The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1870-05-27
8isEEltamg.
THE .CRIMINALWIgNESS.

/ ters from which money had been rified
These letters were given me for eX'
| animation, and returned them to the
| prosecuting attorney. Having gOt
| through my private preliminarieS about
noon, and as the case would not come
| off before the next day, I went into
/ court to see what was going on.
| The first case that came up was one
of theft, and the prisoner was a young
| girl not more than seventeen years o.
| age, named Elizabeth MadwOrth.-She
was very pretty, and bore that mild
| innocent look which you seldom find il
a culprit. She had been weeping pro-
| fusely, but as she found so many eyes
upon her, she became too frightened tC
weep more.
The complaint against her set forth
| that she had stolen hundred dollars
| from a Mrs. Naseby, and as the case
went on, found that Mrs. Naseby, q
wealthy widow living in the town, was
the girls mistress. The poor girl de-
clared her innocence in the widest
! terms; but circumstances were hard
| against her. A hundred dollars in
| bank notes had been stolen from hel
mistress room, and she was the only
| one that had access there.
| At this juncture, when the mistress
was upon the stand, a young man
caught me by the arm. He was a fine
| looking young man, and big tears
stood in his eyes.
"They tell me you are a good lawyer"
he whispered.
81 am a lawyer" I answered.
Then do save her. You certainly
can do it, for she is innocent"
{" Is she your sister?"
"No sir" he added; " but-but-''
here he hesitated.
Has she no counsel?" I asked.
None that's good for anything, no
body that'II do anything for her. Oh,
save her! and I'll give you all pVe got
eannot give you much, but l can
raIse something"
I reflected a moment. ] east my
eyes toward the prisoner, and she was
at that moment looking at me. She
humble entreaty / read in her glance
resolved me in a moment.
1 arose and went to the girl and
asked heyrNTAshe wished me to defend
her. ShG18aid yes. l then informed
the court that [ was ready to enter into
the case, and the muTmur OF Satisfac-
ton than ran quickly through the
room told me where the sympathies OF
the people We're. / asked for n mo-
ment's cessation, that / might speak
with my client. I went and sat'dOwn
by her side and asked her to state cam
didly the case. She told me that she
had lived with Mrs. Naseby two years,
and had never had any trouble before.
About two weeks ago, she said her mis-
tress lost a hundred dollars.
"She missed it from her drawer, -
the girl said to me, "and asked me
about it. 1 said / knew nothing about
it. That Nancy Luther told Mrs Mas
by that she saw me take the money
from the drawer-that she watched me
through the key-hOle. They went to
my trunk and fOnnd twenty-five dol
lars of the missing money there. But,
sir, I never took it, and somebody must
have put it there"
81 don't know" said she, "whO
could have done it but Nancy. She
has never liked me because she thought
was better treated than her. She is
cook. was chamhermaid.
She pointed Nancy Luther out to me.
She was a stout, bOld-faced girl, some
where about twenty-five years old,
with a low forehead, small gray eyes, a
pug nose, and thick lips. / caught her
glance at once, as it rested upon the
fair young prisoner, and the moment /
detected the look of hatred which !
read there, [ was convinced that she
was the rogue.
Nancy Luther. did you say that
girls name was ?n i asked, for a new
light had broken in upon me.
I" Yes, sir.'
left the court room and went to the
prosecuting attorney and asked him
for the letters I had handed him-the
ones that had been stolen from the
mailbag. He gave them to me, and
having selected one, / returned the
rest, and told him 1 would see he had
the one [ kept before night. [ then re-
turned to the court room and the case
went on.
Mrs. Naseby resumed her testimony.
She said she entrusted the room to the
prisoners care, and that no one else
had access there save herself. Then
she described about the. missing
money, and closed by telling how she
had found twenty-five dollars in the
prisoners trunk.
She could swear it was the identical
money she had lost, in two tens and q
five dollar bill.
{" Mrs. Naseby,'' said 1, "when you
first missed the money, had you any
reason to believe that the prisoner had
taken it ?''
"NO, sir"
"Should you have thought of search
ing her trunk had not Nancy Luther
advised and informed you ?''
"NO, sir.n
Mrs. Naseby left the stand, and Nan
cy Luther took her place. She came
up with a bold look, and upon me she
cast a defiant look, as much as to say,
! I" trap me if you CAM She gave nae
| the evidence as follows:
| She said that on the night the money
was taken she saw the prisoner going
/ up stairs, and from the Sly manner in
/ which she went up she suspected al
was not right. She followed her up
| " Elizabeth went to Mrs. Naseby's
room and shut the door after her. ]
stopped down Gnd looked through the
| key-hOle, saw her take out money anC
| put in her pOcket.-Then she stopped
down and picked up the lamp, and a:
l saw that she was coming out hur
ried away"
1 called Mrs. Naseby to the stand.
"YOu said that no one save yOuTsel
and prisoner had access to your room, ,
l said "Now could Nancy Luthe
have entered the room if she wished p
Certainly, sir; l mean that no on
else had a right there"
l saw that Mrs. NaSeby, though natu
rally hard woman, was sOmewha
moved by poor EliZabeth's misery.
"COuId the cook have known by an
means in your knowledge where you
money was 2''
q Yes, sir for she has often come t.
my room while was there, and Ihay,
often given her money to buy prOyis
ins Of market men who happened t
come along with their wagon -
4 One more question. Have yol
1 lknOwn of the prisoner having use'
any money since this was stolen ,"
Il " No, sir"
Inow called Nancy Luther back, an,