as soon as the commotion produced by that lamentable cry had subsided, mr. greveland began to question the prisoner.
“what is your name?” he asked.
the djaksa interpreted the question to the accused man in javanese. [418]
the prisoner with his head bent forward and his eyes steadfastly fixed on the floor replied:
“setrosmito, kandjeng toean.”
“where were you born?”
“at kaligaweh, kandjeng toean.”
“how old are you?”
“i don’t know, kandjeng toean.”
the djaksa turned to the clerk of the court and said, “put him down about forty years of age.”
there was, in reality, but little need for all this interrogatory; for the particulars had been already noted down during the course of the preliminary examinations. the questions were, in fact, put merely pro forma.
“where do you live?” continued the president.
“in the prison, kandjeng toean,” innocently answered the prisoner.
“aye! but i mean before you went to prison?”
“in the dessa kaligaweh, kandjeng toean.”
“setrosmito,” continued the president, “do you know why you have been brought here before us?”
“yes, kandjeng toean.”
“let us hear it then.”
“they tell me i have smuggled opium, and that i have killed a chinaman,” quietly replied the javanese, without so much as raising his eyes from the floor.
a murmur of indignation ran through the pandoppo at the apparent callousness of the reply.
“silence!” cried the president.
“silence in the court!” vociferated the usher.
“do you plead guilty to these charges?” asked mr. greveland.
the djaksa interpreted the question; but the prisoner hesitated—he seemed not to know what he ought to say. he cast a furtive sidelong glance at august van beneden, who reassured him by saying:
“speak up, setrosmito, speak up, tell the simple truth.”
“no, kandjeng toean,” said he, “i am not guilty of smuggling. i never touch the bedoedan. i have killed a chinaman because he ill-treated my child.”
the javanese spoke in a very low tone of voice—he was abashed before that large audience and before his chiefs. he spoke moreover in the javanese tongue, which hardly any one present could understand, so that his answer produced no impression whatever. [419]
“now, listen attentively, setrosmito,” said the president. “the charges against you, your own statements, and the evidence of the witnesses, will be read out to you.”
“yes, kandjeng toean.”
thereupon the clerk of the court rose, and in the sing-song monotonous tone of voice peculiar to his class, began to read all the depositions and the whole body of evidence which the preliminary examinations had produced. he read very fast, very indistinctly, and in so low a tone of voice that not a soul in the pandoppo, not even the president himself, who was seated close beside him, could understand what he said. the prisoner, of course, could not catch a single word; for the papers were all drawn up in malay, a language of which the simple dessa-labourer knows little or nothing. from time to time this dreamy flow of words was interrupted by the djaksa, whose duty it was to translate to the prisoner the more important parts of the case. but even the interpretation was got through at such a pace that it was very doubtful whether the prisoner was any the wiser for the djaksa’s translation.
he sat squatting on the floor without changing his attitude, and kept his eyes rivetted on one spot; his hands, fumbling the while at the skirts of his jacket, betrayed his extreme agitation. at every explanation of the djaksa, whether he understood it or not, he mumbled the invariable javanese answer:
“yes, kandjeng toean.”
this reading of the evidence was a most dreary and tedious business. even the members of the council at the table kept up a whispered conversation, which the president had repeatedly to interrupt with an impatient gesture and a stern look of displeasure.
the audience, however, did not confine themselves to mere whispers. no one spoke out aloud; but gradually there arose a humming and buzzing—an indescribable rumour, broken now and again by some lady’s giggle—which sadly interfered with the majesty of the law.
in vain did the usher exert the full power of his lungs. his shout of “silence” produced its effect for the moment; but it was only for the moment. the instant after the universal buzzing began again as if a huge swarm of bees had taken possession of the pandoppo.
“what an insufferable bore that clerk is to be sure!” simpered mrs. van gulpendam.
“he leaves the reading to his nose,” remarked mr. thomasz. [420]
“mind your chief does not hear you,” said one of the ladies.
“pray don’t tell him!” cried thomasz, “he does not know he talks through his gable—if he did, he might try and improve.”
“be quiet, mr. thomasz,” said laurentia, with a burst of laughter, “you really must not make us laugh so.”
“what? i, madam?” asked the clerk.
“you? of course. the resident calls you a dry comical fellow.”
