Authors: George W. M. Reynolds,James Malcolm Rymer
roué
of the present day, with jewellery about his person, and gold in
his pocket - allowing ever an engaging smile to play upon his lips, and
professing unmitigated disgust at the slightest appearance of vulgarity in
another,- this individual - this Mr. Chichester was the principal witness whom
the counsel for the prosecution had brought forward. But no English Jury would
condemn a fellow creature upon such testimony - the testimony of one who was
compelled to fly ignominiously and precipitately from Baden, on account of some
rascality at cards, and who left his domestic in a strange land, pennyless,
ignorant of the language, and surrounded by the odium which also attached
itself to the name of his master. The prisoner had no motive in passing forged
notes, because he was wealthy ;- but Mr. Chichester had a motive, because he
evidently lived far beyond the means which his father could allow him.
The learned counsel here related the manner in which Richard
had been induced to change the larger note, and had become possessed of the
smaller.
He then proceeded to observe, that the letters addressed to
Mrs. Arlington and Mr. Monroe related to the fact that the prisoner's eyes had
been suddenly opened to the characters of his associates, and to the career of
dissipation in which they were leading him. The phrase upon which so much
stress had been laid- "
till
at
length yesterday—
"
alluded to the suicide of a young
officer, which had taken place while the prisoner was at the gambling- house,
whither he had been inveigled instead of inveigling others. "
He could
not have remained in London another minute with safety to himself.
"
And why? because these associates whom he had
accidentally picked up, would not
leave him quiet. They regularly beset him.
"He was penitent
;"
and he hoped that Mr. Monroe would "
defend and protect his
reputation.
"
Yes-when the newspaper reports
conveyed to the knowledge of that gentleman the fact that his ward had been
arrested in a common gambling-house, and fined for being there. The letters
were written hurriedly, and were ambiguous: thus they were susceptible of more
than one interpretation. Let the jury interpret them in favour of the prisoner.
It was better to send a dozen guilty men back again into society, terrible as
that evil would be, than to condemn
one
innocent person. Then, with regard to the precipitate departure:
the witness Whittingham had shown, in his a cross-examination, that the
prisoner's object was to escape from the three men whose characters were
suddenly unveiled to him. It was a said, that the prisoner had requested those
three individuals to accompany him to the gaming-house, and that they at first
refused. Oh! amazing fastidiousness - especially on the part of Mr. Arthur
Chichester, who had been
compelled to decamp from Baden,
for cheating at a cards! Then it was stated that the prisoner asked for change
for a fifty-pound note; and it was said, that he would have availed himself of
that accommodation to pass a forged note. Why - he (the learned counsel) had
already explained how that fifty-pound note came into the prisoner's possession
- his own gold having been transferred by Mr. Chichester to Sir Rupert
Harborough's writing desk! The learned counsel concluded, by asking how it
happened that no other forged Bank of England notes - no copper-plates to print
them with - no materials for such a fraud, were found at the prisoner's house? Could
it be supposed that a young man with his prospects would risk his reputation
and his safety for a few hundreds of pounds? The idea was preposterous. The
prisoner's counsel entered into a few minute points of the evidence which told
in favour of his client, and a wound up with a powerful appeal to the jury in
his behalf.
Richard followed, with an absorbing interest, the able
defence made for him by his counsel; and his soul was filled with hope as each
fact and argument in his favour was divested of all mystery, and lucidly
exhibited to the consideration of the court.
Mr. Monroe was summoned to the witness box, and he proved
the statements made by the prisoner's counsel relative to the pecuniary
position of his ward. Snoggles, the ostler, followed, and very freely stated
all the particulars of his late master's precipitate decampment from Baden.
Thus terminated the case for the defence.
The counsel of the prosecution - according to that odious
right which gives the accusing party the last word in those instances where the
defendant has called witnesses - rose to reply. He stated that neither the
wealth nor the social position of an a individual afforded a certain guarantee
against crime. Besides, the law must not always be swayed by the apparent
absence of motives; because some of the most extraordinary deeds of turpitude
upon record had never been traced to a source which could satisfactorily
account for their origin. The
perpetration
was the, object which the jury had to keep in view; and the use of
evidence was to prove or deny that perpetration by some particular individual.
