CELEBRATEDTRIALS.IAM an old Crow, a member of the Bar of the animal kingdom. At the urgent request of my friends and a wide circle of admirers, and owing to the shortcomings of law reporters, I have resolved to set before you a succinct account of the last assizes. They created a great sensation; it could hardly be otherwise, since the happy thought had suggested itself of selecting most of the judges and jurymen from members of my own tribe, and these, by their grave solemnity of countenance, and by their black attire, presented an imposing spectacle to the crowd, for it was but natural to infer that creatures so skilled in ransacking dead bodies would be peculiarly apt in drawing conclusions as to the moral decomposition of prisoners.A Stork was appointed President, his cold-blooded patience and stolidity rendering him not unworthy of that honour. Perched motionless on his chair with his eyes half shut, his breast puffed out, his head thrown back, he carefully watched for any contradictory statements made by the accused, and looked as if in ambush on the borders of some swamp. The post of Attorney-General had fallen to a wry-necked Vulture. This personage, if he ever possessed any sensibility, had long forgotten its influence. Ardent and pitiless, his only thought was to obtain success, or in other words conviction; his claws and beak were ever ready to attack but never to defend. The court of assizes was a field of battle, and the prisoner a foe who must be subdued at any price. He proceeded to a criminal trial like a soldier to an assault, throwing himself into the case like a gladiator into the arena. In short, the Vulture makes an admirable Attorney-General.The inhabitants of the holes, nests, copses, molehills, and neighbouring marshes flocked in crowds to attend these judicial ceremonies, while Geese, Bitterns, Buzzards, and Magpies swelled the throng.This is the way of the world. Seats were reserved for the representatives of the press—Ducks and Parrots most of them. With what eagerness these gentry hurried to their places! A reporter pounces upon a horrible trial as if it were his lawful prey. When such an occasion presents itself, the regular staff find themselves no longer obliged to task their imaginations, to cudgel their well-worn brains. Copy is supplied to them ready-made, needing no fresh spice to suit the public taste, but rather abounding in dramatic incidents, such as the journalists could never have invented themselves; so the editor can proudly cry out to his printer, “Strike off 10,000 additional sheets!”It is needless to describe in detail the whole business of the session. We will set aside the proceedings against a jolly Dog, who in a moment of excitement bit the tail off a rival in front of a tavern; against a Peacock for assuming an aristocratic title not his own, a Magpie for theft, a Cat for unlawful trespass on private tiles, a French Cock for stirring up hatred against the constituted government, a Fox for fraudulent bankruptcy. We will content ourselves by noticing the two leading trials, saying with a Rat of our acquaintance, who had gnawed his knowledge out of a book-worm’s library,Musa mehi causus memora.In a recent issue of “The Microcosm,” a journal much patronised by the Ducks, one might have read the followingwords:—“A crime has just been committed of a nature so diabolical as to rouse the indignation of the whole country. It is deeply to be regretted that at the moment when the confederated animals had sworn to maintain eternal friendship and peace, a Toad should be found foully poisoned in a field. Justice is making investigation; she investigated to such good purpose that two Sheep, three Snails, and four Lizards, all equally guiltless, were arrested on suspicion, and not released until they had been detained for ninety days in precautionary imprisonment. May Providence protect you, my friends, from having any idle charge ever laid at your doors. The first thing to be done will be to lock you up in a cell; there you will be detained in custody, that you may be interrogated, and even cross-questioned, about family antecedents and occupation, your mode of spending your leisure, and how you have been employed on certain days, at certain hours, for some months past. After it has been duly established that you are innocent, you will be politely requested to go back to your domicile. During all this time your affairs have languished and fallen into disorder, creditorshave become furious, debtors have flown, your family has been injured, and calumnies of all sorts have been kindly set afloat concerning you, for we may always find plenty of animals who will say, ‘Where there’s smoke there must be fire.’ ”Those who were arrested on suspicion in this instance were found to exhibit no traces of guilt. The inquiry was pushed with the greatest energy and activity under the direction of a pair of Tortoises, but the longer their examination continued, the more profound became the darkness and mystery which shrouded the Toad’s death. At last a Mole came tumbling up from under his hill, and stated that he had seen an enormous Viper—monstrum horrendum, as my friend the Rat would say—darting at the Toad. When brought face to face with the remains of the deceased, he swore positively to its identity. The Bulldogs were instantly despatched in search of the Viper, and falling valiantly upon him during his sleep, brought him before the judges.The court is opened; the indictment is read; the Ant, a distinguished analyst, who had been ordered to examine the contents of the stomach, proceeds to read his analysis—marked attention.“Gentlemen, our duty has been to examine the body and intestines of the unfortunate Toad, and to ascertain beyond doubt whether they contained traces of the poisonous matter distilled in the fangs of the Viper, called by the learnedViperium.“This substance, combined with diverse oxides, acids, and simple bodies, forms variouslyViperates,Viperites, orViperures.