ng
which Sir Gregory made more than one attempt to defend his witness
from the weapons of their joint enemies; but Lord Fawn at last
admitted that he had acknowledged the resemblance, and did, in some
faint ambiguous fashion, acknowledge it in his present evidence.

"My lord," said Mr. Chaffanbrass as he allowed Lord Fawn to go down,
"you have no doubt taken a note of Mr. Scruby's height." Whereupon
the judge nodded his head.

CHAPTER LXIII

Mr. Chaffanbrass for the Defence

The case for the prosecution was completed on the Saturday evening,
Mrs. Bunce having been examined as the last witness on that side.
She was only called upon to say that her lodger had been in the
habit of letting himself in and out of her house at all hours with
a latch-key;--but she insisted on saying more, and told the judge
and the jury and the barristers that if they thought that Mr. Finn
had murdered anybody they didn't know anything about the world in
general. Whereupon Mr. Chaffanbrass said that he would like to ask
her a question or two, and with consummate flattery extracted from
her her opinion of her lodger. She had known him for years, and
thought that, of all the gentlemen that ever were born, he was the
least likely to do such a bloody-minded action. Mr. Chaffanbrass was,
perhaps, right in thinking that her evidence might be as serviceable
as that of the lords and countesses.

During the Sunday the trial was, as a matter of course, the talk
of the town. Poor Lord Fawn shut himself up, and was seen by no
one;--but his conduct and evidence were discussed everywhere. At
the clubs it was thought that he had escaped as well as could be
expected; but he himself felt that he had been disgraced for ever.
There was a very common opinion that Mr. Chaffanbrass had admitted
too much when he had declared that the man whom Lord Fawn had seen
was doubtless the murderer. To the minds of men generally it seemed
to be less evident that the man so seen should have done the deed,
than that Phineas Finn should have been that man. Was it probable
that there should be two men going about in grey coats, in exactly
the same vicinity, and at exactly the same hour of the night? And
then the evidence which Lord Fawn had given before the magistrates
was to the world at large at any rate as convincing as that given in
the Court. The jury would, of course, be instructed to regard only
the latter; whereas the general public would naturally be guided