A forgery had been committed, and money obtained by the prisoner at the bar
through the agency of that forgery. The defence had not attempted to deny that
the prisoner was the individual a who had thus obtained the money. The point to
be considered was, whether the prisoner knew the note to be a forged one; and
be (the learned counsel) considered that an assemblage of circumstances of a
most unequivocal nature stamped the prisoner a with that guilt. Mr.
Chichester's evidence went to show that he himself never gave any notes to the
prisoner. Even if Chichester were proved to be a disreputable person, there was
nothing beyond the prisoner's mere assertion (made through his counsel) to
prove that he had received the two notes from Chichester. Mr. Chichester had
certainly assumed another name during his German tour, but it was for the
purpose of avoiding arrest in a foreign land upon bills of exchange which might
have been sent from England after him. He had, moreover, assumed the
distinction of
Honourable
- a foolish vanity, but by no means a crime; for half the
Englishmen who were called
Captain,
were no more captains than he (the learned counsel) was.
The senior judge now summoned up the evidence to the jury;
and the most profound interest was still manifested by all present in the
proceedings. The learned judge occupied nearly two hours in hit charge to the
jury, whom he put in possession of all the points of the case which it was
necessary to consider.
The jury retired, and debated for a considerable a time upon
their verdict.
This was the dread interval of suspense. Richard's
countenance was deadly pale; and his lips were firmly compressed in order to
prevent any sudden ebullition of feeling - a weakness to which he seemed for a
moment inclined to yield. Mr. Monroe did not entertain much hope; the summing
up of the judge had been unfavourable to Markham. As for Whittingham, he shook
his head dolefully from time to time, and murmured, loud enough to be heard by
those near him, "Oh! Master Richard, Master Richard! who would ever have
propulgated an opinion that you would have been brought into such a fixture as
this? It's all along of them fellers which call butlers
tulips!
"
How singularly reckless is the mind of man with regard to
the destinies of those to whom he is not connected by any ties of blood or
friendship! While the jury were absent, discussing their verdict, the various
barristers assembled round the table, began chattering together, and laughing,
and telling pleasant anecdotes, as if the fate of a fellow-creature was by no
means compromised at that moment. The counsel for the prosecution, who had done
his duty by exerting all his talents, all his energies, and all his eloquence,
to obtain the conviction of a youth who had never injured him, and whom he had
never seen before, coolly took up a newspaper and perused it with evident
gratification; while, at a little distance from him, stood the individual whom
he had so zealously and earnestly sought to render miserable for life!
How strange! - how horribly depraved and vitiated must be
that state of society in which hundreds of talented men are constantly
employed, with large recompense, in procuring the condemnation of their
fellow-creatures to the scaffold, the hulks, or eternal banishment! And what an
idea must we entertain of our vaunted condition of consummate civilization,
when we behold these learned men calling to their aid every miserable chicanery,
every artificial technicality, and every possible exaggeration, to pursue the
accused prisoner either to the platform of the gibbet, to loathsome dungeons,
or to the horrors of Norfolk Island. Does society avenge? - or does it a merely
make examples of the wicked to warn others from sin? If the enquirer who asks
himself or us these questions, would only attend the Central Criminal Court, he
would hear the barrister for the prosecution imploring, coaxing, and commanding
the a jury to return such a verdict as will either condemn a human being to the
scaffold, or separate him for ever from home, wife, children, kindred, and
friends! He would find men straining every nerve, availing themselves of every
miserable legal quirk and quibble, torturing their imaginations to find
arguments, calling subtlety and mystification to their aid, shamefully
exaggerating trivial incidents into important facts, dealing in
misrepresentation and false deduction, substituting and dovetailing facts to
suit their purposes, omitting others which tell against their own case, almost
falling upon their knees to the jury, and staking their very reputation on the
results, - and all these dishonourable, disgraceful, vile, and inhuman means
and efforts exerted and called into action for the sake of sending a
fellow-creature to the scaffold, or separating him for ever from the family
that is dependant upon him, and that will starve without him!
O God! is it possible that man can have been made for such
sad purposes? is it possible that the being
whom thou hast created after
thine own image,
should be so demon-like in
heart?
Oh! if the prisoner standing in the dock had inflicted some
terrible injury upon the honour or the family of the barrister who holds a
brief against him, then were it easy to comprehend that profound anxiety on the
part of this barrister, to send the a trembling criminal to the gallows! But,
no - that barrister has no revenge to gratify - no hatred to assuage - no
malignity to appease; he toils to take away that man's life, with all his
strength, with all his talent, and with all his energy, because he has received
gold to do his best to obtain a conviction!
