The magistrates, who were all of them old friends of Signor Fortini,
and to each of whom he had spoken, separately on the subject, had
seemed to find no difficulty in understanding, that it was very
natural under all the circumstances, that the Marchese should have
been terribly affected, both in body and mind, by the late events.
It had been suggested to them by the lawyer, that it would be well
to avoid, as far as possible, anything that should make it necessary
for the Marchese to speak at all, even in saluting him on his
entrance. When therefore, just after the court had assembled, the
Marchese, trembling and shivering in every limb, was led in by the
little door that opened close behind the seat he was to occupy, the
magistrates contented themselves with rising and bowing to him in
silence. The court, as might have been expected, was very full; and
it was impossible to prevent a very marked and audible manifestation
of the shock produced upon the spectators by the changed appearance
of one so well known to them from running through the crowd.
Even in the territories of the Pope, a criminal court is in these
days an open and public one. There is no jury, and the criminal, or
suspected person, may be subjected to any amount of examination on
oath. But, in other respects, the method of procedure is not very
dissimilar from our own.
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