The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-01-22

to the edge of the platform and looked upon
the Witness
adele" he said, in kind, cheering voice,
do you know what il is to tell a false
hood?''
Yes, answered the little giri.wit nod,
Sit wicked"
who will punish you if you tell false
hood?r
God will" she replied.
"And who told you that God would punish
your
MAMMA DID, SIR"
The judge wiped his glasses, and both he
and the chief justice looked very grave.
There were few dry eyes in the vicinity of
the little witness and even the stern Jury
men looked melted for a 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 handker-
chief.
"We admit this testimony" said Chief
Justice Park finally, "to impeacn the testi-
mony of the grandmother. and not for any
other purpose. Mrs Waterman having tes-
titled that she did not tell the little girl a
certain thing, it is allowable to impeach her
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 il 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 lat
Ter said to her: You mother had no such
| cup as that; there is cup marked something
else that belonged to me-" During this
painful, recital Mrs. Waterman, who was vir-
tually being accused OF perjury by her grand
child, looked pale as death. Her face was
/ firmly set, and she did not lower it. al
| though the gaze of the crowded court room
w ted har TIo,. ~.
full scene was concluded, not without many
interruptions by the counsel for the defense,
the public prosecutor heaved sigh of re-
lief.
do you know the nature of an oath,
| Adele" asked Colonel Wait, rising once
more and looking fixedly at the witness.
No, sir" was the artless answer.
There, you see. you Honors," exclaimed
the prisoners counsel, triumphantly... "she
admits that she
DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE'S DOING"
''But she says it's wicked to tell a false
hood, and that God will punish her." said
Judge Culver, emphatically. ''She may not
know about the legal form, but she under
| stands the essence of the thlng''
When little Adele left the witness chair
she walked over to where her mother
was sitting. Curiosity seekers craned
their necks to see what the
mother would do. The child tripped
unnesltatlngiy up 10 the silent figure IN
black, whose life she had been helping 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 han
with trembling but loving hands. Those
who stood near say that the only words she
uttered, and those in a choked voice, were,
my preciousi'
Five hundred gaping spectators stared al
t'lrs scene with dry eyes, and the lawyers for
the prosecution, 10 their honor, did not hide
their emotion. The tears coursed down the
furrowed cheeks of the venerable counsel fol
the prisoner as he rose and, in tremulous
voice, demanded that the entire evidence be
ruled out as inadmissible. He made an elo
quent argument but the judge felt com
PEELED to refuse, and the case went over un
til next Tuesday. There remain only two
hours of rebutting testimony before the
summing up.