“how, madam, do you mean to say the resident applies such terms to me?”
“yes, he does—don’t you like them?”
“madam,” replied the assistant-clerk, “professionally i cannot say that i do. just fancy, ladies,” he continued, turning to the others, “a comical clerk, who ever heard of such a thing?”
he uttered these words with a serio-comic air, so irresistibly droll, that the ladies fairly shook with suppressed laughter.
“oh—do hold your tongue, mr. thomasz!” laurentia at length managed to say, “you see how savagely mr. greveland is glaring at you.”
“what a time that mumbler takes to be sure!” said a voice almost aloud in the centre of the pandoppo.
“if one might only light a cigar to while away the time,” said another.
“or get a glass of bitters!”
“i was asking an oppasser just now to fetch me a glass of beer—my throat is as dry as a lime-kiln,” said another voice in an audible whisper.
“well—and did you get it?”
“don’t i wish i may get it? ‘not allowed, sir,’ was all i could get out of that canary-bird, who looked as black as a three days’ west monsoon.”
“shall we go to the club, it is close by?” asked another.
“yes, if i thought that muttering would last much longer.”
“silence! silence!” shouted the usher, “respect for the court!”
that respect for the court was all very well; but the good people of santjoemeh had gathered together for the sake of amusement, and they were being bored almost to death.
at length the clerk had got to the end of his dreary tale—at length the djaksa had, for the last time, said to the prisoner: “do you understand, setrosmito?” and at length, for the last [421]time, the latter had replied in his monotonous drone the same words:
“yes, kandjeng toean.”
then came the usual shuffling of feet and a general murmur of satisfaction which, however, the usher soon managed to subdue.
as soon as silence had been restored, the head djaksa rose from his chair and, in his capacity of public prosecutor, he began to open the case for the government.
his speech was remarkably well put together, and worked out with much skill and care; but it could have an interest only for those who knew nothing of the other side of the case.
it was, in fact, little more than a statement of what had occurred, strictly on the lines of the report of the bandoelan singomengolo.
the public prosecutor took the case of opium smuggling as conclusively proved. he dwelt at great length upon the cunning displayed in hiding the forbidden wares under the pandan-mat of the couch—the opium itself and the box which had contained it lay before him on the table as convincing proofs of the truth of what he advanced.
then, in very forcible words, he went on to dilate upon the craftiness of these opium smugglers; and tried to show how, in their endeavours to cheat the revenue, they gave evidence of much cleverness; but generally over-reached themselves and proved, by the tricks they employed, their utter want of honesty and moral sense.
mas wirio kesoemo waxed well-nigh eloquent when he pointed out how the passion for opium was, hand over hand, gaining ground in java; and how this debasing passion was promoted and fostered chiefly by the abominable smuggling trade. he dwelt, in glowing terms, upon the absolute necessity of repressing, by every means the law would allow, that dirty underhand traffic which was the fruitful source of so much misery.
“picture to yourselves,” he cried, “the amount of injury which this nefarious trade is inflicting upon the realm beyond the ocean, upon all india, and especially upon our own beloved island of java. think of the millions which are lost—the millions!—i might say the tens of millions, and then calculate the amount of good which these tens of millions might produce if they were allowed to flow quietly and without check into the national treasury!” [422]
at these words the djaksa, who up to that time had been addressing the members of the council, turned to the public, knowing well that this argumentum ad crumenam would tickle the public ear. and he was not mistaken. the audience consisted for the most part of dutchmen, and the tinkle of these tens of millions had a metallic sound which was strangely fascinating to the hearers. a distinct murmur of approbation arose, many a head nodded in silent assent and many a voice muttered:
“hear, hear! if we could but be delivered from that abominable smuggling!”
these evident tokens of sympathy did not escape the djaksa’s watchful eye, and mas wirio kesoemo did not let so favourable an opportunity pass without expressing the fervent hope that the judges would not fail, by their sentence in the present case, to crush the foul reptile which battened upon the national prosperity. he called upon them, therefore, to pass upon the prisoner, who not only sat there accused of the heinous crime of smuggling; but was charged also with the additional offence of murder, the heaviest sentence which the law would allow. by doing so, he added, they would earn for themselves the cordial thanks of the island of java, and establish a claim upon the gratitude of the entire dutch nation.
