He had resolved, if ever this man of many woes should burst upon him, to
abide by the criminal's last resource, denial of his identity, and
solemn protestations of his own innocence: and though the abode of
Neville had been so carefully concealed, that no trace of his residence
in London had been discovered, even by the vigilance of Oliverian spies,
the terrors to which the wretched Bellingham was a constant prey gave
him a degree of adroitness in a moment of surprise. Though a coward,
when only in the presence of God and his own conscience, the adhesive
habits of a practised courtier, gave him effrontery and address when
endeavouring to propitiate mankind in his favour.
"My Lord President," said he, "I must request that this unhappy maniac
may be taken into custody. The sight is too dreadful to the weakened
spirits of Lady Bellingham. Being a distant kinsman, we long supported
him by our bounty; but his disordered imagination has persuaded him that
he is the brother of my countess--that unfortunate and guilty man has
been long since numbered with the dead.
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