ding. The Westchester House
he informed them was Washington's head quarters, and under this belief
they stopped some time to look at it, and speak of it in connection with
the many stories related of that interesting relic of the architecture
of the last century.

They arrived at length at the Essex Market, in the upper part of which
the police magistrate of that judicial district sits in a big chair, for
the purpose of dealing out retail justice and getting a wholesale
living.

The trio ascended into the court-room, where the justice was seated,
disposing of the hard cases which had accumulated during the night.
Overdale was still communicative. In answer to the inquiries of Dennis,
he informed that gentleman that the police clerks were associated
justices, that the prisoner's cage was the jury-box, and pointed out the
prisoners themselves as the jury. The humble member of the police, who
is known as the doorman, Overdale said answered well the description of
the Chief of the Police, contained in one of the historic works of John
McLenan. Dennis inquired where the prisoners were. Overdale was unable
to answer, but at last expressed it as his opinion that the persons who
were standing about them must "be the malefactors." Dennis said he never
could satisfactorily account for the jurors being tried, and sent out of
the room in charge of officers, but he had too much confidence in the
extensive knowledge and vast intelligence of Overdale, to suppose that
his hirsute friend could possibly be mistaken. In consequence of this
misplaced confidence on the part of Wagstaff and Dennis, the notebook of
the former was filled with notes of the trials of the different members
of the jury.

One case of which Wagstaff took full notes, was that of Edward Bobber, a
seafaring man, of very peculiar appearance, possessing some remarkable
characteristics of manner, dress, speech, looks, and action. He was
charged with being drunk. In the way of physical beauty, Edward was
decidedly a damaged article. He had lost one arm by a snake-bite, and
been deprived of an eye by the premature explosion of a pistol, which
broke his spectacles at the same time it extinguished his sinister
optic. The unexpected descent of a ship-mate, from the tops, upon his
head, had turned his neck so that he seemed to be keeping a perpetual
look out over his shoulder with his remaining eye. His nose resembled a
half-ripe tomato, and a pair of warty excrescences hung