defence,
and secure of a favourable hearing; but I beg to state that the
prisoner has distinctly refused any such defence, and my instructions
are to contend for his perfect innocence. A nature such as we have
already traced is, as we cannot but perceive, revolted by the bare idea
of violence to the aged and infirm, and recoils as strongly from the
one accusation as from the other.

'The prisoner made his statement at the first moment, and has adhered
to it in every detail, without confusion or self-contradiction. It
does not attempt to explain all the circumstances, but they all tally
exactly with his story; he is unable to show by whom the crime could
have been committed, nor is he bound in law or justice so to do; nay,
his own story shows the absolute impossibility of his being able to
explain what took place in his absence. But mark how completely the
established facts corroborate his narrative. Observe first the
position in which the body was found, the head on the desk, the stain
of blood corresponding with the wound, the dress undisturbed, all
manifestly untouched since the fatal stroke was dealt. Could this have
been the case, had the key of the drawer of gold been taken from the
waistcoat pocket, the chain from about the neck of the deceased, and
both replaced after the removal of the money and relocking the drawer!
Can any one doubt that the drawer was opened, the money taken out, and
the lock secured, while Mr. Axworthy was alive and consenting? Again,
what robber would convey away the spoil in a bag bearing the initials
of the owner, and that not caught up in haste, but fetched in for the
purpose from the office? Or would so tell-tale a weapon as the rifle
have been left conspicuously close at hand? There was no guilty
precipitation, for the uniform had been taken off and folded up, and
with a whole night before him, it would have been easy to reach a more
distant station, where his person would not have been recognized. Why,
too, if this were the beginning of a flight and exile, should no
preparation have been made for passing a single night from home? why
should a day-ticket have been asked for? No, the prisoner's own
straightforward, unvarnished statement is the only consistent
interpretation of the facts, otherwise conflicting and incomprehensible.

'That a murder has been committed is unhappily too certain. I make no
attempt to unravel the mystery. I confine myself to the far more
grateful