The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-07-11
oIRoUxsr4yrIAL EVIDENCE.
A Strong Case Against Man Who wa'
 Unmistakabiy Innocent. From tho Rochester Democrat and Chroni'

From tho Rochester Democrat and chrohi-
 ele.l
 A most notable case of an almost perfect defence. prepared in advance by an ignorant and apparently slow witted man. once came under the nos tiee of reporter. A German saloon keeper burned his pretty wife's face and head dreadfully with Htriol. All the hair on one side of her scalp was destroyed. one of her eyes was blinded, and her face and neck were terribly scared. She was disfigured for life. The husband was overwhelmed with grief and self-reproaeh. and nothing that could be done for the womsnf re- lief was left undonel rhe aSefient happened after this wiset !
 Though the saloon was situatet in one of the most sordid of tenement house districts" 1t did n thriving trade and its elderly proprietor was very vel to do. His wife. a young and beauu- NbIHhlli Hhh eSh't"H" ssss urious and extravasant tastes. Among them was fondness for certain sort of "eau de Cologne" which she used lavishly. No present was more accept able to her than n bottle, of this, and scarcely week passed that she did not receive one as q gift from her uxo- rious husband. This cologne was pur- chased at a nearby drug store. The bottles in which 1t was put up were of peculiar shape and provided with glass stoppers. Some months before the accident her husband had one day told the druggist that the last bottle of cologne he had bought was not up to the standard, and that his wife had complained of 1t. He insisted, after that, on cutting the kid cap of every bottle he bought, removing the stopper and testing the cologne before he paid for it. Then The would slip the bottle, unwrapped, into his sack coat pocket. and so take 1t home to his wife. At about the same time he developed a playful habit of surprising his wife be- fore givng her the bottle by dashing little of the cologne into her face, or unexpectedly pouring quantity of 1t on her head. His wife objected to these pranks, but he persisted' in them.
 It Is a not uncommon practice among saloon keepers to have about their sa- looms a bottle of strong sulphuric acid. The acid, diluted, is used for cleaning brass spigots and other metal fittings. The playful old beer vender whose case we are now considering was one of those who followed this custom. He had done so for years. AS empty CO., logne bottles were numerous in his es- tablishment, and as their ciose-fitting glass shoppers made them most con- venient receptacles for acids, the vi- triol was habitually kept in one of these bottles of peculiar shape. On the morning of the accident the spigots needed cleaning and the vitriol bottle was empty. The saloon keeper took it to the drug store to have it replenished. After the druggist had filled the bottle, the saloon keeper placed Hibnwrapped,, in the right pocket of his sack coat and was about to go, when it occurred to him to buy his wife bottle of cologne. This he did, opened the cologne bottle as usual, and after testing it's contents placed the bottle in the left pocket of his sack coat and sauntered back to his saloon. i .aC>- !!
 He found his wife there with some friends. The husband joined the party and they all drank beer cheerfully to- gether. The friends present had often seen the husband tease his wife by pouring cologne on her head. So when, while she was going to the bar to re- plenish the beer mugs, he half dsew from the right pocket of hissack dbat what seemed to be a bottle of cologne, and with laughing wink called his friends attention to it; they all knew what was going to happen. They pre- pared themselves to be amused by the wife's surprise and pettish remonstran- ces. She came back to the table and sat down. Her husband found some pretext for getting behind her without attracting her attention, cautiously drew the bottle from his right pocket, silently withdrew the stopper, and emptied half pint of the fuming acid squarely on his wife's head. The poor woman, shrieking in her agony, fell writhing on the floor. The husband discovered his mistake instantly and was nearly mad with grief. Every one present saw at once how the disaster had come about and was ready to swear that what had happened was the purest accident.
 That would probably have been the end oe the matter had not the police man on the beat h,ard the woman's shrieks, and, according to custom, ar- | rested everybody in sight without stopping to ask questions. The whole
 party was taken before tke nearest po- lice magistrate, who heard the story
 ahd, Of course. ordered elcry one re- | leased from custody One of the court l attendants outlined the incident to the first reporter who happened in. The reporter started for the saloon. Not l knowing it's exact location he happened
 to stop n at the drug store where the vitriol was purchased fol a look at the directory. The druggis. related, when
 he heard for whom the reporter was looking, all he knew about the matter
 mentioning that he had cautioned the
 saloon keeper not to get the; bottles
 mixed, and telling. in reply to ques.
 tion, about the old Germans habits ot