of three sinners, was bearing the brunt of the misery which the sin of all three had wrought. Surely there will be a recompence hereafter for those who, though they have sinned in this life, have paid so grievously for their sins! And those who have here escaped, what will be their lot in that great day?

The assizes at length arrived, and with them the day of Kitty's trial. The first bill handed down by the foreman of the grand jury was a true bill in the case of "The Queen against Catherine O'Brien," for infanticide; and the prisoner was put forward by order of the judge. In answer to several official queries addressed to her, she pleaded "not guilty" to the charge; and declared, in faltering tones, that she was prepared to take her trial. A jury was impanelled; and one of the ablest young barristers on the circuit seated himself in front of Mr. Vellum, who had engaged this gentleman for the defence. This barrister, like Myles, and, for that matter, like Mr. Vellum also, was one of those people who derive their greatest happiness from advancing themselves in such a way, and in such a way alone, as should also confer the greatest benefit on their fellow-creatures. To each of these three men, dependent on their own exertions for success in life, there was a real luxury in those successes which gave them reason to feel that they were materially benefitting, not themselves alone, but also those in whose cause they were exerting themselves. Mr. O'Malley delighted in taking a case such as the one in which he was now engaged, not solely because if it did not bring him much money, it would at any rate increase his professional fame, and act for him as a species of advertisement, but because it was a chivalric undertaking. And being a young, warm-blooded man, and not a calculating one, the chivalric feeling-however some cynical readers may doubt it-was really the

uppermost one for the time being in his breast, although, of course, the feeling of personal advantage (future, if not present) held a commonsense position" there also.

Great writers may say that the age of chivalry is gone. Perhaps it has nearly disappeared from amongst the exclusive " upper ten" who have of late years given themselves over far too much to enervating luxury and selfishness. But it has cropped up again, so to speak, amongst those whom they, in their hauteur, deem to have no claims to chivalric ideas.

In addition to the witnesses who had been already examined at the inquest, Kitty's uncle and aunt were brought forward on this occasion. The evidence of the latter was most important for the defence. She testified to the birth having taken place without the least attempt at concealment on the part of her niece, who indeed had informed her with many bitter tears, a good while before, of what she was expecting. She told of the affection shown by the poor girl for her offspring, and of her solicitude when the poor little thing was, shortly after its birth, seized with a cough. She tried not to say much about her husband's passionate wrath on the fatal night; but it was all wormed out of her, even to his threat to her if she should follow her niece, and his violent forcing her to return home again when she had succeeded in slipping out. So telling, indeed, was the evidence against the man to whom she had the misfortune to be united, that it drew down upon him a scathing rebuke from the judge, who, when the man was subsequently in the box himself, and began to wail there about the disgrace it brought upon his family to be placed in such a position, addressed him as follows:

"Pray, sir, do you profess to belong to any Christian persuasion ?" "Yes, my lord, I'm a Catholic."

"I presume, that if you have not read it for yourself, you have at any rate heard how the Master of us all treated an unfortunate woman-a perfect stranger to Himself-who was taken in adultery. He did not say that it was not a sin which she had committed. He did not make light of it; yet, stipulating that she should sin no more, He forgave her! You, sir, who, I understand, are of no better a character than were probably the accusers of that woman, have not profited by your Master's lesson. It is you who have most disgraced your family. You have behaved like an inhuman brute to the poor girl, who was of your own flesh and blood; and I tell you unhesitatingly, that from your hard, unnatural conduct, which is not to be palliated even by the keenest sense of personal or family disgrace, whether she be guilty or not guilty of the crime laid to her charge, you, at any rate, ought, in justice, to be now standing in that dock beside her!" Then, looking around the court, the judge continued-" Unchastity in a woman is a heinous sin, but what shall we say of those parents and guardians who, having neglected to fortify their maidens against temptation by careful training in their youth, turn round upon them afterwards with unmitigated and unforgiving indignation when they go astray?"

Mr. O'Malley, in his address to the jury for the defence, did not neglect to improve upon the impression in the prisoner's favour, which these remarks from the judge had evidently created in the minds of the jurors.

He dwelt strongly upon the point which Myles had been the first to raise, namely, the fact of the care and solicitude shown by the young mother, in keeping her frail, little offspring warm.

