Twice round the clock; or, The hours of the day and night in London . s Bench into the Exchequer,and from the Exchequer into the Bail Court, and so on and into theCommon Pleas; the usher nods, and cries, Silence, sleepily; theclerk reads in a droning monotonous voice documents of the most vitalimportance, letters that destroy and blast a life-long reputation ofvirtue and honour : letters that bring shame on noble women, andridicule on distinguished men ; vows of affection, slanderous accusa-tions, outbursts of passion, anonymous denunciations, ebullitions oflove, hatred, revenge. Some one is h
Twice round the clock; or, The hours of the day and night in London . s Bench into the Exchequer,and from the Exchequer into the Bail Court, and so on and into theCommon Pleas; the usher nods, and cries, Silence, sleepily; theclerk reads in a droning monotonous voice documents of the most vitalimportance, letters that destroy and blast a life-long reputation ofvirtue and honour : letters that bring shame on noble women, andridicule on distinguished men ; vows of affection, slanderous accusa-tions, outbursts of passion, anonymous denunciations, ebullitions oflove, hatred, revenge. Some one is here, doubtless, to report the casefor to-morrows papers, but no active pens seem moving. The Chief hasnot assumed his legal harness yet; and the junior counsel employed inthe case are bungling over their preliminaries. The faded moreen cur-tains ; the shabby royal arms above the judge, with their tarnishedgilding, subdued-looking lion, and cracked unicorn ; the ink-stained,grease-worn desks and forms ; the lack-lustre, threadbare auditory, 96 TWICE ROUND THE THE QUEEN S BENCH, AND THE QUEEN S BENCH PRISON. 9? with woe-be-gone garments and mien, who fill up the hinderpart of theauditory : though what they can want in the Court of Queens BenchHeaven only knows j the bombazine-clad barristers, in their ill-powdered wigs—quite fail in impressing you with a sense of anythinglike grandeur or dignity. Yet you are in Banco Regina. Here oursovereign lady the Queen is supposed to sit herself in judgment; andfrom this court emanates the Great Vvrrit of Right—the Habeas tell the truth, neither counsel, jury, nor audience seem to know orto care much about what is going on ; but there are three persons wThosit up aloft—not exactly sweet little cherubs, for they are very old,wrinkled men—who know the case like a book, and considerably betterthan many books ; who have weighed the pros and cons to the minutesthairs breath, to a feathers turn of the scale, who are awake
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Keywords: ., bookauthormcconnel, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookyear1859
