Year: 1870

THE CRIMINAL WITNESS.


In the spring of 1s41 was called to Jack
son, Alabama. to attend court, having been
engaged to defend q young man who had
been accused of robbing the mail | arrived
early in the morning, and Immediately had q
long conference with my client The stolen
mail bag had been recovered, as we'll as the
letters from which money had been rihed
These letters were handed to me for examin-
alton, and | returned them to the prosecut-
ing attorney Having got through my pre-
liminaries about noon, and as the case would
not come on until next day, l went into court
in the afternoon to see what was going on.
The first case that came up was one Of theft,
and the prisoner was q young girl OF not
more than seventeen years OF age, named
Elizabeth Madworth. She was very pretty,
and bore that mild, innocent look which we
seldom see in a criminal. She had been
weeping profusely, but as she found so many
eyes upon her she became too frightened to
weep more.


The complaint against her set forth that
she had stolen q hundred dollars from Mrs
Naseby and as the case went on | found
that this Mrs. Naseby, a wealthy widow living
in the town, was the girls mistress. The
poor girl declared her innocence in the wild





against her A hundred dollars in bank
notes had been stolen, from her mistress
room, and she was the only one that had ac-
cess there


AT this juncture. when the mistress was on
the witness stand, a young man came and
caught me by the arm. He was q fine look
ing man, and the big tears stood in his eyes


They tell me you are good lawyer" he
whispered


81 am lawyer" answered.
"Then do save her! You certainly can do
it, for she is innocent -
as she your sister ?''
''NO, sir but-but-"
| Here he hesitated


HAS she no COUNSEL" asked.


'Nonc that's good for anything nobody
thatll do anything for her. o, save her
and I'll give you all I've got. | can't give
| you much but can raise something"
| | reelected q moment | cast my eyes
towards the prisoner, and she was at that
moment looking at me. She caught my eye,
and the volume of entreaty ! read in her
glance resolved me in moment. | arose
and went to the girl, and asked her if she
wished me to defend her. She said yes.
then informed the court that I was ready to
enter Unto the case, and was admitted at
once. The loud murmur of satisfaction that
ran quickly through the room told me where
the sympathies Of the people We're. asked
tor moments cessation, that might speak
to my client | went and sat down by hel
side, and asked her to state canddly the
whole case. She told me that she had lived
with Mrs. Naseby nearly two years, and had
never had any trouble before. About two
weeks ago, she said, her mistress lost a
hundred dollars.


s'She missed it from the drawer the CIR
said to me, ''and asked me about it. | said
| knew nothing about it. That evening.
know Nancy Luther told Mrs. Naseby thai
she saw me take the money from the drawer
that she watched me through the keyhole
Then they went to my trunk and founc
twenty-five dollars of the missing money
there. But sir, never took it, and some
body must have put it there


l then asked her if she suspected any
one.


II don't know she said, .who could have
done it but Nancy. She has never liked me,
because she thought was better treated thar
she. She is the cook was the chamber
maid"


| She pointed Nancy Luther out to me. She
was stout, bold-faced girl, somewhere
about tive-andtwenty years old, with a low
forehead, small gray eyes. pug nose and
thick lips. | caught her glance at once, as
it rested on the fair young prisoner, and the
moment l detected the look of hatred which
| read there, l was convinced that she was
the rogue.


Nancy Luther did you say that girls
name was?" | asked for a new light had
broken in upon me-"


eyes sir"


left the court room and went to the pros
ecuting attorney and asked him for the let
| T IoI I,o,, tI,t Il
been stolen from the mail bag. He gave
them to me, and, having selected one re-
turned the rest and told him would see he
had the one kept before nil ght then re-
turned to the court room, an the case went
on.


| Mrs Naseby resumed her testimony. She
said she intrusted the room to the prisoners
care, and that no one else had access there
save herself Then she described about miss
ing the money, and closed by telling how
she found twenty-five dollars of the missing
money in the prisoners trunk. She could
swear it was the identical money she had
lost, in two tens and one five dollar bank
note.


Mrs Naseby." said l, ''when you first
missed the money, had you any reason
to believe that the prisoner had taken il ?'


mo, sir" she answered.
| Had YOU ever before detected her in any
dishonesty"


"No, sir"


Should you have thought of searching her
trunk had not Nancy Luther advised and in
formed you?


'No, sr.'


! Mrs Naseby left the stand, and Nancy
Luther took her place. She came up with a
bold look. and upon me she cast defiant
look, as if to say, Trap me if you can" She
gave her evidence as follows:


She said that on the night the money was
taken she saw the prisoner going up stairs,
and from the sly manner in which she went
up she suspected all was not right, SO she
followed her up. elizabeth went to Mrs