Washington telegraph., 1852-03-10
The Spanish Widow.

lady SO perfectly beautiful, that she was
called by all Travellers and indeed by all
who beheld her, the Flower of Spain.
With these excellent charms, she possessed
all the virtues which so rarely are to be
found united to such extreme personal
loyeliness She had, therefore, many WOO
ers, but especially certain old knight of
CASTLE, as coarse in mind as he was un-
gainly in person. Being very wealthy he
fully expected this beautiful creature would
gladly become his wife, the more partcu-
larly as she was of poor, though well-born
parentage. But she preferred to allow
her affections to rest on a young gentleman
of small estate, but amable character; and,
being married to him, they retired to the
provinces and spent three years of as per-
feet happiness as is permitted frail mortals
to enjoy. At the end of this period he was
obliged to 90 to Madrid, on the business of
a lawsuit, and was unfortunately murdered
on the way, leaving his unhappy widow
with one little boy, and iii rather straig ighten-
ed circumstances.
Shortly after. the old knight again profer-
ed his hand, which she decidedly rejected
grief or fororn state, but pestered her so con-
j tinually with letters and presents, that, but
| for her fatherless child, she would have
been contented to die At length she de-
| termined to withdraw to some remote vii
! lage, to free herself from this odious perse-
cution.
A few days before the time she had fixed
on 20 remove to her country abode, her sery-
ant happened to open the door Of closet
in her mistress bedroom, when out-fell the
dead body of a man and the police being
summoned by her shrieks they soon recoe-
nised it to be that of the old knight Of
CASTLE, though his countenance was so black
ened and distorted as to appear scarcely hui
man. 1t was evident that he had persisted
by poison and as the unhappy lady could
give no account of the matter, in spite of
her hitherto fair and unblemished reputation,
she was thrown into prison as his mlrderess.
The persecution she had suffered from
the deceased knight was generally known,
but was now attributable to a dishonorable
cause, and the murder of her husband never
having been cleared up, she was considered
by many persons as guilty Of both crimes,
and the whole province was shocked that so
beautiful a creature should have brought
disgrace upon her sex and upon human ma
ture.
AT her trial, the court was crowded to
excess--and as the lady had nothing to offer
but assertions Of her innocence the sesv-
ant, Mariah, having suddenly disappeared
the Judge proceeded to pass sentence Of
death
1t was the custom in those days for a
woman who had committed murder, to be
first strangled and then burnt in the market
place, but before this sentence could be pro-
nounced, witness was moved by remorse
to come forward in her behalf This was
the servant Maria, who had hitherto been
disguised in the body of the court She
stood on one Of the benches, and earnestly
entreated to be heard She then confessed
that she had been prevailed on by the
bribes and promises of the old knig Of
CASTLE, who declared he intended to marry
her mistress, to secret him in the closet in
her lady's chamber but solemnly declared
she knew no other cause of his death, ex-
cept, that, ON one of the shelves she had
! placed some swect-cakes, containing some
arsenic, to poison the rats, and that the
knight, being rather gluttonous, might have
eaten Of them in the dark, and 50 died.
At this probable explanation the court was
instantly moved to declare the lady's inno-
cence with one voice She revived little
at the noise, and being told of the providen-
tial discovery, only clasped her hands, and
then in a few words, commencing her son
to the guardianship of good men, exclaimed
" [ can never survive the shame of this un-
worthy reproach, " and, with deep sigh,
expired On the spot.-De Bal-ac.