The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-05-16

vet round hat with q white CULTS feath-
Ear Il it@ecewae5 Lsz-h0&d, while a mar
row strip of black lace served as an ex1
cnse for q mask veil
A friend of mine who happened to be
in the train, has given me this descrlp-
ton, accompanying it with the remark:
eff the Judge had seen her then, per
haps he We Ildn't have been so hard on
Baker"
1t may perhapsb be only fair to remark
here, without wishing to say aught
against the young lady, that her repu-
tation among those who knew her was
one that would lead a person into calling
her free in her manner with men.
At all events the train went putting
on again and seemed all right until it
stopped at Clapham junction. Then
the passengers were thrown into a great
state of excitement by the intelligence
that when the train had come dashing
up to the platform, the door of Colonel
| Bakers compartment was wide open,
and the colonel holding fast with II
hand to Miss Dickinson, who stood hat
| less upon the step outside. A great
cCmmotion followed. With many tears
and sobs the golden-haired beauty told
her story, the gallant Baker was taken
into custody, the young lady's relations
| ~telegraphed for, and the train went on
its way again .....
Briefly, Miss Diekinson's story was
that she did not know Colonel Baker
even by sight; that the train he'd hardly
left Woking when he entered into con-
versation with her; that her short re-
plies had no effect, but that in spite of
her GOODNESS his manner became more
familiar and his language improper,
his offensive actions eliminating in his
stopping down and grasping her by n
of her ankles; that therupon she jumped
up and tried to set the alarm in motion,
but being intercepted by Colonel Baker,
and not knowing what else to do, she
sprang to the door, burst it open, and
swung herself out upon the steps, the
train going at the rate of forty miles an
hour that Colonel Baker sprang after
her, and unable to draw her back
into the compartment, held her firmly
from falling, as she might otherwise
have done. In reply, Colonel Baker
had not a word to say, except
to give an absolute denial to the whole
story or at least Miss Dickin-
sons version of it. The af-
fair happening during the height ofthe
London season, and Colonel Baker being
so prominent a member of society,
the CONSERVATION it created in al quar-
tiers can be imagined. Many people
simply wouldn't believe it, and Miss
Dickinson was sharply criticised, by
women especially. No young lady ey-
er travels by train alone in England
at least, no parent who has his daught-
er's safety at heart would permit her to
do so-and that was advanced as ex-
cuse enough for whatever happened.
But at length at the Croydon Assizes,
before Mr.. Justice Tush of the Queens
Bench, Colonel Baker was tried for
criminal assault, and Miss Dickinson re-
peated her tale under oath. Materially,
in a case of the kind, a woman, If she be
q lady, and especially If she be pretty,
has it all her own way. In England,
too, q man cant testify In his
own behalf, and the stunning
beauty of Miss Dickinson cap
tured every heart. What were a mans
past services to his country, or future
eareaT, put in the balance with an I'M
jured woman like that, even though her
story lacked a tenable corroboratiye
circumstance to bear out her unsupport-
ed statements? Colonel Baker was de-
Tended by Mr. hawkins, @. c., the
leading criminal lawyer at the time, who
has since become a judge of the High
Court of Justice, and remember that
his defense was thought to have been
far from an able one. Among many
points missed by him was failing to lay
any stress on the fact of Baker holding
Miss Dickinson from falling. Had he
been the scoundreI she described him,
or had he any reason to expect she
would accuse him Of anything, he
would not have been so anxious to save
from injury the only witness against
him.
However, Colonel Baker was convict
ed, and sentenced to a years imprison-
ment in Maidstone Jail, and . dne of
five hundred pounds. Untilthen public
opinion was, In q measure, suspended;
but upon his conviction there vast
any punishment severe enough for him;
no degradation sufficient TO show the
public detestationsof his conduct. He
was cashiered from the army, losing his
commission money-the same being the
modest sum of six thousand pounds he
was expelled from his clubs, and dis
graced in every way. The Queen, to
show her special resentment, sent for
Miss Dickinson to come and see her at
Buckingham Palace, and commiserated
| with her. In fact, she tried to make a
heroine Of her. But she coundn't make
that 80. If people were down upon
Baker, they had a lingering, admiration
for him that made them dislike the cause
OF his downfall. And besides, there
we're people who knew Miss Dickinson
1872 xx.all -ar ~ ALn.axL -nolox.o1