The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 271: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

268 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO, inal took some paing to shift the onus of his guilt on to the shoulders of an innocent man, a proceeding always received with the greatest abhorrence and detestation by every English- man who deserves the title. An investigation took place, end- ing in the exculpation of the falsely accused man, and the ex- pression of a determination, upon his part, to leave no spot un- searched for the real author of the murder. who, it was strongly suspected, was still lurking in the neighborhood. Several times did this hostler of the inn catch a sight of the man, so that he was in a condition to swear to his identity with the prisoner at the bar, whose object, in the comunission of that cold-blooded and diabolical murder seems to have been to possess himself of the documents which the young stranger had with him—docu- ments which proved the name and paternity of Mabel Morton, as she was then called, but whose real name was Mabel Rouselli. Then, gentlemen of the jury, the young lady herself, Mabel Rouselli, was accosted by this very man in a kind of wood, which skirts the estate of Captain Morton, and is consequently likewise able to swear that about that time he was there. She was only caved from some rudeness on his part by the courage of adog. Then, again, as showing to you, gentlemen, clearly that the game this fellow was playing was to get either posses- sion of Mabel Rouselli, or a large sum of money from Captain Morton, to be allowed to retain her, he actually had the unparal- leled assurance to go to Morton Hall, procure an interview with the captain, and offer, by the production of the documents he had committed a murder to possess bimself of, that he was the father of Mabel. On that occasion he made his escape, although the captain made an effort to detain him, and then, finding that he could not extort money so easily as he imagined, he adopted the plan of awakening in the mind of the young lady herself all that natural desire which she was sure to feel, to know really who and what she was, and he prevailed upon her to meet him, on the pretext that he could, and would, reveal to her such in- formation. That unhappy meeting through a train of circum- stances which I need not detail to you, ended in this young and beautiful girl being carried off by the villain Sternbolde and a comrade of his, whom there is every reason to believe he after- ward murdered, in consequence of finding him troublesome. From that time nothing was heard of him for a considerable eriod, and the affair of the murder remained without any urther elucidation, because no tidings could be got, either of who the murdered man was, or of his supposed murderer. It has. however, been since ascertained that his name is Ado!ph Ford, and the man at the bar of this court stands accused of his murder, a charge which it is now my duty to bring witnesses forward to substantiate.” The counsel sat down, and after a slight pause, he directed that our old friend. the landord of the Morton Arms, should be called, and he accordingly, after struggling to get out of the crowd, into which he was fast wedged, made his appearance in the witness-box, looking much as he did when last presented to the reader. comicbooks. com