save the direct study of the law itself No forensic or intellectual training is thought to be at all in dispensable to success. Of course, then, the supply will be here as elsewhere, proportioned to the demand.

We have thus, very briefly, and, we regret to add, very imperfectly, stated the principal causes of the decline of the legal profession in this country; first, the tendency of popular sympathy, and of legislation to enlarge the responsibility of the individual, and to leave every man, as far as possible, the subject of his own discretion; and secondly, and in consequence of the surrender of its functions by first to second

rate men.

We are anxious to be understood as indicating a tendency, not a result wholly accomplished. As this process of individualization is only in its early developement, of course, its consequences are not yet to be realized. We are fully aware that there is yet among us a most unnatural amount of litigation that improvident credits still continue to distinguish the folly of American tradesmen-that our judicial tribunals are clogged with excess of business; but we insist, on the other hand, that there has been, for twenty years, and continues to be, a constant disposition to war upon the legal profession, as a class preying upon the public through a useless and impostrous mystery. That the profession is not adequately paid for the labor and responsibility it has to sustain. That its profits are diminishing year by year; and that, if the theory upon which our government is based be a correct one, and the tone of our legislation be healthy, and is to be permanent, the mediation of the lawyer must fall into comparative disuse, or undergo an entire change as to the character and value of his service. There will always be abundant occasion in this world, we presume, for judicious advisers, and in that capacity they may constitute a professional order; but we do not believe that the rights of men are forever to struggle with all the inexplicable absurdity with which the combined ingenuity of statesmen, of judges and lawyers, have incumbered them, and which have, for so many centuries, made a market for the first talent and most vigorous industry of the ablest men. In a government like ours, which professes to act singly

to the greatest happiness of all, we believe we shall some day find out a way of simplifying our relations with our neighbors to that degree, that good sense and honesty combined, will be all that will be requisite in most of the differences between men, to decide righteously upon them; that no ten or twenty years' study of formulas and arbitrary precedents will be necessary to establish a man's obligation to pay for a cow which he has bought, or for the use of a house which he has rented.

We are unwilling to leave this subject without a single word to those who, if our view be correct, are most concerned with its bearing. We refer to the young candidates for the bar. It is for them to consider whether the prospects of the legal profession are equal to their hopes. Lawyers have, for so long a period of the world's history, been distinguished with the highest public trusts, enjoyed the most exalted honors, and possessed the most distinguished ability, that it is almost impossible to convince a careless observer that these results are not incident to the vocation. Tempted by the hope of such rewards, hundreds abandon a more fitting vocation for a chance in the game which has yielded such extraordinary success. But, for the reasons we have stated, we submit that this is a delusion, and is fast becoming a snare, and that, before the student of to-day shall have lived to reach the elevation where his expected honors grow, the tree will be found nearly barren.

Add to this, that in no other literary profession, perhaps, is there so much fruitless study necessary for success. The lawyer's toil and research—and we speak of those labors which are necessarily professional-are not the acquisition of a science, the mastery of any great phenomenon of nature, the development of some new power, by which the whole mind of the human race is to be moved forward, and the comforts of men are to be multiplied. His brain does not weary with argument to establish great truths, which, when established, materially increase the wisdom of mankind. It is scarcely too much to say, that the great mass of his pure law learning, might be erased from his mind, without materially impairing his interest as a companion, or his usefulness and value as a citizen; and yet we are well satisfied that the members

of no other literary profession undergo the same amount of severe intellectual labor, as the same number of lawyers. It is not the business of the lawyer to seek or to maintain abstract right. He is to read an arbitrary, and, to him, immutable, law, and apply it to the case which is submitted to him. He has nothing to do with the right, but with the law, and when he finds what he esteems to be the law of his case, to maintain his position. To learn his law, and sustain his interpretation of it, he does not explore the vast domain of morals and of knowledge, to learn what is just and true, but he burrows through five or ten thousand volumes of reports, to find what had been the opinion of judges, from one to a thousand years before him, in kindred cases. A previous judgment, which in any other art or science is nothing more than a presumption, concludes him. He lays down his weapon without having made a single conquest over error, or a single acquisition, except for the profit of the John Doe, whom he happens to rep

resent.