"My client's mouth, gentleman, is, unhappily for herself, closed. Yet, you have heard the evidence of her aunt-an evidence which cannot

have in any way been coined for the occasion, for her evident inclination was, rather to say too little than to say too much, lest she should incur the displeasure-I may almost say, the vindictive displeasure-of that savage, her husband, to whose inhuman cruelty his lordship has himself almost directly attributed the unhappy death of the poor child. You have heard, then, from this unwilling witness what care and love the young mother showed for her offspring until the moment of her forcible expulsion from her uncle's roof; and, although her own words cannot speak thenceforward in her behalf, I thank goodness that her acts can, for you have seen how she denuded herself of a part of her own scanty covering to give fresh warmth to her darling. Gentlemen, you may, or may not believe in the legend that the pelican plucks blood from her own breast to feed her young. But, you have all of you seen our little hedgerow birds stripping themselves of their natural covering that they may keep their fledglings warm in their nests. This is the great and wondrous maternal instinct which the Almighty has planted in the mothers of creation. It is true that instances are found-too frequently found where this instinct is unfortunately wanting; but I will venture to affirm, that never has the case yet arisen, nor ever will rise, in which the maternal instinct having so forcibly developed itself one moment, could so completely die away the next as to admit of the consignment to a chill and watery grave of the little mortal whose preservation and warmth had been the leading object the moment before! As I have said, my unhappy client's mouth is closed. I can produce no evidence to prove to you that deadly faint, during which I firmly believe her numbed infant to have expired; but we have evidence to prove the fact of the renewed and inhuman yells of the inebriated uncle which caused that

faint. His lordship has very properly rebuked that uncle. May I be suffered to call down the animadversion of every right-minded man who hears me, upon one more criminal still the originator and author of all these ills, whoever he be-the cowardly seducer of this interesting girl! He has gone his ways, recking not of the harm he has done-of the misery he has brought upon another, upon one whom-oh, mockery of a word which should be held sacred -he doubtless professed to love. Although I speak in presence of the representative of the majesty of the law, I fearlessly say that I do not believe there is a man amongst you twelve-no, nor in this court, who, if he found one of these mean sneaks mischievously philandering after any female in his own establishment, would not take the law into his own hands, without waiting for judge or jury; and either himself, or if he were not big enough, by pressing into his service the biggest and most able-bodied of his friends, would not administer, or cause to be administered, to the villain the soundest thrashing that whip, or stick, or fists, could impart

"I think, Mr. O'Malley," interposed the judge, "it might be as well not to incite to lynch law the minds of an already indignant jury." "My lord," rejoined the advocate (addressing the judge, who was a very small man, and presented a striking contrast to "the Baron" in the other court), "I don't think that under the circumstance I could honestly expect to see even your lordship an exception to the rule! If your lordship did not deem yourself big enough, I feel assured that you would not hesitate to apply to your big brother, the Baron, and I do not envy the philanderer who would have the ill luck to feel the weight of his brawny arm!"

This sally gave rise to a universal titter throughout the court-a titter which acted as a positive relief to

every breast, strung as all had been for some time before to the highest point of painful interest. The judge himself could not refrain from smiling as he said, "Come, come, Mr. O'Malley, we must not indulge in these personal remarks !"

The crier having called "silence!" in a most authoritative tone, Mr. O'Malley proceeded to bring his address to a close. "Gentlemen," said he, "I ask you to analyse your own feelings at this moment. Have you not for these hours past been agonised with the hearing of this sad story? Wasn't that little laugh—that slight unburdening of your minds-a positive luxury of relief to you. Think of the tortures of mind which my poor unhappy client has been suffering during this trial; nay, for the days and nights which have intervened from the moment of the death of her child; nay, I will undertake to say, from the moment of its conception until this. I will not say, 'if you have any doubt on your minds, give her the benefit of the doubt,' for I believe there can be no doubt. To me the evidence of her innocence of this charge is so clear, that I cannot imagine any one here present supposing for an instant that she is guilty. But I beseech you, in the name of our common humanity, to put an end as speedily as you can to the mental torture and suspense which that poor, muchpunished girl is suffering, by recording a speedy, as well as an unanimous verdict in her favour!"

A burst of applause greeted the conclusion of this speech. When silence was restored, the judge proceeded to sum up. From his castigation of the uncle, many of those in court expected that the charge would be strongly in favour of the prisoner; but he balanced with such nicety his "fors" and "against," that, when the jury retired, a very uneasy feeling of apprehension pervaded the minds of her friends.

WHAT is called the Palais, in Paris, was formerly the seat of royalty, and is now the seat of justice. Built and inhabited by the Capetian Kings, in 1431, it was definitely given up to parliament by Charles VII. The great hall of the palace was for many years a favourite popular lounge, and dealers in lace, silk stuffs, and perfumery, tempted, from their stalls, the fine gentlemen and the elegant ladies of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was only in 1840 that these itinerant vendors were dismissed from the precincts, and that the immense Salle des Pas-Perdus ceased to be a place of assignations

and a bazaar.

During the last few years of the Empire the building was greatly enlarged and modernised, and little remains at present of the ancient habitation of the Capets. A new frontage opens on the Rue de Harlay, forming a vast and imposing mass of a more severe style than most of M. Haussmann's constructions, and the Prefecture of Police and the Conceirgeise are now to be found under the same roof.

