Litchfield enquirer., 1832-11-08


 legal proceedings, and the testimony mention ed m the course of if, we have heard from an- other source ; but feel inclined tO believe that their connexion with past occurrences. and the circumstances themselves, have received a strong cOlering from the imaginatio1s OfOur infOrmap: and the witnesses who were exam- ined s--
 About thirty years ago small village was built Up in one of the newly settled counties in the interior 0f this state by some enterpri- Sing individuals, among whom was Scotch merchant by the name of W--. He was an unmarried man. about thirty years of age, of some education, frank and social in his dis position. but somewhat addicted to the hot tie. After trading few years with consider able success. he became nexpectedly the in- heritor of large estate in Scotland and the letter which announced his good fortune con- tained also large sum of money. He inn mediately commenced arrangements for re- turning home sold out his establishment to villager whom we shall designate by the name uf A; took farewell carouse with his old customers and cronies, with whom he was literally l" foI for days thegith- er," and departed for his native land. year or more had elapsed, when some of the villa gers got wnrd--how it is not recollected- that w. had never been heard ofby his friends in ScOtlaDd; and story obtained and was .tseHeved, that his good fortune had made him mad, and that he had "drunk himself to deaih' on his way home.
 About the same period a pedlar (havi0g as was believed, considerable sum Of money with liim) who had put up at the village for few days, suddenly disappeared in myste- rious manner, and has never since been heard of The circumstance IS recOllected from his having made deposit with citizen of the town, of a sum of money, which has never been called for, and which, we believe, is still at interest for his benefit.
 MT. A and younger brother, on the departure of w. set up as merchants in his stead and itwas remarkable, that being men of small meaos and ordinary abilities. illiterate and unacquainted with merchandise, they nevertheless managed their concerns with un- exampled success. They kept large stock of goods, purchased up the produce of far mers in the country to great d;,srante around, were always 'Aash. of .noney," and in short, " bought g"i.ien Opinions of all sorts ofpeople." .ne rlder brother by dint ofwise saws and thread bare adages uttered with a consequential air, came to be considered a man of parts, was appointed magistrate, and for time twas the oracle of the village 1 and it's vicinity. There was, however, reck I lessness in the transactions of these men. | which made sober people wonder at their prosperity and half inclined them to believe | it would not last forever. They gradually contracted dissipated habits and gathered round them a knot of gamblers and loose characters, until the village, which had never been in the hest repute tor morality, became under their auspices the seat of all manner Of iniquity.
 A few years wound up their career by failure in business, followed by series ofjudg- ments and executions which swept lands aud ehaftels, and reduced them to their former humble condition. The younger brofher has managedstO lead bastling life ever since, wandering about the cauntry and gaining a precarious subsistence as black-ieg and horse -jockcy. The. Squire,'' it was obsrrv- cd, did not bear his misfortunes with the ut, s.sOst magnanimity. He became moody and unhappy man-restless, unsocial and absent minded, when sober, and addicted, in his 1 maudin moments, to moralizng on the yics- situdes of the times. These habits gradually 1 increased upon him, and at length took an as- pect, which. for some years past, has caused his neighbors to look upon him as partially dcranged.
 He became subject at Intervals of different lengths, to paroxysms of iptshse mental dis trass, during which he frequently declared himself the most wretcted being in existence, hut from a cause which no one could ever know. It is said that at such seasons he has been known to rise from his bed in great ago. ny bordering on despair; and perhaps the next | day fly to the bottle for re lIef. and, under its l influence, run into the opposite extreme of hOrrid blasphemy. Two other peculiarities of his character have also been the subject of remark ;--the one passion for tales of mur- der, the most horrid details of which he would dwell upon with intense interest ;-and the other an inordinate affection for the small in convenient house which he occupied. This house-the oldest perhaps in the village-he had built himself, for his own residence. Az ter the ownership had passed from him, he still contFiyed to retain possession. and never would consent othe slightest repairs and al- terations being made. His notions were look ed upon as the ghims of half crazed man,
 which it cost the good natured owner nothing to gratify, and he was suffered tO have his will. When compelled to leave tho house al last, he did so with lamentations which dis. < dressed the sympathies of the neighborhood
 and when told a few weeks ago that it was tc
 he torn down. he said it was then time fol
 him to be torn down also; and actually re
 moved to an obscure nook in one of the yves
 tern counties. professedly from inability to en
 Apre the destruction of his beloved domicil.
 About n fortnight ago the house was tor,
 down, and discovery made which has pro
 duced no little excitement in that region, and
 in iha imagination of many, affords clu, &.1.AtH .kss .sSAu {.