Phineas Redux

by Anthony Trollope

  CHAPTER LVII.

  THE BEGINNING OF THE SEARCH FOR THE KEY AND THE COAT.

  When Madame Goesler revealed her plans and ideas to Mr. Wickerby,the attorney, who had been employed to bring Phineas Finn throughhis troubles, that gentleman evidently did not think much of theunprofessional assistance which the lady proposed to give him. "I'mafraid it is far-fetched, Ma'am,--if you understand what I mean,"said Mr. Wickerby. Madame Goesler declared that she understood verywell what Mr. Wickerby meant, but that she could hardly agree withhim. "According to that the gentleman must have plotted the murdermore than a month before he committed it," said Mr. Wickerby.

  "And why not?"

  "Murder plots are generally the work of a few hours at thelongest, Madame Goesler. Anger, combined with an indifference toself-sacrifice, does not endure the wear of many days. And the objecthere was insufficient. I don't think we can ask to have the trial putoff in order to find out whether a false key may have been made inPrague."

  "And you will not look for the coat?"

  "We can look for it, and probably get it, if the woman has not liedto you; but I don't think it will do us any good. The woman probablyis lying. You have been paying her very liberally, so that she hasbeen making an excellent livelihood out of the murder. No jury wouldbelieve her. And a grey coat is a very common thing. After all, itwould prove nothing. It would only let the jury know that Mr. Meagerhad a grey coat as well as Mr. Finn. That Mr. Finn wore a grey coaton that night is a fact which we can't upset. If you got hold ofMeager's coat you wouldn't be a bit nearer to proof that Emilius hadworn it."

  "There would be the fact that he might have worn it."

  "Madame Goesler, indeed it would not help our client. You see whatare the difficulties in our way. Mr. Finn was on the spot at themoment, or so near it as to make it certainly possible that he mighthave been there. There is no such evidence as to Emilius, even if hecould be shown to have had a latch-key. The man was killed by such aninstrument as Mr. Finn had about him. There is no evidence that Mr.Emilius had such an instrument in his hand. A tall man in a grey coatwas seen hurrying to the spot at the exact hour. Mr. Finn is a tallman and wore a grey coat at the time. Emilius is not a tall man, and,even though Meager had a grey coat, there is no evidence to showthat Emilius ever wore it. Mr. Finn had quarrelled violently withMr. Bonteen within the hour. It does not appear that Emilius everquarrelled with Mr. Bonteen, though Mr. Bonteen had exerted himselfin opposition to Emilius."

  "Is there to be no defence, then?"

  "Certainly there will be a defence, and such a defence as I thinkwill prevent any jury from being unanimous in convicting my client.Though there is a great deal of evidence against him, it is all--whatwe call circumstantial."

  "I understand, Mr. Wickerby."

  "Nobody saw him commit the murder."

  "Indeed no," said Madame Goesler.

  "Although there is personal similarity, there is no personalidentity. There is no positive proof of anything illegal on hispart, or of anything that would have been suspicious had no murderbeen committed,--such as the purchase of poison, or carryingof a revolver. The life-preserver, had no such instrument beenunfortunately used, might have been regarded as a thing of custom."

  "But I am sure that that Bohemian did murder Mr. Bonteen," saidMadame Goesler, with enthusiasm.

  "Madame," said Mr. Wickerby, holding up both his hands, "I can onlywish that you could be upon the jury."

  "And you won't try to show that the other man might have done it?"

  "I think not. Next to an alibi that breaks down;--you know what analibi is, Madame Goesler?"

  "Yes, Mr. Wickerby; I know what an alibi is."

  "Next to an alibi that breaks down, an unsuccessful attempt to affixthe fault on another party is the most fatal blow which a prisoner'scounsel can inflict upon him. It is always taken by the jury as somuch evidence against him. We must depend altogether on a differentline of defence."

  "What line, Mr. Wickerby?"