Ah! what a hideous traffic in flesh and blood!
And if any one were to say to that barrister, "Thou art
a blood-thirsty and merciless wretch," he would answer coolly and
confidently, "No: on the other hand, I subscribe to philanthropic
institutions !"
The jury returned and the feeling uppermost in their minds
was satisfaction at the prospect of being so speedily dismissed to their
respective homes, where they would pursue their efforts after wealth, and
speedily forget the youth whom they had condemned to punishment, and whose
prospects they had blasted.
For their verdict was
Guilty!
And the judges hastened to
terminate the proceedings.
Richard was commanded to rise, and receive the sentence of
the court. He obeyed with a kind of mechanical precision - for his mental
energies were entirely prostrated. The voice of the judge addressing him rang
like the chimes of distant bells in his ears ;- the numerous persons whom he
beheld around, appeared to be all moving and agitating like an immense crowd
assembled to witness an execution.
He stood up as he was commanded
;
and the Judge proceeded to pass sentence upon him. He said that
the court took his youth into consideration, and that there were circumstances
which would render a very lenient sentence satisfactory to that society which
had been outraged. The court accordingly condemned him to two years'
imprisonment in the Giltspur Street Compter, without hard labour.
"That's all!" said the spectators to each other;
and they appeared disappointed!
The audience then separated.
ANOTHER DAY AT THE OLD BAILEY
RICHARD was conveyed back to Newgate in a state of mind which can
be more easily imagined than described. The Judges returned in their handsome
carriages, to their splendid abodes ;- the prosecuting barrister, that zealous
and enthusiastic defender of social morality, hastened to the Temple to
entertain a couple of prostitutes in his chambers ;- and the various lawyers
engaged about the court, hurried to their respective homes to prepare writs
relating to fresh cases of turpitude and crime for the morrow.
Richard had shaken hands with Monroe and Whittingham over
the parapet of the dock - he would not be allowed to see them again for three
months! They still believed in his innocence - although twelve men that
afternoon had declared their conviction of his guilt!
On the ensuing morning the trial of Eliza Sydney, Robert
Stephens, and Hugh Mac Chizzle took place. As on the preceding day, the court
was crowded from floor to roof. The bench was filled with the ladies and
daughters of the aldermen; there was a full attendance of barristers; and extra
reporters occupied the box devoted to the gentlemen of the press. The case had
created an extraordinary sensation, not only in consequence of the immensity of
the stake played for by the prisoners, but also on account of the remarkable
fraud practised by one of the most lovely women that had ever breathed the air
of this world.
Eliza was dressed with extreme simplicity, but great taste.
A straw bonnet with a plain riband, enclosed her pale but charming countenance:
there was a soft and bewitching melancholy in her eyes; and her moist red lips
were slightly apart as if she breathed with difficulty. She was a woman of a
strong mind, as we have said before; and she endeavoured to restrain her
emotions to the utmost of her power. She did not condescend to cast a look upon
her fellow prisoners; nor during the trial were her glances once turned towards
them.
Stephens appeared to be suffering with acute mental pain:
his countenance was cadaverous, so pale and altered was it ;- even his very
lips were white. Mac Chizzle still retained an air of dogged sullenness,
approaching to brutal indifference.
The Earl of Warrington was in attendance.
When called upon to plead, Stephens and the lawyer replied
Not Guilty:
Eliza answered
Guilty
in a firm and audible voice.
As the entire facts of the case are known to the readers, we
need not enter into any fresh details. Suffice it to say, that when the Jury
had delivered their verdict of
Guilty
against the two male prisoners, the Earl of Warrington rose, and
in a must feeling and handsome manner interceded with the court in behalf of
Eliza Sydney, Eliza herself was quite overcome with this unexpected generosity,
and burst into a flood of tears.
The foreman of the jury also rose and observed that, though
the female prisoner had taken her case out of their hands by pleading guilty,
the jury were nevertheless unanimous in recommending her to the favourable
consideration of the court.
The Judge proceeded to pass sentence. He said, "Robert
Stephens, you have been guilty of one of the most serious attempts at fraud,
which, in a commercial country and a civilised community, could be perpetrated.
