bark _John Jerniman_, under his command, for the purpose of
fraudulently obtaining a share of the insurance money; and
further of possessing himself of certain Brazilian diamonds,
which formed part of the cargo. In plain words, here is a
gentleman born in the higher ranks of life accused of being a
thief. Before we attempt to arrive at a decision, we shall only
be doing him justice if we try to form some general estimate of
his character, based on the evidence--and we may fairly begin by
inquiring into his relations with the noble family to which he
belongs. The evidence, so far, is not altogether creditable to
him. Being at the time an officer of the Royal Navy, he appears
to have outraged the feelings of his family by marrying a barmaid
at a public-house."

The drowsy juryman, happening to be awake at that moment,
surprised the foreman by interposing a statement. "Talking of
barmaids," he said, "I know a curate's daughter. She's in
distressed circumstances, poor thing; and she's a barmaid
somewhere in the north of England. Curiously enough, the name of
the town has escaped my memory. If we had a map of England--"
There he was interrupted, cruelly interrupted, by one of his
brethren.

"And by what right," cried the greedy juryman, speaking under the
exasperating influence of hunger--"by what right does Mr.
Westerfield's family dare to suppose that a barmaid may not be a
perfectly virtuous woman?"

Hearing this, the restless gentleman (in the act of changing his
position) was suddenly inspired with interest in the proceedings.