for a moment it seemed as if the greater part of the company assembled in the pandoppo, would have given vent to their feelings of satisfaction by cheering and clapping of hands—one cry of “bravo!” was distinctly heard; but the usher repressed all such manifestations with his repeated shout of “silence—silence in the court!”
the head djaksa now proceeded with the second part of his case against setrosmito, that, namely, of having murdered a chinese bandoelan; a charge which was inseparably connected with the former one of opium smuggling.
the entire assembly hung breathless on his lips, as he described how setrosmito had resisted the searching of his house; how, when the fatal box had been discovered, he had hurled an opprobrious name at singomengolo and called him a “dirty dog;” how he had, thereupon, seized his kris and how, when the chief bandoelan fled back in terror, he had flung himself upon an inoffensive and defenceless chinaman, and had drawn the wavy blade of his knife across his throat, while a stream of blood deluged murderer and victim alike. this description, graphic almost to brutality in its details, made a powerful impression [423]upon the audience. one of the ladies present screamed and fainted away, and had to be carried off insensible. this episode caused considerable commotion, and setrosmito cast an anxious glance behind him to see what was going on.
“silence! silence!” bawled the usher.
as soon as order had been, in some measure, restored, mas wirio kesoemo proceeded to dwell on the increasing temerity of the opium smugglers, who scrupled not to take a human life rather than risk the loss of their smuggled wares. he insisted upon the necessity of inflicting the extreme penalty for the protection of the police in the execution of their arduous duties; and he ended his speech by demanding that the murderer be condemned to death by hanging, or, if the defence could establish any extenuating circumstances, that the sentence should be at least twenty years of penal servitude with hard labour.
a deep silence reigned in the pandoppo as the djaksa resumed his seat, one might have heard a pin drop, so intensely was that frivolous crowd impressed by this fearful demand for a human life. a kind of spell lay upon all, every heart seemed compressed as in a vice. a general sigh of relief was heard when the president broke the silence:
“setrosmito,” asked mr. greveland, “have you heard what the public prosecutor has said?”
the prisoner looked up with a puzzled expression at the speaker; but he did not answer a word. the entire case had been conducted in malay, of which he did not understand a single word. the expression of the poor fellow’s face showed that plainly enough. the president repeated his question, which the djaksa, thereupon, interpreted to setrosmito. the prisoner cast one look upon august van beneden, and upon a nod from the latter, answered:
“yes, kandjeng toean.”
“have you anything to say in reply?” asked the president.
another look at his counsel, and then the prisoner answered:
“no, kandjeng toean.”
a cry of indignation and horror arose in the pandoppo at the seeming callousness of the answer.
“silence, gentlemen! silence in the court!” shouted the usher.
as soon as he could make himself heard, mr. greveland said:
“i call upon the counsel for the defence.”
“at length!” muttered grashuis, with a deep sigh. [424]
“now we shall hear something very fine!” cried mrs. van gulpendam, with a sneer; but in a voice quite loud enough to reach the young lawyer’s ears.
van beneden very calmly rose from his chair, wiped his forehead, and then, in a clear voice which could distinctly be heard through the entire pandoppo, he said:
“the trial which is now occupying the attention of this honourable court is one which is indigenous to the soil of java. i might say, indeed, that in no other spot in the world could such a case arise. there can be nothing simpler, nothing more plain than the demand of the prosecution! opium has been smuggled, some one must be punished for it. a man has lost his life, some one must hang for the murder. undoubtedly the law must have its course, and the criminal ought to be punished. we are living here in the east, in the home of the law of retaliation—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! this, gentlemen, is a hard law unworthy of our western civilisation; but against it we have the right of inquiry, and our milder code allows every accused man the right of defence. it is of this right of defence, that, in behalf of the unhappy man sitting there at your feet and awaiting his fate at your hands, i now intend to avail myself.
“now, if the facts were really such as the prosecution has represented them to be—why then there would be nothing for me to do than to commend the prisoner to the clemency of the court, or rather i should say, that i would not, in that case, have undertaken at all the defence of a cause which my conscience could not justify. i take, therefore, a totally different view of the matter; and am prepared to lay before you the grounds upon which i have arrived at a wholly different conclusion. i beg that you will lend me your attentive hearing.
