THEIR FIRST YEAR’S MARRIED LIFE. 61 
nest near by, he put it in there. Seeing that 
the young bird was in good keeping, I hurried 
back to my own family, and it was not until now 
that I knew that there was any trouble about 
the matter, much less that such a worthy and 
honest couple as the Thrushes were accused of 
stealing the young one. This is all that I know 
about it ; but I think that your Honor will say 
that Blue Jay, who has given such false evi- 
dence here, evidence that he knew to be false, 
for he saw the boy put young Robin in the 
nest, as well as myself, is deserving of all the 
punishment that would have been pronounced 
on the accused.” 
To describe the effect of this testimony on 
the court and spectators is impossible. Crowd- 
ing around the Thrushes, many of the birds 
offered their congratulations ; and, as is gener- 
ally the case when such affairs take similar 
unexpected turns, some of the warmest in 
their declaration of their having believed all 
along that the accused were innocent, were 
some who had turned the coldest shoulders, 
and had been the first to express a conviction , 
of their guilt. 
