Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/732

 720 ERSKINE ERYSIPELAS wich, then at the head of the admiralty, for an alleged libel on other officers of that institution in respect of its management, and at once at- tained distinction as an advocate. The imme- diate effect of this effort was his reception of 30 retainers before he left the court. In 1779 he appeared at the bar of the house of com- mons as counsel for a bookseller against the monopoly of the two universities in printing almanacs, and the bill introduced by the prime minister, Lord North, to renew the monopoly, was defeated. In 1781 he secured the acquit- tal of Lord George Gordon, impeached for treason as the head of the " no popery " riot- ers. His practice and reputation increased so rapidly that he received in 1783, at the sug- gestion of Lord Mansfield, then presiding in the court of king's bench, the patent of pre- cedence at the bar, and in the same year was returned to parliament as member for Ports- mouth. He was a supporter of Fox, and ad- vocated that minister's famous East India bill ; but his parliamentary speeches were inferior to his pleas at the bar. His best efforts were those in defence of the freedom of the press and the privileges of juries, and against the doctrine of constructive treason. In his de- fence of the dean of St. Asaph, charged with libel, he indignantly argued against the judge who refused to receive the verdict of " Guilty of publishing only." One of his most impor- tant speeches was delivered in 1789 on the trial of Stockdale, who had published a pam- phlet containing severe reflections upon the conduct of the managers of the impeachment of Warren Hastings, and was arraigned for a libel against the house of commons. Erskine's defence of Stockdale established his reputation as the most consummate advocate of the age, and the doctrine expounded in his plea and sanctioned by the verdict became the founda- tion of the liberty of the press in England. In 1792 he acted as counsel to Thomas Paine, prosecuted as author of the u Rights of Man," and was therefore deprived of the office of attorney general to the prince of Wales, which he had held since 1783. In 1794 he defended Hardy, Home Tooke, Thelwall, and Bothers, who were arrested and committed to the tower on charge of political conspiracy and high trea- son. The trial of Hardy began Oct. 29, and though the indictment stated nine overt acts of high treason, the trial turned almost solely on the question of treasonable intention. The proceedings continued to the eighth day, but the ability and eloquence of Erskine gained a verdict of acquittal, and forced the highest ad- miration even from his opponents. Tooke was arraigned Nov. 10, and pronounced not guilty on the 20th ; his acquittal was followed by that of Thelwall; and the government abandoned the other indictments. Erskine looked with favor upon the attempt at social renovation in France, and opposed the interference of Eng- land on behalf of the Bourbons. His pamphlet entitled "A View of the Causes and Conse- quences of the Present War with France' rapidly passed through 48 editions. Upon the death of Pitt in 1806, and the formation of Lord Grenville's coalition ministry, Erskine was appointed lord high chancellor, and created a peer under the title of Baron Erskine of Re- stormel castle, in Cornwall ; but this ministry was dissolved within a year. He passed the remainder of his life in retirement, subject to pecuniary embarrassments from the loss of his large professional income and from unprofit- able investments ; while his domestic relations were disturbed by an ill-assorted marriage made after the death of his first wife in 1805. He took part for the last time in the house of lords in 1820, on occasion of the trial of Queen Caroline. Lord Erskine was one of the greatest of English advocates, and his elo- quence may be compared to that of Pitt, Fox, Burke, and Sheridan. He presented to par- liament the bill for the abolition of the slave trade, pleaded the cause of the Irish Cath- olics, supported propositions for the reform of the penal laws, and spoke and wrote in behalf of the struggling Greeks. His noblest efforts were in the cause of constitutional free- dom, and during the momentous struggles of the period in which he lived no public man had greater personal influence. He left but few productions in writing. His parody of Gray's " Bard " was published in the " Month- ly Magazine ;" he wrote a preface to Fox's speeches, a political romance entitled "Ar- mata, a Fragment" (published anonymously in 1817), and a few political treatises ; but the chief foundation of his fame is his numerous speeches, which retain in print the brilliancy of thought, copiousness of imagery, elegance of diction, and much of the fervor which ren- dered them so successful when delivered. Col- lections have been published of his speeches at the bar in favor of the liberty of the press and against constructive treason (by James Ridge- way, 4 vols. 8vo, London, 1810-'!!) ; of his speeches at the bar on miscellaneous subjects (1812) ; of his speeches at the bar and in parr liament, with a memoir by Lord" Brougham (4 r vols. 8vo, 1847); and of his select speech- es, with a memoir by Edward Walford (2 vols. 8vo, 1870). ERYMANTHFS, in ancient geography, a river and mountain of Arcadia, in Greece. The river, according to some the modern Dimitza- na, rises on the frontiers of Arcadia and Elis, and flows into the Alpheus. The mountain, east of the river, formed the western point of the northern barrier of Arcadia, and was covered with forests. In this mountain Her- cules killed the famous wild boar. ERYSIPELAS (Gr. spveiv, to'draw, and irttaf, neighboring, from its tendency to draw in the neighboring parts ; called also ST. ANTHONY'S FIRE, or in Scotland ROSE), an inflammation of the skin characterized by redness, swelling, and burning pain, commonly spreading from a central point, and sometimes affecting the