The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1871-09-14
NGT GI IITY.

NOT GUILTY.
in the spring Of l8,-I vas called TO
Jackson, Alabama, to attend court, having
been engaged to defend young man who
had been accused Of robJing the mail. The
stolen bag had been recovered as well as
the letters from which the money was
riGei. These letters were given ne for my
examination, and | returned them to the
prosecuting attorney. Having got through
my prcliminaries about noon, and Is the
case would not come off before the next
day, | went into the court in the after
noon 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
Of age, named Elizabeth Mcdworth. She
was very pretty, and bore that mild, inno-
cent look which is seldom found about a
culprit. She Lad been weeping profusely,
but as She found so many eyes upon her
she became too frightened to weep more.
The complaints against her set forth
that she had stolen a hundred dollars from
a Mrs. Nasty, and as the case went on |
found that this Mrs. Nasty, a wealthy
widow living in the town, was the girls
mistress. Inc poor girl declared her inno-
ccncc in the widest terms, but circum-
stances were hard against her. / hundred
dollars In bank notes had been stolen from
her mistress room, and She was the only
one that had access there.
At this junctuIc, when the mistress was
on the witness stand, u young llan came
and caught me by the arm
-" They tell me you are a very fine law
Yer" hc said.
9 am a lawyer | said.
hen save her! yoa certainly can DO
it, she is Innocent
Has She 10 counsel 7" asked.
. Mono that's good ior anythiug-nobody
that viii do anything for her. Oh, save
heF and | VIII give you all that have got
/ can give you much-but | can raise
something
/ reelected moment. | cast my eyes
toward tile prisoner, ami She was At that
moment loo.iug at ne. She caught my
'yc, and the volume Of cntrnatv read IN
. /
arose and went to the girl, and asked If
she wished me to defend Ter. She said
YES. then informed the court that was
ready to enter the case, and was admitted
at once. The loud marmurs of satisfaction
that ran through the crowd, told me where
the -ympathi"s of th" people were.
asked Tor Il moments cessation, that
might speak to my client. ! went AM sat
down by her side and asked her to state
cdndliiy the whole case. She told me she
hat lived with Mrs Nasby nearly two
years and never had amy trouble before.
About two weeks ago, She said, her mis-
tr"s> nuJ missed hundred dollars.
"She missed It from her drawer" the
gIri saId to me, land asked me about it.
| hat evening know Nancy Luther told
1.rs. Nasby that she saw me take the
money from the drawcr-that she watched
me through the kcyhole. Then they went
to my trunk and found twenty-five dollars
Of the missing money there. But, sir,
never took Il, and somebody must have put
it there"
then asked her if she suspected any
one.
- don't know" she said, "who could
have done it but Nancy She has never
liked me because she thought | was better
treated thaH size. She is the cook, | was
chambermaIl
She pointed Nancy luther out to me.
She was . stout, boli-fuceI Girl, some
where about five and twenty years old, with
q low forehead, small ewes, a pug nose,
and th.ck lips. | caught her glance at
once, as It rested on the prisoner, and the
moment | detected the took Of hatred which
1 read there, | was convinced that she was
tie rogue.
Nancy Luther, did YOU say that girl's
name was" asked for new light hal
broken in upon me.
Yes, sir.
/ lett the courtroom and went to the
prosecuting attorney and asked him for
che letters | handed h;u-the ones that
had been stolen from the mailbag. He
gave them to me, and having selected one
returned the rest and told him would
ste he had the enc kept before night.
then returned to the courtroom and the
case went on.
Mrs. Nasty resumed her testimony. She
sad she had iulruatcd the room to the
prisoner care, and no one else had access
there, save herself. Then she described
the missing money, and closed by telling
how she found twenty-five dollar. in the
prisoner trunk. She could swear it was
the Identical money, she had lost, IN two
tens. and one hye-iol!ar bank note.
Mrs. Aas6y,' said |, "whcn You first
missed the money, had You any reason TO
peit ,e that the prisoner had taken ii ?"
Ne, SIR, She answered.
Hat You ever detected her in any dis
honesty?
No, sir"
Should you have thought Of searching
her trunk, had not Nancy Luther advised
and informed you? "
Ne, sir
Mrs. Nasty left the stand, and Nancy
Luther took her place. She came up with
a bold front, and upon me east defiant
lcok, as if to say, . Trap me if YOU can"
She then gave her evidence as follows:
She said that on the night the money
was taken She saw the prisoner 90 IN
stairs, and from the shy manner in which
she went up, She suspected that all was
not right, 50 She followed her ND. Eliza
betA went to Mrs. Nasby's room and shut
the door after her, | stopped down and
looked through the kcvhole. and saw her
take the money and put it in her pocket.
Ihen She stopped down and picked up the
lamp, and Is saw she was coming out
hurried away"
Then she went on, told how she inform
cd her mistress Of this, and how she pro
posed 10 search the girls trunk.
| called Mrs. Nasty back.
You said that no one save yourself had
access 70 your roo,n," | said. d" Now
couldn't Nancy Tuthn- bava a~taraa ~,