“We have analysed, with the greatest care, the stomach, the liver, the lungs, and the encephalic mass of the victim, using a variety of reagents pilfered from a homœopathic chemist who carried his medicine-chest in his pocket. After heating and evaporating to dryness the pancreatic juice and other substances contained in the stomach, we obtained a sweet solid body, which we treated with two milligrammes of distilled water; by placing the whole in a glass retort, and submitting it to ebullition for two hours and twenty-five minutes, we obtained no result. But this same substance treated successively with acetates, sulphates, nitrates, prussiates, and chlorates, yielded a liquid of a blue apple green colour which, when combined with certain powerful reagents, deposited a powder of an indefinite but most characteristic colour. This powder can be nothing butViperiumin its pure state.”Such a lucid and conclusive report deeply impressed the audience.This trial, which ended in the conviction of the Viper, would doubtless have excited greater interest had not public attention been drawn away by important political matters, and by the account of a still greater trial which took place about the same time.The announcement of this affair appeared in the page of “The Microcosm” consecrated to the horrible, headed, as usual, “Another dreadful Tragedy.”“A Ewe and her Lamb, setting a noble example to other domesticated animals, had escaped from their fold. Both were at once placed under the special protection of the Free Confederation of Animals, in spite of which they have been basely murdered.“A wolf, believed by all to be the true assassin, has been arrested, thanks to the zeal and energy of the commander of the Bulldogs.”The point of importance was to ascertain how the Sheep came by its death. Accordingly, to place this question beyond doubt, a Turkey was appointed to hold apost-mortemexamination. Now this Turkey was among the most learned of birds. He had won a title by his marvellous skill, and had gained a well-deserved reputation by researches—unhappily inconclusive—into that important problemQuare opium facit dormire.This eminent practitioner stated that the Sheep had certainly not succumbed to an attack of cholera as some had falsely reported, but from a wound six inches in length having been made in her neck, nearly severing the head from the trunk.The trial was impatiently awaited, and at last came on for hearing. From break of day an immense multitude besieged the entrance to the court, but the authorities had taken measures to prevent disorder. At ten o’clock the accused is brought in; he looks pale, his dark eyes have lost their lustre, his attire though decent has nothingrechercheabout it. One can scarcely make out his features, which seem to shun the curious gaze of the public. An old Crow, who out of twenty applicants obtained the honour of defending the prisoner, was in his place in his professional robes prepared to enter upon his task. At length the examination commenced.Q.“Prisoner, stand up! Your name and surname?”Ans.“Canis Lupus.”Q.“Your age?”Ans.“Twelve years.”Q.“Your profession?”Ans.“Botanist.”Q.“Your dwelling?”Ans.“The woods.”“The charges against you, Canis Lupus, will be read over.”The indictment was read amid profound silence, after which the presiding judge resumed examination of the prisoner.Q.“Canis Lupus, what have you to say in your defence?”Ans.“I am innocent of the crime laid to my charge. I own, my lord, for a long time I was accustomed to destroy Sheep, but in so doing I consulted less my inclination than my hatred for man. If the death of a Sheep or Lamb gave me pleasure, it was simply because I knew that I thus carried off from my oppressors a portion of their daily food.“For some time past I have looked upon Sheep with the tenderest solicitude, without in any way permitting this sentiment to interfere with my hatred for mankind. Picture my horror, my indignation, when a few days back I beheld the innocents of whose death I am accused, pursued by a butcher who struck them down without pity. I flew to their aid, the infamous executioner taking to his heels in terror. Just at that moment when I was preparing to bind up the wounds, the officers of the court apprehended me as if I were a vulgar assassin! Hereafter I propose to sue for false imprisonment and damages.”The prisoner resumed his seat, placing his paw on his eyes. His address awakened the sympathies of the audience, especially of the fair sex.“How well he spoke!” said a Crane.“What wonderful grace and eloquence!” exclaimed a speckled Magpie.“It is a thousand pities that a youth so handsome should be condemned,” said a Woodcock, sighing, “Ah me! ah me!”It would almost seem that in order to please some ladies one must be a villain, but if one wishes to touch their hearts, hypocrisy must be called in to add attractiveness to crime. Let us, however, return to our mutton.The judgereplied—“Prisoner, your version of the occurrence is full of contradictions and must be set aside as utterly false. It is opposed to the sworn testimony of the witnesses we are about to examine. Let us assure you, once forall, you will never be able to persuade your fellow-brutes that you are capable of one spark of generosity. Your antecedents are deplorable.”Prisoner.“Alas! I have always been the victim of calumny.”“You appear to have been reared in a hotbed of crime. At two years old you bit the mother who nursed you.”Prisoner.“She bit me first.”“Later in life you fell a-quarrelling with one of your neighbours and called him a Toad!”Prisoner.“He had called me an Alligator.”“Three years ago you were seen prowling round the royal rabbit warren, a place which no animal of your species is permitted to enter.”Prisoner.“My lord, I never set foot inside it.”“Perhaps not, but you intended to get in there, and to create a disturbance inside. The gentlemen of the jury will know how to take all these circumstances into account.”The hearing of the witnesses followed, the Wolf cross-examining each with great ability—calm with some, ardent, jocular, or sarcastic with others, always ready with a reply to any damaging statement. Little by little, nevertheless, his strength failed him; to the strain of over-excitement there succeeded a sudden prostration, and at last he fainted away.The trial had to be adjourned till the following week. For some days the Wolf was too feeble to appear. Never has an illustrious animal, the head of a family or a prince adored by his people—as official proclamations assure us—excited so keen a public interest during sickness as did this unlucky Wolf. Thehabituesof the court feared lest a sensational prosecution should be lost to them. The judge’s heart bled lest this important and popular trial should come to an end, depriving him of the opportunity of summing up, and so dealing with the evidence as to present to the jury the distorted form of justice seen through the illusive medium of the law. The executioner, his keen blade athirst for a victim, trembled lest it should be robbed of its proper prey. The Vulture general dreaded lest his eloquent speech should have to be shelved, again undelivered—a speech that had cost him three weeks of close study.Every morning the press published a bulletin of the Wolf’s condition.