cquaintance of the city, under the
guidance of his old companion, who was at home. Jim went through a great
mental convulsion. At first, what seemed to him the magnitude of the
life, enterprise and wealth of the city, depressed him. He declared that
he "had ben growin' smaller an' smaller every minute" since he left
Sevenoaks. "I felt as if I'd allers ben a fly, crawlin' 'round on the
edge of a pudden," he said, when asked whether he enjoyed the city. But
before the trial came on, he had fully recovered his old equanimity. The
city grew smaller the more he explored it, until, when compared with the
great woods, the lonely rivers, and the broad solitudes in which he had
spent his life, it seemed like a toy; and the men who chaffered in the
market, and the women who thronged the avenues, or drove in the park, or
filled the places of amusement, came to look like children, engaged in
frolicsome games. He felt that people who had so little room to breathe
in must be small; and before the trial brought him into practical
contact with them, he was himself again, and quite ready to meet them in
any encounter which required courage or address.

CHAPTER XXVI.

IN WHICH THE CASE OF "BENEDICT _VS._ BELCHER" FINDS ITSELF IN COURT, AN
INTERESTING QUESTION OF IDENTITY IS SETTLED, AND A MYSTERIOUS
DISAPPEARANCE TAKES PLACE.

"OYEZ! _Oyez_! _All-persons-having-business-to-do-with-the
-Circuit-Court-of-the-United-States-for-the-Southern-District-of
-New-York,-draw-near,-give-your-attention,-and-you-shall-be-heard."_

"That's the crier," whispered Mr. Benedict to Jim.

"What's the matter of 'im?" inquired the latter.

"That's the way they open the court."

"Well, if he opens it with cryin', he'll have a tough time a shuttin' on
it," responded Jim, in a whisper so loud that he attracted attention.

There within the bar sat Mr. Balfour, calmly examining his papers. He
looked up among the assembled jurors, witnesses and idlers, and beckoned
Benedict to his side. There sat Robert Belcher with his counsel. The
great rascal was flashily dressed, with a stupendous show of
shirt-front, over which fell, down by the side of the diamond studs, a
heavy gold chain. Brutality, vulgarity, self-assurance and an
over-bearing will, all expressed themselves in his broad face, bold eyes
and heavy chin. Mr. Cavendish, with his uneasy scalp, white hands, his
scornful lips and his thin, twitching nostrils, looked the very
impersonation of impat