We speak in the common interest of the public, when we say, that this is

too serious a loss of intellectual service to be submitted to patiently. The same degree of labor and of capacity, which is necessary to make a distinguished lawyer, would achieve a worldwide reputation, if bestowed upon any of the natural sciences or useful arts. The preliminary study and thought which are necessary to qualify a young lawyer respectably to hold his first brief, would suffice to master the learning of almost any of the practical sciences, and then he would have the best of his mature life to widen its circle. His labors, too, would then be sustained by the consciousness that he was enlarging the sphere of human intelligence; that his industry, and perhaps his name, would go down to posterity, associated with the causes or the instruments of some of its most substantial enjoyments.

If parents, and the friends, whose duty it is to direct the education of our young men, would properly consider these things, we are persuaded they would spare themselves and their charges much of the mortification and anxiety, which always pursue defeated hopes.

Taunton, Mass.

English colors flying, but the brig displayed none; our officers had on English uniforms, and our marines were dressed in red coats. The captain gave the word to "man the sweeps," and all hands turned to, with a will to propel our ship toward the object of our anticipated capture.

ve

We now gained upon her fast, and at 5, P. M., she displayed English colors. We could see that she had several guns on a side, but that her crew were not very numerous. In about two hours more we were within hailing distance, and ordered her to heave to, but her captain did not choose to comply with this order; we accordingly threw a shot across her forefoot, which the spunky Briton returned without any ceremony. We now him a general discharge from our battery; but he was determined to die game, and returned it; but it was no equal match, and in about four minutes he was completely silenced. We then ordered him to send his boat on board us, which order he promptly complied with this time. She proved to be from Pernambuco bound for London, with a valuable cargo of cotton, sugar and dyewoods, and her officers were ignorant that war existed between the United States and Great Britain. We removed her crew into our own vessel, and sent her home in charge of a prizemaster and seven men, where she arrived in safety.

This capture put new life and animation into our crew, and all our thoughts and conversation were of prizes and fortunes to be made upon the ocean. I shared in the general joy, yet I could not but look with pity upon the captain of the brig, who appeared to be a very worthy man, and who said that he was ruined by our good success, as he had all his worldly preperty in the vessel which was now on its way to the United States. As for the crew, they appeared to care nothing about their capture. They were not English, and felt no allegiance to Great Britain, and they were well treated on board our ship, as our captain would not permit them to be plundered of the most trifling article, and several of them wished to enlist among our crew; but this was not permitted.

Three days after this, we fell in with and captured another brig. We chased

her several hours, and came up with her about 7 o'clock, P. M., gave her a shot, but she did not regard it; then gave her the first division of guns, when she immediately hove to. We sent a boat with a lieutenant on board her, and the crew were found to be in such a state of beastly intoxication, that they were obliged to throw them down into our boat. The master was the only sober man on board. We got this drunken gang on board as well as we could, and the mate crawled along and sat down on one of our gun-carriages. This man did not comprehend that he was a prisoner, but assured some of our men that if he had taken them, he would treat them well; but when the intoxicating fumes passed off, he found that the saddle was on the other horse. This brig proved to be from Bahia, with a cargo of one thousand bales of cotton, mounting 10 guns, and having a crew of 18 men, and they, too, were ignorant of the war. We manned her out, and despatched her for the United States, where she arrived in safety.

We had now the crews of both the brigs on board, but our captain promised to release them whenever he had an opportunity; and this soon occur. red; for, about a week after, we fell in with a Portuguese schooner, bound from Lisbon for New-York, when he released them all, and gave them bread and beef enough to subsist them until the schooner should arrive in port.

This was a very common proceeding on board privateers, as it required some of their men to guard the prisoners, and thus weakened the effective strength of the crew, and our object was merchandise rather than men; but the English acted on a different policy. They took care to retain all the prisoners they captured-knowing that they thus weakened the naval force of their enemy. It was for this reason that they had so many more prisoners at the close of the war than the Americans had.

