Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-02-19
Notes from an Alabama Law
yeT's Portfolio,
An Innocent Girl Indicted for Theft,
and How the Attempt TO Ruin Her
was Fooled.


WAS goiRg on. The first case that came
up was one of theft, and the prisoner
was young girl not more than seventeen
years of age, named Elizabeth Madworth.
She was very pretty and bore thar mild,
innocent look which we seldom find in a
culprit. She had been weeping profuse-
ly, but, as she found 80 many eyes upon
her, she became too frightened to weep
more.
The complaint against her set forth
that she had stolen q hundred dollars
from Mrs. Nsseby, and a. the case went
on found that Mrs. NAseby, q wealthy
widow living in the town, was the girls
mistress. The poor girl declared her in
nocence in the widest terms, but circum-
STAGES were hard against her. Ahundred
dollars in bank notes had been stolen from
her mistress room, and she was the only
one that had access there. At this juno
ture, when the mistress was upon the
stand, young man came ard caught me
by the arm. He was : fine looking man,
and big tears stood in his eyes
They tell me you are good lawyer"
he whispered.
aLA q AeH gNAS l.
s'Then 90 save herl You certainly can
do it, fer she is innocent"
SIS abe your sisteri"
'.No, sir" he added, "but-but-"
Here he Eesitstsd.
'Has she no counseli" asked.
''None that's good for anything-no-
body that1l do anything for her. o, save
her; and I'll give you all I've got. I
can't give you much, but can ralse you
something"
| reflected moment. l c1st nay eyes
towards the prisoner, and she was At thAt
moment looking at me. She caught my
eye, and the volume of entresliss l read
in her glance resolved nae in q moment.
arose and went to the girl, and asked if
she wished me to defend her. Sac said
yes. l then informed the Court that /
was ready to enter the case, and was ad-
mitted at oAce. The loud murmur of
satisfaction that ran quickly through tht
room tod me where the synpsthies of
the people were. l then asked for q mo-
meDt's cessation that l might speak to
my client. l went and sat down by her
side, and asked her 10 state candidly the
whole case. She told me she had lived
with Mrs. Naseby nearly two years, and
had never had any trouble before. About
two weeks ago, she said, her mistress
lost a hundred dollars. She missed it
from her drawer, and asked me about It.
l said knew nothing about it That eve
ming l know Nancy Luther told Nrs.
Naseby that she saw me take the money
from the draWer-that che watched me
through the keyhele. Then they went to
my trunk and found S25 of the missing
money there. But, sir, never took it,
and somebody must have put it there"
| then asked her if she suspected any
one.
81 don't know" she said, ''who could
have done it but Nancy. She has never
liked me, because she thought was bet
ter treated than she. She is the cook. I
| was the ChamberB2id.
She pointed Nancy Luther out to me.
SEE was a stout, b0ld-fsced girl, some
where about five aRd twenty yoars old,
with low forehead, small, grey eyes, 3
pug nose and thick lips. caught her
| glance at OBce, as it rested on the fair
Young prisoner, and the moment l de-
tected the look of hatred which l read
there, l was convinced that she WAS the
rogue.
Nancy Luther did you say that girls
name wat" l asked, for new light had
broken in upon me.
''Yes; sir"
| left the court room and went to the
prosecuting attorney, and asked him for
the letters had handed bim-the ones
that had been stolen from the mail bag.
| He gave them to me and having selected
| one, returned the rest and told him shat
would see he had the one kept before
| night. | then returned to the court room
and the case went on.
Mrs. Naseby resumed her testimony.
She said she had entrusted the room to
| prisoners care, and that no one had SC
| cess there save herself. Then she de-
sCr.bed about missing the money, and
closed by telling how she found $25 Of
| the missing money in the prisoner s trunk.
She could swear it was the identical
money she had lost, IN two tens and one
five dollar bank notes
"AIrs. Naseby,' said |, ''when you a.
frat missed the money had you any reason
to believe the prisoner had taken it ~
''No, sir, " she answered.
clad you ever before detected her in
any dishonesty"
''No, sir"
''Should you have thought Of searching
her trunk bsd not Nancy Luther advised
and informed yoU9"
''No, sir
Mrs. Naseby left the stand and Nancy
Luther took her place. She came up
with bold look, and upon me she cast s
defialt glance, as if TO say, Trap me if
you can" She gave her evidence as fol-
lows:
She said that on the night the money
was taken she saw the prisoner going VI
stairs, and from the sly manner in wLich
she vert up she suspected all was moi
right. So she followed her up. Eliza
beth went TO Mrs. NGEeby room and shu
the door after her. stopped down enc
looked through the key-hole, and saw hel
take the money ard put it in her rocket
Then she stopped down and picked W
the lamp, and as l saw she was coming
up l hurried away"
Then she went on, told how she haC
l informed her mistress of this, and how
she proposed to search the girls trunk.
= l called Mrs Nsseby to the stand.
you said that no one save yourself
and the prisoner, had access to you
room. Now, could Nancy Luther hsv,
entered the room if she wished"
'ECertainly, cir; meant that no on
else had any right there. "
| saw that Mrs. Naseby, though natur
ally a hard woman, was somewhat move,
by poor Elizabe,h's misery.
Gould your cook have known, by an,
1 means in your knowledge, where you
money wasf"
Eyes, sir; for she has often come t,