Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1828-10-25

IN. eoa,h. This man searched me, and soon
produced purse, certainly mol my own, ou' We
~ like il, and quite full OF money. now ne
gan 10 comprehend that, in my haste to recover
INV own purse mus, have been led-by nv un
fortunate blindness into wrong chamnfr, rom
whence must bv mistake have taken an"'hfr y
I explained the circumstance as wei as was
able, considering the alarm had -neen ho. mo,
asserting my innocence strenuoosiy' a,o con-
tending tina, if i had taken aeeldeh'a"y an"-
Their mans purse had lett my own, "nich
was as we'll furnished, In its place. ny 'his i'ne
had suffered them 10 LEAD me 70 P""n'
house, and found myself surrounded oy m!fr
low travellers, and many strangers an, , mus
raw az is no, unusual, giving :he whole benefit
Of their doubts to the accusing party. here
underwent stricter scrutiny, and 10 nv mex
pressible modification aud discomfort, my
own purse was found, out Of us us"a' p'aee' III
the pocket Of my coat. :,
b., every appearance was against me.
was soon recoliec,ed ina, ] had LETT The COM
pany after very hasy breaktas'; ana mat
when the coach was ready. was missing; ina,
when | did appear, my manner was nu''ieo a"o
disturbed, that had completely changed my
dress, * had gone to an upper chamber 10 snaV
off nv whiskers (Hesven knows! l never nan
any;) and had sought 10 conceal mysei' oy p"r
suing nv tourney inside the coach, when
had come from London on the outside; ana
that, upon the appearance Oh Inc "iesssheer'
had manifested symptoms OF excessive alarm
and agitation. Every thing, and every body told
against me-e,ery body felt il his duty mol 10
listen to me--my fellow passengers gropcd III
their pockets after their own purses, or look
ed to their luggage. They all gave their
names and addresses unasked 10 :he consta-
biz, shrugged their shoulders. and pursued their
tourney: while was taken back to ~
10 post chaise by an unmannersy co"s'ao'e
and the original thief catcher. there under
wen, an examination before two magistrates.
| who re quired little more than the fact Of The
purse having been found upon me, and which
was sworn 10 by the owner, TO Commit me 10
the prison a, &, there 10 await my trial
at the ensuing assize.
| Sill was sanguine-still the consciousness
| o. perfec, innocence encouraged me to look Tor
an honorable acquirtal, and, in this fatal securi-
| ", dlsdained 10 employ counsel. The charge
being one Of capital f,lony, l was lrtormed
Il at The law, probably from humane belle1
tina, innocence in distress pleads brs, Tor lisell,
denied me counsel to speak ia my behalf; J.,
therefore, trusted to my own plain statement OF
| facts, borne out by the character Tor upright
honesty, which knew deserved, and which
| felt sure ! should obtain from many whom
had known from my infancy, and who would,
| fell equally sure, flock in crowds to support me
| a, the critical moment that was last apprnach>
ing. But, after the perusal Of these mt moirs,
let no man expect to meet with his Just desert
10 this world; let the villain thrive upon his III
gotten riches; and let the thief, fearless OF the
halter, look on in safety, while the honest man
loses boh fortune and EsRalalil9aq and AsFrqySe
believed when declare this wayward and cruz
el fate 10 have been my owl? ! was tried Tor
my life, as expected, bur, contrary TO all ex-
p-ctation, no friends appeared, while crowds
| hocked in to testify agains, me-,he ?rosscu,
tor, who believed himself TO have been robbed
intentionally, the messenger, he constable, the
people Of the inn a, K, my fellow pas.
sengers IN the stage coach, SC, &c. all, all unit
ed TO weave 4 strong chain Of clear unanswera'
Die evidence. Besides there were many cor.
| roborating facts: had been detected IN my
road 10 the coast, having aiken passage for
India, whittier had already sent my wife ard
| effects, and with considerable mystery. having
prepared pruessedly for voyage ~ Ame-
| RIGA.
! In short every thing was against ne-every
| fresh Circumstance tina, was produced helped
to over~ helm me-e,eiy unlutky Innocent act
| vi nv own lenueo one ialai way. AZ Ifhbln
wos called upon for my defence. The shock
my feelings had received by The dcser ton OF
my friends had a violent and particularly un>
fortuna'e ff'ct up'n my nerves; tren'hled.
and could hal dly supper, myself ga chair Tor
the prisonrr" was called for; ! erlined il, and,
as well as was able stood 10 begin my own
uncounscll-d Case. In voice almost maud.
be from emotion, ] gave PLAIN statement;
blind as WIS. could perceive that i, obtained
no credrnce with the jury, and excited but little
interest L" the audience. My agitation in>
Gre ased, for what | held dearesr IL The world,
my reputation, was at stake and in the utmost
peril. Almostin despair earnestly looked round
me for some friendly face. saw my father in
law in the crowd. called him 10 testify 10 nv
character, and he obeyed the call, but he did
Inc more harm than good. He. good man,
like tie rest of my friends, had yielded 10 he
| tide Of appearances and prejudice which was
running so strong agans, me; but he could not
command his manner, and that was constrained:
and his distress, when, on being questioned as
10 the relationship in which he stood tow ard.