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NEWS & PLANTERS’ GAZETTE.
i>. . COTTIIG, Editor.
No. SEIIIES!]-
N£WS & PLANTERS'BAZtIIF.
terms:
Published weekly at. Three Dollar spat annum !
if paid at the time of subscribing; or Three j
Dollars ahd FiftiJ Cents, ii not paid tii it lit expi
ration of Six months.
No paper to bo discontinued,unless al the |
option of the Editor, without the settlement of j
all arrearages.
D* Litters, on busined§,u/.ii be postpaid,to j
insure attention. No communication shall he j
publnmd, unless ice are made acquainted with
the name of the author.
TO ADVERTISERS.
Advertisements, not exceeding one square,first
liinsertion, Serenly-Jire Cents; and for each sub-
Rpquent insertion, Fifty Cents. A reduction will
UK made of twenty-five per cent, to those who
J advertise by the year. Advertisements not
limited when handed in, will be inserted till for
bid, and charged accordingly.
Sales of Land and Negroes by Executors, Ad
ministrators and Guardians, are required by law,
to be advertised, in a public Gazette, sixty days
previous to the day of sale.
The sales of Personal Property must be adver
tised in like manner, forty days.
Notice to Debtors and Creditors of an Estate
must be published forty days.
Notice that application will be made to the
Court of Ordinary, for leave to sell Land or Ne
groes, must be published for four months—
notice that application will be made for Letters
of Administration, must be published thirty days;
and Letters of Dismission, six months.
03“ A meeting of the Democratic Party
of Wilkes county will be held at the Court
House in Washington, on the first Tuesday
in September, for the purpose of nomina
ting a Ticket to represent the County in the
next General Assembly. 49 td
J. A. CLEVELAN I>, Dentist.
HAS arrived, and will remain in Town about \
two weeks. Office at the former resi
dence of L. S. Brown, Esq.
Washington, August 10, 1843. 2t
Factory Cloth* tire*
THE Subscriber lias just received from Poul
lain Factory :
4 bales Cotton Yams,
4 “ very heavy Negro Shirtings,
■ 1 “ fine do. do.
23 pieces Cotton Bagging,
Bagging Twine,
4* Which lie offers on very reasonable terms, for
Cash. G. P. COZART.
August 10,1843. 50
u>m.
A prime lot. of MIDDLINGS, for sale by
it. 11. VICKERS.
August 10, 1843. 50
COTTING &, BUTLER,
ATTORN IES,
HAVE taken an OFFICE in the rear of
Willis & Hester’s Store.
January, 1843. 28
STATE OF GEO
WILKES COUNTY.
- - ■ ■
House of Representatives of the Congress of the
United States, to fill the vacancies; caused by
the resignation of the Hon. Mark A. Cooper and
John B.’ Lamar. We the Justices of the Inferi
or Court for the county aforesaid, hereby give
notice, that an Election will be held at the Court-
House in the Town of Washington and at the
several Election Precincts in'sai l (a :ty .
State aforesaid, on MONDAY the second day
of OCTOBER next, for two Representatives to
fill the aforesaid vacancies.
LEWIS S. BROWN, j. i. c.
HEZEKIAH L. EMBRY, j. i. c.
-***. JAMES HARRIS, j. i. c.
WILLIAM Q. ANDERSON, j. i.c.
A. S. WINGFIELD, j. i. c.
August 8,1843. 50
Notice to Debtors and Creditors.
ALL persons indebted to the Estate nf Nancy
A. Mcßea, late of Wilkes county, deceas
ed, are requested to make immediate payment,
and those having any demands will please pre
sent them in terms of law for payment.
LEWIS S. 8R0WN,),,,..,
JOHN 11. DYSON, j
July “20, 1843. 6t 47
ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.
