Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-09-02

death, or might have been the convulsive
graspings Of the mother holding her dead
boy to her heart The prosecution conten-
ded for the one view. the defense for the
other. The medical evidence had been a.
bout equally balanced.
I. was in proof that the mother lived a.
lone in house in the outskirts Of the city
That she kept servant, and had FREQUENT
visits from gentleman, whose face the SER
want had never seen. though two years had
passed during which he was there almost
daily She lived in plain and respectable
style, vas seldom out Of her house, saw no
other person but this one man, and had two
children. of which this child was one, which
died one month after it was born Her
usual visitor had not been seen for month
before her arrest.
On the cross examination the servant
showed clearly that she had feeling Of en-
nifty to the prisoner, growing out of some
triRe, but not uncommon in persons Of her
nation and position, leading them, as law
yers see daily Illustrated. to lie. and verify
their lies by oaths, to obtain revenge for
a real or fancied wrong
View it in its best light, the case was
dark one. So all who were in the court
room seemed to think So thought the
prisoners counsel, than whom none ADLER
could be found in the city,. ap
To say the best Of the whole case it was
mysterious one, and none the less 50 that
the prisoner had sat in court from day to
day heavily vailed, and no one had seen her
ace, or knew what looking person she was.
The judge reviewed the testimony fully.
His clear mind had taken in every point,
and arranged it with reference to its logical
bearing on the case, so that as he proceeded
new light seemed to break on the dark
points
The prisoner, for the first time in the
course Of the trial, appeared interested in
what was going on. She turpcd her face
toward the bsnch, and gradually leaned for
ward as if to catch every sound that he ut
tered. As he proceeded she sometimes
shuddered.
Before he closed he adverted to one sin
gular point in the case
You Can not fail to have observed, gen.
tlemen, that no attempt has been made to
clear the mystery hanging about the pris
oncr's former history, nd character, and
manner Of living. Whether it has or has
not any direct bearing on the question Of
her guilt or innocence. it has much weight
on the general question Of character. No
proof Of good character is offered you No
one stands here to vouch fir it. No one
offers any endorsement Of the prisoners
manner OF life, but, on the contrary. you
are left to believe that she was without
friends, without acquaintance. and for
some reason out Of the pale Of society
While this friendlessness may be the result
Of misfortune, it is ordinarily understood to
be the result of guilt; and though it by no
means authorizes you to stamp the prisoner
as murderess, it is entitled to its weight
in determining her character. and the pro-
liability Of her being induced to commit the
crime of which she stands accused y
With few general remarks the charge
closed. Before the jury retired, and i'm
mediately after the Judge ceased, one Of the
jurors, man Of mild and venerable aspect,
asked the court if it was proper to request
the prisoner to remove her vail L can
not well determine question Of such i'm
portance with reference to person | have
never seen" said he
The prisoner was sitting in the same atti-
tude. with her face turned to the Judge, her
head leaning toward him as if she still
heard his voice. She had not moved. She
heard the question. however, and with one
hand swept back her vail from her counten-
ance
Never in any courtroom, since the trial
of the beautiful Lady Jane Gray, did a face
of such royal beauty flash on the gaze Of an
astonished jury. She was young-not more
than twenty five. Her features we're Of ex-
quisite mould; her forehead broad and mas
sive; her eye light blue, and exceedingly
clear and rich 4; her lips Of matchless chise-
ling
But the agony that was on all her face
was unutterablc, iudescribabe. She fixed
her steady, imploring gaze on the judge,
turned it to the juror who had spoken, and
again let her vail fall, and herself sank
back exhausted and fainting.
It was not till after the jury had retired
that the clerk observed thai the Judge had
fallen from his chair. Hastily rushing up
to the bench, the officers rushed up to him
and carried him to an open window He
revived soon, and the snow on his forehead
recalled him to his senses. At FIRST he NUT
tered some inaudible sentences. and then
gained strength to stand. He looked a.
round him anxiously and then thanking
the officers for their attention, he resumed
his seat, and quietly awaited, with others.
the return of the jury. The attack was at
tributed by all present to over-exertion and
the closeness Of the room. No one-I am
wrong only one Of the persons who
were in the courtroom besides myself knew
of the emotions which had SO shaken that
man. While the jury are celebrating we
will 20 bacS in the story, and endeavor to
make the.scene as ineligible to the reader
as it was to those two.
Charles Cameron, the only son Of a veal
thy lawyer Of he COLONY Of Virginia, was
heir alike to large fortune and stern dis
position. The old man had been royalist
in the revolution, and never forgave the COL
onies their successful revolt The son was
Wing, as violent as his father was on the
other side, and many severe contests arose
between them on political subjects. It was
remarked as strange, that the old man. af-
ter all the violent scenes which had passed
hetwaan HE son and himself. and after all