The Notorious Note

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NancyDrew
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The Notorious Note

Post by NancyDrew »

I've been reading through the Preliminary Hearing papers, and this stuck out to me...This is Bridget being questioned by lawyers...she is relating what conversation she heard took place between Lizzie and Andrew.

Preliminary Hearing, Volume I, page 20.

Q. Did you hear her say anything to Mr. Borden?
A. I heard her ask him if he had any mail for her. I heard her telling her father very slowly that her mother got a note, that Mrs. Borden had a note that morning, and had gone out.
Q. You heard her telling that very slowly?
A. Yes Sir, to her father.

What's the deal with speaking "very slowly?" Was this an affectation on Lizzie's part (in later testimony, the pharmacist Eli Bence talked about LIzzie having 'peculiar' (my word) way of speaking. Or was she telling her father about the note sloooowly so that Bridgeg would be SURE to catch it? Bridget, after all, had a staggeringly thick Irish brogue (I read that when she said the word 'key' it sounded like "cay.") and it's possible she missed snippets of conversations because of the differing accent?

Thoughts?
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InterestedReader
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Re: The Notorious Note

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Either she's implying that Lizzie slowed to tell a lie, or she's underlining her own certainty in hearing the words?
Like much of Bridget's testimony it's very carefully balanced, tending neither to incriminate or exonerate.
patsy
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Re: The Notorious Note

Post by patsy »

I wonder if Bridget simply was impatient with waiting for Lizzie to answer her father's question. Although it does cause us to wonder if she was trying to imply something, but alas we can only speculate.
BeeQueen
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Re: The Notorious Note

Post by BeeQueen »

Mrs. Churchill stated that Bridget told her that Mrs. Borden received a note and “hurried off.” See Trial Testimony vol.1 pages 367-368.
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