Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-13
SHE LIED FOR LOVE.
Mrs. Florence Osborne, Who Stole
Jewels and SWOre Falsely,
ON TRIAL In OLD BOW STREET.
The Woman Forced to Prosecute Her Weeps
While Doing So.
LONDON'S LATEST SENSATIONAL CRIAE

escorteu Iromuall by OmcerS anu III 'H'
dock presented pitiable appearance She
was dressed entirely in black, and when sh'
was placed in the prisoners dock she wepl
bitterly, bowling her head in her hands sc
her face could. not be seen. Captain
Osborne stood outside the dock, and held
one of her hands in his own, and strived te
infuse her with courage to face the terrible
ordeal before her.
1t could readily be seen that the SYM
pathy of nearly every one present was with
the unfortunate husband, who has done
everything in his power to alleviate the
suffering of the woman who has brought
such unmerited disgrace upon his name.
His friends insist that no disgrace should
attach to him for the acts of his wife. and
though society DEGREES that he should suf-
/ fer for crime of which he knew nothing,
they express their determination to stick
by him.
Captain Osborne, it will be recalled, was
| engaged to Miss Elliott at the time the
charge of theft was made against her. but,
having perfect faith in her innocence, he
married her, and only acknowledged her
| guilty when the most positive proof was
| put before him. But that has made no per-
ceptible difference in his public treatment
of her, and his unfortunate position, it is
said, has much to do with the sympathy for
the young wife.
| The Story of the Crime Retold.
irJohn Bridge occupied the magisterial
| chair Before him Mrs. Osborne, nee
| Elliott, was arraigned to answer the charge
| of larceny and perjury made against her In
connection with the libel suit she brought
against her one time friend, Mrs. Har-
| greave, who had charged her with the theft
| of a quantity of valuable jewelry.
Mr. c. F. Gill, the well-known solicitor,
appeared for the Treasury to prosecute the
charge. He produced the formal evidence
of the perjury as shown by the records of
the Higher Court and then called as a wit
ness Mrs Hargreave, the lady from whom
Mrs. Osborne, in a desperase effort to pre-
serve her character, had brought the suit
for libel
Mrs. Hargreave entered the witness box
and repeated the evidence she had given on
the occasion of the trial of the libel suit.
She told of how Mrs. Osborne (then Miss
Elliott) had visited her at Torquay; how
she had shown the jewelry in question and
the secret receptacle in which it was kept
Then the witness told of missing the Jewelry,
the efforts made to discover who had stolen
Sphinx & Sons, the jewelry firm, who had
bought it from an unknown lady. She told
in detail her reasons for suspecting Miss
Elliott, and how the proof was obtained,
showing beyond doubt that she was guilty
of theft.
The Prosecutor Deeply Affected.
Mrs Hargreave went on to say that the
iewelry had been restored to her. and that
all the costs incurred by her in defending
the libel suit had been paid back to her.
The witness was then asked if she had seen
Mrs Osborne since the latter had returned
to England. With every evidence of deep
emotion, Mrs. Hargreave said that she had
visited her at the Jail yesterday.
Mr. Sphinx, the jeweler, was then called
to give evidence regarding the purchase of
the iewelry. He identified Mrs Osborne as
the lady from whom he had bought the
jewelry. After further evidence byMr. Sphinx
and a witness from the Bank of England
regarding the notes signed by the prisoner,
which it is admitted she received in ex-
change for the gold paid to her by Mr.
Sphinx, the magistrate asked Mrs. Osborne
If she had anything to say concerning the
charges against her. She, in a very faint
voice, answered, ''No.'' The prisoner was
then formally committed for trial.
Forced to Push the Case.
1t was very evident in the court room to-
day that neither ajor Hargreave nor his
wife entertain the least i'll feeling toward
Mrs. Osborne; on the contrary they plainly
showed that they were doing their best to
help that Unfortunate lady to escape the
legal consequences of her acts. As a matter
of fact the Hargreaves have never displayed
any animosity toward Mrs. Osborne, and
thew have been among her most earnest |
cvp,nothizarS said ut ono tima Ibat |
Major Hargreaves had declared that he and |
his wife would leave England before they |
would appear as witnesses against their |
friend, but it appears that the Treasury |
prevented them from carrying this inten-
tion into effectby serving a subpoena Mrs |
Hargreaves stated that her presence was
due only to the fact that a subpoena had
been served upon her
The solicitors representing the Har-
greayes and those who appeared for Mrs.
Osborne engaged in cordial and earnest
conversation in the courtroom, and it could
be seen that the representatives of the Har-
greaves were as solicitous for the welfare
OF Mrs. Osborne as were the representatives
of that lady themselves.
When during the course of the hearing
the pearls which have been the cause of ali
the trouble were produced in evidence Mrs.
Osborne broke down completely. Her body
shook convulsively and from her eyes there
poured flood of bitter tears. Mrs. Har-
greaves herself was more than touched bv
the misery of her friend She could only
control herself by the greatest effort and
she wept almost as freely as the prisoner
She leaned toward the dock and tried to
whisper a few words of encouragement and
hope to Mrs. Osborne, but her tears COM
PEELED her to stop and she buried her face
in her handkerchief.
Love Led Her the Wrong Way.
Mr.. Gill, after this scene, continued his
but Mrs. Hargreave only re-
piled in monosyllables to his many ques-
tions When Mrs Hargreave passed Mrs
Osborne in the law courts during the pro-
gress of the libel suit she stood and glared
fiercely at her. This, however, was but a
exhibition of feeling, due en-
tirely to the inconvenience entailed by the
action Mrs. Osborne had brought against
her. Mrs. Hargreave now fully under
stands that that action was but desperate l.
attempt of Mrs. Osborne to retain the
love and respect of her husband and
now that in view of the noble character of
Captain Osborne she does not blame Mrs.
Osborne for wanting to appear innocent in
his eyes. To-day as Mrs. Hargreave passed
the dock as she left the witness box she
placed her hand ON Mrs. Osborne's arm and
gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze
While Mr. Sphinx was giving his evidence
Mrs. Osbornes appearance of complete
misery was.most touching. She tried hard
to-control her feelings, but failed and ap-
peared to be fainting. A glass of water
was hurriedly handed to her and she me-
slipped little of it. This re-