Minutes of debate are almost uniformly attended with great and unnecessary delay; and they swell the cause, by spinning out the argument, to an enormous length, though seemingly calculated for brevity and dispatch. I am satisfied there would be no lofs, in the entire want of such minutes; but as it might be difficult to exclude them, they may be subjected to the rules proposed in the case of a condescendence, answers, replies, and duplies: each of them to be lodged within a fortnight, otherwise not to be received. No production to be made after the minute of answer; and the minute of duply to be the last of them. The procefs to go to avisandum, with such part or parts of them as are duly lodged, and without any, if the first of them be not so lodged.

In place of minutes, it were better the Lord Ordinary appointed mutual memorials, and allowed the parties, to give in additional memorials. To these papers the rules just mentioned would apply with equal ease and conveniency; and they might also be applied to mutual informations.

The provisions of the acts of sederunt, June 29: 1738, and June 5. and July 13. 1739, concerning reports upon mutual informations, are found to be inadequate to the purpose they were intended for; nay, to be often an obstruction in the way of the pushing party, as prescribing a particular mode of procedure, which can seldom be easily followed.

It would be a simple regulatiou to provide that unless the informations be lodged within a fortnight of the date of the order to prepare them, they shall not be received; and, that the procefs fhall go to the

Lord Ordinary, without any previous inrollment, to be advised by him as it stands, so as he may give his judgement, and thereby prepare the cause for going into the inner-house, in a fhape probably lefs advantageous to the tardy party.

If one party, but not the other, fhall lodge his information within the fortnight, I think the cause fhould not go to the inner-house, but should return to the Lord Ordinary, to be advised by him.

It is not expedient that the inner-house should give a judgement ex parte, if it can be avoided. Because, if the court should afterwards adhere upon a petition and answers, the final judgement thus given cannot be so maturely or considerately pronounced, as two succefsive interlocutors upon a full hearing of both parties.

It neither can be so satisfactory to the loser, nor entitled to so much weight as a precedent in similar cases; nor indeed can it be so respectable and convincing in the eyes of the public, who are by-standers and judges of the conduct of the judges themselves.

I have long thought the judgement of the court, after a bearing in presence, upon a prepared state, would be better pronounced upon full mutual memorials or informations, and without any prepared state, or hearing at all.

A hearing in presence upon a voluminous cause, or bulky proofs, is either a painful or an uninteresting thing to the judges: painful if they command their attention, but otherwise so diffuse, as to be uninteresting. Whereas in mutual memorials or informaions, there is the same precise statement of facts,

179 and the same connected strain of argument, that prevails in a reclaiming petition, or an answer.

A hearing in presence fhould be confined to a doubtful point of law, on which it is much better calculated to throw light, than to reconcile jarring facts, and defeat the effect of subtile and ingenious argument. Indeed, in other respects, a hearing in presence is not so well suited to the nature of a bench, so numerous as the court of Sefsion, because the many of every description are more easily misled than the few, and are also sooner blinded in speech than writing, though this last were not to be studied by each of them at home in his closet, as happens in the case of the written pleadings in this court. LENTULUS.

I am,
&c.

ALLADIN THE PERSIAN, AN EASTERN TALE.

Continued from p. 129.

CHAPTER IV.

Conduct of the two cousins.

SALEM afsiduously attended the circles of the best company, respected all their decisions, and fhared all their different pafsions; he was the first at the levée and conchée of the prince; and the continual produced a sort of appear

habitude of seeing him, ance of being a favourite. The men were eager to speak well of him: he overshadowed no one, and his cold and tranquil soul, seemed to offer to all an universal benevolence. He was not warm for any one

party, but followed the stream of favour, of fashion, with design, because he had no marked character; or any fixed opinion of his own. Alladin, more incependent, freed himself from the fhakles of those societies which took the lead; he sought for the conversation of men of understanding and wit, and paid his court to the sovereign, without any servile baseness. He was thought to be presumptuous and decisive, because he judged for himself; indiscreet, because being frank and open, he felt the necefsity of opposing others and speaking the truth: he appeared trifling and superficial, because he was precisely profound; and reducing to one simple and clear principle, the te dious reasonings of others, he terminated in a few words a heavy difsertation. His father, who loved him tenderly, and who had founded on him the hopes of making his family more illustrious, had given up to him a large portion of his estate, that he might appear in the world with eclat. An uncle who had taken an affection to him, left him, a fhort time afterwards, an immense inheritance, consisting of ready money, diamonds, and other precious stones, and many caravanceras which produced a considerable revenue. Alladin purchased a magnificent palace, and furnished it most superbly; in his stables were 300 horses, many of them of the highest blood, and his furniture for them was of velvet, or of satin embroidered with pearls, their mangers were of marble, and their racks of sandal wood: he had besides twenty elephants; and when in days of ceremony Alladin mounted one of them, he was seated in a tower made of the most rare wood finely sculptured: VOL. Xviii.

2

Dec. 4 peacock of solid gold and of an immense size was on the top, and with expanded wings, incrusted Over with precious stones, served him as a canopy, and to fhade him from the rays of the sun. In his falconry were the scarcest birds from mount Caucasus, whose hoods were embroidered; and the gloves which Alladin and his friends made use of, were ornamented with diamonds. He had packs of lions, panthers, and tygers, wonderfully taught to hunt; in fhort his magnificence was equal to his riches. His table was delicately and profusely served, and all the youth of the court were alternately invited to it. Over the door of the most magnificent saloon in his palace were these words of the poet Saady, written in characters of gold, 66 DEATH OR A FRIEND."

As he was not married, his haram was filled with the most beautiful women of Asia, who felt none of the rigours of slavery. Alladin generally detained some of his companions to pafs the evenings; and what was without example, he opened his haram to them. In the midst of a garden perfumed with orange trees, and every flower or fruit that could flatter the smell or taste, were seen an hundred damsels with light flowing robes. Each had her name written on a small plate of gold and attached to her necklace. On one was, Rose of the garden of Beauty, on others, Neck of Milk, Breast of Alabaster, Charm of Hearts, Emerald of Hope, Houris of the Prophet, &c. &c.* They formed among themselves dances, and some of them, drefs

* The reader will not forget that the scene is in Persia, and the religion of the country Mahomedanism, whose doctrines in regard to wonien are very different from those of christian purity.