res, and he
considered my attacks on the Bible too severe; but he held that I had a
perfect right to ridicule Christianity if I thought fit, and he refused
to treat any method of attacking opinions as a crime. Of the other two
jurors, one was convinced by my address, and the other declared that
he was not going to assist in imprisoning like a thief "a man who could
make a speech like that."

The next day I asked Lord Coleridge not to try the case again for a few
days, as I was physically unable to conduct my defence. His lordship
said:

"I have just been informed, and I hardly knew it before, what
such imprisonment as yours means, and what, in the form it has
been inflicted on you, it must mean; but now that I do know of
it, I will take care that the proper authorities know of it also,
and I will see that you have proper support."

His lordship added that he would see I had proper food, and he would
take the defence whenever I pleased. We fixed the following Tuesday.
During the interim our meals were provided from the public-house
opposite the prison gates. My diarrhoea ceased at once, and I so far
recovered my old form that I felt ready to fight twenty Giffards. But
we did not encounter each other again. Feeling assured that if Lord
Coleridge continued to try the case, as he obviously meant to until
it was disposed of, they would never obtain a verdict, the prosecution
secured a _nolle prosequi_ from the Attorney-General. It was procured
by means of an affidavit, containing what his lordship branded as an
absolute falsehood. So the prosecution, which began in bigotry and
malice, ended appropriately in a lie.

CHAPTER XV. LOSS AND GAIN.

Our victory in the Court of Queen's Bench was an unmitigated loss to Sir
Henry Tyler and his backers, for it threw upon them the whole costs of
the prosecution. It was also a loss to ourselves; for I have it on the
best authority that, if we had been found guilty, Lord Coleridge would
have made his sentence concurrent with Judge North's, and shifted us
from the criminal to the civil side of the prison, where we should have
enjoyed each other's society, worn our own clothes, eaten our own food,
seen our friends frequently, received and answered letters, and spent
our time in rational occupations. To the Freethought cause, however, our
victory was a pure gain. As I had anticipated, the press gave our new
trial a good deal of attention. The _Daily N