OPPOSING COUNSEL-"We admit the notice, Mr. Rogers go into the box." EDGAR-" Mr. Rogers, at the time of the execution of the deed, was there any other document executed between you and Mr. Hermann, besides, of course, the memorial to the deed?" OPPOSING COUNSEL "I submit, my Lord, that my learned friend must produce any document he asks the witness to prove or admit." EDGAR" Do have patience, perhaps I may trace it to your possession, of course, I should not then be called to produce it." THE COURT " I think the question admissable; answer witness." And the judge turned and looked the defendant full in the face; at that moment the gas was turned on fully, and Rogers visibly paled as the glare fell on his fea tures. EDGAR "Answer on your oath, were the deed and the memorial the only writings. between you and Mr. Hermann ?" "They were," slowly and firmly answered the witness. EDGAR " What was the consideration money for the deed ?" "Three hundred dollars." "Did you ever receive any portion of that money back? Was any of it repaid you, and why ?" The defendant freely answered, "No. never." Edgar sat down. The opposing counsel cross-examined Rogers as to what he considered the value of the land at the time of the sale, the amount of improvements he had made, &c. : and Rogers left the box. Jessie's friends were despondent, poor Jessie herself was still in Court, casting encouraging glances at her anxious counsel. and looking the most cheerful of all the parties concerned, though she understood enough to know the hopelessness of her case, if she had not read it in Edgar's eyes. "Call Jacob Simmonds." Jacob, or Jake Simmonds, a tall, stooping, high-shouldered, sharp-featured, slouching old man, took the stand, the counsel of Rogers looked enquiringly at each other and OPPOSING COUNSEL-" He has already whispered with their client, he looked puz sworn so in his answer." EDGAR " Was there any and what verbal agreement between you and Mr. Hermann about the land: any agreement as to its redemption ?" OPPOSING COUNSEL-" I submit the defendant is not bound to answer it is no evidence under the pleadings and would not show any agreement this Court would enforce." agree you that a of THE COURT.—“ I with verbal agreement contrary to the tenor the deed would not be enforced; but there may be other circumstances, such as part performance or fraud, which the defendant is bound to disclose, the witness therefore must answer. zled but by no means alarmed. EDGAR "You formerly lived in Canada?" "Wa'al, ye'ss." "Where do you live now?" The witness told him, and that he left Canada about 1837; had known Jacob Hermann well, intimately; when he came to the States, he and his daughter lived for a while at wit ness' house. "Do you know of Jacob Hermann's ever sending money to Mr. Rogers, and on what account?" "Yes, the first year or two he was over he wrought hard and steady and put by mo ney; he sent some to Mr. Rogers in the fall of '39, on account of money he got of Mr ROGER" There was no verbal agree- Rogers to come away with.” ment of any kind between us." Cross-examined-" How much was it?" "Can't remember me for certain, between minute, he then turned and addressed the $100 and $200." it." "Did you see the money?" Court. "Before your Lordship proceeds I beg to "I did and helped make it up and direct ask permission to recall the witness Sim "Did you see it mailed." "I did not; the Post-office was a mile or two from my place, and Mr. Hermann took it down himself." "How do you know he mailed it?" "He told me so himself, I'm sure enough of it." "Did you ever hear Mr. Rogers say so?" "No, I did not, but I know wa'al it was sent." "You can't know that unless you saw it sent." "You've come a long way to tell us very little, you may go down." Jacob Simmonds left the box in very evident illhumour. After some general evidence as to value, the Judge asked bluntly, "Is that the case for the plaintiff?" "I am afraid I must say yes, My Lord," Edgar answered, trying to look unmoved, and to assume an air of professional indifference. THE COURT-" I fear it is but a bald one, and perhaps you will scarcely deem it necessary to carry it to a hearing. I thought at one time you were about to give evidence of a bond of defeasance, but in the absence of any proof of such a bond The eager counsel were holding their breath, perfect stillness prevailed, broken only by the calm measured tones of the Judge. "Hold on, Mister Judge! let me address the congregation," exclaimed Jake Simmonds, suddenly raising his tall, gaunt figure from the bench whereon he sat. The Judge stopped and looked a little surprised, but with difficulty suppressed a smile; the most anxious present hardly forbore to laugh at this somewhat unseemly interruption. Edgar eagerly stepped over to Simmonds and begged him to be still, and then led him aside and conferred with him for a short monds, at the same time I beg on his part to apologise for his rather rude interruption, I am quite sure he meant nothing improper." THE COURT "What do you say, Mr. -." "Well, my Lord, I can't reasonably object I suppose, but it is a little unusual." THE COURT "Witness, go into the box. again. Well, Mr. Paul." Edgar's eyes glistened with excitement, but he calmed himself by a mighty effort, though he did not trust himself to look towards where Jessie sat. EDGAR TO THE WITNESS-"I omitted to ask you, when under examination before, if Jacob Hermann left any papers when he died." "Wa'al, yes, I found these here two papers, and some others that did not seem of much account, but these looked as though they were of some use in this same business, so I fetched them along." "What are they? Produce them.” And the witness, with great deliberation and very slowly, drew from the inside breast pocket of his coat two soiled papers; every breath was hushed, and you could have heard a pin drop in that large Court-room during the few minutes (to Edgar ages) he was going through this process. Even his Lordship appear to catch the excitement, and watched the witness intently. The Judge took the papers. 66 Why did you not produce these before?" "I wasn't axed to, your Honour." "Did you tell the counsel you had them?" "On the contrary, my Lord," interrupted Edgar, "he told me he had no such papers." Why was that, witness?" 