328 RECOLLECTIONS OP A FRKK TRADRR. 



bills, two of which had already been dishonoured by her, and the 

 threats to which she had been exposed by the holders, together with 

 the disappearance of her heartless acquaintance, had driven her into 

 a state of phrenzy. This man, added he, raising his stentorian voice, 

 till the walls rung again with his violence, is now before you, and 

 there he stands at this moment ! demure looking hypocrite ! I know 

 him well too well, unhappily; and if any proof of his identity is 

 required, he wears a cork leg, which no hypocrisy, no disguise, can 

 conceal ! The fellow having fixed his eyes fiercely on me during his 

 harangue, and swearing most positively to my identity, I was in- 

 stantly brought forward and examined. Alas ! / had a cork leg! 



This unfortunate coincidence, told sadly against me, indeed, he 

 made the matter appear so plausible, that my guilt seemed apparent 

 to all. I began myself, almost to believe there might be some truth 

 in his statement ; my head was completely bewildered, and the whole 

 circumstances were so against me, that I was unable to do more 

 than hammer out a denial, without offering any explanation. The 

 coroner, now stated, that he should feel it necessary to delay the 

 conclusion of the inquest until a future day ; during the interim, 

 every effort should be made to obtain fresh evidence, and this self- 

 styled relation, whose character and conduct appears to have been 

 almost miraculously brought to light, should be accomodated with 

 as secure a resting place, as the most captious individuals could 

 require. I was, accordingly, handed off to durance; followed by 

 the execrations of hundreds, and introduced to the solitary enjoy- 

 ment of my own unassisted reflections. 'Twas not however, even 

 in this the depth of my depression, so melancholly as might have 

 been supposed ; the consciousness of my own innocence, gave me 

 comfort, as did the knowledge that all I had done, was in the fair 

 way of trade ; and I formed a determination to convict, and punish 

 heavily, this perjured false- witness. I confidently, relied on the 

 honourable acquital which must await me, on the congratulatory 

 and sympathysing testimonials of the court and jury, and on the 

 ultimate possession of the claimed and well-deserved body. After 

 thejinterval named, the court re-assembled, by great labour on the 

 part of my friends, the wretch, who actually had thus served the 

 poor girl, was discovered, and brought forward, and, although the 

 personal resemblance between him arid myself, appeared to asto- 

 nish the court, I cannot say, for my own part, that I should ever 

 have mistaken the one for the other ; for he was, to say the best of 

 him, any tiling but a good-looking gentleman-like sort of man. Of 

 course, the burden being now removed from my shoulders, and 

 fixed on those where it should have rested, I was set at liberty ; 

 but not until I had undergone a strict examination, as to my purpose 

 for claiming the body ; at first, I stuck to my point, vowed it was 

 my sister, and claimed peremptorily ; the coroner, however, did not 

 view the matter precisely as I might have wished, he was more in- 

 quisitive than agreeable, and did certainly propose some puzzling 

 questions. While the investigation was going on, I observed at 

 the further end of the room, certain police-officers, whose significant 

 looks and occasional smiles, discomposed me, and I therefore inti- 



