The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1868-11-06

lsY. AsETIRsD ArToRsEY.l

she hid bssrf weeping; and whom she seated
herself BY my .dask, the psnt up current OF
grief burst forth affssh
"What is the matter. ny good woman
You seem to be in deep distress, remarked
in the most encouraging tonel could COM
mand.
II am sir. They say the Lord is near to
them tina. are aufering, and am sure he
ought to be near me-
II dare say he is, ma'am. But ypu ano-
that Affections are sent to u for our good.
and No ought not to repine at the discipline Of
life, however severe it may sometimes seem
to US.
| heard An excellent sermon the day before
for it was Monday, on tribulation. and was
Just in the frame of mind for giving othsfs
most excellent advice, which, perhaps, l
should have been very unwilling to follow
il the dark waves of trouble had rolled over
me.
''Itry to bear ii a. well - csn.' she re-
piled. wipinE away her tears with the corner
Of her apron.
II don't know q An acquainted with
yon, ma am" suggested, for the purpose
Of changing the topic and bring her 70 bust
naes.
II don't know - you are, she replied;
and she proceeded to give me . very long
and very succint account Of her previous his
tory, beginning back some forty years, when
born among the White Mountains in New
Hampshire.
trisd to check her, but it waa no uss. !
was - patient - the case would admit, and
mindful of the duty we owe to the weak, the
inGrm and the ignorant; but my patience was
sorely tried.
will not punish the reader With long,
6ne-spun story she told me, for few lines
will suffice TO inform him Of all the material
facts.
She was q widow; her name WAS Marche.
She had an only son, Philip. who was en-
ploysd in An insurance office, and received
three dollars week for his services. He
was . good boy, and loved his mother, - ,
son should. Upon their united earnings
they lived very comfortably, in An obscure
street, whore they hired two rooms. Mrs.
Marches catalogue Of her sons virtues WAS
certainly very edifying. Hs move: spent
= cent upon himself. never went out after
dark, sEd attended church forenoon and Of
ternoon.
An evil day had come. Oh thu Saturday
three weeks preceding, Mr.. CAmsn, the
President Of the Insurance Company, ~ he
declared, had sent Philip with ! valuable
diamond ring to the jewelers., 70 have th:
stons r.set. On inquiry the ring was found
jewslsr had never seen Il. To make the case
more complicated, the boy deaied having re-
ceived the ring. Mr. Carman hadnevsr sent
him on sach an srrand.
The boy had been arrested on charge Of
stealing the ring, and was now confined In
jail. Mr.. Carman was ready 10 swear be de-
livered the valuable article into the hands Of
the boy. with explicit directions a. to where
be should carry it and what should be done
with H.
/, looked like bad case. The poor wo-
man Was in the saddest distress. She was sure
that her darling boy would not steal pitied
her, and promised to do what could for
her son.
When she had sone called upon Mr.. Car
man. found that he was ore Of those dog
matte old fellows who are never in the wrong
who find it impossible to err, even by de
sign, or make a mistake. l tried to argue
the point with bin, but he would not say
mnch. he told he the story; was sure he
sent the boy and nobody else.
ventured to suggest that he might bav'
been mistaken; that he had sent the ring by
some Other person.
sDo yon take me for . simplsaens sir p
Do yol think don't know what am about7'
he exclaimed, hestowing upon me look Of
whitening contempt. 81 sent the ring with
the boy, sir. The boy has stolen it. Moth
ipg more need be said sir .
And he turned to the newspaper be had
been reading.
I was not much pleased With the interview
was highly vexed Al the naughty bearing Of
the fellow; and confess that nv pique res
dered me ten-fold more xealoa, my en-
desvors to clear my youthful cher.
| visited Philip at the Jail. He was III
sad on his mother account; on his own he
seemed not to care. A more frank, open
hearted boy never saw. He told his story;
and though questioned him pretty severely,
he was consistent to the last
made the case ny own, and worked I'M
censingly, as it seemed to mo then, for the
overthrow Of the naughty president of the
Insurance company, as much az for the sal
walton Of the widow and her interesting son
| visited more than dozen jeweler shops
that afternoon and tho next morning; with
what result the reader shall learn in the de-
tails Of the trial, which came on the next
day.
Philip WAS duly arraiened, and hi. poor
mother nat b. his side, weeping and sobbing
like child, q The case proceeded
Mr.. Carnan, With majestic dignity, stepped
into the room. Re told the story have be-
fore detailed, and was turned over to me for
cross examination. could 80 thai he was
nettled, for be certainly could sss 10 mercy
in my kcs.
"Mr. Carman, are you willing to swear that
you gave the ring to the boy?n
Certainly am" he replied, vexsd and
angry, for be had answered the same ques>
ton dozen times IN the course Of the cross.
examination.
II beg your honor to note particularly the
words OF this witness,' | remarked to the
colrt.
His honor testified readily that he had no.
ticed them. as : matter Of course he had
them in his minutes; and he rather snubbed
ne for pressing so respectable witness in 40
severe manner.
"Now, Mr.. Carman. may beg you TO ex.
anime this ring?i and handed him the one
he had lost.
1T is mine,' he replied with evident as
Commitments.
You identify the ring, do you, sirlo
''fhat is al, sir. May 1t please your honor,
shal! bring but one w,tness for the dsfsnce. |
Will Mr.. Graham take the stand ~
Mr.. GrAhAm took the sand. I showed |
him the ring.
= yoa svsr .ssn this ring bssor. p
II - -.
state u the court what you know abcat
~
Mr.. GrAham proceeded to state that he vas
jewelers. that the ring vas left at his shop
nrss weeks before BY an elderly gentleman,
o have . stone reset
'ls the gentleman in the courtroom, y
eksd.
he is; there be sits = and he pointed to
dr. Carman.
The court WAS astonished; the effsee,,
'ere sstonished and Mr. Carman was over.
.hemed with confusion. He eel ,wledeed
~ error when there was no poes bil,ty Of
onceai'ng H. he asked to correct his test;-
nony, ana d co.
M. Carmsn vas very absentmindcd
nan ana the solution OF the whole matter
that he forgot all TIA circumstances con-
ected with the ring He intended 20 have {
ent Phillip to the jewellers with il, and sc.- !
ally called him for that purpose. Bat hie a,
,ntion was attracted to something else, and
Thought no more about II. On HE way