WILL be sold on the first Tuesday in Sep
tember next, before the Court-House door
in Washington, Wilkes county, between the le
gal hours of sale, the following property, to-wit:
One Negro Girl named Efty, about sixteen
vears old, sold as the property of Edward Jones,
deceased, for the purpose of paying the debts of
said deceased, by order of the Honorable the
Inferior Court of Wilkes county, while sitting
for Ordinary purposes.
Terms made known on the day of sale.
FELIX G. HENDERSON, Adm’r.
, . do bonis non.
June 29, 1834. 44
C ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.
WILL be sold on the first Tuesday in Sep
tember next, before the Court-House door
in Cuthbert. Randolph county, a Lot of Land
known by number (131) one hundred and thir
ty-one, in the (8) eighth District of said county,
as the property of James Sutler, late of said
county, deceased. ‘ Sold for the purpose of a di
vision, and-by an order of the Honorable the In
ferior Court of'Randolph countv
JOHN M. CHRISTIAN, Adm’r.
Randolph co. June 22, 1843. ‘ 9t 43
IIAVII AND. RISLEY &, Cos.
Near tho Mansion House, Globe and United
States Hotels,
AUGUSTA, GA.,
BEAI, ERS IN CITOI CII
BRU6S AND MEDICINES,
Surgical and Dental Instruments,
Chemicals, Patent Medicines,
; Perfumery, Brushes, Paints, Oils,
Window Glass, Dye Stulls,
&c. &c.
i iE Being connected with Haviland,
Keese & Cos., New-York, and llav-
VT it and, Hakkal & Allen, Charles
ife"; gl ton, they are constantly receiving
* fresh supplies of every article in
their line, which they are enabled to sell at the
lowest market prices.
ID” All goods sold by them, warranted to be of
the quality represented, or may be returned.
Augusta, August 1843. ’ 51
ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.
I LI, be sold on the first Tuesday in Octo
* * her next, before the Court-House doer in
Henry county, agreeable to an order of the In
ferior Court oi Elbert county, when sitting as a
Court of Ordinary, one Tract of Land containing
Two Hundred two and a half Acres, being num
ber two hundred and fifteen, in the twelfth Dis
trict of Henry county. Sold as a part of the
Lands belonging to the estate of Thomas llaynes,
deceased, late oi Elbert county. Terms wi’l be
made.known on the day of sale, this 27fh day of
duly, 1843.
’ LET-TY HAYNES, Ex’x.
BENJAMIN THORNTON, Jr, AdutY.
August 3. it ‘Jin It*
ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.
TSriLL be.*fold on the first Tuesday in Oi tq
® * her next, before the i ‘ourt House door in
Elbert County, agreeable to an order of the Life- |
rior Court of Elbert county, while sit Eng * a >
Court of ordinary, ore Tract of l/md cunt;,:
I three Hundred and fifty eeven acres more or .
I less, lying on Cold Water < ‘reek, adjeiuiiig lands
belonging to Barden Rucker, Joel Hutcherson |
and others. Sold as a part of the lands belong-j
ing to the Estate of James Banks Jr. deceased, j
late of Elbert County. Terms will be made ;
known on the day of sole, this Ist day of August,
1843.
JEREMIAH S. WARREN, Admr. on the
Real estate of James Banks Jr. deceased.
August 3. ni2m 49
• ADMINISTRATRIX’S SALE.
WILL be sold on the first Tuesday in Octo
ber next, before the Court-House door in
Rabun county, agreeable to an order of the Infe
rior Court of Elbert county, while sitting as a
Court of Ordinary, one Tract of Land contain
ing four hundred and ninety Acres, in the
third district, number three of Rabun county.—
Sold as a part oi ihe Lands belonging lo the Es
tate of George Wyehc, deceased, late of Elbert
couut.y. Terms will be made known on the day
of sale, this lOrh July, 1843.
AGATHA VVYCHE, Adrn’x. with
the will annexed, on the Real Estate ot
George Wyche, deceased.
