The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1868-12-10
JOHN HENTHORN'S TRIAL.
vrom the Culver (English) Magazine,

vrom the Culver tEnglish) Magazine,
One by one the charges were read
over. He, John Henthorn, stood
charged with having stolen a hand q.
some gold watch, four other articles
of jewelry, and some bank notes,
from Ebenezer Grant, commercial
traveller; and he was charged on the
second count with having the above
mentioned articles in hiapossession,
knowing them to have been stolen.-
lie was only a lad-just eighteen; he
had no friends in the great city,
which seemed to him so hard heart
ed, at that moment to be continuing
its business with the same eager roar
as ever, while he stood on his trial
He had no frieuds2 Yes, he had u
dear little friend-his sister, Lucy.
She was standing by, listening to the
person who read over these charges
in hard, dry, matter-of-fact style,
and then asked her brother--yes,
though she could not hardly believe
it. il was her owp brother John, who
stood there ip the dock, between two
policemau-asked her brother wheth-
er he was guilty or not guilty.
She listened eagerly for Johns re.
ply. She saw his mouth open and
make an Intellectual effort to form the
words; at length, with a gasp it came,
"Not guilty"
Little Lucy breathed more freely,
Her little finger was laid upon her
lips; her thin face was paler than ev-
er, but her eyes were bright and anx-
ious-no, not so much anxious as
watchful and eager. She knew now
for she had heard her brother
speak-that John was innocent; and
though she knew-for she was near
ly famished-how soroly John might
have been tempted by necessity, yet
Johns word had been passed, and
John was innocent.
John was innocent; but John must
be proved innocent. She knew
that the gentlemen ranged in rows
before the Judge were all clever law
yers, who could prove that John had
stolen nothing; SO she slipped down
ftom the crowd among which she was
standing, and, being so small, she
she passed unobserved to the corner
of the lawyers seats. She watched
all their faces for a long time. Some
of them were busily engaged turning
over great masses ofpaper and parch-
ment; othersi were sitting moodily
with their hands upon their fore
heads, briefless barristers who were
moditating on the inequalities of the
world, and how it was that "that
densely stupid Fumblefrump had his
hands full of cases" and they "who
could beat his head off at billiards,
or any other gentlemanly employ
ment,h were left brief-less. Among
these unhappy and invOluntarily idle
barristers, was one who had for four
teen years frequented the Courts. and
never met with that treasure-a
brief. He had no connection-no
one to give him a start. His little
fortune was ebbing slowly away. He
had managed to pick up few pounds
in a variety of ways. He had some
times communicated the first intelli-
genco of an appalling accident,
which he had been fortunate enough
to witness, to some of the daily pa
pers, and had received few shillings
for his trouble. But bit by bit his
little capitalize careful, hard
earned savings of loving father, the
vicar of little country living-dwin-
died away. He was thinking with
his head between his hands think
ing bitterly of his Improbable life;
he contrasted his own position of
compulsory idleness and unavoidable
gentility with the industrious aud
grateful toll of the day-laborer. He
pictures the rough-handed man re-
turning from his work-tired, but
not exhausted-the merry faces and
the merry greeting-the growing
children, aud the radiant faced wife.
He then thought of himself, Edmund
Carew, returning to his lonely cham
bers with pale face and detected spir-
its; and Edmund Carew was about to
curse the day Of his birth, when a
light finger was laid upon his elbow,
and face paler and sadder than his
own looked up at him.
"Will you make the Judge let my
brother off?"
"whO is your brother, little wo'
man ?"