The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1886-11-06

ming to get dark. On hearing this
Mrs. Brunell looked very much dis
tressed.
81 have got waiter here named
jennings" he said, "a man superior
to his station in life-good manners
and good education-in fact gem
eral favorite. But for some little
time past / have observed that he
has been rather free with his money
in betting and that his habits of
drinking have grown on him. / am
afraid he is not worthy of the good
opinion entertained of him by my
self and by other persons. This ev-
ening l sent him out to get some
small silver for me, giving him
guinea to change. He came back
intoxicated, telling me that change
was not to be had. ordered him
to bed-and then happened to look
at the guinea which he had brought
back. Unfortunately l had not at
that time heard of the robbery, and
l paid the guinea away with some
other money in settlement of a
tradesman's account. Butthis ! am
sure of-there was mark on the
guinea which Jennings gave to me.
1t is, of course, possible that there
might have been mark (Which es-
capped my notice. ON the guinea
which l took out of my purse when
l sent for change.
"Or," the traveller suggested, lit
may have been one of my stolen
guineas given back by mistake by
this drunken waiter fyours, instead
of the guinea handed to him by
yourself Do you think he is
sleep?"
"Sure to be asleep, sir-in his con-
dition."
"Do you object, Mr. Brunell, after
what you told me, to setting this
matter at rest by searching the mans
clothes ?"
The landlord hesitated. "Itseems
hard on Jennings" he said, "if we
prove to have been suspicious of him
without cause. Can you speak
positively, sir, to the mark which
you put on your money!"
The traveller declared that he
could swear to his mark. Mr.. Bru-
nell yielded. The two went up to-
gether to the walters room.
Jennings was fast asleep. At the
very outset of the search they found
the stolen bag of money in his pock
ct. The guineas-nineteen in nnm-
ber-had a mark on each of them,
and that mark, the traveller identi-
fed. After this discovery there was
but one course to take. The wait
ers protestations of innocence when
they woke him and accused him of
the robbery were words fatty contra
dicted by facts. He was charged
before a magistrate with the theft of
the money and, as amatter ofcourse
was committed for trial.
The circumstances were so strong
ly against him that his own friends
recommended Jennings to plead
guilty and appeal to the mercy of
the court. He refused to follow
their advice and he was bravely en-
couraged to persist in that decision
by the poor girl, who believed in his
innocence with her whole heart. At
that dreadful crisis in her life she Sc
cured the best legal assistance, and
took from her little dowry the money
that paid the expenses.
At the next assizes the case was
tried. The proceedings before the
judge were repetition (at great
length and with more solemnity) of
the proceedings before the magis-
trate No skill in cross-examination
could shake the direct statements of
the witnesses. The evidence was
made absolutely complete by ap-
pearance of the tradesman to whom
Mr.. Brunell had paid the marked
guinea. The coin ESQ marked) was
a curiosity the man had kept it,
and he now produced it in court.
The judge summed up, finding liter
ally nothing that he could say, as
an honest man, in favor of the pris-
oner. The jury returned a verdict
of guilty, after consultation which
was mere matter of form. Clearer
circumstantial evidence of guilt had
never been produced in the opinion
of every person-but one-who was
present at the trial. The sentence
on Jennings for highway robbery
was, by the law in those days, death
on the scaffold.
Friends were found to help Esther
in the last effort that the faithful
creature could now makc-the at
tempt to obtain Il Communication o.