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can melt his congregation into tears, and excel others in his struggle to convert the superfluities of the opulent into a treasury for the wretched;the advocate who procures the largest compensation from juries on their oaths, for injuries which they try; the man who, like Mr. Phillips, can be accused (if ever any man was so accused, except himself) by grave lawyers, and before grave judges, of having procured a verdict from twelve sagacious and most respectable special jurors by fascination; of having, by the fascination of his eloquence, blinded them to that duty which they were sworn to observe :-the man who can be accused of this on oath, and the fascination of whose speaking is made a ground-work, though an unsuccessful one, for setting aside a verdict;-he, may be wrong and ignorant in his study and practice of oratory; but, with all his errors and ignorance, it must be admitted, that he has in some manner stumbled on the shortest way for attaining the end of oratory-that is, giving the most forceful direction to human action and determination in particular instances. His eloquence may be a novelty, but it is beyond example successful; and its success and novelty may be another explanation for the hostility that assails. It may be matter of taste, but it certainly would not be matter of judgment or prudence in Mr. Phillips to depart

from a course which has proved most successful, and which has procured for him within the last year a larger number of readers through the world than ever in the same time resorted to the productions of any man of these countries. His youth carries with it not only much excuse, but much promise of future improvement; and doubtless he will not neglect to apply the fruits of study and the lights of experience to each succeeding exertion. But his manner is his own, and every man's own manner is his best manner; and so long as it works with this unexampled success, he should be slow to adopt the suggestions of his enemies, although he should be sedulous in adopting all legitimate improvement. To that very exuberance of imagination, we do not hesitate to ascribe much of his success; whilst, therefore, he consents to control it, let him be careful lest he clips his wings: nor is the strength of this faculty an argument, although it has been made an argument, against the strength of his reasoning powers; for let us strip these Speeches of every thing whose derivation could be, by any construction, assigned to his fancy; let us apply this rule to his judicial and political exertions-for instance, to the speech on Guthrie and Sterne, and the late one to the gentlemen of Liverpool-let their topics be translated into plain, dull language, and

then we would ask, what collection of topics could be more judicious, better arranged, or classed in a more lucid and consecutive order by the most tiresome wisdom of the sagest arguer at the bar? Is there not abundance to satisfy the judgment, even if there were nothing to sway the feelings, or gratify the imagination? How preposterous, then, the futile endeavour to undervalue the solidity of the ground-work, by withdrawing attention to the beauty of the ornament; or to maintain the deficiency of strength in the base, merely because there appears so much splendour in the structure.

Unaided by the advantages of fortune or alliance, under the frown of political power and the interested detraction of professional jealousy, confining, the exercise of that talent which he derives from his God to the honour, and succour, and protection of his creatures-this interesting and highlygifted young man runs his course like a giant, prospering and to prosper;-in the court as a flaming sword, leading and lighting the injured to their own; and in the public assembly exposing her wrongsexacting her rights-conquering envy-trampling on corruption-beloved by his country-esteemed by a world-enjoying and deserving an unexampled fame-and actively employing the summer of his life in gathering honours for his name, and garlands for his grave!

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