of the prisoner, had perhaps, notwithstanding the hardness of his mind,
more approvingly than any one present listened to the defence; for in
the scorn of the hollow institutions and the mock honesty of social
life, so defyingly manifested by the prisoner, Brandon recognized
elements of mind remarkably congenial to his own; and this sympathy
was heightened by the hardihood of physical nerve and moral intrepidity
displayed by the prisoner,--qualities which among men of a similar mould
often form the strongest motive of esteem, and sometimes (as we read of
in the Imperial Corsican and his chiefs) the only point of attraction!
Brandon was, however, soon recalled to his cold self by a murmur of
vague applause circling throughout the common crowd, among whom the
general impulse always manifests itself first, and to whom the
opinions of the prisoner, though but imperfectly understood, came more
immediately home than they did to the better and richer classes of the
audience. Ever alive to the decorums of form, Brandon instantly ordered
silence in the court; and when it was again restored, and it was fully
understood that the prisoner's defence had closed, the judge proceeded
to sum up.

It is worthy of remark that many of the qualities of mind which seem
most unamiable in private life often conduce with a singular felicity
to the ends of public; and thus the stony firmness characteristic of
Brandon was a main cause which made him admirable as a judge,--for men
in office err no less from their feelings than their interests.

Glancing over his notes, the judge inclined himself to the jury, and
began with that silver ringing voice which particularly distinguished
Brandon's eloquence, and carried with it in high stations so majestic
and candid a tone of persuasion. He pointed out, with a clear brevity,
the various points of the evidence; he dwelt for a moment on the attempt
to cast disrepute upon the testimony of MacGrawler, but called a proper
attention to the fact that the attempt had been unsupported by witnesses
or proof. As he proceeded, the impression made by the prisoner on the
minds of the jury slowly melted away; and perhaps, so much do men soften
when they behold clearly the face of a fellow-man dependent on them
for life, it acted disadvantageously on the interests of Clifford, that
during the summing up he leaned back in the dock, and prevented his
countenance from being seen. When the evidence had been gone through,