Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-10-27

streets OF A-Z, he came to the Tavern |
IN company with the prisoner and was treat-
ed by him in courteous, friendly mannsr,
which drew from the head barkeeper remark |
concerningit. They were in room engaged
in some business, together with Mr.. Wing
fields servant, Rudolph Leyere, for some two
or three hours"
. Was that in the room where the hand
kerchief was found ?" interposed the counsel
It Vas Layton lett It tEiereS r0r r,v-S-
somewhat under the influence Of his groSS
'What of those dark stains on tkspHoor of
that room, Mr.. Mowry p
" There seems to be ~ssSnre misunderstood
ing upon t3att-111nf t<+t p61nf for it was not blood
= tn1as-S4used those stains | well remember
~c1e painter spilling a portion Of his paint
from the pot in passing through that room,
years ago"
Well, Mr.. Mowry, did not the prisoner
leave Layton at the Tavern ?"
" He did; he went home some hours before
the missing man left"
g Did not the prisoners man leave at the
same time ?"
q" He did not for he remained with Lay
to in the room for some considerable time,
even until late at night"
What then didthey go away together ?"
"They started together, but parted at the
door, one going up the street the other down.
| was about leaving at the same time and saw
the entire proceeding"
Will you state TO the court and jury what
further you know respecting this affair ?"
Here the witness wiped the large drops Of
sweat from his brow, and turned a look upon
the miser, who was sitting quietly in the box
with every muscle Of his face fixed and mo-
tionless; he was resting his followed cheek
on his bony hand and his keen eyes were fix
ed upon the witness. No moving foot, no
whisper broke the breathless silence Of the
courtroom, and the witness continued:
Layton was intoxicated, and | followed
on after him; impelled by some power I knew
not what He had not gone far, before he
met some man and they both stopped for a
minute. The man who met Layton turned
with him and retraced his steps. followed
closely on 4; they turned into the narrow alley
that leads from Second Street along the south
ern wall of Wingfeld Layton's warehouse
The door at the rear Of that building was
| opened and the two men entered. hastened
to the window and pressed my ear againstthe
shutter. | heard Laytons voice in accents of
imploring mercy from within: oh! for
| Gods sake, don't murder me, cried poor Lay
ton,-" acW give you al the zegocy, i'll can
! qet It, from Ena0aa.o I was -hAtyildered.
l pressed my ear again close to the shutter :
the voice of Layton was choked and strang-
ling, and my blood chilled as [ heard him
say: " oh Walter, Iacish to lee acith yoa,
like a br0ther-d0n't, d0Rtk Kill me ~ I" I then
heard the scuffling of feet on the floor among
the chains and hardware-there was a mo
ment of silence and then came the fearful
blow-a crashing blow, as if from hatchet
or some heavy instrument, breaking it's way
through the fragile bones of the skull-a
strange, hollow, deathlike sound; and my
blood grew chill and creeping. A deep death
groan and heavy fall followed it. heard
a voice from within, commanding Jake" tC
conceal the body in a sack and sink it in the
Dock! l hurried away, oyerpoWered will
what I had heard"
Here the witness pressed his hand, tha
I4trembled ike leaf shaken by the Autumn
wind to his sweating forehead and continued
? Yes, the murderer of Erastus Layton i
, not the prisoner at the bar, but Walter Wing
a ieldv' And he reeled up against the railing
T.. Of the bar of Justice.
y A storm of sighs and groans burst from tn
: hundred bosoms gathered there, and the mi
ser sprung to his feet, leaning on his staff
s and stretched his old, withered hand heaven
r ward and swore:
: g AS Heaven liyeth, I am innocent Of th
e murder of Layton and before the sanle Hea
# ven | swear that Walter Wingtield nv owl
: brother and his kinsman, took from th
Il wretched man that which he cannot give q
It gain-his LIFE y
l. AS these words fell from the lips Of the pris
e oner, there came up from the farther end c
d the court-rooma strange, shril, startling voice
FALSE LIAR! PERJURED WRETCH! !!
e The tllrong gave way before the one VIII
E uttered these strange words, and little, Oh
e woman rushed into the bar and eonfronte
n the miser. She was habited in dark gowr
IN and her black eyes sparkled fercely as sh
ID stood before the miser, pointing her fnge
at close at his fuce and repeated her astoundin
Of accusation =
I'd "FALsE! LIAR!! PERJURED WRETCH =!
As 6 Who is this strange creature?'' exclaime
III the mlser. "who accuses me the awful Grim
lg of perjury p
IL Ha! Ha! Ha!'' laughed the old woman
. So you don't know me- Allan Winofe!d /!
ty And she repea;ed the same words of the ace,
Id sation with withering emphasis. Turning
at Worl Mowry, she said" As for you, Wor
ne you are perjured too base minion, nothing
ne too low for you since you can be bribed
81 swear falsely against an innocent man" 81
a looked Indignantly upon the witness, and /
ne sank into seat.
Id ''Who, ecbo is this that accuses me of IL
OF awful crime of perjury" exclaimed the mise
~ again; and he looked the woman in her dar
flashing eyes.
he Hi Ha! Ha!" laughed the strange b
TO ing with the intoxicaton of delight 9 YC
be don't know NE, Allan Wingfeld look 1T N
ms if your crimson guilt dare face injured inn
lit cence"
Ter She tore from her head its covering. al
it. her long locks that once were raven black b
ne now were gray with silver strands fell over
'es shoulders. and she lowered over the miser, w
'ut had sank into the seat of the guilty. she to
on cred over him and her face beamed, her fraI
The quivered in every fibre her dark eyes flash
we an.etherial fire until she looked more like
be avahging Angel than woman, and she co
at tinued =
e "Wil YOU look on me, liar9 Nay, periur
the wretch; / command you to look upon me
You know me not? Aye, but you do; Y
speak falsely; you hive not forgotten me-r
hat you never can then look upon me-"
WHO, ,cho are you?" and The miser's vo
ars, trembed and faltered in its tone