The Trinity times., 1855-08-11

| has been carried Tar enough II u EetihI
| late, and NY wife and family viii be getting
anxious about me. If have been 700 strict
with YOU in time past. am sorry r 1t,
and rs ure YOU VIII take more care in Iu-
| ture''
Cent? mon of the jury" sad the judge,
without paving the slightest attention To this
appeal, consider your verdict and If you
wish to retire. do SO.
The Jury retired. During their absence
the most profound silence WAS observed :;
and. except renewing the solitary candle that
burnt b side the jndge, there was not the
| slightest movement.
The jury returned and recorded verdict
Of GUIL~Y.
The Judge solemnIy assumed n huge black
! cap and addr, .Sed The prisoner:
Richard Downel The jury have unan.
mousv found you guilty OF conspiring against
| the Just liberty and immunitirs of the stu
dents of Marischal College. YOu have wan
tonlv provoked aud insuted those mnAtnslvc
| licges for some months. and your punishment
will assuredlv be condgn. You must pre-
pare for death In fifteen minutes the
sentence of the court will be carried into ef
| fectn
The Judge placed his watch on The bench.
| 4 block, an axe and a bag Of Sawdust, were
| brought into the centre of the room. a
figure more terrible than any that had yet
appeared came forward, and prepared 10 act
the part of doomster.
1t was nov past midnight: there was no
sound audible save the ominous ticking Of the
Judges watch Downie became more and
| more alarmed.
For mercy sake, gentlemen said the
terrified man, " let me home. | promise
that YOU never again shall have cause for
complaint"
Richard Downie,' remarked the judge,
YOU are vainly wasting tie few moments
! that are. left YOU on earth. You are in the
| hands of those who must have your life. No
| human power can save you. Attempt to ut
ter one cry, and YOU are seized, and your
doom completed before you can utter another
Every one here has sworn a solemn oath
never 10 reveal the proceedings Of this night:
they are known to none but ourselves; and
when the object for which we have met is
! accomplished, We shall dispense unknown 10
any one. Prepare, then, Tor death; another
| i've minues viii be allowed, bat no more"
The unfortunate man IN in agory Of deadly
terror raved and sirieked for mercy but the
avengers paid no heed to his cries. lis fe
yered. trembling lips. then moved rs il in 81
lent prayer for he felt that the brief space
between him and eternity was but few more
lckings hf that omInnus watch.
Now :" exclaimed the Judge.
-Four persons stepped forward and seized
Downe, on whose features cold clammy
sweat had burst forth. They barred h s neck
and made him knerl before the block.
strike" exclaimed the Judge.
The cSeculioncr struck tie axe on the
floor an assistant on the opposite side lifted
at the same moment Il wet towel, AID struck
it across the neck of the recumbent criminal
\ loud laugh .unounccd that the joke had at
length come 10 an end.
But Downe responded not to the unroar
Gus merriment-they laughed nglla--but still
he moved not-ihey lifted him, and Downie
was dead
Fright had killed him rs cf'tc'ually as if
the axe Of real htadsinan had severed his
hcad from his body
1t was tragedy 10 all. The medical stu
dents tried to open Y, in. but all was over
ana the ccasprators had now t" b'ihnk
themselves M safety. They now in reality
swore an oalh among III, nS' Ives; ana the
afr rght"d young mtu, carving their dis
uulStS WIN l. en-. IcIt lhc U'dS oI lHNHt
Wing in the hotrl One Of their nunb'rt0Id
Il Z landlord that their cutc, taumcut was not
quite over. and that they DID not viii the iu-
olyidua that was lcli in tn" room to be di.-
turhcd tor some hour This was to give
them .H riue 10 makr jhoir escape.
Next morning the body was found. Judi
cial inquiry was instituted, but no satisfactory
result could be arrived a. The corpse d
poor Duwni, exhibited no marks Of violence.
internal or external. The i'll VIII between
him aud the students was kuoWn II was aso
known that the students lad hired apart
ucnts in the hotel for u theatrical Representa-
tinn - DoWnlc had been sent for by thcm
out beyond this nothing WIS known No
noise had been heard, and no proof Of mur
der could be adduced. OF two hundred stu
derts at the college, who cou.d pont out the
guilty or suspected htty2 Moreover the stu
dents scattered over the city, and lhc rnels
trates themselves had many Of their own
families among The numbcr, aud IT was not
desirable to 90 into the affair too minutcly.-
Downies widow and family were provided
fur-and his slaughter remained mystery
until about fifteer years after it's occurrence.
"A gentlemen, on his death bed, disclosed the
whole particulars, aud aYpwed himself to have
belonged to the obnoxiou class Of students
who nurdercl Dowuie.
From Ilai's journal Of Health.