“but, before entering into the details of this case,” continued the young lawyer, in a voice which clearly betrayed emotion, “allow me to pay my tribute to the zeal, the devotion, and the undoubted ability of a man concerning whom i must not speak without reticence, inasmuch as i am bound to him in the straitest bond of friendship.
“mr. william verstork was controller of the district of banjoe pahit when the facts occurred which now claim our attention. independently altogether of the action of the government, he undertook the task of continuing the investigations which he had initiated. the result of his inquiry he has submitted to the proper authorities. i ask, why were not these papers [425]laid before us? allow me, gentlemen, to pass very lightly over this most important omission. i could not enter into that subject without stirring up a pool of iniquity which is immediately connected with the opium question; and i freely confess that i shrink from thus occupying your valuable time. for the defence of the unhappy man for whose interests i am responsible, it will suffice if i now tell you that the documents to which i allude exist beyond the possibility of doubt or denial; and that i have here, lying on the table before me, the authentic copies properly attested and legalised by the governor of atjeh and by the chief justice at batavia.
“you all,” continued van beneden with a courteous gesture, addressing the public as well as the bench, “you all know william verstork, and i would not even mention the noble qualities of that zealous public servant—there would be no need of doing so—were it not that our president, mr. greveland, has but lately arrived at santjoemeh. the interests of my client demand that i should clearly point out to him that the writer of these documents is universally known as an upright man, who, in his official capacity, has won for himself the esteem and affection of all, natives as well as europeans, that have come into contact with him. that he is a most dutiful son who, for the sake of his mother and his younger sisters and brothers, has made the greatest sacrifices; and that, before this large audience i assert, without the slightest fear of contradiction, that a more single-minded and honourable man has never trodden the soil of netherland’s india.”
a burst of applause, cheering and clapping of hands followed immediately upon this general appeal. mrs. van gulpendam sat gnawing her lips with suppressed rage, while the noise drove the usher to the verge of frenzy.
at length, by dint of much hammering, mr. greveland obtained silence, he rose and said:
“much as i appreciate this tribute of affection, this spontaneous testimony to the merits of a distinguished public servant; yet i must warn the public against such demonstrations either of approval or disapproval. should they be repeated it will be my duty at once to clear the court. mr. van beneden, i beg you to proceed.”
august had made the most of this interruption, he had wiped his forehead and refreshed himself with a draught of iced water. he continued:
“after the fatal evening, william verstork repeatedly visited [426]kaligaweh. he thought he thoroughly knew setrosmito and remembered the well known lines of racine:
‘un jour ne fait point d’un mortel vertueux
un perfide assassin, un lache meurtrier.’
but, for all that he determined to sift the case to the very bottom. he made minute inquiries on all sides, and, as the result of his investigation, he found that the man who is now sitting there before you crushed under the load of so terrible an accusation, has ever been an irreproachable husband, a tender and devoted father, an industrious hard-working labourer—that he is, in fact, one of those quiet and submissive villagers of which our javanese population is chiefly composed, and which make it possible for an entire race, which may well be called the quietest and meekest on earth, to submit to the cruel fiscal yoke we have imposed upon it. i have here, lying on this table before me, the sworn testimony of the wedono of the district of banjoe pahit. he states that on a certain occasion, when a loerah had to be appointed for the dessa kaligaweh, the man most eligible for the post was this same setrosmito, especially because he was known never to touch opium; but that he could not recommend him for the appointment, because the man could neither read nor write.
“now, gentlemen, i ask you, how comes it to pass that a man bearing so excellent a character should be brought up here before you as an opium smuggler and a murderer? an opium smuggler! at those words your very looks betray what is passing in your minds. you know well enough what is going on in this residence of santjoemeh. you turn away in disgust at the mere mention of the word ‘opium smuggler!’ but, let me ask you, upon what grounds has the prosecution founded this most serious charge? why, upon no grounds whatever! the prosecution has not even attempted to bring forth any proof of the prisoner’s guilt. their case rests entirely upon the unsupported word of one of the opium farmer’s bandoelans—upon the bare assertion of a vile wretch whom public opinion holds up to public execration as capable of the lowest and most infamous perjury. yes, gentlemen, i repeat it most emphatically, this charge rests upon nothing whatever but upon the bare word of singomengolo, and upon that little box which lies there in evidence before you on this table.
