During the examination of Ready-Money
Jack, Slingsby had stood like "dejected Pity at his side," seeking
every now and then, by a soft word, to soothe any exacerbation of his
ire, or to qualify any harsh expression. He now ventured to make a few
observations to the Squire, in palliation of the delinquent's offence;
but poor Slingsby spoke more from the heart than the head, and was
evidently actuated merely by a general sympathy for every poor devil
in trouble, and a liberal toleration for all kinds of vagabond
existence.
The ladies, too, large and small, with the kind-heartedness of the
sex, were zealous on the side of mercy, and interceded strenuously
with the Squire; insomuch that the prisoner, finding himself
unexpectedly surrounded by active friends, once more reared his crest,
and seemed disposed, for a time, to put on the air of injured
innocence. The Squire, however, with all his benevolence of heart, and
his lurking weakness towards the prisoner, was too conscientious to
swerve from the strict path of justice. There was abundant concurring
testimony that made the proof of guilt incontrovertible, and Starlight
Tom's mittimus was made out accordingly.
The sympathy of the ladies was now greater than ever; they even made
some attempts to mollify the ire of Ready-Money Jack; but that sturdy
potentate had been too much incensed by the repeated incursions that
had been made into his territories by the predatory band of Starlight
Tom, and he was resolved, he said, to drive the "varment reptiles" out
of the neighbourhood.
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