CHAPTER III.
1769–1777.
His return from Spa, improved by the excursion, took place ere winter set in. To Dublin he proceeded without delay—thence sought the courts for as much employment as attorneys and clients would bestow; and joined the Munster circuit. Here he remained four or five years with the usual fortune of a young barrister—sometimes occupied by a case, sometimes by the state of the nation, always an important business to men who have little else to do. Allusions to Dublin business occur in his correspondence. One friend wishes to “hear of him in long pleadings in Chancery.” Another inquires after “briefs” in which he was interested. It is likewise remembered by the lady who now occupies Baronston, that in a suit between her father and the then Marquis of Drogheda, Edmond, who was engaged in the cause, exhibited abilities which promised future eminence.
No diligence to this end was neglected on his own part. A manuscript volume of his law studies now
