As soon as the evidence for the Crown was closed, Mr Trevor rose in our hero's defence. He commenced by ridiculing the idea of trying a mere child upon so grave a charge, for a child the prisoner must have been at the time the offence was committed. "Look at him now, gentlemen of the jury; eight years ago the murder of the pedlar, Byres, took place; why, you may judge for yourselves whether he is now more than seventeen years of age; he could scarcely have held a gun at the time referred to." "The prisoner's age does not appear in the indictment," observed the judge. "May we ask his age, my lord?" demanded one of the jury. "The prisoner may answer the question if he pleases," replied the judge, "not otherwise; perhaps he may not yet be seventeen years, of age. Do you wish to state your age to the jury, prisoner?" "I have no objection, my lord," replied Joey, not regarding the shakes of the head of his counsel: "I was twenty-two last month." Mr Trevor bit his lips at this unfortunate regard for truth in our hero, and, after a time, proceeded, observing that the very candour of the prisoner, in not taking advantage of his youthful appearance to deceive the jury, ought to be a strong argument in his favour. Mr Trevor then continued to address the jury upon the vagueness of the evidence, and, as he proceeded, observed--"Now, gentlemen of the jury, if this case had been offered to me to give an opinion upon, I should, without any previous knowledge of the prisoner, have just come to the following conclusion--I should have said (and your intelligence and good sense will, I have no doubt, bear me out in this supposition), that, allowing that the pedlar, Byres, did receive his death by the prisoner's hand--I say, gentlemen, that _allowing_ such to have been the case, for I deny that it is borne out by the evidence--that it must have been _that_, at the sudden meeting with the pedlar, when the lad's conscience told him that what he was doing was wrong, that the gun of the prisoner was discharged unintentionally, and the consequence was fatal; I should then surmise, further, that the prisoner, frightened at the deed which he had unintentionally committed, had absconded upon the first impulse. That, gentlemen I believe to be the real state of the case; and what was more natural than that a child under such circumstances should have been frightened, and have attempted to evade the inquiry which must have eventually ensued?" "You state such to be your opinion, Mr Trevor; do you wish me to infer that the prisoner pleads such as his defence?" asked the judge. "My lord," replied Mr Trevor, in a hesitating way, "the prisoner has pleaded not guilty to the crime imputed to him." "That I am aware of, but I wish to know whether you mean to say that the prisoner's defence is, not having anything to do with the death of the pedlar, or upon the plea of his gun going off by accident?" "My lord, it is my duty to my client to make no admission whatever."