The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-22

WI ~, " "h' ~ ~
iously; The grave itself Is all the proof needed.
There II not n spear Of grass TO be- seen there.
SPOT with The fresh. BRIGHT verdnre Of spring
Even newly-made graves are sending forth
a few sprouts Of green, The only barren
Turner'S grave. Not the tiniest blade Of grass
Is 10 be seen there. You know what that means.
Only the grave Of n murdered person fail to
grow at least scattering shoots OF green
Il wheeled round in my chair then and Hooked
at the man in CONSERVATION. Up to that mo-
ment | had not supposed that there was IA man
faith to that old-time superstition. but when
| remembered the strange mixture OF races
and consequent inexplicable. fantastical traits
OF the country | ceased to marvel at Squire
Temples earnestness when making this dis
closure IN regard TO the barren mound: u.
down your wayP' asked.
Yes he said, ITS on everybody's tongue.
Under these peculiar circumstances i Is neces.
the next Grand Jury. IL grieves me To 40 this,
but personal inclination must not be allowed
to interfere With protes,iona, duty; rd.r,rx
| himself Of this heroic sentiment, When Kahn
came in | told him the latest news from the
back country districts.
ever raise the people. of this county out Of the
darkness Of the middle ages into the enliehten,,
% ,yGtm Of ,he n ay,ssrrs ha ssa'n on sop . sh on
often works wonders in the minds OF ignorant.
people. l really fear the poor girl Is done Tor
When sHu the G irmSIeJ n MSS met as Spe1 f&oiiowins week
Belle Turner was the first person II ordered to
be tried when the regular court convened on
| Turner. Doctors bills and undertakers' charges
had literally devoured his small property. and the
poor man had nothing left with which to pay
ever, had taken a keen intarestin the case from
the beginning, and acting on one OF the gen,
erous Impulses common to him, he offered
tvs sake. alone. When the affair was
brought into court kain endeavored 10
exercise exceeding care In the selection
OF a Jury. but with all his cautiousness he had
, grave doubts as to the outcome OF the trial
Every mothers son OF, them, he said
has heard that story about IN" HraIsIess grnve,
and levcl-headed though most OF me men APP
pear TO be on general subjects, ! nave not a
doubt that they are saturated with SUPERSTITION
in regard TO that one belief which seems 10 ne
| old as the hills and rs firmly rooted in this COM
"A the trial proceeded Kain became more
and more fearful that the girl would be con
victed, not on the strength of positive or log
| ical evidence. Of which there was but iitue'
| but because Of that bit of absurd superstition;
One day shortly befors the close OF InS ta nSa
heavy and solemn with serious resolve
DO YOU know, Jackson, he said. that I've
been thinking this matter over and | am positive
that the only way we can hope To save my
client ia To resort to n sort OF homeopathic
cure and meet sheenanesan with sher.
| nan pEAny III an Innocent ItTsoH, II d''u'
! I" he convicted of a crime, simply because
| her supposed victim happens 10 he buried
In unproductive soil which is too poor to bear
even Q blade Of grass, do you hot supp"se 'Hat
! Justice would make that grave bloom oui IKE
a garden in one short night. or two or three
nishts az any. rate. in order that rSht might
II saw that there was some deep purpose
back of his whimsical tone and, manner, ouI
| did not catch the real drift OF his words for
Yes, said /. when | did finally comprehend,
but who is to assist Providence In the blooming
well said Kahn. I have come TO the con,
clusion that you are the most Trustworthy OF all
my acquaintance. Supposing you ,nder,ako
=" speak ak Of the grave SVs blooming. i do not mean
that roses and pconies and hutterclps shall
spring up in %aliteral sense; Tina, would be gnins
ont here and ,hore will suffice ne proof that the
dead girls blood is not poisoning the soil IN
its plea for vengeance r ~ a.,
Are YOU afraido' returned Kahn.
Tho touch Of contempt in his voice put me
no, said l., I'm not. III 60 tonight
" left Batavia that evening at 0 o'clock
and rode over TO the Baptist cemetery iome
seven miles away The place was isolated
and lonely and although felt reasonably
sure that | should bs free from Interruption,
/ confess that undertook the mission with
UlDT' VI = "''N','" 'A
TO disturb me in my enterprise, however. and
although | am no professional artist venture
10 say thai a landscape gardener would be
hard nut to IL 10 turn out,a better piece oil Work
than | accomplish she'd that night when. aided
only by the light Of the stars, ! planted on
the grave of Mamie Turner the patches OF
pose, Ny greatest difficulty wa ~ pre-
venting the appearance of human tinkerlng;
and it wa, r6 only 6 by m Ten bNrs ien my that sroGH m Gro
aged TO leave the surrounding ground with
an nntrodden appearance. At, /? o'clock !
woods below the cemetery where had %tethercd
him and started back 10 Batavia with the re-
port that all was well. Kahn had not gone
when / returned. I. myself. felt pretty squally
over our venture. but he fairly beamed with
confidence We've saved the girl. never
Two days later he made his address TO the
Jury. He was an eloquent speaker and be-
fore he had talked fifteen minutes the whole
had Been rhised 10 a kish pitch Of, expectation,
He talked on until q climax in the course OF
dramatic sequence had been reached then,
after a slight pause. he continued;
81 have not seen this grave whose lack Of
yerdure is the point on which the fate or this
poor girl hangs, But ! should like to see ~
PENDANTS exhibit as well as the peoples. Gould
IL be brought into the court room II would
become the chief evidence offered by either
side. This being a case parallel to Mahomet.
experience with the mountain, ] would suggest
that Justice demands we take the jury to the
"@This proposition naturally met with violent
opposition from the prosecuting attorney
| and his satellites. but the Judge was an eccentric
old fellow full Of whims and ,fanCies. He up-
held Kahn in his strenuous plea for fair-play,
as he termed il. and the court adjourned in
a body and as many people a. could secure
vehicles or horses and all who were strong
and fleet OF foot, set out for the Baptist ceme-
terry. l. too. Joined the thronr.. When we
reached the Hateful spot I trpmbled like n leaf
lest the secret Of my handiwork be discovered.
| but | had done my work 40 ~clevcrly that even
our opponents had no suspicion Of false play:
They were completely foored when they found
that the main props 81 their case were swept
away, but they unQuestioningly accepted
the tender grass blades as evidence OF good
faith on the part Of nature, and practically
gave up the fight.
The next day the Judge charged the jury
in solemn, high-sounding phrases, hnf even
AS he talked he must have known that the
verdict would be Not guilty, hfterward.
each juror. fearing to be tanntcd with super.
s~titiois prejudices. declared that he was not
influenced one wav or the other by the con-
dition Of Mamie Turner'S grave. but every
body who knew the circumstances be he wise
liberal allowance Of salt, Such trickerv would
not be possible even In Clermont county to-day.
I fancy: brt whether Belle Turner was guilty
or NOT guilty I am confident that that bit OF
iugglerv on the part of Kain and myself was
tho only argument that saved her from i'm
prisonmont or death.
sly Joking in the Pulpit.
From m. rtita Obsrrsr.
Before ] went to college. ' said a minister