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THE LATE LORD CHANCELLOR CAMPBELL.

It is worthy of note that the English statesmen of the present century have mostly originated in two totally distinct ranks of society.  They have either been the scions of noble and powerful families; or they have arisen, in spite of circumstance, from humble parents, by the sole recommendation of personal worth.  Of the great middle class, the class which is certainly the most respectable of the English community, and which is at present the controlling power in the state, but few have recently attained great eminence.  That the titled and wealthy should advance to power and influence in a government peculiarly influenced by such recommendations, is not strange.  Any son of a great English house, who has ambition, and a reasonable share of brains, may attain, with comparative ease, eminence in the state.  An apt example is Lord Russell, who, with but little genius, with no oratorical force, and hardly more than medium capacity as a statesman, has become the leader of the predominant party, by dint of shrewdness, a persevering spirit, and ambition, backed by the powerful influence of the noble house of Bedford.  And that the master-spirits born in poverty should shake off the incubus of humble birth, and advance to a level with the noblest, is not so unnatural or improbable but that the history of every nation affords us abundant examples of such men; while the middle class, who are neither stimulated by the calls of penury, nor pushed forward by hereditary interest, naturally retain a contented mediocrity of renown and honor.

If any of our readers have visited the House of Lords within the past two years, they doubtless had their attention directed to the venerable statesman who for that period has occupied, with eminent dignity and grace, the office of chairman to that body, and whose recent decease has been noticed with such profound regret in British journals.  On inquiry, they doubtless learned that this was Lord Chancellor Campbell.  He had risen from the lowest drudgery to the highest eminence of the legal profession.  By the prolific arts of perseverance and industry, he had scaled each successive round in the ladder of promotion, until now, in his declining years, with accumulated honor and respect, he had thus reached the summit, taking precedence after the Archbishop of Canterbury, holding the great seal, and presiding over the peers of the realm.

He was one of those rare examples of unconquerable pluck, who have mastered the prejudice of wealth and power, and to whom has been yielded a position envied by the most worthy descendants of the most illustrious nobles.  In America, where public distinction is within the reach of all, it is difficult to conceive of the restraints which beset the humble aspirant in the old country.  But notwithstanding such obstacles, the examples of such men as Eldon, Stowell, Truro, St. Leonards, Ashburton, Canning, and Campbell exhibit