Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-09-27
LITTLE MABEL IN COURT
1Ho IMPORTANT LETTERS ARE READ
se sas Dwsils as Length sa the
essss 20 nsr st>pmsthsr ssa
ssshsr-Sss rsrmsttsa -
kxpiaia Tnsm-

ns pfooate court yesterday oevy
Oh veikdfess<d women eongrsgated As
aespiy Affected sympathizers with Mr..
ena Ma James Robertson, Of No. $50
Ssnssson-sve.. the brother OF the hus-
o1na having preferred . complaint
enAfxinR the pair with extreme cruelty
% Their httls I2-year-old daughter.
friday The child told . pathetic story
ot now she had been abused. A. o.
cfoxier moved 10 dismiss the complaint.
heosorge Bundy argued at length and
sne motion was denied. 1his put the
case In suen position that the intro
oucuon OF rebuttai evidence was
deemed expedient. Mr.. and Mrs- James
robertson were 10th sworn and testl-
ned 10 the ineorrigibility of the chlld;
tneis various attempts TO correct her;
shelr failure; the girls Inclination To
10 and steai. and her indifference TO
work, The two boxes spoken about by
mabel which her step-mother ordered
nef 70 carry upstairs dwindled to two
uny Boxes. bat the erotsexamina-
Won brought out that Mr.. Robertson,
regarded BY Mabel as beng the most
eraei. considered them too heavy for
ner 70 carry ~ one time, on accoun. OF
which = family row followed. which re-
suited IN Mr. Robertson's leaving the
house In . towering rage. The only
friends OF Mable were her uncle and
nunt, TIE complaiuants. UNDERESTIMATE
Walsh and Sheriff Mcqueen.
scrutisizsd By the womss.
A line of ladies extended around the
rear or the room and they scrutinzed
Mabel with searching glances. In all
those motherly, slsterly faces no kind
expression beamed forth for Mabel,
except from her aunt. w. L. Innis was
put on the stand and he gave the char
acter OF the defendants. stating that
Mrs. Robertson was .'sharp woman to
make and save money"
Mrs. Sarah Parr said that she had Mt
diverse times worked for the Robert
sons IN the capacity of seamstress,
and found them good people. Once
she permitted her curiosity to get the
better of her ana asked Mabel few
questions concerning her treatment.
"Don't you want to go away ana
leave your mother and father. They
treat you so meang'
"No man,"
''But they make you work 20 hard l
should think you would not like
mamma treats me good"
"In't your father cruel, awfully
cruel 70 your
mo nam, he treats me good"
Mn. PArr inquired on the above line,
but ssid she Just wanted TO find out.
She WAS sure that Mabel had happy
nome. Upon being asked If she had
any children, she replied that she had.
BeresA nsr Daughter TO Work.
ibid you ever make your girl work
- hard IS Mabelr' asked Mr.. Bundy.
"Yes SIR. When my daughter was
only seven years old l forced her TO
work harder than this ever had to-
Both sides closed their cases when
Croxisr introduced two letters written
and purported TO have been composed
without dictstion by Mabel. The first
Wns directed to General Innes and was
SUBSTANTIALLY TO the effect that she had
caused her mother . great deal of
trouble, was IN inveterste liar, thief
and general deceiver; had broken
dishes, stolen doughnuts, cookies,
money; had drunk q barrel of CIDER;
acted always contrary to what her
mother wanted her to; had pndressed
Aerself before some boys. and COM
mltted various other outlandish, bad
things. The letter was quite long.
Mabel looked around, young as she
was, and appeared as II she wanted to
explain something. The opportunity
Was not given her and she began cry
ip9. the scsiding tears rolling down her
cheeks Mr.. Bundy interposed all
objection and said that il was positively
cruel to insist on the reading of such a
letter. Mr.. Crozler thought il was not
and twisted an inference out of her
crying which he called "tears of re-
peutence." The letter continued to say
that the kind. indulgent stepmother
had deprived herself of clothes that
she might be well dressed aud had al
ways sacrificed every thing for her.
mabsf's Letter Read In Court.
The second letter was TO her uncle
and related how unjustly he had mis-
treated and misIudged her loving step
mother. A postscript said "Now don't
you think any one has told me TO write
3his way, because my mamma does not
know what this letter contains" This
last clause Is what aroused the suspic-
ions Of all but the friends present IN
the interest of Mr.. and Mrs. Robertson.
When on the stand Mrs. Robertson
aid that she only made Mabel wash
the dishes, make the beds, help do the
sweeping and . few other little things
OF no consequence. She did not think
that her husband had whipped Mabel
TOO hard, hut burnt the switch because
the neighbors we're talking about the
wy she was abused. Mabel Was taken
from the room by Under sheriff Walsh
and sheriff Mcqueen. McGeorge
Ruudv reviewed the testimony on both
e,des and said that something besides
f,nd treatment had induced Mabel 10
leave home. The child was either i'll
treated or . freak She had displayed
: remarkable intellect and literary
ability. and vas IN al respects . won
dsrfui child. Judge Perkins will talk
with Mabel privately.