pressing itself by a loud murmur, a
gentleman stepped forth, whose appearance, instead of allaying the
excitement, renewed it in quite an unprecedented and remarkable way.

I did not know the person thus introduced.

He was a handsome man, a very handsome man, if the truth must be told,
but it did not seem to be this fact which made half the people there
crane their heads to catch a glimpse of him. Something else, something
entirely disconnected with his appearance there as a witness, appeared
to hold the people enthralled and waken a subdued enthusiasm which
showed itself not only in smiles, but in whispers and significant
nudges, chiefly among the women, though I noticed that the jurymen
stared when somebody obliged them with the name of this new witness. At
last it reached my ears, and though it awakened in me also a decided
curiosity, I restrained all expression of it, being unwilling to add
one jot to this ridiculous display of human weakness.

Randolph Stone, as the intended husband of the rich Miss Althorpe, was a
figure of some importance in the city, and while I was very glad of this
opportunity of seeing him, I did not propose to lose my head or forget,
in the marked interest his person invoked, the very serious cause which
had brought him before us. And yet I suppose no one in the room observed
his figure more minutely.

He was elegantly made and possessed, as I have said, a face of peculiar
beauty. But these were not his only claims to admiration. He was a man
of undoubted intelligence and great distinction of manner. The
intelligence did not surprise me, knowing, as I did, how he had raised
himself to his present enviable position in society in the short space
of five years. But the perfection of his manner astonished me, though
how I could have expected anything less in a man honored by Miss
Althorpe's regard, I cannot say. He had that clear pallor of complexion
which in a smooth-shaven face is so impressive, and his voice when he
spoke had that music in it which only comes from great cultivation and a
deliberate intent to please.

He was a friend of Howard's, that I saw by the short look that passed
between them when he first entered the room; but that it was not as a
friend he stood there was apparent from the state of amazement with
which the former recognized him, as well as from the regret to be seen
underlying the polished manner of the witness himself. Though perfectly
self-possessed and perfec