full of his penitent resolution, and murmured
again brokenly, "I'll—take it to—Pembroke-
street to—morrow: to—mor—row."

CHAPTER LV.

MR. HARDIE raised the money on his scrip,
and at great inconvenience; for he was holding
on five hundred thousand pounds' worth of old
Turkish Bonds over an unfavourable settling
day, and wanted every shilling to pay his broker.
If they did not rise by next settling day, he was
a beggar. However, being now a desperate
gamester, and throwing for his last stake, he
borrowed this sum, and took it with a heavy
heart to his appointment with Skinner. Skinner
never came. Mr. Hardie waited till one o'clock.
Two o'clock. No Skinner. Mr. Hardie went
home hugging his five hundred pounds, but very
uneasy. Next day he consulted Peggy. She
shook her head, and said it looked very ugly.
Skinner had, most likely, got angrier and angrier
with thinking on the assault. " You will never
see him again till the day of the trial: and then
he will go down and bear false witness against
you. Why not leave the country?"

"How can I, simpleton? My money is all
locked up in time-bargains. No, I'm tied to
the stake; I'll fight to the last: and, if I'm
defeated and disgraced, I'll die, and end it."

Peggy implored him not to talk so. "I've
been down to the court," said she softly, " to
see what it is like. There's a great hall; and
he must pass through that to get into the little
places where they try 'em. Let me be in that
hall with the five hundred pounds, and I promise
you he shall never appear against you. We
will both go; you with the money, I with my
woman's tongue."

He gave her his hand like a shaky monarch,
and said she had more wit than he had.

Mr. Heathfield, who had contrived to postpone
Hardie v. Hardie six times in spite of Compton,
could not hurry it on now with his co-operation.
It hung fire from some cause or another a good
fortnight: and in this fortnight Hardie senior
endured the tortures of suspense. Skinner made
no sign. At last, there stood upon the paper
for next day, a short case of disputed contract,
and Hardie v. Hardie.

The witnesses subpoenaed on either side in
Hardie v. Hardie, began to arrive at ten o'clock,
and a tall, stately man paraded Westminster
Hall, to see if Skinner came with them; all other
anxieties had merged in this: for the counsel
had assured him if nothing unexpected turned
up, Thomas Hardie would have a verdict, or if
not, the damages would be nominal.

Now, this day, I must premise, was to settle
the whole lawsuit: for, while trial of the issue
was being postponed and postponed, the legal
question had been argued and disposed of. The
very Queen's counsel, unfavourable to the suit,
was briefed with Garrow's views, and delivered
them in court with more skill, clearness, and
effect than Garrow ever could; then sat down,
and whispered over rather contemptuously to
Mr. Compton, " That is your argument, I think."

"And admirably put," whispered the attorney,
in reply.

"Well; now hear Saunders knock it to
pieces."

Instead of that, it was Serjeant Saunders that
got maltreated: first one judge had a peck at
him: then another: till they left him scarce a
feather to fly with; and, when Alfred's counsel
rose to reply, the judges stopped him, and the
chief of the court, Alfred's postponing enemy,
delivered his judgment after this fashion:

"We are all of opinion that this plea is bad in
law. By the common law of England no person
can be imprisoned as a lunatic unless actually
insane at the time. It has been held so for
centuries, and down to the last case. And
wisely: for it would be most dangerous to the
liberty of the subject, if a man could be imprisoned
without remedy unless he could prove mala
fides in the breast of the party incarcerating him.
As for the statute, it does not mend the matter,
but rather the reverse; for it expressly protects
duly authorised persons acting under the order
and certificates, and this must be construed to
except from the protection of the statute the
person making the order."

The three puisne judges concurred, and gave
similar reasons. One of them said that if A. imprisoned
B. for a felon, and B. sued him, it was
no defence to say that B., in his opinion, had
imitated felony. They cited Elliot v. Allen,
Anderdon v. Burrows, and Lord Mansfield's
judgment in a very old case, the name of which
I have unfortunately forgotten.

Judgment was entered for the plaintiff; and
the defendant's ingenious plea struck off the
record; and Hardie v. Hardie became the
leading case. But in law one party often wins the
skirmish and the other the battle. The grand
fight, as I have already said, was to be to-day.

But the high hopes and ardour with which the
young lovers had once come into court were now
worn out by the postponement swindle, and the
adverse events delay had brought on them.
Alfred was not there: he was being examined in
the schools; and had plumply refused to leave a
tribunal that named its day and kept it—for
Westminster, until his counsel should have
actually opened the case. He did not believe
trial by jury would ever be allowed him. Julia
was there, but sad and comparatively listless.
One of those strange vague reports, which often
herald more circumstantial accounts, had come
home, whispering darkly that her father was
dead, and buried on an island in the South Sea.
She had kept this report from her mother,
contrary to Edward's wish: but she implored him
to restrain his fatal openness. In one thing both
these sorely tried young people agreed, that
there could be no marriage with Alfred now.
But here again Julia entreated her brother not
to be candid; not to tell Alfred this at present.
"Oh, do not go and dispirit him just now," she