The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-06-04
Special Correspondence TO THa srr.

Spsr'0s VV''sppVueVte 70 n
LONDON, May le.-The preliminary
hearing on a charge OF high Treason Of
Sir Roger Easement. a hearing which
stirred London and indeed all England
as no judicial proceeding has done in
many years. was held IN the prosa'c old
Bow Street Police Court.
This court. corresponding To the dis
trio. Magistrates Courts OF New York
city. has rarely been distinguished By the
Introduction on Is calendar Of a charge
usual defendants are drunkards. dis
orderly persons. petty thieves and IN"
Ike threw into high relief n prisoner
who planned the overthrow of a Govern
ment.
Imagine a high vaul.ed room, higher
than It's length. With a glass domed
roof. the walls painted white down to
a poln, above a mans head. Thence to
the floor fresh oak panelling In striking
contrast to the finely painted doors and
mouldings. At the back Of the room.
in the centre. an elaborate doorway sur
mounted by a gayly decorated Hon and
unicorn. the royal arms % ENGLAND.
standing upon the golden outpicked
motto "Dieu ct mon Droit.'
A high leather upholstered chair faces
a wide maple desk running across the
entire width OF the room. That 's the
Magistrates hench on either side are
chairs where the Magistrate $
friends. the majority OF whom are un-
known 70 the general public SIT
tn. NINeueaa nOv.
Immediately on the right of the
Magistrate Ia the witness box. a brass
pillar edihce backed and rooted with
wood and shaped Just like a pulpit.
On the left ia "A long narrow pew.
where in this particular case the Attor-
ney-General and the other prosecuting
attorneys sat.
Below the MAGISTRATE. on a lower
terrace. was the clerk Of the court. a
blond mustached person who with ar
chaic elaboration o the evidence
down IN long hand, resulting In a lapse
sometimes OF minutes between an answer
and the subsequent question Then comes
the solicitors pew. occupied THIS VINE oE
the defendants counsel.
Within a foot Is the dock. n hve foot
narrow Gaze with an uncush'oned settee'
three parts enclosed With an e'abora'e
decorative Iron barred entangiemeh'
The end facing the door marked -prls,
oners only" Is open, making cSfess anu
ingress easy.
R,ck Of the dock Is another marrow
spare. largely occupied BY a iong se'o,'
10, witnesses. A breast high pseudo oaN
pa r,ition separates this from w, ~,
rainder OF the court and behind 'h's
,..,',,o,, abs,, sixty OF the public crowd
themselves In. All.
~-a-. ahA entaA an acpne IOI XIII
amazins hearing. Like the scene case
n,en, too. was homogeneous. Protestant
ye, nv that curious emotional contrad'c-
lion found In Wolf Tone and Parne'I
home ruler, and even more. Sir Feiner'
magnificent In the service OF the Ning
I'm the African 5ungles. winning a meua'
in the South African war. crown'ng MS
! career with a kniGhthood for his repor'
and exposure OF the Putumayo atroc't'es
author. fanatic. sitting In a common
uolice court dock. he constituted one OF
the weirdest and most palmetto neureF
the world has ever seen.
An freshman In court said Easement
looked like a composite Of Dillon, Daviti
and Parnsli. An American said he re-
minded him OF a swarthy Abraham Lin
coin. A Jew said he impressed him like
nm unsuccessful Moses trying TO lead the
children OF ireland into the promised
land Of nationality.
Not q Heroic Figure.
He was not a heroic ngure In the dock
in appearance he approached the monde
script. His dingy. dark gray. black
striped III fitting suit. haggy at the
knees hung upon his emaciated form
the deadly dull, lustreless thick black
hair Hicked with gray ends the swarth!
hronzed skin OF the tropics, blearhed &c
n CHASTITY. pasty slatiness by the con
hncment In the Tower: the closel,
cropped, pointed beard of black tn,
talonlike hands, sloping forehead, mine
ing. erect walk as he passed In or on
of the room. he was fascinating In his
unfascination
Sir Roger refused or couldn't maintair
the same mood for any length Of time
lie was a human kaleidoscope OF
emotions, Jaunty. polite even to punctili
ousness toward the court and his admirer
In court. he passed from gay to grave
from laughter to tears. from solid re-
straint to the verge Of collapse. wher,
every nerve Of his body was pulsatins
with uncomfortable strain, and complete
physical breakdown seemed but a ques
tion Of minutes, Then within an hou,
this emotional. fearful. hysterical mar
had become debonair. smiling. laughing