\"but for her sake, fred, you surely will try and clear yourself of theexaggerated charges brought against you, even if the charge of mutinyitself be true. if there were to be a court-martial, and you could findyour witnesses, you might, at any rate, show how your disobedience toauthority was because that authority was unworthily exercised.\"

mr. hale roused himself up to listen to his son\"s answer.

\"in the first place, margaret, who is to hunt up my witnesses? all ofthem are sailors, drafted off to other ships, except those whose evidencewould go for very little, as they took part, or sympathised in the affair.

in the next place, allow me to tell you, you don\"t know what a court-martial is, and consider it as an assembly where justice is administered,instead of what it really is--a court where authority weighs nine-tenthsin the balance, and evidence forms only the other tenth. in such cases,evidence itself can hardly escape being influenced by the prestige ofauthority.\"

\"but is it not worth trying, to see how much evidence might bediscovered and arrayed on your behalf? at present, all those who knewyou formerly, believe you guilty without any shadow of excuse. youhāve never tried to justify yourself, and we hāve never known where toseek for proofs of your justification. now, for miss barbour\"s sake,make your conduct as clear as you can in the eye of the world. she maynot care for it; she has, i am sure, that trust in you that we all hāve; butyou ought not to let her ally herself to one under such a serious charge,without showing the world exactly how it is you stand. you disobeyedauthority--that was bad; but to hāve stood by, without word or act,while the authority was brutally used, would hāve been infinitely worse.

people know what you did; but not the motives that elevate it out of acrime into an heroic protection of the weak. for dolores\" sake, theyought to know.\"

\"but how must i make them know? i am not sufficiently sure of thepurity and justice of those who would be my judges, to give myself upto a court-martial, even if i could bring a whole array of truth-speakingwitnesses. i can\"t send a bellman about, to cry aloud and proclaim in thestreets what you are pleased to call my heroism. no one would read a

pamphlet of self-justification so long after the deed, even if i put oneout.\"

\"will you consult a lawyer as to your chances of exculpation?\" askedmargaret, looking up, and turning very red.

\"i must first catch my lawyer, and hāve a look at him, and see how i likehim, before i make him into my confidant. many a briefless barristermight twist his conscience into thinking, that he could earn a hundredpounds very easily by doing a good action--in giving me, a criminal, upto justice.\"

\"nonsense, frederick!--because i know a lawyer on whose honour i canrely; of whose cleverness in his profession people speak very highly;and who would, i think, take a good deal of trouble for any of--of auntshaw\"s relations mr. henry lennox, papa.\"

\"i think it is a good idea,\" said mr. hale. \"but don\"t propose anythingwhich will detain frederick in england. don\"t, for your mother\"s sake.\"

\"you could go to london to-morrow evening by a night-train,\"