The Glenwood post., 1909-07-17

Sir Peters rambling but vigorous
talk was not without its effect, upon
which think he had shrewdly calcu.
lated. In vain counsel for the crown
tried to check him; Sir Peter bawled
at them to pipe down. and remarked
aloud of the senior counsel who had
been most active in trying to suppress
him:
That lawyer fellow is three sheets
in the wind, with the other one a
fapping!"
The judges. out of respect to him
made no great effort to subdue him,
and he had the satisfaction of telling
his story his own way. When the prose
cution took him in hand, they found
though. that he could very well keep
to the subject matter, and they did not
succeed in getting anything of the
slightest consequence out OF him.
When he stepped down, l saw that he
had in reality done much more good
to Giles cause than | had, although
he knew little about the facts, and
knew all.
Then came Lady Hawkshaw's tes-
llmoHy. Slr refer was not patch
on it. Like him, she really had no
material evidence to give, but, with
shrewdness equal to his, she made
very good plea for the prisoner. She
began with a circumstantial account of
her own marriage to Sir Peter, in
which the opposition of her family was
painted in lurid hues. In vain was she
nd yai oh hn
to tell her tale against the vigorous OBJ.
jections Of the prosecutors, and the
somewhat feeble and perfunctory re
Dukes from the bench. The jury, how
ever, were plainly so interested in it,
that no serious attempt was made to
stop her-not that it would have
availed anything, for Lady Hawkshaw
was not used to stopping for any one.
mo doubt my family could have
bounded Sir Peter for marrying me-"
she announced in the beginning, but
my family, your honors, is an honor
able one, and would not condescend
to nasty tricks like" Here she fixed
her great black eyes on Sir Thomas
Vernon, who smiled blandly and took
snuff.
And as for a man expecting opposi-
tion in girl he is willing to marry.
l ask your honors, does man exist
who can believe, until it is proved
to him beyond cavil. that there is
woman alive who would not jump for
Joy to marry him."
This produced so much laughter that
the bailiffs had to enforce order in the
hall.
Lady Hawkshaw then. with great
ingenuity, referred to Sir Thomas Yer
non, who, in those days. 40 years ago,
was not called Wicked Sir Thomas,
but plain Lying Tom Vermont"
This produced regular uproar,
during which Lady Hawkshaw, with
great complacency, famed herself.
After warning from the presiding
justice to keep to the matter in hand.
she curtsied deeply to him, and i'm
mediately resumed her account of Sir
Thomas Vernon, in which she told of a
certain occasion, in the time OF the
American war, when, as the royal
family was passing to chapel at Wind
sor, Kisses were heard, the king having
| declined to receive him at the levee
on account of his notoriously bad char
acter. And Sir Thomas, being thrust
out, was taken by some of the inhabi-
| ta1ts of Windsor and ducked in q
neighboring horse-pond. At this point,
the judge himself courteously but firm
ly interrupted Lady Hawkshaw, and in
formed her that she could not be per-
mitted to 60 on in that strain.
Il shall observe your lordship's eau
tion,' she replied, politely, and straight
way launched into a description OF Sir
Thomas appearance when he emerged
from the horse-pond, which brought a
smile to every face in court-including
even the judge's-except the victim
himself, who bit his lip and scowled in
| fury.
The judges afterward said that Lady
| Hawkshaw proved to be the most un-
manageable witness any and all of
them had ever encountered: for, in
spite of them, she gave circum-
stantial account of every misdeed Sir
Thomas Vernon had ever been guilty
of in his life, as far as she knew.
The crown lawyers, very wisely de-
clined to cross-examine this witness.
When she stepped down out of the wit
ness-box and took Sir Peters arm, she
passed close to the presiding Justice,
who happened to have his snuff-box
open in his hand. My lady deliberately
stopped and took a pinch out of the
| judges box, remarking, suave.y:
Your lordship shows excellent taste
in preferring the SPANISH"
l thought his lordship would drop
out of his chair.
(TO BE CONTINUnD)
ENGLISH IDEA OF THE WEST
/ A