ts, illustrated with life-like portraiture of the
accused, the lawyers, the judge, the jury, and the chief witnesses.
This promise was so well fulfilled that on the opening day there
appeared several alleged portraits of Dr. Medjora, which resembled him
about as little as they did one another.

Several days were consumed before the jury was impanelled, and then at
length the prosecution opened its case, which was mainly in charge of
Mr. George Munson, a newly appointed Assistant District Attorney, the
very man of whom Mr. Dudley had spoken, when his partner had bewailed
their unfortunate lot, because they had never been intrusted with a
criminal case.

Mr. Munson was a rising man. He had attracted attention, and was
receiving a reward of merit by his promotion to the office which he
now filled. It was hinted somewhere, that his appointment had been
largely dependent upon his conduct of that murder case, during which
he had shown a wonderful knowledge of chemistry, for one not actually
a chemist. And his having charge of this most important case, in which
chemical expert testimony seemed likely to play an important part,
substantiated the statement.

He was well versed in law, was keen and quick at cross-examination,
and merciless in probing the private lives of witnesses, when such
action promised to aid his cause. He was not, however, a very
brilliant speaker, but it was expected that the District Attorney
would himself sum up. Thus the prosecution seemed to be in able hands.
Opposed to them were Messrs. Dudley & Bliss, two young, unknown men,
and people wondered why the Doctor, reputed to have wealth, had not
engaged more prominent counsel.

Mr. Munson's opening speech was not lengthy. He confined himself to a
brief statement of his case, summarizing in the most general fashion
what he expected to prove; in brief, that Mabel Sloane had died of
morphine poisoning, and not of diphtheria, that the poison had been
administered by Dr. Medjora, and that his object had been to rid
himself of a woman who stood in his path, an obstacle to the
advancement of his ambition. Mr. Munson thus avoided the mistake so
often made by lawyers, where, following the temptation to make a
speech, they tell so much that they weaken their cause, by affording
their opponents time to prepare a more thorough defence.

A few witnesses were called to establish in a general way the death of
the girl, her place of residence, and such other facts