The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-08-28
RUSSELL'S GREATEST FEAT
The Cross Examination in the
ParneH Trial.
How Sir Charles Showed Up Houston s
CreduIity-His Daring Trap Set for
Pigott, which Made the FOrger Com
Wet Himself.


90 1885, Ou0f0 were uleeuy SCSuSS WblCu
those who witnessed them will never for
get. In these scenes the chief personages
were Sir Charles Russell, as he then was,
and Richard Pigott, the forger, and
Houston, Pigott's employer and dupe, and
LIE Caron-that strange, sinister figure,
the ablest by far of the witnesses for the
Hines One remembers those scenes, not
merely for their dramatic interest of the
moment, but also for their revelation of
the many sided character Of the great adj
vocate who shattered the fabric of lies
laboriously built up as an obstacle against
the effort Of English Liberalism in the
cause of Ireland. OF all those scenes the
most stirring was. of course, Russell's
cross-examination of Pigott, which be-
gan on Feb. 81. 1889. During the whole
of the preceding day and the first few
hours of the 21st Sir Charles Russell had
been making his last preparations for his
onslaught. He had turned Houston in
side out, so to speak. And he had been
quietly taking stock of Richard Pigott
during the forger's long -winded, plausi-
BILE story to Sir Richard Webster. Who
can forget his treatment of the prim,
priggish, composed, bandboxical Houston?
Composed, I mean, until Mr.. Houston
became demoral1zed by the merriment
caused by his own admissions in answer
to abrupt little questions, delivered in
sort of confidential uudertone. curiousIy
at variance with the sudden, searching
gaze that accompanied them. After
eleven years I can see Mr.. Houston, in
the flesh as it were, coming miserably to
grief in that cross examination about the
black bag in which Pigott and his alleged
confederates brought the Parnel letters
to their purchaser in the Hotel des Deux
Mondes, Avenue de lOpera, Paris.
can hear the laughter in the densely
packed court-laughter spromptly sup
pressed by the usher-while Mr.. Houston
told how he waited upstairs while the
bargaining for the letters was going on
'%downstairs, not seeing who was there
nor taking any part whatever in the bar
gaining because, said Mr.. Houston,
II wished to keep myself aloof; 1 wanted
to keep myself in ignorance of the sou rec
of the letters I can hear Sir Charles s
aye''-"aye," uttered at inter
walls, quietly, encouragingly as it were,
while the smart Mr.. Houston was laying
bare his own extreme simp1ic1ty-or
worse. Sir Charles looked at the ceiling
Then down again, in an absent-minded
sort of way. He unpockets his snuff box.
He taps the lid. With his right thumb
he helps himself TO a pinch. sYou
didn't go downstairs?'' he asks quite
casually. mo" The snuffy brown
handkerchief half way up to Sir Charles's
nose stops. The keen eyes look Mr. HOus-
ton through and through, "NoY'' mo"
Laughter-and furious rebuke in the
usher's eyes.
At half past / on the following day. Sir
Richard Webster's examination of Rich
ard Pigott came to an end. Almost be
fore Sir Richard sat him down Sir
Charles was up The loud murmur of
talk that broke out after Pigotts levi
dence' came to dead stop. You could
hear pin fall as Russell and Pigott
stood there confronting each other.
''Take that the words rang out sharp
~ In the breathless silence. "rhat''
was sheet of paper which Sir Charles
Russell held out. PigOtt took it-gazing
the while at Sir Charles in blank bepuz-
Element. Everybody in court glanced
at every other; He has him, - a barrister
whispered, turning round to me. Write
down livelihood Likelihood YOUR
own name, 'prOselytism, Patrick Egan'
and his initials and 'hesitancy," Which
Plgott did, smiling the while, foolishly,
and with flushed face. 1t will be re.
membered that in one of the forged let
ters Pigott had spelled the last word
"hesitency." 1t has often been said
since, and by experienced mem bers of the
bar, sthat Sir Charles's initial tactics
were a mistake. Was 1t not probable
hot -.
s1OnS about the fOTger1es, would have
taken care to spell the word Alright?
PigOtt might have done It. But he did
not. Sir Charles Russell had taken stock
OF his man and considered the effect of
surprise, The subject suggests a mill
Wellington, say the military critics
fought to have been Beaten at Water
loo. But he WASH t-and there's an end
ont. An ordinary advocate would not
have started with Take that Sir
Charles Russell was not an ordinary adj
yocate-he was an advocate of genius, and
that 1lrst shot OF his was decisive. / can
see PtggOtt's round, broad back as he
bends down latter screWing his eyeglass
into its place. to scraWl the word "hesi-
tency;' and when he stands up again,
short, stoutish, Ound-shOuldered man
with q bald, shiny head bushy white
Wh1skers and mustache, large, .irresOlute
mouth, big, heshy nose and snallish eyes
far apart. Many an amusing scene occur
red IN the ross-examinatiOn which show
ed how PigOtt had tried to swindIe both
s1des-Parnellltes and anti ParnelIites.
But the most amusing of all were caused
by Pigott's admissions as to his persis-
tent efforts to sell information" to Mr.
FORSTER to caJole and even bully Mr.
Forster, and by his excuses for not emil
grating to America with the help of the
money which, he said, kindly Mr.. Fors-
ter had given him more than once for
the purpose. Sir Charles Russell, QUIET
ly helping himself to a contemplative
pinch now and again, Pigott making
himself more ludicrous every instant
with his story Of excuses to Mr. Forster.
and the three Judges trying hard to pre-
serve assevere cOmposure-made an In
etfaceable picture. The three Judges were
not equally successful. Sir James Han
nen compressed his lips. Sir Alexander
Smith thrust his hands into his pockets
and stared hard at the ceiling, Mr..
Justice Day laughed outright-reddened
and ut IL.