attention was
riveted on the proceedings of the court, and on the mode in which Felix bore
himself. In the case for the prosecution there was nothing more than a
reproduction, with irrelevancies added by witnesses, of the facts already known
to us. Spratt had retained consciousness enough, in the midst of his terror, to
swear that, when he was tied to the finger-post, Felix was presiding over the
actions of the mob. The landlady of the Seven Stars, who was indebted to Felix
for rescue from pursuit by some drunken rioters, gave evidence that went to
prove his assumption of leadership prior to the assault on Spratt, - remembering
only that he had called away her pursuers to better sport. Various respectable
witnesses swore to Felix's encouragement of the rioters who were dragging Spratt
in King Street; to his fatal assault on Tucker; and to his attitude in front of
the drawing-room window at the Manor.
    Three other witnesses gave evidence of expressions used by the prisoner,
tending to show the character of the acts with which he was charged. Two were
Treby tradesmen, the third was a clerk from Duffield. The clerk had heard Felix
speak at Duffield; the Treby men had frequently heard him declare himself on
public matters; and they all quoted expressions which tended to show that he had
a virulent feeling against the respectable shop-keeping class, and that nothing
was likely to be more congenial to him than the gutting of retailers' shops. No
one else knew - the witnesses themselves did not know fully - how far their
strong perception and memory on these points was due to a fourth mind, namely,
that of Mr John Johnson, the attorney, who was nearly related to one of the
Treby witnesses, and a familiar acquaintance of the Duffield clerk. Man cannot
be defined as an evidence-giving animal; and in the difficulty of getting up
evidence on any subject, there is room for much unrecognised action of diligent
persons who have the extra stimulus of some private motive. Mr Johnson was
present in court to-day, but in a modest, retired situation. He had come down to
give information to Mr Jermyn, and to gather information in other quarters,
which was well illuminated by the appearance of Esther in company with the
Transomes.
    When the case for the prosecution closed, all strangers thought that it
looked black for the prisoner. In two instances only Felix had chosen to put a
cross-examining question. The first was to ask Spratt if he did not believe that
his having been tied to the post had saved him from a probably mortal injury