July 20,1843. m2m 47
ADMINISTRATRIX’S SALE.
lyn.L be sold on I lie first Tuesday in-Sep
* * tember next, before the Court-1 louse door
in Elbert county, agreeable to an order of tjje In
ferior Court of Elbert county, when sitting as a
Court of Ordinary, the one-fourth part of an un
divided Tract of Land, containing four hundred
and seventy-eight Acres, in Elbert county, ad
joining lands of William Penn, and others, and
one Negro woman by the name of Fanny. Sold
as the property of the Estate of George Wyche,
deceased. Terms will be made known on the
day of sale, this 29th of June, 1843.
AGATHA WYCHE, Adm’x. on the
Perishable Property, and Adm’x. with the will
annexed outlie Real Estate of George Wyche,
deceased.
J uly 6. m'2m . 45
A D MINISTRA TRI X’S SA LE.
WILL be sold on the first Tuesday in Sep
tember next, before the Court-House
door in Appling county, agreeably to an order of
the Inferior Court of Elbert county, when sitting
j or a Court, of Ordinary, one Tract of Land, con
i taming four hundred and ninety Acres, in the
| fourth District, number four hundred and eighty
i three (483,) of Appling county. Sold as a part
! of the Lands belonging to the Estate of George
| Wyche, deceased. Terms will be made known
! on the day of sale, this 29th dav of June, 1843.
AGATHA WYCHE, Adm’x. with
the will annexed, on the Real Estate
of George Wyche, deceased.
July 0. m2nj 45
ADMINISTRATOR’S SAl.fi.
W'ILL be sold on the first Tuesday in Octo
ber next, before the Court-House door in
Elbert count}', agreeable to an order of the lin’--
i rior Court of Elbert county, while .-.e iug ■ a
Court of Ordinary, one Negro woman by the
name of Sally and her child. Sola as a part of
the Negroes belonging to the Estate of John
Hall, deceased,.for the benefit of the creditors of
said deceased. Terms cash.
THOMAS J. TURMAN, Adm’r.
July 20, 1843. ra2m de bonis non.
j GEORGIA, ) To Thomas O’Kelly and his
Elbert county. ( wife Elizabeth O’Kelly, Thoni
i as J. Sandidge, Richard S. Sandidge, Albert G.
Sandidge, JohnQ. A. Sandidge, Louisa A. Pace,
i Elizabeth Jane Pace, and Martha Pace, heirs at
j law and distributees of the Estate of Claborn
Sandidge, deceased, late of Elbert county, you
1 are hereby notified that we intend to apply to the
; Honorable the Inferior Court of Elbert county,
; while sitting as a Court of Ordinary, on the first
Monday in November next, for an order and to
; divide the Negroes belonging *o the Estate of
Claborn Sandidge, deceased.
JAMES M. SANDIDGE, )
ANDREW J. SANDIDGE, {
June 23,1843. rn4m 43
lIOUR months after date, application will be
made to the Inferior Court of Elbert coun
! ty, while sitting as a Court of Ordinary, for leave
! to sell all the Lands and a part of the Negroes,
i belonging to the Estate ot John Nunnelee, de
• ceased, late of Elbert county, this 10th Julv, 1843
NICHOLAS BURTON, Adm’r.
! July 00. 1843. m4in 47
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING
WASHINGTON, (WILKES COUNTY, GA.,) AUGUST 24, 1840.
SiD'sccUauc^UsL
UNCERTAINTY OF THE LAW.
TIIE JUNIOR COUNSEL.
