The Trials of the Soldier's Wife

by Alex. St. Clair Abrams

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENTH.

  TRIAL OF MRS. WENTWORTH--THE ADVOCATE.

  The morning for the trial of Mrs. Wentworth arrived, and at the hourof ten she appeared in the court. Her appearance was changed since welast saw her. The kind hearted daughter of Dr. Humphries had visitedher the day before with a supply of clothing, and though her featuresretained their haggard and care-worn expression, none who looked uponher as she entered the court room could have failed to perceive thatshe was a lady and unlike a majority of females brought before a juryto answer grave charges. Her case did not excite any notice until sheappeared, when the pinched and sharp face presented to the spectators,and the evidence her lady-like demeanor gave of her being a differentsubject from that usually presented, awoke a feeling of interest inthe crowd, and many enquiries were made of the nature of the chargemade against her. None, however, could inform the inquisitors, andthey awaited the reading of the charges.

  As Mrs. Wentworth entered the room she cast a look at the jury box,and a shudder came over her as she perceived Mr. Elder sitting amongthe jurymen. She knew that he would not favor the dismissal of thecase; but a gleam of hope presented itself in the person of Dr.Mallard, who she believed to be a good man, notwithstanding his abruptand true remarks at the bedside of her dying child. These were theonly two persons present she knew, save and except Mr. Swartz, whostood near by, ready to give his evidence against her. But from himshe expected nothing; nor did she intend to ask one word of favor ormercy. There was no disposition within her to sue for mercy, nor didshe purpose denying or palliating her having taken the money.

  After the usual delay, Mrs. Wentworth was placed in the prisoners'stand and the charges preferred against her. In his usual style Mr.Swartz proceeded to narrate his business connection with the accused,and stated that he had done everything he possibly could for her, butthat, not satisfied with receiving his bounty, she had stolen hismoney. His story was given in a conclusive and plausible manner, andon his clerk certifying to what his employer had said, the chances forthe accused appeared very dim. What added more to the evidence againsther, was the conduct of Mr. Elder, who, rising from his seat brieflystated that, from his intercourse with her, he believed Mrs. Wentworthto be an unprincipled and dishonest woman.

  "On what ground do you make that assertion, Mr. Elder?" enquired theJudge.

  "As I stated before, in my intercourse with her," he replied.

  "And may I ask of what nature your intercourse was?" asked the Judge.

  "It would delay the court were I to state what business transactionshave taken place between this woman and myself," answered Mr. Elder."When I arose, it was simply to state my belief in her dishonesty."

  "You should have appeared on the witness' box, if you desired to giveevidence against the accused," remarked the Judge. "As it stands, yourassertions cannot be taken as evidence against her. If you desire toappear as a witness for the accuser, say so, and I will then beprepared to hear what you may have to say."

  "I have no such desire," replied Mr. Elder, seating himself.

  "And now my good woman," said the Judge, turning to Mrs. Wentworth,who had remained a silent listener to all that had been said againsther, "let me know what you may have to say against the charges broughtagainst you. By your appearance and general demeanor you have seenbetter days, and it is a source of regret that I should see any onebearing evidence of once living in a different sphere from the one younow occupy, brought before me on a charge of robbery. Let me now knowwhat you have to say on this charge."

  "I can say nothing," she replied.

  "Well, then, do you plead guilty, or not guilty?" asked the Judge.

  "Not Guilty!" thundered Harry, in an excited manner. He had beenunavoidably delayed from accompanying Mrs. Wentworth to the CourtHouse, and had just arrived. "Not guilty! I repeat, and, as counselfor the accused, I beg leave to make a few remarks."

  "Certainly, Lieutenant Shackleford," answered the Judge, who knewHarry well.

  The remarks of Harry, and his excited manner, awoke the waninginterest in the case, and the crowd clustered closer round therailings.

  "Your honor, and gentlemen of the Jury," began Harry, as soon as hehad become calm enough to speak: "It is now nearly two years since Iappeared in a civil capacity before a court of justice, and I hadthought that while this war lasted my services would have been solelyon the battle-fields of my country, and not in the halls where law isdispensed. But the case which I have appeared to defend, is so unlikethose you ordinarily have before your honorable body, that I have, fora while, thrown off the armor of the soldier, and once more appear asthe lawyer. You will pardon my apparent digression from the subject atissue, but as I see many looks of surprise at my seemingly strangeconduct, I deem it but justice to myself that I should explain mymotive for so acting.

