of the
building. But here a new object of horror presented itself, and one
which to this hour I cannot chase from before me. In the open space
between the line formed by the soldiers and the court knelt a woman,
whose tattered garments scarce covered a figure emaciated nearly to
starvation; her cheeks, almost blue with famine, were pinched inwards,
and her hands, which she held clasped with outstretched arms before her,
were like the skinny claws of some wild animal. As she neither spoke nor
stirred, there was no effort made to remove her; and there she knelt,
her eyes, bloodshot and staring, bent upon the door of the building. A
vague fear took possession of me. Somewhere I had seen that face before.
I drew near, and as a cold thrill ran through my blood, I remembered
where. She was the wife of the man by whose bedside I had watched in the
mountains. A half dread of being recognised by her kept me back for a
moment; then came the better feeling that perhaps I might be able to
serve her, and I walked towards her. But though she turned her eyes
towards me as I approached, her look had no intelligence in it, and I
could plainly see that reason had fled, and left nothing save the poor
suffering form behind it. I endeavoured to attract her attention, but
all in vain. At last I tried by gentle force to induce her to leave the
place; but a piercing shriek, like one whose tones had long dwelt in my
heart, broke from her, with a look of such unutterable anguish, that
I was obliged to desist and leave her. The crowd made way for me as I
passed out, and I could see in their looks and demeanour the expression
of grateful acknowledgment for even this show of feeling on my part;
while some muttered as I went by, 'God reward ye,' 'the Lord be good
to ye,' as though at that moment they had nothing in their hearts save
thoughts of kindness and words of blessing.

I reached my room, and sat down a sadder, perhaps a wiser man; and yet
I know not this. It would need a clearer head than mine to trace all the
varying and discordant elements of character I had witnessed to their
true source; to sift the evil from the good; to know what to cherish,
what to repress, whereon to build hope or what to fear. Such was this
country once! Has it changed since?

CHAPTER XLIV. THE BAD DINNER

At nine o'clock the jury retired, and a little afterwards the front
drawing-room of the Head Inn was becoming every moment more crowded,
as the door open