Mr. Gordon only held the Solicitor-Generalship for a single year, when he was elevated to the still more distinguished post of Lord Advocate, on the accession to political power of the Disraeli administration. Coming in with the Tories, Mr. Gordon was likewise compelled to go out with them; and as they were only allowed to hold the reins of office for a year, his tenure of the Lord Advocateship was very short lived. Some measure of compensation was, however, obtained for his loss of the highest legal office in the Scottish administration, by Mr. Gordon's appointment in November, 1869, as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. This is one of the most honourable, if not one of the most lucrative offices in Scotland, and Mr. Gordon's selection as the successor of many of the most distinguished pleaders at the Scottish bar showed that, although rejected by the country, he was not despised by his professional brethren. It is, however, for his political rather than for his legal abilities that Mr. Gordon is known, although, of course, he could not have earned such a reputation in St. Stephen's but for his knowledge of Scotch law. Although short, his Parliamentary career has neither been uneventful nor inglorious. Simultaneously with his return for Thetford, he was appointed Lord Advocate for Scotland; and although some of his detractors have argued that he was only selected to fill that post because the Conservatives could not find another man, it is hardly credible that the Court of Session is so barren of Tory talent and leanings. Besides, the malicious insinuation has been completely disproved by Mr. Gordon's zealous and efficient discharge of the duties of his office, in which his conduct completely vindicated the choice of his party. Unfortunately for his own peace of mind, Mr. Gordon identified himself with a rotten borough. Thetford is a constituency on the East Coast Railway, near to Norwich, which had in 1861 a population of 4208, and returned two members to Parliament. At present the constituency only numbers about 200. Although the ancient borough of Thetford, which was in the seventh century the see of the bishopric of Norfolk and Suffolk, had many claims to the veneration of Parliament, and the affection of the Conservative party, to which it had been faithful for generations, it was doomed by the inevitable decree of destiny, of which--sad to tell! its best and most devoted friends were the ministers, to political dismemberment; and Mr. Gordon, having been dispossessed, at one blow, of his seat in the House of Commons and his place in the Cabinet, was compelled to seek for "Fresh fields and pastures new."