Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-27
XII.

I L nave always ADMIRED the ease Will
which business men lay aside their cares
but the rapidity with which my fellow
jurors shifted their grave responsibilities
amazed and shocked me. Indeed. they nc
| sooner passed the threshold of the court
than they apparently forgot the serious
duty resting upon them and began acting
like a lot of school boys at recess hour.
| The transition was too abrupt for me, and
by the time we sat down to supper at the
Melton House l found myself mentally
| estranged from my companions.
| Men Of a certain type fraternize at the
| slightest possible provocation. I remember
| when the Teutonic made her record trip
| across the Atlantic I was urgently invited
| to become ''Teuton,'' and many of my
| fellow passengers were inclined to be Of
| Tended because l did not feel moved to fail
| upon their necks and swear eternal friend
! ship for all brother "Teutons. but l have
| never experienced the slightest response to
| clanship of this quality. and l would rather
! be considered snobbish than lose my self
| respect
The Emory jurors however. were Just the
! sort of men of whom Teutons are made,
| and they lost time in assuring me that
| I'd miss lot of fun IL l took myself too
seriously. Fun! Fun at murder trial.
! OF course fippancy of this sort was I'M
| worthy of any response, and 1 received it
with a dignifed silence and glance of
| disapproVal we'll calculated to carry Its IN
| tended rebuke; but just as l was congratu-
lating myself at having administered a
| sorely needed reproof a voice at the far
| end of the table advised me Ito come on
my high perch and hop about with the
| rest of the cage for my healths sake,
| the rest of the jury would try to forget
/ my high official position and treat me like
an ordinary man If I'd take the starch
| out of my neck.
| The boisterous laughter which greeted
! these clownish utterances angered me, and
| | was on the point of expressing my opin-
| Ion of the company In no uncertain terms
| when Theodore Bayne urged the others 10
| save their hot air and let the foreman thaw
! out by himself
! l do not remember whether this was the
| first mention of my official title or not
| but from that moment became the fore
| man TO all directly or indirectly con-
| cerned in the Emory case, and the jurors
promptly organized themselves into the
| chain gang" each member exchanging his
1 own name for the number of his seat IN
| the jury box.
| Bayne as No q was the leading spirit
| in all this nonsense, and 1t was impossible
| to squelch him, for he received every re-
buff with a smiling eountenance while he
! devised some other and more tacffui
| method Of approach. l have since learned
| that 1t was he who made the jurors stand
soemnly behind their chairs until l took
| my place at table, and signaled them to
| their feet when / rose, in Difference, he
| explained. to my high official station; and
| l will now confess that the little influence
| which l afterward came to exert upon my
| ellow-jurors was due 10 MS tact ana
| tactics,
| Although the restrictions which the court
! had placed upon our movements suggested
| the title "chain gang l am inclined TO
| believe We were accorded more liberty than
| is usual in important criminal cases. 1t is
| within the province of judge, l under
stand. to keep the jurors together In charge
| of court officer. and not allow them TO
| communicate with the outside world at all
| during the continuance Of trial The
| only restrictions placed upon US. however,
| were that we should not dispense to our
| respective homes without the express per-
| mission of the court, and that We should
| not talk about the case or listen to any
| converse ton concerning it. This last RUE
made trouble for from the very start,
| for the case was being discussed on all
! sides and there was no apparent disposition
! In the Melton House TO change the SUBJECT
| when we made our first appearance IN the
| Office until Bayne sang out, Fen talk
Ing about the foremanS case, boys. ana
| let's be sociable' and the laugh
| which greeted this warning not ohly
| released us from further embarrassment
| but served as a general Introduction, ana
! jurors witnesses, lawyers and miscellan-
| eous guests of the hotel were soon seated
| around the big stove exchanging stories
and experiences with all the zest and in
! terest of lifelong friends.
| lowered on the outside of this charmed
| circle for half an hour, and then, remem-
| bering that l had left Hefryville without
| making any provision for staying the night
| away from home. l slipped out to telephone
| my housekeeper and advise her of my
| needs
The nearest public pay station was at
| the railroad depot, the hotel clerk inform
| ed me, and as l walked in the direction
| indIca ted my mind reverted to the closing
| scene in the court room.
/. had been surprised that BarStow had
| permitted an adjournment without at least
| attempting to offset the damaging tesu-
| mony which had been drawn from the
| last witness but his fierce colloquy with
| bod iinI ar rt1 V
PLANTATION Doubtless he had endeavored
| to conceal the defendants collapse under
| cover of hasty adjournment, and had
| It not been for the housekeeper's inter-
| ference he would have succeeded in ac-
| complishing his object. Even as 1t was l
| doubted If any other juror knew of the
| defendants condition. and the ugly sig
| ntficance of that fact was therefore re-
served for me alone.
But disquieted as | was by this unpleas-
| ant knowledge, the presence of Madeleine
| Mapes caused me infinitely more anxiety
| and alarm. The moment / saw the woman
| l realized what her appearance on the wit
ness stand might involve. She was evil
| IDENTIFY one of those well-meaning, med
| dlesome women whose over-anxiety would
| menace any cause If IL did not ruin 1t.
With the best possible intentions it was
| probable that she would prove a miserable
| witness for the defense, making indiscreet
| admissions and over-zealous denials which
| days OF contradictions might not cure.
| Certainly she and the Field woman be-
\ tween them were capable Of making
| monstrous mess of the best laid plans, and
| did not blame Barstow for his anger
| and disgust. Moreover, IL these women
| took the stand / might be compelled to
| question them upon what had overheard
| at the farm house, and this would entail
| embarrassment for me- even IL 1t did not
| damage the accused. had earnestly hoped
that they had taken Barstow's advice and
| left the state, and their temperance on
| the scene renewed all my former anxiety.
Suppose they testified and were allowed
| to leave the witness chair without EXPLAIN
| ing the conversation which had passed be-
| tween them in my presence Was in
| honor bound to call for testimony which
| the lawyers had not touched upon?
Again and again I resolved not to cross
| this bridge until d came too it. but every
| turn Of my mind brought me back to the
perilous starting point.
I had never set foot in the Melton
railway station until I entered 1t for
| the purpose of using the telephone
! and I was therefore somewhat surprised to
hear the ticket agent-an old Uncle Sam
OF q man-address me by name the moment
I appeared In the doorway.
Good evenin', Mr.. Lambert" he began
II was jest a-sendln message I'D to YOU
"a message for me?" repeated. How
do you know 1t was for me?'