Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-09-16
MISCEI. I.LANX.
STORY OF DON JUAN.


same father, after she was seduced by him.
This gentlemen had for some time before
his trial, led solitary life at his castle, IN
the neighborhood of Montremos, town on
the road between Lisbon and Badagos,
the frontier garrison OF Spain: was shown
his castle as passed through that dismal
country, about mile distant from the road,
| in bottom surrounded by cork trees, and
never saw q more melancholy habiation.
I The circumstances which were made a
gainst this gentlemen were so strong, and
| the story was i'm such general circulation
| in the neighborhood where he lived, that
although he laid out the greatest part OF a
| considerable income, in acts OF charity,
nobody ever entered his gates to thank
him for his bounty, or solicit relief, except
one poor father Of the Jerongmite convent
| in Montremos, who was his contessor and
acted as his almoner at discretion.
| A charge of so black nature, involving
the crime of incest as well as murder, at
length reached the ears of justice, and a
commission was sent to Montremos, to
make inquiry into the case the supposed
criminal made no attempt to escape, but
readily attended the summons of the COM
missioners. Upon the trial it came out,
| from the confession Of the prisoner, as
well as from the deposition of the witness
ses, that Don Juan had lived from his in
fancy, in the family of a rich merchant at
Lisbon, who carried on considerable trade
and correspondence in the Brazils: Don
Juan being allowed to take this merchants
name, it was generally supposed that he
was his natural son; and a clandestine at
fair of love having been carried on between
him and the merchants daughter Josepha,
who was an only child, she became preg-
nant, and a medicine being administered to
her by the hands of Don Juan, she died IN
a few hours after, with the symptoms of a
person who had taken poison. The mother
Of the young lady survived her death but
few days, and the father threw himself into
a convent ofmendicants, making over by
deed Of gift, the whole of his property to
the supposed murderer.
In this account there seemed strange
obscurity of facts, for some made strongly
to the elimination Of Don Juan, and the
last mentioned circumstance was OF so con-
Trajectory a nature, as to throw the whole
into perplexity; and therefore to compel
the prisoner to further elucidatlon OF the
case, it was thought proper to interrogate
him by torture.
Whilst this was preparing, Don Juan
without betraying the least a,arm upon wnat
was going forward, told his Judges tnat 1t
would save them and himself some trouble,
if they would receive his confession upon
certain points, to which he should .fuiy
speak but beyond which all the tOrturcs IA
Al r.. ,Ioi>
He said he was not the son as 1t was sup
posed, of the merchant with whom he lived,
nor allied to the deceased Josepha any
otherwise than by the tenderest ties OF
mutual affection and a promise OF marriage,
which he however acknowledged had not
been solemnized that he was the son OF a
gentleman of considerable fortune in the
Brazils, who left him an infant to the care
of the merchant, who for reasons best
known to himself chose to call him by his
own name, ,and this being done in his infancy,
he was taught to believe that he was an Oh
'phan youth, the son of distant relation of
the person who adopted him; he begged his
Judges to observe that he never understood
Josepha to be his sister; that as to her sit
uaton by him he acknowledged it, and pray
Gu uou lOT TSNchtSS loI tilC ohSAOC, "hASh
it had been his intention to repair by mar
rying her, that with respect to the medi-
cine, he certainly did give it to her with
his own hands, for that she was sick in con-
sequence of her situation, and being afraid
of creating alarm or suspicion IN her pa
rents, had required him to order certain
drugs from the apothecary, as if for him
self, which he accordingly did, and he verify
believed they were faithfully mixed, mas
much as he stood by the man, whist he
prepared the medicine, and saw every i'll
gredient separately put together.
The judges tbereupon asked him if he
would take upon his conscience to say that
the lady did not die by poison? DonJuan
| burst into tears for the first time, answered, ,
! to his eternal sorrow he knew that she did
die by poison. Was that poison contained
| in the medicine she tooki--l was--Did he
impute the crime of mixing the poison in
the medicine to the apothecary, or did he
take it on himself? Neither the apotheca-
ry nor myself was guilty-Did the lady from
principle ofshame, (he was then asked)
commit the act Of suicide, and intuse the
poison without his knowledge?-He started
in horror at the question, and took God to
witness that she was innocent of the deed.
The judges now seemed confounded and
for time abstained from any further inter-
| rogatorles, debating the matter among them.