The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-01-26
hood, ,;indsputable connection there

with.
To malntain this superb Palace OF
Justice. its oligarchy of incorruptible
magistrates, its learned and jealous
prosecutors for the crown, its troop OF
recorders, clerks and scribcs of various
sorts and degrees, its gendarmerie with
the air of Vikings. its troop of we'll
paid menials, conscious Of rectitude,
it's libraries. reading and writing rooms,
studies and countless other amenities
for the initiated, perhaps four hundred
thousand marks were annually re-
quired; five hundred thousand francs;
rone hundred thousand dollars; twenty
Thousand pounds sterling-an appetiz.
ing moa,sel, however reckoned.
ON a certain summer morning, in
ore OF the larger court rooms, the
benches reserved for the public were
Gro wded, and, although it was haying-
timss conspicuous and sturdy con-
ting,snt of peasantry sat manfully along
the f.vont. in their knee-breeches, scar
let wt,istcoats and many rows OF an
cestrali silver buttons.
IL vss long before court opened
much after the Academic quarter; but
who world venture to expect here the
lowly virtue of punctuality? The pub
lie waited silent and docile. Chastc,
temple-like, the noble proportions and
discreet light of the high and oblong
judgment~ball tended to restrain un.
seemly chateer Even the careless, and
such as had srrayed in from mere curl
osity, became gradually hushed and
astonished atStheir own elevated senti.
ments, as theywaguely meditated upon
the transceUiental wisdom permeat
ing the atmosphere; gazed ingenuously
upon those lofty precincts drenched,
as it were, in thatvirtue which we deem
the most godlike'attribute of mar; and
stared meekly ut the empty, but Dor.
tentous judges dais across the opposite
end of the room, where, behind a fine
railing of demarcntion, were dong and
vastly erudite table and five magisterial
Gothic chairs--a,sort of Sinai in carved
oak
High above the vulgar, a row Of small
loges, skirting the hall and entered by
glass doors from the gallery without,
were occupied by privileged guests;
those favored by great lights of the
tribunal, or strangers of distinction.
Peradventure astute men in royal livery
might also unlock log-doors for travel
ers who presented no credentials be-
yond dsft, swift movement of the
hand. 1t is not difficult to guess why
the great statue OF Justice in that gal.
sery preferred to wear n bandage over
her eyes.
The vast machinery began, at length,
to revolve. Two cleaning sentinels |
swung open the great doors on the
right, and stood on guard. A pause
long enough TO whct the public's appe-
lite for felon of large dimensions. A
stir. Should, then, a culprit let the
righteous wait? Two stalwart blond |
varriorssuccessfully convered the male
actor in, and deposited him in pew,
ike receptacle against the right wall:
\ mild-eyed, white-haired old peasant,
walking with extreme difficulty. who
'hrnnk small and motionless into the
corner, and stared at the floor.
His Counsel, a rather young augur
With pleasant eyes, entered in black
yown and cap, seated himself on his
bench below the prisoner, opened
and studied Acts with COM
absorbed expression. Pres
ntly, more stout guards unflinchingly
lid their duty, swung open other doors,
Ishered in the Prosecutor for the Crown
Who, also in "Tnlar and Barett," took
'is place ut the right Of the dais, and
'ent with impressive intentness over
Iis papers. Strongly guarded, a herd
If thirty unhappy-looking jurors
tamped in. The Clerk. likewise capped,
owned. and immensely preoccupied,
ook the left chair on the dais.
Finally, phalanx OF three caps and
owns together advanced with dra-
natic effect from what may be desig.
ated purely for convenience-the
and the President OF the
Tribunal, and two other species of
earned Judge. filled. with amplitude of
erson and sombre dignity, the vacuum
, the center; so that five black-robed
cures, prepared to weigh human souls
n the balance, now loomed from that
ldgment-seat, and presented a CHASTITY
keness TO Rhadamanthus, Minos, and