The Evil Genius : a domestic story

jury retired to con

is colleagues. He had the clearest head, and the readie

r showed their characters

yman, who want

an, who drew pictures

yman, who suffe

yman, who deci

an irritable invalid who served under protest; and five represented that vast majority

side of him. Then there fell upon that assembly of men a silence, never known among an assembly

treat his deliberative brethren as we treat our watches

you formed any decided opin

be alarmed, gentlemen: I am not going to make a speech. I suffer from fidgets. Excuse me if I occasionally change my position." The hungry juryman (who dined early) looked at his watch. "Half-past four," he said. "For Heaven's sake cut it short." He was the fattest person present; and he suggested a subject to the inattentive juryman wh

sessing himself of certain Brazilian diamonds, which formed part of the cargo. In plain words, here is a gentleman born in the higher ranks of life accused of being a thief. Before we attempt to arrive at a decision, we shall only be doing him justice if we try to form some general estimate of his character, based o

now a curate's daughter. She's in distressed circumstances, poor thing; and she's a barmaid somewhere in the north of England. Curiously enough,

erating influence of hunger -"by what right does Mr. Westerfield's fami

rest in the proceedings. "Pardon me for putting myself forward," he said, with his customary politeness. "

," the invalid remarked, "I wish I had a bar

uption, the admira

of the family. Lord Le Basque exerted his influence with the Admiralty, and obtained for his brother (then out of employment) an appointment to a ship. All the witnesses agree that Mr. Westerfiel

ocation," said a m

patience was not exhausted yet. The Merchant Service offered a last chance to the prisoner of retrieving his position, to some extent at least. He was fit for the sea, and fit for nothing else. At my lord's earnest request the owners of the John Jerniman, trading between Liverpool and Rio, took Mr. Westerfield on trial as first mate, and, to his credit be it said, he justified his brother's faith in

an paused, to c

jurymen who had no opinions of their own, struck by the admirable brevity with which he expressed his sentiments, sang out in chorus, "Hear! hear! hear!" The silent juryman, hitherto overlooked, now attracted attention. He was a bald-headed person of uncertain age, buttoned up tight in a long frockcoat, and wearing

England under circumstances of serious pecuniary embarrassment. The testimony of his creditors, and of other persons with whom he associated distinctly proves that his leisure hours on shore had been employed in card-playing and in betting on horse races. After an unusually long run of luck, his good fortune seems to have deserted him. He suffered considerable losses, and was at last driven to borrowing at a high ra

d or two more. But the disagreeabl

said, "you are for find

oreman rejoined, "I refus

hy

of my duty to attempt t

dict, sir, ever since you entered this roo

ord shall pass my lips," he said, "until you find the prisoner guilty or not

ed like the image of a man w

o walk up and down the room; and at the first turn he took woke the drowsy little man, and maddened the irritable invalid by the creaking of his boots. The chorus of five, further than ever from arriving at an opinion of their own, looked at the silent juryman

d or done. Helpless silence prev

begin?" cried the invalid. "Have

ome of them recollected the evidence in one way, and some of them recollected it in another; and each man

the wreck, on the chance of saving the cargo; and, days afterward, there the ship was found, just as the captain and the crew had left her."-"Don't forget, sir, that the diamonds were missing when the salvors examined the wreck."-"All right, but that's no proof that the captain stole the diamonds; and, before they had saved half the cargo, a storm did come on and break the vessel up; so the poor man was only wrong in the matter of time, after all."-"Allow me to remind you, gentlemen that the prisoner was deeply in debt, and therefore had an interest in stealing the diamonds."-"Wait a little, sir. Fair play's a jewel. Who was in charge of the deck when the ship struck? The second mate. And what did the second mate do, when he heard that his owners had decided to prosecute? He committed suicide! Is there no proof of guilt in that act?"-"You are going a little

rd. "Decide for yourselves

with fidgets suddenly assumed a positi

gested. "Gentlemen who find the prisoner

ed from expressing his sentiments even by a sign. Is it necessary to say who that man was? A mysterious change had now presented itself in his appearance, which made him an object of greater interest than ever. His inexplicable smile had vanished. He sat immovable, with closed eyes. Was he meditating profoundly? or was he only asleep? The quick-witted foreman had long since suspected him of being simply the stupidest person present - with just cunning enough to conceal his own dullness by holdi

tween the alternatives of declaring himself in one word or in two, his taciturn wisdom chose the shortes

tten and friendly looks were exchanged. With one accord, the jury rose t