Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1857-05-01

before the bar OF her Judge, murmur
of admiration arose from the multitude,
which the prompt interposition of the
court, by stern order of "silencc, :"
could scarcely repress from swelling to a
deafening cheer.
The Judge turned to the prisoner:
Emma Miner, the court has been in
formed that your counsel, Col. Linton, is
sick. Have you employed any othor?"
She answered in voice as sweet as
the MARBLE of tho nightengale, and as
clear as the song of the sky-lark:
My enemies have bribed all the
lawyers, even my own, to be sick; but
God will defend the innocentr'
At this response, so touching in its
simple pathos, a portion of the auditors
buzzed applause and the rest wept
On the instant, however, the stranger
whose appearance had previously excited
such merriment, started to his feet, ap
preached the prisoner, and whispered
something in her ear. She bounded six
inches from the foGr, uttered a piercing
shrek, and then stood trembling as if in
the presence Of a ghost from eternity !;
while the singular being who had caused
her unaccountable emotion addressed the
court in his sharp, ringing voice, sonor-
Gus as the sound of the bell metal:
May it please your honor, | will as
sumo the task of defending the lady"
What" exclaimed the astonished
Judge, care you licensed attorney?'
"The question is irrelevant and i'm
material" replied the stranger with
yenomous snecr, as the recent statute
entities any person to act as counsel at
the request Of the party"
"But does the prisoner request it ?"
inquired the Judge
'Let her speak for herself" said the
stranger.
q do" was the answer, as a long
drawn sigh escaped, that seemed to rcnd
her very heart-strings
The case Immediately progressed {; and
as it had tinge of romantic mystery,
we epitomisc the substance of the evil
dcncc
About twelve months before, the de-
PENDANT had arrived In the village, and
opened an establishment of millinery.
Residing in room connected with her
shop, and all alone, she prepared the ar
ticles Of her trade with unwearied labor
and consummatc taste Her habits were
secluded, modest and retiring, and hence
she might have hoped to avoid notoriety,
but for the perilous gift of that extraor-
binary beauty which too often, and to
the poor and fricndless always, proves a
curse. She was soon sought after by all
those ire-hies of fashion, the profession
of whose life, everywhere, is seduction
and ruin. But the beautiful stranger
rejected them all with unutterable scorn
and loathing Among those rejected adj
mirers was one of acharacter from which
the fair milliner had everything to fear
Hiram Shore belonged to family, at
once oppulcnt, influential and dissipated
lie was himself licentious, brave, and fe-
rociously revengeful--the most famous
duclist Of the Southwest. 1t was gen
orally known that he had made advan-
ces to win the favor Of the lovely Emma
and had shared the fate of all others
disdainfui repuisc.
At nine o'clock on Christmas night,
1887, the people of LcwisLurg were
startled by loud scream, as of one in
mortal terror, while following that, with
scarcely an interval, came successive re-
ports Of firearms. They few to the shop
Of the milliner, whence the sound pro-
ceeded, pushed back the unfastencd door
and scene Of horror was presented -
There she stood in the centre of the room
with a revolver in each hand, every bar
alii4ell4aTgod lhcr features PATE, her
eyes flashing wildly, but her lips parted
with a fearful smile And there at her
feet, weltering in bis warm blood, his
bosom literally riddled with bullets, lay
the all dreaded duclist, Hiram Shore,
gasping in the last agony. lie articula-
ted but single sentence "Tell my
mother that | am dead and gone to
Hell" and instantly expired.
In the name of God, who did this 2"
exclaimed the appalled, spectators.
- did it," said the beautiful. millincr,
" ! did it to save my honorm
As may be readily imagined, the deed
caused an intense sensation. Public
opinion, however, was divided. The
poorer classes, credited the girls version
Of the facts, Landed her in terms of meas
ureless eulogy But the friends of the
deceased, and Of his family, gave diff
fcrent and darker coloring to the affair,
and denounced the lovely homicide as an
atrocious criminal. Unfortunately for
her, the officers of the law, especially the
judge and sheriff, were devoted comrades
Of the slain, and displayed their feeling
in revolving Partially. The Judge
committed her without the privilege of
bail, and the sheriff chained her in the
felon's dungeon
Such is brief abstract Of the circum-
stances developed in the examination of
witnesses. The testimony closed and the
pleading began.
First Of all, three advocates spoke in
succession fer the prosecution but nei-
thcr their names nor their arguments arc
worth preserving. Orators Of the blood
and thunder genius, they about equally
partitioned their bowling eloquence be-
twixt the prisoner and her lcather-robed
counsel, as if in doubt who of the twain
was Their on trial
As for the stranger, he seemed to pay
not the slightest attention to the oppo-
nents, but remained motionless, with his
q