Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1842-02-15
VOL. WILL

man and woman remained: these were
the coiners..
What was my establishment when
the frstprisoner, tried for bigamy was
the. hideously ugly and disgusting little
old man, whom we had mistaken for
the murderer. His last OF present
wife,was rather tall and very fat and
muscular. country 'wench Of twenty,
with face as round and red as the full
moon in autumn. She gave her evil
dence with great emotion, and, though
she looked a sturdy creature, we'll able
to 90 through all the hard work Of a
farmhouse, was SO overcome by her
situation that. she sobbed aloud, shed
tears, and at last tainted. The judge
was obliged to allow. her chair and
the refr, shment of a glass Of water
On her cross examination the sturdy
hussy, admitted that the prisoner had
gone less after her than she had after
hIm;' tina; he had made her very
good husband; that she had supported
him by her latoEas.. he could himself
get nothing TO do; aud that .she, had
loved her Johnny,' as she styled him,
dearly until she found that he was "a
false, perjury man. and had another
wife living.
That other wife was the second wit
ness. She was a tall, awkward, i'll
made, but strong woman Of forty, with
a long, pale, melancholy visage, and
very prominent features. The express
sion of her countenance was that of a
gloomy, severe dcUoaee; and'her nasal,
drawing tones, almost disturbed the
gravity of the court. This respecta-
bile elderly lady gave evidence that she
had been married TO the prisoner sew
en- years; that she had three children
ny him;and, though she delivered her
self with the bitterest malignity, was
obliged, on cross-examination, to con-
fess that she had lived very happily
with him; that he had been a good. hus-
band and a good father; and that she
had loved him as a good wife and hon
est woman ought to love good hus-
band, until she found out that he had
previously deserted young wife and
child who were both liviLg.
Evidence Of this wife's being yet
alive was also put in, and the prisoner
was found guilty.
+ When the judge pronounced SEN
tence Of death upon the wretched cul-
prit, the tall, cadaverous woman could
no longer disguise her satisfacfion;she
clspped her hands, and cried, He de-
serves it,and I'll be at the gallows.-
The Judge was in the act of reproving
her, when a -violeDtscream produced a
thrilling effect,-the other wife. bad
sunk down in an hysterical CONFUSION.
There was something singular in the
case Of coming. The man was tried,
convicted, and hanged: but'the woman
escaped, ON the ground that she had ac-
ted under the influence ofhcr husband.
| This was remarkable fiction Of the
law; for it appeared that this was the
fourth husband whom. she had brought
to the gallows. She had loriginally
been governess in nobleman's fam
ily, and had married man who lived
by forgery and coming. On this. her
first husbands being detected and ex-
ecuted, she had married a second, and
a third, who successfully met the same
fate; and now the fourth was to be the
victim Of the law. It was supposed
that in the three preceding cases the
woman, as she grew tired of the con-
nect;on, had contrived to lead to her
husbands detection By the police
Her career, however, was now IN al
probability finished, for her character
had become notorious for hanging hus-
bands, and she had become both ole
aid ugly;it was by no means likely
therefore, that she would be able tC
seduce another 'good-looking man
into. the silken bonds Of wedIock.
The one now executed was about for
ty years Of age, and had very re
spectacle appearance. He had borne
an exemplary character before he har
contracted this fatal marriage; and hI
fate, together with the escape Of hi
wife was curious contradiction Of tn
maxim of law, which infers that wo
man acts under the asthority Of, or b!
the compuIsion Of her husband.
The efeminate dandy, with his Ions
hair, fine teeth, and soft voice, plea
ded guilty to the murder, and he wa
the only one Of the convicts that die'
with fortitude.
This was the second instance'ofm NJ.
failure in Judging by appearances
APROFITABLE RAILROAD
memorial TO the Legislature ofNew Yor
states that the neat profits oftbe Ute
and Schenectady Rail Road for the las
five years have been $685., 1877 per annur
on an average, or 1874 per cent per an