You have moreover availed yourself of your influence over a young and confiding
woman - an influence obtained by a series of kind actions towards her mother,
her late brother, and herself - to convert her into the instrument of your
guilty designs. The court cannot pass over you, case without inflicting the
severest penalty which the law allows. The sentence of the Court is that you be
transported beyond the seas for the term of your natural life."
The culprit staggered, and leant against the dock for
support. A momentary pause ensued, at the expiration of which he partially
recovered himself and said, "My Lord, I acknowledge the justice of my
sentence: but permit me to observe that the female prisoner Eliza Sydney is
innocent of any attempt to defraud. Up to a few hours before we called upon the
Earl of Warrington to sign the release and obtain the bank receipts, she was
ignorant of the real object which I had in view. Even
then, when I unveiled my designs,
she shrank from the part she had to perform; and I was compelled to make use of
all the specious arguments and all the sophistry I could call to my aid, to
blind her as to the real nature of the transaction. My Lord I make these few
observations in justice to her; I have nothing now to lose or gain
by this appeal in her behalf."
Stephens sank back exhausted in a chair which had been placed
in the dock for the accommodation of Eliza Sydney ; and the lady herself was
melted to fresh tears by this proof of latent generosity on the part of the man
who had been the means of placing her in her present sad position.
The Judge continued: "Hugh Mac Chizzle, you have been
found guilty of aiding and abetting, at the last moment, in the consummation of
a deed of almost unpardonable fraud. You have taken advantage of a profession
which invests him who practises it with an appearance of respectability and
gives him opportunities of perpetrating, if he be so inclined, enormous
breaches and abuses of confidence. You stand second in degree of culpability to
the prisoner Stephens. The sentence of the court, therefore, is, that you be
transported beyond the seas for the term of fifteen years."
There was another momentary pause; and the Judge then
proceeded as follows, while the most breathless silence prevailed:-
"Eliza Sydney, your share in this unfortunate and
guilty business has been rather that of an instrument than a principal. Still
you had arrived, when you first assumed a masculine disguise, at the years of
discretion, which should have taught you to reflect that no deceit can be
designed for a good purpose. Your readiness to confess your guilt - the
testimony of your fellow prisoner in your behalf - the recommendation of the
jury - and the intercession of the prosecutor, however, weigh with the court.
Still a severe punishment must be awarded you; for if we were to admit the plea
that a person between twenty and thirty is not responsible for his or her
actions, justice would in numerous cases be defeated, and crime would find
constant apologies and extenuation. The sentence of the court is that you be
imprisoned for the space of two years in her Majesty's gaol of Newgate."
Eliza had anticipated transportation she had made up her
mind to banishment for at least seven years, from her native clime. The
observation of the Judge that "a severe punishment must be awarded
her," had confirmed her in that impression. The concluding words of that
functionary had therefore taken her by surprise - a surprise so sudden that it
overcame her. She tottered, and would have fallen; but she felt herself
suddenly supported in the aroma of a female, who conducted her to a seat in the
dock, and whispered kind and consolatory words in her ear.
Eliza raised her eyes towards the countenance of this
unexpected friend; and, to her astonishment, encountered the soft and
sympathising glance of Diana Arlington.
"Do not be alarmed, Miss Sydney," whispered the
Enchantress: "the Earl of Warrington will do more for you than you may
anticipate. He will use his influence with the Home Secretary, and obtain a
mitigation of your sentence."
"Oh! how kind in him thus to interest himself in my
behalf," murmured Eliza; "and I - who am so unworthy of his
commiseration!"
"Do not say that ! we have made enquiries, and we have
found how you have been deceived. We have seen your faithful servant Louisa;
and she has told us enough to convince us that you was more to be pitied than
blamed. One thing I have to communicate which will console you - I have taken
Louisa into my service!"
"A thousand thanks, my dear madam," said Eliza.
"The thought of what was to become of her has made me very unhappy. This
is indeed one subject of comfort. But I saw Louisa yesterday: why did she keep
me in the dark in this respect?"
"We enjoined her to maintain the strictest
silence," returned Mrs. Arlington. "We were determined to see how you
would act up to the very last moment in this distressing business, ere we
allowed you to know that you had friends who cared for you."
"And how have I obtained this generous sympathy?"
enquired Eliza, pressing Diana's hand with an effusion of gratitude.
