Agnes: A Tale of the Streets — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

AGNES 5 OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. CHAPTER LXX. THER LANCET. ON the following morning Andrew Hailes surren- dered himself to take his trial at the Old Bailey. The Hon, Hector Hardress did not make his ap- pearance; and his recognizances were estreated. The indictment, in the usual manner, charged An- drew Hailes with being accessory to the death of the Hlon. Theodore Clifford ; and to this the young man, by the advice of his legal friends, pleaded Guilty. The counsel who was retained on his be- half, then rose to make a statement to the Court. The learned gentleman said that the facts that ho was about to make public, had emanated from the spontaneous confession of Mr. [ailes himeelf, who considered that he was only performing his duty to society by making a clean broast of it in respect to the circumstances that had involved him in this position. Ho (the learned gentleman) was all the more ready to become the medium of publishing those facts, inasmuch as they would tend to prove the unsophisticated character of his client Andrew Hailes, and skow how easily that young gentleman—that mere boye—might be led into difficulties by designing persons of more worldly experience. That the other culprit who ought to have been then present—the Hon. Ifeo. tor Hardress—was such a person, there could be no doubt; and although it was painful to speak ill of the dead, yet it was his (the learned gentle- man’s) duty to add that the deceased Theodore Clifford was not ® young man of a very high state of morality. Painful facte must now be disclosed. There could be little doubt that the decoased Thoodore Clifford had seduced Miss Josephine Ilardrcss, the sister of one of the principals in the duc]. Hence arose that duel; and Theodore Clif- ford, having some eacquaintance with Andrew H{ailos, solicited him to act as his second. The Gemand was hurriedly put— the response was as hurriedly given; for Hailes had not the moral courage to refuse the favour required by his friend. Mr. Hardress was provided with a second, who in connexion with this lamentable affair was already known to the world as Mr. Godolphin. But there was in reality no Mr. Godolphin at all! The person who had figured in tho hostile mecting—who bad acted as the second of Hector Hardress—was none other than his sister, Joeephine herself! Aye, and what was more—painful though it were for him (the learned gentleman) to make the statement—puinful as it would be fur thosc present to hear it—it must nevertheless be proclaimed, to the effect that it was the hand of Miss Hardress which fired the pistol which stretched Theodore Clifford a corpso upon the ground | These words produced an immonse sensation in the Court ; and when it had somewhat subsided, tho learncd counsel continued in tho following roanner :— Tt was not necessary to enter into any further details. It could be no secret—for the morning newspapers recorded the melancholy fact—that the unfortunate young lady whose name bad been mentioned, put a period to her existence on the 419 past evening by means of poison. That she dreaded the inevitable exposures of thie day, theré could be no doubt ; and should her brother, who had fled from the same, be ever captured and brought to that bar of justice, Andrew Hailes would consider it to be his duty to stand forward as a witness against him. He (the learned gentle- man) hoped that the undoubted contrition which the youthful prisoner was thus by every possible means displaying, would ba taken into merciful consideration by the learned Judge when pro- nouncing sentence; and he (the counsel) would most emphatically insist upon the propriety of making every posssible allowance for the ignorance of the youthful prisoner in all tho ways of the world, especially as he had now to come to another point on which it was his painful duty to touch. There was a brief pause; and the barristo,, + tinued in the ensuing terms:— _ “It must be mentioned to“Your lordship, that when this unfortunate affair was brought under the cognizance of the police-magistrate at the time of its occurronce three months ago, a surgeon of the name of Gilmore appeared as a witness to prove that he was in attendance when the duel was fought. This man is not now forthcoming. I¢ is understood that ho absconded Iast night, im. - mediately after the tidings reached him that Miss Hardress had committed suicide arfd that Hector Ifardrees had fled. Now, my youthful client has candidly confessed that he nover saw the surgeon at all upon the ground ; but that Hector Herdress endeavoured to take advantage of his agitated and excited state of mind, and to make him believe that he did really behold a human form at a distance. Thus, your lordship will perceive that in every respect was this youth —this stripling—treated as a dupe in the hands of designing persons. Ife now comes forward and voluntarily confesses everything. Ife might have persisted in declaring that he did see the surgeon upon the field: but his policy is to tell the com- plete truth, even though it may aggravate the peril of his own position. As I at first said, he resolved to roake a clean breast of it; and lic has done so. If in one instance he violated his duty to society, he now seeks to make overy possible amends. He feels that henceforth he shall pos- sess a clear conscience, unburdened by the weight of any criminal secret.” The learned counsel concluded a very cloquent specch by again imploring tho judge to take into consideration the facts that had been adduced to show—first of all, the artless inexperience and unsophisticated character vf the youthful prisonce —and secondly, the contrite readiness with which he now came forward to revoal every incidont connected with that unfortunate affair. The appeal was not made in vain; ard tho Judge, after a brief but impressive address to Andrew ITailes, sentenced him to one day’s impri- sonment in the gaol of Newgate. The revelations in respect to Hector Hardross and his sister Josephine, produced an immense sensation throughout tho fashionable world; and this was sustained when the result of the Coroner's Inquest upon the corpse of tho deceased young lady, showed that sho was in a way to become a mother whon sho destroyed herself. But whence had she procured the poison P Cicely, who was COnniclboookks CO