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SKETCHES FROM THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

THE LATE LORD PRESIDENT INGLIS. By A. Wood Renton. TO write a series of papers on the Parliament House of to-day which did not contain a careful and appreciative sketch of the great lawyer, judge, and jurist over whose recent loss all Scotsmen are mourn ing, would be an act of literary treason. The Right Honorable John Inglis, late Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General of Scotland, was born at Edinburgh in 1810. His father, the Rev. John Inglis, D.D. (1 763-1834), was a promi nent divine in the Church of Scotland, over whose General Assembly he long exercised an almost despotic sway. Inglis was edu cated first at the famous High School of Edinburgh, then at the University of Glas gow, and afterward at Balliol College, Ox ford, whence he carried off a B. A. (1834) and an M. A. (1836) degree. In 1835 he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates. The subsequent facts in his professional career may be grouped around a few dates. From February till May, 1852, Inglis was Solicitor-General. From May till December, 1852, and again from February till June, 1858, he was Lord Advocate. For six years (1852-1858) he was "Dean" of the Fac ulty of Advocates, — an honorary office of French origin (Fr. doyen), which in the Par liament House is as much coveted as the best offices of profit under the Crown. In 1858 Lord Justice Clerk Hope1 died, and 1 A good story is told of this judge, among others. On one occasion he was out shooting and came to a tempting field of turnips, which in Scotland are vulgarly called "neeps." Hope proceeded to march through them in pursuit of game. Suddenly a stentorian voice was heard shouting, " Come oot o' that." The judicial sports man turned round and saw the peasant to whom the field belonged, furiously gesticulating, and making evident signs to the shooting-party to retrace their steps. "My man," said Hope, " do you know who I am? I am the

, Inglis succeeded him, with the title of Lord • Glencorse. In February, 1867, he became President of the First Division and Lord Justice Genera! of Scotland. He died in the end of August, 1891. It remains to speak of him as advocate, lawyer, and judge. Inglis's reputation as an advocate now rests almost entirely on his wonderful de i fence of Madeline Smith. On June 30, 1857, Miss Madeline Hamilton Smith, the daughter of a well-known Glasgow architect, was brought to trial before three judges of the Court of Session, Lord Justice Clerk Hope, Lord Ivory, and Lord Handyside, on a charge of having poisoned her lover, Emile L'Angelier. The salient facts in this cause cilebre were as follow : Miss Smith had been accidentally introduced to L'Angelier, who was a Frenchman by birth and morals. They speedily became intimate; the clan destine character of the amour added to the danger, and in a short time Miss Smith had been seduced. From the letters that passed between them, it is hard to say which was j the seducer. Marriage appears to have been contemplated. But Mr. Smith had other views for his daughter, and she became en gaged to a Mr. Minnock. L'Angelier sud denly developed an obstinacy of character which Miss Smith had not anticipated. He said to her in effect : " You are my wife before Heaven; you have signed yourself so 1 hundreds of times; I hold in my hands damning proofs of your guilt, and if you venture to carry out the proposed union, I will use them and expose you to the world." Entreaty, reproach, and defiance were powerLord Justice Clerk of Scotland." " I dinna care whets clerk ye are," retorted Hodge; "ye come oot o' these neeps! "