Litchfield enquirer., 1872-04-18

en men on the iury;" and by the aid of this venerable, if clumsy expedient, the cause of Woodley versus Thorndyke was de facto adjourned to future day. had not long returned to the hotel, when was waited upon by MT. Milford, senior, the father of the young man who had been forbidden to visit Dale Farm by Thorndyke. His son he informed me, was i'll from chagrin and anxiety confined to his bed indeed; and Mary Woodley had refused, it seemed, to accept pecuniary aid from either the father or the son. Would I endeavor to terminate the es- arrangement which had for some time un- happily existed, and persuade her to ac- cept his, Milford seniors, freely-offered purse and services? instantly accepted both the mission and the large sum which the excellent man rendered. A part of the l money I gave Barnes to stimulate his ex- ertions, and the rest placed in the hand of Mary Woodley's grandpa, with friend ly admonition to him not to allow his grandchild to make fool of herself; an exhortation which produced its effect in due season.
 | Summer passed away, autumn had come and gone, and the winter assizes were 1 once more upon us. Regular proceed ings had been taken, and the action in l ejectment of Woodley Ceisus Thorndyke l was once more on the cause list of the | Chester circuit court, marked this time as | 8 special jury case. Indefatigable as Mir. Barnes had been in his search for Eliza beth Wareing, not the slightest trace of her eOuld he discover; and went into court, therefore, with but slight expecta- tion of invalidating the, I fully believed, | fictitious will. We had, however, ob- tained good deal of information relative to the former history not only of the ab- sent Mrs. Wareing, but of Thorndyke himself; and it was quite within range of probabilities that something might come out, enabling me to use that knowledge to good purpose. The plaintiff and old
 Mir. Ward were seated in court beside Mir. Barnes, as on the former abortive trial; but Mary Woodley had, fortunately for herself, lost much of the interest which attaches to female comeiness and grace when associated in the mind of the spec tator with undeserved calamity and sor- row. The black dress which she still wore-the orthodox twelve months of mourning for parent had not yet quite elapsed-was now fresh, and of fine quail ity, and the pale lilies of her face were interspersed with delicate roses; whilst by uCA 6IuC odb NIT. COuH W1l4OIu, luppy- looking as if no such things as perjurers, forgers, or adverse verdicts existed to dis turb the peace of the glad world. Alto ing than on the former occasion. Edward Wareing, must not omit to add, was, greatly to our surprise, present. He sat, in great apparent amity, by the side of Thorndike.
 It was late ill the afternoon, and twilight was gradually stealing over the dingy court, when the case was called. The special jury answered to their names, were duly sworn, and then nearly the same preliminary speeches and admissions were made and put in as on the previous oc- casion. Thomas Headley, the first wit ness called in support of the pretended will, underwent rigorous cross -examina tlOn; but 1 was unable to extract any thing of importance from him.
 "And now, said the defendants lead l inS oou1aec1, .-tIIct aslz my learned friend if he has succeeded in obtaining the attendance of Elizabeth Wareing?"
 / was of course obliged to confess that we had been unable to find her; and the judge remarked that in that case he could receive secondary evidence in proof of her attestation of the will
 A whispered but manifestly eager con- ference here took place between the de- fendant and hls counsel, occasionally joined in by Edward Wareing. There appeared to be indecision or hesitation ill their deliberations; but at last Mr. P rose, and with some ostentation of manner addressed the court.
 ''In the discharge of my duty to the defendant in this action, my lord, upon fo1x forl, ! T has been cast by the speeches of the plaintiffs counsel-speeches unsupported by shadow of evidence-I have to state perfectly justified before his neighbors and society, he has, at great trouble and expense, obtained the presence here to- day of the witness Elizabeth Wareing She had gone to reside in France with a respectable English family in the situa- tion of housekeeper. We shall now place her in the witness-box, and having done so, trust we shall hear no more of the slanderous imputations so freely lavished upon my client. Call Elizabeth Wareing into court. "
 A movement of surprise and curiosity agitated the entire auditory at this an- nouncement. Mir. Silas Thorndykes nat urally cadaverous countenance assumed an ashy hue, spite of his efforts to appear easy and jubilant; and for the first time since the commencement of the proceed ings entertained the hope of success ful issue
 Mrs. Wareing appeared in answer to the call and was duly sworn ''to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. She was good-lookmg wo- man, of perhaps forty years of age, and bore striking resemblance to her son. She rapidly, smoothly, and unhesitatingly confirmed the evidence of Headley to title. She trembled, observed, exces- sively; and on the examining counsel in- timating that he had no more questions to ask, turned hastily to leave the box,
 ''Stay-stay, my good woman," ex- claimed; ''you and l must have some talk together before we part"
 She started, and looked at me with frightened earnestness; and then her ner- vous glances stole towards Mr. Silas Thorndyke. There was no comfort there: in his countenance she only saw the reflex of the agitation and anxiety which marked her own. Sleek Silas. could see, already repented the rash move he had made, and would have given good deal to get his witness safely and quietly out of court.
 It was now nearly dark, and observing that it was necessary the court and jury should see as well as hear the witness while under examination, I requested that lights should be brought in. This was done. Two candles were placed in front of the witness-box, one on each side of Mrs. Wareing; few others were disposed about the bench and jury desks. The effect of this partial lighting of the gloomy old court was, that the witness stood out in strong and bright relief from the sur rounding shadows, rendering the min utest change or play of her features dis tinctly visible. MT. SiIas Thorndyke was, from his position, thrown entirely into the shade, and any telegraphing between him aand the witness was thus rendered impossible This preparation, as if for some extraordinary and solemn purpose, together with the profound si- 1enca which reicnad in fha conrt told