A toqst there is in vogue at the Bar-mess,
and especially favored by the juniors, “The
glorious uncertainty of■ the law.” None
who have given their attention to tho pro
ceedings of our criminal courts, will deny
the claim for a cordial reception which this
pitliyscntencepossessesotitlio.se to whom
it is addressed. What knowledge of human
nature, what nice discrimination of charac
ter, does the successful conduct of a cause
involve! What a trival incident often de
termines tho verdict of a jury ! A fact in
judiciously disclosed, a line of cross-exam
ination indiscreetly pursued, the calling up
of one blundering, or unwilling witness,
the dispensing with the testimony of anoth
er ; eacli of these, in turn, has led to un
merited defeat; while on the other hand, a
touching appeal to the feelings of a jury,
or a bold and dexterous descent to, and a
doption of, their coarser prejudices, an apt
repartee, a happy retort, a humerous illus
tration, has crowned with undeserved tri
umph many a desperate ease. A higher
intellectual treat than that afforded by the
genius ofan able and practised counsel, can !
scarcely be presented to a thoughtful mind. ;
Clear and consecutive in his reasoning, j
quick and subtle in the knowledge of what j
to present and what to withhold, carrying j
his audience along with him while he takes !
a full view of the whole bearings of the i
question, and the relation in which it may j
stand to general or special laws, lulling all ;
suspicion, and inducing, by the common
sense and practical experience he displays,
a feeiing of thorough security in his aver
ments —we forget that he is a paid advo
cate, and extend to his integrity that con
viction which his facts and his arguments
have fenced us to yield to his judgement.
Nor, in dwelling on the “glorious uncer
tainty,” must it be forgotten, that occasion
ally a counsel takes a view ofthe case to
tally opposed to that which his brief sug
gests to him. lie not unfrequemly dares
to think (or himself; if erroneously, fright- ■
ful indeed is the penalty paid by those whom i
he represents!
Thus did I reason during the trial for
murder of Re/.a Gray, a deeply-wronged
and desperate woman, who for a short pe
riod came under my care. She was defen
ded, in the absence from sudden illness of
his leader, by a junior counsel, who aimed
| at the reputation of “an immensely clever
I young man,” with “very original views,”
; and who “had an opinion of his. own” on
most points. lie chose to consider her
guilty, and as such treated her. She as
severated her innocence. Repeatedly,
and in solemn terms, didshe protest that she
had no knowledge direct or indirect, of the
crime laid to her charge ; but her counsel,
instead of crediting her, and subjecting to
severe cross-examination the deponents a
gainst her, raised this point of law, and that
point of law, (which the judge successively
over-ruled) and showed an evident reluc
tance to cross-examine any witness for the
prosecution, apparently afraid of eliciting
facts unfavorable to the prisoner. His de
fence was a series of quibbles, .not a thor
ough sifting of facts. The result was—but
! 1 am anticipating.
The case was enveloped in mystery.—
On a small farm, about ten miles from the
county town, resided a wealthy yeoman, of
the name of Ampthill. His family consis
ted ofhis wife, a dressy, volatile person,
many years younger than himself; a son
by a former marriage, who assisted him in
the farm ; and a housekeeper, or compan
ion, Reza Gray, a superior kind of servant,
whose conduct became subsequently the
subject of such a lengthened and painful
inquiry.
For the last seven months of his life, the
old yeoman’s healtli had gradually declin
ed ; and, yielding to the reiterated repre
sentations of his wife and son, he reluctant
ly made his will. Eleven weeks after
wards he expired; under circumstances
which became matter ofjudicial investiga
tion. Ampthill was particularly found of
Suffolk dumplings ; and on the morning of
his death, begged that his favorite dish
.might form part of tit at day’s dinner. Os
those dumplings he ate freely ; his son mod
erately ; the wife extremely sparingly;
while I Ileza, the serveant girl, they
were declined altogether. Soon after the
meal, the old yeoman was seized with very
alarming symptoms. These were speedi
ly shared by his son. The wife was tpken
ill ; and the whole house-hold became pan
ic-stricken. A medical man was sent for,
who at once pronounced the case of Mr.
Am’ptliill to be beyond all human aid, and
the son to be in imminent danger. “For
the wife’s recovery,” he added, “ho thought
he could answer; and affirm safely, from
present appearances, that the whole fami
ly had been poisoned !”
