The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1871-08-31

T1an CRITICAL wTTlanss.
In tho spring Of 1s4l | was callet
!, to Jackson, Alabama, TO attend court
having been engaged to defend
young man who had been accused o
iobbing the mail. / arrived early In
the morning and Immediately had
Hong conference with my client. The
stolen bag had been recovered, Of
we'll rs letters from which tho money
bad beon rifed. These letters were
. given me for my examination, and ]
returned them to the prosecuting at
torney. Having got through my
preliminaries about noon, and as the
case would not como off before the
next day, went into court in the
afternoon to sec what was going on.
The first case that came up was one
fof theft, and the prisoner Was 4
young girl not more than seventeen
years Of age, named Elizabeth Mad.
worth. She was very pretty, and
bore that mild, innocent look which
we seldom find in q culprit. She had
been weeping profusely, but as she
found 30 many eyes upon her, she be-
came too frightened to weep moro.
| The complaint against her set forth
that she had stolen hundred dol
lars from Mrs. Nasty, and as the
case went on, / found that this Mrs.
Nashy, wealthy widow living in
the town, was the girls mistress.
The poor girl declared her innocence
in the widest terms, but circumstan-
ces were against her. A hundred
dollars in bank notes had been stolen
from her mistress room, and she
wss the one that had access to her
trunk.
At this junction, when the mistress
was upon the witness stand, q young
man came and caught me by the
arm. He was q fine looking young
| man, and big tears stood in his eyes.
'They tell me you are q good law
YER ho whispered.
Il am a lawyer l answered.
sThen do save herl You certainly
can do it, for she is innocent
Is she your sister 2
mo sir he added, but-but-
Here he hesitated.
Has she no counsel 2
None that's good tor anything
nobody thatll do anything for her.
o, save her; and Ill give you all
I've got. l can't give you much
but can raise something.
/ reflected moment. cast my
eyes towards the prisoner, and she
was at that moment looking at me.
Size caught my eye, aid tho volume
Of entreaty l read in her glance re-
solved me In moment.
[ arose and went to the girl, and
asked if she wished me TO defend
her. She said yes. | then informed
the Court that l was ready 10 enter
the case, and was admitted at once.
The loud murmur of satisfaction that
ran through the crowd, told mo
where the sympathies Of the people
wore. l asked for moments ces-
sation, that I might speak to my
client. l went and sat down by her
side. l asked her TO state candidly
the whole case. She told mo that
she had lived with Mrs. Nasty near
ly two years, and had never had any
trouble before. About two weeks
ago, she said, her mistreas missed
hundred dollars.
.Sho missed it from her drawer,
the girl said to me, and asked me
about it. | said / know nothing
about it. That evening / know
Nancy Luther told Mrs. Nasby that
she saw me take the money from the
drawer-that she watched m Q
through the keyho!e. Then they
| went to my trunk and found twenty
five dollars of the missing money
there. But, sir, ] never took it, and
somebody must have put it thcre.'
I then asked her if she suspected
any ono.
Il don't know she said, who
| could have done it but Nancy. She
has never liked me because she
thought l was better treated than
she. She is the cook | was the
chambermaid'
She pointed Nancy Luther cut TO
me. She was q stout, bold-faced girl,
somewhere about five and twenty
wears old, with low forehead, small,
gray eyes, pug nose and thick lips.
1 caught her glance at once, as II
rested on the fair young prisoner,
and the moment detected the look
of hatred which | read there, l was
convinced that she was the rogue.
| Nancy Luther did you say that
girls name wasp asked for ~ new
light had broken in upon me.
Yes, SIR
/ left the court room and went 10
the prosecuting attorney and asked
him for the letters / had handed
him--the ones that had been stolen
from the mail bag. lie gave them
. to me, and having selected onu re
turned the rest and told him l would
see he had the one kept before
night. / then returned to the court
room, and the case went on.
Mrs. Nasby resumed her testimo
6 ny. She said shc intrusted tho room
, to the prisoners care and that nj
, one else had access there, save her
i self. Then she described about mis-
: sing the money. and closed by telIin.
: how she found twenty-five dollars o
: the missing money in the prisoner
a trunk. She could swear it was tn
= identical money she had lost, in tw'
tens and one five dollar bank note.
Mrs. Nasby,' said l, when yo
first missed the money, had you an,
reason 10 believe that the prisone
l. had taken it?
o No, sir, she answered.
3 Had you ever detected her in an
:, dishonesty?
- mo, sir
!. Should you have thought
ID searching her trunk, had not Name
n Luther advised ana informed you
It No, SIR
: Mrs. Nasty left tho stand, al
q, Nancy Luther took her place. 81
rs camc up with bold lock, and ups
IL ma cast "A defiant look "a IL m an