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of his own powers at the expense of his case. He rigidly abstained from all that might endanger the cause at hand; resisted every temptation to mere declamation, which his exuberant fancy threw in his path; and won his verdicts not more by what he said than by what he refrained from saying.
"Ceaseless and unremitting study of the English classics has given him a style most felicitous."
"Nor were the charms of an elegant physique and an attractive personal appearance wanting. His form was peculiarly graceful, slender, and supple; yet when warmed with an address, quivering with the public excitement of the occasion, his features, regularly beautiful, were susceptible of an infinite variety of expression, and at times lighted up by a smile of surpassing sweetness. There was a magnetism in his eye which few could withstand; and it was a common remark that his look was irresistible to a jury. There have been profounder jurists; there have been abler judges; there have been wiser statesmen; but as a forensic orator he stands without a rival and without a peer.
"Never a profound jurist; he enjoyed perfect health. During twenty-seven years of practice, indisposition never caused him a single day's absence at Court. His figure was elastic and erect; and his eye brilliant and captivating; his movements rapid; his voice sharp and clear, and without a trace of Scotch accent."
LORD ELDON (1751–1838)
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