Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1837-04-12

ny eVh OIL you.
He retired--sought the nature of the
charge, and to his inexpressible aston
ishment and horror, learned that he
was accused of the murder and robbie.
ry of his friend In a state little short
OF abstraction, he retired to his room,
recalled with painful minutensss all the
circumstances connected with the me-
lancholy catastrophe, and for the first
time, saw the dangerous ground on
which he stood. But proud in consci-
Gus innocence, he felt that to with
draw at hat stageofthe canvass, might
be construed into a confession ofguilt.
He remained a candidate, and was bea.
ten. Now, for the first time did he
feel the w~retchedness Of a condemned
and degraded man. The tribunal Of
pulic opinion had pronounced against
him the sentence of conviction; and
even his friends, as the excitement of
the party struggle subsidized, became
cold in his defence, and wavering in
their belief Of his innocence. Consci-
Gus hat the eye Of suspicion was open
and satisfied that nothing short of a
public investigation could restore him
to honor, the unhappy young man sur
rendered himself to the civil authority,
and demanded a trial. The best
sci had been engaged-and on the day
of trial, Hamilton stood before the as
sembled county-an arraigned culprlt
in the presence Of these before whom
he walked in honor from childhood.
AS the trial proceeded, the confidence
of his friends diminished, and those who
doubted, became confirmed III their be-
lief of the prisoners guilt. "Trifes
light as air become confirmation strong
as Holy Writ to the jealous minds Of
the audience, and one fact was linked
to another in curious coincidence, until
the chain Of corroboratIng circumstan-
ces seemed irresistlbly complete. His
recent intimacy with the deceased. and
even the attention, which friendship
and hospitality had dictated, were in.
geniously insisted upon as evidence of
a deliberate plan of wickedness F.; long
formed, and gradually developed. The
facts, that he accompanied the deceas'
ed on his way-that he lost the path
in a country with which he was suppo-
sed to be- familiar-his conduct on hea-
! ring &c TIE 3oa. efhis f-ieed-she mo-
ney-the knile-caused the most IN
| credulous TO tremble for his fate. But,
when the breast-pin of Hamilton found
near the body of the murdered man,
was produced, and a pistol known to
have been that ofthe prisoner, waspro-
ven to have been picked up near the
same spot-but little room was left even
for charity TO indulge a benevolent
doubt. Nor was this all /; the prosecu-
ton had still another witness; the pale
girl who sat by him clasping his hand
in hers, vas Unexpectedly called upon
to rise and give testimony. She shrunk
from the call and buried her face in her
brothers. bosom. That blow was not
anticipated for none but the myrmi-
doms of party vengeance, who had e.
ven violated the sanctuary OF family
confidence, in search Of evidence, drea-
med that some eliminating information
was in the possession of this young la
dy. At the mandate Of the court, she
arose, laid aside her veil, and disclosed
a face haggard with anxiety and ter
ror. In low, tremulous accents bre.
ken with sobs, she reluctantly deposed
that the clothes worn by her brother
on his return from that fatal journey,
were torn, soiled with earth, u bloody!
An audible murmur raj through the
crowd, who were listening in breath
less silence-the prisoner bowed his
head in mute despair; the witness was
borne away insensible /; the argument
proceeded, and after an eloquent but
vain defence, the jury brought in a YER
dict o~fGuILTY! The sentence of death
was passed.
The summer had passed away. The
hand of autumn had begun TO tinge
with mellow hues the magnificent Sec
merry of the forest. 1t was evening and
the clear m%oonbeams were shining
| through the CRATES of the prisoners
cell. The unhappy man, haggard, at
~tenuated, and heart broken, was lying
on his wretched pallet, rejecting alter
nately upon the early wreck OF his
blighted hopes, the hour of ignomlny
that was just approaching, and the
dread futurity into which he would
soon be plunged. 1t was the season
in which his marriage with Almlra was
TO have been solemnized. With what
pride and Joy had he looked forward TO
this hour! And now, instead of the
wedding festivities, the lovely bride,
and the long train Of congratulating
friends, so often pictured in fancy, he
realized letters, a dungeon, and a dis.
graceful death /! The well known tread
nMa