e was absolute master of the situation, and he abused
his power. He knew there was no court of criminal appeal, and no danger
of his being checked by either of the fat aldermen on the bench. They
were in fact our prosecutors, and they appeared to enjoy their paltry
triumph.

As I have said, I began my address to the jury at one o'clock, and at
half-past we adjourned for lunch. Mr. Wheeler ran across the road and
ordered some refreshment for us, and pending its arrival we descended
the dock-stairs and entered a subterranean passage, which was lit by a
single gas-jet. On each side there was a little den with an iron gate.
One of these was filled with prisoners awaiting trial or sentence, who
gazed through the bars at us with mingled glee and astonishment. They
were chatting merrily, and I imagine from their free and easy manner
that most of them were old gaol-birds. Perhaps there were some forlorn,
miserable creatures cowering in the darkness behind, with throbbing
brows and hearts like lead, on whose ears the light laughter of their
callous companions grated even more harshly than it did on ours.

The left-hand den was empty, and into it we were ushered by the aged
janitor, who regarded us with looks of mute reproach. He was
evidently subdued to what he worked in. His world consisted of two
classes--criminals and police; and without any further ceremony of trial
and sentence, the very fact of our descending into his Inferno was clear
evidence that we belonged to the former class.

As the den was only illuminated by a few straggling gleams from the
gas-jet outside, we were unable to discriminate any object until our
eyes grew accustomed to the gloom. While we were in this state of
semi-blindness, something stirred. I wondered whether it was a dog or a
rat. The doubt was soon resolved. A human form reared itself up from the
bench against the wall, where it had been lying, not asleep indeed, but
half unconscious; and to our great surprise, it turned out to be Mr.
Cattell, who had surrendered to his bail at the same time as we did, and
had been shivering there ever since ten o'clock. After we left him he
continued shivering for three or four hours longer in that black-hole
of the Old Bailey, which struck a chill into our very bones even in the
brief period of our tenancy, and which could hardly be warmed by any
conflagration short of the last. It appeared damp as well as cold, and
a sinister effluvium came from a place of