  "It is now nearly two years ago that a soldier in a happy andcomfortable home in New Orleans bade adieu to a fond wife and twopromising children. As the tear-drop trickled down the cheek of hislovely and blooming wife, he whispered a word of comfort and solace toher, and bade her be cheerful, for the dark cloud which covered thepolitical horizon of his country would soon be dispelled by the brightsunshine of liberty. But the tear that fell on her cheek was not ofregret; for she felt that in leaving her he obeyed the call of hiscountry, and was but performing a duty he owed to his native South.The tear was brushed away, and she smiled in his face at the glowingwords of hope and comfort he spoke to her. They were full of promise,and as each syllable fell on her ear, they awoke an echo in her heart,until the love of the wife paled before the enthusiastic patriotism ofthe Southern woman, and the dangers of the battle-field became hiddenbefore the vision of the honor and glory which awaited the patriothero. Then she bade him adieu with a smile, and they departed, full oflove and hope.--Oh! gentlemen, let me take a glance back at the homeand household war had then severed. Before our treacherous enemy hadproclaimed war against us, this soldier's home was a model of earthlyjoy and felicity. It is true, there was no wealth to be found there,but there was a bright and more glorious gift than wealth can command;there was happiness, and this, combined with the love borne by thissoldier for his wife, served to make them pass their years of weddedlife in comfortable union. Years pass over their heads, and twochildren are sent to bless them, and they were cherished as pricelessgifts. When the call to arms resounded through the South, thishusband, like thousands of others, ceased his civil pursuits, andenlisted under the banner of his country. None but the purest andloftiest motives of patriotism, and a sense of duty, prompted him tothe step; and though he knew that in so doing he would leave his wifedeprived of her natural protector, and subject to privations, hethought, and with every right, that those who remained at home wouldshield a soldier's wife from danger, and he trusted on the means athis disposal to keep her from penury and destitution. After makingpreparation for his wife and children, he bade them adieu, as I havedescribed already, and departed for Virginia, whose soil had alreadybeen invaded by the vandals of the North.

  "And now, gentlemen, lest you should think by my intimating that thissoldier was not wealthy, I meant he was also poor in society, I willstate that he and his wife held as high a position in the socialcircle of New Orleans as the most favored of fortune. His wife, thisunfortunate lady, who now stands before you charged with theft, is thedaughter of one who was once wealthy, but on whom adversity fellshortly before her marriage. Think not that the haggard and care-wornfeatures before you were always such. There was a time, not longdistant, when the bloom of youth and beauty could be seen in thatsunken cheek and that sharpened face; but adversity has reduced one ofGod's fairest works to the wretched and unfortunate condition she isnow in. Pardon my digression, for the tale I have to tell cannot bebriefly recited; it is necessary that I shall speak in full, andthough I may tire you by my lengthy remarks, you must hear them withpatience, for they are necessary in this defence, and are equallyneeded to hold up to the scorn and contempt of every patriotic spiritin t
he land, two men who have disgraced their sex and entailed misery,aye, and degradation, on an unfortunate woman."

  "If his honor, the judge, will permit me," interrupted Mr. Elder, "Ishould like to decline serving as a juryman on this case."

  "Silence!" exclaimed Harry, before the judge could reply. "You arealready sworn in, and I desire that you shall remain where you are."

  "I cannot possibly excuse you, Mr. Elder," remarked the judge, in atone of surprise, "the case has progressed too far already for anyexcuse. Continue, Lieutenant Shackleford," he continued, speaking toHarry.

