Phineas Redux

by Anthony Trollope

  CHAPTER LXIII.

  MR. CHAFFANBRASS FOR THE DEFENCE.

  The case for the prosecution was completed on the Saturday evening,Mrs. Bunce having been examined as the last witness on that side.She was only called upon to say that her lodger had been in thehabit of letting himself in and out of her house at all hours witha latch-key;--but she insisted on saying more, and told the judgeand the jury and the barristers that if they thought that Mr. Finnhad murdered anybody they didn't know anything about the world ingeneral. Whereupon Mr. Chaffanbrass said that he would like to askher a question or two, and with consummate flattery extracted fromher her opinion of her lodger. She had known him for years, andthought that, of all the gentlemen that ever were born, he was theleast likely to do such a bloody-minded action. Mr. Chaffanbrass was,perhaps, right in thinking that her evidence might be as serviceableas that of the lords and countesses.

  During the Sunday the trial was, as a matter of course, the talkof the town. Poor Lord Fawn shut himself up, and was seen by noone;--but his conduct and evidence were discussed everywhere. Atthe clubs it was thought that he had escaped as well as could beexpected; but he himself felt that he had been disgraced for ever.There was a very common opinion that Mr. Chaffanbrass had admittedtoo much when he had declared that the man whom Lord Fawn had seenwas doubtless the murderer. To the minds of men generally it seemedto be less evident that the man so seen should have done the deed,than that Phineas Finn should have been that man. Was it probablethat there should be two men going about in grey coats, in exactlythe same vicinity, and at exactly the same hour of the night? Andthen the evidence which Lord Fawn had given before the magistrateswas to the world at large at any rate as convincing as that given inthe Court. The jury would, of course, be instructed to regard onlythe latter; whereas the general public would naturally be guided bythe two combined. At the club it was certainly believed that the casewas going against the prisoner.

  "You have read it all, of course," said the Duchess of Omnium to herhusband, as she sat with the Observer in her hand on that Sundaymorning. The Sunday papers were full of the report, and were enjoyinga very extended circulation.

  "I wish you would not think so much about it," said the Duke.

  "That's very easily said, but how is one to help thinking about it?Of course I am thinking about it. You know all about the coat. Itbelonged to the man where Mealyus was lodging."

  "I will not talk about the coat, Glencora. If Mr. Finn did commit themurder it is right that he should be convicted."

  "But if he didn't?"

  "It would be doubly right that he should be acquitted. But the jurywill have means of arriving at a conclusion without prejudice, whichyou and I cannot have; and therefore we should be prepared to taketheir verdict as correct."

  "If they find him guilty, their verdict will be damnable and false,"said the Duchess. Whereupon the Duke turned away in anger, andresolved that he would say nothing more about the trial,--whichresolution, however, he was compelled to break before the trial wasover.

  "What do you think about it, Mr. Erle?" asked the other Duke.

  "I don't know what to think;--I only hope."

  "That he may be acquitted?"

  "Of course."

  "Whether guilty or innocent?"

  "Well;--yes. But if he is acquitted I shall believe him to have beeninnocent. Your Grace thinks--?"

  "I am as unwilling to think as you are, Mr. Erle." It was thus thatpeople spoke of it. With the exception of some very few, all thosewho had known Phineas were anxious for an acquittal, though theycould not bring themselves to believe that an innocent man had beenput in peril of his life.

  On the Monday morning the trial was recommenced, and the whole daywas taken up by the address which Mr. Chaffanbrass made to the jury.He began by telling them the history of the coat which lay beforethem, promising to prove by evidence all the details which he stated.It was not his intention, he said, to accuse any one of the murder.It was his business to defend the prisoner, not to accuse others.But, as he should prove to them, two persons had been arrested assoon as the murder had been discovered,--two persons totally unknownto each other, and who were never for a moment supposed to have actedtogether,--and the suspicion of the police had in the first instancepointed, not to his client, but to the other man. That other manhad also quarrelled with Mr. Bonteen, and that other man was now incustody on a charge of bigamy chiefly through the instrumentality ofMr. Bonteen, who had been the friend of the victim of the supposedbigamist. With the accusation of bigamy they would have nothing todo, but he must ask them to take cognisance of that quarrel as wellas of the quarrel at the club. He then named that formerly popularpreacher, the Rev. Mr. Emilius, and explained that he would provethat this man, who had incurred the suspicion of the police inthe first instance, had during the night of the murder been socircumstanced as to have been able to use the coat produced. He wouldprove also that Mr. Emilius was of precisely the same height as theman whom they had seen wearing the coat. God forbid that he shouldbring an accusation of murder against a man on such slight testimony.But if the evidence, as grounded on the coat, was slight againstEmilius, how could it prevail at all against his client? The twocoats were as different as chalk from cheese, the one being whatwould be called a gentleman's fashionable walking coat, and the otherthe wrap-rascal of such a fellow as was Mr. Meager. And yet LordFawn, who attempted to identify the prisoner only by his coat, couldgive them no opinion as to which was the coat he had seen! But LordFawn, who had found himself to be debarred by his conscience fromrepeating the opinion he had given before the magistrate as to theidentity of Phineas Finn with the man he had seen, did tell them thatthe figure of that man was similar to the figure of him who had wornthe coat on Saturday in presence of them all. This man in the streethad therefore been like Mr. Emilius, and could not in the leasthave resembled the prisoner. Mr. Chaffanbrass would not tell thejury that this point bore strongly against Mr. Emilius, but he tookupon himself to assert that it was quite sufficient to snap asunderthe thin thread of circumstantial evidence by which his client wasconnected with the murder. A great deal more was said about LordFawn, which was not complimentary to that nobleman. "His lordship isan honest, slow man, who has doubtless meant to tell you the truth,but who does not understand the meaning of what he himself says. Whenhe swore before the magistrate that he thought he could identify myclient with the man in the street, he really meant that he thoughtthat there must be identity, because he believed from other reasonsthat Mr. Finn was the man in the street. Mr. Bonteen had beenmurdered;--according to Lord Fawn's thinking had probably beenmurdered by Mr. Finn. And it was also probable to him that Mr.Bonteen had been murdered by the man in the street. He came thus tothe conclusion that the prisoner was the man in the street. In fact,as far as the process of identifying is concerned, his lordship'sevidence is altogether in favour of the prisoner. The figure seen byhim we must suppose was the figure of a short man, and not of onetall and commanding in his presence, as is that of the prisoner."

