the bushes, a fact which would come to light in
his own evidence. But at the most, all he could hope for was, that though
it seemed as if the poor lad must be condemned, the jury, on account of
his youth, and the provocation he had received, of which Mr. Taynton
would certainly make the most when called upon to bear witness on this
point, or owing to some weakness in the terrible chain of evidence that
had been woven, would recommend him to mercy.

The awful formalities at the opening of the case were gone through. The
judge took his seat, and laid on the bench in front of him a small parcel
wrapped up in tissue paper; the jury was sworn in, and the prisoner asked
if he objected to the inclusion of any of those among the men who were
going to decide whether he was worthy of life or guilty of death, and the
packed court, composed about equally of men and women, most of whom would
have shuddered to see a dog beaten, or a tired hare made to go an extra
mile, settled themselves in their places with a rustle of satisfaction at
the thought of seeing a man brought before them in the shame of
suspected murder, and promised themselves an interesting and thrilling
couple of days in observing the gallows march nearer him, and in watching
his mental agony. They who would, and perhaps did, subscribe to
benevolent institutions for the relief of suffering among the lower
animals, would willingly have paid a far higher rate to observe the
suffering of a man. He was so interesting; he was so young and
good-looking; what a depraved monster he must be. And that little package
in tissue paper which the judge brought in and laid on the bench! The
black cap, was it not? That showed what the judge thought about it all.
How thrilling!

Counsel for the Crown, opened the case, and in a speech grimly devoid of
all emotional appeal, laid before the court the facts he was prepared to
prove, on which they would base their verdict.

The prisoner, a young man of birth and breeding, had strong grounds for
revenge on the murdered man. The prosecution, however, was not concerned
in defending what the murdered man had done, but in establishing the
guilt of the man who had murdered him. Godfrey Mills, had, as could be
proved by witnesses, slandered the prisoner in an abominable manner, and
the prosecution were not intending for a moment to attempt to establish
the truth of his slander. But this slander they put forward as a motive
that gave rise to a mu