“The accused suffers dreadfully, and is closely confined to bed. He has always a number of Leeches near him; nevertheless he seems calm and resigned.”“The prisoner had a bad night. Several Geese of the aristocracy have sent to the prison to inquire after his health.”“The accused recovers slowly, he devotes his hours of convalescence to reading and writing. The chief subject of his study is the ‘Proverbial Philosophy of Martin Tupper.’ He has used during his captivity two thousand nine hundred and twenty-one sheets of paper. He is composing a drama in seventeen acts, entitled ‘Virtue’s Triumph,’ also a philosophical treatise on the desirability of abolishing capital punishment.”The following verses were penned by the prisoner, and will doubtless be read with the interest theydeserve:—I.“Ah, hapless is the prisoner’s fate in convict cell condemned to pine,While birds abroad their songs uplift, and fields in summer’s glory shine.If breeze-borne from the far-off flock, the fitful tinkling bells are heard,If corn-fields wave their nodding ears, by wanton zephyrs lightly stirred,All these the wretch’s sorrows swell, he scents but may not see the flowers,And darker grows the lonely gloom which broods o’er all his friendless hours.II.“Soft coos the plaintive dove, the waves in whispering throbs their music pour,Each after each in cadence breaks, and dies in rippling on the shore;The woods and winds their voices blend, no heed the cheerless captive pays;No joy to him the sunbeam brings, which o’er the smiling meadow plays.Unhappy outcast! not for thee does universal gladness reign,These joys were all in mockery sent to wring thy breast with deadlier pain.III.“The world outside, the busy world, its dear familiar rounds may tread,But vain are dreams of pleasant life, when life’s long-lingering hope has fled.Then, prisoner, cease to shake thy bars: no mercy cold mute iron shows;In torments, terrors, threats, and tears, thy few remaining days must close.Thy doom is sealed; the gaolers stern may never more their grip relax,Until the headsman comes to claim thee for his hungry axe.”I avow, ye gentlemen of the press, that the sort of enthusiasm of which this miserable Wolf became the object, inspired me with sad reflections. I have heard of unfortunate Nightingales, who for long years together have poured forth the most sublime songs without ever risingfrom obscurity, or obtaining a wider fame than that embraced in their native woodland shade, and yet this Wolf, because he has committed a foul crime, saw his clumsy doggerel rapturously applauded. I know of some good animals who, though they have proved themselves heroes of virtue, have never got a single line from the public press. Nevertheless the minutest sayings and doings of this condemned wretch have been chronicled to please the public craving. Mammas who would have thought twice before placing the fables of Florian in the hands of their daughters—mammas strict even in the choice of their own reading, have in the family circle freely discussed details which initiated their children into all the refinements of crime and depravity. Without ignoring evil, could not the reports of crime be so framed as to avoid the ghastly pomp and morbid parade with which they appear in the newspapers?If an editor were to confine himself exclusively to the relation of good actions, he would frequently have to supply blank sheets to his readers.As soon as the prisoner was able to appear at the bar, the proceedings began anew, and continued eight days. Twenty-eight witnesses were heard for and against the Wolf, while judges, jurymen, counsel, and defendants poured out their questions, interruptions, and observations in a never-ceasing flood. The result was that the whole affair, clear and simple as it had been at first, became gradually so confused as to be almost incomprehensible.Most lawsuits are like the water of a fountain—the more it is stirred up, the muddier it grows.The prisoner had used so many subterfuges to rivet attention, he became so thoroughly the lion of the day, that a profound feeling of sympathetic emotion prevailed when the Vulture delivered himself of the concluding speech for the prosecution.“Gentlemen of the jury,” he said, “before I enter upon the details already submitted to your intelligent consideration, my duty commands me imperiously to put to you a question as grave as it is important. I ask you with feelings of the deepest grief and bitterest pain—I ask you, what is society coming to? In truth, gentlemen, turn where we will, look in which direction we may, we discover nothing but disorder—disorder, gentlemen, among quadrupeds, among bipeds, among geese, though they may use but one leg at a time. What we see is neither more nor less than symptoms of disorganisation, from bottom to top, from root to core. Yes, gentlemen, the social fabric is beingundermined, the social body is corrupting; it totters to its fall, and fall it will, gentlemen, unless you are able to rear up a barrier which shall arrest its dreadful downward progress towards moral dissolution.”The orator proceeded to view the crime in every possible light, showing how such atrocities were committed in ancient times, how they might be committed at any time by anybody, and how the guilt of this particular crime had been clearly brought home to the prisoner.The counsel for the defence replied in an effective series of vigorous croaks, having first declared that in his opinion the finest spectacle on earth was that of innocence overtaken by misfortune.At half-past twelve the jurors retired to a silent copse to deliberate, and soon returning, found the culprit guilty on all the charges of the indictment.The judge touchingly inquired of the felon whether he had any objection to the sentence of death being passed upon him, to which the prisoner replied with a feeble grin.