ic
man. The treatment which he received from Mr. Furnival had been very
grievous to him, but he had borne with that, hoping that some word of
eulogy from the judge would set him right in the public mind. But no
such word had come, and poor John Kenneby felt that the cruel hard
world was too much for him. He had been with his sister that morning,
and words had dropped from him which made her fear that he would
wish to postpone his marriage for another space of ten years or so.
"Brick-fields!" he had said. "What can such a one as I have to do
with landed property? I am better as I am."

Mrs. Smiley, however, did not at all seem to think so, and welcomed
John Kenneby back from Alston very warmly in spite of the disgrace to
which he had been subjected. It was nothing to her that the judge had
called her future lord a fool; nor indeed was it anything to any one
but himself. According to Moulder's views it was a matter of course
that a witness should be abused. For what other purpose was he had
into the court? But deep in the mind of poor Kenneby himself the
injurious words lay festering. He had struggled hard to tell the
truth, and in doing so had simply proved himself to be an ass. "I
ain't fit to live with anybody else but myself," he said to himself,
as he walked down Bishopsgate Street.

At this time Mrs. Smiley was not yet there. Bridget had arrived, and
had been seated in a chair at one corner of the fire. Mrs. Moulder
occupied one end of a sofa opposite, leaving the place of honour at
the other end for Mrs. Smiley. Moulder sat immediately in front of
the fire in his own easy chair, and Snengkeld and Kantwise were on
each side of him. They were of course discussing the trial when Mrs.
Smiley was announced; and it was well that she made a diversion by
her arrival, for words were beginning to run high.

"A jury of her countrymen has found her innocent," Moulder had said
with much heat; "and any one who says she's guilty after that is
a libeller and a coward, to my way of thinking. If a jury of her
countrymen don't make a woman innocent, what does?"

"Of course she's innocent," said Snengkeld; "from the very moment
the words was spoken by the foreman. If any newspaper was to say she
wasn't she'd have her action."

"That's all very well," said Kantwise, looking up to the ceiling
with his eyes nearly shut. "But you'll see. What'll you bet me, Mr.
Moulder, that Joseph Mason don't get the property?"

"Gammon!" answere