The Star-Chamber, Volume 1 | Page 6

with clerks and counsel, he was sure of success,--the complaints being
so warily contrived, the examinations so adroitly framed, and the
interrogatories so numerous and perplexing, that the defendant, or
delinquent, as he was indifferently styled, was certain to be baffled and
defeated. "The sentences of this court," it has been said by one
intimately acquainted with its practice, and very favourably inclined to
it, "strike to the root of men's reputations, and many times of their
estates;" and, again, it was a rule with it, that the prosecutor "was ever
intended to be favoured." Knowing this as well as the high legal
authority from whom we have quoted, Sir Giles ever placed himself in
the favoured position, and, with the aid of this iniquitous tribunal,
blasted many a fair reputation, and consigned many a victim of its
injustice to the Fleet, there to rot till he paid him the utmost of his
demands, or paid the debt of nature.
In an age less corrupt and venal than that under consideration, such a
career could not have long continued without check. But in the time of
James the First, from the neediness of the monarch himself, and the
rapacity of his minions and courtiers and their satellites,--each striving
to enrich himself, no matter how--a thousand abuses, both of right and
justice, were tolerated or connived at, crime stalking abroad unpunished.
The Star-Chamber itself served the king as, in a less degree, it served
Sir Giles Mompesson, and others of the same stamp, as a means of
increasing his revenue; half the fines mulcted from those who incurred
its censure or its punishments being awarded to the crown. Thus nice

inquiries were rarely made, unless a public example was needed, when
the wrongdoer was compelled to disgorge his plunder. But this was
never done till the pear was fully ripe. Sir Giles, however, had no
apprehensions of any such result in his case. Like a sly fox, or rather
like a crafty wolf, he was too confident in his own cunning and
resources to fear being caught in such a trap.
His title was purchased, and he reaped his reward in the consequence it
gave him. Sir Francis Mitchell acted likewise; and it was about this
time that the connection between the worthy pair commenced. Hitherto
they had been in opposition, and though very different in temperament
and in modes of proceeding, they had one aim in common; and
recognizing great merit in each other, coupled with a power of mutual
assistance, they agreed to act in concert. Sir Francis was as cautious
and timid as Sir Giles was daring and inflexible: the one being the best
contriver of a scheme, and the other the fittest to carry it out. Sir
Francis trembled at his own devices and their possible consequences:
Sir Giles adopted his schemes, if promising, and laughed at the
difficulties and dangers that beset them. The one was the head; the
other the arm. Not that Sir Giles lacked the ability to weave as subtle a
web of deceit as his partner; but each took his line. It saved time. The
plan of licensing and inspecting taverns and hotels had originated with
Sir Francis, and very profitable it proved. But Sir Giles carried it out
much further than his partner had proposed, or thought prudent.
And they were as different in personal appearance, as in mental
qualities and disposition. Mompesson was the dashing eagle; Mitchell
the sorry kite. Sir Francis was weakly, emaciated in frame; much given
to sensual indulgence; and his body conformed to his timorous
organization. His shrunken shanks scarcely sufficed to support him; his
back was bent; his eyes blear; his head bald; and his chin, which was
continually wagging, clothed with a scanty yellow beard, shaped like a
stiletto, while his sandy moustachios were curled upward. He was
dressed in the extremity of the fashion, and affected the air of a young
court gallant. His doublet, hose, and mantle were ever of the gayest and
most fanciful hues, and of the richest stuffs; he wore a diamond brooch
in his beaver, and sashes, tied like garters, round his thin legs, which

were utterly destitute of calf. Preposterously large roses covered his
shoes; his ruff was a "treble-quadruple-dedalion;" his gloves richly
embroidered; a large crimson satin purse hung from his girdle; and he
was scented with powders and pulvilios. This withered coxcomb
affected the mincing gait of a young man; and though rather an object
of derision than admiration with the fair sex, persuaded himself they
were all captivated by him. The vast sums he so unjustly acquired did
not long remain in his possession, but were dispersed in ministering to
his follies and depravity. Timorous he was by nature, as we have said,
but cruel and