Where he was the lady
did not know; she had not heard from him for many years. Her counsel,
however, ventured to bring an action in her behalf, joining the
husband's name with hers, as the law required. When the cause came to
trial the defendant made no attempt to sustain the charges which he had
made, well knowing that they were as groundless as they were cruel; but
he introduced and proved a release of the cause of action, signed by the
husband, reciting a consideration of fifty dollars paid to him. The
defendant's counsel had some difficulty in proving the execution of the
release, and was compelled to introduce as a witness, the constable who
had been employed to find the vagabond husband and obtain his signature.
His testimony disclosed the facts that he found the husband in the
forest in one of our north-eastern counties, engaged in making shingles,
(presumably stealing timber from the public lands and converting it into
the means of indulging his habits of drunkenness,) and only five dollars
of the fifty mentioned in the release had in fact been paid. The Court
held, was compelled to hold, that the party injured _in view of the
law_, had received full compensation for the wrong--and the mother and
daughters with no means of redress were left to starve.
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