den Lytton bowed gravely and waited.

"Mr. Alden Lytton, you have heard that you are charged with having, on
the fifteenth of February of this present year, feloniously intermarried
with Emma Angela Cavendish, in and during the lifetime of your lawful
wife, Mary Lytton, now living in this State. Such marriage, under such
circumstances, being a felony, punishable with imprisonment and hard
labor in the State Penitentiary for a term not less than ---- or more
than ---- years. What have you to say to this charge?" inquired the
magistrate.

Alden Lytton with some difficulty controlled his indignation as he
answered:

"It is perfectly true that in last February I married Miss Cavendish, of
Blue Cliffs. But it is a false and malicious slander that I ever at any
time married any one else. It is only amazing to me, Mr. Magistrate,
that you should have issued a warrant charging me with so base a crime.
You could not possibly have had any grounds to justify such a
proceeding."

"We shall see," answered, the magistrate. "You admit that you married
Miss Cavendish on the fifteenth of last February?"

"Certainly I do."

"Then nothing remains but to prove or to disprove the statement that at
the time of your marriage with Miss Cavendish, at Blue Cliffs, you had a
lawful wife then living in the city of Richmond."

Alden Lytton flushed to the temples at hearing his true wife's pure and
noble name brought into this dishonoring examination. He spoke sternly
as he inquired:

"Upon what grounds do you make this charge? Where are your witnesses?"

"The Reverend Mr. Borden will please step forward," said the magistrate.

The strange clergyman came up to the table and stood there.

The magistrate administered the oath to this witness.

At the same moment Mr. Philip Desmond took his place at the table to
conduct the examination.

"Your name is Adam Borden?"

"Yes, sir," answered the clerical witness.

"You are the rector of Saint Blank's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia?"

"Yes, sir."

"You know the accused?"

"Yes, sir. He is Mr. Alden Lytton," replied the rector, bowing gravely
to the prisoner.

Alden acknowledged the courtesy by a nod, and then waited with more
amazement and curiosity than anxiety to hear what sort of a case they
would make out against him with the aid of this man, whom he never saw
before, and yet who claimed to know him well.

"State, if you please, Mr. Borden, what you know of Mr. Lytton in regard