midnight
A morning paper , of November -- , contained the following paragraph : `` It will be remembered that in the reports of the disastrous railway collision , which occurred at Hendon on Friday last , it was mentioned as a ghastly accessory to the story of horror that an injured passenger , who had been lifted from the debris of broken carriages , and put to lie out of harm 's way in a field close at hand , was brutally assaulted and -LRB- apparently -RRB- robbed by some unknown scoundrel , who , though detected in the act itself , tore himself from the grasp of Police-Sergeant Cox , of the Hendon division of the metropolitan police force , and escaped in the darkness . The authorities were determined that their vigilance should not be eluded , and a person named Paul Drayton is now in custody , and will be brought up at Bow Street this morning . It turns out that Drayton is an innkeeper at Hendon , where he has long borne a dubious character . He was arrested at midnight in St. Pancras Station , in a daring and mad attempt to escape by the north-bound train , and it is understood that the incident of his capture is such as reflects the highest credit on the resolution , energy , and intrepidity of the force . '' The same paper , of the day after , contained this further paragraph : `` The man Drayton , who was yesterday formally committed to take his trial at the Central Criminal Court , will be brought up at the Old Bailey to-morrow ; and as the evidence is said to be of a simple and unconflicting character , it is not expected that the hearing will extend over a single day . It is stated that the accused , who observed a rigid silence during yesterday 's proceedings , will , on his trial , set up the extraordinary defense of mistaken identity . '' An evening paper of Friday , November -- , contained the following remarks in the course of a leading note : `` It is a familiar legal maxim that a plea of alibi that breaks down is the worst of all accusations .