twenty-five minutes to two
There was in the majestic aspect and thrilling voice of Brandon something which made the commonest form of words solemn and impressive ; and the hypocrite , aware of this felicity of manner , generally , as now , added weight to his concluding words by a religious allusion or a Scriptural phraseology . He ceased ; and the jury , recovering the effect of his adjuration , consulted for a moment among themselves . The foreman then , addressing the court on behalf of his fellow-jurors , requested leave to retire for deliberation . An attendant bailiff being sworn in , we read in the journals of the day , which noted the divisions of time with that customary scrupulosity rendered terrible by the reflection how soon all time and seasons may perish for the hero of the scene , that `` it was at twenty-five minutes to two that the jury withdrew . '' Perhaps in the whole course of a criminal trial there is no period more awful than that occupied by the deliberation of the jury . In the present case the prisoner , as if acutely sensible of his situation , remained in the rear of the dock , and buried his face in his hands . They who stood near him observed , however , that his breast did not seem to swell with the convulsive emotion customary to persons in his state , and that not even a sigh or agitated movement escaped him .