“but, you all must remember, it is not so very long ago, that, on this very same table, we had before us a number of [427]those little boxes, all of them the property of that same bandoelan; and that, on that occasion, you had to acquit the daughter of the prisoner who was also charged with smuggling; who was charged with smuggling, mind, by that same singomengolo. and how did he attempt to prove that charge? why, by swearing that he had seized upon her person a box precisely similar to that which you now see before you. again i ask you, what proofs have we that this box was discovered under the pandan-mat of the couch in setrosmito’s dwelling? we have none! you hear me, i repeat that word, we have absolutely no proof of the truth of that bare assertion. but, on the contrary, for the defence, i have the clearest possible proofs that it never was there at all. we rely on proofs which are absolutely incontrovertible. and here, gentlemen, allow me once again to turn to the sworn evidence of my friend william verstork.
“?‘when one of the chinese bandoelans, accompanied by a couple of police oppassers, presented themselves at the door of setrosmito’s house for the purpose of making a domiciliary visit, no opposition whatever was offered to their searching the place. the only precaution taken was that they were themselves submitted to a search before entering the premises. on that occasion no opium, nor any vestige of opium was found; not even under that very pandan-mat on the couch. the two oppassers and the witnesses sidin and sariman, who were present at the visitation, have expressly sworn to that fact. sariman indeed has sworn most positively that the pandan-mat was twice lifted up, and that the chinaman had most minutely examined the pillow which lay upon it.’
“that i think is plain enough, gentlemen, is it not?
“but now, allow me to continue with verstork’s sworn declaration.
“very shortly after they had left, singomengolo himself appeared to search the house. he refused point-blank to submit to the usual body search; whereupon setrosmito protested and said: ‘in that case, no doubt, opium will be discovered in my house. i know all about these dodges.’ i have the proofs of all this here before me signed by the kabajan of the dessa.
“and, of course, opium was found, gentlemen. it was discovered in the very spot where the chinese bandoelan, who was no fool either, had looked twice without making any discovery. that again is clear enough, i think.
“opium smuggler! the court will understand that i fling the [428]odious accusation far, far away from me. not indeed because the charge has not been legally proved; for i know that in these opium-cases very curious evidence is often admitted; but because my client is innocent, absolutely innocent, of any such offence; because he is the victim of one of those detestable conspiracies which, as every one well knows, are commonly resorted to when some obnoxious individual has to be removed or some sordid wretch thirsts for revenge.
“opium smuggler! yes, the prosecution has dwelt at considerable length and with considerable eloquence upon the millions, the tens of millions, of which this illegal traffic is robbing the public exchequer.
“as the public prosecutor made his fervent appeal, every heart was thrilling with emotion, though it may not perhaps have been of a very noble kind. and, gentlemen, he was perfectly right. millions, yea tens of millions are lost to the revenue! but they are not lost in the manner the prosecution has so graphically described; they are not conveyed away in little boxes which hold but a minute quantity of the drug. the millions of which we heard so much just now—ah, gentlemen! need i tell you who are the men that thus defraud the revenue? why your own hearts have already pronounced their names, they are trembling now on your very lips. those smugglers are not poor dessa-folk, they flaunt their ill-gotten wealth boldly in the face of our good people of santjoemeh; and can afford to keep singomengolos to remove out of their path any unfortunate creature who may stand in their way. shall i mention these names which are even now on every lip? why should i do so? an attorney general once ventured to lay his finger on the plague-spot and to denounce these criminals to the governor general. what did he gain by it? that is the question i would ask you?”
the young barrister here paused for a few moments, to allow these last words, which he had driven home like a wedge, time to sink into the hearts of his hearers. in the pandoppo the deepest silence reigned. the assembled crowd sat breathless listening to every word as it fell from van beneden’s lips. on all those faces there was but one expression, and it said plainly enough “aye truly! that is the state of things which the accursed opium-monopoly has created in this island.” after a short pause, august continued:
“i now pass on to the second and far more terrible charge which has been brought against my client. shall i be able to [429]purge him of that accusation as i know that i have cleared him of the former? here there is no question of denial. the facts are all plain enough and are all frankly admitted. the fatal deed has been done, the grave has closed over the ill-starred victim; and the weapon, the kris with which the fatal wound was inflicted, lies there before you on the table.
