"Another chapter in the made-up tragedy," he said, "performed with
marvellous skill as you can see. My learned friend has drilled his
people well. He has made consummate actors of them all. And yet he
would have you think that one is but an honest fool, and that the
other is as innocent as a babe in arms."
Up among the people some one hissed, then some one else joined in,
and, before the judge and officers could restore order in the room,
the indignant crowd had greeted Sharpman's words with a perfect
torrent of groans and hisses. Then the wily lawyer realized that he
was making a mistake. He knew that he could not afford to gain the
ill-will of the populace, and accordingly he changed the tenor of his
speech. He spoke generally of law and justice, and particularly of the
weight of evidence in the case at bar. He dwelt with much emphasis on
Simon Craft's bravery, self-sacrifice, poverty, toil, and suffering;
and, with a burst of oratory that made the walls re-echo with the
sound of his resonant voice, he closed his address and resumed his
seat.
Then the judge delivered the charge in a calm, dispassionate way. He
reviewed the evidence very briefly, warning the jury to reject from
their minds all improper declarations of any witness or other person,
and directing them to rest their decision only on the legal evidence
in the case. He instructed them that although the boy Ralph's
declaration that he was not Robert Burnham's son might be regarded by
them, yet they must also take into consideration the fact that his
opinion was founded partly, if not wholly, on hearsay, and, for that
reason, would be of little value to them in making up their decision.
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