The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1848-11-25
WooDSFIELR OHIO SATURDAY, NOVEMBER rs, 1915

oath Of atrue man. Your worship will
recoIlect that was not only blindfold.
ed, but turned round and round, like a
cockchafer; besides being all the while
nearly dead Of fright"
1".Why, can't you say whether you
went towards the north, south, east, or
westl" ssNo, your worship SAT
"Did you hear any blea,ing Of sheep,
any snor,ing Of ncighing Of horses
any lowing of cows, when you passed
through what you took to be a farm
yard" ''No, your worship, nothing
like it," .. "a a...-.,s4,r
"Did it seem large ora small house,
or what sort Of placer "Please your
worship, know about as much Off as
a dead man knows Of the shnpe Of his
gravew .losog a.ysr
"Humph!' exclaimed the magistrate
completely nonplussed, rubbing his
hands over his loreheads elG gaaaLo9
."Oh, please your worship" said
Dick, suddenly;"l forgot one thing. !
saw the hand Of one man twice; first
when he seized me by my wagon, and
then when he held the pistol to my
breast iE the little room, and marked es-
Epecially that it was fair and white, like
a gen,leman's, and had shining ring
upon one finger" "Ay!ay! ay! are
you sure of thata" inquired the magis,
trate, with much Interests; ts.a gentle
mans hand, with bright ring on? One
might make something Of that" He
paused. 81 alfG Gn.aE III G. t1s7!GW
| IA Sand yet-pho! Whatis is such tri1e
as that, TO lead to discovery? There
must be something strange behind all
this, am confident!' - "'H
The simple fact was, that the magis.
trate was completely at loss. What,
indeed, could be done in the matterl
What great harm had been done, after
all? TO be sure there were some symp
toms of threatened outrage on another
l,ofh his majesiy's subjects, when he could
be found; but, as for the present com.
plainant, he had been clearly much
more frightened than hurt. Here he
was, sound and whole, richer by four
guineas than he was before, unable to
give spark of available information
about his seizure, capture, or jou .ney.
What conld be done in the affair9 The
magistrate knew not. However, he
decided on sending a memorial OF the
whole affair to the secretary of states
Office, and so throwing the business on
the shoulders of government. He di.
rected- the WAGNER, in the mean while,
to return to his ordinary work, and
granted him the, service oftwo consta-
bles, to ride all the way inside his way
on to London, and back again, with fire
arms, which they were authorized in
using without hesitation, in case OF
emergency. His worship also directed
Forster to keep the four guineas, and
gave Bill Fowler half a crown, 10 ena-
bic him to geta "pIain Jug Of good ale.
And so the affair ended, as far as the
wagner was concerned. The result
Of the application to The secretary Of
state, was an order to advertise the af.
fair over the whole country, offering a
reward, on the part of government, Of
1901. Tor the discovery Of the perpetra-
tor of SO extraordinary an outrage;
which was done, but in vain. Not tit
tie, not a glimpse Of evidence was OBJ.
tained, by which to trace or fasten the
occurrence any where; and after fort.
night or SO the affair was forgotten by
the public, in spite of the stimulating
paragraphs that, as in our day, ran the
round Of the papers, ''vires acquirentes
eundo." The wagner, Richard Fors.
ter himself, resumed his ordinary busi-
ness without interruption, and gradually
dropped his fear, treating the whole al.
fair, when it was mentioned to him, ra-
ther as joke than otherwise. H. n
o One word, in passing. concerning the
magistrate. The first thing he did, af.
ter dismissing the wagner, as has been
described, and entering his library, was
to take off his gloves, hastily pluck off
a ring from his little finger. and fling it
into the fire CRATE. "Cursed little trai-
torm he exclaimed, pale and gasping
with fury, "ie there and be burned!'I
He sat down in a chair; the persplra'
ton stated upon his brow, and his fist
clenched with Involuntary emotion. He
presently started from his seat, and
walked to aud fro in prodlgious agita-
ton. His was the hand that the wag
oner had spoken Of; he it was that sci
zed him by the throat, and presented
the pistol TO his breast!
This atrocious, daring, and unaccout.
able transaction soon slipped from pub
lie recollection, and ceased, as was re-
..t.A- L. l.