hope should be laid low in the dust, he involuntarily invoked
the aid of a long-forgotten God; and through his set teeth a prayer
struggled up to the throne of that divine mercy, which in sunshine we
do not see, but which as the soul's eternal lighthouse gleams, glows,
beckons in the blackest night of human anguish. In boyhood, desiring to
please his invalid and slowly dying mother, he had purchased and hung
up opposite her bed, an illuminated copy of her favorite text; and now,
by some subtle transmutation in the conservation of spiritual energy,
each golden letter of that Bible text seemed emblazoned on the dusty
wall of the court-room: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble."

When a stern reprimand from the Judge had quelled all audible
expression of the compassionate sympathy that flowed at the prisoner's
story--as the flood at Horeb responded to Moses' touch--there was a
brief silence.

Mr. Dunbar rose, crossed the intervening space and stood with his hand
on the back of Beryl's chair; then moved on closer to the jury box.

"May it please your Honor, and Gentlemen of the Jury: Sometimes
mistakes are crimes, and he who through unpardonable rashness commits
them, should not escape 'unwhipped of justice'. When a man in the
discharge of that which he deemed a duty, becomes aware that
unintentionally he has perpetrated a great wrong, can he parley with
pride, or dally, because the haunting ghost of consistency waves him
back from the path of a humiliating reparation? Error is easy,
confession galling; and stepping down from the censor's seat to share
the mortification of the pillory, is at all times a peculiarly painful
reverse; hence, powerful indeed must be the conviction which impels a
man who prided himself on his legal astuteness, to come boldly into
this sacred confessional of truth and justice and plead for absolution
from a stupendous mistake. Two years ago, I became Gen'l Darrington's
attorney, and when his tragic death occurred in October last, my
professional relations, as well as life-long friendship, incited me to
the prompt apprehension of the person who had murdered him. After a
careful and apparently exhaustive examination of the authenticated
facts, I was convinced that they pointed only in one direction; and in
that belief, I demanded and procured the arrest of the prisoner. For
her imprisonment, her presence here to-day, her awful peril, I hold
myself responsible; and now