mode of investigation—­his speech against the bill of Pains and Penalties—­his reply to the crown counsel, and afterwards to the Lord Chancellor—­and finally his defence of the Queen against the several charges.  His defence, it will be remembered, lasted nearly two days, and Mr. Brougham, amidst profound silence, concluded one of the most eloquent speeches ever heard within the walls of parliament—­with this pathetic appeal:—­

“My lords, I call upon you to pause.  You stand on the brink of a precipice.  You may go on in your precipitate career—­you may pronounce against your Queen, but it will be the last judgment you ever will pronounce.  Her persecutors will fail in their objects, and the ruin with which they seek to cover the Queen, will return to overwhelm themselves.  Rescue the country; save the people, of whom you are the ornaments; but severed from whom, you can no more live than the blossom that is severed from the root and tree on which it grows.  Save the country, that you may continue to adorn it—­save the crown, which is threatened with irreparable injury—­save the aristocracy, which is surrounded with danger—­save the altar, which is no longer safe when its kindred throne is shaken.  You see that when the church and the throne would allow of no church solemnity in behalf of the Queen, the heartfelt prayers of the people rose to heaven for her protection.  I pray heaven for her; and I here pour forth my fervent supplications at the throne of mercy, that mercies may descend on the people of this country richer than their rulers have deserved; and that your hearts may be turned to justice.”

The result need scarcely be alluded to.  Men of all parties, however discordant might be their opinions upon the point at issue, acknowledged and admired the intrepidity and splendid talents of Mr. Brougham on this memorable occasion.

Brilliant as has been the parliamentary career of Mr. Brougham from this period, our limits will allow us only to advert to a few of its brightest epochs.  Whether advocating the rights and liberties, and a spirit of social improvement, at home, or aiding the progress of liberal opinion abroad, we find Mr. Brougham exercising the same uncompromising integrity and patriotic zeal.  Spain, in 1823, became a fitting subject for his masterly eloquence.  His remarks on the French government, on April 14, in the House of Commons, on the consideration of the policy observed by Great Britain in the affairs of France and Spain, will not soon be forgotten:  “I do not,” said Mr. Brougham, “identify the people of France with their government; for I believe that every wish of the French nation is in unison with those sentiments which animate the Spaniards.  Neither does the army concur in this aggression; for the army alike detests the work of tyranny, plunder, cant, and hypocrisy.  The war is not commenced because the people or the army require it, but because three or four French emigrants have obtained possession of power.  It is for such miserable objects as these that the Spaniards are to be punished, because they have dared to vindicate their rights as a free and independent people.  I hope to God that the Spaniards may succeed in the noble and righteous cause in which they are engaged.”