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the murder, and during the whole period nothing is heard of prisoner. I may be anticipating the defence, but I hope you the will give due weight to the possible explanation of his conduct. The prisoner appears to have been of unblemished character up to this time. Nothing can be more favourable than the way in which his companions have spoken of him. He is young, and on the threshold of life, and has just most unexpectedly fallen heir to a fortune which must have surpassed his wildest dreams. Now, I can understand a youth in that position not having the moral courage to confess that he had been gambling to the extent it is proved he had done, and we can all appreciate also the effect which the letter from Miss Legh-a lady every way calculated to engage the affections of any gentleman -might have on a warm and somewhat rash young man. But, gentlemen, after having given due weight to these feelings, it is for you to consider whether they sufficiently account for the long period of concealment on the part of the prisoner. Even suppose you are satisfied of this, there remains to be explained the discovery of the document of debt, the IOU in the possession of the debtor when there is no probability whatever of the debt having been paid. And here it is my duty, gentlemen, to observe that in any ordinary case-I mean, in a case where the prisoner's antecedent character does not stand so high as that of Darcy the discovery of this paper would give a clue to the motive for perpetrating the crime. By securing this document of debt, he evaded payment; and it might also be thought that he destroyed the evidence against him of having gambled to such an extent. I say no more. The prisoner's counsel will do his best, and will, I hope, be able to account for the prisoner's conduct, and for the facts of the case on an hypothesis more favourable to him, than I am bound to admit I have been able to arrive at."

During the delivery of this most dispassionate, almost judicial address, not a whisper was heard in the court. When it concluded, the audience was electrified by the exclamation of Darcy: “I thank you, sir; you have pled your case as a gentlemen." The Attorney-General sat down gravely in his seat.

The counsel for the prisoner rose.

His case was nearly hopeless; and, indeed, the excessive candour of the Attorney-General had anticipated all he could say in his client's favour; and his practised eye had told him that it had not tended to shake the adverse opinion of the jury, which he had watched gradually becoming more and more fixed, as the proof for the Crown pursued its thoroughly logical course.. Nevertheless, Sir James, as became the leader of the bar, looked confident of victory. He began-"My lords and gentlemen of the jury, it is with some confidence that, before I conclude what I am to say,

shall carry your convictions with me, that I rise to unravel the formidable body of circumstantial evidence brought to bear against my client because, strong as that evidence is, I, and those gentlemen who sit along with me, have the unhesitating conviction that the prisoner is as innocent of the charge laid against him as any in this court, and I make this annoucement for myself and brethren, not simply as lawyers but as gentlemen, and, therefore, we cannot but confidently expect that we shall be able to show you that the chain of evidence, clear and sound as it may appear, is yet unsound in the essential link which connects it with our client.'

And now occurred an incident which will never be forgotten by any who witnessed this trial.

Sir James was here interrupted by the judge, who, while he was speaking the orator had noticed, not a little to his irritation, had been reading a letter which had just been handed to him by an officer of the Court.

"Sir James," said the judge, "and Mr. Attorney-General, I have just had a most important communication made to me. This letter is from Sir Philip Warden, a gentleman with whom I am personally acquainted, and whom all have heard of, irrespective altogether of his connection with this trial. Mr. Attorney-General, your missing witness tenders his testimony; but to judge from this letter which I now read, it is not so immaterial as you seemed to suppose it would be." The letter was as follows:

MY LORD, I have just arrived from my travels, and have only to-day, for the first time, read an English paper. To my surprise, and to my deep regret, I found my ward, Algernon Darcy, is to be tried to-day, for the murder of Count Grenville, who, I learn for the first time, was murdered on the morning I left London. I then was most thankful I have arrived in time, as I am confident my testimony can free Mr. Darcy of even the smallest suspicion of having been guilty of the crime of which he is accused, and I tender my evidence. PHILIP WARDEN.

It is impossible to describe the sensation occasioned by this letter. Sir Philip was a well-known public man, and his disappearance had occasioned a good deal of surprise, which would have been greater but for his well-known misanthropy.

The Attorney-General at once rose-" My lord," said he, "I move that Sir Philip Warden's request may at once be complied with, and that the trial be adjourned till to-morrow for that purpose."

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That may not be necessary," said his lordship, "Sir Philip is at the Clarendon :' I will send for him."

During the half hour which elapsed before the messenger returned, the aspect of the Court was more like a theatre between the acts than the sombre Old Bailey. The spectators naturally

collected into groups, and canvassed the trial and the effect this unexpected incident would have. Brian looked at Darcy. For the first time that gentleman's expression varied, but now it was one of surprise, and anxiety, for Darcy could not guess how Sir Philip could in any way throw light on the case. He felt conscious that all the witnesses had said was strictly true, most all of it he knew to be true; and how Sir Philip could break in upon the chain of strong probability which bore against him baffled his imagination.

The half hour for which the Court adjourned had not expired, when the officer of the Court appeared, accompanied by Sir Philip Warden. The haughty, impassive features of the statesman were at once recognised, and an involuntary cheer, not often heard within those gloomy, stifling walls, greeted his appearance.

Almost at the same time the judge returned, and the jury resumed their seats. Sir Philip rose-"My lord," said he, "besides my own testimony, my servant, here, can, I know, corro. borate what I have to say; and I have, therefore, to propose to your lordship that he be removed in the meantime, but that his testimony may be taken after mine."

The Attorney-General intimated his acquiescence, and Sir Philip's servant, a grave-looking middle aged man, was consigned to the charge of the officer of the Court.

