The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-06-27

Florence Elizabeth Chandler. the daugh-
ter of a deceased Mobile banker. She
was young, beautiful, and accomplished
very beautiful-beautiful even beyond
her sex.
Ne'er did Grecian chisel trace
A nymph, a naiad, or q grace
or finer form or lovelier face.
"She was endowed with rare natural
gifts, spoke several languages. was a
ripe scholar, an accomplished musician.
painted in oils and water colors, and
sang divlnely in tones
80 soft. so sweet, so clear
The listener held his breath TO hear,
Iwere strange in ru9er ranks to find
Such looks. such manners and such mind.
her speech and gesture, form and face
Showed she was come Of gentle race;
And never brooch the folds combined
Above heart more good and kind.
Her kindness and her worth to spy
You need but gaze on Florries eye.
He was in the prime of life,
"on his bold visage middle age
Had slightly pressed its signet sage,
Yet had not quenched the open truth
And merry vehemence OF youth.
There are few people who have had
business in he criminal courts of this
town during he past few years who do
not know the picturesque figure of Col.
A. II. II. Dawson. If they don't. from
his introduction they may perhaps hesi-
tate whether 20 class him as an Irishmqn
or q southerner. Col. Dawson is a south
erner, i Southerner of the days of the
big plantations, unlimited hospitality,
and a chivalry that may seem to smack
of Ouida and her "Bertie Cecils,'' and.
therefore chivalry that is at any rate
picturesque If & bit exaggerated. Col
Dawson remembers these days well,
though a third OF his seventy-seven
years have been spent in the North. He
is of the type vaguely referred to as 'the
old school" Despite his years there are
few more active men today. As an ass
ss,ant district attorney he was man
Of energy and oratorical flights His
figure Is erect and military in a care
lessly buttoned froCk.
He has taken up the defense Of Mrs.
Maybrick. who is serving 4 life sentence
in an English prison on conviction Of
poisoning her husband. Col. Dawson
thinks that he is right i'm taking up her
defense because he believes that Mrs.
MaybTick is innocent, and he IS also i'm
PEELED by a sentimental reasont-for as a
little girl she used TO sit on his knee.
why. 1 knew her father and her
grandfather" he said to a sun reporter,
land they were of the best people In the
South. sir, the very best people. Daniel
Chandler, her grandfather, was law
yer in Alabama, when TO a member Of
the bar in the South meant social dis
ti3ction- There Were two classes among
the best people in those days, the law
yers and the people whose big plantations
and wealth gave them social conditions.
To be a member of the bar then a man
must be a gentleman and n scholar, 9TH
erwise ne would not be admitted Unless
one lived IN the South in those days ne
cannot realize what wealth in planta-
tons meant. There were immense pIi-
Vate houses, beautifully appointed. with
large estates around them. horses and
-. a
/ knew Daniel Chandler well. and'nI
knew John a. Campbell, a justice of the
supreme court of the United States. who
was a great uncle Of Mrs Mayhrick.
Her father was w. G. Chandler. a bank
er, and, as a little girl, / have held her
on my knee That. sir. is why / have
undertaken Mrs. Maybricl's defense ana
with some hope Of obtaining a pardon
for her. When they changed her SEN
tence from death 10 life imprisonment
they did rot commute the sentence. but
simply changed the form of execution.
She Is a delicate. frail woman and
few years of an English prison win kill
her"
But Col Dawson enjoys poetic illu-
sions. After telling about Miss Chan
d!er's meeting with Mr.. AIaybrlck on an
ocean steamer, with a bit OF Scott thrown
in, he continued:
within twelve months from that date
ne had wOoeCf. won and wed her. Having
an established business in Liverpool. ne
took up his abode at Aigburth, in the
suburbs of that city. where ne resided
for eight. years in the full fruition Of un-
interrupted domestic happiness. During
this time Mrs. Maybrick presented him
with two such sacred pledges of love as
rarely fail 10 make homes heaven, this
one being son and the other a daugh-
ter. Late in April. 1890. he was taken III.
and on the 18th day of the following May
he died of gastrO-enteritis.
In describing the effect of Mr.. May
bricks death on his brothers, who had
opposed his marriage because it would
rob them Of his estate, Col. Dawson
said: 1' ''i' 70
Does this statement need corrobora-
ton? II shall have it from the pen of
an Englishman who has won imperish-
able fame by the fidelity of his photo
graphs Of human natue in his marvellous
creations Of character in the world of
fiction. l refer TO the description Mr..
Dickens gives of the behavior of Mr..
Kenwigs upon learning that his rich
brother-in-law, Mr.. Lillywick.' had
suddenly become a Benedict
Col. Dawson has interpreted the testi-
mony that was presented at Mrs. May
bricks trial in a new light. Since the
home secretary of England married Miss
Margot Tenant Col. Dawson has some
hopes of working on his sympathy for a
pardon. There are some radical differ
eEces between the English criminal
courts and our criminal courts.
I'm England" said Col. Dawson, mot
withstanding that if an error be commit
ted by a judge presiding in a civil trial
IL can be reversed. by a court of errors,
nevertheless if there is nothing at stake
but human life, honor or liberty, no such
reviewal or reversal can ever be had.
In this respect England seems to be lost
in the atramental shades and shadows
Of a Cimmerian night. She seems to be
a national bat that loved darkness better
than light"
This prevents Col. Dawson from going
to England, presenting his new points,
and applying to the courts for a review
Of the Maybrick case.
Mrs Maybrick never poisoned her
husband" he said, land l hope to make
that clear to reasonable men. When she
was required to rise in that court and
make a statement OF facts, without be-
ing permitted to explain any word she
might use which was Liable TO be misun-
derstood did she employ such words I?
Certainly she did. Were they misunder-
stood and misconstrued? Certainly they
were. Did they have anything to do
with her conviction? Yea, verify, every
thing What were those words? Here
they are: I made TO my husband a free
confession OF the fearful wrong that
ness
WAS that what she should have said?
BY no manner of means. Why? Because
that was not understood and she should
have been permitted to explain what she
meant These words were construed to
mean and amount to a confession Of
the guilt Of her infidellty to her hus-