Morley Ernstein; or, the Tenants of the Heart

by G. P. R. James

Lieberg's handsome face, too, and fine person, the accurate taste of his dress, and his military carriage, all struck the spectators, and the court, and prepared them to give full credit to every word that he uttered. The judge alone, long accustomed to remark the slightest changes of the human countenance--whose memory was, in short, a dictionary of looks--remarked a something when the eye of the witness lighted on the prisoner Martin, which made him say to himself--"There is hatred there." It was no permanent expression, but one that passed like a gleam of lightning, over his face, and was gone--a flash of the eye, a sudden convulsive curl of the lip, a momentary contraction of the brow, and then all was calm again.

After stating who and what he was, and that he had visited the house of Mr. Carr for the purpose of hiring some shooting in the neighbourhood, Lieberg went on to give, in a clear and perspicuous manner, and, as usual, without the slightest foreign accent in the world, his account of all that occurred on the night of the robbery. Nor was that account far different from the truth, for Lieberg well knew that truth is always more convincing than falsehood, and, consequently, he contented himself with as little of the latter ingredient in his story as was possible, consistent with his purposes. The only part, then, of his statement which was calculated to deceive, was that he had been roused out of his sleep by a scream, and was issuing forth from his room to see what it was, when he received a blow on the head, which stunned him for a few minutes. He next proceeded to say, that on recovering his senses, he found himself bound, and, looking through his half-closed eyes, saw two men in his chamber, rifling his trunks and dressing-case. They remained there, he continued, for some time, talking aloud, and then went away, leaving him still tied.

"Have you seen either of those men since?" demanded the examining counsel.

"I have," replied Lieberg, firmly. "I see one of them now,"--and he fixed his eyes upon Harry Martin, with a stern look.

The judge smiled, as he saw the direction of his glance; but the counsel bade the witness point out the man, if he still saw him in court. Lieberg immediately held out his hand towards Martin, saying--"Of the four prisoners in the dock, the one upon the extreme right, I can swear to, as one of those whom I saw in my room that night." As he spoke, he bent his eyes full upon Martin's face, and the prisoner returned his stare, with a look as proud and powerful as his own; and again a murmur ran through the court, as the spectators remarked the glances which those two men interchanged.

"Do you see in the court the second man who was in your room?" demanded the counsel.

"I think that the other prisoner, at the further end of the dock, is he," said Lieberg; "but I cannot swear to him."

After a few more questions, the examination in chief was ended, and Count Lieberg was turned over to the hands of the prisoners' counsel, who proceeded to cross-examine him at length.

It is a terrible engine, a cross-examination, in the hands of one who knows how to wield it properly. It is a sort of mental torture, for the purpose of making a witness confess the truth, but which, like the rack and the thumb-screw, has as often brought forth falsehood, as that which is sought to be elicited; and yet it is impossible, perhaps, to do without it. The proud spirit of Lieberg writhed within him at all that he was obliged to endure, during his cross-examination, but with the wonderful command which he possessed over himself, he covered, for a long time, all his feelings with an exterior of cold composure; revenging himself, from time to time, upon the counsel, by a bitter sneer, which made the court smile, though his own lip remained unmoved and stern.

He was made to go over and over again the exact position in which he stood, when he received the blow that stunned him; and a number of questions were asked which seemed directed to puzzle the witness, more than to accomplish any other object; and then the counsel demanded, suddenly, whether he were not actually up, and at the door of his room, when he heard the scream he had mentioned?