, the roses had altogether
flown from her cheeks.

Indeed, now that the trial was at hand, public sympathy turned rapidly
and strongly in his favor; his father had lost that wealth, the
acquisition of which earned him so heavy a portion of infamy; and, as he
had been sufficiently punished in his own person, they did not think it
just to transfer any portion of the resentment borne against him to a
son who had never participated in his system of oppression. They felt
for Connor now on his own account, and remembered only his amiable and
excellent character. In addition to this, the history of the mutual
attachment between him and Una having become the topic of general
conversation, the rash act for which he stood committed was
good-humoredly resolved into a foolish freak of love; for which it
would be a thousand murders to take away his life. In such mood were the
public and the parties most interested in the event of our story,
when the morning dawned of that awful day which was to restore Connor
O'Donovan to the hearts that loved him so well, or to doom him, a
convicted felon, to a shameful and ignominious death.

At length the trial came on, and our unhappy prisoner, at the hour of
eleven o'clock, was placed at the bar of his country to stand the brunt
of a government prosecution. Common report had already carried abroad
the story of Una's love and his, many interesting accounts of which had
got into the papers of the day. When he stood forward, therefore, all
eyes were eagerly riveted upon him; the judge glanced at him with calm,
dispassionate scrutiny, and the members of the bax, especially the
juniors, turned round, surveyed him through their glasses with a gaze
in which might be read something more than that hard indifference which
familiarity with human crime and affliction ultimately produces even in
dispositions most human and amiable. No sooner had the curiosity of the
multitude been gratified, than a murmur of pity, blended slightly with
surprise and approbation, ran lowly through the court-house. One of
the judges whispered a few words to his brother, and the latter again
surveyed Connor with a countenance in which were depicted admiration
and regret. The counsel also chatted to each other in a low tone,
occasionally turning round and marking his deportment and appearance
with increasing interest.

Seldom, probably never, had a more striking, perhaps a more noble
figure, stood at the bar of that court. Hi