The alterations in the temple of Justice itself are not greater than the changed manner in which the blind goddess administers the law in our days. Formerly the first step taken when a person was accused of any offence was to put him to the question. Now, this question was not addressed to him in words, but by the application of red-hot bars, spikes, thumbkins, iron screws, and other equally persuasive appliances to his limbs, which were torn, maimed, and crushed, in the service of truth. A man was consigned to torture even by the most kind-hearted of judges in an off-hand, matter-of

fact way, just as a prisoner is now committed for trial by a magistrate. There were two kinds of torture, the one, which was merely preparatory, was inflicted on every person accused, to obtain all the details of the crime; the other was intended only for those who were condemned to death, so that they might confess the names of their accomplices. The mode of trial then was exceedingly primitive. The prisoner was produced before his judges, who had already mastered the indictment against him; he was not allowed to bring witnesses, or to employ any advocate in his defence; and he was "questioned" until he acknowledged every crime laid to his charge.

As for the punishments, they were as simple in their way as the trial. Calumniators were burnt; a man who debauched a girl had his ears cut off, and was banished; another who enticed away a married woman was dragged in public, and then beheaded; libellers were condemned to be whipped for the first offence, and hanged for the second. Criminals who died in prison were stuffed to be duly executed, drawn, and quartered, and every unhappy wretch who was on the eve of death was constrained to make what was designated amende honorable, that is, he knelt, with a rope round his neck, with bare feet, and with a wax taper in his hand before a church, to entreat of God pardon for his crimes. The last time this barbarous ceremony was practised was in 1790.

At the time of the revolution, criminal cases were decided before parliament, and before the Tournelle, a court so named because the councillors in parliament took their seats on the bench according to rote.

The minor police matters were heard at the Chatelet, under the presidency of the provost of Paris, and there cases of petty larceny, vagrancy, assault, and drunkenness, were disposed of. It was then that the administration of justice was thoroughly reformed, and that the prisoner had a chance given him for his life. He was tried publicly; he was allowed to produce witnesses, and to defend himself through an advocate, and finally, he was permitted to leave his fate in the hands of a jury of his countrymen; for that institution of which we are so proud was introduced in Paris by a Royal Decree of the 9th February, 1792, after having been first proposed in the National Assembly in March, 1790, by Dupont, a late councillor in parliament.

The present legal system existing in France is the creation of the First Empire. France is actually divided into twenty-two cours imperiales, which furnish an assize court to each department, whilst every arrondissement is supplied with a tribunal of first instance, and every canton with a justice of the peace. The imperial courts have taken the place of the parliaments and of the Tournelle, and the tribunals of first instance have been substituted for the Chatelet. The former adjudicate in all important criminal matters, whilst the latter fulfil functions similar to those of our police magistrates, and decide civil actions in the first instance. Above all rules the Cour de Cassation, whose duty is to decide, on appeal, on mere questions of law, and as to whether the necessary technicalities and formalities have been duly complied with.

What is called in France the magistrature—that is, the whole corporation of men bearing judicial functions is divided into two distinct categories. The one is designated the "standing magistrature," and can be removed at once. They were formerly known as the "gens du roi"

the "people of the king," and they were only allowed to speak standing in the open court, whence their name is derived. They form what is called the public ministry, or the parquet, which is another surname, derived from the fact that the individuals composing it anciently had to wait inside a wooden enclosure set apart for them, which enclosure was alluded to as "le petit parc, or parquet. The parquet is conducted by the procureurgeneral, who is a very important personage; and when he rises to address the court, all the members of the parquet follow his example. Under him are the avocats-generaux (who speak in the different tribunals) and their substitutes, who are principally engaged in the internal administration of justice. The standing magistrature of the Cour Imperiale of Paris, which extends its jurisdiction over seven departments, is led by a procureur-general, followed by a first avocat-general, by six other avocatsgeneraux, and by eleven substitutes. The parquet of the tribunal of first instance consists of a procureur-imperial, aided by twenty-two substitutes.

The application of the law forms the duty of the remaining class of the magistrature, which is denominated magistrature assise, or sitting. It is composed of individuals who, leaving the parquet, take their seats on the bench as judges or councillors, and their position is analogous to that of our own judges. They are irremovable, and the chief of the state himself cannot dismiss them. They are incorruptible, and no sum of money would induce them to give an unjust sentence. They live in honourable obscurity, and they are seldom rich. When a member of the magistrature has risen, from step to step, through all the ranks in his profession-when, after a long career, he attains a seat in the Cour de Cassation-when, after fifty year's service in the highest capacity a man may be called upon to occupy, in dis