The charge of
poaching was first gone into, but was immediately disposed of by the
evidence of the two Professors, who stated that the prisoner bore no
resemblance to the poacher they had seen, save that he was about the same
height and age, and was respectably dressed.
"The charge of disturbing the congregation by declaring himself the
Sunchild was then proceeded with, and unnecessary as it may appear to be,
it was thought advisable to prevent all possibility of the man's
assertion being accepted by the ignorant as true, at some later date,
when those who could prove its falsehood were no longer living. The
prisoner, therefore, was removed to his cell, and there measured by the
Master of the Gaol, and the Ranger in the presence of the Mayor, who
attested the accuracy of the measurements. Not one single one of them
corresponded with those recorded of the Sunchild himself, and a few marks
such as moles, and permanent scars on the Sunchild's body were not found
on the prisoner's. Furthermore the prisoner was shaggy-breasted, with
much coarse jet black hair on the fore-arms and from the knees downwards,
whereas the Sunchild had little hair save on his head, and what little
there was, was fine, and very light in colour.
"Confronted with these discrepancies, the gentleman who had taught the
Sunchild our language was convinced of his mistake, though he still
maintained that there was some superficial likeness between his former
pupil and the prisoner.
Pages:
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267