The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1891-02-14

withered hands with his handkerchief.
THANK YOU, your honor" said the
old man, I'm not used to making long
speeches. All need further say in any
preliminary way about myself is, that |
am widower. with one married daugh-
ter living in Norfolk. Virginia; that !
am member of DIR. Wallis church; that
live temperately, drinking but little
, and smoking less; and that | am quiet,
law-respecting, God fearing old man. Yet
| sit here to-day in this court u muir
| dcrer."
Your honor" exclaimed Mr.. Lang,
once more springing to his feet, Il must
, insist that the witness be instructed.
guilty was entered in the court OF ex-
animation, and similar plea has been
| formally entered in this court of arraiGn-
| ment. This man is on trial he has not
| been convicted, and | call upon your
| honor to instruct the witness that he
! must not use such terms of selfacc lisa
ton, as we'll as to inform the jury that
they pay no attention to the wild words
/ of the witness"
The witness is thoroughly conversant
with legal practices, | believe, Mr..
Lang" said the Judge. land fully ap-
preciates the gravity OF his position and
the necessity for carefully weighing
what he has to say. Nevertheless if
Excuse me. your honor" said the old
man Love. gently stretching out some
what shaky hand toward the Judge
"you need not caution me. your honor.
am. as you say, thoroughly aware CT
the gravity of my words-and position.
What say is simply the truth, and the
truth can injure no one. | am muir
derer, and purpose telling tn ST Y OF
my crime without attempting any palia-
ton"
There was stir in the courtroom,
and yelled woman--the mother of the
victim. it was said-leancd forward in
her chair and sobbed.
"Your honor" cried Mr.. Lang, again
on those ready feet of his; ''there is an
attempt at scnsationalism here" with a
vibrating foreiinger pointed in the direc-
ton of the sobbing woman, land | ask
that it be stopped"
We'll. now" said the prosecuting at
torncv with hot sarcasm; 1--WE must say
we like that. During the whole of these
proceedings We haven't said blessed
word. We've allowed you to put your
man ON the witness stand with all the
stagc-etfect YOU wanted and without Il
boo: and now, because this poor, he
reaved woman - this hcart-stricken
mOther-"ives way TO her natural grief
when the terrible crime that robbed hel
OF her darling is brought to her mind,
you-you. sir, who should be the last
man to make sound. go to blabbing
about scnsationalism. Why, sir"
THAT will do, gentlemen" said the
Judge, quietly but firmly, for Mr.. Lang
was actually bounding about in his anX-
iety to make his retort. 60 on, sir, :
he added. turning to the defendant, who
during the discussion had busted him
self folding his red handkerchief into i
neat. square package.
d" Since working for Messrs. Rocker &
Coe," Cephas Love continued, Il have
been in the habit of walking down to
the store along Pine street each morning
from my clearinghouse, at the corner
of I.arkin and James streets. On the
sixteenth of June last, or ii might have
been the seventeenth, | noticed that No.
SG3, after having been vacant for many
months, was about to be tenantcd. The
next morning, and it was a Friday, | re
member. my attention was again attract
ed TO No So. and this time by very
peculiar incident. The two windows or
the ground floor. where the parlor wa,
evidently situated. were draped witt
heavy curtains of some maroon-cOlored
stuff. after a fashion which used to be il
vogue for dining-room. when | was {
boy As | was passing the house, thu
: curtain nearer me was drawn aside and ;
face pccred out-such a face us brighten:
"a child in what are called its baC
dreams"
describe it, Mr.. Love-" said the at
torney Lanc.
Il can not, said the witness, putting
oi.t both hands in a gesture of repulsioi
that was strangely energetic ina MAJ
seemingly so placid and undemonstra
tive; lit was more of Il mask than
face. Not enc of these ~rotcsquc masks
YOU understand, but one of vacUity--;
fE'nh. III illi'IlncSS, Il No'iiic>' HotllliG
The eyes We're biz. wide open, with tn
white showing all around the pupil be
tween the fixed lids The checks pal
and flabby. the nose line. and tn
mouth half open, with the lower In
dropping
Here strange thing happened, 70
while the prisoner described the face
his own took on that of the creature Il
was delineating, until in the place of til
, little old gentleman Of semiclerical as
, meet there apDcaIcd the doddlinr hea