nted by the
royal arms--the scarlet cushions of the bench, and the large, circular
clock in the gallery, which was embellished with a gilded border and
asserted its importance by a loud, aggressive tick.

Following Anstey and Thorndyke into the well of the court, we were
ushered into one of the seats reserved for counsel--the third from the
front--where we sat down and looked about us, while our two friends
seated themselves in the front bench next to the central table. Here, at
the extreme right, a barrister--presumably the counsel for the
prosecution--was already in his place and absorbed in the brief that lay
on the desk before him. Straight before us were the seats for the jury,
rising one above the other, and at their side the witness-box. Above us
on the right was the judge's seat, and immediately below it a structure
somewhat resembling a large pew or a counting-house desk, surmounted by
a brass rail, in which a person in a grey wig--the clerk of the
court--was mending a quill pen. On our left rose the dock--suggestively
large and roomy--enclosed at the sides with high glazed frames; and
above it, near the ceiling, was the spectators' gallery.

"What a hideous place!" exclaimed Juliet, who separated me from Mrs.
Hornby. "And how sordid and dirty everything looks!"

"Yes," I answered. "The uncleanness of the criminal is not confined to
his moral being; wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of actual,
physical dirt. It is not so long ago that the dock and the bench alike
used to be strewn with medicinal herbs, and I believe the custom still
survives of furnishing the judge with a nosegay as a preventive of
jail-fever."

"And to think that Reuben should be brought to a place like this!"
Juliet continued bitterly; "to be herded with such people as we saw
downstairs!"

She sighed and looked round at the benches that rose behind us, where a
half-dozen reporters were already seated and apparently in high spirits
at the prospect of a sensational case.

Our conversation was now interrupted by the clatter of feet on the
gallery stairs, and heads began to appear over the wooden parapet.
Several junior counsel filed into the seats in front of us; Mr. Lawley
and his clerk entered the attorney's bench; the ushers took their stand
below the jury-box; a police officer seated himself at a desk in the
dock; and inspectors, detectives and miscellaneous officers began to
gather in the entries or peer into the court through the