“The Wolf is condemned to be hanged.”The immense crowd remained gloomy and speechless, not a word, not even a bleat disturbed the scene, not a tail gave an involuntary wag. One would have imagined, when viewing all eyes bent on the Wolf, and all beaks hushed and dumb, that the assembly had been suddenly turned to stone, or that an electric shock had struck them all motionless for ever.The Wolf was hanged this morning, gentlemen, and some zoophytes took good care to avail themselves of the opportunity for a demonstration in favour of the abolition of capital punishment. I confess that their arguments have little effect on me. I cannot conceive why they made so much fuss to save a wretch who destroyed his brother. It is to punish him more severely, they say, that they would permit him to live! How they deceive themselves! The convict always cherishes the consoling hope of being one day able to escape. It may be he will settle down contentedly to the undisturbed round of prison life. From a wretched outcast who gained a precarious subsistence by crime, he comes to take pleasure in his banishment. The burden of care has been lifted from his back. His wants are provided for by the State, and he need no longer dread the horrors of dying from hunger. The punishment inflicted has given him at last a recognised position in society.If the penalty of death is to cease to be carried into effect, the nationsof Europe, and the world at large, must commence by the abolition of war, for on the field of battle thousands of innocent lives are sacrificed as the penalty of the guilt or misgovernment of a single individual.Let kings and emperors so raise the moral tone of their statesmen and subjects as to enable them practically to carry out the Divine command, “Thou shalt not kill.”Twenty-two different portraits of the Wolf were issued, no one of them resembling another, yet all guaranteed likenesses.The complete account of the trial, drawn up by a clever shorthand writer, was sold by thousands. The memory of the Wolf was also enshrined in verse and recited in the streets.I.“Give ear, Jays, Hawks, and Magpies,Attend, all Kites and Crows,A story we shall now unfoldMore black than ye suppose.II.“The story of a guilty deed,For harpies vile befitted,Which cunning Wolf with crafty tongueAnd keen-edged tooth committed.III.“A tender Lamb one joyous mornBeside its mother played,The Wolf came creeping upAnd friendliest greeting made.IV.“The Ewe responsive welcome gave,The Wolf lay down to sleep,But soon he started up againAnd slew that trustful Sheep.V.“ ‘Help, mother dear!’ the Lambkin cried,But oh! its cry was vain,With cruel fangs the unsparing WolfStraight clove its neck in twain.VI.“But never while misdeeds aboundShall wakeful vengeance fail,Two Watch-Dogs bold, who guard the fold,That guilty Wolf assail.VII.“ ‘Now, comrades,’ cries the wily Wolf,‘Some healing balm obtain,In yonder cave ‘tis stored;’ but soonHe found such tricks were vain.VIII.“For up and spake each trusty Hound,‘Thou felon Wolf, say true,Who bade thee slay this blameless Lamb,And kill its mother too?’IX.“ ‘I cure, not kill,’ the Wolf replied,‘Vex not a poor physician;Such lies, base curs, would place my nameIn quite a false position.’X.“The Watch-Dogs drag the prisoner off,The courts his death decree,Now hanged in chains his body swingsOn yonder gallows-tree.MORAL.“Whene’er your steps incline to strayAlong the sinner’s wicked way,A warning from this story take,And know that truth sublime—Each creature is a criminalWhen he commits a crime.”
I
AM an old Crow, a member of the Bar of the animal kingdom. At the urgent request of my friends and a wide circle of admirers, and owing to the shortcomings of law reporters, I have resolved to set before you a succinct account of the last assizes. They created a great sensation; it could hardly be otherwise, since the happy thought had suggested itself of selecting most of the judges and jurymen from members of my own tribe, and these, by their grave solemnity of countenance, and by their black attire, presented an imposing spectacle to the crowd, for it was but natural to infer that creatures so skilled in ransacking dead bodies would be peculiarly apt in drawing conclusions as to the moral decomposition of prisoners.
A Stork was appointed President, his cold-blooded patience and stolidity rendering him not unworthy of that honour. Perched motionless on his chair with his eyes half shut, his breast puffed out, his head thrown back, he carefully watched for any contradictory statements made by the accused, and looked as if in ambush on the borders of some swamp. The post of Attorney-General had fallen to a wry-necked Vulture. This personage, if he ever possessed any sensibility, had long forgotten its influence. Ardent and pitiless, his only thought was to obtain success, or in other words conviction; his claws and beak were ever ready to attack but never to defend. The court of assizes was a field of battle, and the prisoner a foe who must be subdued at any price. He proceeded to a criminal trial like a soldier to an assault, throwing himself into the case like a gladiator into the arena. In short, the Vulture makes an admirable Attorney-General.The inhabitants of the holes, nests, copses, molehills, and neighbouring marshes flocked in crowds to attend these judicial ceremonies, while Geese, Bitterns, Buzzards, and Magpies swelled the throng.This is the way of the world. Seats were reserved for the representatives of the press—Ducks and Parrots most of them. With what eagerness these gentry hurried to their places! A reporter pounces upon a horrible trial as if it were his lawful prey. When such an occasion presents itself, the regular staff find themselves no longer obliged to task their imaginations, to cudgel their well-worn brains. Copy is supplied to them ready-made, needing no fresh spice to suit the public taste, but rather abounding in dramatic incidents, such as the journalists could never have invented themselves; so the editor can proudly cry out to his printer, “Strike off 10,000 additional sheets!”
It is needless to describe in detail the whole business of the session. We will set aside the proceedings against a jolly Dog, who in a moment of excitement bit the tail off a rival in front of a tavern; against a Peacock for assuming an aristocratic title not his own, a Magpie for theft, a Cat for unlawful trespass on private tiles, a French Cock for stirring up hatred against the constituted government, a Fox for fraudulent bankruptcy. We will content ourselves by noticing the two leading trials, saying with a Rat of our acquaintance, who had gnawed his knowledge out of a book-worm’s library,Musa mehi causus memora.
