practised in the court of king's-bench; but most of those with whom he had been contemporary were now filling superior stations in the state, and a younger one had started up who ran away with the chief business and popularity of the court. Unwilling to continue in a second place, for it was too plain that the first was now possessed by Mr. Erskine, and seeing an opening in chancery, Mr. Mansfield transplanted himself thither, and his fame and business followed him.

For a long time he seems to have been laid by, unthought of by every party alike. In the offices of the state young men were raised above his head, who were children when he came into life, and, in the words of Young, he might truly say, "he was so long remembered that he was forgot." But as he totally abstained from politics, he gave offence to no party; and accordingly, upon the death of Serjeant Adair, it was signified to Mr. Mansfield that he might succeed to the vacancy of the chief justiceship of Chester. He accepted the offer, principally as it afforded him the means of gratifying his favourite passion of coursing and the sports of the field.

It was the custom of Mr. Mansfield, after the business of the circuit ended, to pass the summer months in Wales, where he rose at five in the morning, and partook in all the pleasures of the country with the alacrity and keenness of a young sportsman. The honest Welsh were greatly attached to him, and it was a common observation among the gentry with whom he lived, "that Mansfield would talk to you of

law

law and greyhound coursing from morning to night." There was not much emolument attending the office of chief justice of Chester; and indeed Mr. Mansfield was not in want of any increase to his fortune, for it is generally believed that he is, without exception, the richest man in his profession.

Of money acquired by such honourable practice no man can envy him the possession, and the good he does with it entitles him yet further to estimation. He has several children by a lady to whom he is now married he has two boys, one of whom was brought up at Westminster, the other at Eton, and both are at this time members of Cambridge. On the death of the late Lord Alvanley, it was matter of doubt with the lawyers and the court who was the fittest man to succeed him, and recall some part of that business to the common pleas which had been engrossed by the king's-bench. The law peerage was already so full that ministers had no desire to increase it, and it was signified to those candidates who had most reason to expect the appointment, that a peerage would not be annexed to it. The Master of the Rolls, who had his eye on a better office, which the fluctuation of parties might possibly throw in his way, is said to have refused to accept, on the condition of exclusion from the peerage; and the attorney-general, who had recently left the common pleas, his proper court, for the purpose of practising in chancery, could not in decency demand to be placed thus suddenly above his brethren of the coif. The lot at length fell upon Mr. Mansfield, who did not hunt after nobility.

24

He was

accordingly

accordingly knighted, and took his scat on the bench, to the general satisfaction of the public. He presides in his court with a dignified demeanour, and the impetuosity and indecorous conduct of his worthy but petulant predecessor are now strongly contrasted in the slow and reflecting gravity of Sir James Mans field, who is, without exception, one of the soundest lawyers on the bench.

DOCTOR ROBERT BREE,

PHYSICIAN TO THE GENERAL HOSPITAL AT BIRMINGHAM.

With an account of the state of the Manufacturing Poor in that town,

IT has been a fundamental principle of this work to notice such names as are either already familiar to the public, or whose rising reputation, grounded upon a solid basis, ought, for the sake of the public good, to be as much cherished and as widely diffused as possible. The gentleman who is the subject of the following pages not only shares in common with his brethren the well-earned reputation of general medical practice, but is also distinguishable for having exerted his professional skill, with uncommon success in confirmed cases of convulsive asthma. His sagacity was first proved by the cure of the disease in his own person, after it had not only baffled the powers of the faculty in general, but of some in particular, who to great medical experience united the anxiety of private friendship, and at last reluctantly resigned. all hope of his recovery. The late respected Dr. Hebberden bas remarked, "that there cannot be a

more

more favourable opportunity of learning the nature and cure of a distemper, than when we meet with a case where the physician has always been present with the patient." It must be a still more favourable op. portunity for obtaining this advantage, when the patient and the physician are the same person.

The complete victory, however, which he gained over his disorder,* the proofs of his having communicated similar blessings by the same means to numberless others, and the hope of his being further serviceable to his country in subduing or resisting the ravages of pulmonary affections, so destructive to the vigour of youth; these are considerations which induce us to notice the author of so much public good somewhat earlier than, from his professional establishment, might have been his turn.

Dr. Robert Bree is a native of Warwickshire, where the name has been respected from a remote period. His grandfather had a numerous family his father, who was the youngest son, retired from the medical profession, for which he had been educated, carly in life; the others were clergymen, and enjoyed preferment from Baliol College, in Oxford, and from Lord Leigh, with whom they were connected by marriage. His mother's name was Milward; she was the direct

The writer of this article has had frequent opportunities of witnessing the good effects of Dr. Bree's plan of treatment in this dreadful disorder, during a long residence in the vicinity of his practice. And it was a very affecting gratification to observe. various persons who came to him, lost in a manner to themselves, their families, and society, gradually restored from this state of misery to the enjoyment of comparative health and happiness.

descendant

descendant of Sir Thomas Milward, chief justice of Chester. Enquiries have been made by some antiquaries after the remains of this family, of which there are notices in "Two Bookes of Epigrammes and Epitaphes, &c." by Thomas Bancroft. The writer particularly addresses lines to Sir Thomas Milward, to John Milward, Esq. and to Captain Milward. Sir Thomas was a descendant of John Milward, one of the captains of the city of London, and first governor of the corporation of the silk trade. Captain Milward and John Milward were brothers of Sir Thomas. The chief residence of Sir Thomas was at Eaton Dovedale, in the county of Derby. He was remarkable for his attachment to King Charles the First. He spent much money in the cause of that monarch, and had the honour to entertain him at Dovedale-hall. The table at which his majesty sat was deemed sacred by the family, and was not removed for several years after.

The eldest son of Sir Thomas cut off the entail of the Dovedale estate from his only son, and it was afterwards sold to Godfrey Clarke, Esq.

Dr. Robert Bree* received his grammatical education at Coventry, under Dr. Thomas Edwards, a man of considerable learning. As he was classed with the son of his teacher and with Mr. White, both afterwards distinguished at Cambridge for their abilities, it may be supposed that he had every advantage that this school could give; but the method of instruction

* Dr. Thomas Bree, a physician whose abilities are as considerable as his modesty, is the only brother of the subject of this memoir.

was