Middletown transcript., 1915-02-13

those days capable of any act of vio-
lence7 Yes; but in this case he had
been guiltless. She could not but con-
cede this even while yielding to ex.
tfeme fevulsion as she laid his pic.
ture aside,
The next slip she took up contained
a eulogy Of the victim.
THE sudden death of Algernon Eth
eridge has been in more than one
sense great shock to the community.
Though man of passive. rather than
active qualities, his scholarly figure.
long, lean and bowed, has been seen
too often In our streets not TO be
missed, when thus suddenly with
drawn.
why he should have become the
target of Fate is one of the mysteries
Of life. His watch, which. aside from
his books, was his most valuable pos
session, was the gift of Judge Ostran-
der. That 1t should be associated in
any way with the tragic circumstances
of his death is source of the deepest
regret to the unhappy donor"
This excerpt she hardly looked at;
but the following she studied care
fully:
Judge Ostrander has from the first
expressed a strong desire that some
associate Judge should be called upon
to preside over the trial of John Sco-
vile for the murder of Algernon Eth
eridge. But Judge Saunders sudden
Illness and Judge Dole's departure for
Europe have put an end to these
hopes. Judge Ostrander will take his
seat on the bench as usual next Mon
day. Fortunately for the accused. his
well-known judicial mind will prevent
any unfair treatment of the defense. "
"The prosecution, in the able hands
of District Attorney Foss. made all its
points this morning. Unless the de-
fense has some very strong plea in the
background the verdict seems fore
doomed. A dogged look has replaced
the callous and Indifferent sneer on
the prisoners face, and sympathy, II
sympathy there is, is centered entire.
ly upon the wife, the able, agreeable
and bitterly humiliated landlady OF
Claymore tavern. She 1t is who has
attracted the most attention during
this trial, little as she seems to court
It,"
We omit further particulars which
followed to save repetition; but they
were carefully conned by Deborah
Scoville. Also the following:
"The defense is in line with the
statement already given out. The
prisoner acknowledges taking the
watch, but from motives quite opposed
to those of thievery. Unfortunately
he can produce no witnesses to sub
stantiate his declaration that he haG
heard voices in the direction of the
bridge while he was wandering the
woods in search of his lost child. Nc
evidence of any other presence there
is promised or likely to be produced
It was thought that when his wife wai
called to the stand she might have
something to say helpful to his case
She had been the one to ultimatel!
find and lead home the child, and
silent as she had been up to this time
it has been thought possible that sh'
might swear to having heard thes'
voices also.
But her testimony was very disap
pointing. She had seen nobody bu
the child, whom she had found playing
with stones in the old ruin. ThOugl
by a close calculation of time sh'
could not have been far from Darl
Hollow at the instant of the crime
yet neither on direct or cross examina
tion could anything more be elicite'
from her than what has been men
toned above. Nevertheless, we fee
obliged to state that, irreproachabl
as her conduct was on the stand, tn
impression she made was, on tn
whole, whether Intentionally or unin
tentionally, unfavorable to her hus
band.
Some anxiety was felt during tn
morning session that an adjournmen
would have to be called, owing t
some slight signs Of indisposItion ol
the part of the presiding judge Blu
he rallied very speedily, and the pre-
ceedIngs continued without interruT
ton"
"Ah!"
The exclamation escaped the lip
Of Deborah Scoville as she laid thi
clipping aside. ''I remember his al
pearance we'll. He had the ghost {
one of those attacks, the full force {
which l was witness to this morl
ing. l am sure of this now, thoug
nobody thought of 1t then. I happene
n to glance his way as left the stan'
and he was certainly for one minut
s without consciousness of himself {
r his surroundings. But 1t passed s
/ quickly 1t drew little attention; Mt
l. so the attack Of today. What mi
d fortune rests upon this man. Wi
e they let him continue on the benC
l. when his full condition is known
If These were her thoughts, as she r
g, called that day and compared it vii
n the present.
n There we're other slips, Which 81
d read. The fate OF the prisoner W;
o. in the hands Of the jury. The posi-
d bility suggested by the defense mat
,r no appeal to men who had the unfo
ID tunate prisoner under their eye
k every stage Of the proceedings. tt
ahiftV eve the hanRdOR look oil