John Campbell was born in 1781, and was the son of an obscure Scotch clergyman. His father destined him for the clergy; in consequence of which he was sent to the University of St. Andrews, where he met the great Dr. Chalmers, then a student like himself. But young Campbell became averse to the profession which had been chosen for him, and soon turned his attention to the law. Soon after graduation, he betook himself to London, where he studied with great zeal, meanwhile supplying his wants by acting as the theatrical critic of the '_Morning Chronicle_.' There, seated in an obscure corner of the pit or upper gallery, we may imagine the Chancellor in embryo, jotting down the petty excellences and failings of the players, to pamper the taste of the frivolous on the morrow; while below him, in the decorated boxes and circles, lolled the vain crowd of coroneted simpletons and courtly beauties, now long forgotten, while he is honored as the benefactor of his country's laws. He was called to the bar by the Society of Lincoln's Inn, and then commenced a long life, replete with arduous study, with untiring interest in duty, and stubborn perseverance. He early espoused the liberal doctrines of Fox and Grey; and inasmuch as for many years after the Tories monopolized the power, his politics were an effectual bar to his professional preferment. He remained, however, through his whole life, an earnest and consistent advocate of his early convictions. Owing to the prejudice which Lord Chancellor Eldon entertained against the Whigs, he did not obtain the silk gown of King's Counsel till the venerable Jacobite gave place, in 1827, to the more courteous and liberal Lyndhurst.