nothing short of his own, to second him in it. The gentlemen of the
jury had also a near view of the manner in which the witnesses delivered
their testimonies, and had from thence an opportunity of observing
many circumstances, and distinguishing characteristics of truth and
falsehood, from which a great deal could be gathered, that could not
be adequately conveyed by any printed account, how exact soever;
consequently, they must have been much better judges of the evidence on
which they founded their verdict than any person who had not the same
opportunity, can possibly be.

"These, Mr. Pickle, were my reflections on what I had occasion to
observe concerning that famous trial; and, on my return to England
two years after, I could not help pitying the self-sufficiency of some
people, who, at this distance, pretended to pass their judgment on that
verdict with as great positiveness as if they had been in the secrets
of the cause, or upon the jury who tried it; and that from no better
authority than the declamations of Lord A--'s emissaries, and some
falsified printed accounts, artfully cooked up on purpose to mislead and
deceive.

"But to return from this digression. Lord A--, the defendant in that
cause, was so conscious of the strength and merits of his injured
nephew's case, and that a verdict would go against him, that he ordered
a writ of error to be made out before the trial was ended; and the
verdict was no sooner given, than he immediately lodged it, though
he well knew he had no manner of error to assign. This expedient was
practised merely for vexation and delay, in order to keep Mr. A-- from
the possession of the small estate he had recovered by the verdict,
that, his slender funds being exhausted, he might be deprived of other
means to prosecute his right; and by the most oppressive contrivances
and scandalous chicanery, it has been kept up to this day, without his
being able to assign the least shadow of any error.

"Lord A-- was not the only antagonist that Mr. A-- had to deal with;
all the different branches of the A-- family, who had been worrying one
another at law ever since the death of the late earl of A--, about the
partition of his great estate, were now firmly united in an association
against this unfortunate gentleman; mutual deeds were executed among
them, by which many great lordships and estates were given up by the
uncle to persons who had no right to possess them, in order to engage
them