An Experiment in Treason

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I, Jeremy Proctor, must start this narrative of one of the most singular cases of Sir John Fielding, magistrate of the Bow Street Court, with an admission. To put it plain, I was not present at the beginning of this case. Indeed, no, rather was I revisiting Portsmouth in the company of Gabriel Donnelly, doctor of medicine and a surgeon, medical examiner for the City of Westminster, and friend to us all at Number 4 Bow Street. In the past, I have prided myself on putting before you each of these cases in toto — that is to say, from start to finish. Yet, in this instance, I had left London at the invitation of Mr. Donnelly and with Sir John’s kind permission that I might look upon a scientific experiment conducted by one known throughout England and in all of the great cities of Europe, to wit, Benjamin Franklin. By an odd turn of fate, Dr. Franklin himself figured very prominently indeed in the case in question. And so, upon further consideration, perhaps I was, after all, present at the beginning of the case, for stories can be told from many a perspective and point-of-view; and what are criminal cases but stories of a certain sort?

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