The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-06-07

mind was such as to preclude the possiblit,
Of impanelling an impartial jury in the cour
having jurisdiction, he procured change O
venue, and a postponement of the trial. II
then went studiously to work unravellin,
the case, and satisfied himself that his ellen
was the victim of malice and that the state
ments of the accuser were tissue of false
hoods. When the trial was called on, th
prisoner, pale and emacatcd, with hopeless
ness written on every feature, and accompa
MED by his halfhoping, half-despairins
mother--whose only hope was in mother
belief of her sons innocence, in the justice o
the God she worshipped, and in the noble
counsel, who, without hope of fee or rewart
upon earth, had undertaken the cause--toot
| his seat in the prisoners box, and with 6
stony firmness listened to the reading O
the indictment. Lincoln sat quietly by
whilst the large auditory looked on him as
though wondering what he could say in de-
fence of one whose guilt they regard as GER
tain. The examination of the witnesses fol
the State was begun, and well. arranged
mass of evidence, circumstantial and positive
was introduced which seemed to implicate the
prisoner beyond the possibility of extrication
The counsel for the defense propounded bat
few questions, and those of character which
excited no uneasiness on the part of the pros
ecutor-mer- ly, in most cases, requiring the
main witness to be definite as to the time
and place. When the evidence of the prose
cution was ended, Lincoln introduced a few
witnesses to rem I'VE some erroneous impress
sions in regard to the previous character OF
his client, who, though somewhat rovdyish,
had never been known to commit a vicious
act and to show that greater degree of
il-feeling existed between the accusar ani
the accused than the accused and the de-
ceased. The prosecutor felt that the case
was a clear one, and his opening speech was
brief and formal Lincoln arose while a
deathly silence pervaded the vast audience,
and in a cl ,ar but moderate tone began his
argument. Slowly and carefully he review
ed the testimony, pointing out the hitherto
unobserved discrepancies in the statements
of the principal witness. That which seem
ed plain and plausible, he made to appear
crooked as a serpent's path. The witness
hal stated that the affair had taken place at
certain hour in the evening, and that by the
aid of the brightly shining moon, he saw the
prisoner inflict the deadly blow with slung.
shot. Mr.. Lincoln showed that at the hour
referred to, the moon had not yet appeared
above the horizon, and consequently the
whole tale was fabrication. An almost in
stantaneous change seemed to have been
wrought in the minis Of his auditors, and
the verlict Of :" not guilty was at the end
Of every tongue. But the advocate was not
content with his intellectual achievement
His whole being had for months been bonaj
up to this work Of gratitude and mercy, and
as thelava of the over charged crater bursts
from its imprisonment, 50 great thoughts
and burning words leapei forth from the
soul of the eloquent Lincoln. He drew n
picture of the perjurer so horrid and ghastly
that the accuser could sit under it no longer
but reeled and staggered from the room,
whilst the audience fancied they could see
the brand upon his brow. Then in words
of thrilling pathos Lincoln appealed to the
jurors as fathers Of sons who might become
fatherless, and as husbands of wives who
might be widowed, to yield to no previous
impressions, no ill-founded prejudice, but to
do his client justice; and as he alluded to
the debt ofgratitude which he owed the boy S
sire, tears were seen to fall from many eyes
unused to weep. 1t was near night when
he concluded by saying that if justice was
done--as he believed itwould be--before the
sun set 1T would shine upon his client free
man. The jury retired and the court ad-
journed for the day. Half an hour had not
elapsed, when the officers of the court and the
volunteer attorney sat at the tea table OF
their hotel, a messenger announced that the
jury had returned to their seats All repair
ed Immediately to the court house, andwhilst
the prisoner was being brought from the
Jail, the court room was filled to overAowing
with citizens of the town. When the pris-
oner and his mother entered, silence reigned
as completely as though the house were emp
ty. The foreman of the jury, in answer to
the usual inquiry from the court, delivered
the verdict of Not Guilty - The widow
dropped into the arms of her son, who lifted
her up and told her to look upon him as be-
fore, free and innocent Then, with the
words, 8 Where is Mr.. Lincoln 2" he rushed
across the room and grasped the hand of his
deliverer, whilst his heart was too full for ut
terahce. Lincoln turned his eyes towards
the west, where the sun still fingered in view.
and then, turning to the youth, said, alt is
not yet sundown, and you are Free" coz
fess that my cheeks were not wholly unwet
by tears, as | turned from the affecting
scene.
A garden is beautiful book, written by
the finger of God; every flower and every