Amelia | Page 9

with
beating the watchman in the execution of his office and breaking his
lanthorn. This was deposed by two witnesses; and the shattered remains
of a broken lanthorn, which had been long preserved for the sake of its
testimony, were produced to corroborate the evidence. The justice,
perceiving the criminal to be but shabbily drest, was going to commit
him without asking any further questions. At length, however, at the
earnest request of the accused, the worthy magistrate submitted to hear
his defence. The young man then alledged, as was in reality the case,

"That as he was walking home to his lodging he saw two men in the
street cruelly beating a third, upon which he had stopt and endeavoured
to assist the person who was so unequally attacked; that the watch came
up during the affray, and took them all four into custody; that they were
immediately carried to the round-house, where the two original
assailants, who appeared to be men of fortune, found means to make up
the matter, and were discharged by the constable, a favour which he
himself, having no money in his pocket, was unable to obtain. He
utterly denied having assaulted any of the watchmen, and solemnly
declared that he was offered his liberty at the price of half a crown."
Though the bare word of an offender can never be taken against the
oath of his accuser, yet the matter of this defence was so pertinent, and
delivered with such an air of truth and sincerity, that, had the magistrate
been endued with much sagacity, or had he been very moderately gifted
with another quality very necessary to all who are to administer justice,
he would have employed some labour in cross- examining the
watchmen; at least he would have given the defendant the time he
desired to send for the other persons who were present at the affray;
neither of which he did. In short, the magistrate had too great an honour
for truth to suspect that she ever appeared in sordid apparel; nor did he
ever sully his sublime notions of that virtue by uniting them with the
mean ideas of poverty and distress.
There remained now only one prisoner, and that was the poor man
himself in whose defence the last-mentioned culprit was engaged. His
trial took but a very short time. A cause of battery and broken lanthorn
was instituted against him, and proved in the same manner; nor would
the justice hear one word in defence; but, though his patience was
exhausted, his breath was not; for against this last wretch he poured
forth a great many volleys of menaces and abuse.
The delinquents were then all dispatched to prison under a guard of
watchmen, and the justice and the constable adjourned to a
neighbouring alehouse to take their morning repast.

Chapter iii.
_Containing the inside of a prison._
Mr. Booth (for we shall not trouble you with the rest) was no sooner
arrived in the prison than a number of persons gathered round him, all
demanding garnish; to which Mr. Booth not making a ready answer, as
indeed he did not understand the word, some were going to lay hold of
him, when a person of apparent dignity came up and insisted that no
one should affront the gentleman. This person then, who was no less
than the master or keeper of the prison, turning towards Mr. Booth,
acquainted him that it was the custom of the place for every prisoner
upon his first arrival there to give something to the former prisoners to
make them drink. This, he said, was what they call garnish, and
concluded with advising his new customer to draw his purse upon the
present occasion. Mr. Booth answered that he would very readily
comply with this laudable custom, was it in his power; but that in
reality he had not a shilling in his pocket, and, what was worse, he had
not a shilling in the world.--"Oho! if that be the case," cries the keeper,
"it is another matter, and I have nothing to say." Upon which he
immediately departed, and left poor Booth to the mercy of his
companions, who without loss of time applied themselves to uncasing,
as they termed it, and with such dexterity, that his coat was not only
stript off, but out of sight in a minute.
Mr. Booth was too weak to resist and too wise to complain of this
usage. As soon, therefore, as he was at liberty, and declared free of the
place, he summoned his philosophy, of which he had no inconsiderable
share, to his assistance, and resolved to make himself as easy as
possible under his present circumstances.
Could his own thoughts indeed have suffered him a moment to forget
where he was,