  There were many other points on which Mr. Chaffanbrass insisted atgreat length;--but, chiefly, perhaps, on the improbability, he mightsay impossibility, that the plot for a murder so contrived shouldhave entered into a man's head, have been completed and executed, allwithin a few minutes. "But under no hypothesis compatible with theallegations of the prosecution can it be conceived that the murdershould have been contemplated by my client before the quarrel at theclub. No, gentlemen;--the murderer had been at his work for days. Hehad examined the spot and measured the distances. He had dogged thesteps of his victim on previous nights. In the shade of some darkdoorway he had watched him from his club, and had hurried by hissecret path to the spot which he had appointed for the deed. Can anyman doubt that the murder has thus been committed, let who will havebeen the murderer? But, if so, then my client could not have donethe deed." Much had been made of the words spoken at the club door.Was it probable,--was it possible,--that a man intending to commita murder should declar
e how easily he could do it, and display theweapon he intended to use? The evidence given as to that part of thenight's work was, he contended, altogether in the prisoner's favour.Then he spoke of the life-preserver, and gave a rather long accountof the manner in which Phineas Finn had once taken two garottersprisoner in the street. All this lasted till the great men on thebench trooped out to lunch. And then Mr. Chaffanbrass, who had beenspeaking for nearly four hours, retired to a small room and theredrank a pint of port wine. While he was doing so, Mr. SerjeantBirdbolt spoke a word to him, but he only shook his head and snarled.He was telling himself at the moment how quick may be the resolvesof the eager mind,--for he was convinced that the idea of attackingMr. Bonteen had occurred to Phineas Finn after he had displayed thelife-preserver at the club door; and he was telling himself alsohow impossible it is for a dull conscientious man to give accurateevidence as to what he had himself seen,--for he was convinced thatLord Fawn had seen Phineas Finn in the street. But to no human beinghad he expressed this opinion; nor would he express it,--unless hisclient should be hung.

  After lunch he occupied nearly three hours in giving to the jury,and of course to the whole assembled Court, the details of about twodozen cases, in which apparently strong circumstantial evidence hadbeen wrong in its tendency. In some of the cases quoted, the personstried had been acquitted; in some, convicted and afterwards pardoned;in one pardoned after many years of punishment;--and in one the poorvictim had been hung. On this he insisted with a pathetic eloquencewhich certainly would not have been expected from his appearance, andspoke with tears in his eyes,--real unaffected tears,--of the miseryof those wretched jurymen who, in the performance of their duty,had been led into so frightful an error. Through the whole of thislong recital he seemed to feel no fatigue, and when he had done withhis list of judicial mistakes about five o'clock in the afternoon,went on to make what he called the very few remarks necessary as tothe evidence which on the next day he proposed to produce as to theprisoner's character. He ventured to think that evidence as to thecharacter of such a nature,--so strong, so convincing, so complete,and so free from all objection, had never yet been given in acriminal court. At six o'clock he completed his speech, and itwas computed that the old man had been on his legs very nearlyseven hours. It was said of him afterwards that he was taken homespeechless by one of his daughters and immediately put to bed, thathe roused himself about eight and ate his dinner and drank a bottleof port in his bedroom, that he then slept,--refusing to stir evenwhen he was waked, till half-past nine in the morning, and that thenhe scrambled into his clothes, breakfasted, and got down to the Courtin half an hour. At ten o'clock he was in his place, and nobody knewthat he was any the worse for the previous day's exertion.

