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present at my trial, and that he had discovered a point of law, of which he hoped to avail himself so far as to obtain a revocation of my sentence; that he intended to submit this point to the judge who tried me, and had instructed him (Mr. Humphries,) to prepare a petition for the purpose, as it was Mr. Knapp's opinion that I ought not to have been capitally convicted; but that nothing could be done till after the close of the session, and I must receive the sentence of death as a matter of form; adding, that I might make myself perfectly easy, as there was no danger of my suffering. I now inquired of Mr. Humphries, of what nature was the point or objection in question; but this limb of the law, assuming an air of importance, answered that it would be useless to explain it to me, as, if he did, I should not comprehend it! I was, however, convinced it related to the absence of the porter who was present in Bilger's shop, and who ought to have attended my trial, for the reasons assigned in the preceding Chapter. I, therefore, smiled at the mean opinion he entertained of my understanding, but replied, that it was very well; I should depend on Mr. Knapp and on his (Mr. Humphries',) good offices: and here ended our interview. For brevity's sake, I shall inform the reader at once, that I never derived any benefit from the intimation conveyed to me by Humphries, although I several times wrote both to him and Mr. Knapp. But I rather think it was a
