equals. Life by E. Thomas.

JEFFREY, FRANCIS (1773-1850).--Critic and political writer, _s._ of a
legal official, _b._ in Edinburgh, _ed._ at the High School there, and at
Glasgow and Oxf., where, however, he remained for a few months only.
Returning to Edinburgh he studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1794.
Brought up as a Tory, he early imbibed Whig principles, and this, in the
then political state of Scotland, together with his strong literary
tendencies, long hindered his professional advancement. Gradually,
however, his ability, acuteness, and eloquence carried him to the front
of his profession. He was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates in
1829 and, on the accession to power of the Whigs in 1830, became Lord
Advocate, and had a large share in passing the Reform Bill, in so far as
it related to Scotland. In 1832 he was elected M.P. for Edinburgh, and
was raised to the Bench as Lord Jeffrey in 1834. His literary fame rests
on his work in connection with the _Edinburgh Review_, which he edited
from its commencement in 1802 until 1829, and to which he was a constant
contributor. The founding of this periodical by a group of young men of
brilliant talents and liberal sympathies, among whom were Brougham,
Sydney Smith, and F. Horner, constituted the opening of a new epoch in
the literary and political progress of the country. J.'s contributions
ranged over literary criticism, biography, politics, and ethics and,
especially in respect of the first, exercised a profound influence; he
was, in fact, regarded as the greatest literary critic of his age, and
although his judgments have been far from universally supported either by
the event or by later critics, it remains true that he probably did more
than any of his contemporaries to diffuse a love of literature, and to
raise the standard of public taste in such matters. A selection of his
papers, made by himself, was _pub._ in 4 vols. in 1844 and 1853. J. was a
man of brilliant conversational powers, of vast information and sparkling
wit, and was universally admired and beloved for the uprightness and
amiability of his character.

JERROLD, DOUGLAS WILLIAM (1803-1857).--Dramatist and miscellaneous
writer, _s._ of an actor, himself appeared as a child upon the stage.
From his 10th to his 12th year he was at sea. He then became apprentice
to a printer, devoting all his spare time to self-education. He early
began to contribute to periodicals, and in his 18th yea