The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-05-07
Prison Anecdote.

fortune Cwhom VIC shall call Mrs.
Newton) resided with her daughter
in one Of the suburbs nearest to the
Metropolis. They lived in fashion
!, able style, and kept an ample cstab-
lishment of servants.
y A very pretty young girl, nineteen
years Of age resided in this family
in the capacity of lady's maid.
She was tolerahly educated, spoke
with grammatical correctness, and
was distinguished by 4 remarkably
gentle and fascinating address.
At the time Miss Newton was en-
gagged to be married to one Captain
Jennings, Il. N; and Miss Newton
Gas many young ladies' i'll the like
circumstances have done before, }
employed her leisure in cmbroidcring
cambria, making it up into handkcr-
chiefs, and sending them and other
little presents of that description, to
Captain Jennings. Unhappily, but
very naturally, she made Charlotte
Mortlcck, her mail, the bearer Of
these communications. The captain
occupied lodgings suited to gentle.
men of station, and thithcr Charlotte
Mortlock frequently repaired at the
bidding Of her young mistress, and
generally waited Gas lovers arc gen
orally impa,icnt) to take back the
captaiu's answers.
A strange sort of regard, Or at.
tachmcnt Git is confidently believed
to have been gniltlcss) sprung up be-
tween the captain and the maid; and
the captain, who would seem to have
deserved Miss Newton's confidence
as little as her maid did, gave as
presents to Charlotte, some of the cm.
broidcrcd offerings of Miss Newton.
1t happened that sudden ap.
pointment to the command of ship
soe,fl~ar, ,e,l took Captain jennings on
n TRANSATLANTIC voyage. lie had
not been very long gone, when the
following discovery threw the family
of the Newtons into Il state Of intense
agitation.
~ Is, y ~, Ea.tac missing article
H., sis,s &tgcNrG of her maid.
Miss Newton hctook herself to that
young woman's room, and, quito un.
suspiciously, opened a trunk which
wis left unlocked. There she found,
to her horror, a number Of the hand
kerchiels she had embroidered for
her lover. Tho possibility of the
real t.uth never flashed across her
mind; the dishonesty Of Charlotte
seemed to be the only solution Of the
incident. "Doubtlcss,' she reason
cd, "thc parcels had been opened on
their way to Captain Jennings, and
their contents stolen
On the return of Charlotte Mort.
lock, she charged with the robbery.
What availcd the assertion that
she had received the hanlkcrchicfs
from the captain himself? 1t was no
defence, and certainly was not cal.
culatcd to soften the anger Of her
mistress. a policeman was sum
moned, the unhappy girl was charged
with felony, underwent examinations,
was committed for trial, and, des,
titute of witnesses, or of any probable
defence, was ultimately conrictc0.
The judge (now dcccascd) who tried
the case, was unspa,ingly denounced
by many philanthrophic ladies', for
the admiration he had expressed for
the weeping girl, and especially for
his announcement to the jury, in pas
sing sentence Of one years impris,
onmcnt with lard labor, "that lie
would not transport her, since the
country could not afford to lose such
beauty 1t was doubtless, not
a very judicial remark; but an in
nocent girl was, at all events, saved
from sentence that might have
killed her.
Consigned to the County House Of
Correction, Charlotte Mortock OBJ.
served the best possible conduct
was modest, humble, submissive, and
industrious-and soon gained the
goodwill Of all her supervisors. TO
the Governor she always asserted her
innocence, and tola, with great sim
plicity, the tale of her fatal possession
Of these dangerous gifts.
She had been in prison few
months, when the Governor received
q visit from a certain old Baronct,
who with ill.disguiscd reluctance. and
in the blunt phraseo!ogy which was
peculiar to him, proceeded to say,
that "a girl named Charlotte Mort
lock had quite bcwitchcd his friend
Captain Jennings, who was beyond
the Atlantic; and that n letter he
produced would show the singular
frame of mind in which i'll which the
Captain va, ab>ut that girl.