When asked to name the parties composing the
meeting at which he said he had been present, he named me as one. I was
horrified. I had never seen the man before in all my life, and the idea
that I should be a party to such a plot as he had described, was
monstrous; but what was to hinder a prejudiced or a frightened jury from
believing his testimony? Fortunately for me, the Judge asked him if he
saw in court, and could point out, any of the persons he had named as
parties to the conspiracy. I stood within two or three yards of him, and
looked him full in the face. It was plain from the way in which his
wandering eyes passed by me, that whatever other parties he might know,
he did not know me. At length he pointed out a person that he said was
present at the secret meeting. 'What is his name?' said the Judge. The
fellow gave a name. It was not the right one. He pointed out another.
'What is his name?' said the Judge again. The fellow gave a name. He was
wrong again. The court got out of patience with the villain, and the
Judge ordered him into custody to await his trial on a charge of
perjury. This was an unspeakable relief both to me and to my anxious
wife and friends, who had witnessed the dreadful affair with the most
intense anxiety and alarm.
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