The oath was then administered to Sir Philip, and the Attorney-General rose-" My lord," said he, addressing the Court, "our procedure is already somewhat irregular, and I fear I must request your lordship to admit another irregularity, namely, to dispense with any interrogations on my part, which, being perfectly ignorant of what Sir Philip may have to say, I should find it rather difficult to put. With your lordship's permission, and with the consent of my learned brother on the other side, we will simply request Sir Philip to tell us what circumstances he can mention which bear on the present case. I reserve to myself, and, of course, to the prisoner, the right to ask questions afterwards.

His lordship considered this request for a moment, and no other way of getting at the unknown evidence suggesting itself, he requested Sir Philip to tell, in his own words, what he had to say.

"My lord," said Sir Philip, in that deep, rich voice which his lofty stature and classic features made so effective, “all I have to say proceeds on the supposition that the crime of which my friend is accused was perpetrated between two and four of Tuesday morning, the 27th of December, last year. Now, it was quite impossible that the prisoner could have been guilty, because on that morning from two o'clock to four o'clock Algernon Darcy was in my company, and in my house in Park Lane."

Here Algernon started up with an air of wild surprise, but an impressive gesture from Sir Philip and his own intense astonishment prevented him speaking.

"He was in my house between these two hours," said Sir Philip, "and I am certain of the time, not only because I looked at my watch, but because I heard three strike just when Darcy entered the house, and I believe my servant, who let him in, is equally certain. I conclude, therefore, from what I have seen in the papers, that there must have been a mistake of identity. If it be certain that the murder took place between two and four a.m. it is certain that Darcy did not commit it. I swear that this is the truth."

No one was more taken aback by this turn of affairs than Darcy himself. The evidence was given with so little hesitation, in so decided and deliberate a manner, and the appearance of the witness, to say nothing of his social prestige, was so imposing that for a moment Darcy believed it to be true; but it was only for a moment, and then the irresistible conviction came that Sir Philip Warden was deliberately perjuring himself.

He rose impetuously and said, "My lord, I am sorry to say Sir Philip's evidence is untrue," and then he hesitated, for it struck him that Sir Philip's intervention, Sir Philip's perjury, was noble self-devotion. He hesitated, his ideas became confused. Would he sacrifice himself? Would he sacrifice Sir Philip? Might it not be some extraordinary hallucination under which he himself laboured? Could it be all a dream? Calm and self-possessed though he had appeared, calm and self-possessed though in reality he was, this calmness and self-possession had been an effort, though he knew it not, beyond his power, and now a reaction set in; the scene seemed unreal, the judge a phantom, the whole legal array a dream. He had fainted.

This was not, however, immediately discovered after his contradiction of Sir Philip's evidence; he had sat down and had heard nothing of the close and searching examination to which Sir Philip was subjected by the Attorney-General, but he did not alter one. iota of what he said; and at last, with a hauteur before which the spirit of the lawyer quailed, Sir Philip appealed to the judge.

His lordship had made up his mind on the strange scene which had just been enacted. "Mr. Attorney-General," said he, "it is hardly necessary for one to say that Sir Philip's veracity is unimpeachable. Even his political opponents give him that credit; and I, who have known him for years, only confirm general opinion when I say that when Sir Philip Warden speaks he has always as yet spoken truth. The extraordinary circumstance in this case is that the prisoner has just denied the correctness of Sir Philip's statements, and if I did

not believe that the prisoner was in a nervous state of excitement, natural to his position, I should be very much puzzled what to say. But you will observe this, that we are not forced to believe what Sir Philip says is true; but it is my own impression that Sir Philip believes what he says to be true, and, at any rate, you have carried your cross-examination far enough."

The counsel for the prisoner asked no questions of the witness.

Sir Philip's servant was next adducel, and the AttorneyGeneral, who suspected perjury, rose, with a stern countenance to examine him. His ingenuity, however, was altogether thrown away. The man could only say that he let Darcy in by the hall door at two o'clock precisely, because he heard the Westminster clock strike, and also a clock in the house. He had taken up brandy-and-water to Sir Philip's room, and he was sure that Sir Philip and Darcy remained together for more than an hour, and after that he heard Darcy go to bed; that he awoke him at eight o'clock in the morning, according to orders, and had seen him off in a cab for the railway to Scotland. The Attorney-General was evidently dissatisfied, but the witness doggedly stuck to his story, and at last was allowed to go.

The Attorney-General then rose, but he was no longer the dispassionate judicial representative of the Crown. He felt certain that perjury had been resorted to, and he made a vehement attempt to shake the unexpected evidence which had been thus pitched into the case. He accused Sir Philip and his servant of perjury, remarking that not only was their testimony in clear contradiction to the chain of evidence he had laid before them, but had been repudiated by the party principally interested. He therefore called upon the jury to disregard it altogether, and to return a verdict of guilty.

And now Sir James Brown rose again. In reality not only he, but all Darcy's side agreed with the Attorney-General in thinkingthat Sir Philip Warden had perjured himself; but Sir James took the extenuating view that he had done so as the only method of saving his ward. At any rate, it was not for him to refuse the plank held out. He reminded the jury of the remarks he had already made in introduction, and that he had told them, first, that he and his brethren on their side of the bar were convinced of their client's innocence; and second, that he would be able to show the weak link in the chain of circumstantial evidence brought forward by the Crown. He must now further tell them, and assure them he spoke in the name of the solicitor and of his brethren of the bar, that they were quite unaware of the evidence which had so unexpectedly been adduced, that none of them had had any communication with Sir

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