The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-11-19

| a TALE OF LIFE AND DEATH.-In anoth-
err century such a story as the following which
our Police Reporter sends us, would be deem
ed u frighttul fable-now it is simply terri
bic reality " Y. Tribune.
A few mornings since, a woman of rather
respectable appearance was observed to cross
the yard of the old Dead-House in the Park,
making her way towards pile of collins which
occupied acorner of the enclosure. The dri-
yer Of the Aims House hearse was employed
about the yard at the time, and thought moth
ing of the appearance ofthe woman there, un.
til he saw her, after some considerable time
had elasped, leave the yard and make her
way into the street. The woman had been
gone but very short time, when John was
surprised at hearing the cries of an infant
coming from the direction of the pile of collins
in the corner. He Immediately commenced
a search and discovered in coffin, the top of
which had been removed an infant entirely
nude, and evidently newly born. The thought
of the woman Immediately flashed across the
drivers mind, and he started off to look for
the mother who had thus left her offspring to
perish or exist III a poor-house coffin Moth
ing could be seen of the woman, however, and
John returned and reported the case to the
Commissioner, who had the newcomer placed
in the care of one of the Alms-IIous nurses,
to dress it and give it fair start in the
world.
The next day after the occurrence of these
Coroner Rlwson was called to |
hold an inquest on the body of a woman nam
ed Frances Shaw, who had died under pecu-
liar circumstances. She was on her way
home, as was stated, from a shop where she |
ba1 haon n talyn homo Somo work which Cbo |
had been doing, and had nearly reached her
boarding house. when she was taken suddenly |
i'll at the corner Of City Hall-Place and Duane
st. and died, either in the street or soon after
being carried to her residence. The Coroner
was accompanied by a physician, who male
examination and came to the con-
clusion that the deceased had, very short
time before death, given birth to a child, and
that her death was caused by concomitant cir
The inmates of the house could
hardly believe this, as they had never seen
my thing which indicated the approach of
my such event as that mentioned by the ply
cian. The woman, they said, was an honest,
Industrious seamstress, and they were entirely
to believe what they were told;
out the indications from which the Doctor
judged we're unmistakable, and verdict was
endered accordingly by the Coroncr's Jury.
The inquest was at length completed, and as
here were no relatives to perform the rite of
burial for the deceased, the body was directed
o be buried at the public expense, and the
Alms-House hcarse was sent for The driver
anne, and was about to place the body in the
ofin, when he recognized it as the woman
Who came into the Deld-House yard the day
previously, and after whose departure the in
ant was found and thus the whole mystery
'as explained. 1t is said that the woman was
widow, and was probably driven to the
curse which she pursued by a dread of the
hame which must have followed the discovery
her real situation. The child though pre-
laturely BORN is now doing well, and appears
likely to live as any in the nursery.