Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-05-06
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF AN
EDITOR

We give below an account Of the at
tempted assassination of Mr.. Paine, one O,
the editors of the Yankee Blade, a weekly
paper published in Boston. 1t is worthy
of remark, that a former conductor Of
that paper, Mr.. Mathews, was killed
some years age, by a man by the name
of Coolidge, at Waterville, in Maine. He
was tried, and sentenced to be hung 70,
the crime, but before execution he was
reported to have died in jail. The war.
den was subsequently discharged upon
suspicion of having connived at his es-
cape, and placing the body of some dead
man in his place. Professor Webster, of
Cambridge, was on the list of witnesses
in Cooledge's case when he was arrested
for the murder of DR.. Parkman.
From the Boston Journal
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION usual
ly quiet village of West Newton was
thrown into state Of great excitement
this morning by singular affair, the
particulars of which, as we are informed,
are as follows: Between three and four
o'clock this morning, the house of Mr..
Elias B. Paine was entered by a stranger,
the noise of whose movements aroused
Mr.. Jos. Paine, son of Mr.. E. 3. Paine a
youngman, twenty-fiveor six years of age,
who was sleeping in the lower part Of the
house. Young Paine instantly sprung
from his bed, and concealed himself in a
corner of the room just as the intruder
entered. -.
The man went directly to the bed, and
seemed disappointed to find it unoccupied,
uttering slight ejaculation. As he
turned away, young Paine srtuck, upon
him, and was Immediately aSsailed with
a dirk knife, and stabbed in several places.
Paine at last succeeded in wrenching the
knife from the hands of his assailant,
when the fellow drew pistol, which
Paine grasped, and by extraordinary good
fortune has little finger ,eas betueea tn.
cap and the hammer Just as the trigger ua,
drdwnt The hammer of the pistol tool
a small piece of flesh out of the finger
The fellow made second attempt to dis
charge the weapon, but Paine struck hi.
arm, and the ball entered the ceiling O
the room. .1, ..
The struggle was then renewed. Paine
in turn being the assailant, inficting
upon the fellow two StabS with the knife
The man succeeded, however, in getting
out Of the house, but closely followed by
Paine, who again clinched him in the
garden. Paine, finding himself growing
weaker, and fearing that the man would
escape, tripped him over the terrace back
of the house, and both fell down steep
cmbsnkment Of ten feet. The stranger
succeeded in disengaging himself, and
escaped just as the family. who had beer
aroused by the report of the pistol which
was fired during the struggle in the
house. arrived at the spot.
Young Paine, who is of slender frame
and has long been in somewhat feeble
bodily health, was severely but no,
dangerously injured. lie was much
exhausted from loss Of blood when the
family reached the spot, aud had been
severely bruised by the fall from the en-
bankment. ......-
1t is believed Tat assassination was
the object of the intruder, though the
affair is involved in mystery. Mr.. Paine
is one of the editors of the Yankee Blade.
lie had been reading during the night
and did not retire until nearly three
o'clock. 1t is supposed that the fellow
had been watching the house, and entered
as soon as he thought bis victim had
fallen asleep. ID ..
1t is believed that the assassin was
severely stabbed by Mr.. Paine, and he
has left behind dirk knife and pistol Of
peculiar make, which will probably lead
to his Identification and arrest. The
roads in the vicinity were searched as
soon after the affair as the neighbol S
could be aroused, but no arrest was
made.