In a recent issue of “The Microcosm,” a journal much patronised by the Ducks, one might have read the followingwords:—
“A crime has just been committed of a nature so diabolical as to rouse the indignation of the whole country. It is deeply to be regretted that at the moment when the confederated animals had sworn to maintain eternal friendship and peace, a Toad should be found foully poisoned in a field. Justice is making investigation; she investigated to such good purpose that two Sheep, three Snails, and four Lizards, all equally guiltless, were arrested on suspicion, and not released until they had been detained for ninety days in precautionary imprisonment. May Providence protect you, my friends, from having any idle charge ever laid at your doors. The first thing to be done will be to lock you up in a cell; there you will be detained in custody, that you may be interrogated, and even cross-questioned, about family antecedents and occupation, your mode of spending your leisure, and how you have been employed on certain days, at certain hours, for some months past. After it has been duly established that you are innocent, you will be politely requested to go back to your domicile. During all this time your affairs have languished and fallen into disorder, creditorshave become furious, debtors have flown, your family has been injured, and calumnies of all sorts have been kindly set afloat concerning you, for we may always find plenty of animals who will say, ‘Where there’s smoke there must be fire.’ ”
Those who were arrested on suspicion in this instance were found to exhibit no traces of guilt. The inquiry was pushed with the greatest energy and activity under the direction of a pair of Tortoises, but the longer their examination continued, the more profound became the darkness and mystery which shrouded the Toad’s death. At last a Mole came tumbling up from under his hill, and stated that he had seen an enormous Viper—monstrum horrendum, as my friend the Rat would say—darting at the Toad. When brought face to face with the remains of the deceased, he swore positively to its identity. The Bulldogs were instantly despatched in search of the Viper, and falling valiantly upon him during his sleep, brought him before the judges.
The court is opened; the indictment is read; the Ant, a distinguished analyst, who had been ordered to examine the contents of the stomach, proceeds to read his analysis—marked attention.
“Gentlemen, our duty has been to examine the body and intestines of the unfortunate Toad, and to ascertain beyond doubt whether they contained traces of the poisonous matter distilled in the fangs of the Viper, called by the learnedViperium.
“This substance, combined with diverse oxides, acids, and simple bodies, forms variouslyViperates,Viperites, orViperures.
“We have analysed, with the greatest care, the stomach, the liver, the lungs, and the encephalic mass of the victim, using a variety of reagents pilfered from a homœopathic chemist who carried his medicine-chest in his pocket. After heating and evaporating to dryness the pancreatic juice and other substances contained in the stomach, we obtained a sweet solid body, which we treated with two milligrammes of distilled water; by placing the whole in a glass retort, and submitting it to ebullition for two hours and twenty-five minutes, we obtained no result. But this same substance treated successively with acetates, sulphates, nitrates, prussiates, and chlorates, yielded a liquid of a blue apple green colour which, when combined with certain powerful reagents, deposited a powder of an indefinite but most characteristic colour. This powder can be nothing butViperiumin its pure state.”
Such a lucid and conclusive report deeply impressed the audience.
This trial, which ended in the conviction of the Viper, would doubtless have excited greater interest had not public attention been drawn away by important political matters, and by the account of a still greater trial which took place about the same time.
The announcement of this affair appeared in the page of “The Microcosm” consecrated to the horrible, headed, as usual, “Another dreadful Tragedy.”
“A Ewe and her Lamb, setting a noble example to other domesticated animals, had escaped from their fold. Both were at once placed under the special protection of the Free Confederation of Animals, in spite of which they have been basely murdered.
“A wolf, believed by all to be the true assassin, has been arrested, thanks to the zeal and energy of the commander of the Bulldogs.”
The point of importance was to ascertain how the Sheep came by its death. Accordingly, to place this question beyond doubt, a Turkey was appointed to hold apost-mortemexamination. Now this Turkey was among the most learned of birds. He had won a title by his marvellous skill, and had gained a well-deserved reputation by researches—unhappily inconclusive—into that important problemQuare opium facit dormire.
This eminent practitioner stated that the Sheep had certainly not succumbed to an attack of cholera as some had falsely reported, but from a wound six inches in length having been made in her neck, nearly severing the head from the trunk.
The trial was impatiently awaited, and at last came on for hearing. From break of day an immense multitude besieged the entrance to the court, but the authorities had taken measures to prevent disorder. At ten o’clock the accused is brought in; he looks pale, his dark eyes have lost their lustre, his attire though decent has nothingrechercheabout it. One can scarcely make out his features, which seem to shun the curious gaze of the public. An old Crow, who out of twenty applicants obtained the honour of defending the prisoner, was in his place in his professional robes prepared to enter upon his task. At length the examination commenced.
Q.“Prisoner, stand up! Your name and surname?”
Ans.“Canis Lupus.”
Q.“Your age?”
Ans.“Twelve years.”
Q.“Your profession?”
Ans.“Botanist.”
Q.“Your dwelling?”
Ans.“The woods.”
“The charges against you, Canis Lupus, will be read over.”
The indictment was read amid profound silence, after which the presiding judge resumed examination of the prisoner.
Q.“Canis Lupus, what have you to say in your defence?”
Ans.“I am innocent of the crime laid to my charge. I own, my lord, for a long time I was accustomed to destroy Sheep, but in so doing I consulted less my inclination than my hatred for man. If the death of a Sheep or Lamb gave me pleasure, it was simply because I knew that I thus carried off from my oppressors a portion of their daily food.
“For some time past I have looked upon Sheep with the tenderest solicitude, without in any way permitting this sentiment to interfere with my hatred for mankind. Picture my horror, my indignation, when a few days back I beheld the innocents of whose death I am accused, pursued by a butcher who struck them down without pity. I flew to their aid, the infamous executioner taking to his heels in terror. Just at that moment when I was preparing to bind up the wounds, the officers of the court apprehended me as if I were a vulgar assassin! Hereafter I propose to sue for false imprisonment and damages.”
