Waugh, and Mr.
Cloudesley Mornington, suspect something; but I never betrayed my
knowledge of the dead man's unintentional crime, and would not do so
now, but to save the innocent. May I now sit down?"
No! the State's Attorney wanted to take her in hand, and cross-examine
her, which he began to do severely, unsparingly. But as she had told the
exact truth, though not in the clearest style, the more the lawyer
sifted her testimony, the clearer and more evident its truthfulness and
point became; until there seemed at length nothing to do but acquit the
prisoner. But courts of law are proverbially fussy, and now the State's
Attorney was doing his best to invalidate the testimony of the last
witness.
Turn we from them to the veiled lady, where she sat in her obscure
corner of the room, hearing all this.
Oh! who can conceive, far less portray the joy, the unspeakable joy that
filled her heart nearly to breaking! He was guiltless! Thurston, her
beloved, was guiltless in intention, as he was in deed! the thought of
crime had not been near his heart! his long remorse had been occasioned
by what he had unintentionally made her suffer. He was all that he had
lately appeared to the world! all that he had at first appeared to
her!--faithful, truthful, constant, noble, generous--her heart was
vindicated! her love was not the madness, the folly, the weakness that
her intellectual nature had often stamped it to be! Her love was
vindicated, for he deserved it all! Oh! joy unspeakable--oh! joy
insupportable!
She was a strong, calm, self-governing woman--not wont to be overcome by
any event or any emotion--yet now her head, her whole form, drooped
forward, and she sank upon the low balustrade in front of her
seat--weighed down by excess of happiness--happiness so absorbing that
for a time she forgot everything else; but soon she remembered that her
presence was required near the bench, to put a stop to the debate
between the lawyers, and she strove to quell the tumultuous excitement
of her feelings, and to recover self-command before going among them.
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