The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 272: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. 269 ‘¢ You are the landlord of the Morton Arms?” said the counsel. ‘* ‘Yes, sir, 1 were, and, in a mannerof speaking, my lord, and gentlemen of the jury, at this here blessed moment, I may take b upon myself all for to say that, leastways——” _ ‘¢Good God, when are you going to stop ?” cried the counsel. ‘© Will you be so good as to answer plain yes or no to the ques- tions which I shall put to you?” ‘‘ Well, then, as I was a saying——’ ‘¢ Witness,” said the judge, ‘‘ pray understand me. I shall be under the disagreeable necessity of at once committing you to prison, if you do not answer, in a plain and straightforward manner, the questions which counsel may consider it to be their duty to put to you. Do hie comprehend that ?” ‘“ Why, yes, my lord, 1——” ‘¢ There, that will do.” ‘‘Do you remember what guests you had,” continued the counsel, ‘‘at the Morton Arms on the day named in the in- dictment?” ‘“‘Oh, dear, yes.” ‘‘Now, really, could not you say yes, without prefacing it with ‘oh, dear ?” ‘Oh, bless you, certainly.” ‘‘ The witness is incorrigible,” said the judge. ‘* {see no plan but that of letting him have his own way.” ‘‘State, then, whom you had as a visitor at the Morton Arms ov the night in question.” ‘‘ Toward evening there came as ill a looking fellow as I ever saw, and wanted something to drink. He was about as saucy as he could be, because I did not half like to serve him.” ‘¢ Very well. Now look at the prisoner at the bar, and, upon your oath tell the jury if that is the person, or not, to whom you allude.” The landlord had no doubt in the world that Sternholde was the man, but he considered that under the circumstances, it would-be very wrong of him to gay so all at once, so he turned and looked at him fixedly, as if only then he had seen him for the first time; then he shaded his eyes with his hands, and shook his head cunningly, from side to side, as he said: ‘‘Tbat’s the man.” ‘You swear that to be the man who came tothe Morton Arms on the same night that the young traveler was murdered ?” ‘‘ Oh, yes, of course Ido. Ishould know him among a thou- sand. e left, as I thought, and then I saw him again. When the young gentleman came on horseback, he wanted to carry the saddle sornehow for him, but he was prevented, and then he had a sort of a row with Hostler Jem.” ‘* Did you have any conversation with the young traveler ?” ‘* Oh, Lord, yes. Hetold me he had come a long way, and asked me who lived in the neighborhood; and when I told him about the Mortons, he seemed quite pleased, as if he had heard of them before.” ‘* And that night this gentleman was murdered in the house ?” ‘Yes, he was; all the world knew that. But mind you, Jem, 9 comicbooks. com