The prisoner resumed his seat, placing his paw on his eyes. His address awakened the sympathies of the audience, especially of the fair sex.
“How well he spoke!” said a Crane.
“What wonderful grace and eloquence!” exclaimed a speckled Magpie.
“It is a thousand pities that a youth so handsome should be condemned,” said a Woodcock, sighing, “Ah me! ah me!”
It would almost seem that in order to please some ladies one must be a villain, but if one wishes to touch their hearts, hypocrisy must be called in to add attractiveness to crime. Let us, however, return to our mutton.
The judgereplied—
“Prisoner, your version of the occurrence is full of contradictions and must be set aside as utterly false. It is opposed to the sworn testimony of the witnesses we are about to examine. Let us assure you, once forall, you will never be able to persuade your fellow-brutes that you are capable of one spark of generosity. Your antecedents are deplorable.”
Prisoner.“Alas! I have always been the victim of calumny.”
“You appear to have been reared in a hotbed of crime. At two years old you bit the mother who nursed you.”
Prisoner.“She bit me first.”
“Later in life you fell a-quarrelling with one of your neighbours and called him a Toad!”
Prisoner.“He had called me an Alligator.”
“Three years ago you were seen prowling round the royal rabbit warren, a place which no animal of your species is permitted to enter.”
Prisoner.“My lord, I never set foot inside it.”
“Perhaps not, but you intended to get in there, and to create a disturbance inside. The gentlemen of the jury will know how to take all these circumstances into account.”
The hearing of the witnesses followed, the Wolf cross-examining each with great ability—calm with some, ardent, jocular, or sarcastic with others, always ready with a reply to any damaging statement. Little by little, nevertheless, his strength failed him; to the strain of over-excitement there succeeded a sudden prostration, and at last he fainted away.
The trial had to be adjourned till the following week. For some days the Wolf was too feeble to appear. Never has an illustrious animal, the head of a family or a prince adored by his people—as official proclamations assure us—excited so keen a public interest during sickness as did this unlucky Wolf. Thehabituesof the court feared lest a sensational prosecution should be lost to them. The judge’s heart bled lest this important and popular trial should come to an end, depriving him of the opportunity of summing up, and so dealing with the evidence as to present to the jury the distorted form of justice seen through the illusive medium of the law. The executioner, his keen blade athirst for a victim, trembled lest it should be robbed of its proper prey. The Vulture general dreaded lest his eloquent speech should have to be shelved, again undelivered—a speech that had cost him three weeks of close study.
Every morning the press published a bulletin of the Wolf’s condition.
“The accused suffers dreadfully, and is closely confined to bed. He has always a number of Leeches near him; nevertheless he seems calm and resigned.”
“The prisoner had a bad night. Several Geese of the aristocracy have sent to the prison to inquire after his health.”
“The accused recovers slowly, he devotes his hours of convalescence to reading and writing. The chief subject of his study is the ‘Proverbial Philosophy of Martin Tupper.’ He has used during his captivity two thousand nine hundred and twenty-one sheets of paper. He is composing a drama in seventeen acts, entitled ‘Virtue’s Triumph,’ also a philosophical treatise on the desirability of abolishing capital punishment.”
The following verses were penned by the prisoner, and will doubtless be read with the interest theydeserve:—
I.“Ah, hapless is the prisoner’s fate in convict cell condemned to pine,While birds abroad their songs uplift, and fields in summer’s glory shine.If breeze-borne from the far-off flock, the fitful tinkling bells are heard,If corn-fields wave their nodding ears, by wanton zephyrs lightly stirred,All these the wretch’s sorrows swell, he scents but may not see the flowers,And darker grows the lonely gloom which broods o’er all his friendless hours.II.“Soft coos the plaintive dove, the waves in whispering throbs their music pour,Each after each in cadence breaks, and dies in rippling on the shore;The woods and winds their voices blend, no heed the cheerless captive pays;No joy to him the sunbeam brings, which o’er the smiling meadow plays.Unhappy outcast! not for thee does universal gladness reign,These joys were all in mockery sent to wring thy breast with deadlier pain.III.“The world outside, the busy world, its dear familiar rounds may tread,But vain are dreams of pleasant life, when life’s long-lingering hope has fled.Then, prisoner, cease to shake thy bars: no mercy cold mute iron shows;In torments, terrors, threats, and tears, thy few remaining days must close.Thy doom is sealed; the gaolers stern may never more their grip relax,Until the headsman comes to claim thee for his hungry axe.”
I.“Ah, hapless is the prisoner’s fate in convict cell condemned to pine,While birds abroad their songs uplift, and fields in summer’s glory shine.If breeze-borne from the far-off flock, the fitful tinkling bells are heard,If corn-fields wave their nodding ears, by wanton zephyrs lightly stirred,All these the wretch’s sorrows swell, he scents but may not see the flowers,And darker grows the lonely gloom which broods o’er all his friendless hours.
I.
“Ah, hapless is the prisoner’s fate in convict cell condemned to pine,
While birds abroad their songs uplift, and fields in summer’s glory shine.
If breeze-borne from the far-off flock, the fitful tinkling bells are heard,
If corn-fields wave their nodding ears, by wanton zephyrs lightly stirred,
All these the wretch’s sorrows swell, he scents but may not see the flowers,
And darker grows the lonely gloom which broods o’er all his friendless hours.
