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

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTH.

THE VERDICT—­THE HUSBAND AND WIFE—­ARREST OF AWTRY.

It was some time before the police could restore order and quiet the excitement.  At length complete silence was restored, and Harry continued: 

“Such,” he continued, “is the tale of this unfortunate woman, and the position in which she found herself placed should excite, a feeling of sympathy, and not induce you to punish her for an act which may be deplored but cannot be condemned.  That she took the money is undeniable, but why did she take it?  I have told you it was to save her child’s life, and though that class of philosophers and ultra moralists who believe that there are no causes sufficient to justify her act, may declare her guilty of theft, let the promptings of your own hearts decide whether her position did not excuse, if it does not render her conduct undeserving of condemnation by a jury.  But in claiming from you a verdict in favor of my client, I must take occasion to say, that your acquittal will not restore this lady to that position she formerly occupied, or remove from her mind the impress left there by an act which necessity, and necessity alone, caused her to perform.  It will not restore to her the innocent child now lying mouldering in the grave, it will not reunite the broken links of affection, it will not ease the agony of the soldier when he discovers that his wife was the inmate of a prison, nor will it replace on its former firm base the mind of this unfortunate lady, which, like the pillars of some ancient edifice, totters beneath a weight of agonizing thought, soon, alas!  I fear, to fall, a mass of ruin, in the vortex of insanity.  The patriot soldier must return to find his daughter dead, his wife a maniac, and his only remaining child a dependent on the bounty of strangers.  But one thing remains; he must turn from the spectacle thus presented and return to the battle-field a heart-broken and unhappy man.  The spirit with which he formerly contended for the liberty of his country will have vanished and fled, for the remembrance of his family’s fate must ever remain uppermost in his mind, and the reflections they will produce must leave a blighting scar, which no future kindness can remove, sympathy eradicate, or consolation destroy.  I am done.  On your good judgment and the strength of my assertions, which can be proven, if necessary, I rely for the acquittal of this lady.”

As he concluded, the building shook with applause from the crowd, and Mr. Swartz and Mr. Elder trembled for their safety.  Harry felt that the acquittal of Mrs. Wentworth was now secure, for the jury itself, sharing the popular feeling, gave expressions of approbation in many remarks.  If the language of Harry had been simple, it had carried conviction to every soul, and all present, as they looked upon the accused, felt that her offense was fully atoned for by the chain of harrowing circumstances with which she had been bound.