Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-02-26

r
selves-and then I'll tell you if I agree to
your verdict"
He folded his arms and looked like the
image Of a man who intended to keep his
word.
The hungry juryman laid himself back in
his chair and groaned. The amateur artist,
who had thus far found fund of amuse-
ment in his blotting-paper, yawned discol-
tentedly, and dropped his pen. The caurte-
Gus gentleman, who suffered from fdgets,
requested leave to walk up and down the
room; and at the first turn he took woke the
drowsy little man and maddened the irritable
invalid by the cracking Of his boots. The
chorus of five, farther than ever from arriv-
ing at an opinion OF their own, looked at the
silent jurylnan. Once more lie smiled nys-
teriously; and once more he offered no ex-
PLANTATION of what was passing in his mind
except that he turned his bald head slowly
In the direction of the foreman. Was he in
sympathy with man who had promised to
be as silent as himself?
In the meantime nothing was said or done.
Helpless silence prevailed in every part of
the room.
why the devil doesn't somebody beginT
cried the invalid. Have you all forgotten
the evidence?"
This startling question reused the jury to
sense of what was due to their oaths, if not
to themselves. Some of them recollected
the evidence In one way, and some of them
recollected it in another, and each man in
sisted on doing justice to his own excellent
memory, and on stating his own unanswer-
able view of the case.
The first man who spoke began at the mid
of no Ctn fnI hy n wi in
81 am for acquitting the captain, gentlemen;
he ordered out the boats and saved the lives
of the crew."-"And | am for finding him
guilty, because the ship struck on rock in
broad daylight and in moderate weather.
81 agree with you, sir. The evidence shows
that the vessel was steered dangerously near
to the land by direction of the captain, who
gave the course. Come come gentlemen!
let us do the captain justice. The defense
declares that he gave the customary course,
and that it was not followed when lie left
the deck. AS for his leaving the ship in
moderate weather, the evidence proves that
he believed he saw signs OF storm brew
ing."-"Yes, yes, all very well; but what
were the facts When the loss of the ship
was reported the Brazilian authorities sent
men to the wreck, on the chance of saving
the cargo; and, days afterward, there the
ship was found, Just as the captain and the
crew had left her."-"DOn't forget, sir, that
the diamonds were missing when the SalvOrs
examined the wreck All right, but that's
no proof that the captain stole the diamonds;
and, before they had saved half the cargo
storm did come on and break the vessel up,
so the poor man was only wrong in the mat
ter of time after all"-"Allow me to remind
you, gentlemen, that the prisoner was deeply
In debt, and therefore had an interest in
stealing the diamonds. Wait little, sir.
Fair plays jewel. Who was in charge Of
the deck when the ship struck? The second
mate. And what did the second mate do,
when he heard that his owners had decided
to prosecute? He committed suicideI Is
there no proof of guilt in that act2"-"You
are going little too fast, sir. The coroner's
Jury declared that the second mate killed
himself in n state of temporary insanity
Gently! gently we have nothing to do with
what the coroner's jury said. What did the
Judge say when he summed up?'-"Bother
the Judged He said what thcya say: Find
the prisoner guilty if you think he did it, and
find him not guilty if you think he didn't And
then he went away to his comfortable cup of
tea in his private room. And here are we,
perishing of hunger and our families dining
without us."-"Speak for Yourself, sir; 1
havn't got family. "-''ConSidcr yourself
lucky, sir; I have got twelve, and my life is
burden to me, owing to the difficulty of
making both ends meet" Gentlemen! gen.
tlemenl we are wandering again. Is the
captain guilty or not? Mr.. Foreman, we
none of us intended to offend you. VIII you
tell us what yOlt think"
No. The foreman kept his word. DE
eide for yourselves first" was his only reply.
In this emergency the member afflicted
with fidgets suddenly assumed position of
Importance. He started new idea.
Suppose we try show of handsr' he
suggested. Gentlemen who find the pris-
oner guilty will please hold up their hands"
Three votes were at once registered in this
way, including the vote of the foreman. Aft
er a moment OF doubt the chorus of five de-
cided on following the opinion which hap
pened to be the first opinion expressed in
point of time. Thereupon the show of hands
for the condemnation of the prisoner rose to
eight Would this result have an effect on
the merciful minority of four? In any case,
they were invited to declare themselves next
Only three hands were held up. One incom-
prehenSibIo man abStained from expressing
his sentiments even by sign. Is it neces-
sary TO say who that man WASP A mysteri-
Gus change had now presented itself in his
appearance, which made him an object of
greater interest than ever. His inexpicable
smile had vanished. He sat immovable, with
closed eyes. Was he meditating profoundly,
or was he only asleepp The Quick-witted
foreman had long since suspected him of be-
Ing simply the stupideSt person present
with just cunning enough 10 conceal his own
dizziness by holding his tongue The jury
arrived at no such sensible concluSiO.. In
pressed by the intense solemnity of his coun-
tenance, they believed him to be absorbed in
reflections of the utmost Importance to the
verdict After heated conference among
themselves, they decided on securing una
nimity of opinion by submitting to the arbi-
tration of the one independent member pres
Gnt-the member who had taken no part in
their proceedings. (Which way does your
view of the verdict incline, sir? Guilty or
not guity?'
The eyes of the silent juryman opened
with the slow and solemn dilation of the ewes
of an owl. Placed between the alternatives
of declaring himself in one word or two, his
tciturn wisdom chose the shortest form of
speech. Guilty" he anSwered-and shut
his eyes again, as if he had had enough of it
already.
An nutterable sense of relief pcrvaded the
meeting. Enmities We're forgotten, and
friendly looks were exchanged. With one
accord the jury rose to return to court. The
prisoners fate was sealed The verdict was
guilty.
2-The Sentence