And the reason
of his predominance at the Bar was not so much in the fact that he had
no rival in swiftness, in subtlety, in grasp, as in the passionate
strength of his nature, the intensity that in him was at the root of
the grand manner.
In the courts, as in parliament and in the theatre, the grand manner
is a thing of the past. Mr. Lloyd-George is not, in style and method,
more remote from Gladstone, nor Mr. George Alexander from Macready,
than is Mr. Rufus Isaacs, the type of modern advocate, from Russell.
Strength, passion, sonorousness, magnificence of phrasing, are things
which the present generation vaguely approves in retrospect; but it
would titter at a contemporary demonstration of them. While I was
reading Pigott's cross-examination, an idea struck me; why do not the
managers of our theatres, always querulous about the dearth of plays,
fall back on scenes from famous trials? A trial-scene in a play,
though usually absurd, is almost always popular. Why not give us
actual trial-scenes? They could not, of course, be nearly so exciting
as the originals, for the simple reason that they would not be real;
but they would certainly be more exciting than the average play. Thus
I mused, hopefully. But I was brought up sharp by the reflection that
it were hopeless to look for an actor who could impersonate Russell--
could fit his manner to Russell's words, or indeed to the words of any
of those orotund advocates.
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