CHAPTER CLXII.
THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF CHARLES PEACE.
The eventful day at length arrived upon which the most daring and desperate criminal of modern times was to be tried upon the grave charge of “wilful murder.”
“Let Charles Peace stand forward.”
There is a scuffling of feet, and a small, elderly-looking, feeble man, in brown convict dress, is helped into the dock, and placed in a chair by stalwart warders.
The Clerk of Assizes states the charge.
“How say you, Charles Peace, are you guilty or not guilty?”
In a feeble voice, hardly audible, the words “Not guilty” are uttered.
The prisoner’s face is impassive, but he takes in all the surroundings with short, quick glances.
The jury is empanelled, the arraignment is opened, and Mr. Campbell Foster rises to address the jury.