private life he was honest and unsuspecting, and thus became the dupe of gamblers and sharpers. An unfortunate attachment to gaming, the dishonest tricks of which he did not understand, and had too much integrity to practise, exposed him to losses and misfortunes which greatly diminished his dear-earned wealth, and made him the ridicule of his more cunning associates. It was often remarked of him," that he had been round the world, but never in it." He was too sincere to be fashionably polished, too ingenuous to profess what he did not feel; the artful preyed on his simplicity, and the conqueror of his enemies was frequently vanquished by his pretended

friends.

When the baneful infatuation of play gains an ascendancy over the mind of a good man, he is in the direct road to ruin; when it seizes the unprincipled, he soon becomes a finished villain. Harsh as the term may seem, that man is the worst of villains, who by his superior skill in an art where honour and virtue would scorn proficiency, practises on the unsuspecting, involves the helpless and innocent in distress, and braves the detection of the honest, by the plunder which he has acquired.

There are two vices which, when they have once laid full hold upon the heart, seem not only to be incurable, but to gain strength with years. These are the love of gaming, and the love of wine; the epitome of all ills, the aggregate of infamy and ruin,

May these serious reflections have the effect which is intended on the youthful and uncorrupted breast! If only one is warned by them to avoid these two great destroyers of fortune and of fame, of health and peace, this well-meant page will not have been penned in vain.

PHILIP YORKE,

EARL OF HARDWICKE,

LORD CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND.

Born 1691.-Died 1764.

From 2d William III., to 4th George III. THAT the law, above all other professions, opens a scene for the display of superior abilities, has been remarked on a former occasion. That its practice, however, sometimes cramps the energies of independence, and leads the ambitious to sacrifice the love of virtue to the love of gain, is also to be lamented, but cannot be denied. The study of the legal science naturally teaches prudence and reflection: it forbids the mind to pursue the blandishments of fancy, and fixes it in the empire of reason. Reason recommends what is expedient, rather than what is right; and its decisions are commonly proper, though the motives which influence them may not always be pure. These observations, however, are not to be taken in their utmost latitude; as they have no particular application to the distinguished subject of the following memoirs.

Philip Yorke was born in London, of a respectable rather than an opulent family; but whatever might be the rank or situation of his ancestors, his own merit certainly paved the way to what he afterwards became. This is the highest praise that can be paid to his memory, that he rose to distinction by his talents alone; and thus reflected honour on the patronage which he acquired, and the titles which he transmitted to his posterity.

His education must have been well conducted, but he unquestionably owed more to genius and application; without which, opportunities of improvement are of little avail. Being designed for an attorney, at a proper age he was articled to a gentleman eminent in that branch of the profession, and served his clerkship with credit; but he felt that he was not in his element, when confined to the drudgery of an office; and was no sooner his own master, than he entered himself of the society of Lincoln's-inn.

In due time he was called to the bar: and while a very young man acquired such high reputation as a plead er, that in 1720 he was raised to the office of solicitorgeneral. In three years more he became attorneygeneral; and in this capacity, which frequently admits and requires the utmost extent of legal knowledge, he displayed an astonishing eloquence, a profound and intimate acquaintance with English jurisprudence, and was universally allowed to be the first lawyer of his day.

Thus gifted, and placed in a situation where full scope was given to his powers, and their exercise could not be unnoticed, it is not extraordinary that his subsequent elevation was rapid. When no more than forty-two years of age, he was appointed chief-justice of the court of King's-bench; and four years afterwards attained the highest rank that the law can confer on her most distinguished votaries, by being raised to the supreme seat of equity.

For the ignified office of lord-chancellor, it was universally allowed at the time, that the kingdom could not furnish a more proper person. His elevation therefore was free from envy; it was even acceptable to his brethren at the bar. The title of baron Hardwicke was conferred on him at the same time, and the nation re echoed the approbation of their sovereign.

To detail the various instances of assiduity, and the very impartial administration of justice, conspicuous in

this great lawyer for the long period of twenty years, during which he held the seals, would be here impossible. The equality of his temper, the strength of his judgment, and his intuitive sagacity, were alike confessed and admired.

When the noble but infatuated partizans of rebellion in Scotland were brought to trial, Hardwicke was appointed lord-high-steward of England. This furnished him with a fresh opportunity of displaying his consummate powers of oratory; and the speech which he delivered when passing sentence on the rebel lords, is deservedly ranked among the finest specimens of eloquence that modern times have produced.

In 1754 the chancellor was raised to the dignity of earl; but two years after, when the illustrious William Pitt (afterwards earl of Chatham) was called to the helm of government, his lordship was obliged to resign. That great statesman, however he might respect lord Hardwicke's legal abilities, considered him as a weak politician, and besides, he was aware of his influence in the cabinet; which in numerous instances had rather been exerted to aggrandize his own family or particular friends, than directed to the public welfare. It was lord Hardwicke's object to strengthen his own interest, and to advance the fortunes of his connexions; and he seems to have adopted a common but mistaken policy, of recommending weak and ill-qualified persons to fill important places, that they might be more subservient to his control. This stratagem may be serviceable for a moment, but proves delusive in the end. A man of talents will feel the tie of honour and of gratitude, with a force which ignoble and uncultivated minds can never know. Abilities reflect back the credit of patronage, but ignorance and incapacity are the shame of their supporters.

After his resignation, the earl of Hardwicke retired from public life; but he did not long enjoy the calm of ease. In 1764 he was called to pay the debt of nature;

346

PHILIP YORKE, EARL OF HARDWICKE.

and (what must have given consolation to his departing hours) he was able to declare on his death-bed, “that he had never wronged any man to increase his fortune; nor acquired a single acre of land which he could not, in his last moments, reflect upon with tranquillity." To feel the consciousness of integrity when sublunary joys are failing, is the sweetest satisfaction; and to ensure it, should be the first study of life.

That lord Hardwicke was both an able and an upright judge, admits of no dispute. Though many appeals were brought to the House of Lords from his decrees, not one of them was reversed. That he was a most eloquent speaker, and a good man, his worst enemies are ready to confess. The great stain on his private character was a mercenary and craving disposition. To provide for a family which he had raised to the most honourable distinction, was not only fair but praise-worthy; yet to direct every favour which his interest could command into one channel, though it may be palliated, cannot be excused. It is said that his royal master, who had been abundantly generous and indulgent to him, at last gave him a severe check when he found that his reiterated applications had only one object in view. A man of elevated rank, and extensive influence, should be the patron of unprotected worth, though unconnected with himself by natural ties; nor suffer either partiality or prejudice to bias his judgment, and intercept his bounty.

As a politician, lord Hardwicke was unfortunate in his prepossessions, and very confined in his principles. He opposed the militia-bill, on the futile grounds of danger in arming the people; and even when it had passed into a law, he is said to have exerted himself, wherever he had influence, to prevent its effect. He also had a principal share in promoting the existing marriage-act; which though not wholly destitute of utility, is supposed to militate against those leading principles that have ever