the judge had to sum up; and all eyes turned on him, knowing that
the fate of the accused would probably depend on the colouring that the
facts adduced would assume in his hands. Flora, who met him in
society, was struck by the grave and melancholy bracing, as it were, of
the countenance, that she had seen as kindly and bright as her
father's; and the deep, full voice, sad rather than stern, the very
tone of which conveyed to every mind how heavy was the responsibility
of justice and impartiality. In effect, the very force of the
persuasions made for the defence, unanswered by the prosecution,
rendered it needful for him to give full weight to the evidence for the
other side; namely, the prisoner's evident impatience of his position,
and premeditated flight, the coincidence of the times, the being the
last person seen to enter the room, and with the very weapon that had
been the instrument of the crime; the probability that the deceased had
himself opened the drawer, the open window, the flight, and the missing
sum being found on his person, the allegation that the receipt would be
found in the pocket-book, unsupported by any testimony as to the
practice of the deceased; the strangeness of leaving the premises so
much too early for the train, and, by his own account, leaving a person
prowling in the court, close to his uncle's window. No opinion was
given; but there was something that gave a sense that the judge felt it
a crushing weight of evidence. Yet so minutely was every point
examined, so carefully was every indication weighed which could tend to
establish the prisoner's innocence, that to those among his audience
who believed that innocence indubitable, it seemed as if his arguments
proved it, even more triumphantly than the pleading of the counsel, as,
vibrating between hope and fear, anxiety and gratitude, they followed
him from point to point of the unhappy incident, hanging upon every
word, as though each were decisive.

When at length he ceased, and the jury retired, the breathless
stillness continued. With some, indeed, there was the relaxation of
long-strained attention, eyes unbent, and heads turned, but Flora had
to pass her arm round her little sister, to steady the child's nervous
trembling; Aubrey sat rigid and upright, the throbs of his heart
well-nigh audible; and Dr. May leant forward, and covered his eyes with
his hand; Tom, who alone dared glance to the dock, saw that Leonard too
had retire