During some parts of his speech, which occupied an hour and a half, men at times leaned from all parts of the room towards him, open-eyed and open-mouthed.  At others they swayed gently to and fro, like tree tops in a breeze; and when he sat down, the oldest at the bar—­the President on the bench—­felt that it was among the best speeches they had ever heard, if not the best.  The youthfulness of the orator of course enhanced its effect.  It had some faults of redundancy, both of words and imagery, but its tone and manner were admirable.  At times his delivery was very rapid and vehement, but his voice, always rich and full, never broke, or seemed strained; while in the moments of excitement, every nerve and fibre of his form quivered with the intensity of his emotion.  His form was lithe and elastic, and admitted of easy, rapid and forcible action, which was never more than was allowable to one of his passionate temperament.

When he closed, almost everybody supposed the case was ended.  Wade arose with a radiant face, and said the defense rested the argument on that which had just been delivered.

Kelly was taken by surprise again, both by the quality and force of Bart’s speech, and the submission of the case.  The first carried him off his feet, and he hoped to recover during the delivery of another on the same side.  He was a good chancery and real estate lawyer, but he was not the man to reply to Barton’s argument.  He followed him, however—­that is, he spoke after him, and on the other side, for a half hour, and submitted the case.

The Court gave the case to the jury on the law, as the defense claimed it.  Indeed there was no dispute about the law.  He explained fully and clearly the case, which arose on the defense; and saying, in a very graceful and gracious way, that the merits of the case had been presented with a force and beauty rarely equalled, and which might tend to aid the jury in coming to their conclusion, he submitted it to them, and took a recess for dinner.

At the recess, the lawyers crowded about Bart to congratulate him for his defense, among whom Kelly was the foremost.  Judge Markham came up, and with moisture in his eyes, took him by both hands and drew him away to Judge Humphrey, who complimented him in the highest terms, and insisted upon his dining with him, which invitation Bart accepted.  The Judge was as much taken with his modest, quiet, gentlemanly manners, and quick, happy wit, as with his splendid speech in the court room.  The fact was, his exertions had fully awakened his intellectual forces, and they were all in the field, armed and with blades drawn.  He could not eat, and never drank, save water or milk; and now between the two Judges, and surrounded by lawyers, with a glass of milk and a plate of honey, petted and lionized for the moment, he gave himself up to sparkling and brilliant answers to the numerous questions and remarks addressed to him, and showed that, whatever draft had been made upon him, he had plenty of resources in reserve.