The amazement this announcement cre
ated in a retired and quiet hamlet, may be
imagined. The Surgeon's prognosis proved
correct. Obi Ampthill died a few minutes
before midnight. A coroner’s inquest was
held ; the body was examined ; and the pre
sence of arsenic detected in the contents of
the stomach. Further investigation was
deemed necessary. The remains of the
Suffolk dumplings were analyzed, and sim
ilar results obtained. It was clear the old
farmer had perished by poison ; but, wheth
ier accidentally or wilfully administered,
was the mooted question. To that a pain
ful answer seemed given, when a packet
i containing arsenic was found in the maid-
! servant’s room. Sho was immediately ta
ken up on suspicion ; a train of circum
stances all tending to criminate her were
submitted to the consideration of the coro
ner’s jury ; arid they, nfter a lengthened
and patient investigation, returned a ver
dict of “ Wilful Murder. *’
The coroner at once issued his warrant,
and she became the following morning the
inmute ol a prison.
The nerve she possessed was remarka
ble. Rapid as had been the transition from
a home of quiet and comfort to tho restraint
and Wretchedness of a goal, no murmurs,
no tears, no womanish regrets escaped her.
She affirmed—and from this statement she
never varied—that she was guiltless of the
crime alleged against her ; and that she
could explain, on her trial, easily and sat
isfactorily, every circumstanoe on which
her accusers relied. Os the favourable is
sue of that trial she seemed certain. She
was, in fact, perfectly fearless. When 1
ventured to tel 1 her that her life hung on
the breath of twelve men ; and that it was
wisdom, by prayer and penitence to pre
pare for that final reckoning which could
not be far otf, and might be very near, she
replied quickly, hut calmly.
‘No British jury will hang an innocent
woman ! 1 know my countrymen better.’
A warning was then hazarded against
presumption ; and tiie weight of the cir
cumstantial evidence against her was, in
detail, recalled to her memory. With a
cheerful smile she replied,
“What will circumstantial evidence a- j
vail against innocence ? I tell you that 1
am not guilty ! I would not have hurt a hair j
of that old man’s head. Murder him !—|
No ! Murder, sir, is not committed without
some foul and constraining motive.” She
became ashy pale as she said this. “But
here —what had I to gain by my poor mas
ter’s deatii ? His will contained no be
quest to me! You cannot frighten me. I
have much to repent of—much—but not in
this case. Here lam fearless. 1 am in
nocent ; and it will appear. Ere long
a verdict of‘Not guilty,’ will unlock my
prison door.”
But in tiiat opinion she stood alone. Her
attorney did not place implicit faith in tier
declarations ; and her counsel vas con
vinced she was a guilty woman. To the
former this appeared unusual and suspi
cious ; she would give no account of the
previous portion of her life; would say noth
ing as to her connections ; and call no wit
ness as to character.
“It is the present you have to deal with,”
washer reply when pressed upon this
point—“not the past. There is one, and
but one question for consideration—am I,
or am I not, my master’s murderer !”
“Siie’s been in troubled waters before,”
was her law-man’s conclusion ; “and if she
floats this time—it’s well ?”
The trial took place. Serjeant Lens
held the brief for the prosecution. Those
.who recollect that equable, gentlemanly,
and benevolent man, will readily imagine
the delicacy and forbearance with which
he discharged a disagreeable duty. In
terms simple and well-chosen he detailed
the case against the prisoner. No tone of
exaggeration or of acrimony, no vehement
gesture, no affected phraseology, no senti
ment uttered for the sake of embellishment
or effect, marred his manly and candid ad
dress. It was the dispassionate statement
of a conscicntous man.