“the prosecution has given us a shockingly graphic description of the terrible occurrence, and has painted, in the most vivid colours, the manner in which that kris was slashed across the throat of the unhappy bandoelan. it is not difficult to see why so much stress was laid upon the bloody scene, and why we had the loathsome details so forcibly placed before us. but yet, gentlemen, i venture to think, that the cause of my client has been benefited rather than damaged by this vivid word-painting. for the more painful the impression produced, the more forcibly must the question arise: ‘how was it possible that a creature of so quiet and meek a nature could have been goaded to a deed of such unbridled fury?’ again i appeal to the testimony of william verstork, and i think it well to tell you that i also have personally and independently made a careful investigation into all the facts of this most painful case; and the results of my personal inquiry i will proceed to lay before you. yes, gentlemen, i also shall have to be graphic and realistic; but remember that i am merely following the example set me by the prosecution. yes, gentlemen, i also shall have to enter into harrowing and revolting details; but i shall do so only because the cause for which i am pleading compels me to that course.”
and now the young lawyer displayed a power of eloquence such as had never before been heard in santjoemeh—never perhaps in all dutch india. he made use of words not only but also of gestures. he “acted” as mrs. van gulpendam spitefully remarked to one of her friends.
yes, he did enact before his spell-bound audience that tragic scene, building up the entire drama, as cuvier out of a single bone would construct the entire skeleton of some antediluvian monster. he made them see how the opium-hunters penetrated that peaceful dwelling. he made them hear how singomengolo haughtily refused to submit to any examination. one could behold as it were the ruthless ransacking of all the poor furniture, one could hear the children crying and wailing at the licentious conduct of the ruffians who had respect neither for age nor sex. the entire audience shuddered at the “allah [430]tobat,” the frenzied cry of the desperate mother, and one could see also how, at his wife’s bitter cry, setrosmito’s eye had, for a single instant, glanced away from singomengolo, and how the latter had profited by that instant of distraction to draw forth the box of opium with a gesture of insolent triumph. how rage and indignation wrung from the unhappy father an abusive epithet which was answered immediately by a blow in the mouth. how, stung to madness at that insult, setrosmito grasped his kris; how at that fatal moment the cry of little kembang had drawn the attention of the father to his poor little girl; how he had seen her exposed to the hideous outrages of the chinese bandoelan. all these events the eloquence of the advocate conjured up, as it were, before the eyes of his hearers. at the words, “let go!” uttered with incomparable energy, the audience seemed to see the father flinging himself upon the astonished bandoelan, who, dazed by the very imminence of peril, had not sufficient presence of mind to desist from his outrageous conduct, and thereupon resounded the terrible words, “die then like a dog!” in a tone which filled the entire pandoppo with shuddering horror.
even setrosmito, who profoundly ignorant of the dutch language did not understand a word of his counsel’s speech, and had for some time been sitting vacantly staring before him, even he, at length, grew attentive, lifted his eyes inquiringly to the young man’s face, and then kept them riveted upon him with concentrated intensity. no! the rich flow of words had no meaning to him whatever; but the gestures he could interpret quite plainly. he saw the whole tragedy unfolded before his eyes—he saw his outraged child—he saw the hand of the speaker go through the very action which cost a human life. with eyes glittering with excitement he nodded again and again at his counsel, while thick heavy tear-drops kept trickling down his cheeks. “yes, that is how it happened,” he murmured audibly amidst the deep silence to the javanese chiefs while he stretched out his arms imploringly towards them.
“and,” continued van beneden, with still increasing fervour, “if now, after having thus laid before you the bare facts of the case, if now i turn to you with the question: ‘is that man guilty of murder—who slew another—yes; but who slew him in a moment of ungovernable rage, and in defence of his innocent child?’ what must be your answer? is there anyone here who would cast a stone at him who drew the weapon—and who used it—to preserve his own child from the foulest [431]outrage that can be perpetrated in a father’s sight? aye but, ‘this is a question of opium-police!’ if i could, for a moment, harbour the thought that anyone present under this roof would, for the sake of the opium question, desire to hear a verdict of guilty returned against this man—why then, in sheer despair, i should be driven to exclaim: ‘woe to the nation that contains such a wretch—woe to the man, who, for so sordid a principle, would tread eternal justice under foot—such a nation must be near its fall!’?”
the effect of these words was simply indescribable, a shudder seemed to run through the assembly.
