Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-12-07

| AAhooohV vi tuls as new BORN DaOe. Its
[! scoundrel that be, that has brought thee
Martha, to this shameful pass. The rugged
man snatched his life companion to his breast
with passionate emotion, and tears of remorse
and agony streamed down his rough cheeks.
l was deeply affected, and felt that the man
had uttered the whole truth It was evidently
one of those cases in which, a person liable to
suspicion, damages his own cause bv resortinp
to trick. No doubt, by this act of theft, Aarm-
strong had been driven to an expedient which
would not have been adoped by any person per-
fectly innocent. And thus from one thing to
another, the charge of murder had been fixed
upon him and his hapless wife When this con-
fession had been uttered, felt species of self
accusation in having contributed to his destruc-
tion and gladly would have undone the whole
days proceedings. The judge, on the contrary,
was quite undisturbed. Viewing the harrangue
OF Armstrong as mere tissue of falsehood, he
coolly pronounced sentence of death upon the
prisoners. they were to be hanged on Monday.
This was Friday. ~asr ~,
ga bad job " whispered the council for the
defence, as he passed. ''The witness Of yours,
the woman Strugnell, is the real culprit."
81 tasted no dinner that day N 1syas sick ct
heart; for felt as if the blood Of two gdeil6@
creatures was on my bands. In the evening I
sailed forth to the judges lodging. He lis
tened to all l had to say, but was quite imper-
tprable The obstinate old man was satisfied
that tho sentence was as it should be. re.
turned to my inn almost in despair Without
the approval of the Judge, knew that an ap-
plication to the secretary of state was futile.
There was not even time to send to London, un-
less the judge had granted respite.
All Saturday and Sunday was in misery. l
denounced capital punishment as a gross iniqui-
ty--a national r:n disgrace; my feelings of
course being influenced somewhat by recollec-
tion of that unhappy affair of Harvey, noticed
in my previous paper. I half resolved to give
up the bar, and rather go and sweep the streets
for livelihood, than run the risk of getting
poor people hanged who did not deserve it.
On Monday morning | was pacing up and
down my breakfast-room in the next assized
town, in state of great excitement, when a
cbaise and four drove rapidly up to the hotel
and out tumbled johnson, the constable. His
tale was soon told. On the previous evening,
the landlady of the Black Swan, roadside
public house about four miles distant from the
scene of the murder, reading the name of Pearce
in the report of the trial in the Sunday county
paper, sent for johnson, to state that that per-
son had on the fatal evening called and left a
port,nanteau in her charge, promising to call
for it in aAzhour, but had never been there since.
Or opening the portmanteau, Wilson's watch,
seals. and other property, were discovered in it;
and johnson had, as soon as it was possible, set
off in search Of Inc. Instantly, for there was
aet ii minute to spare, /, in company with
Armstrong; counsel, sought tbe judge,and with
some difficulty obtained from him "a formal order
to the sheriff to suspend the execution till fur
ther orders. Off and the constable started
and happily arrived in time to stay the execu-
ton, and deprived the already assembled mob Of
tho brutal exhibition they SO anxiously awaited
On nquiring for Mary Strugnell, we found that
she had abscondbd on tho evening of the trial
All search for hdr proved vain.
Five months passed away the fate of Arm
strong and his wife was still undecided, when q
message was brought to my chamber in the
Temple, from woman said to be dying in St
Bartholomews hospital. 1t was Mary Strug.
nell, who, when in a state of intoxication had
fallen down in front Of carriage. as she was
crossing near Holborn Hill, and had both hel
legs broken. She was dying mserably, and
had sent for me to make full confession rea
tive to Wilson's murder. Armstrong account
was perfectly correct. The deed was commit
ted by Pearce, and they were packing up tbeil
plunder when they were startled by the return
of the Armstrong;. Pearce, snatching up
bundle and portmanteau, escaped by the win
dow, she, had moi nerve enough to attempt it
and crawled back to her bedroom where she
watching the doings Of the farmer through thu
chinks of tho partition which separated he
room from the passage, concocted the story which
convicted the prisoners. Pearce, thinking him
self pursued, too heavily encountered for ,rapiC
fight, left the portmantead'as described, Intend
ing to call for it in the morning if his fear
proved groundless. Hs,however, had not cour
age enough to call again, and made the best o
his way to London. lie was now in Newgat
under sentence Of death for burglary, accom-
panied by personal violence to the inmate o
the dwelling, he and his gang had entered an'
robbed. | took care to have the deposition. o
the dying wretch put Into proper form and tn
result was, after great deal Of petitioning ant
worrying Of authorities, a full pardon for botl
Armstrong and his wife, They sold Craig Farm
and removed to some other part of the country
where, | never troubled myself to inquire
Deeply grateful was l, to be able at last to was
my hands of an affair which had caused me 8
much anxiety and vexation albeit, the lesso
it afforded me of not coming hastily to cor
cusions, even when the truth seems, as it were
upon the surface of the matter, has not beer
trust, without its uses.
THE GREAT STEAMSHIP.