The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-07-18

gazed, their amazed eyes encountered a
thin-lipped, anxiOus-visaged, nervous
woman, her body wasted 10 Z skeleton,
with traces Of former beauty heightened
to a strange degree by a vivid hectic
that burned upon her cheek.
The house of judgment grew hushed
as death. Advancing to the front, aud
confronting the dignified Court, whose
speetacles were poised within quarter
of an inch of the bridge of his nose, FL
len Dowd spoke:
MAY it please your judgment, Sir, to
grant me a personal hearing? This is
all ask"
"Put her outW yelled somebody on
the back benches.
Uproarious stamping followed this
coarse outburst, aud the Judge with diff
fieulty restored order. Leaning forward,
as though listening for cry OF distress,
he said in tender voice:
"What does the lady desire?'
Ellen started up as if possessed. In
vain did DIR. Golf essay to warn her
against rashness.
81 repeat the question, Sir. May be
heard"
"Of course, madam, if you have no
counsel, you may be heard at the proper
time, but the trial must proceed in the
regular FORM" was the suave reply.
II demand trial by q jury Of my
peers, remember" continued Ellen.
No objection was urged, but to find a
jury who had heard nothing about the
case, and therefore formed no opinion,
was tedious task; and when at last
they were impaneled, but one pair of in
telligent eyes were to be seen among
them, and they were possessed by a
dark-eyed stranger of commanding ap-
Pearance, who looked pityingly upon
the defendant from the box, while all
the Others seemed to enjoy the prospect
Of prurient feast upon the details of a
wretched scandal.
The trial proceeded. The principal
witness against the defendant was the
doughty magistrate who had served the
writ upon her. He testified that de-
fendant had confessed to him that she
had never meant to speak, but the
truth was being wrung from her; that
he had warned her against eliminating
herself, because he had felt il was his
duty to let her know that she was so
doing. But her conversation and hints.
and above all her manner, had con-
WINGED him that all was not right, so he
had watched the house of Jacob Graham
on the night after the old mans burial,
and had satisfied himself that Jacob
Graham had not been her only favOrite.
Great sympathy was manifested for
poor, dishonored Peter Dowd. The wife
listened in silence while he gave his
testimony, a deeper hectic burning on
her cheek.
One by one the various circumstances
against her were brought forward and
substantiated until the witnesses for the
prosecution were through.
There appeared TO be nothing to offer
for the defense. DR. GOff, being among
the accused, was denied the privilege of
giving testimony, and the case looked
hopeless enough.
At last opportunity was given for
Ellen DOwd to say why sentence for di-
voree should not be pronounced against
her. The verdict of Judge and jury was
plainly reflected in the faces of the as
sembled multitude, and il seemed little
else than downright madness in her to
attempt to say word. Arising with a
calmness in her manner that astonished
the gaping crowd, and turning to the
jury, in whose determined, stolid faces
she could detect but the one pair of kind
ly cleaning eyes, she began:
81 have indeed much to say to you, o
men, my brothers, who sit to-day
between me and the children for whom
l have given my life, my anguish, my
toll, until stand before you upon what
should be the sunny side of thirty
years, with my health destroyed, my
character maligned, my hopes blasted,
my property rights jeopardized'-
Down came the Judges gayel.
'The defendant will limit her remarks
to the case in point. Proceed"
81 beg pardon, sir. But if your honor
will have the magnanimity to place
yourself for a brief season in my posi-
tioni 1 think you will agree with me
that the case in point includes every
7 thing that l have mentioned, and. in
, deed, much more. / further beg. that
: as l have been unable to procure sueh
: counsel as l desired, and am therefore
the only one to be heard in my own de-
] fense, that your honor will grant me as
! much time as l shall need i'm which 70
T state my case and argue my defense"
1 To this request the foreman of the
I jury, from whose kindly eyes Ellen
I gathered renewed confidence, added the
= wish of his colleagues, and the defend.
5 ant proceeded:
Gentlemen of the jury, do not ap-
pear in this trial to avoid divorce. To
be released from 4 legal alliance with q
: man who took advantage of my lonely
: childhood to make me his wife against
r my expressed adherence Of the con.
) tract, is a boon which, did it come tC
| me under different circumstances, ]
should prize above everything. 1t i.
5 not the divorce, but the grounds upon
l which il is sought, TO which object