Year: 1876

Iers, and was told that one had
been addressed to him which the miss
| ing man had taken from the office, and
which she knew to. be addressed in the
handwriting of the. refractory wife;
and, when he had been thus informed,
the defendant had exhibited much agi-
tation. Signs of a struggle in the
woods near where the shot was fired
have been discovered; also, evidence
that some heavy substance had been
dragged from thence to the river bank,
where all traces have been lost.


Gentlemen of the jury, the women
all like the prisoner at the bar-another
proof that he is a bad man and a MUIR
derer. They have sent him food and


flowers during his incarceration, and,
gentlemen, if I had a wife, and she
should thus pay attention to criminal,
1 wouldn't want any better show than
to be on the jury that had power to
hang him. Depend upon it, the women
are never over-anxious to save the life
of man if he's all right.


"Should you bring in verdict of
mot guilty. which the defense will
strongly urge you to do, you will turn
loose malefactor who may at any time
despoil your homes, and rob you of
your wives and your honOrp'


Clearly the jury was ready for con-
viction. That last argument was a
master stroke.


"Gentlemen of the jury, 1 have done.
rely upon you, as sovereign citizens of
this commonwealth, who are the proud
protectors of society and home, to weigh
this matter we'll, and you will bring in
the only verdict that can be reached by
an intelligent body of picked sover-
eigns. To sum up, gentlemen: The


man is clearly proven guilty of MUIR
der-murder in cold blood murder in


the first degree First, he robbed the
innocent victim of his Vaccinations of
the priceless jewel of his wife's honor,
service, and custody, and then, not con-
tent, sent the murderous bullet on its
deadly errand through the defrauded


husbands beating heart And when


the victim was cold in death, in the
Silly hours of the night, he stripped


him of his clothing, dragged him to the


river, loaded him with stones, and set


him adrift in the remorseless waters


And shall such man go unpunished :?


Never, neVer, neUer! May my right


hand forget it's cunning, and my tongue
cleave to the roof of my mouth, if pre-
fer not justice above my chief pay ~


To all this Madge sat and listened as


though her senses were paralyzed. At
first, she had several times half arisen
to hurl denial and defiance at her ac-
cusers, but the knowledge of the


majesty of the law that was protecting


her, and which had taken from her the


last five dollars she had possessed, a


little sum boarded long for her ap-
preaching necessities, and now wrested


from her to ease judicial dignity, COM
PEELED her to consider discretion the
better part of valor.


The prisoner at the bar was pale and
agitated, and he frequently ratified his
chains with nervous jerk, as though he
could with great difficulty restrain him.
: self from an act of violence toward his
legal accuser.


The counsel for the defendant then
arose. For as much as minute he
stood hesitating and speechless.
"Ahenl! dhenlH he exclaimed, at
last, but he was laboring so deeply
under the conviction that his client
was guilty, that he failed to see and
show up the sophistry advanced by his
opponent.


Madge could have torn her hair fol
very impatience.


81 feel like prisoned eagle" she
I, said, to herself. "Men assail me as


though 1 were arraigned as a criminal
and, claiming to protect while thus in


sulting and defaming me, they deny me
the right to protect myself. 1 know


that the prisoner is as pure as marble


and as chaste as ice. / do wonder i
they will hang him? Why on earth dc
they compel him to listen to the
bungling stupidity of that legal fossil
when he's amply able to defend him
j self?"


The attorney failed, and sat down
The urbane judge summed up the evi
dence and laid it before the jury, giving
that honorable body to clearly under
stand that, if the evidence given proved
J so and so, they were to bring i'll a yer
dict of guilty. If they found, accord nl
u to evidence, that the man had actually
e been murdered, and the body destroyed
j.. or concealed, the verdict was to b


murder in the first degree. If, how
g ever, they bad doubts upon this point
II they were to bring IN verdict for man
II slaughter, or murder in the second de
II gree.


e Each sovereign juror paid such heeC
n to the opinion of the court that LEI
n Madge to muse and ponder much as t.
's why a jury were needed at all.
IS The instructions over, that angus
% body retired to consider.


le The expectant crowd had not long t,
d wait.