Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-01-24
.lse6oodr !.
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falsehoodr rIsU1xGf ,cuD
g Yes" ansWere-gle little gi--'Il'", - IL .,
a nod; "it's wicked" ipv. II.
"Who will punish you if youeiEngg n,
falsehood?" -: z
"God will" she replied. sms6
"And who told you that God wt90l
punish you?'' 81,
Mamma did, sir.'' q.
The Judge wiped his glasses, and
both he and the Chief-J ustice looked
very grave. There were few dry eyes
in the vicinity of the little witness, and
even the stern jurymen looked melted
for moment A tear stood in the
prisoners eye, and then rolled slowly
down her pale face. She raised her
veil and brushed it away with her
handkerchief.
1--WE admit this testimony" said
Chief-Justice Park, finally, "to impeach
the testimony of the grandmother, and
not for any other purpose. Mrs. Wa
terman having testified that she did not
tell the little girl certain thing, it is
allowable to impeach ker testimony by
asking the little girl what she did tell
her"
With constant prOmptings from the
Public Prosecutor, Adele told her story.
She said that the lawyers came to her
one day and asked her if she had seen
anything of the cup. She admitted
seeing the cup marked "Pet' in
the cupboard of her mothers house.
When she next saw her grandmother,
the latter said to her, "Your mother
had no such cup as that. There is a
cup marked something else that be-
longed to me." During this painful
recital, Mrs. Waterman, who was being
virtually accused of perjury by her
grandchild, looked pale as death. Her
face was firmly set, and she did not
lower it, although the gaze of the
crowded courtroom was concentrated
upon her. When the painful scene was
concluded, not without many interrupt
tiOns by the counsel for the defense,
the Public Prosecutor heaved sigh of
relief
"Do you know the nature Of an oath,
Adele?n asked Col. Wait, rising once
more and looking fxedly at the wit
ness.
mo, sir" was the artless answer.
There, you see, your Honors," ex-
claimed the prisoners counsel, tri-
uImphantly, "she admits that she
doesn't know what she's doing"
g But she says it's wicked to tell a
falsehoood, and that God will punish
her." said Judge Culver, emphatically.
'She may not know about the legal
form, but she understands the essence
of the thing
When little Adele left the witness
chair, she walked over to where her
mother was sitting. Curiosity-seekers
crooked their necks to see what the
mother would do. The. child tripped
unhesitatingly up to the silent figure
in black, whose life she had been help
ing to swear away, and put out her tiny
hand. The mother caught her in her
arms, raised her upon her lap, pressed
her to her breast and began smoothing
back her golden hair with trembling
but loving hands. Those who stood
near say that the only words she ut
tered, and those in a choked voice,
were, My preciousr'
Five hundred gaping spectators
stared a. this scene with dry eyes, but |
the lawyers for the prosecution, to their
honor, did not hide their emotion. |
The tears coursed down the furrowed |
cheeks of the venerable counsel for the |
prisoner, as he rose, and, in q trem-
ulous voice demanded that the entire
evidence be ruled out as inadmissible.
He made an eloquent argument, but
.he Judges felt compelled to refuse
NO110ich Cor. NJ Y San.