Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-10-13
CIRCUMsrANTfAI. syIDENCr.

In the year 1898, young man who
was serving hisapprenticeshipin London
to a master sailmaker. got leave TO visit
his mothersto spend the Christmas holi-
j days. She lived a few miles beyond Deal
in Kent. He walked the journey. and
ON his arrival at Deal, in thesaeyenlng,
being much fahgued, and also troubled
with a bowel complaint, he applied 20 sne
landlady of a public house, who was a.
nuainted with his mother, for a niSutS
IoJo,;no Her house was full and every
bed nccnnjed. but she told him that II he
,ro,1d sleen with her uncle, who had late7 |
l., come ashore, and was boatswain of an
ind;aman, he should be welcome. He
was glad to accept the offer, and after
spending the evening with his new com
rade, they retired to rest. Il sassev
In the middle of the night he was at
tackled with his complaint, and awakened
his bed fellow to ask him the way to the
garden. The boatswain told him to go
| through the kitchen, but as he would find
it difficult to open the door into the yard,
the ZACH being out Of order, he desired
him to take a knife out of his pocket, with
which lie could raise the latch. The
young man did as he was directed, and
after remaining nearly half an hour in the
ward he returned to his bed, but was sur
prised to find that his com panion had ri
sen and gone. Being impatient to visit
his mother and friends, he also rose be-
fore day and pursued his journey, and
arrived home at noon. The landlady who
had been told Of his intention to start
early was not surprised, but not seeing
her uncle in the morning, she went to call
him. She was dreadfully shocked to find
the bed stained with blood, and every in
kquiry after her uncle was in vain.
The alarm now became general, and,
on further examination, marks of blood
were traced from the bedroom into the
street, and at intervals down to the pier
head Rumor was Immediately busy, and
suspicion fell of course on the young man
who slept with him, that he committed
the murder, and threw the body over the
pier into the sea. A warrant was issued
against him, and he was taken that eve
ming at his mother house. On his being
; examined and searched, marks of blood
were discovered on his shirt and trousers,
and in his pocket were a knife and a re-
markable silver coin, both of which the
landlady swore positively were her uncle's
property, and that she saw them in his
possession, ON the evening he retired to
rest with the young man. On these strong
circumstances the unfortunate youth was
found guilty.
He related all the above particulars in
his defence, but as he could not account
for the marks of blood on his person, un-
less he got then when he returned to the
bed, nor for the silver coin being in his
possession, his story was not credited
| In ne inb
pearance, and the blood at the pier, ira
ced from the bedroom. were supposed to
be too evident signs of his being murder
ed, and even the judge was SO convinced
! of his guilt, that he ordered the execution
! to take place in three days. At the fatal
tree the youth declared his innocence and
, persisted in it with such affecting asseye-
rations, that many pitied him, though
Y none doubted the justice Of his sentence.
!. The executioners of those days were
:. not SO expert at their trade, as modern
i ones, nor were drops and platforms inven-
ted. The youth was very tall, his feet
sometimes touching the ground, and some
: of his friends who surrounded the gallows
contrived to give his body some support
as it was suspended. After being cut
Il down, those friends speedily bore it away
in coffin, and in the course of few hours
; animation was restored and the innocent
saved. When he was able to move, -his
friends insisted on his quitting the coun-
try, and never returning. He according
, ly travelled by night to Portsmouth, where
he entered on board a man. of-war on the
point of sailing for distant part of the
n world and as he changed his name and
disguised his person, his melancholy story
n never was discovered.
e After few years of service, during
which his exemplary conduct was the
cause of his promotion through the lower
n grades, he was at last made a master's
: mate, and his ship being paid off in the
l West Indies, he and few moro of the
= crew were transferred TO another man of
: war, which had Just arrived short of hands,
> from different station. What were his
n feelings of establishment, then Of delight
l. and ecstacy, when, almost the first person
a he saw on board his new ship, was the
s Identical boatswain for whose murder he
had been tried, condemned and executed
five years before Nor was the surprise
, of the old boatswain much less, when he
a heard the story.
An explanation of all the mysterious
circumstances then took place. 1t ap-
. peared that the boatswain had been bled
for pain in the side, by the barber, un-
0 known to his niece, on the day of the young
mans arrival at Deal; that when the
Q young man wakened him and retired to the
! yard, he found the bandage had come off
during the night, and that the blood was
| flowing afresh. Being alarmed, he rose
> to go to the barber, who lived across the
street, but a press gang laid hold of him
just as he left the public house. They
, hurried him to the pier, where their boat
, WAS Whiting few minutes hronocht tLora.