The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-01-02 00:00:00

MY VISION OF THE YEAR.

I saw where a-dying the I Ild Year was lying,
And the weight at his heart mocked the green at Ids door:
Ile heard pauper-voices, for bread hoarsely crying.
Ile heard soldiers tramp, and lw thunders of war
There were no friends to cheer him, and small comfort near

him,
And his life's lamp burnt low, and his breath laboured

Yet, unloved as he ended, his deathbed was tended—
A cloaked shadow sat in the sick nurses room,
Nor speaking nor sighing, like the dead by the dying,
That mute, loathed shade seemed to deepen the gloom:
Did it brine f—
mirth or mourning, come for sorrow or
scorning
Want veiled spirit of light, or cowled angel of gloom?
As midnight was nearing, the presence uprearing
To its height, lowly bent by the dying one's I wd,
And a hand Irma the folds of its mantle appearing—
. Who could say if to bless or to ban was outspread?
Did the shudder that crept thromfb the Year ere he slept, I
Speak of horror or hope, from that hand o'er his bead?
Even thus the last stroke of December outspoke,
, And I knew with the sound the old year was to, litre,
1 And I sow where from darkness the Young Year awoke,
And heard its clear pipe and light step at the door ;
And the great shadow gathered the bolds of its cloak,
And stood by the bed, muffled, mute, as before.
Then I knew 'twits the shade of the Future, arrayed
By the Dead Year with new might ,o bless or to bas;
lint the darkness upon the cowled features that played,
Still battled the effort their promise to scan.
And I waited the Young year's encounter to see
With that awful presence past reading of man.
With his childish laugh ringing like silver bells swinging,
Came the Year to his heritage frolic and free,
Nor shrank as its broad shadow over lola flinging
That dark presence fronted the child in his glee;
No fear from the joy of the jubilant boy
As he faced the cnwled features, and elimed the veiled
knee. - •

Then I knew that, though dim, mit unlovely to hint
W. the face of that presence, nor threatening its eye,
And that under that veil was no aspect more grim
For the Year I saw born than the Year I saw die. . . .
And I woke as frolic clouds rose the sun's crimson rim!
And the fair light of morning enkindled the sky !—Punch.

