juryman; but every word is addressed to men whose passions have subsided, and who are only reached through the medium of the understanding. The lovers of trick here have no chance of displaying their art, nor the pertinacious brow-beater his impudence. Every thing around the advocate is formed to inspire respect for himself and the court

On returning from public life, Mr. Webster found his pecuniary interests had suffered from his long absence from the courts, and his friends were disposed to believe, that Boston would be a much better place for him than Portsmouth. He had already become identified with the interests of the commercial metropolis of New-England, and many of the opulent merchants were ready to employ him. He was induced to believe, that he ought to remove, and he did remove in 1817. Boston was then the residence of some of the first lawyers of the nation. Dexter was living, and as an advocate seemed to be acknowledged without a rival in New-England. Prescott, one of the most learned and prudent lawyers of his age had removed from Salem some half dozen years before to Boston, and was engaged in all the commercial causes before the courts. These men were much his

seniors, but there was a considerable number of those near his own age who, eminent in the profession,— Sullivan, Shaw, Gorham, Hubbard and others of the same class, were active in the courts and had as much business as they could attend to. There seemed to be but little room for another in the upper row of

lawyers. In the lower courts of the Temple of Themis adventurers are every day crowding onward; to the upper it is hard to gain access, but Mr. Webster seemed to walk in as a matter of course; some staring, but no one venturing to question his right to be there. In a few months, his name was found as senior Counsel in many important causes, and he felt as if it was his birth-place. His practice was not confined to the county of Suffolk, but extended to the neighboring counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and still further. His powers as an advocate and a lawyer were at once conceded, though some found fault with his manners at the bar, as severe and sharp; this, however, was soon forgotten in the admiration that everywhere followed him. It was in vain for his rivals, if any he had, to hold out in any fair opposition to him, for the great mass of the people were with him, and in an intelligent community their power is irresistible.

Soon after Mr. Webster was settled in Boston, he was called to the county of Essex, to defend two prisoners by the name of Kenniston. They were charged with having robbed a Major Goodrich, in that county, on the evening of the 19th December, 1817. The public had been much agitated by this event. The Major had distinguished himself when the British landed at Bangor, in Maine. He was also in good credit in that place. The circumstances of the robbery as stated by him were singular. It was alleged to have taken place early in the evening, in Newbury, on the main post-road from

Portsmouth to Boston. The Major was shot through the palm of the left hand, between the third and fourth fingers. The wound was small. Some of the money said to have been taken from his person was found on the ground, to which he stated he had been carried for the purpose of effecting the robbery without noise. Some slight marks of the point of a penknife were found on his body. He had with great difficulty made his way to the nearest public house, apparently in a state of delirium. Shortly after this, he implicated the landlord of the inn as an accomplice in the robbery; but before proceeding against him,-for this was rather a fearful business, as the man had many friends, he had heard that the Kenniston's were within a short distance of the place, on the night of the 19th. They were ignorant beings, without character for intellectual capacity or moral honesty: they had the day before the robbery come from their home in New-Hampshire to the town of Newburyport, and were wandering about that night separately for amusement, and when arrested on suspicion, could not prove exactly how they had passed the evening, and probably hardly knew. Goodrich swore, that he believed these men were a part of the gang that robbed him, and they were sent to prison, of course, as bail could not be obtained by them under such charges. Goodrich, with several assistants, repaired straightway to the domicile of the Kenniston's, and on searching the premises found gold and bills (which he said had been taken from him) in the pocket of a pair of panta

loons, and also under a pork barrel. The guilt of the prisoners seemed irrevocably fixed-the sympathies of the public were highly excited in favor of Goodrich, and he was going on triumphantly to convict the prisoners, when some singularities of his story gave rise to suspicions, that all was not right. A few were determined, that the prisoners should be well defended, and the whole matter thoroughly investigated; and for this purpose Mr. Webster was engaged to be of Counsel in the defence. When he came to the court, he was not apprized of the ground of the defence, on which the prisoner's counsel intended to rely, namely, that it was a sham robbery. He was startled at the suggestion when it was first made, but patiently hearing a detailed account of all the circumstances which had led to this conclusion that this was the right defence, he, after weighing them thoroughly, made up his opinion that there had had been no robbery, and directed the junior counsel so to open the defence. He had never argued a cause before in the county of Essex. Goodrich had many respectable connexions in the county. born at Danvers, a town within the limits of the county. His connexions and friends were good, honest people, and had no suspicion of any foul play in the affair. They flocked from affection and curiosity to the trial. The nature of the defence was not known, except to a few, before it was opened. The Solicitor-General proved the robbery and guilt of the prisoners to the satisfaction of all in the court-house. The cross-exami

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nation by Mr. Webster was terrifick. He fixed his eyes upon Goodrich, and putting his questions with such adroitness and force, and with such a heavy solemn tone of voice, that in less than ten minutes he had made several palpable contradictions in his testimony. This advantage was followed up with great skill, and before the prosecutor had left the stand, public opinion was decidedly against him. The argument of Mr. Webster followed; it was convincing, conclusive, unanswerable. He seized the strong points of the defence, and handled them with a giant's power. The prejudices against the Kenniston's were removed, and a weight of moral guilt thrown on their persecutor that has never been removed to this day. The SolicitorGeneral was at once convinced by the argument he had heard, that Goodrich was a self-robber, but he struggled manfully against his own convictions and the impressions of the jury, and in fact of the audience; for in such instances there is an influence in the looks of the audience which often reaches the jury-box, and sometimes the bench of justice. The judge who sat in the cause, was a distant relation of the Major's, but he tried it with great fairness and independence. His charge to the jury was lucid and impartial, and the result was an acquittal of the prisoners. The people of Essex are among the most enlightened portions of the United States, but they are, like all enlightened people, of a mercurial temperament, and the current of their feelings set against the prisoners; but this current was met and turned by