AN INCONVENIENT COURT-HOUSE. 231 



defence, who called his witnesses, and concluded with 

 an address to the jury, in which he did not fail to praise 

 the soundness and acuteness of their judgment. The 

 prosecuting attorney then rose again, and endeavored 

 to disparage the statements made on the opposite side, 

 ending with the remark, that, " in the whole course of 

 his life, he had never known so flagrant a case." It 

 was now the judge's turn, who explained to the jury 

 the state of the law applicable to the case, and warned 

 them that if they had any doubts, the law prescribes 

 that the case should be decided in favor of the de- 

 fendant. The jury ought now to have withdrawn to 

 another and distant room ; but as, unfortunately, there 

 was no other room, distant or near, to be had at 

 Perryville, and as the pouring rain prevented their 

 deliberating in the open air, as at other times, the 

 horses were turned out of the stable, and the twelve 

 jurymen occupied their place. The next case was that 

 of a respectable farmer, who was accused of having shot 

 another's cow, taken it home, and eaten it. The case 

 excited considerable interest, as it was stated to have 

 occurred several years ago, and the penalty was whip- 

 ping and imprisonment, which has since been altered. 

 After a long deliberation in the stable, the jury returned 

 a verdict of " Not guilty." The sessions lasted several 

 days, and the crowd dropped off by degrees. 



At this time of the year, before the maize is quite 

 ripe, being soft but no longer milky, while last year's 

 store is nearly exhausted, the farmer rubs the grain on 

 a grater, generally made out of an old coffee-pot, in 

 which holes are punched with a nail, and thus procures 

 a fine damp flour, containing all the saccharine qualities 