A FATAL CHRISTMAS EVE.
At the clorkenwellpolieevourt, In London, ffeorge Camp-
bell, aged menty-three, described as an upholsterer, has been
charged with murdering John Moir, aged twenty-eight, by
shooting him through the head with a rifle.
Alexander Fergnason Weatherspoon WAR the first
witness called. He mini : I re-i& at- Alfred-strmt
Rianan-road, Bamsbury, and am an upholsterer. The
prisoner resides in the same house as I do, and lived
with the deceased. We had is party on Christmas
night, and the prisoner was one of them, and ml, also,
was the deceased. We were going inn all right with
songs and recitations, and such like, when the prisoner
asked one if I would gn upstairs and have a quiet drop
of rum in 'aloir's room ; that is the room nil accessed.
I said "No at first, bat he an, press< ii me that I went.
The di ceased followed close behind us. I asked the
deceased what he was going up to his own room for,
and he said, " For the Christy Minstrels' Song-book."
The prisoner then began to tale to the deceased about
wreatling, and offered to bet tint 40. or To. that he
would throw hint. The deceased said, "We do not
come here to wrestle," and that passed off. We all
three got into the room, no one else being present, snit
the deceased was in the act of pouring out a glass if
whisky for me, mail while I was dtinking it. the
prisoner put his fists in a fighting attitude and said
something about fighting. The deceased °Novi!
tin" take" hint K ith one hand. That passed mai,
and the prisoner went and took the rifle that was
letnging on a nail on the top of the cupboard. The
bayonet was close beable it, and the bayonet fell dow n
inn the &ceased trying to get the rifle from the prisoner.
There was a Fort of a scut& in trying to get the
rifle away front the prisoner, and then it was that the
bay oust fell. While I and the di-ceased were looking
for the case of the bayonet the prisoner walked round
the tattle with the rifle. He went out id the door if
the room, and was gone, perhaps, about a minute and
a half when he returned with the rifle, and just
arrived as the deceased and I found the bayonet and
the case. I gave the deceased the bayonet, and he
was in the act of putting it in the case when the
prisoner corked the rifle. The deceased said to the
prisoner, "What are you going to do!" There was a
lamp standing on the table, and the prisoner, in reply
to the deceased, said, "I am i oily going to put out the
light." The prisoner was all the time in the middle of
the room, and, before either the deceased or I could
utter a word, he fired the rifle. The prisoner had it to
his shoulder in the ordinary position. The lamp, the
prisoner, the deceased, and I were in a direct line. I
RAW the flash, and the deceased fell motionless. I was
struck in the eye, and I tell on an easy chair, tiny legs
on the seat and my head on the back. I had some
tobacco pipes in my hand, and as they were broken, I
cannot say whether I got the marks on o.y face from
them or not. I called out " Murder " and "Police."
As soon as I found I was not seriously hurt, I got up
and ran to the door, and an I passed the prisoner, I
called him a fool, and said, "See what you have done."
I called for my brother Archibald, and he came
up at once and told me to go and get a doctor, and
I rushed out without my hat and got one. I did not
come back for abouttwenty minutes, as I hail to go to
the houses of three surgeons before I got one to come.
When I returned I found the deceased was dead, but
I believed he died on receiving the shot. Before I
called the prisoner afoot and while I waa in the ea sy chair
coiling murder the prisoner saint 'what is the matter."
This is all Irs member his saying. The deceased was
shot in the left temple, and his head was higher than
the level of the lamp. I was higher than the level
of the lamp, and the deceased was taller than I
am. The rifle belongs to James Moir, the brother
of the deceaset I did not notice whether the deceased
was shot in the head or not until after I returned from
the doctor's. I thought he might have fallen to frighten
the prisoner. When the deceased put up his hand and
said he would " take " him with sine hand, inc also im-
mediately said "We did not come here to imarret" The
decease,' and the prisoner had lived and slept together
for the past three mouths, snit hail been good friends
up toChriatnias night, as far as I know. Nothing passed
but what I have stated. We had all been taking a
glass. The prisoner was the most excited of the lot.
No one to my. knowledge was the worse o for liqur,
with the exceptum of the prisoner, who is excitable with
a little drink. When the rifle was cocked we were
itbout two yards from the priaoner. I could not itay
whether the muzzle of the rifle extended beyond the
lamp or not.
'lhe brother of the deceasea gave corroborative
evidence to the above, and sabl that he knew there
WAS iii,mething between the prisoner and his brother,
hut he could not tell what. A few nights previous to
the occurrence, while they were in bed he asked him to
say what it WAN, and the primmer said that he and the
deceased had been out together, and, baying partaken
of some drink, hail fallen into the company ot some
loom girls. After that he said he could not think of
facing his sweetheart, whom be had left in Scotland.
On that day the prisoner had enlisted into the sth
Dragoons, and when he was asking him why he had
done that he said, ''l did one foolish thing that night,
I have now done a second, and I simll do it third, Alia
then you will know alt almut it." The witness's
neither hail a short time Mice sp ben to him abie it the
conduct of the prisoner, and had renew.' mane ritsora
fri en the bedroom, as she sand I.lie wan afraid the pri-
iner might do some harm with theis.
The magistrate aaked if the mother td the deceased
was presetit, and being told that she zoo too ill to
attend at present, asked the prisoner if lie 'ii ishea to
say thing against his being rmiianditil.
priatiner, in a low time id s,nire, sabl, "No

Sir."
The primmer was then 11n11vedby the pill'
At tilllelaltrillt; the t O:LI111111Vio 41 be seemed I. feel his
a,ntely.

-
POACHING AFFIi AY.

On :`;lin.iny i-ruing for—e
d ik eight ie adors
mole all a, t'r k 1111“11 ii•ur gain keepers in the employ
of Mr. Benyon, at Mortimer, near Reading.
Newman, the head keeper, was wounded in his head,
but the greatest sufferer lea keeper named Puffin, who
was attacked by the poachers in a moot brutal manner.
His skull is broken in several places, and he lies in a
very precarious state. The police are after the poachers.
—A desperate encounter a ith poachers occurred
(also on Sunday morning) upon the estate of Mr.
Llewellyn, of Pentlegare, about five miles from Swan-
sea. On Saturday night five keepers were watching
the estate, and between one awl two o'cl.at in the
nonning heard several shots fired. The whole of the
keepers at once set out in the direction of the re-
pmts, and in a short time came up with five
men, one if not two of whom carried guns and
the others sticks. The keepers at once challenged the
poacher, to stand, which, however, they refused to do,
and ran off through the woods. The keepers pursued,