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Rh man us ever lived; and I should as soon suspect myself of such an act as I'd suspect him."

"But the thing's certain," replied Mr. Gaveston, "why else should the fellow make off?"

"It can't be denied that appearances are strongly against him," said Sir Thomas Taylor; "at the same time, we know that these are sometimes fallacious-and previous good character is not without its weight."

"I remember a remarkable case of circumstantial evidence," said the coroner, "where appearances were quite as condemnatory as in this instance, and yet the suspected person was innocent; and what was extraordinary the real criminal ultimately proved to be-"

"But, I repeat, is there any other way of accounting for the fellow's evasion than by supposing him guilty?" said Gaveston.

"There's no telling," answered Sir Thomas. "I remember a case in which the supposed criminal proved himself to have been one of the vic"

"Oh, no doubt such mistakes do occur occasionally," interrupted Gaveston: "but they are rare, and cannot by any means be admitted as precedents; or the consequence would be to throw so much discredit and uncertainty on circumstantial evidence,-which, remember,