ppy
man, and so, whether the commodore chose to budge or not, she should
surely leave Charleston in that very evening's boat for Baltimore, so as
to reach Leonardtown in time for the trial. Upon hearing this, the
commodore swore furiously; but knowing of old that nothing could turn
Henrietta from the path of duty, and dreading above all things to lose
her comfortable attentions, and be left to the doubtful mercies of Mary
L'Oiseau, he yielded, though with the worst possible grace, swearing all
the time that he hoped the villain would swing for it yet.

And then the trunks were packed, and the travelers resumed their
homeward journey.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE TRIAL.

The day of the trial came. It was a bright spring day, and from an early
hour in the morning the village was crowded to overflowing with people
collected from all parts of the county. The court-room was filled to
suffocation. It was with the greatest difficulty that order could be
maintained when the prisoner, in the custody of the high sheriff, was
brought into court.

The venerable presiding judge was supposed to be unfriendly to the
accused, and the State's Attorney was known to be personally, as well as
officially, hostile to his interests. So strongly were the minds of the
people prejudiced upon one side or the other that it was with much
trouble that twelve men could be found who had not made up their
opinions as to the prisoner's innocence or guilt. At length, however, a
jury was empaneled, and the trial commenced. When the prisoner was
placed at the bar, and asked the usual question, "Guilty or not guilty?"
some of the old haughtiness curled the lip and flashed from the eye of
Thurston Willcoxen, as though he disdained to answer a charge so base;
and he replied in a low, scornful tone:

"Not guilty, your honor."

The opening charge of the State's Attorney had been carefully prepared.
Mr. Thomson had never in his life had so important a case upon his
hands, and he was resolved to make the most of it. His speech was well
reasoned, logical, eloquent. To destroy in the minds of the jury every
favorable impression left by the late blameless and beneficent life of
Mr. Willcoxen, he did not fail to adduce, from olden history, and from
later times, every signal instance of depravity, cloaked with hypocrisy,
in high places; he enlarged upon wolves in sheeps' clothing--Satan in an
angel's garb, and dolefully pointed out how many times the indignan