he would have stood aghast at the satin frocks and velvet waistcoats of
him who broke the hearts of Drury Lane. But if he were gentler in his
life, Haggart was prepared to fight with a more reckless courage when
his trade demanded it. It was the Gentleman's boast that he never
shed the blood of man. When David found a turnkey between himself and
freedom, he did not hesitate to kill, though his remorse was bitter
enough when he neared the gallows. In brief, Haggart was not only the
better craftsman, but the honester fellow, and though his hands were red
with blood, he deserved his death far less than did the more truculent,
less valiant Simms. Each had in his brain the stuff whereof men of
letters are made: this is their parallel. And, by way of contrast,
while the Switcher was an accomplished artist, Gentleman Harry was a
roystering braggart.

DEACON BRODIE AND CHARLES PEACE

I--DEACON BRODIE

AS William Brodie stood at the bar, on trial for a his life, he seemed
the gallantest gentleman in court. Thither he had been carried in
a chair, and, still conscious of the honour paid him, he flashed a
condescending smile upon his judges. His step was jaunty as ever; his
superb attire well became the Deacon of a Guild. His coat was blue,
his vest a very garden of flowers; while his satin breeches and his
stockings of white silk were splendid in their simplicity. Beneath
a cocked hat his hair was fully dressed and powdered, and even the
prosecuting counsel assailed him with the respect due to a man of
fashion. The fellow's magnificence was thrown into relief by the squalor
of his accomplice. For George Smith had neither the money nor the taste
to disguise himself as a polished rogue, and he huddled as far from his
master as he could in the rags of his mean estate. Nor from this moment
did Brodie ever abate one jot of his dignity. He faced his accusers with
a clear eye and a frigid amiability; he listened to his sentence with
a calm contempt; he laughed complacently at the sorry interludes of
judicial wit; and he faced the last music with a bravery and a cynicism
which bore the stamp of true greatness.

It was not until after his crime that Brodie's heroism approved itself.
And even then his was a triumph not of skill but of character. Always a
gentleman in manner and conduct, he owed the success and the failure
of his life to this one quality. When in flight he made for Flushing
on board the Endeavour, the other