As the trial proceeded there was a grad
ual disclosure of circumstances which
seemed more or less to make against the
prisoner. The paper of arsenic, partly used,
found in her room, was produced ; and the
party who had the misfortune to detect it
was placed in the witness-box, and on oath
compelled to state when, where, and how
it was discovered. This arsenic, it was
shown, Ro za had purchased about a month
previously, of a chemist in a neighbouring
town. The dumplings which had proved
so noxious had been made by herself; nor i
had she quitted the kitchen during tho en
tire morning preceding the fatal meal.—
The contents of the barrel, whence she had
taken the flour used in making the dump
ling, had been examined, and pronounced
perfectly good and wholesome ? What,
however, seemed most to impress the jury,
was the appearance in the witness-box of
her late master’s son ; pale, feeble, and e
macinted, from the effects of poison ; and
the tale which he there, in low and trern- 1
bling accents, told.
He deposed to two quarrels, on two dif
ferent occasions, between his late fatiier
and the prisoner ; and he swore that on each
occasion Reza, who was “short tempered,
naggy, and very irascible,” said, “Ah!
well l a day will come, and soon, old man,
when you will repent this !” This witness,
whose evidence told so much against his
client, Mr. Harkaway, her counsel, declin
ed to cross examine !
The medical evidence was then given ;
and with it the case for the prosecution
closed.
The Judge, the late humane and excel
lent Baron Bay ley, then called upon the
prisoner for her defence. She read it from
a written paper. It was not lengthy, hut
somewhat probable; & delivered inaelear,
sustained, and impressive tone. All the
circumstances unfavorable to her she ad
mitted ; and one by one explained. The
arsenic found in her box she declared was
purchased by her late master’s express di
rection, and with his own money, and lor
the purpose of being mixed with the seed
wheat; a practice common in that part of
the country ; and which he had adopted for
vears. Some of the arsenic had been so
1 used, as her master’s son well knew ; and to
prevent mischief she had taken the remain
der out of the kitchen drawer, and placed
it under lock and key in her own room.
“As to the fact,” she proceeded, “of her
not partaking at all on that well-remebered
day of the yeast dumplings,—on which cir
cumstances much remark had been made;
thejury, she was sure, would agree that
that must go for nothing when they were
told that she never ate them ; they disagreed
with her.” To make this statement good,
she begged the judge would again call and
question her late mistress. The charge of
having threatened her master she met by
observing that he had more than once em
ployed towards her very gross and iminor
al language; and that, with reference to
his age, liis stale of health, and his appa
rent nearness to the grave, she hud told him
that a day was coming—his last day she
meant—when he would repent of having
used such expressions.
With a solemn, forcible, and earnest as
severation of her innocence, her defence
closed. To it the judge paid marked at
tention ; and on its termination replaced
young Ampthill and the widow in the wit
ness-box. Their testimony unquestionably
corroborated a considerable portion of Ihe
defence. The former admitted that it was
his father’s practice to mingle arsenic with
his Seed Wheat; and that he “recollected
Reza on two occasions to have received
money from her late master to purchase
arsenic for that special purpose.” The
widow stated, reluctantly enough, that “on
no previous occasion had she ever known
the prisoner to oat yeast dumpling:” she
“invariably refused.” The threat was
then adverted to ; and the step-son, on being
hard pressed by the judge, admitted that
his father had “very worrying ways;”
and was not overnice in his- language—
particularly towards women !”
