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 most 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 your
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 arms 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
poor 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
heaven, 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.