"The Earl loved your mother, and blames himself for his
neglect of her children, whose welfare would have been dear to his deceased
uncle," said Diana gravely. "And for myself, she added, blushing -
" anything which interests the Earl, also interests me."
"Believe me, I shall never forget this kindness on your
part :- neither shall I ever be able to repay it," observed Eliza. "
I am now going to a protracted incarceration, in a terrible prison," she
continued mournfully,- "and God only knows whether I may survive it. But
until the day of my death shall I pray for you and that good nobleman who
forgives, pities, and consoles me."
"He does - he does," said Mrs. Arlington, deeply
affected: "but fancy not that your confinement will pass without being
relieved by the visits of friends. I shall call and see you as often as the
regulations of the prison will permit; and I again renew the promise which the
Earl has authorised me to make relative to his intercession with the Secretary
of State in your favour."
Eliza again poured forth her gratitude to Diana, and they
then separated. The former was conveyed back to Newgate : the latter hastened
to the humble hackney-coach which she had purposely hired to take her to the
Old Bailey.
As soon as the case of Stephens, Mac Chizzle, and Eliza
Sydney was disposed of, William Bolter was placed at the bar to take his trial
for the murder of his wife.
"The miscreant" - as the newspapers had called him
all along - wore a sullen and hardened appearance; and pleaded
Not Guilty
in a brutal and ferocious manner. The only feature of interest in
the case was the examination of his son - his little son - as a witness against
him. The pour boy seemed to comprehend the fearful position in which his father
was placed ; for he gave his evidence with the utmost reluctance. There was,
however, a sufficiency of testimony, direct and circumstantial, to induce the
jury to find the prisoner guilty without a moment's hesitation.
The Judge put on the black cap, and proceeded to pass upon
the culprit the awful sentence of the law. Having expatiated upon the enormity
of the prisoner's guilt, and admonished him to use the little time that
remained to him in this world for the purpose of making his peace with heavens,
he sentenced William Bolter
to be taken back again to the
place from whence he came, and thence to a place of execution, where he was
to be hanged by the neck until he
should be dead.
"And may the Lord,"
added the Judge solemnly, "have mercy upon your soul."
There was some years ago, amongst
ruffians of the very worst description, a custom of abusing the Judge, or
"blackguarding the Beak," as it was called, when they received the
award due to their crimes, in the felon's dock. This miserable and vain bravado
- an affectation of recklessness which even the most hardened could scarcely
feel - was revived by Bill Bolter upon the present occasion. "Taking a
sight" at the Judge, the murderer commenced a string of horrible abuse -
laden with imprecations and epithets of a most shocking and filthy nature.
A shudder passed through the audience as if it were one man,
at that revolting display on the part of a wretch who stood upon the edge of
the tomb!
The officers of the court speedily interfered to put an end
to the sad scene; and the convict, after a desperate resistance, was carried
back to Newgate, where he was lodged in one of the condemned cells.
While these important cases were being disposed of in the
Old Court, two others, which it is necessary to notice, were adjudicated upon
in the New Court before the Recorder. The first was that of Thomas Armstrong,
who was fortunate enough to be acquitted for want of evidence, George Montague,
a principal witness against him, not appearing ;- the other was that of Crankey
Jem and the Resurrection Man. It is needless to enter into particulars in this
matter : suffice it to say that the former was convicted of a daring burglary,
upon the testimony of the latter who turned King's evidence. Crankey Jem was
sentenced to transportation for life, he having been previously convicted of
serious offences; and the Resurrection Man was sent back to Newgate to be
discharged at the termination of the sessions.
The business of the Court was concluded in a few days; and Richard
was removed to the Giltspur Street Compter. There he was dressed in the prison
garb, and forced to submit to a
régime
peculiarly trying to the constitution of those who have been
accustomed to tender nurture. The gruel, which constituted his principal
aliment, created a nausea upon his stomach; the thin and weak soup was far from
satisfying the cravings of the appetite ; the bread was good, but doled out in
miserably small quantities ; and the meat seemed only offered to tantalise or
provoke acuteness of hunger.
The Resurrection Man was set at liberty.
Stephens, Mac Chizzle, and Crankey Jem were removed to the
hulks at Woolwich, previous to the sailing of a convict-ship for New South
Wales.
Eliza Sydney remained in Newgate.
Bill Bolter, the murderer, also stayed for a short season in
the condemned cell of that fearful prison.