declared it,—­a judge should not be required to determine facts.  A new trial, were that possible, would be the proper remedy, if remedy were wanted; but as that was impossible, he would be driven to investigate such new evidence as was brought before him, and to pronounce what would, in truth, be another verdict.  All this was clear to Sir John; and he told himself that even Judge Bramber would not be able to deny that false evidence had been submitted to the jury.

Sir John, as he occupied his mind with the matter on the Thursday morning, did wake himself up to some generous energy on his client’s behalf,—­so that in sending the written statements of the case to the Home Secretary, he himself wrote a short but strongly-worded note.  ’As it is quite manifest,’ he said, ’that a certain amount of false and fraudulent circumstantial evidence has been brought into court by the witnesses who proved the alleged marriage, and as direct evidence has now come to hand on the other side which is very clear, and as far as we know trustworthy, I feel myself justified in demanding her Majesty’s pardon for my client.’

On the next day he went down to Birdseye Lodge, near Ipswich, and was quite enthusiastic on the matter with his friend Honybun.  ’I never knew Bramber go beyond a jury in my life,’ said Honybun.

’He’ll have to do it now.  They can’t keep him in prison when they find that the chief witness was manifestly perjured.  The woman swore on her oath that the letter reached her by post in May, 1873.  It certainly did not do so.  The cover, as we see it, has been fabricated since that date.’

‘I never thought the cover went for much,’ said Honybun.

’For very little,—­for nothing at all perhaps,—­till proved to be fraudulent.  If they had left the letter alone their case would have been strong enough for a conviction.  As it was, they were fools enough to go into a business of this sort; but they have done so, and as they have been found out, the falsehood which has been detected covers every word of their spoken evidence with suspicion.  It will be like losing so much of his heart’s blood, but the old fellow will have to give way.’

‘He never gave way in his life.’

‘We’ll make him begin.’

‘I’ll bet you a pony he don’t.’

‘I’ll take the bet,’ said the late Attorney-General.  But as he did so he looked round to see that not even a gamekeeper was near enough to hear him.

On that Friday Bagwax was in a very melancholy state of mind at his office, in spite of the brilliancy of his prospects with Miss Curlydown.  ‘I’ll just come back to my old work,’ he said to his future father-in-law.  ‘There’s nothing else for me to do.’

This was all as it should be, and would have been regarded a day or two ago by Curlydown as simple justice.  There had been quite enough of that pottering over an old envelope, to the manifest inconvenience of himself and others.  But now the matter was altered.  His was a paternal and an affectionate heart, and he saw very plainly the pecuniary advantage of a journey to Sydney.  And he knew too that, in official life as well as elsewhere, to those who have much, more is given.  Now that Bagwax was to him in the light of a son, he wished Bagwax to rise in the world.  ’I wouldn’t give it up,’ said he.