“The prisoner in question was a tall, fair man, of gentlemanly appearance, who seemed to feel his position acutely. He had lately been brought in on a singular charge of skittle-sharping.
“The prosecutor, a simple-looking countryman, deposed that he had met the prisoner three days before in Westminster, with two other men, and was by them solicited to have something to drink.
“After his compliance, a game of skittles was proposed. Bets were made, and he was ingeniously robbed of eighty pounds in gold and notes.
“The whole of the gang on that occasion made their escape; but the prosecutor met the prisoner while walking in the Strand, and recognising him at once, gave him into the custody of the first police officer he saw.
“The prisoner vehemently protested his innocence, and in no measured terms declared that he was the victim of a mistake.
“He gave the name of Joseph Halliday, and gave a respectable address, which we afterwards found was a correct one; described himself as a civil engineer, and said that he was the scapegoat of the prosecutor’s stupidity.
“It was the early part of the afternoon, but the business of the court that day not being very heavy, the magistrate had finished his work and gone home; so that Mr. Halliday would have to remain a prisoner until the next day, even if he were able to prove his innocence in an incontestable manner.
“We were accustomed to see respectable men—that is, externally respectable—brought into the station on charges of skittle-sharping; and so Mr. Halliday’s decent exterior did not impress me in his favour in the least.
“He appeared greatly distressed, and said repeatedly, as the charge was being taken, that he was innocent. His manner had the appearance of being genuine; but I never allowed appearances to have any weight with me.
“Some of the rascals who infest the streets and plunder the simple are such clever actors that if they were not incorrigibly idle, they would make a decent living upon the stage.