The record-union., 1893-02-14
PLEA FOR THE FALLEN.
DR.. Curtis EIoquentIy Defends an Un-
fortunate Woman.
He Explains How and Why Mary
Roberts Fell Victim to the
Flowing Can.

common drunk.
Mary is a bottle-scarred veteran Of
Amazonian propensities, and for about
two decades she has figured conspicu-
ously along the water front, on l street,
and in the Police Court and City Jail.
She has had such hard struggle with adj
verse circumstances and Chinese gin.
and has encountered misfortune in so
many instances; that she has lost her rep
utation beyond recovery. She has also
lost her complexion, the graceful contour
of form and feature, and both morally
and physically, she is very much the
worse for wear.
Mary is woman, however, and she
stood alone and unprotected before the
Police Judge yesterday, as she has stood
many. many times before, and she tried
to be fearful and penitent as she waited
for the customary sentence of six months
in Jail.
A spirit of chivalry yet survives in
the nineteenth century, however. and
beauty in distress rarely fails TO inspire a
champion. 1t so proved yesterday, for
like knight of the earlier and more ro-
mantle ages, DIR. j. S. Curtis stepped TO
the bar, announced himself as counsel
for the erring damsel, and stood like a
modern Ajax to front the world in her
defense.
The doctor, like Jack Falstaff, whom
he favors in many respects, is fat, and is
growing old, but he is a true knight,
nevertheless, and is as brave as it is safe
ior one of his compass to be.
Officer terral was sworn, and queS-
toned by the City Attorney, said:
Am police officer; know the defend
ant; her reputation is bad. She is nearly
always drunk. Yes, sir, gets fighting
drunk. 1t has been her custom for years
to get drunk, and sometimes she yells
like an Apache and disturbS the city"
Ibid you ever see her sober, Mr.. Fer
raj ?'' asked counsel for Mary.
NO SIR"
''She might have been sober and you
not have seen her, might she not?"
"Ye-yes," replied the witness.
"Ah, thought so. your honor" said
DIR. Curtis. ''She has been sober, and
the officer did not know it. That will do,
sir"
The next witness was H. f. DiIIman.
He had known the defendant for fifteen
years; had thrown her out of his place OF
business twice this week. She was
drunk; she was always drunk"
Mr.. Dillman," questioned DR.. Curtis,
''did you ever see Mary make any
trouble?''
y she
broke your watch chain and had to eject
you bothn
"Oh, that was only joke, only joke,
Hank Now, sir, you are a ladies' man,
are you not, Mr.. Dillman?"
''Yes-oh, yes" replied the witness.
well, sir, will you swear that it was
not an envious feeling of jealousy which
prompted you to eject this l-l-lady and
myself from .y-y-your hcuse?" asked the
doctor.
The City Attorney here interposed an
objection, on various shaky grounds. and
the witness was called down. The de-
Tense had no witnesses and the prosecu-
ton rested the case.
Mary Roberts champion then assumed
his most dignified and corpulent air, and
addressing the court broke out as follows:
"Your Honor, / was u-su-summoned
here eXpect-edly to defend the pris-
oner before the bar-to protect the unp-p-
protected. L am not prepared to argue
the case before your Honor at this time,
and / am sure the able counsel on the
other side is too gallant to prosecute this
fair but fragile t-temale upon testimony
so Scant, unreliable and Incompetent as
that which has been given in this case.
II Will not impeach your witnesses,
s-sir, but submit that my client is the vic
tim of a conspiracy-an ignoble p-plot.
1t can be proven that one Annie Whit
ney, whose name, as you know, differs
from that of Caesars wife, took whisky
in bottles to the room of the d-d-defend-
ant here and induced her to drink. True,
she may not have required much p-p-per-
suasion, but, your Honor, the defendant
was suffering with f-felon on her film
ger. Now, if your Honor has had a
f-felon, you know what grievous
th-things they are-how painful. Imag-
inc your finger in wise which has
been s-s-screwed to the last t-turn of the
screw and can be made no tighter. Well,
sir, one turn more and you have a
f-f-felon. II
But" said Judge Buckley, "you must
explain. You say the vice was screwed
to the last turn. How could you turn it
again?"
II was f-f-figurative, your honor-you
must allow some la-latitude. The fact
is" continued the able counsel, my eli
ent suffered. Physicians know that
strong liquor eases pains of this charac-
ter, and my client knew it. Hence, your
honor, she drank d-deepiy, perhaps, but
n-n-necessarily, of the liquor provided
by Annie Whitney.
II am here sir, to maintain that Mary.
China Mary here, m-may have b-b-been
drunk many times in the p-p-past; she
may have been very drunk, and in the
future she may be d-d-dIunker still: but,
your honor, upon this occasion, if we ac-
cept the testimony, which will be a great
c-c-c-concession on the part of justice, my
client is the victim OF p-p-plot and a
f-felon, and she only drank TOTO"
Here the doctor was interrupted by the
court.
AZ will take the case under advisement
until tomorrow" said Judge Buckley.
If anything you have said is true, 1 may
deal leniently with your client"
The chivalrous DR.. Curtis then vouched
for the appearance of Mary in court to-
day, saying her husband was cripple
awaiting her with open arms, and wished
her set at liberty. But the frail one pre-
ferred to stay in Jail, and was locked up
pending judgment.