lly, when Judge Williams charged the jury and that body retired
for consultation, both sides of the case had been so ably conducted,
such a terrible flood of vileness had been launched upon the community,
and so intense was the feeling against the woman on the part of the
public--who condemn with a terrible intensity when once made aware of
the danger in the heart and life of a social assassin, that the pretty
city of Batavia was all awhirl from agitation and excitement.

All this had been greatly increased by the following dispatches from St.
Louis to the Rochester papers, which had, of course, been received and
widely read in that section, and were all preceded by an item clipped
from the Detroit _Tribune_, to the effect that the notorious female,
Mrs. Winslow, had been indicted in St. Louis as a common scold, and
several public speakers therein named had better take warning. The first
dispatch read:

"The trial of Mrs. Winslow, charged with common barratry, has been
proceeding in the Four Courts all day. Scores of lawyers are here from
all parts of the West, as witnesses for the prosecution. The case
excites great interest, a similar one never having occurred in St. Louis
before."

The second and final dispatch from St. Louis on the subject was:

"The case of the notorious Mrs. Winslow, indicted for common barratry,
terminated to-day. The jury assessed her punishment to be six months'
imprisonment in the county jail."

These dispatches, with the editorial comments they evoked, had been
received during the progress of the case, and though it was too late to
offer the facts in evidence as to the woman's character, they had
intensified the feeling against her until Mrs. Winslow was given an
opportunity of realizing something of the depth of human scorn.

A day passed, but no agreement. What could it mean? the public asked.
The second day, being Sunday, passed slowly over the town, for no news
of the jury could be obtained; and though it was a raw winter's day, the
streets were full of people anxious to learn the result. Monday came and
went, and still the jury were out. Whispers of bribery now began to fly
about the city, and when the fourth day had passed with no agreement and
with repeated requests from the jury that they might be discharged, the
whole city was filled with indignation, while public resentment ran so
high that it was with some personal risk that this exponent of
Spiritualism passed to and fro bet