The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 46: what you’re looking at

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TAS MY eTAUIZS. 31 q@ho was calied in to attecrd woun her, yenrorstrated with herupon the irritability witch she showed to- wards Mrs. Lindley.” Here Caroline, who had kept her eyes fixed upon the floor from the first moment that the witness began speaking, looked suddenly ap and exclaimed, “Oh ! if I might explain to your worship the reasons which made me hate and abhor that Mrs. Lind- » eb eawiie, “You shall speak presently,” interrupted the agistrate. Caroline stopped short-—~and as she glanced her eyes rapidly round, ere she bent them dewn again, she caught the reproving look which Counsellor Sharply threw upon her—for the learned gentleman was naturally horrified at the immense damage which the prisoner had just inflicted upon her own case by the admission which she had made relative to feel- ings of hatred and abhorrence in respect to the de- ceased. The fernale servant continued her on t— “I believe there was some quatre) or dispute be- tween the deceased and Miss Walters the evening before the one on which the murder took place. For on that evening Mrs. Lindley locked Miss Walters up in her bed-chamber; and all nextday she was kept a prisoner in her room. I took up her meals— and each time when I went into the chamber, I found Mies Walters very much excited—dashing her band viotently against her forehead, and muttering dark threats against Mrs. Lindley and her seducer, But she did not say who her seducer was: neither have I ever heard. It was about nine o’clock in the evening of the murder—that is to say, the evening before last—when [ took up Miss Walters’ supper to ber chamber. I placed the tray upon the table— wished her good-night—and quitted the reom. I focked the door outside, in obedience to strict orders which I had received from Mrs. Lindley. Ata quarter to eleven Mrs. Lindley told me and my fellow-servant that we might go up to-bed, but that she intended to sit up a little longer. We bade her good night and left her in the parlour. That was the lasttime I saw her alive. It was about twenty minutes past eleven, when [ and my fellow-servant, who slept in the same room together, were alarmed by a sudden noise as if something was rushing wildly ap the stairs from the bottom of the house to the top. We opened the door and heard the cat mewing aad crying in a fearful manner: and an idea struck as that something was wrong. So we descended the stairs together—and as we passed Caroline Walters’ room, we saw that the door was standing wide open. We did not stop to examine how it had been opened —but continued our way down stairs, when we met Miss Walters rushing away from the parlour as if she waa mad. On seeing us, she nttered a dreadful scream and fainted. My fellow-servant remained with her, while I went mto the parlour; and there [ found my poor ‘ missus’ murdered and weltering in her blood. [ raised an alarm—constables came— and Caroline Walters was given into custody.” The fellow-servant of this witness corroborated all the above details; and the surgeon who had at- tended Caroline at the period of her miscarriage, deposed to the irritability and dislike which the prisoner had manifested on that occasion towards Mrs. Lindley. The same sargeon had examined the body of the murdered woman; and he deciared that the fatal blow had been inflicted by a sharp dagger whick had penvtraved the bear¢ in euch a manner that death must have been instantaneous and mest probably unaceompanied by even a moan. We must herw observe that Oounsellor cross-examined each of the witwenees with ali the still and tact fer whivh the learmed gentleman wes so celebrated: but he failed to shake their tenti- mony in any detail. Mr. Peter Gramiey now divested his man Mobbs to enter the witness-Bot; and that worthy ée posed to the following effect :— “I went over to Fore Street yesterday moraing soon arter daybreak, ia consequence of orders which I received from my superwe,”—ead here Mébbs jerked his lef-hasd thumb ever his shoulder towards Gromloy. “At the house ia Fore Street,” he “7 exansined the chamber whioh hed been ocectpied by the prisoner Mies Walters; aid I fownd tam tee door had been opened by the removal of the look. In fact the lock, which was inside the door, had been om eerewed and toek off as elean as A knife had evidently been used as a turn-screw.” “This case,” said the es Mobbs stood down from the witness-box, “shoald have been beard yesterday: buat it stood over until to-day in order t enable the offcers to collect all the ne- ouvsary evidence. Is any farther testimeny forth. comiag ?” “I think, your worship,” said Grumley, “that you've heerd quite enough to indace your worship te commit this young gal to take hor trial at the sessions.” “ Have you asything 00 urge ia behalf of your client, Mr. Sharply ?” inquired the magistrate. “I shall reserve the defence, your worship, until a future cevasion,” was the learned gentleman’s an- swer. “Then have yeu aught te advanes, Caroline Wal- ters,” demanded the justice of the peace, “ wherefore you ehould net be committed to take your trial on the charge of murder ¢” The young girl glanced rapidly tewands Grumley ; and the equaily vivid look of encouragement which she received from him at once dissipated any suspi- cions whieh she might have entertained relative to his sincerity when she saw how atrengly aad indeed overwhelmingly he had maxehalled his array of evi- dence against her. “I wish to speak a few words, may it please your worship,” she said, in a firm tone: then, regardless of an impatient ejaculation which broke from Coun- sellor Sharply, who naturally feared that she was about to crown the damage already done by her im- pradence, she cried in a Jouder and more resolute, bat still musically feminine voice, “ For I wish to proclaim to your worship and to all present that I am innocent —yes— innocent asan augel of this black iniquity which is tmputed to me! And one word more would I speak—only one word,” she continued, while a breathless silence pervaded the officials and the audience: “and that is to explain something which 1 cannot allow to remain anether moment in doubt or mystery. You have heard that I was locked wp in my chamber at Mrs. Lindley’s house? But it was not so much on account of any quarrel which had taken place, as because I had expressed a de- sire—nay, even a determination to quit the establish. ment: and Mrs. Lindley had locked up my clothe and my purse in her own parlour, with a view to rew- (CO (C DOO (CO