Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1857-04-09

ton, tne more TelIectcu upou, tho inoi'
pregnant with evil they appeared, and
determined that, night once over, it shoult
be my care that his guest did dot pass an
other night under the roof of the Blaet
Lion.
Early on the following morning | SCI
forth, according to my promise, deeply i'm
pressed with the necessity of urging the
invalid to accelerate her journey. 1t wa:
needless---her last journey on earth was
ended. She lay dead in her bed Those
eyes, once so BRIGHT and yet so soft, were
glazed and startling in their sockets; that
pale and gentle face was swollen and dis.
colored. her dark hair torn, and broad
livid mark of mans hand stamped on hel
ivory neck. She. so young, so beautiful
| lay there in that vile den, dead, murdered,
with none but strangers to gather round,
not kindred tear to moisten her cold
brow; not loving hand to cast q flower
upon her grave.
An inquiry, to discover the perpetrators
of the foul deed, was set on foot immedi-
ately; but, to confess the truth, there was
no one to pursue it with energy; our vicar
was too inirm, myself too ignorant in such
matters, and too poor; the country squiles
were for the most part too Indifferent OF
too distant; and in those days our humble
village was not blessed with the presence Of
a lawyer.
From the evidence of two women, who
had been left in sole charge of the house
the ostler having been sent to -, to ar
range about post horses, and the landlord
being engaged with the fowling palty-it
appeared that no alarm had been heard du-
ring the night, but ON entering the fatal
apartment the next morning, they found
it stripped of every valuable, and its oceu-
pant corpse. The marks of strangulation
wer fresh upon her person, and the finger
of her left hand, from which the diamond
ring had been withdrawn, crushed and
bloody. An entrance appeared to have
been effected through n scullery door, one
so riekety and illsecured, that it would
scarcely have resisted the efforts of child;
thence an access was easily gained to the
remainder Of the house. Suspicion at first
naturally fellupon the lady's servant the old
man of whom [ spoke, and who slept in an
adjoining out-building. All search for him
proved fruitless; he was nowhere to be
found. But it seemed scarcely possible
that a person of his age, an evident stran-
ger, too, to the country, should have been
able to make his escape on foot, so success
fully rs to leave no trace behind whatever:
it appeared far more probable that he had
shared the fate of his unfortunate mistress.
And now, spite of the alb which he set
up, supported by the testimony of two dis
olute characters, named Marsh-spite of the
disappearance of the old man, whose guilt
the landlord maintained to be manifest,
public opinion gathered heavily around
Giles Roper; so heavily, Indeed, that al
though no direct evidence could be addu-
ced, he, together with his new associates,
found it advisable to quit the neighborhood
for a time.
Meanwhile, nothing further could be
done; no clue could be discovered either to
the missing servant, or to the property
which had been stolen: the body was ac-
eordingly buried, and the affair permitted
to rest.
About eleven months had elapsed, and
people well nigh ceased to talk about the
matter, when Mr.. Roper once more ventur-
ed to take up his residence in his old abode;
and it was reported about the same time
that the two companions of his retirement
had been seen lurking about the adjoining
villages. The Black Lion, however, was
deserted; bad as its former frequenters
were, partly from feeling of just borrow,
partly, perhaps, from superstition, they
turned from the scene of blood-shed, and
Stunned the company of the reputed mur-
derer. About this time, too, in eonse-
quence of the drainage then being commen-
ced, it was found necessary TO turn the
high-road into its present position, and the
branded inn was left in its solitude. But
one visiter was known to cross the TIRES
hold-the sexton. He was a strange old
man, and had exercised his calling beyond
the memory of the Oldest inhabitant of the
parish. He lived alone, with the imple-
ments of his trade, and never seemed hap
py but when called upon to ply them. At
the grave he was all glee and merriment;
singing and whistling at his work, and toss
ing up the heavy clay with an energy that
would have done credit to man in his
prime. At other times he was moody and
malicious in his manner; the children, one
and all, looked upon him as an evil being;
the women abused him, and the men, con-
tented themselves with exchanging pas
sing salutation. His evenings had been
for the most part spent at the bar of the
Black Lion; and then his eye would light
up with fierce and almost fiendish inter-
est as he pursued the course of the games
of chance, of which the bar in question was
commonly the scene.
Such was the sole companion left Mr..
Roper. Giles, however, was not man
particularly sensitive to indications of pop
uIar feeling. He stood his ground man
fully-smiled at avcrted looks and resented
open insults. His bold bearing in the
course Of time had, probably, borne down
the resentment of more active enemies, and
been accepted by the Indifferent multitude
as an evidence of innocence. The trial,
however, was not allowed him. Before
month had elapsed from his return, he was
summoned to a sterner tribunal than that
of man. Pursuing his customary sports
one day in the fens, his gun burst in the
firing, and the wretched being was brought
manned and senseless to his home. The
effects were beyond measure frightful;
three fingers hung loosely by the lacerated
tendons from his right hand; his left was