John Anstey was an English poet and barrister. He was the second son of Christopher Anstey

Christopher Anstey

Christopher Anstey was an English writer and poet.Anstey was the son of Dr. Anstey, a wealthy clergyman, the rector of Brinkley where he was born. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself for his Latin verses. He became a fellow of his college...

, and was a barrister of Lincoln's Inn

Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...

and a commissioner for auditing public accounts. Under the pseudonym of 'John Surrebutter,' he wrote 'a didactic poem' in 1796, entitled 'The Pleader's Guide,' further described as 'containing the conduct of a suit at law, with the arguments of Counsellor Bother'um and Counsellor Bore'um, in an action between John-a-Gull and John-a-Gudgeon for [assault and battery at a late contested election.' It has a great deal of humour, though chiefly of a legal kind. Porson is said to have known it by heart, and Lord Campbell quotes it in his 'Lives of the Justices.' John Anstey also edited his father's works in 1808.