He now re-entered Parliament as the representative of the capital of his native Scotland, and became a leader in debate and the transaction of the public business.  He continued Attorney General through the conservative ministry of Sir Robert Peel, and the subsequent Whig government of Lord Melbourne.  In 1841, he held for a brief period the Chancellorship of Ireland; being at the same time elevated to the rank of a peer of England, with the title of John, first Lord Campbell.  He retired from office when Sir Robert Peel returned to power in the autumn of 1841, and turned his thoughts to the gentle and graceful pursuit of literature.  The first production of his pen was the ’Lives of the Lord Chancellors,’ from the earliest times to the close of Lord Eldon’s Chancellorship, in 1827.  For the spirited interest of its style, the clear and precise detail of fact, and the simple yet elegant course of its manner, it is surpassed by no work of the present century.  It is regarded by eminent critics as a masterpiece of biography, and may justly rank with the first books of that character in the English tongue.  It has probably been as serviceable to perpetuate the name of the author, if not more so, than the numerous profound and equitable decisions which he has left on the records of the Courts of King’s Bench and Chancery.

It was soon followed by ‘The Lives of the Chief Justices of England,’ which only enhanced the reputation of the former work; and we would heartily recommend both of these books to the perusal of all who are interested, either professionally or as a matter of taste, in this branch of literature, as a deeply interesting as well as instructive entertainment.

In 1846, Lord John Russell assumed office, and Lord Campbell was recalled from the occupation which had proved so congenial to his mind, to take a seat in the ministry as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.  While he held this position, he was a frequent and popular debater in the House of Peers, where he zealously defended the policy of the government.  In 1850, Lord Chief Justice Denman retired from the King’s Bench, ripe in years and in honorable renown, and Lord Campbell was at once designated as his successor.  In this exalted place, he was removed from the harassing uncertainties of political life; and he continued for nine years to administer justice with promptitude, skill, and equity.

It was while Chief Justice that he became eminent for the great light he brought to bear upon many important and intricate questions of law; and his fame may be said to rest mainly upon the profound ability with which he exercised the functions of this trust.  In 1859, when Lord Palmerston succeeded to the brief administration of Lord Derby, Lord Campbell was finally raised to the summit of his profession.  He was the fourth Scotchman who has been Lord Chancellor within the century, and is a worthy compeer of such men as Loughborough, Erskine, and Brougham.  The long years of unremitting toil were at length crowned with glorious success; and the great man died in the midst of duty, affluence, honor and power, while enjoying the prerogatives of the highest judicial trust, during the summer of the past year.