until I was in the dock at the Old Bailey, when it would have been
cowardly to have seemed to evade the responsibility of a position which
I practically occupied, although, as a matter of fact, the post was
never really conferred upon me.

_My Imprisonment._

The third instance which I will quote is even more remarkable, and
entirely precluded any possibility of my premonition having any
influence whatever in bringing about its realization. During what is
known as the Armstrong trial it became evident from the judge's ruling
that a conviction must necessarily follow. I was accused of having
conspired to take Eliza Armstrong from her parents without their
consent. My defence was that her mother had sold the child through a
neighbour for immoral purposes. I never alleged that the father had
consented, and the judge ruled with unmistakable emphasis that her
mother's consent, even if proved, was not sufficient. Here I may
interpolate a remark to the effect that if Mrs. Armstrong had been asked
to produce her marriage lines the sheet anchor of the prosecution would
have given way, for long after the trial it was discovered that from a
point of law Mr. Armstrong had no legal rights over Eliza, as she was
born out of wedlock. The council in the case, however, said we had no
right to suggest this, however much we suspected it, unless we were
prepared with evidence to justify the suggestion. As at that time we
could not find the register of marriage at Somerset House the question
was not put, and we were condemned largely on the false assumption that
her father had legal rights as custodian of his daughter. And this, as
it happened, was not the case. This, however, by the way.

When the trial was drawing to a close, conviction being certain, the
question was naturally discussed as to what the sentence would be. Many
of my friends, including those actively engaged in the trial on both
sides, were strongly of opinion that under the circumstances it was
certain I should only be bound over in my own recognisance to come up
for judgment when called for. The circumstances were almost
unprecedented; the judge, and the Attorney-General, who prosecuted, had
in the strongest manner asserted that they recognised the excellence of
the motives which had led me to take the course which had landed me in
the dock. The Attorney-General himself was perfectly aware that his
Government could never have passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act--wo