suffered himself to be searched with great composure, well
knowing they would find no moveables about his person, but such as upon
examination would turn to his account; he therefore very calmly presented
to the magistrate his purse, and a small box that contained his jewels,
and in the French language desired they might be preserved from the hands
of the mob. This request was interpreted by the accuser, who, at the
same time, laid claim to the booty. The justice took charge of the
deposit, and one of his neighbours having undertaken the office of clerk,
he proceeded to the examination of the culprit, whose papers were by this
time laid on the table before him. "Stranger," said he, "you stand
charged with being son of the Pretender to these realms; what have you to
say in your own defence?" Our hero assured him, in the French language,
that he was falsely impeached, and demanded justice on the accuser, who,
without the least reason, had made such a malicious attack upon the life
and honour of an innocent gentleman.

The smuggler, instead of acting the part of a faithful interpreter, told
his worship, that the prisoner's answer was no more than a simple denial,
which every felon would make who had nothing else to plead in his own
behalf, and that this alone was a strong presumption of his guilt,
because, if he was not really the person they suspected him to be, the
thing would speak for itself, for, if he was not the Young Pretender, who
then was he? This argument had great weight with the justice, who,
assuming a very important aspect, observed, "Very true, friend, if you
are not the Pretender, in the name of God, who are you? One may see with
half an eye that he is no better than a promiscuous fellow."

Ferdinand now began to repent of having pretended ignorance of the
English language, as he found himself at the mercy of a rascal, who put a
false gloss upon all his words, and addressed himself to the audience
successively in French, High Dutch, Italian, and Hungarian Latin,
desiring to know if any person present understood any of these tongues,
that his answers might be honestly explained to the bench. But he might
have accosted them in Chinese with the same success: there was not one
person present tolerably versed in his mother-tongue, much less
acquainted with any foreign language, except the wine merchant, who,
incensed at this appeal, which he considered as an affront to his
integrity, gave the judge to u