Moth sat near by, looking pinched and meaner than ever, I thought, though his appearance was always inferior to that of other men. The cunning look he gave me from out his deep-set eyes when I glanced his way I pretended not to see, so greatly did I loathe the man. Looking beyond to the jury, I could not make them out, unless, indeed, they had the air of expecting a treat, for which pay was to be forthcoming, rather than having a duty to perform. Being men tanned in the sun and simple of habit, however, I could not tell. Mr. Promb, Uncle Job’s lawyer, sat beside Moth, and suffered greatly, I thought, in comparison with that saffron-faced and eager-eyed man. Otherwise he was wholesome to look upon, and without doubt much the better man of the two. If Uncle Job could but have had Mr. Lincoln to plead his cause, I mourned, as we sat waiting, there would then be no need to borrow trouble. His innocence would be made clear as noonday to every one by the honesty and God-like persuasiveness of his advocate. Alas! neither he nor any other fit person for occasion so great could be had, and Uncle Job must, perforce, suffer whatever fate befell him. Mr. Seymour had thought it greatly in Uncle Job’s favor that the trial was to be before Judge Douglas, a rising man, already much spoken of in the state because of the brilliancy of his mind and his vast comprehension of the world and its affairs. This truly great man was, at the time of which I speak, just beginning the wonderful career that for many years made him a power in the land and known of men far and near, all finally to culminate in his strivings after the presidency with Mr. Lincoln and his death at an early day thereafter. Of his greatness, however, soon to be proven in the Senate and elsewhere, only the more discerning had then, any inkling.[*] [*] The Statesman Gilbert Holmes here refers to was Stephen A. Douglas, called "The Little Giant" because of his sturdy form and the strength of his intellect. Judge Douglas was afterward for many years United States Senator from Illinois, and prominent in the politics of our country immediately preceding the great Civil War. In 1860 he was a candidate for President with Lincoln and Breckenridge, and upon the opening of the war, in 1861, generously came forward and offered Mr. Lincoln his support and that of his adherents. This act of unsolicited patriotism proved of incalculable benefit then and afterward to the President and the Union.—THE AUTHOR. With the arrival of the hour set apart, the clerk arose and called the trial, and loudly, as if the matter were unexpected and notice now given for the first time. No sooner did he cease and the prisoner had answered "Not guilty," than Moth arose, with great show of deference to the judge and jury.