--but the backs of her hands were lacerated, and the question was,
was it with finger-nails? Now, Mr. Jaggers showed that she had
struggled through a great lot of brambles which were not as high
as her face; but which she could not have got through and kept her
hands out of; and bits of those brambles were actually found in
her skin and put in evidence, as well as the fact that the brambles
in question were found on examination to have been broken
through, and to have little shreds of her dress and little spots of
blood upon them here and there. But the boldest point he made,
was this. It was attempted to be set up in proof of her jealousy,
that she was under strong suspicion of having, at about the time
of the murder, frantically destroyed her child by this man--some
three years old--to revenge herself upon him. Mr. Jaggers worked
that, in this way. "We say these are not marks of finger-nails, but
marks of brambles, and we show you the brambles. You say they
are marks of fingernails, and you set up the hypothesis that she
destroyed her child. You must accept all consequences of that
hypothesis. For anything we know, she may have destroyed her
child, and the child in clinging to her may have scratched her
hands. What then? You are not trying her for the murder of her
child; why don't you? As to this case, if you will have scratches,
we say that, for anything we know, you may have accounted for
them, assuming for the sake of argument that you have not in-
vented them?" To sum up, sir,' said Wemmick, ' Mr. Jaggers was
altogether too many for the Jury, and they gave in.'

'Has she been in his service ever since?'

'Yes; but not only that,' said Wemmick, 'she went into his ser-
vice immediately after her acquittal, tamed as she is now. She has
since been taught one thing and anher in the way of her duties,
but she was tamed from the beginning.'

'Do you remember the sex of the child?'

'Said to have been a girl.'

'You have nothing more to say to me to-night?'

'Nothing. I got your letter and destroyed it. Nothing.'

We exchanged a cordial Good-Night, and I went home, with
new matter for my thoughts, though with no relief from the old.

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