  "Juries are always unwilling to hang,"--Madame Goesler shudderedas the horrid word was broadly pronounced,--"and are apt to thinkthat simply circumstantial evidence cannot be suffered to demandso disagreeable a duty. They are peculiarly averse to hanging agentleman, and will hardly be induced to hang a member of Parliament.Then Mr. Finn is very good-looking, and has been popular,--whichis all in his favour. And we shall have such evidence on the scoreof character as was never before brought into one of our courts.We shall have half the Cabinet. There will be two dukes." MadameGoesler, as she listened to the admiring enthusiasm of the attorneywhile he went on with his list, acknowledged to herself that herdear friend, the Duchess, had not been idle. "There will be threeSecretaries of State. The Secretary of State for the Home Departmenthimself will be examined. I am not quite sure that we mayn't get theLord Chancellor. There will be Mr. Monk,--about the most popular manin England,--who will speak of the prisoner as his particular friend.I don't think any jury would hang a particular friend of Mr. Monk's.And there will be ever so many ladies. That has never been donebefore, but we mean to try it." Madame Goesler had heard all this,and had herself assisted in the work. "I rather think we shall getfour or five leading members of the Opposition, for they all dislikedMr. Bonteen. If we could manage Mr. Daubeny and Mr. Gresham, I thinkwe might reckon ourselves quite safe. I forgot to say that the Bishopof Barchester has promised."

  "All that won't prove his innocence, Mr. Wickerby." Mr. Wickerbyshrugged his shoulders. "If he be acquitted after that fashion menthen will say--that he was guilty."

  "We must think of his life first, Madame Goesler," said the attorney.

  Madame Goesler when she left the attorney's room was veryill-satisfied with him. She desired some adherent to her cause whowould with affectionate zeal resolve upon washing Phineas Finn whiteas snow in reference to the charge now made against him. But no manwould so resolve who did not believe in his innocence,--as MadameGoesler believed herself. She herself knew that her own belief wasromantic and unpractical. Nevertheless, the conviction of the guiltof that other man, towards which she still thought that much couldbe done if that coat were found and the making of a secret key wereproved, was so strong upon her that she would not allow herselfto drop it. It would not be sufficient for her that Phineas Finnshould be acquitted. She desired that the real murderer should behung for the murder, so that all the world might be sure,--as shewas sure,--that her hero had been wrongfully accused.

  "Do you mean that you are going to start yourself?" the Duchess saidto her that same afternoon.

  "Yes, I am."

  "Then you must be very far gone in love, indeed."

  "You would do as much, Duchess, if you were free as I am. It isn't amatter of love at all. It's womanly enthusiasm for the cause one hastaken up."

  "I'm quite as enthusiastic,--only I shouldn't like to go to Prague inJune."

  "I'd go to Siberia in January if I could find out that that horridman really committed the murder."

  "Who are going with you?"

  "We shall be quite a company. We have got a detective policeman, andan interpreter who understands Czech and German to go about with thepoliceman, and a lawyer's clerk, and there will be my own maid."

  "Everybody will know all about it before you get there."

  "We are not to go quite together. The policeman and the interpreterare to form one party, and I and my maid another. The poor clerk isto be alone. If they get the coat, of course you'll telegraph to me."

  "Who is to have the coat?"

  "I suppose they'll take it to Mr. Wickerby. He says he doesn't wantit,--that it would do no good. But I think that if we could show thatthe man might very easily have been out of the house,--that he hadcertainly provided himself with means of getting out of the housesecretly,--the coat would be of service. I am going at any rate; andshall be in Paris to-morrow morning."

  "I think it very grand of you, my dear; and for your sake I hopehe may live to be Prime Minister. Perhaps, after all, he may givePlantag
enet his 'Garter.'"

  When the old Duke died, a Garter became vacant, and had of coursefallen to the gift of Mr. Gresham. The Duchess had expected thatit would be continued in the family, as had been the Lieutenancyof Barsetshire, which also had been held by the old Duke. But theGarter had been given to Lord Cantrip, and the Duchess was sore. Withall her Radical propensities and inclination to laugh at dukes andmarquises, she thought very much of Garters and Lieutenancies;--buther husband would not think of them at all, and hence there werewords between them. The Duchess had declared that the Duke shouldinsist on having the Garter. "These are things that men do not askfor," the Duke had said.

  "Don't tell me, Plantagenet, about not asking. Everybody asks foreverything nowadays."

  "Your everybody is not correct, Glencora. I never yet asked foranything,--and never shall. No honour has any value in my eyes unlessit comes unasked." Thereupon it was that the Duchess now suggestedthat Phineas Finn, when Prime Minister, might perhaps bestow a Garterupon her husband.

