Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-10-03
BEFORE TIL. STORY.
RY WILkIE COLLIES.


1.-The TFiGl.
The gentlemen Of ~ jury retired 10 con.
slider t'lr,- :,I"i,t.
.ur'ir foreman was person doubly dis
tinguished among his colleagues. lie had
the cleareSt head and the readiest tongue.
For once the right man was in the right
place.
OF the eleven iurymen four showed their
characters on the surface. They were:
The hungry juryman, who wanted his dim
ner.
The inattentive juryman, who drew pct
ures on his blotting paper.
The nervous juryman, who suffered from
fidgets.
The silent juryman, who decided the YER
dict
OF the seven remaining members one was
little drowsy man who gave no trouble;
one was an irritable invalid who served I'M
der protest; and five represented that vast
majority OF the population-easily governed.
TRANQUILITY happy-whi.i has no opinion OF
its own.
The foreman took hi place at the head of
the table. His colleagi; $ seated themselves
on either side Of him. Then there fell upon
that assembly of men silence-never known
among an assembly OF women-the silence
which proceeds from general reluctance to
be the person who speaks first
1t was the iJIeinans duty, under these
circumstances, to treat his deliberative breth-
rem as we treat our watches when they stop
he wound the jury up and set them going.
Gentlemen" he began. shave you formed
any decided opinion on the case thus farr'
Some of them said yes and some of them
said no.. The little drowsy man said MOTH
ing. The fretful invalid cried go ony' The
r"ryous juryInan suddenly rose. His breth-
rem all looked at him, inspired by the same
fear Of having got an orator among them.
He was an essentially polite man, and he
FASTENED to relieve their minds. 'Pray don't
be alarmed, gentlemen; / am not going to
make speech. suffer from fidgets. Elk.
cuse me if occasionally change my posi-
ton" The hungry juryman (who dined
early looked at his watch. "Half-past four"
he said. For heavens sake cut it short"
lie was the latest person present; and he
suggested subject to the inattentive Jury.
man who drew pictures on his blotting-paper.
Deeply interested In the progress of the like
ness, his neighbors ON either side looked over
his shoulders. The little drowsy man woke
with a start, and begged pardon of every.
body. The fretful invalid said to himself;
I'D fools, all of themw The patient
foreman, biding his time, stated the case.
1.-THE prisoner waiting our verdict, gentle
men, is the Hon. Roderick Westerfield,
younger brother of the present Lord 10
Basque. He is charged with willfulIy cast
ing away the British bark John Jerminan,
under his command; for the purpose of fraud
ulently obtaining a share of the insurance
money, and further of possessing himself Of
certain Brazilian diamonds, which formed
part Of the cargo. In plain words, here is o
gentleman born In the higher ranks of life
accused of being thief. Before we attempt
to arrive at decision, we shall only be doing
him justice il we try to form some general
estimate of his character. based on the evil
dence-and we may fairly begin by inquir-
ing into his relations with the noble family to
which he belongs. The evidence, so far, is
not altogether creditable to him. Being at
the time an officer in tho royal navy, he ap-
pears TO have outraged tho feelings of his
family by marrying . barmaid at public
house"
The drOvsy jurymAn, happening to be
awake at the moment, surprised the foreman
by inteyposing q statement ''Talking Of
barmaids," he said, II know q curate's
daughter. She's in distressed circumstances,
poor thing; and she's barmaid somewhere
in the north of England Curiously enough
the name Of the town he's escaped my MEM
DRY. II we had map of England"
There he was interrupted, cruelty interrupt
ed, by one Of his brethren.
"And by what right" cried the greedy
iuryman, speaking under the exasperating
influence Of hunger-'by what right does
Mr.. Westertield's family dare to suppose that
barmaid may not DO perfectly virtuous
womanW
Hearing thiA the restless, gentleman Tin
the act Of changing his position) was sudden
ly inspired with interest in the proceedings.
pardon me for putting myself forward" he
said. with his customary politeness. Speak
Ing as an abstainer from fermented liquors, I
must really protest against these illusions to
speaking as a consumer Of fermented
liquors." the invalid remarked, II wish I
had barlnaid and bottle of champagne be-
fore me nowW
Superior to interruption tho admirable
foreman went on.
Whatever you may think, gentlemen, Of
the prisoners marriage, we have it in EVIL
dence that his relatives turned their backs
OH him from that moment-with the one
mcrciful exception Of the head of the family.
Lord lie Basque cxertcd his influence with
the admiralty, and obtained for his brother
(then out of employment an appointment
to ship. All the witnesses agree that Mr..
Westerfield thoroughly understood his pro-
fession. If he could have controlled himself,
he might have risen to high rank In the
navy. His temper was his ruin. He quar-
relied with one Of his superior officers"
'Under strong pr0vocetionr said MEM
Der Of the jury.
"Under strong provocation," the foreman
admitted. But provocation Is not an excuse,
judged by the rules Of discipline. The pris-
Oner challenged the officer on duty to fight a
duel at the first opportunity on shore, and,
receiving contemptuous refusal, struck him
Oh the quarterback. As matter of course
Mr.. Westcrtied was tried by court-martial,
and was dismissed the service. Lord 10
Basqte's patience was not exhausted yet
The merchant service offered last chance
20 the prisoner q retrieving his position, to
SONS extent q lcas.. He was st for the sea,
and lit for nothing els". At my lords earn
at request the owners Of the John Jerminan,
trailing betweeA Liverpool and Rio, took Mr..
Wcsteriield on kial a. first mate; and, to his
credit be It said, he justified his brothers
faith In him. In tempest of the coast Of
Africa the captain was washed overheard
and the first mate succeeded to the command
His seamanship and courage saved the YES
sci under circumstances Of danger which
paralyzed the efforts Of the other officers. HI
was confirmed, rightly confirmed, In the com
nand Of the ship. And, so far, we shall Ger
tainly not be wrong IL we view his character
on the favorable side"
There the foreman paused to collect hi.
ideas
Certain members of the assembly-led b,
The jurylnan who wanted his dinner. and
supported by his inattentive colleague. then
engaged in dnwing ship in storm and
captain falling overheard the &C
Quittal Of the prisoner without further con
eidefation. But the fretful invalid cried
stuhT and the five jurymen who had nc
opinions OF their own, struck by the admir-.
able brovity With which he expressed his sen
uments, sang out in chorus: "Heari hear
hear" Tho silent juryman, hitherto over
looked, now attracted attention. He was
bald-headed pesson Of uncertain age, button
ed up tight in long frock-coat and wearina
ms gloves all through the proceedings When
the chorus Of iivo cheerod he smiled mysterf
Ously. Everybody wondered what that smile
meant The silent juryman kept his opinion
TO himself. From that moment he began r.
exercise furtive influence over the fury
Even the foreman looked at him on reumina
the narrative.
Altar certain term of service, gentle.
men, during which wo learn nothing to hi.
disadvantage, the prisoners merits appear
to have received their reward. He was pre-
sented with . share In the ship which be
commanded, IN addition to his regular salary
as master. With these improved prospects
he sailed from Liverpool on his last VOYAGE