llow him; but I am anxious to know why Carlyle's
"Frederick" circulates with impunity and even applause, while the
_Freethinker_ is condemned and denounced. Judge North may be ignorant
of Carlyle's masterpiece, but I can hardly presume the same ignorance
in Sir William Harcourt. He probably sinned against a greater light. Few
worse outrages on public decency have been committed than his
describing my publication as not only blasphemous, but obscene. And the
circumstances in which this slander was perpetrated served to heighten
its criminality.

CHAPTER VII. AT THE OLD BAILEY.

"George William Foote, William James Ramsey, and Henry Arthur Kemp,"
cried the Clerk of the Court at the Old Bailey. It was Thursday morning,
March 1, 1883, and as we stepped into the dock the clock registered five
minutes past ten. We were provided with chairs, and there were pens and
ink on the narrow ledge before us. It was not large enough, however, to
hold all my books, some of which had to be deposited on the floor,
and fished up as I required them. Behind us stood two or three Newgate
warders, who took quite a benevolent interest in our case. Over their
heads was a gallery crammed with sympathisers, and many more were seated
in the body of the court. Mr. Wheeler occupied a seat just below me, in
readiness to convey any messages or hand me anything I might require.
Between us and the judge were several rows of seats, all occupied by
gentlemen in wigs, eager to follow such an unusual case as ours. Sir
Hardinge Giffard lounged back with a well-practised air of superiority
to the legal small-fry around him, and near him sat Mr. Poland and Mr.
Lewis, who were also retained by the prosecution. Justice North was
huddled in a raised chair on the bench, and owing perhaps to the
unfortunate structure of the article, it seemed as though he was being
shot out every time he leaned forward. His countenance was by no
means assuring to the "prisoners." He smiled knowingly to Sir Hardinge
Giffard, and treated us with an insolent stare. Watching him closely
through my eye-glass, I read my fate so far as he could decide it. His
air was that of a man intent on peremptorily settling a troublesome
piece of business; his strongest characteristic seemed infallibility,
and his chief expression omniscience. I saw at once that we should soon
fall foul of each other, as in fact we did in less than ten minutes. My
comportment was unusual in the Old Bailey do