  "As I was observing," Harry went on, "this soldier departed forVirginia, and shortly after his departure, a villain, who hadaddressed his wife in former years and been rejected, assumed thesheep's garb and resumed his acquaintance with her. Many were thekindnesses he extended towards her, and the delicate manner in whichhe performed those little acts of courtesy, that lend a charm tosociety, disarmed any suspicion of his sincerity of purpose. But underthe guise of friendship, the villain designed to overcome a lonelywoman. With that subtlety and deception which every _roue_ possesses,he ingratiated himself in her confidence and favor until she began toregard him in the light of a brother. But the hour approached when themask he had worn so long would be thrown aside and his unhalloweddesires be avowed. The soldier was taken prisoner at Fort Donelson,and within four months after, New Orleans fell. Then the persecutionsof the unprincipled villain commenced. A Northern man, he did not atthe commencement of the war avow his sympathies to be with the peopleof his section, but, pretending friendship for the South, remained inour midst until Butler and his infamous cohorts had gained possessionof the city, when he proclaimed himself a Unionist, and gaining thefavor of that disgrace to the name of man, was soon able to intimidatethe cowardly or beggar the brave. One of his first attempts was tocompel this lady to yield to his hellish passions. With contempt shespurned his offers and ordered him never more to cross the thresholdof her house. Swearing vengeance against her, he left, and on thefollowing morning she received an order to leave the limits of thecity, that day, and prepare to enter the Confederate lines. Thedangers which then threatened her, she deemed vanished, for she fearedmore to remain in the midst of our enemies than to enter our lines.The order was therefore received with joy, and she prepared to depart.Though a pang of sorrow may have filled her heart at being compelledto relinquish her comfortable home, though she saw before her days,weeks, months, perhaps years of hardship, not one feeling of remorseat having rejected the offers of a libertine, ever entered the mind ofthe soldier's wife. The time at length arrived for her to depart, andwith her two children, a few articles of clothing, and a small sum ofmoney, she was placed within our lines, far from any human habitation,and left to find a shelter as best she could.

  "To this city she bent her footsteps, and here she anticipated findingan asylum for herself and children. Gentlemen, we all well know that,unfortunately for our cause and country, the evils Speculation andExtortion, had spread their leprous wings and covered our land withdestitution. To a man of this city, who, before the world's eye,appeared the Christian and the man of benevolence, but who in hisdealings with his fellow-men, was as vile an extortioner as the mostheartless; to this man she went and hired a room in which to find ashelter. Finding she was a refugee and fearing an evil day, he boundher down by law to suffer ejectment the moment she could no longer paythe rent. Ignorant of the weapon she placed in his hands, she signedthe deed, and after paying a portion of the rent in advance, left himand assumed possession. Mark well, gentlemen, what I have said. In hisaction we find no Christianity--no benevolence; nothing but the spiritof the extortioner is here manifested. There is no feeling of sorrowshown at her unfortunate position, no disposition evinced to shieldthe helpless mother and her babes. No! we find his actions narroweddown to the sordidness of the miser, the avariciousness of theextortioner. A feeling of surprise at such conduct may flit acrossyour bosoms, gentlemen, and you may perchance doubt that I can show aman of this city, so bereft of charity, so utterly oblivious to allthe better feelings of humanity, but I shall before long call hisname, and give such evidence of the truth of my assertions, as will bebeyond contradiction or doubt.

  "To another man the soldier's wife went for the purpose of purchasinga few articles of furniture. Of him I have little to say at present.It is true that without caring who and what she was, his merchandizewas sold to her at the _speculator's_ price. But he had the right tocharge whatever he pleased, and therefore I have nothing to sayagainst him for that.

  "Weeks passed on, and the soldier's wife found herself without themeans of purchasing food for her children. The hour had at lastarrived when she was utterly destitute. In the meantime her husbandlay in a foreign prison, ignorant of the unhappy fate his wife wasundergoing. Many are the nights we have walked to and fro on thegrounds of Camp Douglas, and often has he spoken to me of his absentwife and children. I know him, gentlemen, and never in the breast ofman beat a heart truer than his, nor in the minds of God's mortalswere there ever finer and nobler impulses. While he was thus sufferingconfinement for his country's sake, his wife and children werehere--in our very midst, _starving_! Aye, starving! Think of it,gentlemen--that in the midst of those who were supposed to befriends--the wife and children of a patriot were allowed to starve.Great God! is there on earth a spectacle so fearful to behold as_starvation_? And is it not enough to evoke the wrath of the Infinite,when men, surrounded by all that wealth can afford, refuse to aid andsuccor their starving fellow creatures?

