Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1864-02-19

! rect, and he could not break through il.
An old man named jackson, who ha,
: been one of the witnesses to the old will
testified that be believed the instrumen
now before him was the one to which hi
put his hand. He should say that wa,
his own signiture. He was an homes
old fellow, and admitted that he always
supposed that the will had been destroy.
ed.
For our client we had as yet nothing
of clear plain facts to help US. We had
any amount of impressions and opinions
in our favor. 1t had been the impression
of III of Timothy Elliott's intimate
friends that the will which he had made
had been destroyed. He had talked to
them in that way. And yet none of them
could swear that they ever heard him say
directly, that such was the fact. In
short, though the belief in the destruction
of that will was so general and so firm,
yet we could not present FACT to sus-
tain US in that decision.
Had the counsel for the appellant any
more testimony to introduce
Fred placed his hand, trembling like
an aspen, upon my arm, and whispered
oh, my soul l am lost 7
He was pale as death, and his suffer-
ing intense. AS the case stood l could
have no hope. Whatever may have been
the opinion Of the court and jury on the
right and justice of the thing, there could
have been but one opinion upon the law
and fact. My heart sank within me.
l held the will ia my hand. l believed
it to be a forgery. | believed that the
only will which Timothy Elliott ever
made had been destroyed, and that Akers
in consideration of a share Of the spoils,
had from the old draft in his hands, forg-
ed this instrument, counterleIting even
Jackson's signature SO nicely that the SIM
pie old man could not disown it. l was
about to give the instrument up, and my
last faint hope with it, when dim mark
in one corner of the sheet caught my eye.
II was stamp-an impi ession on the
paper-not so large as the mark OF fin
gers end but bent my head for mo-
nent, to call to mind something of the
past.
What is it P asked Fred, who had no.
iced my emotion.
told him to wait. And then | arose
md looked around the courtroom. Was
ny uncle there? Yes, saw him close
y me. | asked that Stephen Akers
1ight be called to the stand again. The
,retch saw that | was excited and he
,embled a little when be started to an I
wer to the call, though be was firm t
nough when he gained the stand. l
Mr.. Akers,' said |, controlling myself i
S well as l possibly could, you made Q
Dis will ?
Timothy Elliott made it, he replied. v
merely wrote it down for him as he o
ictated.' Il
The will is Dated said I, looking at il
$ sign and seal, October third, eighteen i
undred and thirty three. That is eigh- S
zen years ago this very month"; il
Certainly said Akers, that is just ii
hen it was made a
And you swear that this is the identi- Il
Il instrument? Il
Il do fC
And you swear that Timothy Elliott a
It his hand and seal upon this paper at
le time herein mentioned " a
Il do answered the witness. a
l looked him in the eye he must have t,
.ad in that look something of my tho'ts "
r his countenance changed and his d
nees actually shook beneath him. "
told him | had done with him. n
Then | asked that Ansel Forbes might "
: called to the stand. o.
What did l want of him? And my u
lcle was also anxious to know why he il
as called upon, for be was well known, p
ID stood as high as The judge himself. o.
'Mr. Forbes you are a manufacturer st
paperP
He said he was. W
How long have you been engaged in q
is business ? pt
He thought a moment and then re- W
led: oi
Il entered the business in eighteen hun
ed and forty-one SO | have been in it b,
st ten years lie
Now, sir, said /, handing him the til
strument which held, will you tell is
e-will you tell the jury-when that II
Iper was made ? is
He took it, and the moment his eye tr
sted upon it he started. He gazed up to
tho cornar-and then in a BURSTING
nazed tone he cried: oi
Il MADE 1T MYSELF! b'