ferent ways at once, prevented the clothes being thrown. entirely off the bed in the first instance.

"Pull the fellow himself out, then, instead of the clothes," exclaimed Mr. Brief.

"Aye, out over with the sneaking rascal!" shouted Mr. Bluebag.

"Hold you the candle," said mine host, addressing Mr. Fagg, and stretching out his hand as he spoke. "Hold you the candle, and I'll have the skulking fellow on the floor in a second."

"I'll do that job myself," answered Fagg, refusing to touch the proffered candle.

"Aye, and we shall carry him down stairs in his night dress, and place the speechless fellow once more in his vacant chair," observed Mr. Brief.

"You take his feet, Bluebag, and I'll take his head, and then we'll-"

Before mine host could finish the sentence, the sleeper awoke in consequence of the noise which prevailed in the room, and raising himself partially up in his bed, and looking wildly about him before he had come to his senses, as if the apprehension that he was surrounded by some desperate banditti had seized his mind, he shouted aloud in broken accents, "What, what, what's all this about?"

In that eye which now beheld them, and in that voice which now rang in their ears, they recognized Mr. Justice Allan Park! Every one hurried to the door, without waiting to stammer out a word of apology for the awkward mistake they had committed in entering his room instead of that of their "brother of the bar." The candle was extinguished in the rush to the door, which only served to confound and alarm his lordship as to the object of the extraordinary proceedings. Mine host, who was not so far "excited" by the Madeira

which he had drunk as to be insensible to the ugly and awkward predicament into which the whole party, but especially he, as the master of the house, had been brought,-lighted a candle, and going up stairs to Mr. Justice Park's room, explained the circumstances to his lordship, apologized for the unfortunate blunder, and begged his pardon. His lordship, after reproving him severely for the indulgences he allowed to others in his house, and exacting a promise from him that no such indulgences should ever be again repeated under his roof, said that he freely forgave him, and the gentlemen of the bar, for the foolish exhibition they had made of themselves. The morale of the story-if the word in the present case be not a misnomer, in so far as Mr. Justice Park is concerned-is this, that had he not, from his habits of decorum and regularity, so soon retired for the night, he would not have been treated this way. Hence, as I said in the outset, it sometimes happens, though very rarely indeed, that temperance is attended with disadvantages.-Jay.

Mr. BARON GRAHAM invariably exemplified his peculiar notions of politeness, even in the very act of sentencing poor creatures to death. His manners, on such occasions, would often have been laughable but for the deeply-affecting situation in which the unhappy prisoners stood. A very singular instance of the Baron's excessive and ill-timed politeness occurred, on one occasion, after the close of the trials at a country assize. Nine unhappy men were all appointed to receive sentence of death for burglary, highway robberies, and other offenses. It so happened, however, that in entering the names of the unfortunate parties after being convicted, on his own slip of paper, Baron Graham omitted one of them. The nine men were

brought up to receive judgment, and the eight, whose names were on his paper, were severally sentenced to death. They then quitted the bar. The ninth stood in mute astonishment at the circumstance that no sentence was passed on him. The clerk of the court, perceiving the mistake, immediately called aloud to his lordship, just as he was opening the door, to leave the court, that he had omitted to pass sentence on one unfortunate man. Turning about, and casting a look of surprise at the unhappy prisoner, he hurried back to the seat he had just vacated, and taking a pinch of snuff -he was one of the most inveterate snuff-takers that ever lived-and putting on the black cap, he addressed the prisoner in the following strain, giving at the same time a profusion of bows:-" My good man, I really beg your pardon for the mistake: it was entirely a mistake -altogether a mistake, I assure you. The sentence of the court on you is, that you be taken to the place whence you came, thence to the place of execution, and there hanged by the neck until you are dead. And the Lord have mercy on your soul. I do beg your pardon: I'm very sorry for the mistake, I assure you." So saying, he made another low bow to the unhappy man, and then quitted the court.-Grant.

M

CHAPTER V.

R. SERGEANT VAUGHAN generally contrived to worm out, by a process imperceptible to the party himself, whatever he wished to learn regarding him. On the occasion to which I allude, Mr. Vaughan was not long in ascertaining from his companion that he also was going to the Chelmsford assizes, which were to be held on the following day. "As a juryman, no doubt?" said Mr. Vaughan, on learning the fact itself.

"No, sir, not as a juryman," said the other.

"O, as a witness, I should have said."

"Not as a witness either: I wish it were as pleasant as that."

"O, I see how it is, you are the prosecutor in some case which is painful to your feelings. However, such things will happen; there is no help for them."

"You are still wrong in your conjecture, Sir; I am going to pay away money for a relative who has a case at the assizes."

"Ah, that's it! Very unpleasant, certainly, to pay money," observed the learned Sergeant.

"It is, indeed, for those who have little to spare," observed the other.

"Well, but I hope it's not to any very serious amount."

"Why, the magnitude of the sum, you know, depends on the resources of the party who have to make the payment."

"Very true; certainly, very true," said Mr. Sergeant Vaughan.

"The sum is five hundred pounds, which, to one with my limited means, is a very large sum indeed."

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"O but, perhaps, you expect to be repaid it in some way or other again?"

"That is very uncertain; it depends entirely on whether my relative, who has just taken a public house there, succeed in business or not."

"Well, it certainly is a hard case," observed Mr. Sergeant Vaughan, with a serious and emphatic air. "Aye, you would say so, if you only knew it all." "Indeed! Are there any peculiar circumstances in the case ?"

"There are indeed," answered the other, with something between a sigh and a groan.

"Is the matter a secret?" inquired Mr. Sergeant Vaughan, his curiosity being now wound up to no ordinary pitch.

"Not in the least," said the other. "I'll tell you the whole affair, if you don't think it tiresome," he added. "I am all anxiety to hear it," said the learned gentleman.

"Well, then," said the other, "about six weeks since, a respectable corn dealer in London, when on his way to Chelmsford, met, on the coach, with two persons who were perfect strangers to him. The strangers soon entered into conversation with him, and having learned the object of his visit to Chelmsford, said that they also were going there on a precisely similar errand, namely, to make some purchases of corn. After some further conversation together, it was suggested by one of the parties that it would be much better for all three, if they could come to an understanding together, as to what amount of purchases they should make, and under what