Long before the Lord Mayor, Sir Whittaker Ellis, took his seat on the Bench, every inch of standing space in the Justice Room was occupied.

Mr.Bradlaugh took a seat near Mr.Lickfold and frequently tendered us hints and advice.

Mr.Ramsey, Mr.Whittle, and I took our places in the dock as our names were called out by Mr.Gresham, the chief clerk of the court.
Our summons alleged that we unlawfully did publish, or caused to be published, certain blasphemous libels in a newspaper called the _Freethinker_, dated the 28th of May, 1882.
Mr.Maloney, who appeared for the prosecution, seemed fully impressed with the gravity of his position, and when he rose he had the air of a man who bore the responsibility of defending in his single person the honor, if not the very existence, of our national religion.

His first proceeding was very characteristic of a gentleman with such a noble task.

He attempted to hand in as evidence against us several numbers of the _Freethinker_ not mentioned in the summons, and these would have been at once admitted by the Lord Mayor, who was apparently used to accepting evidence in an extremely free and easy fashion, as is generally the case with the "great unpaid"; but Mr.Lickfold promptly intervened, and his lordship, seeing the necessity of carefulness, then held that it would be advisable to adhere to the one case that morning, and to take out fresh summonses for the other numbers.