nisters of every foreign court of the
world. In spectacular grandeur no such scene was ever before witnessed in
the annals of justice.

The peculiar personal appearance of General Butler, whose bald head shone
with insolence while his eye seemed to be winking over his record as a
warrior and making fun of his fellow-manager Bingham, added a touch of
humour to the solemn scene.

The magnificent head of the Chief Justice suggested strange thoughts to
the beholder. He had been summoned but the day before to try Jefferson
Davis for the treason of declaring the Southern States out of the Union.
To-day he sat down to try the President of the United States for declaring
them to be in the Union! He had protested with warmth that he could not
conduct both these trials at once.

The Chief Justice took oath to "do impartial justice according to the
Constitution and the laws," and to the chagrin of Sumner administered this
oath to each Senator in turn. When Benjamin F. Wade's name was called,
Hendricks, of Indiana, objected to his sitting as judge. He could succeed
temporarily to the Presidency, as the presiding officer of the Senate, and
his own vote might decide the fate of the accused and determine his own
succession. The law forbids the Vice-president to sit on such trials. It
should apply with more vigour in his case. Besides, he had without a
hearing already pronounced the President guilty.

Sumner, forgetting his motion to prevent Stockton's voting against his own
expulsion, flew to the defence of Wade. Hendricks smilingly withdrew his
objection, and "Bluff Ben Wade" took the oath and sat down to judge his
own cause with unruffled front.

When the case was complete, the whole bill of indictment stood forth a
tissue of stupid malignity without a shred of evidence to support its
charges.

On the last day of the trial, when the closing speeches were being made,
there was a stir at the door. The throng of men, packing every inch of
floor space, were pushed rudely aside. The crowd craned their necks,
Senators turned and looked behind them to see what the disturbance meant,
and the Chief Justice rapped for order.

Suddenly through the dense mass appeared the forms of two gigantic negroes
carrying an old man. His grim face, white and rigid, and his big club foot
hanging pathetically from those black arms, could not be mistaken. A
thrill of excitement swept the floor and galleries, and a faint cheer
rippled the surface, quic