THE OLD BAILEY—ADVANTAGES OF THE NEW SYSTEM ILLUSTRATED.
And I saw in my dream that Don O’Rapley and worthy Master Bumpkin proceeded together until they came to the Old Bailey; that delightful place which will ever impress me with the belief that the Satanic Personage is not a homeless wanderer. As they journeyed together O’Rapley asked whether there was any particular kind of case which he would prefer—much the same as he would enquire what he would like for lunch.
“Well, thankee, sir,” said Bumpkin, “what he there?”—just the same as a hungry guest would ask the waiter for the bill of fare.
“Well,” said Mr. O’Rapley, “there’s no murder to-day, but there’s sure to be highway robberies, burglaries, rapes, and so on.”
“Wall, I thinks one o’ them air as good as anything,” said Bumpkin. “I wur on the jury once when a chap were tried.”
“Did he get off?”
“Got off as clane as a whusle. Not guilty, we all said: sarved her right.”
“It’s rather early in the morning, p’r’aps,” said O’Rapley; “but there’s sure to be something interesting
before lunch—crimes are very pop’lar, and for my own part, I think they’re as nice as anything: divorces, p’r’aps, are as good, and the female intellect prefers ’em as a more digestable food for their minds.”
“As a what, sir!”