  And so Madame Goesler started for Prague with the determinationof being back, if possible, before the trial began. It was to becommenced at the Old Bailey towards the end of June, and peoplealready began to foretell that it would extend over a very longperiod. The circumstances seemed to be simple; but they whounderstood such matters declared that the duration of a trialdepended a great deal more on the public interest felt in the matterthan upon its own nature. Now it was already perceived that notrial of modern days had ever been so interesting as would be thistrial. It was already known that the Attorney-General, Sir GregoryGrogram, was to lead the case for the prosecution, and that theSolicitor-General, Sir Simon Slope, was to act with him. It had beenthought to be due to the memory and character of Mr. Bonteen, whowhen he was murdered had held the office of President of the Board ofTrade, and who had very nearly been Chancellor of the Exchequer, thatso unusual a task should be imposed on these two high legal officersof the Government. No doubt there would be a crowd of juniors withthem, but it was understood that Sir Gregory Grogram would himselftake the burden of the task upon his own shoulders. It was declaredeverywhere that Sir Gregory did believe Phineas Finn to be guilty,but it was also declared that Sir Simon Slope was convinced he wasinnocent. The defence was to be entrusted to the well-practisedbut now aged hands of that most experienced practitioner Mr.Chaffanbrass, than whom no barrister living or dead ever rescued moreculprits from the fangs of the law. With Mr. Chaffanbrass, who quitelate in life had consented to take a silk gown, was to be associatedMr. Serjeant Birdbolt,--who was said to be employed in order that thecase might be in safe hands should the strength of Mr. Chaffanbrassfail him at the last moment; and Mr. Snow, who was supposed to handlea witness more judiciously than any of the rising men, and thatsubtle, courageous, eloquent, and painstaking youth, Mr. Golightly,who now, with no more than ten or fifteen years' practice, wasalready known to be earning his bread and supporting a wife andfamily.

  But the glory of this trial would not depend chiefly on the array ofcounsel, nor on the fact that the Lord Chief Justice himself would bethe judge, so much as on the social position of the murdered man andof the murderer. Noble lords and great statesmen would throng thebench of the court to see Phineas Finn tried, and all the world whocould find an entrance would do the same to see the great statesmenand the noble lords. The importance of such an affair increaseslike a snowball as it is rolled on. Many people talk much, and thenvery many people talk very much more. The under-sheriffs of theCity, praiseworthy gentlemen not hitherto widely known to fame,became suddenly conspicuous and popular, as being the dispensers ofadmissions to seats in the court. It had been already admitted byjudges and counsel that sundry other cases must be postponed, becauseit was known that the Bonteen murder would occupy at least a week. Itwas supposed that Mr. Chaffanbrass would consume a whole day at thebeginning of the trial in getting a jury to his mind,--a matter onwhich he was known to be very particular,--and another whole day atthe end of the trial in submitting to the jury the particulars of allthe great cases on record in which circumstantial evidence was knownto have led to improper verdicts. It was therefore understood thatthe last week in June would be devoted to the trial, to the exclusionof all other matters of interest. When Mr. Gresham, hard pressed byMr. Turnbull for a convenient day, offered that gentleman Thursday,the 24th of June, for suggesting to the House a little propositionof his own with reference to the English Church establishment, Mr.Turnbull openly repudiated the offer, because on that day the trialof Phineas Finn would be commenced. "I hope," said Mr. Gresham, "thatthe work of the country will not be impeded by that unfortunateaffair." "I am afraid," said Mr. Turnbull, "that the right honourablegentleman will find that the member for Tankerville will on thatday monopolise the attention of this House." The remark was thoughtto have been made in very bad taste, but nobody doubted its truth.Perhaps the interest was enhanced among politicians by the existencevery generally of an opinion that though Phineas Finn had murderedMr. Bonteen, he would certainly be acquitted. Nothing could thenprevent the acquitted murderer from resuming his seat in the House,and gentlemen were already beginning to ask themselves after whatfashion it would become them to treat him. Would the Speaker catchhis eye when he rose to speak? Would he still be "Phineas" to thevery large number of men with whom his general popularity had madehim intimate? Would he be cold-shouldered at the clubs, and treatedas one whose hands were red with blood? or would he become morepopular than ever, and receive an ovation after his acquittal?

  In the meantime Madame Goesler started on her journey for Prague.