  This was on a Tuesday, the fifth day of the trial, and upon thewhole perhaps the most interesting. A long array of distinguishedpersons,--of women as well as men,--was brought up to give to thejury their opinion as to the character of Mr. Finn. Mr. Low was thefirst, who having been his tutor when he was studying at the bar,knew him longer than any other Londoner. Then came his countrymanLaurence Fitzgibbon, and Barrington Erle, and others of his own partywho had been intimate with him. And men, too, from the opposite sideof the House were brought up, Sir Orlando Drought among the number,all of whom said that they had known the prisoner well, and fromtheir knowledge would have considered it impossible that he shouldhave become a murderer. The two last called were Lord Cantrip and Mr.Monk, one of whom was, and the other had been, a Cabinet Minister.But before them came Lady Cantrip,--and Lady Chiltern, whom we onceknew as Violet Effingham, whom this very prisoner had in early daysfondly hoped to make his wife, who was still young and beautiful, andwho had never before entered a public Court.

  There had of course been much question as to the witnesses to beselected. The Duchess of Omnium had been anxious to be one, but theDuke had forbidden it, telling his wife that she really did not knowthe man, and that she was carried away by a foolish enthusiasm. LadyCantrip when asked had at once consented. She had known Phineas Finnwhen he had served under her husband, and had liked him much. Thenwhat other woman's tongue should be brought to speak of the man'ssoftness and tender bearing! It was out of the question that LadyLaura Kennedy should appear. She did not even propose it when herbrother with unnecessary sternness told her it could not be so. Thenhis wife looked at him. "You shall go," said Lord Chiltern, "if youfeel equal to it. It seems to be nonsense, but they say that it isimportant."

  "I will go," said Violet, with her eyes full of tears. Afterwardswhen her sister-in-law besought her to be generous in her testimony,she only smiled as she assented. Could generosity go beyond hers?

  Lord Chiltern preceded his wife. "I have," he said, "known Mr. Finnwell, and have loved him dearly. I have eaten with him and drank withhim, have ridden with him, have lived with him, and have quarrelledwith him; and I know him as I do my own right hand." Then hestretched forth his arm with the palm extended.

  "Irrespectively of the evidence in this case you would not havethought him to be a man likely to commit such a crime?" askedSerjeant Birdbolt.

  "I am quite sure from my knowledge of the man that he could notcommit a murder," said Lord Chiltern; "and I don't care what theevidence is."

  Then came his wife, and it certainly was a pretty sight to see as herhusband led her up to the box and stood close beside her as she gaveher evidence. There were many there who knew much of the history ofher life,--who knew that passage in it of her early love,--for thetale had of course been told when it was whispered about that LadyChiltern was to be examined as a witness. Every ear was at firststrained to hear her words;--but they were audible in every cornerof the Court without any effort. It need hardly be said that she wastreated with the greatest deference on every side. She answered thequestions very quietly, but apparently without nervousness. "Yes; shehad known Mr. Finn long, and intimately, and had very greatly valuedhis friendship. She did so still,--as much as ever. Yes; she hadknown him for some years, and in circumstances which she thoughtjustified her in saying that she understood his character. Sheregarded him as a man who was brave and tender-hearted, soft infeeling and manly in disposition. To her it was quite incredible thathe should have committed a crime such as this. She knew him to be aman prone to forgive offences, and of a sweet nature." And it waspretty too to watch the unwonted gentleness of old Chaffanbrass ashe asked the questions, and carefully abstained from putting any onethat could pain her. Sir Gregory said that he had heard her evidencewith great pleasure, but that he had no question to ask her himself.Then she stepped down, again took her husband's arm, and left theCourt amidst a hum of almost affectionate greeting.

  And what must he have thought as he stood there within the dock,looking at her and listening to her? There had been months in hislife when he had almost trusted that he would succeed in winning thatfair, highly-born, and wealthy woman for his wife; and though hehad failed, and now knew that he had never really touched her heart,that she had always loved the man whom,--though she had rejected himtime after time because of the dangers of his ways,--she had at lastmarried, yet it must have been pleasant to him, even in his peril, tohear from her own lips how well she had esteemed him. She left theCourt with her veil down, and he could not catch her eye; but LordChiltern nodded to him in his old pleasant familiar way, as though tobid him take courage, and to tell him that all things would even yetbe well with him.

  The evidence given by Lady Cantrip and her husband and by Mr. Monkwas equally favourable. She had always regarded him as a perfectgentleman. Lord Cantrip had found him to be devoted to the serviceof the country,--modest, intelligent, and high-spirited. Perhaps thefew words which fell from Mr. Monk were as strong as any that werespoken. "He is a man whom I have delighted to call my friend, and Ihave been happy to think that his services have been at the disposalof his country."

  Sir Gregory Grogram replied. It seemed to him that the evidence wasas he had left it. It would be for the jury to decide, under suchdirections as his
lordship might be pleased to give them, how farthat evidence brought the guilt home to the prisoner. He would use norhetoric in pushing the case against the prisoner; but he must submitto them that his learned friend had not shown that acquaintance withhuman nature which the gentleman undoubtedly possessed in arguingthat there had lacked time for the conception and execution of thecrime. Then, at considerable length, he strove to show that Mr.Chaffanbrass had been unjustly severe upon Lord Fawn.

  It was late in the afternoon when Sir Gregory had finished hisspeech, and the judge's charge was reserved for a sixth day.