judge, and the pity that was due to men, whofe lives lay at ftake, so that nothing of jearing or unreasonable severity ever fell from him. He alfo examined the witnesses in the softest manner, taking care that they fhould be put under no confufion, which might disorder their memory: and he fummed all the evidence fo equally when he charged the jury, that the criminals themselves never complained of him. When it came to him to give fentence, he did it with that compofednefs and decency, and his fpeeches to the prifoners, directing them to prepare for death, were fo weighty, fo free of all affectation, and fo ferious and devout, that many loved to go to the trials, when he fat judge, to be edified by his speeches, and behaviour in them, and used to say, 86 very few fuch fermons."

66

They heard

But tho' the pronouncing the sentence of death, was the piece of his imployment that went most against the grain with him; yet in that he could never be molified to any tenderness which hindered juftice. When he was once preffed to recommend some (whom he had condemned) to his majesty's mercy and pardon; he answered, "He could not think they deferved a pardon, whom he *himself had adjudged to die:" fo that all he would do in that kind, was to give the king a true account of the circumstances of the fact, after which his majesty was to confider whither he would interpofe his niercy, or let juftice take place.

His mercifulnesfs extended even to his beafts, for when the horses that he had kept long, grew old, he would not fuffer them to be fold, or much wrought, but ordered his men to turn them loofe on his grounds, and put them only to eafy work, fuch as going to market and the like: he used old dogs alfo with the fame care: his fhepherd having one that was become blind with age, he intended to have killed or loft him, but the judge coming to hear of it, made one of his fervants bring him home and feed him till he died; and he was scarce ever seen more angry than with one of his fervants for neglecting a bird, that he kept, fo that it died for want of food.

He was a great incourager of all young perfons that he faw followed their books diligently, to whom he used to give directions concerning the method of their study, VOL. I.

F

with

with a humanity and sweetness, that wrought much on all that came near him, and, in a smiling pleasant way, he would admonish them. If he faw any thing amiss in them, particularly, if they went too fine in their clothes, he would tell them, "It did not become their profeffion." He was not pleased to fee ftudents wear long periwigs, or attorneys go with fwords; fo that fuch young men as would not be perfuaded to part with thofe vanities, when they went to him, laid them afide, and went as plain as they could, to avoid the reproof which they knew they might otherwise expect.

He was very free and communicative in his discourse, which he most commonly fixed on fome good and useful fubject, and loved, for an hour or two at night, to be vifited by fome of his friends. He neither faid nor did any thing with affectation, but used a simplicity, that was both natural to himself, and very eafy to others: and tho' he never ftudied the modes of civility or court-breeding, yet he knew not what it was to be rude or harsh with any, except he were impertinently addressed to in matters of juftice, then he would raise his voice a little, and so shake off thofe importunities.

In his furniture, and the service of his table, and way of living, he liked the old plainnefs fo well, that as he would fet up none of the new fashions, fo he rather affected a coarseness in the use of the old ones; which was more the effect of his philofophy, than difpofition, for he loved fine things too much at first: he was always of an equal temper, rather chearful than merry. Many wondered to fee the evennefs of his deportment, in fome very fad paffages of his life.

Having loft one of his fons, the manner of whofe death had fome grievous circumftances in it; one coming to fee him, and condole, he faid to him, "Those were the "effects of living long, fuch muft look to fee many fad

and unacceptable things;" and having faid that, he went to other difcourfes, with his ordinary freedom of mind; for though he had a temper fo tender, that fad things were apt enough to make deep impreffions upon him, yet the regard he had to the wisdom and providence of God, and the just estimate he made of all external things, did, to admiration, maintain the tranquility of his

mind, and he gave no occafion, by idleness to melancholy, to corrupt his fpirit, but by the perpetual bent of his thoughts, he knew well how to divert them from being oppreffed with the exceffes of forrow.

He had a generous and noble idea of God in his mind, and this he found above all other confiderations preferve his quiet. And indeed that was fo well established in him, that no accidents, how fudden foever, were observed to difcompofe him: of which an eminent man of that profeffion, gave me this inftance: in the year 1666, an opinion did run through the nation. "That the end of the "world would come that year.' This, whether fet on by aftrologers, or advanced by those who thought it might have fome relation to the number of the beat in the Revelation, or promoted by men of ill defigns, to disturb the publick peace, had spread mightily among the people; and judge Hale going that year the western circuit, it happened that, as he was on the bench at the affizes, a most terrible storm fell out very unexpectedly, accompanied with such flashes of lightning, and claps of thunder, that the like will hardly fall out in an age; upon which a whisper or a rumour run through the crowd, "That now was the world to end, and the day of judg"ment to begin ;" and at this there followed a general confternation in the whole affembly, and all men forgot the business they were met about, and betook themfelves to their prayers: this, added to the horror raised by the storm, looked very difmally; in fo much, that my author, a man of no ordinary resolution, and firmness of mind, confeffed, "It made a great impreffion on him"felf.' But he told me, "That he did obferve the judge "was not a whit affected, and was going on with the "business of the court in his ordinary manner:" from which be made this conclufion, "That his thoughts were "fo well fixed, that he believed if the world had been "really to end, it would have given him no confiderable "difturbance."