  "You may think that no man can be found who would refuse, but I tellyou, gentlemen, that that man who now stands before you, was appealedto by this lady, the accused, after she had disposed of every piece offurniture in the room, save and except the bed on which her childrenslept. The appeal was rejected, and, despairing of help, she offeredand sold to him the last remaining article of furniture. Here now isthe picture. He could not lend or give her a paltry pittance; and why,forsooth? Because the money would not yield him a profit, and therewas a chance of his losing it. But the moment she offered to disposeof the bed, he purchased it, for in it did the profit of thespeculator lie hidden, and on it could he get his money doubled. Thinknot, gentlemen, that the tale you have listened to from him is thetrue one. It is a varnished and highly colored evidence, beneath whicha wide extent of corruption can be seen, the moment its curtain isremoved.

  "The pittance thus obtained serves but a short time, and they are againreduced to want. The eldest child--a lovely daughter, is taken ill, andwhile lying on a heap of rags in a corner of the room, the man calls anddemands his rent. The poor woman has no money to satisfy his demands andhe orders her to leave. She appeals to him, points to her ill child; buther prayers are unavailing--and in the hour of night she is thrust fromthe room, homeless, penniless, friendless! Yes! he--that man who nowsits in the jury-box--he--Mr. Elder, the so-called _Christian_ and manof CHARITY--he, ejected this helpless woman from the shelter and forcedher to wander in the night air with her sick child--her starving babes.He--the _extortioner_"--continued Harry, with every feature expressingthe utmost scorn, "turned her from the wretched home she had found here,and left her to die on the sidewalks, like the veriest beggar. No touchof pity for the child, no feeling of sorrow for the innocent angel, nothought of the patriot lingering in prison, ever entered the mind of theextortioner. There was nothing but _self_ then, nothing but thepromptings of his own avarice, which could view with indifference themiseries of others, so long as they should redound to his own benefitand aggrandizement. I tell you that man dare not deny a word I utter. Heknows that every one is true, and if my language could wither him withshame, could make him the detestation of the world, I would speak yetstronger, for pity to him is but contempt for those he has injured.

  "Thus thrust out of home and shelter, the helpless mother conveyed herfainting child to a negro's cabin and there revived it. The nextmorning she once more called upon her accuser and petitioned him forhelp. He again
refused to aid her, although informed that the moneywas intended to procure medical aid for her sick child, until at last,wearied of her importunities, he handed her the pitiful sum of _onedollar_! This was not sufficient for the purpose she desired, and shewas about turning away in despair when her eye lit on a package ofnotes lying on the safe. Remember, gentlemen, what I have told you.She was penniless and friendless. Her child was ill and she had nomeans to procure medical aid. Her appeal for charity had beenrejected, and can we blame her if she yielded to the tempter and tookthe money lying before her? We cannot. Look not on the act, gaze onlyon the provocation. If in hearts there dwells a shade of pity, an acmeof sympathy, you cannot return a verdict of guilty. She is not guiltyof theft! I unhesitatingly assert, that if to act as she has, andunder the circumstances she acted, be theft, then such a thief would Ibecome to-morrow; and in my own conscience, of the opinions of theworld and confident in the forgiveness of an Almighty Father, would Icommit such a theft as she has--just such an offence. I pleaded 'notguilty,' and it may surprise you that in the face of such a plea, Ishould acknowledge that she took the money. Again I repeat my plea.She is not guilty of theft, and to you who have hearts to you whosympathize with the sufferings of a soldier's wife--to you, whosewives and children may to-morrow be placed in a similar position--toyou, I leave a verdict. But one word yet ere I am done.

  "The money which she took, to what use was, it placed? To purchase a_coffin_ for her child! To place the lifeless body of her daughter inits last home ere it is covered by the dust--this, and this only, wasthe good which accrued from it. And, gentlemen, he--Mr. Elder--is theMURDERER of that child. As such I charge him, and as such Ibrand him to be. But for his brutality--but for his avarice andselfish lust for gain, the mouldering corpse might now have been ablooming and happy child. And yet another word. When the so-calledtheft was discovered, and the accuser sought the accused, he found herby the bedside on which the dead child lay clothed in its last earthlygarments. Disregarding her entreaties, she was torn from the corpse,thrust into prison, and the humble and servile hands of the negro wereleft to perform those sad rites which affection is ever the first todo. This is my tale, and--"

  Here the excitement grew intense, and a strong feeling of indignationwas manifested by the soldiers present against Mr. Swartz and Mr.Elder, and many threats were made to hang them.