Beneath
a cocked hat his hair was fully dressed and powdered, and even the
prosecuting counsel assailed him with the respect due to a man of
fashion. The fellow's magnificence was thrown into relief by the squalor
of his accomplice. For George Smith had neither the money nor the taste
to disguise himself as a polished rogue, and he huddled as far from his
master as he could in the rags of his mean estate. Nor from this moment
did Brodie ever abate one jot of his dignity. He faced his accusers with
a clear eye and a frigid amiability; he listened to his sentence with
a calm contempt; he laughed complacently at the sorry interludes of
judicial wit; and he faced the last music with a bravery and a cynicism
which bore the stamp of true greatness.
It was not until after his crime that Brodie's heroism approved itself.
And even then his was a triumph not of skill but of character. Always a
gentleman in manner and conduct, he owed the success and the failure
of his life to this one quality. When in flight he made for Flushing
on board the Endeavour, the other passengers, who knew not his name,
straightway christened him 'the gentleman.' The enterprise itself would
have been impossible to one less persuasively gifted, and its proper
execution is a tribute to the lofty quality of his mind. There was he
in London, a stranger and a fugitive; yet instead of crawling furtively
into a coal-barge he charters a ship, captures the confidence of the
captain, carries the other passengers to Flushing, when they were bound
for Leith, and compels every one to confess his charm! The thief, also,
found him irresistible; and while the game lasted, the flash kens of
Edinburgh murmured the Deacon's name in the hushed whisper of respect.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187