The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-07-22

though covering before the outraged
majesty Of the law, buried his head
between the judges coat and vest and
lay motionless except for propitiatory
wag of his tail.
what is your name, childT' asked
the Judge.
Dorothy Maxwell" fnltered the lit
tie girl, timidly, awed by the sudden
silence and the perhaps unconsciously
stern expression upon his lordship's
face.
Dorothy Maxwell" said the Judge,
severely, az though the little figure be-
fore him were standing In the prison
; er's dock awaiting sentence, 'you have
| been convicted at the close of the nine
| teenth century Of the almost unparal-
leled crime Of attempting to corrupt
one of her majesty's judges, to per
suade him by means of bribery to de-
feat the ends Of justice. shall fur
ther enlarge upon the enormlty Of your
crime. Have you anything to say
why sentence should not be-no no,
don't cry. Poor little thing! l didn't
mean to frighten you. I'm not the least
bit angry with you-really and truly.
Come and sit on my knee, and show
me all those pretty things.
This is very like condoning a crimi-
nal offence" thought the judge with
grim smile, as he wiped the tears from
the chlld"s face and tried to interest
her In the contents of the brown paper
parcel.
But the thoughts the tears aroused
did not vanish with them. Arthur
Maxwell was no longer a kind of i'm
personal representative of the criminal
classes, to be dealt with as severely
as the law allowed in the interest Of
society in general. He was the father
Of this soft, plump, rosy-cheeked, gold
en-haired little maid, who inevitably
would have to share now or in the fu-
ture her fathers humiliation and dis
grace.
At this moment the door opened, and
his wife, slender, graceful woman,
considerably younger than himself,
| with refined, delicate face, came
quietly in
|
sudden inspiration, Il believe you are
at the bottom of all this, Agnes. What
is this child doing here?'
You are not vexed, Matthew" she
asked, half tlmidly.
Hardly that" he answered slowly;
but what good can it do? 1t is impos-
sible to explain the situation to this
poor little mite. 1t was cruel to let
her come on such an errand. How
did she get here?'
1T was her own idea-entirely her
own idea; but her mother brought her.
and asked to see me. The poor wOm-
an was distracted, nearly frantic with
grief and despair, and ready to clutch
at any straw. She was so dreadfully
miserable, poor thing, and l thought
it was such pretty idea, IL couldn't
refuse her, Matthew"
But, my DEAR" expostulated the
judge, you must have known that it
could do no good"
II knew what the verdict would
be-" answered his wife. II read re-
port of the trial in an evening paper.
But then, there was the sentence, you
knOw-and-and | thought the poor
child might soften you a little, Mat
thew"
The judges hand strayed mechani
cally among the toys, and to interest
the child he began to examine one Of
the most vivid Of her pictorial efforts.
You think l am very hard and un-
just, Agnes?" he asked.
"No, no, no." she answered, hurried
ly: mot unjust, never unjust. There
is not more impartial judge upon the
bench-the world says it. But don't
you think, dear, that justice without
without mercy is always little
hard? Don't be angry, Matthew.
never spoke to you like this before. I
wouldn't now but for the poor wOm-
an in the next room and the innocent
little thing at your knee"
The judge made no reply. He bent
still more closely over the scarlet ami
NAL straying amid emerald fields, and
burnt umber trees of a singularly orr
ginal shape.
! uut . IL CON, Sdiu lJoEOlHy,
ly. Don't you see it's horns?-and
that's it's tail-it isn't tree. There's
a cat on the other side. l can draw
cats better than cows"
In her anxiety to exhibit her artistic
abilities in their higher manifestations
she took the paper out Of his hands
and presented the opposite side. AT
first he glanced at it listlessly, and
then his eyes suddenly flashed and he
examined it with breathless interest.
"Well, I'm blessed" he exclaimed
excitedly.
1t was not a judicial utterance, bu,
the circumstances were exceptional.
Here's the very letter Maxwell de
clared he had received from Lightbody
along with the cheque. His reference
to it, as he couldn't produce it, die
more harm than good; but l believ,
it's genuine, upon my word do. List
en-; it's dated from The Hollies, Light
body's private address:-