But I fhall now conclude all that I fhall fay concerning him, with what one of the greatest men of the profeffion of the law, fent me as an abstract of the character he had made of him, upon long obfervation, and much converie with him: it was fent me, that from thence, with

the other materials, I might make fuch a reprefentation of him to the world, as he indeed deserved, but I refolved not to fhred it out in parcels, but to fet it down entirely as it was fent me, hoping, that as the reader will be much delighted with it, fo the noble person that fent it, will not be offended with me for keeping it entire, and fetting it in the best light I could: it begins abruptly, being defigned to fupply the defects of others, from whom I had earlier and more copious informations.

"He would never be brought to discourse of publick "matters in private converfation; but in questions of

law, when any lawyer put a cafe to him, he was very "communicative, efpecially while he was at the bar: "but when he came to the bench, he grew more reserved, and would never fuffer his opinion in any cafe to be "known till he was obliged to declare it judicially; and he concealed his opinion in great cafes fo carefully, that the reft of the judges in the fame court could ne"ver perceive it: his reafon was, Because every judge ought to give fentence acccording to his own perfuafi"on and confcience, and not to be fway'd by any respect

66

or deference to another man's opinion: and by this. 66 means it hath happened fometimes, that when all the "barons of the exchequer had delivered their opinions, and agreed in their reasons and arguments; yet he coming to fpeak laft, and differing in judgment from them, hath expreft himself with fo much weight and folidity, "that the barons have immediately retracted their votes, " and concurred with him. He hath fat as a judge in all "the courts of law, and in two of them as chief, but "ftill where ever he fat, all bufinefs of confequence fol"lowed him, and no man was content to fit down by the

judgment of any other court, till the cafe were brought "before him, to fee whether he were of the same mind; "and his opinion being once known, men did readily "acquiefce in it; and it was very rarely feen, that any "man attempted to bring it about again, and he that did "fo, did it upon great difadvantages, and was always "look'd upon as a very contentious perfon, fo that "what Cicero fays of Brutus, did very often happen to him, Etiam quos contra ftatuit æqos placatofque dimifit.

" Nor

Nor did men reverence his judgment and opinion in "courts of law only: but his authority was as great in "courts of equity, and the fame refpect and fubmiffion

6-6

was paid to him there too; and this appeared not only "in his own court of equity in the exchequer chamber, "but in the chancery too; for thither he was often called "to advise and affift the lord chancellor, or lord keeper " for the time being, and if the cause were of difficult ex"amination, or intricated and entangled with variety of "fettlements, no man ever fhewed a more clear and difcerning judgment: if it were of great value, and great "perfons interested in it, no man ever fhewed greater courage and integrity in laying afide all refpect of per-"fons: when he came to deliver his opinion, he always 56 put his difcourfe into fuch a method, that one part of "it gave light to the other, and where the proceedings of ".chancery might prove inconvenient to the fubject, he never spared to obferve and reprove them: and from "his obfervations and discourses, the chancery hath taken "occafion to establish many of those rules by which it governs itfelf at this day:

66

46

86

"He did look upon equity as a part of the common law, "and one of the grounds of it; and therefore as near as "he could, he did always reduce it to certain rules, and

66

principles, that men might study it as a science, and not "think the adminiftration of it had any thing arbitrary "in it. Thus eminent was this man in every station, and "into what court foever he was called, he quickly made: "it appear, that he deserved the chief feat there.

"As great a lawyer as he was, he would never suffer "the strictness of law to prevail against conscience; as great a chancellor as he was, he would make use of all the niceties and fubtilties in law when it tended to fupport right and equity. But nothing was more ad"mirable in him, than his patience: he did not affect "the reputation of quicknefs and difpatch, by a hafty "and captious hearing of the council: he would bear "with the meaneft, and give every man his full scope, "thinking it much better to lose time than patience: in fumming up of an evidence to a jury, he would always "require the bar to interrupt him, if he did mistake, and "to put hiin in mind of it, if he did forget the leaft cir