Bart Ridgeley: A Story of Northern OhioRiddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin)
General
Bart Ridgeley: A Story of Northern Ohio
Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin)
Ohio -- Fiction
At the recess, the lawyers crowded about Bart to congratulate him for
his defense, among whom Kelly was the foremost. Judge Markham came
up, and with moisture in his eyes, took him by both hands and drew him
away to Judge Humphrey, who complimented him in the highest terms, and
insisted upon his dining with him, which invitation Bart accepted. The
Judge was as much taken with his modest, quiet, gentlemanly manners,
and quick, happy wit, as with his splendid speech in the court room.
The fact was, his exertions had fully awakened his intellectual
forces, and they were all in the field, armed and with blades drawn.
He could not eat, and never drank, save water or milk; and now between
the two Judges, and surrounded by lawyers, with a glass of milk and a
plate of honey, petted and lionized for the moment, he gave himself
up to sparkling and brilliant answers to the numerous questions and
remarks addressed to him, and showed that, whatever draft had been
made upon him, he had plenty of resources in reserve.
Upon a return to the court house, at half past one, the jury, who had
made up and sealed their verdict, were called; it was opened and
read, and as anticipated, was for the defendant. This announcement was
received with scarcely suppressed applause. The verdict was recorded
by the clerk, and in due time followed by the judgment of the Court,
and so ended Fisk _vs_. Cole. Cole went out of the court room, with
one exception, the most observed man in the crowd.
Very naturally Barton and his last performance was the common theme
of conversation in the region round about for many days. All over
Newbury, as witnesses and other spectators returned, the whole thing
was talked over, with such various eulogies as suited the exaggerated
estimate his various admirers put upon his merits.
"What do you say now?" said Uncle Jonah to Uncle Josh, as the two had
just listened to an account of the trial, in Parker's bar room.
"It does beat hell amazingly!" answered that accomplished rhetorician.
"What did I tell you?" said Jo, at Jugville, to Uncle Cal, and that
set.
"Oh, I was there," said Uncle Cal. "I always said, ever since the
trial here, that he had the stuff in him. But he went beyond anything
I ever hearn," and Uncle Cal relapsed into admiring silence.
CHAPTER XLIX.
WAITING.
Julia sat alone that evening in an elegantly, and, for that day,
luxuriously furnished room, around which she had many times glanced,
and in which her own hands had several times arranged and re-arranged
the various articles. There was a bed in the room, which was large
and airy, a vase filled with wild and hot-house flowers; yet it was
evidently not a lady's room, and unoccupied save at this moment by the
fair Julia, who with an abundance of color in her cheeks and lips, and
a liquid light in her eyes, was nevertheless pensive and seemingly not
quite at ease. She held two letters in her hands, which she many times
re-read. They ran as follows:
"CHARDON, Wednesday P.M.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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