The Day of Judgment   By: Joseph Hocking (1860-1937)

by

JOSEPH HOCKING

With Frontispiece by Charles B. Buchel

[Frontispiece: "The two knelt . . . in the silence of the evening" ( see page 12).]

Cassell and Company, Ltd London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne 1915

DEDICATION

To T. HARTLEY ROBERTS, Esq., J.P.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I am dedicating this book to you, partly because when you read it in MS. you told me you liked it better than any story I have ever written; but more because, although words are at best utterly inadequate, I want to tell you that one of the things I value most in life is your friendship.

JOSEPH HOCKING.

PRIOR'S CORNER, TOTTERIDGE.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

PROLOGUE 1. A LEGACY OF HATE 2. PAUL BEGINS HIS WORK 3. PAUL IS SENT TO PRISON 4. PAUL MEETS MARY BOLITHO 5. PAUL'S MADNESS 6. PAUL GOES TO SCOTLAND 7. THE FIGHT AND THE RESULT 8. THE COMING OF PAUL'S MOTHER 9. THE SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 10. THE NEW MEMBER FOR BRUNFORD 11. PAUL'S DARING 12. A NIGHT OF DOOM 13. HOW MARY BOLITHO RECEIVED THE NEWS 14. PAUL IS APPREHENDED FOR MURDER 15. THE CORONER'S INQUEST 16. AWAITING THE TRIAL 17. THE LOVERS 18. THE FIRST DAY OF THE TRIAL 19. PAUL DISCOVERS HIS FATHER 20. MAN AND WIFE 21. TRAVAIL 22. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT 23. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT ( continued ) 24. FATHER AND SON 25. MR. JUSTICE BRANSCOMBE 26. PAUL'S DEFENCE 27. THE VERDICT 28. PAUL'S MOTHER AND MARY 29. MARY'S ACCUSATION 30. THE TESTIMONY OF ARCHIE FEARN 31. EZEKIEL ASHWORTH, HERBALIST 32. IN THE CONDEMNED CELL 33. THE HOME COMING 34. JUDGE BOLITHO'S CONFESSION

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

PROLOGUE

Three young men sat in an old inn not far from the borderline which divides England from Scotland. They were out on a holiday, and for more than two weeks had been tramping northward. Beginning at the Windermere Lakes, they had been roaming amidst the wild mountainous scenery which is the pride and joy of all lovers of beauty who dwell in that district. For two of them the holiday had practically come to an end, and now, smoking their pipes after dinner in the old inn, they were reviewing their experiences.

"I envy you, Douglas," said one whose holiday was practically finished. "We have to get back to work but you have yet nearly three weeks before getting into harness again. It must be glorious, too, this going into Scotland."

"Yes," said the other, "and somehow Scotland is different from England. I believe, if I knew nothing about the geography of the district, that directly I put my foot on Scottish soil I should know it. Everything is different there: the outlook on life, the customs, the laws and the prevailing sentiments of the people. Why, we cannot be far from Gretna Green now think of the scenes which took place around here a few years ago!"

"Have the laws changed much in relation to marriage?" asked the first speaker. "You are studying for the Bar, Douglas, you ought to know."

The young man who had not yet spoken was different from the others. He was cast in a more intellectual mould, and, although bronzed by the sun and wind of the Cumberland Hills, his demeanour suggested the student.

"I really don't know much about Scottish laws," he replied, "they are so different from those of England. It is wonderful how people living so close together could have framed laws so entirely dissimilar. Of course, marriage laws have been a curious business both in England and Scotland. Before Lord Hardwicke's Act the marriage arrangements in England were very peculiar, but with that Act things took a different course. In Scotland, however, I believe they remained pretty nearly the same as before. As a matter of fact, marriage in Scotland is very difficult to define."

"In what way?"