[Illustration: SIR HENRY HAWKINS AND "JACK." _Photo by Elliot & Fry_.] THE REMINISCENCES OF SIR HENRY HAWKINS (BARON BRAMPTON) EDITED BY RICHARD HARRIS, K.C. PREFACE. As a preface I wish to say only a very few words--namely, that but for the great pressure put upon me I should not have ventured to write, or allowed to be published, any reminiscences of mine, being very conscious that I could not offer to the public any words of my own that would be worth the time it would occupy to read them; but the whole merit of this volume is due to my very old friend Richard Harris, K.C., who has already shown, by his skill and marvellously attractive composition in reproducing my efforts in the Tichborne case, what interest may be imparted to an otherwise very dry subject. In that work[A] he has done me much more than justice, and for this I thank him, with many good wishes for the success of this his new work, and with many thanks to those of the public who may take and feel an interest in such of my imperfect reminiscences as are here recorded. BRAMPTON. HARROGATE, _August 17, 1904_. [Footnote A: "Illustrations in Advocacy" (fourth edition, Stevens and Haynes).] EDITOR'S PREFACE. This volume is the outcome of many conversations with Lord Brampton and of innumerable manuscript notes from his pen. I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to present them to the public in such a manner that, although chronological order has not been strictly adhered to, it has been, nevertheless, considering the innumerable events of Lord Brampton's career, carefully observed. Apocryphal stories are always told of celebrated men, and of no one more than of Sir Henry Hawkins during his career on the Bench and at the Bar; but I venture to say that there is no doubtful story in this volume, and, further, that there is not one which has ever been told exactly in the same form before. Good stories, like good coin, lose by circulation. If there should be one or two in these reminiscences which have lost their image and superscription by much handling, I hope that the recasting which they have undergone will give them, not only the brightness of the original mint, but a wider circulation than they have ever known. The distinguishing characteristics by which Lord Brampton's stories may be known I have long been familiar with, and have no hesitation in saying that one or other, some or all, may be found in every anecdote that bears the genuine stamp. They are WIT, HUMOUR, PATHOS, AND TRAGEDY. My claims in the production of this volume are confined to its _defects_, although Lord Brampton has been generous enough to attribute to me a share in its merits. RICHARD HARRIS. 27 FITZJOHN'S AVENUE, HAMPSTEAD, _October_ 6, 1904. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. AT BEDFORD SCHOOL II. IN MY UNCLE'S OFFICE III. SECOND YEAR--THESIGER AND PLATT--MY FIRST BRIEF IV. AT THE OLD BAILEY IN THE OLD TIMES V. MR. JUSTICE MAULE VI. AN INCIDENT ON THE ROAD TO NEWMARKET