I regret that Colonel Starbottle's effort, admirably characterised by the _Banner_ as "one of the most scathing and Junius-like gems of legal rhetoric ever known to the Californian Bar," has not been handed down to me _in extenso_. Substantially, however, it appeared that Colonel Starbottle had never before found himself in "so peculiar, so momentous, so--er--delicate a position. A position, sir--er--er--gentlemen, fraught with the deepest social, professional--er--er--he should not hesitate to say, upon his own personal responsibility, a position of the deepest political significance! Colonel Starbottle was aware that this statement might be deprecated--nay, even _assailed_ by some. But he did not retract that statement. Certainly not in the presence of that jury, in whose intelligent faces he saw--er--er--er--justice--inflexible justice!--er--er--mingled and--er--mixed with--with chivalrous instinct, and suffused with the characteristic--er--er--glow of--er--er--!" (I regret to add that at this supreme moment, as the Colonel was lightly waving away with his fat right hand the difficulties of rhetoric, a sepulchral voice audible behind the jury suggested "Robinson County whisky" as the origin of the phenomena the Colonel hesitated to describe. The judge smiled blandly and directed the deputy sheriff to preserve order. The deputy obeyed the mandate by looking over into the crowd behind the jury, and saying, in an audible tone, "You'd better dry up thar, Joe White, or git out o' that!" and the Colonel, undismayed, proceeded.) "He well understood the confidence placed by the defence in these gentlemen. He had reason to believe that an attempt would be made to show that this homicide was committed in accordance with certain--er--er--principles held by honourable men--that the act was retributive, and in defence of an invasion of domestic rights and the sanctity of wedlock. But he should show them its fallacy. He should show them that only a base pecuniary motive influenced the prisoner. He should show them--er--er--that the accused had placed himself, firstly, by his antecedent acts, and, secondly, by the manner of the later act, beyond the sympathies of honourable men. He should show them a previous knowledge of certain--er--er--indiscretions on the part of the prisoner's wife, and a condonation by the prisoner of those indiscretions, that effectually debarred the prisoner from the provisions of the code; he should show an inartistic, he must say, even on his own personal responsibility, a certain ungentlemanliness, in the manner of the crime that refused to clothe it with the--er--er--generous mantle of chivalry. The crime of which the prisoner was accused might have--er--er--been committed by a Chinaman or a nigger. Colonel Starbottle did not wish to be misunderstood. It was not in the presence of--er--Beauty--" (the Colonel paused, drew out his handkerchief, and gracefully waved it in the direction of the dusky Manuela and the