OF ALEXANDER. 145 



utter stranger to me, and I to him ; therefore* 

 when a man, armed with a gun came up,, and 

 did not announce himself as a gamekeeper, he 

 (Alexander) naturally thought it was with an 

 intention to shoot or rob him. Such being the 

 case, it was naturally Alexander's first move 

 to try and possess himself of the gun, and so pre- 

 serve his life. Again, he said it was I who 

 began the assault, and he laid special stress on 

 the fact that I had not said anything about 

 being a gamekeeper, contending that it would 

 have most materially altered the case if we had 

 known each other. 



The trial lasted four hours and forty minutes, 

 and the jury found Alexander guilty of assault 

 only ; he was sentenced to two years' imprison- 

 ment in the new county goal at Devizes. 

 " Thank you, my Lord," said he when he heard 

 the sentence, "I shall know where to hang 

 up my hat there." I understood this remark 

 when they told me that he had eaten thirteen 

 Christmas dinners in gaol. 



He served his two years, and I heard that he 

 went to gaol again, before he could even react 



10 



