e was acting from motive."

"Most people do," said the Judge drily. "But it does not follow that the
motive was an improper one."

Then the learned gentleman continued his cross-examination, directing all
the ingenuity of his practised mind to trying to prove by Augusta's
admissions, first, that the testator was acting under the undue
influence of herself; and secondly, that when the will was executed he
was _non compos mentis_. To this end he dwelt at great length on every
detail of the events between the tattooing of the will and the death of
the testator on the following day, making as much as was possible out of
the fact that he died in a fit of mania. But do what he would, he could
not shake her evidence upon any material point, and when at last he sat
down James Short felt that his case had not received any serious blow.

Then a few more questions having been asked in cross-examination by
various other counsel, James rose to re-examine, and, with the object of
rebutting the presumption of the testator's mental unsoundness, made
Augusta repeat all the details of the confession that the late publisher
had made to her as regards his methods of trading. It was beautiful to
see the fury and horror portrayed upon the countenance of the choleric
Mr. Addison and the cadaverous Mr. Roscoe, when they saw the most
cherished secrets of the customs of the trade, as practised at Meeson's,
thus paraded in the open light of day, while a dozen swift-pencilled
reporters took every detail down.

Then at last Augusta was told to stand down, which she did thankfully
enough, and Mrs. Thomas, the wife of Captain Thomas, was called. She
proved the finding of Augusta on the island, and that she had seen
the hat of one of the sailors, and the rum-cask two-thirds empty, and
also produced the shell out of which the men had drunk the rum (which
shell the Judge had called Augusta to identify). What was most
important, however, was that she gave the most distinct evidence that
she had herself seen the late Mr. Meeson interred, and identified
the body as that of the late publisher by picking out his photograph
from among a bundle of a dozen that were handed to her. Also she
swore that when Augusta came aboard the whaler the tattoo marks on
her back were not healed.

No cross-examination of the witness worth the name having been attempted,
James called a clerk from the office of the late owners of the R.M.S.
Kangaroo, who produced the roll o