II.“Soft coos the plaintive dove, the waves in whispering throbs their music pour,Each after each in cadence breaks, and dies in rippling on the shore;The woods and winds their voices blend, no heed the cheerless captive pays;No joy to him the sunbeam brings, which o’er the smiling meadow plays.Unhappy outcast! not for thee does universal gladness reign,These joys were all in mockery sent to wring thy breast with deadlier pain.
II.
“Soft coos the plaintive dove, the waves in whispering throbs their music pour,
Each after each in cadence breaks, and dies in rippling on the shore;
The woods and winds their voices blend, no heed the cheerless captive pays;
No joy to him the sunbeam brings, which o’er the smiling meadow plays.
Unhappy outcast! not for thee does universal gladness reign,
These joys were all in mockery sent to wring thy breast with deadlier pain.
III.“The world outside, the busy world, its dear familiar rounds may tread,But vain are dreams of pleasant life, when life’s long-lingering hope has fled.Then, prisoner, cease to shake thy bars: no mercy cold mute iron shows;In torments, terrors, threats, and tears, thy few remaining days must close.Thy doom is sealed; the gaolers stern may never more their grip relax,Until the headsman comes to claim thee for his hungry axe.”
III.
“The world outside, the busy world, its dear familiar rounds may tread,
But vain are dreams of pleasant life, when life’s long-lingering hope has fled.
Then, prisoner, cease to shake thy bars: no mercy cold mute iron shows;
In torments, terrors, threats, and tears, thy few remaining days must close.
Thy doom is sealed; the gaolers stern may never more their grip relax,
Until the headsman comes to claim thee for his hungry axe.”
I avow, ye gentlemen of the press, that the sort of enthusiasm of which this miserable Wolf became the object, inspired me with sad reflections. I have heard of unfortunate Nightingales, who for long years together have poured forth the most sublime songs without ever risingfrom obscurity, or obtaining a wider fame than that embraced in their native woodland shade, and yet this Wolf, because he has committed a foul crime, saw his clumsy doggerel rapturously applauded. I know of some good animals who, though they have proved themselves heroes of virtue, have never got a single line from the public press. Nevertheless the minutest sayings and doings of this condemned wretch have been chronicled to please the public craving. Mammas who would have thought twice before placing the fables of Florian in the hands of their daughters—mammas strict even in the choice of their own reading, have in the family circle freely discussed details which initiated their children into all the refinements of crime and depravity. Without ignoring evil, could not the reports of crime be so framed as to avoid the ghastly pomp and morbid parade with which they appear in the newspapers?
If an editor were to confine himself exclusively to the relation of good actions, he would frequently have to supply blank sheets to his readers.
As soon as the prisoner was able to appear at the bar, the proceedings began anew, and continued eight days. Twenty-eight witnesses were heard for and against the Wolf, while judges, jurymen, counsel, and defendants poured out their questions, interruptions, and observations in a never-ceasing flood. The result was that the whole affair, clear and simple as it had been at first, became gradually so confused as to be almost incomprehensible.
Most lawsuits are like the water of a fountain—the more it is stirred up, the muddier it grows.
The prisoner had used so many subterfuges to rivet attention, he became so thoroughly the lion of the day, that a profound feeling of sympathetic emotion prevailed when the Vulture delivered himself of the concluding speech for the prosecution.
“Gentlemen of the jury,” he said, “before I enter upon the details already submitted to your intelligent consideration, my duty commands me imperiously to put to you a question as grave as it is important. I ask you with feelings of the deepest grief and bitterest pain—I ask you, what is society coming to? In truth, gentlemen, turn where we will, look in which direction we may, we discover nothing but disorder—disorder, gentlemen, among quadrupeds, among bipeds, among geese, though they may use but one leg at a time. What we see is neither more nor less than symptoms of disorganisation, from bottom to top, from root to core. Yes, gentlemen, the social fabric is beingundermined, the social body is corrupting; it totters to its fall, and fall it will, gentlemen, unless you are able to rear up a barrier which shall arrest its dreadful downward progress towards moral dissolution.”
The orator proceeded to view the crime in every possible light, showing how such atrocities were committed in ancient times, how they might be committed at any time by anybody, and how the guilt of this particular crime had been clearly brought home to the prisoner.
The counsel for the defence replied in an effective series of vigorous croaks, having first declared that in his opinion the finest spectacle on earth was that of innocence overtaken by misfortune.
At half-past twelve the jurors retired to a silent copse to deliberate, and soon returning, found the culprit guilty on all the charges of the indictment.
The judge touchingly inquired of the felon whether he had any objection to the sentence of death being passed upon him, to which the prisoner replied with a feeble grin.
“The Wolf is condemned to be hanged.”
The immense crowd remained gloomy and speechless, not a word, not even a bleat disturbed the scene, not a tail gave an involuntary wag. One would have imagined, when viewing all eyes bent on the Wolf, and all beaks hushed and dumb, that the assembly had been suddenly turned to stone, or that an electric shock had struck them all motionless for ever.
The Wolf was hanged this morning, gentlemen, and some zoophytes took good care to avail themselves of the opportunity for a demonstration in favour of the abolition of capital punishment. I confess that their arguments have little effect on me. I cannot conceive why they made so much fuss to save a wretch who destroyed his brother. It is to punish him more severely, they say, that they would permit him to live! How they deceive themselves! The convict always cherishes the consoling hope of being one day able to escape. It may be he will settle down contentedly to the undisturbed round of prison life. From a wretched outcast who gained a precarious subsistence by crime, he comes to take pleasure in his banishment. The burden of care has been lifted from his back. His wants are provided for by the State, and he need no longer dread the horrors of dying from hunger. The punishment inflicted has given him at last a recognised position in society.
