Goulard did not appear during the prosecution that
followed; he continued absent on the day fixed for judgment, and
the court, conformably to the code of criminal proceedings,
pronounced on the charge without the intervention of a jury. It
acquitted Goulard of premeditation, but condemned him for
contumacy, to perpetual hard labour, and to be branded; and this
in spite of the fact that the advocate-general had demanded
Goulard's acquittal of the charge.
THE END OF A GAMESTER.
In 1788, a Scotch gentleman, named William Brodie, was tried and
convicted at Edinburgh, for stealing bank-notes and money, with
violence. This man, at the death of his father, twelve years
before, inherited a considerable estate in houses, in the city of
Edinburgh, together with L10,000 in money; but, by an unhappy
connection and a too great propensity to gaming, he was reduced
to the desperation which brought him at last to the scaffold. It
is stated that his demeanour on receiving the dreadful sentence
was equally cool and determined; moreover, that he was dressed in
a blue coat, fancy vest, satin breeches, and white silk
stockings; a cocked hat; his hair full dressed and powdered; and,
lastly, that he was carried back to prison in a chair.
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