bar at that time could boast of a most unusual combination
of legal talent. Some of the ablest lawyers of this or any other age
were at that time practising in the Parliament House. And the eminence
of not a few men was so great as to leave a long way behind others who,
like Sheriff Bell, would now be considered above the average in their
profession. The young advocate of 1872 has not to encounter such
intellectual giants as Patrick Robertson, Jeffrey, Cockburn, Rutherford,
M'Neil, Moncrieff, Hope, and other contemporaries of Bell, who shed the
lustre of their genius upon the law of Scotland, and secured for the
Court of Session a reputation higher, perhaps, than even Westminster
Hall has ever been able to attain.

At this time, and throughout the whole of his literary career, Sheriff
Bell was an uncompromising Tory. He never took any prominent part in
imperial politics, although in the Edinburgh Town Council, of which he
was for some time a member--sitting as the representative of St.
George's Ward--he entered into some fierce debates on the Annuity-tax
with Duncan M'Laren. That obnoxious impost was even then, as it has
subsequently been, a great bone of contention, and proved the _casus
belli_ of many a wordy war. The embryo M.P. was generally, as we are
well informed, more than a match for the young advocate, whom he
overcame with those simple but effectual weapons--facts and figures.

In 1836, Sheriff Bell stood as a candidate for the Logic Chair in
Edinburgh University, his opponents being Mr. Isaac Taylor, author of
the "Natural History of Enthusiasm;" Mr. George Combe, the phrenologist;
and Sir William Hamilton. Previous to that time, Sir William had been
Professor of Civil History in the University, and his candidature for
the Logic Chair, which was strongly supported by Mr. Adam Black and Mr.
Napier, editor of the _Edinburgh Review_, was successful.

While nominally following his practice at the bar, Mr. Bell still
continued to attach himself to literary pursuits. There are some rather
good stories told of his attachment to the Temple of Thespis, of which,
while in Edinburgh, he had always been a regular attender. When a
well-known actor, made his first appearance at the Edinburgh
Theatre-Royal, it is said that Bell wrote a slashing criticism of the
performance, his article concluding with the significant remark:
"_N.B._--Steamers sail from Leith for London twice a week," meaning, of
course, that however wel