Bedford inquirer and chronicle. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1854-1857, 1856-06-06
THE CRIMINAL WITAESS,
The Providential Mail Robbery.
A LAWYERS STORY.

5ackson, hLaDaIha, 10 dtL6nQ JourL having
been engaged to defend young man who
had been accused of robbing the mail
| arrived early in the morning, and i'm
mediately had long conference with my
client.
The stolen mail bag had been recovered,
as well as the letters from which the money
had been riaed. These letters we're given
to me for examination, and / then returned
them to the prosecuting attorney,
Having got through my private prelim-
inaries about noon. and as the case would
not come off before the next day, / went
into the court in tie afternoon to see what
was going on.
The first case that came up was one of
theft, and the prisoner was young girl, not
more than seventeen years of age, named
Elizabeth Madworth. She was very pretty.
and bore that mild and innocent look, which
We so seldom find in culprit She was
pale and frightened and the moment my eye
rested upon her, / pitied her. She had
been weeping profusely, but as she found so
many eyes upon her she became too much
frightened to weep more.
The complaint against her set forth that
she had stolen one hundred dollars from a
Mrs. Naseby: and as the case went on /
found that this Mrs. Naseby, a wealthy
widow living in the town, was the girls mis-
tress.
The poor girl declared her innocence in
the most wild terms, but circumstances were
hard against her. A hundred dollArs in
bank notes bad been stolen from her mis-
tress' room, and she was the only one who
had access there
| At the juncture, when the mistress was
upon the witness stand ,oung man came
and caught me by the arm. he was fine
looking man, and big tears stood in his
eyes.
They tell me you area good lawyer he
whispered.
4 am lawyer answered.
s'Thsn do save her You can certainly
do it, for she is innocent
is she your sister!'
'No, sir but, but
| Here he hesitated, bat understood him.
slIas she no counsel 2 | asked
None that's good for anything-nobody
that will do anything for her 0, save her
and I'll pay you all I've got. | can't
| give you much, but can raise something
! ] reflected moment. l cast my eyes
towards the prisoner, and she was at that
moment looking at me. She caught my
eye, and the volume of humble entreaty l
read in her glance, resolved me in mo-
/ ment
| ] arose and went to the girl, and asked if
| she wished me to defend her. She said yes
Then informed the court that was ready
to enter into the case, and was admitted at
once. The loud murmur of satisfaction
which ran quickly through the room told
me where the sympathies of the people
/, were.
/ asked for moments cessation, that
/ might speak with my client. went aad
the whole case She told me she had lived
with Mrs. Naseby nearly two years, and had
any trouble before About two weeks ago,
| she said, her mistress lost a hundred doll
lars.
| 'She missed il from her drawer the girl
said to me, and she asked me about it, but
] knew nothing about 1t. The next thing
knew, Nancy Luther told Mrs. Naseby that
she saw me take the money from her drawer
that she watched me through the key
hole. Then they went to my trunk and
] found twenty-five dollars Of the missing
money there But, sir, | never took it,
and somebody else must have put it there.
Iasked her weather she suspected any
one.
4 don't know, she said, swho could have
done it but Nancy. She has never liked
me, because she thought I was treated bet
ter than she was. She is the cook. I was
the chambermaid.'
She pointed Nancy Luther out to me-
She was stout, bold-faced girl, somewhere
about FIVE and twenty years old, with a low
forehead, small grey eyes, pug nose and
thick lips. ! caught her glance once, as it
rested on the fair young prisoner, and the
moment ] detected the look of hatred which
I read there, | was convinced that she was
tho rogue that committed the theft.
Nancy Luther did you say that girls
name VAST asked, for a new light had
broken in upon me.
fYes. SIR