The summing up was beautiful. It a
bounded with humanity, precision, and
caution. Those who were at all conver
sant with Judge Buyley’s character, or cog
nizant of his aversion to capital punish
ments, or aware of the reluctance with
which he approached oases where the pen
alty was death, the share they occupied of
his thoughts, and the painful and absorbing
attention with which, when compelled to
try capital offences, he perused each depo
sition previous to ascending the judgment
seat, were prepared for no common display
ot humanity and discrimination on this oc
casion. Nor were they disappointed. He
dwelt on every circumstance favorable to
the prisoner. He enlarged on the absence
of all motive. He drew the jurv’s atten
tion to the fact of the deceased being ac
customed to mix arsenic with his seed
wheat ; and the probability there was of
some of this wheat finding its way into tiie
flower barrel, and thus that this fatal oc
currence might have been altogether acci
dental. The language used by the prison
er to her late master did not, in it is opinion,
amount to a threat; and tho explanation \
she gave of it was natural and reasonable, j
He expressed surprise that no witnesses iiad
been called to character ; the more because
the jury would see that the prisoner had re
ceived an education far, very far superior
to that usually bestowed on persons in her
rank of life. On the whole, it was clear
that this was the interpretation which judge
Bayley wished the jury to adopt in evi
dence, viz., that Ampthill’s death was acci
dental. The conclusion of his address was
dignified and solemn. lie reminded the
jury of their fearful responsibilities. lie
warned them of the effect of their decision
upon the unhappy woman now before them.
It was not sufficient that the case against
the prisoner was one of strong suspicion.
Her life was in their hands; and before
they took it away they must he satisfied that
she was, with malice aforethought, wanton
ly and wilfully the murderess of her mas
ter, as charged in the indictment.
Tiie jury retired to consider their ver
dict. Five, ten, twenty minutes elapsed ;
the next case was called, and*a fresh jury
sworn, and still the fate of Reza Gray hung
in the balance. Forty minutes passed ;
and the anxiety of a crowded court was be
coming momentarily more marked and vis
ible, when the jury returned into court. —
Every eye was fixed on the foreman ; who,
instead of delivering the expected verdict,
asked the judge for some explanation on
i that part of the evidence which related to j
the discovery of arsenic in the prisoner’s
box.
j “ You must take tiiat fact,” was his lord
ship’s reply, “as you find it staled in the
evidence. I can give you no explanation.
The prisoner accounts for it by saying,
that she placed it there by way of precau
tion. Her aim was, she asserts, to prevent
mischief.”
“ But in her box,”’ said the foreman in
quiringly, “ arsenic was found ; that box
was locked—and she held the key ?”
“ That is in evidence ; and also,” added
the judge, with emphasis, “tiiat the mo
ment she found that suspicion had attached
to her, she voluntarily delivered up the
key of that box, and desired that it might be
searched, and every article she had. The
whole of that portion of the evidence must
be considered— not a part.”
Thejury retired.
And such a jury! God help the poor
prisoner ! Such juries, and such jurors as
I have known leave my own country par
ish ! Jurors to whom I would not entrust
the fate of a favorite dog. Obstinate, pre
judiced, narrow-minded, cruel, deaf to rea
son, and inaccessible to remonstrance ;
men, as Lord John Russell aptly described
M. J. KAPPEL, Printer.
; them, “ whose intellects are as muddy as
their roads, ami their wills far more obsti
nate than those of the brutes they drive.”
Such beings had their representatives in the
jury-box that morning. The foreman set
with lips firmly screwed together, knitted
brows, and a lowering, resolute eye, which
said as plainly as lips and eyes could say',
“ My mind is made up, this is a hanging
matter?” Once this expression varied
j when the judge, in his charge, dwelt on tlfe
! points favorable to the prisoner. The fore,
man then rolled his eyes in the most extra
ordinary manner round the court, and fixed
them finally on the ceiling. It was tanta
mount to “ Tell that to ihe marines /”
Within two of him was an aged, sharp vis
aged man, who sat bolt upright, the very
prototype of humor! He held his hands
] closely clasped together, and as the evi
i donee proceeded, seemed to say “ What !
1 poison the master !! on his own homestead.
’ with his 1 missis’ by his side, surrounded
j by bis grunting pigs, and cackling hens,
| encircled by all that makes life dear ; the
j kine lowing in their stalls, and the geese
j hissing on the green. Tear him from ex
istence, and thus! Death by flame would
be too mild a punishment!”