“and now,” continued the young man turning to the prosecution, “go on your way, pile one judicial error upon another, erect for yourself a pedestal so lofty that the cry of the unhappy victim of the opium traffic—that insatiable minotaur—will not reach your ears! the time will come, when, from above, retribution will overtake you. the day will dawn when the dutch nation will awake out of its lethargy and sweep you and your opium-god from the face of the earth.
“as for you,” continued august van beneden turning to the members of the council and speaking in a more subdued voice, but yet with a persuasive energy which it was impossible to withstand, “as for you, gentlemen, place yourselves, i pray you, in the position of that unhappy man whose eyes were just now dropping tears as i sketched, in a manner which could reach his comprehension, the terrible deed of which he is accused. picture to yourselves the hours—the days of mortal anxiety he has passed through, and is even now passing through as his fate is hanging on your lips—then you will in some measure, be able to realise the unutterable joy with which he presently will hail the verdict which you will deliver—a verdict of ‘not guilty’ which will restore to his wife and family a man who can so sturdily stand up in their defence.”
having thus said, van beneden resumed his seat, or rather fell back exhausted in his chair. it was getting late, the sun was high up in the heavens, and an oppressive heat weighed like lead upon the assembled crowd. for a few moments, absolute silence ensued, the silence of emotions too deep for utterance and which was broken only by a sob here and there. but then, a tempest of cheering arose which made the very roof tremble, and amidst which the stentorian voice of the usher was completely drowned.
this applause and general enthusiasm continued for a considerable [432]time, and was not hushed until the president had repeatedly threatened to have the court cleared.
the prosecution was crushed, utterly annihilated. feeling that his cause was lost, the djaksa attempted to have the trial adjourned; but mr. greveland saw plainly enough how very undesirable such an adjournment would be; and he wisely refused to grant it.
thus compelled there and then to get up and reply, mas wirio kesoemo could not rise to the level of his subject. he mumbled a few words which did not awaken the slightest attention—he said something about the necessity of vindicating the action of the police, he uttered a few incoherent sentences, he stammered, he drawled, he repeated himself over and over again, and finally sat down without having produced any impression whatever. as soon as he had ended, the president called upon the defence to exercise its right of reply.
with a gesture of lofty disdain, van beneden refused to avail himself of his privilege:
“no, no, mr. president,” he said, “anything i could now add would but lessen the impression made by the prosecution. it is to the weakness of the charge brought against him, rather than to the power of the defence, that my client must owe his acquittal.”
after a moment’s pause the president turned to the panghoeloe and asked him what law the sacred book prescribed.
in a sleepy tone of voice the latter replied, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—the man has taken a life—the man must die.”
a shriek resounded in the pandoppo, a javanese woman had fainted away.
the members of the council thereupon retired to their consulting room. after a while they returned into court and the clerk proceeded to read out an elaborate judgment, wherein, after a number of “seeing thats” and “whereases,” the verdict of “not guilty” on both counts was at length pronounced. then the real storm broke loose. a great number of the audience rushed up to van beneden and warmly congratulated him on the victory he had just gained. the president, far from trying to repress the general enthusiasm, now cordially joined in it. august raised setrosmito from the floor and whispered some words in his ear which were immediately afterwards affirmed by the regent himself.
the poor javanese cast one single look at his young [433]champion, he pressed his hand to his heart and uttered a few incoherent words. but that one look was sufficient for van beneden, it was the overflowing of a grateful heart. at the very bottom of the pandoppo one solitary voice cried out:
“great is the justice of the whites!”
a few moments after, the pandoppo was deserted. said grashuis to his friend as he was walking home with him: “by jove, old fellow, you have knocked the wind clean out of me—i am still under the spell. that is natural enough; but what i want to know is how you managed to get the native chiefs on your side?”
“very simply indeed,” replied the other, “i called upon them yesterday and read my speech to them in malay.”
“come, come, that’s cute!” laughed grashuis. the young lawyer, however, did not tell his friend that, at the conclusion of that visit, the old regent of santjoemeh had pressed his hand and whispered to him:
“you are a noble fellow!”
