The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1843-04-21
The Trial Of Young Mercer.

The trial of young Mercer for the murder of
lieberIon Gan account of which murder was pub
lished by lis five or six weeks ago, was going on,
at our latest dates, at Woodbury., y. ]. Ofoourse,
the deepest interest is manifested in this trial, and
all the leading New York and PHILADELPHIA pa
pers have ihrir reporters on the ground and pub
llsh the evidence, &C., i'll detail. The testimony
50 far has disclosed one important fact, which
must place Miss Mercer in a better light before
the public than that in which she has stood. 1t
has hitherto been the almost universal impression
'hat she was a jeiH:ng victim. As all reports
concurrcd in the opinion that she was rather a
sily-Inindcd gir', it did not seem unnatural she
should have willingly yielded TO the willy arts of
such all accomplished Iibortno as iIcberton But
IN this, it seems, the grosscst injustice has been
done her character. Giddy aud young as she
was, she abandoned not her virtue without
struggle. by her own testimony, and by that of
two females who were in the house of nlamy
whittier she was decoyed, IIebcrton threatened
her life pistol ia hand, unless she complied with
his base desires.
The correspondent of the n. Y. Herald gives
the following animated description of the scene
presented in court at Woodbury. on the 4.h day
Of tic trial:
The scene in court to-day has been altogether
the most remarkable and exciting that has pro-
baby ever taken place in any court in this coun-
try. There were the minute details of love, OF
seduction, ol rape, murder, the seduccd sister and
daug !iter-thc desperate brother deliberate muir
dercr and unnoved prlsoncr, on trial for his life
the heart broken molher-the calm, deep feel
ing, quiet iatAcr--the Distressed sisters sobbing,
crying, agonizlng, iLintug--the scduccd, with
her cloak over her shoulders, her head bowed low
ly down under a black veil hanging from dark
vclvc, hat, with white handkerchief constantly
covering her burning face so that it was not seen
by any one III court, family ariculatng estimo-
mp on which hangs brothers lile in tones inau-
dlbIc at the distance of two icCt-eyidcnce per-
tanning 10 houses Of prostitution, to gambling, to
ioriune-tclling, 10 iHsanlty--the lawyers for the
defence in the attorney general for the
State and the district attorney for the county, the
lawyers for the prosecution, unncrvcd, faltcring.
yielding to the mad tempest of public passion and
ready to abandon the prosecution, even though for
a murder cool, malicious, committed in open day,
in the presence OF boat full Of witnesses, undc-
MED and undenablc, yea, gloricd in-what
scene Who can paint it who describe it
more touching, and pi,abic, hcart-moving
sight than IL presented in the person Of OLD Mr..
Mercer, have never bcheld, Ills couucuance
is calm, quiet evincing deep pent up feeling, pa
tience, and resignation, and intense anxiety. The
old lady, his wife, gives way to her feelings, and
therefore, seems 10 get some relicf-but lot So
with Mr.. Mercer. And Mr.. Blown, Counsel for
Defence remarked in court privately, that the cx-
penses of this trial were crushing his property and
eating up his estate. It is indeed ritiabc aud
afflicted family.