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Show ATTI OCIO"CS .J UD C ES. [A. D. HOO he .. hould never sit on the Lench any Inore; and appointed in his place a succe sor, who, Leing a puisne, had w j 'he<l to trip up the heels of his chief, and had circuhtted a tatcn1ent, to reach the kinrr's car, that Sir Thomas Cooke'' offence \Yas a 0 • clear, overt act of high trea on. 1\Iarkb~.un Lore l1i - f<.1ll \rith much dignity and propriety- in no re pect changing hi:; principles or favoring the movement which for a en on rc toreJ llenry ·vi. to the throne after he ba<l been ten years a pri.-oner in the Tower. Upon the di rni ~sal of Sir John 1\farkham, EchYard IV., who no longer showed the generous E=pirit which had illustrated his signal bravery while he was fighting for the cro\Yn, and now abandoned him elf by turns to volnptuou ness and cruelty, tried to discover the iltte t in. trument that coulcl be found for gratifying his re ~entments Ly a pen~er ion of the fonns of luw, and with felicity fixed upon Sir Thoma. Billing, \Vho, by all sort- of meanne se ', frauds, and atrocitie .. , aided by natural · hrewuness, or rather low cunning, haJ contrived to rai e himself from deep obscurity to a pui~ne judge or the 1\::ing'ti Bench; and in that situation had . hown him.'clf ready to obey every mandate, ana to pander to C\'ery caprice of those who who coulu give him still higher elevation. rrllis is one oi' the earliest of the long list of politico-legal ad vent urcrs ·who have attained to eminence by a moderate hare of learning and talent, and an utter want of principle and regard for consistency.* IIi::; family and the place of his education are unknown. lie was supposed to have been the c.lerk of an attorney; thus *A list by no means l'nl·t d t ,~, 1 t • • < 1 1 c o .£Jng and, bnt ycry much lenn-thened ou m Amcnca.- Ed. o A. D. 14C1.1 TilO)L\.8 BILLIXG. 65 making him elf well acquainted with the rules of practice and the less reputable parts of the law. Ilowever, he contrived (·which nu1st have l>een a diiftcult 1nalter in tho e days, when aln1ost all who were admitted at the inn. of conrt were young 111en of goocl birth and Lreedinf;) to keep hi:; t nn ' and to be ~alle<l to the bar. Ile had consi<Jerable bu ~ iness, although not of the 1110 ·t creclitable description, anJ in due time he took the degree of the coif~ tha t is, becmnc a ~ 1jeant. IIis mnbition urew with his s u c~e.~:-:: and nothin00"' would sat- o i::fy hitn but ofllcial prefern1eut. Now b ·gan the grmHl eon-troversy respcc·t ing the succe~ ·ion to the crown ; and the elain1 to it tllrou()"'h the lwlbC of ::\Iortitner, wlti ·h lwcl long been a 1nere matter of speeulation, \Ya · l>ronght in to fonniL1al>le activity in the per;:;on oi' lliehan1, J)uke of York. Hilling, thinking that a po,· e:-;sion of ahove lmlf a ccnLnry n1n;;;t r ender the Lanca trian cansc trimnphant, uotwilh:-Jt::tnding the in1l>ccility of tlw r i()"'ni1lfr . ovcrci p·n was outra()"'cously loyal. lie de-a o u ' o rid eel all obj <' ·tion.· to a t.i tle w b.ich the nn.tion hau so often olemnly re~o ,~n ize tl; enlarging on the prut1ence of Ilenry TV., the O"'n_llantry of lienry \ '"., nncl ille piety of the ho1y IIenry ·vr., lluder ·whose 1niltl ~ wny the country now· ilourisheu, happily riel of' all1t. contin r ntal <lcpendcncics. lie eYen im.i tated ihe exarn ple of Sir J oh~ 1 Fort~scue, nncl pn b1i ·hed a treatise upon tile f'U bjeet, w hie h he conclnded with an e~ · hortation ' that all who d<lred, by act, wri ting, or spce('h, to call in qnc.'tion the pow 'r of PnrliamcnL to accept the r c:' ignation of l~ichard li., or to depose hinl for the crimes be had comnlittcJ, and to call to the throne the n1 'mber of the royal family n1ost worthy to fill it, nceording to the fashion of our Saxon ancestors, houlcl be procec<1·d against as traitors." This so pleased \V<lynilete, the chancellor, and the other G* |