I was engaged in the Brighton card-sharping case, upon which so much stress was laid by the Claimant as proving his identity with Roger Tichborne, Roger not having been in the matter at all.  I was counsel for one of the persons, the notorious Johnny Broom, who was indicted for fraud, and whose trial ought to have come on before Lord Chief Justice Jervis.  He was not a good Judge, so far as the defendant was concerned, to try such a case, and that being Johnny’s opinion, he absconded from his bail.  The Lord Chief Justice had a great knowledge of card-sharping and of all other rogueries, so that he was an apt man to deal with delinquents who practised them.  Conviction before him would have been certain in this case.  He was, in fact, waiting for Johnny, as it was a case of great roguery, and intended to deal severely with him.

You may imagine, then, how angry he was when he heard that his man had flown.  But there was one consolation:  the Broom gang consisted of a number of men who acted on all occasions as confederates when the frauds were practised.  Two of these rogues were also indicted, and placed on their trial at this assize.

A Mr. Johnson appeared for the prosecution, and in opening the case for the Crown, in order to show his uncommon fairness, was so impartial as to state that he could find no ground of complaint in respect of the cards, which, he said, had been most carefully examined by the Brighton magistrates.

Who these Brighton magistrates were I never heard, but probably they were gentlemen who knew nothing of sharpers and their ways, and whose only experience of cards was a quiet rubber with the ladies of their household.  However, such was their unanimous opinion, and upon it the counsel for the Crown informed the Lord Chief Justice that he had no case so far as the fairness of the cards was concerned.

The Lord Chief Justice saw in a moment the importance of that admission on the part of the prosecution.  If that were accepted the case was gone, since the fraud for which these men were indicted could not have been perpetrated by honest cards.

“The Brighton magistrates!” said the Chief Justice, with becoming emphasis.  “Give me the cards; I should like to have a look at them.”

They were handed up, and then a little scene took place which was picturesque and instructive.  The Judge took up the cards one by one after carefully wiping and adjusting his glasses to his nose, while his confidential clerk leant over his shoulder with clerk-like familiarity.  Having scrutinized them with the minutest observation, Jervis packed them up, and, turning to Mr. Johnson, said,—­

“Mr. Johnson, I will show you how the trick was done.  If you will take that card”—­handing him one from the pack “—­you will see that to the ordinary eye there is nothing to attract your attention.  That is precisely as it should be in all games of cheating, for if every fool could see the private marks the rogues could not carry on their calling.”