If the penalty of death is to cease to be carried into effect, the nationsof Europe, and the world at large, must commence by the abolition of war, for on the field of battle thousands of innocent lives are sacrificed as the penalty of the guilt or misgovernment of a single individual.
Let kings and emperors so raise the moral tone of their statesmen and subjects as to enable them practically to carry out the Divine command, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Twenty-two different portraits of the Wolf were issued, no one of them resembling another, yet all guaranteed likenesses.
The complete account of the trial, drawn up by a clever shorthand writer, was sold by thousands. The memory of the Wolf was also enshrined in verse and recited in the streets.
I.“Give ear, Jays, Hawks, and Magpies,Attend, all Kites and Crows,A story we shall now unfoldMore black than ye suppose.II.“The story of a guilty deed,For harpies vile befitted,Which cunning Wolf with crafty tongueAnd keen-edged tooth committed.III.“A tender Lamb one joyous mornBeside its mother played,The Wolf came creeping upAnd friendliest greeting made.IV.“The Ewe responsive welcome gave,The Wolf lay down to sleep,But soon he started up againAnd slew that trustful Sheep.V.“ ‘Help, mother dear!’ the Lambkin cried,But oh! its cry was vain,With cruel fangs the unsparing WolfStraight clove its neck in twain.VI.“But never while misdeeds aboundShall wakeful vengeance fail,Two Watch-Dogs bold, who guard the fold,That guilty Wolf assail.VII.“ ‘Now, comrades,’ cries the wily Wolf,‘Some healing balm obtain,In yonder cave ‘tis stored;’ but soonHe found such tricks were vain.VIII.“For up and spake each trusty Hound,‘Thou felon Wolf, say true,Who bade thee slay this blameless Lamb,And kill its mother too?’IX.“ ‘I cure, not kill,’ the Wolf replied,‘Vex not a poor physician;Such lies, base curs, would place my nameIn quite a false position.’X.“The Watch-Dogs drag the prisoner off,The courts his death decree,Now hanged in chains his body swingsOn yonder gallows-tree.MORAL.“Whene’er your steps incline to strayAlong the sinner’s wicked way,A warning from this story take,And know that truth sublime—Each creature is a criminalWhen he commits a crime.”
I.“Give ear, Jays, Hawks, and Magpies,Attend, all Kites and Crows,A story we shall now unfoldMore black than ye suppose.
I.
“Give ear, Jays, Hawks, and Magpies,
Attend, all Kites and Crows,
A story we shall now unfold
More black than ye suppose.
II.“The story of a guilty deed,For harpies vile befitted,Which cunning Wolf with crafty tongueAnd keen-edged tooth committed.
II.
“The story of a guilty deed,
For harpies vile befitted,
Which cunning Wolf with crafty tongue
And keen-edged tooth committed.
III.“A tender Lamb one joyous mornBeside its mother played,The Wolf came creeping upAnd friendliest greeting made.
III.
“A tender Lamb one joyous morn
Beside its mother played,
The Wolf came creeping up
And friendliest greeting made.
IV.“The Ewe responsive welcome gave,The Wolf lay down to sleep,But soon he started up againAnd slew that trustful Sheep.
IV.
“The Ewe responsive welcome gave,
The Wolf lay down to sleep,
But soon he started up again
And slew that trustful Sheep.
V.“ ‘Help, mother dear!’ the Lambkin cried,But oh! its cry was vain,With cruel fangs the unsparing WolfStraight clove its neck in twain.
V.
“ ‘Help, mother dear!’ the Lambkin cried,
But oh! its cry was vain,
With cruel fangs the unsparing Wolf
Straight clove its neck in twain.
VI.“But never while misdeeds aboundShall wakeful vengeance fail,Two Watch-Dogs bold, who guard the fold,That guilty Wolf assail.
VI.
“But never while misdeeds abound
Shall wakeful vengeance fail,
Two Watch-Dogs bold, who guard the fold,
That guilty Wolf assail.
VII.“ ‘Now, comrades,’ cries the wily Wolf,‘Some healing balm obtain,In yonder cave ‘tis stored;’ but soonHe found such tricks were vain.
VII.
“ ‘Now, comrades,’ cries the wily Wolf,
‘Some healing balm obtain,
In yonder cave ‘tis stored;’ but soon
He found such tricks were vain.
VIII.“For up and spake each trusty Hound,‘Thou felon Wolf, say true,Who bade thee slay this blameless Lamb,And kill its mother too?’
VIII.
“For up and spake each trusty Hound,
‘Thou felon Wolf, say true,
Who bade thee slay this blameless Lamb,
And kill its mother too?’
IX.“ ‘I cure, not kill,’ the Wolf replied,‘Vex not a poor physician;Such lies, base curs, would place my nameIn quite a false position.’
IX.
“ ‘I cure, not kill,’ the Wolf replied,
‘Vex not a poor physician;
Such lies, base curs, would place my name
In quite a false position.’
X.“The Watch-Dogs drag the prisoner off,The courts his death decree,Now hanged in chains his body swingsOn yonder gallows-tree.
X.
“The Watch-Dogs drag the prisoner off,
The courts his death decree,
Now hanged in chains his body swings
On yonder gallows-tree.
MORAL.“Whene’er your steps incline to strayAlong the sinner’s wicked way,A warning from this story take,And know that truth sublime—Each creature is a criminalWhen he commits a crime.”
MORAL.
“Whene’er your steps incline to stray
Along the sinner’s wicked way,
A warning from this story take,
And know that truth sublime—
Each creature is a criminal
When he commits a crime.”