two friends of the defendant, Mr. Hickman, shall retire to the ante-room, that the sur geon may there make a careful and scientific examination of the wound in the back, that the question of the position of the body at the time the wound was inflicted may be definitely settled." The instructions of the court were promptly complied with, the individuals named retiring as directed. Their stay out was a brief one. The evi dence of the surgeon was then given in : "This bullet, your Honor" — holding it up between thumb and finger,— " was located, and easily extracted from its position, in the gentleman's back — a position which indi cates beyond doubt that it was fired into his body while he lay on the ground face down ward, where he had fallen from the force of the first shot fired by the defendant." At this a fierce whisper ran about the court-room. Men with darkened brows
shifted from one foot to the other. The Court scented the storm in the air, and spoke briefly : "Gentlemen of the jury, the case now rests with you." The jurors filed slowly out of the court room. In ten minutes they returned. "Has the honorable jury arrived at a de cision? " queried the Court. "We have, your Honor," replied the spokesman. " It is the verdict of this jury, that the defendant, Bud Hickman, is guilty of malicious and cowardly shooting; and it is directed that he shall be immediately conduct ed bya court officer, sixty paces from the court house door and there instructed to flee for his life,— and never to return to this county." The question of honor was settled. Hick man was conducted to the brow of a hill, and the way beyond and down the far side pointed out. With eyes downcast he moved silently and swiftly on, — a disgraced man.
CHINESE POLICE. Bv Andrew T. SlBBALD. IN so large and rich a realm as China, among swarms of keen-witted and covetous folks, free from any restraints of religion to an extent unparalleled elsewhere, crimes must be common. There are no trustworthy re turns on this head, or if there are, they have never yet come to the knowledge of the outer barbarians; but we may safely conclude that the Central Land is not more virtuous than her neighbors. The Pekin and provincial gazettes only tell, in fact, what the govern ment wishes to become known. Making all allowance for exaggeration and oriental loose ness of description, we may form a fair idea of the present condition of the criminal popu-
lation of the empire. Another source of infor mation is afforded by the petty police tribu nals of Canton, Shanghai, and other ports where Europeans trade. The amount of small theft is considerable, though scarcely so great as would be the case in a place of equal size on the shores of the Mediterranean, and instances of violence are remarkably few. Such seems to be the rule in China. The towns contain a due amount of tame cheats; but the bold, hectoring highwaymen, the truculent sea-robber, must be sought elsewhere. All along the Blue and Yellow rivers are found retail buccaneers, who hawk at a trifling quarry and fatten on slender prof
