The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-01-28
A JURYMAN'S STORY.

We had been out of court twenty-four
hours, and stood eleven to one. The
case was very plain one-at least, we
eleven thought so. A murder of pecu-
liar atrocity had been committed ans
though no eye had witnessed the deed,
circumstances pointed to the prisoners
guilt with unfailing certainty.
The recusant juror had stood out
from the first. He acknowledged the
cogency of the proofs, confessed his in
ability to reconcile the facts with the
defendants innocence, and yet, on every
vote, went steadily for acquittal. His
conduct was ineXplicable. 1t could not
result from a lack of intelligence; for,
while he spoke but little, his words were
well chosen, and evinced thorough I'M
derstanding of the case.
Though still in the prime of manhood,
his locks were prematurely white and
his face wore singularly sad and
thoughtful expression. He might be
one of those who entertained scruples as
to the right of society to inhict the
death penalty. But no, it was not that;
for, in reply to such a suggestion, he
frankly admitted that brutal men, like
the vicious brutes they resemble, must
be controlled through fear, and that
dread of death, the supreme terror, is,
in many cases, the only adequate re-
straint.
At the prospect of another night of
fruitless Imprisonment we began to grow
impatient, and expostulated warmly
against what seemed an unreasonable
captiousness; and some not over kind
remarks were indulged in as to the i'm
propriety of trihing with an oath like
that under which we We're acting.
"And yet," the man answered, as
though communing with himself, rather
than repelling the imputation, cit is
conscience that hinders my concurrence
in verdict approved by my iudg-
ment."
"How can that be?" queried several
at once.
"Conscience may not always dare to
follow Judgment.
guide"
81 once would have said the same"
"And what has changed your opin-
ion."
Experience -
The speakers manner was visibly agi-
tated, and we waited in silence the ex-
PLANTATION which he seemed ready to
give. Mastering his emotion, as if in
answer to our looks of inquiry, he con-
tinued
"Twenty years ago, was a young
man just beginning life. Few had
brighter hopes. An attachment, dating
from childhood, had ripened with its OBJ
ject. There had been no verbal decla-
ration and acceptance of love-no formal
plighting of troth but when took my
departure to seek a home in the distant
West, it was a thing understood, that
when had found it and put it in order,
she was to share it. Life in the forest,
though solitary, is not necessarily lone
some. The kind of society afforded by
nature, depends much on ones self. AS
for me, lived more in the future than
in the present, and hope is an ever
cheerful companion. At length the time
came for making the final payment on
the home which 1 had bought. 1t would
henceforward be my own and in few
more months, my simple dwelling, which
had spared no pains to render inviting,
would be graced by its mistress.
"At the land-offiee, which was some
sixty miles off, met my old friend,
c.. He, too, had come to seek a
fortune in the West and we were both
delighted at the meeting. He had
brought with him, he said, sum of
money which he desired to invest in
land, ON which it was his purpose to
settle. l expressed a strong desire to
have him for neighbor, and gave him
a cordial invitation to accompany me
home, giving it as my belief that he
could nowhere make q better selection
than in that vicinity. He readily con-
sented, and we set out together. We
had not ridden many miles, when George
suddenly recollected a commission he
had undertaken for friend, which
would require his attendance at public
land sale on the following day. Exact
ing promise that he would not delay
his visit longer than necessary, and
giving minute directions as to the route,
l continued my way homeward, while
he turned back.
"I was about retiring to bed on the
night of my return, when a summons
from without called me to the door. A
stranger asked shelter for himself and
his horse for the night. invited him
In. Though a stranger, his face seemed
not unfamiliar. He was probably one OF
the men L had seen at the land office
place, at that time, much frequented.
Offering him seat, went to see his
horse. The poor animal, as well as
could see by the dim starlight, seemed
f<. hnx hnnTa ha. m.