On the same row was another agricul
turist, a broad-faced, wide mouthed, drow
sy-looktng being, who, yawned at times
fearfully, and seemed much inclined to
snore. But he had manners! Whenever
the judge spoke, he roused himself. And
when Ba •on Bay ley commented, as he could
scarcely avoid doing, on the enormity of
the crime, our somnolent friend shook his
bead slowly but zealously, much in the
spirit of the candidate on the Bristol hus
tings, who cried, “ 1 say ditto to Mr. Burke;
I say ditto to Mr. Burke.”
Marked and visible was the effect which
the uncertainty of the jury produced upon
! the court. An air of deepened gravity
I stole over the features of the judge. It
! seemed as if then, and for the first time, his
mind had admitted the conviction that the
verdict of the jury would be unfavorable.
He stopped the cause lie was trying, and a
gain referred to the notes. While so en
gaged a bustle was heard without, and the
jury in a body returned into court. The
solemn question was put in the twanging,
nasal accents of a hardened and careless
official :
“ Gentlemen of the jury, are you agreed
upon your verdict ? How say you ? Is
the prisoner at the bar guilty, or not guil
ty ?”
“Guilty.”
You say she is guilty; that is your
verdict, and so you say all V’
The judge slowly put on the black cap
and proceeded to pass sentence. His ad
dress was short, but impressive, and full of
feeling. Nothing in the shape of reproach
was to be found in it. He dwelt upon the
awful features of her position ; and entreat
ed her wholly to abstract her thoughts from
that world which was so soon to close upon
lier forever. The wretched woman gazed
wildly around her when Baron Bayley be
gan his address, as if wholly unprepared
for the verdict, and utterly unable to real
ize it. She grasped the dock convulsively
with her hands ; her face became perfectly
livid; and her bosom heaved with a vehe
mence and rapidity frightful to witness.—
But as his lordship proceeded, the extraor
dinary nerve, which he had hitherto dis
played, returned; and she listened calmly
and submissively to her sentence. At its
close she curtsied most respectfully to the
court, and uttered in tones low, but distinct
ly audible in the stillness that prevailed—■
“ I am innocent my Lord ; and so it toill one
day appear
Avery few minutes sufficed to dispense
the dense assemblage collected within the
county ball. Suspense had given place to
certainty; andethe curiosity of the idler
was’ appeased. In squeezing through the
portal, I passed into a group of counsel, who
were discussing the evidence.
“ Was there ever,” said one, “ a line of
defence so promising and so marred ? Why
not have called the deceased’s widow?—
Where was she on the rnorning'of old Amp
thill’s deatli ? Risk there could have been,
none in subjecting her to a raking cross
examination !”
“ The prisoner herself suggested it,” re
marked another. “ Through her attorney
she handed a slip of paper to her counsel,
j Its purport was, ‘Call my late mistress as
to my character and conduct while her ser
vant. Cross-examine her. She cannot
speak ill of me.’ The genius replied, ‘lt
is useless : the case is complete!’ ”
•‘ Ha ! ha ! ha !—a remark worthy of
‘ an original thinker,’ —truly descriptive of
the man who has ‘ an -opinion of his own,’
on ail points . ”
“I remember Sir Vicary Gibbs telling
me,” resumed the first speaker, “ that he
had more than once, ‘ known a prisoner hung
by his own Counsel /” I set it down as one
of Sir Vicary’s vinegar speeches, and nev
er could man say a bitter thing with great
er gusto ; but to-day have I seen it exem
plified. The party who has actually tied
the noose round the neck of that unhappy
woman is ”
| “ Her own counsel,” said Sergeant Pell,
coming up, and finishing the sentence.
Theodore Hook was a convivial ray
and often entered a drawing-room allc.
dinner party not quite in such a state as to
be fit company for the ladies, oneot whom,
being intimate with him, on oneol these oc
casions handed him a tract enttt.ed “ Fhiec
Words to a Drunkard.” The wit read out
the title very deliberately, and answered
“ I suppose they arc —pass the bottle.”
[VOLUME XXVIII.
