The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-04-19

IIsttLeu 10 IL With Qeep attention.
Twice, only, did perceive that it pro-
Guced in him the slightest emotion.
When the disappearance of the house
keeper was mentioned, a smile, as of
scOrn, passed over his lip; and the no.
tice Of the discovery OF the stopper OBJ
V10usly excited an interest, and, I
Thought, an apprehension but it quick
ly subsided. | need not detail the evi-
dence that was given for the prosecu-
ton; 1t amounted in substance to that
which the counsel stated; nor was it
varied in any particular. The stopper
was produced, and proved to be found
in the house; but no attempt was made
to trace it to the prisoners possession,
or even knowledge.
When the case was closed, the learned
judge addressed the counsel. for the
prosecution, said he thought there was
hardly sufficient evidence to call upon
the prisoner for his defense; and if the
jury we're Of that opinion, they would at
| once stop the case. Upon this Observa-
tion from the judge, the jury turned
round for moment and then intimated
their acquiescenCe in his lOrdship's view
of the evidence. The counsel folded
up their briefs, and verdict of acquit-
tai was about to be taken, when the
prisoner addressed the court. He urged
the jury to permit him to state his case
| to the jury, and to call his hOusekeeper,
with so much earnestness, and was
seconded so strongly by his counsel,
! that Lord Mansfield, though very much
against his inclination, and contrary to
his usual habit, gave way, and yielded
| to the request.
The prisoner than addressed the jury
| and entreated their patience for q short
tod 10 |,
never could feel satisfied to be acQuit-
ted merely because the evidence was
not conclusive, and pledged himself, in
a very short time, by the few Observa-
tions he should call, to obtain their yer
| dict upon much higher grOunds-upOn
the imp0ssibility Of his being guilty of
the dreadful crime.
| Of the stopper, which had been found,
| he disOwned all knowledge; he declared,
most solemnly, that he had never seen
| it before it was produced in court; and
he asked, could the fact of its being
found in his house, only few days
ago, when hundreds of people had been
there, produce upon an impartial mind
even a mOmentary prejudice against
Aim One fact, and one only, has been
proved, to which it was possible for
| him to give an answer-the fact of his
| 11ft Ah$- SOAlO w GllC bCu 1UbIA VI HIS
| hOusekeeper on the night in question.
| He had been subject, for many years
of his life, to sudden fits of illness; he
had been seized with one on that Occa-
sion, and had gone to her to procure her
assistance In lighting fire. She had
returned with him to his room for that
purpose, he having waited for minute
in the passage while she put on her
clothes, which would account for the
momentary disappearance Of the light !;
and after she had remained in-his room
for few minutes, finding himself bet
ter, he had dismissed her, and retired
again to bed from which he had not
risen when he was informed Of the
death of his guest. It had been said
that, after his cOmmittal to prison, his
hOusekeeper had disappeared. He
avowed that, finding his enemies de-
termined, if possible, to accomplish his
ruin, he had thought it probable they
might tamper with his servant he had,
therefore, kept her out of the way; but
for what purpose? Not to prevent her
testimony being given, fOrsshe was now
under the care of his solicitor, and
would instantly appear for the purpose
of confirming, as far as she was con
Cerned, the statement which he had
just, made.
/ Such was the prisoners address
which produced a powerful effect. It
was delivered in a firm and impressive
manner, and its simplicity and artless-
ness gave it al appearance Of truth
The hOusekeeper was then put into the
box and examined by the counsel fol
the prisoner. According to the custom
at that time almost universal, Of exclud,
ing witnesses from court until thei1
testimony was required, she had been
) kept at a house near at hand, and had
not heard a single word of the trial
There was nothing remarkable in hel
manner or appearance; she might be
about thirty five, or little more, with
regular though not agreeable features
|, and an air perfectly free from embar.
rassment. She repeated, almost in the
! prisoners own words, the story he had
, told of his having called her up, and
; her having accompanied him to his
room, adding that, after leaving him
she had retired to her own room and
had been awakened by the man servant
in the morning with an account of the
travellers death.
She had now to undergo cross-ex.
, animation and may as we'll state here
that which, though not known to me
till afterward, wifi assist the reader il
VI understanding the following scene
, The counsel for prosecution had, in hi
:. own mind, attached considerable i'm
portance to the circumstances men
toned by the witness who saw the
, light, that while the prisoner and tht
h0usekeeper were in the room of tht
| | former, something like a door had in
r tervened between the candle and thu
window, which was totally irreconeila
= hln with the anI,aaronca Of the pAnn
when examined; and he half persuaded
1 himself that there must be a secre
closet which had escaped the search o
l the officers of justice, the opening o
= which would account for the appearance,
q alluded to, and the existence of whicl
!; might discover the property which hat
3 so mystepiously disappeared. .,-si..
nj His object, therefore, was to 0btaiI
: from the housekeeper [the only person
/. except the prisoner who could give an,
r clue to this such information as h
: could get, without alarming her by an,
2 direct inquiry on the subject, which, a
(; she could not help seeing its impor
i tance, would have led her at once to
e positive denial. He knew, moreover
: that as she had not been in court, sh
e could not know how much or how 1ittI
i the inquiry had brought to light; an
: by himself treating the matter as i'm
V material he might lead her to GGnside
n it so, also, and by that means adIa5
forth all. that she knew. After som
: unimportant questions, he asked her i
l. o tone aud manner calculated rather t
It awaken confidence than to excite dis
d trust: '~.
nj During the time you were in MI
n Smiths room, you stated that the can
% die stood on the fabln in the eantnT r