as little short of perfection? The strength of his reasoning faculties
was equalled, if not exceeded, by that of his memory, which was equally
susceptible, tenacious, and ready; qualities these, which, as Dugald
Stewart has observed, are rarely united in the same person,[D] and
which, in the case of an advocate, give him immense advantages; while he
possessed that accurate practical knowledge which enabled him to detect
the minutest errors in the conduct of a cause, his comprehensive grasp
of mind enabled him to take in the whole of the greatest cause, with all
its dependencies; and while he fixed his own eye, with unwavering
steadfastness, on the object which he had in view, he could lead his
opponent and keep him far away from _his_; and address himself to every
passing humour of the judicial mind, supporting favourable, and
repelling adverse intimations, with reasons so plausible as to appear
absolutely conclusive. Whoever might forget facts, or lose the drift of
the argument, Sir William Follett never did; and when he had _the last
word_, he was almost always irresistible. He required, for the purposes
of justice, to be followed by a watchful and strong-headed judge, who
could detect the cunning fallacy, or series of fallacies, which had led
the jury quite astray from the real points--the true merits of the case;
and even such a person was often unable to remove the impression which
had been produced by the subtle and persuasive advocate whose voice had
preceded his. That voice was one indeed lovely to listen to. It was not
loud, but low and mellow, insinuating its faintest tones into the ear,
and filling it with gentle harmony. His utterance was very distinct--a
capital requisite in a speaker--and he had the art of varying his tones,
so as to sustain the attention of both judges and juries for almost any
length of time. His person and attitudes, also, were most prepossessing.
Their chief characteristics were a calmness and dignity which never
disappeared in even the most exciting moments of contest, and of
irritability, and provoking interruption. Woe, indeed, to one who
ventured to _interrupt_ him! However plausible, cogent, or even just,
might be the suggestion thrown in by his adversary, Sir William Follett
contrived to make it tell terribly against him, either harmonising it
with his own case, or showing it to be utterly inconsistent with that of
the interrupting party.--Sir William Follett, who was above the middle
size, always stood straight upright, as every one ought to do while
addressing either judge or juries. He seldom used his left hand in
speaking, but the play of his right hand was very graceful, easy, and
natural. His countenance was by no means handsome, yet of very striking
expression--decisively indicative of great intellectual power,
particularly about the forehead, which was very strongly developed. His
eyes were grey, rather small, and deep-set; but they had a power of
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