than the solution.] until the cramp speech [Till of late years,
every advocate who catered at the Scottish bar made a Latin
address to the Court, faculty, and audience, in set terms, and
said a few words upon a text of the civil law, to show his
Latinity and jurisprudence. He also wore his hat for a minute,
in order to vindicate his right of being covered before the
Court, which is said to have originated from the celebrated
lawyer, Sir Thomas Hope, having two sons on the bench while he
himself remained at the bar. Of late this ceremony has been
dispensed with, as occupying the time of the Court unnecessarily.
The entrant lawyer merely takes the oaths to government, and
swears to maintain the rules and privileges of his order.] has
been spoken more SOLITO from the corner of the bench, and with
covered head--until you have sworn to defend the liberties and
privileges of the College of Justice--until the black gown is
hung on your shoulders, and you are free as any of the Faculty to
sue or defend. Then will I step forth, Alan, and in a character
which even your father will allow may be more useful to you than
had I shared this splendid termination of your legal studies. In
a word, if I cannot be a counsel, I am determined to be a CLIENT,
a sort of person without whom a lawsuit would be as dull as a
supposed case. Yes, I am determined to give you your first fee.
One can easily, I am assured, get into a lawsuit--it is only the
getting out which is sometimes found troublesome;--and, with your
kind father for an agent, and you for my counsel learned in the
law, and the worshipful Master Samuel Griffiths to back me, a few
sessions shall not tire my patience. In short, I will make my
way into court, even if it should cost me the committing a
DELICT, or at least a QUASI DELICT.--You see all is not lost of
what Erskine wrote, and Wallace taught.