Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-08-01

pIacency, too, that one felt that grass
cutting was perhaps his genial sphere.
However, work must come to Isalh; he
would never go to look 1t up. He also
did little odds and ends of gardening for
me on the same occasion, conversing po-
litely meanwhile. AS, for instance, IN
raking the hay:
''In de country dey calls dis var win
nowin'. worked at harvestin onst in
Prince Georges. Haryestin' is good fur
de nerves. 1t elder increase 'em or de-
crease 'em. Mine decreased-no, mean
ter say dey increased
"Then harvesting didn't agree with
you9"
sob, yes it did It suited me fust
rate. De nerves increased. I war as hearty
as buck"
"You look strong and well now," I
state. This occurs to me as good open
ing for my favorite text. ''Isaiah, wish
you could contrive and do more for your
old mother
81 does try, miss he declares; ~ does
my best" tossing the grass picturesquely.
81 tries hard.''
Lucy had given me to understand that
Isaiah was the rakish and rowing mem
Der Of her family, addicted to singing
about the streets at night, never going to
church. I referred to these facts in his
personal history. Isaiah did not deny them.
But he made promises of amendment. I,
for my part, presented him with an old
coat, with the understanding that he was
only to wear it to church. He had pleaded
his deficient toilette as an excuse for his
neglect of religious observances.
Not longer than week after that our
town was startled by murder commit
ted on the street at night, the victim. an
overbea1ing quarrelsome youth of the
white race, who yet elected in his death
| the sympathies of the whole community,
so unproyoked ana dastardly, was the
way of his end. His murderers were
traced Immediately and identified beyond
reasonable doubt. Alas, one of those ar
rested on suspicion was the same Isaiah
Isaiah Carrol-of whom I have written
above!
I went to see Aunt Lucy directly, and
found her plunged in grief. But she was
confident of her boys innocence. She
bewailed the way OF life which had caus-
ed him to be identified with that class of
men by whom the murder had doubtless
been committed.
II always tell him So" she kept repeat
ing, 81 telled him his cump'ny wud be
de ruin OBJ him. 1t war de singin', Miss,
I allus knowed no good wud cum OBJ dat
singin'.' -
followed the evidence carefully. The
feeling of the public was dead against
the suspected murderers from the start.
1, who had my misgivings as to Isaiah,
at least was glad that the universal char
| ity Of the law gave the wretched prison
ers chance to defend themselves. was
glad to know also, that Isaiah would get
an able counsellor; but all could hear
or read was against him.
The line OF defense chosen by all the
prisoners was to prove for themselves an
abb. Observe that no one had seen the
murder committed. The fact that the
three men accused of the crime had been
traced around through the neighborhood,
and on the night of the murder, furnished
the original grounds of arrest. Isaiah,it
was shown by the prosecution, had al
ways been hand in glove with the two
other prisoners, Smith and Quinby. It
struck me, on reading the evidence, that
it implicated the others far more con-
clusively than Isaiah. But it was shown
that he had been standing about the
street corners on the morning of the
murder with the two others accused and
it was also shown that for the last six
months they had been an inseparable
trio. Isaiah had, beyond dispute,been a
com panion of thieves-it not worse.
In spite of all which I believed be
could clear himself. Poor old Aunt Lucy
did not see him through the trial. She
could only mourn for him and pray for
him. Poor old Lucy.
The day when I had ascertained that
Isaih would be questioned, myself,
against all my previous habits, went
down to the courthouse. 1t was quite
a pitiful sight when Isaiah, confronted by
a badgering lawyer, infinitely more anx-
ious to win his case than that the right
should prevail, was placed on the stand.
He was att1red in his best clothes, and
he stood neryously twirling his hat in his
hand, as seen him do on the occasion of
our last meeting, when had bethought me
to advise him as to his moral and spiritual
state. He had evidently been coached
by his lawyer, and he was prepared to
60 through the examination as to his
whereabouts on the day of the murder
with circumstantlal precision. He &C
complished his lesson thoroughly. His
honest air and heavy, well.meaning ex-
preston were all in his favor. My spirits
revived. He appeared to me to have told
plain, unvarn1shed tale enough. I did
not recognize any of the names or places
he mentioned; he did not bring in those
relatives of his with whom / was &C.
qua1nted-Milly, Lucy-but there was an
air of heavy, dull verisimilitude over his
whole narration.
Then the cross examination began.
Isaiah had accounted for himself on
every hour of the day of the tragedy, up
to ten o'clock at night, the murder hav-
ing been at seven. He stood his ground
quite well at first, when he was called
on to repeat his statement, but on the re-
direct examination he suddenly broke
down. can remember having been in
such state of mind myself, when every
thing around me has all at once become
blank. Isaiah looked about him help
lessly. 1t suddenly came over HIM that