The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1860-12-19
daeeklg Nortg youa Gimes,
McGREGOR, DECEMBER 19, 1860


mony for the defence discloses terrible
amount of meanness on the part of Burch
He is proven to have chokcd his little wife
to make her sign that damnable confession of
intimacy with Stuart. Stuarts evidence
exonerates Mrs. b. entirely. A man who
would ruin woman is in honor bound to
deny it, even though it send his soul to
perdition-where it belongs any how-and
hence, what Stuart says ought not to weigh
quite so much as some are disposed to credit
itwith; but there is apeculiar clearness and
earnestncss about the relation of this wit
ness, that, in connection with that of 9th
ers for the defence, goes far to impress the
mind of a hcarer of its entire truth. 70
the question "Did you ever have improper
intercourse with Mrs. B.?' he replies,
"Why, no sir, no, So help me God, nerer!"
His whole story of their acquaintance is
straightforward and truth-secming When
he first came into the court room he was
obliged to pass Mrs. b., and the eyes
of the whole auditory were upon them
to see the effect. They bowed to each 9th
er as unremarkably and politely as though
there had never been suspicion of their
guilt. Not change in the countenance of
either indicated that confusion of thought
and embarrassment which the lockers on
were anticipating. Fannie Burch, (the
niece Of Mr.. b. has been about her uncle
house two years or more, and from her tcs-
timony one would conclude that Miss Fam
ME "has'nt done nothing else but watch
her aunt and note down in book every act
that could be tortured into the semblancc Of
impropriety. Her story is too well told
entirely. Carlisle Boyd (thc pretty beau of
Mrs. b. proves too much, also. lie has
been smothered with kisses repeatedly by
the accused lady, but he did not prosecute
the advantages which were thus given him.
We think of him as Lady BOBBY did of
Fielding's Joseph Andrews, he is "a great
liar or a fool"
Burch, it seems, has been so absorbed in
banking and religion Gift subjects for the
joint occupancy of human mind for the
past two years that he neglected his little
woman and threw her purposely into the
society of those who are now rcputcd to
have been notorously dangerous virtuc-dcs-
troycrs. Mrs. B. was fascinating, rich and
at leisure, and her society was universally
courted. She doubtless has been improp-
ely familiar with her male acquaintanccs,
but the rules of modern society authorize
more freedom than our grand parents allow
ed, and as there has been nothing criminal
proceed as Burch's witnesses all talk as
though they were suborned, and as Mrs
BIS witnesses tell straight, reasonable sto-
rics, we begin to conclude that the lady has
been victimized by a soulless old money
gctter whose hypocrisy and lust (for anoth-
er and younger LADY, have hardened his
heart and stimulated his passions to descend
to the basencss Of diSgracins the mother of
his children. s -E
Rev. Mr.. Patterson, the pastor of Mrs.
b., also figures as swift witness against
the lady, but he is too mean to write about.
Meanness in layman becomes infamy in a
priest.
P. S. Since the above article was put in
type, (for last weeks issue) the Burch case
has been decided. Mrs. Burch was de-
clared innocent; the jury were out only an
hour and half. Four or five sac and nine
hour speeches were made by the lawyers.
The leading lawyer for Mrs. Burch was
BEcKwIrH, brother Of TRUMAN of McGregor.
The receipt of tho news Of Mrs. Burch's
discharge set Chicago wild with excite
mcnt. One hundred rockets were fred
from the fremont House, and many other
sxtravagancics INDUCED in.