specting the poor quality of the commons served in the hall. He argued
with so much quickness of penetration and solidity of judgment that he
gave entire satisfaction to the students and was much admired by the
benchers."]

The Middle Temple affiliates with the Universities of London and Durham. A
residence of three years and the keeping of twelve "commons" entitle a
gentleman to be called to its bar, after certain qualifying examinations,
if he be above twenty-three years of age. In the Inner Temple (by far the
richest and most popular of the two societies) the candidate for admission
must have taken his B.A. or passed an examination at the Universities of
Oxford, Cambridge, or London. No one in holy orders can be called, and
none are admitted without the consent of the benchers. The candidate must
also furnish a statement in writing, outlining his rank, age, and
residence, accompanied by a voucher as to his respectability signed by a
bencher or two barristers. In short, the Inns of Court may be described as
universities "with power to grant degrees in the municipal law of England,
which constitute indispensable qualifications for practice in the superior
courts of law." To secure these ends they have from time immemorial
enjoyed the protection of the crown.

In former times the curriculum was comprehensive and the discipline
severe. The fare provided was frugal, and the chambers were sparsely
furnished. Luxury was tabooed, and the rules were rigidly enforced. From
early morning till the hour of five in the evening, when supper was served,
not an hour was wasted. Fortescue, writing in the time of Henry VI.,
gives a graphic account of these law-schools as they were in his day.
"Students resort hither in great numbers to be taught as in common
schools. Here they learn to sing and to exercise themselves in all kinds
of harmony. On the working days they study law, and on the holy days
Scripture, and their demeanor is like the behavior of such as are coupled
together in perfect amity. There is no place where are found so many
students past childhood as here." But in these degenerate days, when the
_jeunesse dorA(C)e_ decorate their "dens" with Queen Anne furniture, Turkish
rugs, and choice bric-A -brac, it has been jocosely said that "dining in
hall is the only legal study of Temple students." Of late years, however,
"the best professional sentiment" has strongly and successfully tended in
favor of keeping up the standard o