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false colours on the evidence.”* Holt’s conduct was faultless.Pollexfen, an older man than Holt or Somers, retained a little, •— and a little was too much, ■— of the tone of that bad school inwhich he had been bred. Hut, though he once or twice forgotthe austere decorum of his place, he cannot be accused of anyviolation of substantial justice. The prisoners themselves seemto have been surprised by the fairness and gentleness withwhich they wore treated. “I would not mislead the jury, I’llassure you,” said Holt to Preston, “nor do Your Lordship anymanner of injury in the world.” “No, my Lord;” said Preston;“I see it well enough that Your Lordship would not.” “What-ever my fate may be,” said Ashton, “I cannot but own that Ihave had a fair trial for my life.”

The culprits gained nothing by the moderation of the Soli-citor General or by the impartiality of the Court: for the evi-dence was irresistible. The meaning of the papers seized byBillop was so plain that the dullest juryman could not misunder-stand it. Of those papers part was fully proved to be inPreston’s handwriting. Part was in Ashton’s handwriting: butthis the counsel for the prosecution had not the means of pro-ving. They therefore rested the case against Ashton on the in-disputable facts that the treasonable packet had been found inhis bosom, and that he had used language which was quite un-intelligible except on the supposition that he had a guilty know-ledge of the contents.**

Both Preston and Ashton were convicted and sentenced to

* Trial of Preston in the Collection of State Trials. A person who waspresent gives the following account of Somers’s opening speech: “In theopening the evidence, there was no affected exaggeration of matters, norostentation of a putid eloquence, one aftor another, as in former trials, likeso many geese cackling in a row’. Here was nothing besides fair matter offact, or natural and just reflections from thence arising.” The pamphletfrom which I quote these words is entitled, An Account of the late horridConspiracy by a Person who was present at the Trials, 1G91.

** State Trials,

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