st profound respect."

In this manner did the queen's attorney-general speak for about an
hour, when he gave way to the counsel for the prisoner. But, to my great
surprise, for I knew that this accusation was much the gravest of the
two, since the head of Noah would be the price of conviction, my brother
Downright, instead of making a very ingenious reply, as I had fully
anticipated, merely said a few words, in which he expressed so firm
a confidence in the acquittal of his client, as to appear to think a
further defence altogether unnecessary. He had no sooner seated himself,
than I expressed a strong dissatisfaction with this course, and avowed
an intention to make an effort in behalf of my poor friend, myself.

"Keep silence, Sir John," whispered my brother Downright; "the advocate
who makes many unsuccessful applications gets to be disrespected. I
charge myself with the care of the lord high admiral's interests; at the
proper time they shall be duly attended to."

Having the profoundest respect for the brigadier's legal attainments,
and no great confidence in my own, I was fain to submit. In the
meantime, the business of the court proceeded; and the jury, having
received a short charge from the bench, which was quite as impartial as
a positive injunction to convict could very well be, again rendered the
verdict of "guilty."

In Leaphigh, although it is deemed indecent to wear clothes, it is also
esteemed exceedingly decorous for certain high functionaries to adorn
their persons with suitable badges of their official rank. We have
already had an account of the hierarchy of tails, and a general
description of the mantle composed of tenth-hairs; but I had forgotten
to say that both my lord chief-justice and Baron Longbeard had
tail-cases made of the skins of deceased monikins, which gave the
appearance of greater development to their intellectual organs, and most
probably had some influence in the way of coddling their brains, which
required great care and attention on account of incessant use. They now
drew over these tail-cases a sort of box-coat of a very bloodthirsty
color, which, we were given to understand, was a sign that they were in
earnest, and about to pronounce sentence; justice in Leaphigh being of
singularly bloodthirsty habits.

"Prisoner at the bar," the chief-justice began, in a voice of reproof,
"you have heard the decision of your peers. You have been arraigned
and tried on the heinous charge of