Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 94: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

90 IVAN THE The trial was comparatively quiet and secret, for but few good citizens or the populace at large had even heard of Michael the cloth-worke1’s murder. This was exactly what Judge Jefferies desired. He knew that. the Apprentices hated him, and also knew that they disliked, if, indeed they did not hate the policy of the king and his obnoxious ministry. Nothing could better please him, therefore, than, to use the judge’s own words, “make short work of the apprentices ” in the person of Will Winter. There was a jury present, it was true, but from their cada- verous, evil looks Master Will saw that it was “a packed jury ” especially got up to hang him ! Judge Jefferies himself was in great haste to get the trial over and have the prisoner safely consigned to some strong dungeon, for he feared there would be a general rising of the London Apprentices if they knew that Will Winter was con- demned, and he also trembled as he sat upon the bench to think they might unexpectedly surround and attack the court ere the trial was over. For these weighty and personal considerations, therefore, the judge pushed forward the trial. Ivan, who had been secretly advised the night before of what was to take place, left the Forge in company of his faithful Andy, and appeared in court, looking grim, and ugly, and revengetul, When Judge Jefferies perceived that Ivan and Andy were the chief and only witnesses against the prisoner his small, green, devilish eyes sparkled with fiendish delight. They mounted the witness box, and gaye their testimony just as they had before. ’ When Ivan had concluded Jefferies remarked side-ways so that the picked jury could hear him, Sorts ‘‘A fine, hard-working, honest man that fellow Ivan is, a staunch man to his king and country, His evidence could not be more clear or more conclusive—that is quite enough— more than sufficient to hang the shameless young yillain who stands smiling in the dock,” Andy was the next person called, : Heentered the witness-box with a bold, defiant face, and without a blush or the slightest hesitation corroborated all that Ivan had said, but added much more out of his ready imagination that increased the enormity, cruelty, and villany of Will’s supposed guilt. ; “An excellent witness, a capital witness,” Judge Jefferies chuckled, at the conclusion of Andy’s testimony, “it could not be better ; he deserves well of the king for his boldness, bravery, and coolness,” be The judge asked Will if he wished to cross-examine the two heartless witnesses who had thus cruelly sworn his life away ; but this apparent mercy was all hypocrisy, for he felt certai , from the hurry of his trial, the smiling faces of the packed jury, and the demon-like {page then making a mockery of human justice, that one and all had resolved on his death, | He, therefore, with a bold front, but with a sickly, con- temptuous smile, told the judge that he scorned to ask a single question of two such well-known ruffians as Andy and Ivan. “ Have you any witnesses ?” Jefferies asked, with an ironical laugh. “T have not ; you have not given me time eyen to think of any. You haye resolyed to kill me; do so, then; let my blood be upon your head,” : ‘Then, if you have no witnesses——”’ Jefferies began. ‘He has a witness,” said the yoice of a female in court, pushing her way into the witness-box, Will Winter looked around for a moment, and then sank on to a seat, Tt was the cloth-worker’s daughter ! “Who are you, bold wench, that dares thus intrude upon the time and patience of the court?” Jefferies said, biting his bloodless lips, and turning deadly pale, “T am Annie, the cloth-worker’s daughter,” she replied, boldly, with flashing eyes, “Iam the daughter of the mur- dered man, Will Winter did no¢ commit the robbery and murder !” TERRIBLE. “How know you this, wench ?” said Jefferies, scowling. ‘‘ My father, before he died, confessed to me that it was two villains who did the horrid deed ; but mot Will Winter, his beloved apprentice.” “Tut, tut, wench, you are raving. Remove her from the witness-box, put her out of court, the testimony of those two respectable men, Ivan and Andrew, is overwhelming and blasting. They saw it, gentlemen of the jury ; besides, we cannot admit the unsupported assertions of an old, bewildered and dying man. Put the impudent wench out of court this instant ; if she screams again, throttle her! Tut, tut! away ‘with the young baggage |” “ He is not guilty! He is not the murderer! Hear me, hear me, in the name of all that’s holy | Ill tell you all! I see one of the murderers in court! I saw him rush from the house with my father’s money, I saw them hide in the gar- den, Mercy! Spare him! Hear me! He is innocent |! Oh, God, they will kill Master William ! Ivan and Andy are the cruel mur——” “ Away with the frantic, raving baggage!” said Jefferies, rising in anger from his seat. “Silence her ! throttle her, officers, she may raise 2 commotion and riot in the City ! Now, then, to dispatch business,” said the red-headed, re- morseless judge, addressing the jury in a hurried and confident manner, ‘‘ You have, of course, made up your minds? He is guilty, of course?” “We find him guilty—unanimously !” was the reply of the packed jury, rubbing their hands in apparent delight. “Of course you do! of course you do |?’ said J efferies, nod- ding in approbation. ‘Perfectly right ; you couldn’t bring in any other verdict in face of such direct testimony. In fact, you dared not, or I should haye had him hung on my onn responsibility, that’s all. Now, prisoner,” said J efferies, in a great hurry to leave the court, “you have been found guilty of robbery and murder by a fair and intelligent jury of your own countrymen, what have you to say why i choald not pass sentence upon you? You have the right to speak, you know, but, before you begin, I would inform you that you must be quick about it, for I eannot fritter away my precious time with such villanous rascals as you, If you are too long I shall pass sentence first, and leave the contd ; you may talk till doom’s-day after I’ve gone, for all J care. " Come, now, quick, what haye you got to say?” For a moment Master Winter spoke not, He felt certain that his trial had been nothing else than an infamous mockery, but he rose and said, tay ‘Both judge and jury hear me, and, moreover, remember my vores t You came not here to zry me, but to condemn Tut, tut, this insolegee cannot be tolerated for a ma- ai ” said the judge, in a furious passion, tT may die, as, perhaps, I shall, on an ignominjous gallows when the sun rises to-morrow ; but you will live tg repent your bloody work! My blood be upon your Ne ae Tam as innocent as a child unborn.” , “Shame ! shame!” cried several burly fellows in court. “We shall not permit this in an English court of justice !” foamed J mre wweine about uneasily in his seat. ave been trie a packed jury of hirelings i the ‘bloody butcher’ for a ae : celngSa ‘Shame! shame !” i Down with ‘bloody’ J efferies !” shouted some, eens aa ! silence him!’’ roared Jefferies, wo stout officers instantly laid rough and yiolent hands upon Will Winter, who, with asmi i and tniumphy aa ea ile of confidence, innocence, ‘You need not use violence: t¢ aniiedvoiaterltO Healin faint H ake your hands off me! I ‘Well, then, young rascal,” said Jefferies, “ such a hardened wretch in all my ex Siena ind’ GeECe on a black velvet cap, he said very hurriedly, as if iit were & very common and every-day occurrence with him, “the sen- tence is that you be taken from this court, confined in jail until to-morrow morning, then to be led to the gallows and there to be hung by the neck until you are dead !” ; ; So saying, Judge Jefferies smiled like a demon, and slipping Eomichbooksheom