THE OLD BAILEY AND ITS TRIALS (226 pp.)Bernard O'DonnellMacmillan ($2.50).
"Hangman, I charge you pay particular attention to this lady. Scourge her soundly, man; scourge her till the blood runs down. It is Christmasa cold time for madam to strip. See that you warm her shoulders thoroughly."
In such language the Lord Chief Justice of England's most renowned court of law, London's Old Bailey, ladled out a generous helping of what was known as British justice in the 1680s. It was shocking language from a judge, but few Britons were shocked. In the courts, as on the street, the times had a raw,...
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