About the middle of October, when we were cruising along leisurely, propelled by the light winds of the northeast trades, one beautiful moonlight night we descried a sail far off toward the eastern horizon. All hands were piped to make sail, and we tacked, and stood for the stranger. All hands were beat to quarters, and our ship put in

warlike array. Presently we discovered her to be a ship, and an armed one, and, to appearance, of a very superior force to us, and we accordingly tacked again to the westward, and put all sail on our ship-being as eager now to shun acquaintance, as we had, a little while before, been to court it. The stranger was coming up with us, apparently without an effort, with nothing flying above his top-sails; while we had top-gallant sails and studding-sails set below and aloft. The nearer she approached, the larger she loomed, and we all came to the conclusion that she was a frigate, and that we could not much longer elude her; our only hope was, that she was an American. But we had made up our minds that our cruise was up, and the men deserted their quarters, and went below to pack up their bags and prepare for their transportation on board the frigate. In about two hours from the time we first espied her, she was up with us, and the discharge of a musket from her fore-castle soon brought us to. Then the usual inquiry was made from her -"What ship's that?" and, on our reply, the same voice immediately called out" How do you do, Captain W.?" We now recognised our supposed frigate as a large privateer ship belonging to our own port. She was a third part larger than we were, and of more force, and was remarkable for her speed, as in many trials she was never beaten. Right glad were we all at this meeting on the ocean; and our own crew were particularly glad that we had found a friend where we expected a foe. Our captain went on board of her, and remained a couple of hours. When he returned, we parted company, and each ship wended its way again on its own course.

Half of the time allotted for our cruise had now expired, and our water grew short, and the little stock of vegetables which we brought from port, had been long since expended; so our captain resolved to put into one of the Cape de Verd islands, to replenish our water, and to lay in a fresh stock of vegetable provisions. We made sail, therefore, in the direction of these isl ands; and on the 1st day of November we made the Isle of Sal, and in a few hours after Bonavista. Cruising along, we made the Isle of May the next

VOL. XVIII.-NO. XCI.

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morning, and in the afternoon we came o anchor in the Bay of Porto Praya, in the Island of St. Jago, the principal one of the group. Our lieutenant went on shore in the cutter, and obtained permission from the authorities to fill our water-casks. Accordingly, all hands were busy the next morning in getting our empty casks on shore, and filling them at a spring, which was situated back of the town, in a valley. It was no easy task to get our casks to and from the shore, on account of the surf or rollers which beat upon the beach, frequently capsizing our boats, and causing the men to strike out beyond the surf for safety.

These islands belong to the Portuguese, and are inhabited principally by negroes. The soil yields many kinds of vegetables, almost spontaneously; for what little culture we saw, scarcely deserved the name. Here we obtained the most delicious oranges, bananas, and sour-sops, in exchange for old clothes, which appeared to be the only kind of currency in demand with the inhabitants. Pigs, fowls, goats, and cassava root, were procured for the ship's use.

This last article is about the

size and appearance of a potato, and from it is made arrow-root and tapioca. It is poisonous in its raw state, but boiling extracts its poisonous principle, and it then becomes a very innocent and nutricious food. Our sailors, likewise, procured quite a stock of monkeys, which are numerous on this island, and some birds of the parrot race.

The town was of inconsiderable size, and the houses were of a mean and low construction. It was situated on a hill, and the watering-place, as I have said, was back of it, in the valley. Here, all the water for the use of the town was procured; and in this valley were the gardens; and paths led down the hill from the town to them. Jackasses were continually going up and down these paths, laden with water or vegetables, or going to procure them.

The inhabitants appeared to be very poor, and sadly deficient of clothing, which caused our second-hand clothes to be of more value to them than money. It was no uncommon sight, to see a man with the uniform coat of an officer, large rents, in which betrayed the absence of a shirt, a gold-laced chapeaude bras, and military small clothes,