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wonder how I could have been so foolish. "Let me advise you not to
speculate amongst us," were Hill's words, "for if you do we shall beat
you;" and it cost me five pounds to learn that. A lawyer's opinion may
be worth what is paid for it in a case stated; but of the soundness
of of a horse's wind, or the thousand and one ailments to which that
animal's flesh and blood are heir, I knew nothing--not so much as the
little boy who runs and fetches in the stable, and who could give
the ablest lawyer in Great Britain or Ireland odds on any particular
favourite's "public form" and beat him.
Put not your trust in tipsters; they no more knew that Hermit had a
chance for the Derby than they could foretell the snowstorm that was
coming to enable him to win it.
This was the last bet I ever made; and I owe my abandonment of the
practice to Harry Hill, who gave me excellent advice and enforced it
by example.
CHAPTER XVI.
ARISING OUT OF THE "ORSINI AFFAIR."
The "Orsini Affair" was one of high treason and murder. It was the
attempt on the part of a band of conspirators to murder Napoleon III.
In order to accomplish this _political_ object, they exploded a bomb
as nearly under his Majesty's carriage as they could manage, but
instead of murdering the Emperor they killed a policeman.
Orsini was captured, tried, and executed in the good old French
fashion. His political career ended with the guillotine--a sharp
remedy, but effective, so far as he was concerned.
One Dr. Simon Bernard was more fortunate than his principal, for he
was in England, the refuge of discontented foreign murderers, who try
to do good by stealth, and sometimes feel very uncomfortable when they
find that it turns out to be assassination.
Bernard was a brother conspirator in this famous Orsini business, and
being apprehended in England, was taken to be tried before Lord Chief
Justice Campbell, Edwin James and myself being retained for the
defence.
There was no defence on the facts, and no case on the law. He was
indicted for conspiracy with Orsini to murder the Emperor in Paris.
I had prepared a very elaborate and exhaustive argument in favour of
the prisoner, on the law, and had little doubt I could secure his
acquittal; but the facts were terribly strong, and we knew well enough
if the jury convicted, Campbell would hang the prisoner, for he never
tolerated murder. With this view of the case, we summoned Dr. Bernard
to a consultation
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