66 "I wasn't on oath then, your Honour,' quietly answered Jake, with a leer. The Judge eyed him severely for a mo OPPOSING COUNSEL-" Permit me to see the instrument, my Lord. This is quite new to us, we will submit it to our client, and crave your Lordship's indulgence for a few moments." But their client was not at hand, no one had noticed Mr. Rogers' departure; but he had quietly withdrawn at the first mention of the bond. The opposing counsel looked very much crest-fallen, and, addressing the Court, remarked:-"I trust the Court is satisfied that this is the first knowledge we have had of the existence of any such bond. I shall have to leave my learned friend to prove it in the usual way, although I am satisfied, on looking at it, that the signature is Mr. Ro gers', but I can make no admissions, having concluded with the learned gentleman who is with me to withdraw entirely from the case.” THE COURT-"You must judge yourself of your proper course. I can only say that the defendant's conduct is most extraordinary, and I shall consider the propriety of proceedings before another tribunal." But I have no patience to write the dry details that had still to be gone through before the case was completely closed. Every one present understood enough of the proceedings to know that Jessie had virtually won her cause; and an audible buzz of congratulation arose in the Court-room, which no attempts were made to suppress. Can my readers doubt that Edgar also won his suit. I have only to add that Rogers, who had evidently speculated on the chances of the bond being lost, or its existence being unknown to the present claimant, she being but a child at the time of her father's death, did not appear at his usual haunts after the trial, and the brightly painted white house on the Bay shore soon after passed into other hands. A CHAPTER OF FRENCH HISTORY. BY JOHN READE. FEBRUARY, 1848. TIVE la Republique !" We stand on Tyranny's grave; "V The days of the Kings are o'er, and Freedom sits on her throne: In the broad, fair fields of France there is no more room for a slave; And the only despots now are those that are carved in stone. DECEMBER, 1848. Hail to our President-prince! Hail to the people's choice! 1851-1853. "Coup d'état !!" "Ce n'est pas sa faute." Hail to the lord of France ! 1859-1867. "La gloire !" who won it for us? Who but our cherished lord? JULY, 1870. "Mais ces Allemands "—it is true they are strong, but they must be cowed: "Les bêtes!" when we cut their throats they will sing no more of the Rhine! Who but our lord shall lead us to death or victory proud? Send the word back to Paris-we have drank German wine! Napoleon is taken, they say. Will he spoil, and fine, and SEPTEMBER, 1870. "Eh bien, then never again imprison, and hold our lives in his hand. Now, let us fight for France, since France is a nation of men. "Vive la Republique!" Our France is a glorious land. "A bas les faux tyrans ! MARCH, 1871. They have sold us like oxen or sheep; And the hoofs of the strangers' steeds have trampled our little ones down. Vive la Commune!" Ha ha! how the fiery serpents creep— Hungry and mad like ourselves-through the blood-wet streets of the town! Down with the gilded pride of the palaces built with our blood! Death to the lying priests who steal in the name of God— JUNE, 1871. Do we wake from a hideous dream? Thank God! it is over at last. MONTREAL. THE GREAT DUEL OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.* AN EPISODE OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. THE HE Thirty Years' War is an old story, which concluded the struggle, long remained vived. The conflict, between Austria and German Independence commenced in the struggle of the Protestant Princes against Charles V., and, continued on these battlefields, was renewed and decided at Sadowa. At Sadowa Germany was fighting for unity as well as for independence. But in the Thirty Years' War it was Austria that with her Croats, the Jesuits who inspired her councils, and her Spanish allies, sought to impose a unity of death, against which Protestant Germany struggled, preserving her self for a unity of life which, opened by the victories of Frederick the Great, and, more nobly promoted by the great uprising of the nation against the tyranny of Napoleon, was finally accomplished at Sadowa, and ratified against French jealousy at Sedan. Costly has been the achievement ; lavish has been the expenditure of German blood, severe the sufferings of the German people. It is the lot of all who aspire high: no man or nation ever was dandled into greatness. The Thirty Years' War was a real worldcontest. Austria and Spain drew after them all the powers of reaction: all the powers of liberty and progress were arrayed on the other side. The half-barbarous powers that lay between civilized Europe and Turkey mingled in the conflict: Turkey herself was drawn diplomatically into the vortex. the mines of Mexico and Peru the Indian toiled to furnish both the Austrian and Spanish hosts. The Treaty of Westphalia, In Half religious, half political, in its character, this war stands midway between the religious wars of the sixteenth century and the political wars of the eighteenth. France took the political view; and, while she crushed her own Huguenots at home, supported the German Protestants against the House of Austria. Even the Pope, Urban VIII., more politician than churchman, more careful of Peter's patrimony than of Peter's creed, went with France to the Protestant side. With the princes, as usual, political motives were the strongest, with the people religious motives. The politics were to a sad extent those of Machiavelli and the Jesuit; but above the meaner characters who crowd the scene rise at least two grand forms. In a military point of view, the Thirty Years' War will bear no comparison with that which has just run its marvellous course. The armies were small, seldom exceeding thirty thousand. Tilly thought forty thousand the largest number which a general could handle, while Von Moltke has handled half a million. There was no regular commissariat, there were no railroads, there were no good roads, there were no accurate maps, there was no trained staff. The general had to be everything and to do everything himself. The financial resources of the powers were small: their regular revenues soon failed; and they had to fly for loans to great banking houses, such as that of the Fuggers at Augsburgh, so that the money power be * In this sketch free use has been made of recent writers-Mitchell, Chapman, Vehse, Freytag and Ranke, as well as of the older authorities. To Chapman's excellent Life of Gustavus Adolphus we are under special obligations. In some passages it has been closely followed. Colonel Mitchell has also supplied some remarks and touches, such as are to be found only in a military writer. |