The Colonel artistically paused after this thunderous denunciation.  The jury turned eagerly to the leaves of the hymn-books, but the larger gaze of the audience remained fixed upon the speaker and the girl, who sat in rapt admiration of his periods.  After the hush, the Colonel continued in a lower and sadder voice:  “There are, perhaps, few of us here, gentlemen,—­with the exception of the defendant,—­who can arrogate to themselves the title of regular church-goers, or to whom these humbler functions of the prayer-meeting, the Sunday-school, and the Bible-class are habitually familiar.  Yet”—­more solemnly—­“down in our hearts is the deep conviction of our shortcomings and failings, and a laudable desire that others, at least, should profit by the teachings we neglect.  Perhaps,” he continued, closing his eyes dreamily, “there is not a man here who does not recall the happy days of his boyhood, the rustic village spire, the lessons shared with some artless village maiden, with whom he later sauntered, hand in hand, through the woods, as the simple rhyme rose upon their lips,—­

     ’Always make it a point to have it a rule,
     Never to be late at the Sabbath-school.’

“He would recall the strawberry feasts, the welcome annual picnic, redolent with hunks of gingerbread and sarsaparilla.  How would they feel to know that these sacred recollections were now forever profaned in their memory by the knowledge that the defendant was capable of using such occasions to make love to the larger girls and teachers, whilst his artless companions were innocently—­the Court will pardon me for introducing what I am credibly informed is the local expression—­’doing gooseberry’?” The tremulous flicker of a smile passed over the faces of the listening crowd, and the Colonel slightly winced.  But he recovered himself instantly, and continued,—­

“My client, the only daughter of a widowed mother—­who has for years stemmed the varying tides of adversity, in the western precincts of this town—­stands before you to-day invested only in her own innocence.  She wears no—­er—­rich gifts of her faithless admirer—­is panoplied in no jewels, rings, nor mementos of affection such as lovers delight to hang upon the shrine of their affections; hers is not the glory with which Solomon decorated the Queen of Sheba, though the defendant, as I shall show later, clothed her in the less expensive flowers of the king’s poetry.  No, gentlemen!  The defendant exhibited in this affair a certain frugality of—­er—­pecuniary investment, which I am willing to admit may be commendable in his class.  His only gift was characteristic alike of his methods and his economy.  There is, I understand, a certain not unimportant feature of religious exercise known as ’taking a collection.’  The defendant, on this occasion, by the mute presentation of a tin plate covered with baize, solicited the pecuniary contributions of the faithful.  On approaching the plaintiff,