Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1857-08-14

Inc Tragedy OF Tue lHuEutl VI IL DuluSAis anu
the tragi-comic extravaganzas of the "inock mar
mage" and the "sham baby which accompany it,
have exhibited on the stage of real life trilogy
which, in complication of plot, thrilling incident,
and unexpected situations, surpass the most in
genious creations of the dramatst or the novel.
ist. But if we looked with awe upon the horror
and the unravelled mystery of the bad mans
murder, invested as it was with that sublmity
and that deep human interest which are always
attached to the most fearful forms of crime, it is
not without some humiliation, and an uncom-
Portable sense of shame, that we find ourselves
still sitting on the benches, and laughing-though
we blush as we laugh--at the ludcrous incidents
in the final farce
The elaboration and completeness of the bad
woman's preparations for the last ludicrous, but
fatal scene-the mysterious hints Of the POSSIBLE
ity of the birth of heir to DR., Burdel, dropped
by her counsel, months ago, before the Surrogate
the careful adaptation, by herself, with due re-
gard to the increasing demands of advancing
times and seasons of the usual indications Of
such coming events-the preparation of tiny ar
ticles of clotning-the inordinate supper of Gu
cumbers, to give rise to real pains, by which the
sacred labors Of maternity might be simulated
more successfully-the nuns dress, and the mar
ket basket-the farcical interlude Of the groaning
apothecary-the final production, with all due
pOmp of place and circumstance, ofthe SUPPOSE
tious her-the hypocritical ejaculation of the i'm,
pious monster, Il put my trust in the Lord and
he has heard me"-the spasmodc embraces CT
the infant, and the would be maize remark, at
has DR.. Burdells nose and chin, and my eyes and
COLOR the triumphant exposure ofthe whole plot,
the persistence Of the wretched woman in her
scheme, even after its detection, and her cry,
"they have taken away dear Harvey's darling,
and won't let me have her"-this whole deep
laid plot its artful contrivances, and its over
whelmng discontinue, are already familiar to
the people of an entire continent, and will soon
be known by the whole civilized world.
In one respect these last developments are in
structive it is that they confirm the declaration
of holy writ in regard to the wicked Their
foot shall slide in due time" For years life Of
sin was led with apparent immunity. but the de-
mon of crime was continually dragging the
wretched victim, who had once yielded herself to
him, and further into guilt ;-at last, hate,
and lust, and cupdity, drive her to murder itself
The deed is safely done, by hired agents--for a
time the strong arm of the law seems to threaten
exposure and punishment, but even that is sue
cessfuly evaded, by brbing the witnesses whose
testimony before the grand jury had inspired the
District Attorney with that confidence which the
trial itself failed to justify. The strong, and
bold, and cunning woman, grows holder and more
An aYfful oFa bo-
victim is framed and sworn to. Not content with
the share of the doctors estate which would fal!
to her his widow, she pretends to be the mother
of an heir, and fraudulently produces child,
which she probably intended to put out of the
world as soon as il appeared to have answered the
purpose, and thus, as being the representative of
the child well as the widow, to inherit the
whole estate and def aud the rightful heirs The
plan is wel-laidi for instruments she has at hand
physician, whom she boasts she has, from pre-.
vious completely, completely under her thumb;
and to secure the secresy of another, she ofTers
him the bride of thousand dollars. Victory
seems ready to perch upon her banners But |
Providence has allowed her to go 90 far, only to |
make her exposure and her fall more overwhelm.
ing. 1t is when the wicked are most naughty |
and most confident that the swift arrows Of the
Lord are most sure to find them. The plot is ex.
posed. the ingenious contrver is foiled, and ma
ton jeer and exult at her downfall. Jeer and
exult-but let us hope that this whole drama of
crime will leave on the public mind more salutary
impressions. The righteousness Of some of the
scenes have made US, we fear, regard it too much
in spirit of levity. In the whole story, there
is less for laughter than for tears. 1t should
teach US, not to hate Mrs. Cunningham, but to
feel the weakness of our own nature-to consider
what we ourselves might come to, if we were to
relax the watchful control of our passions, -and,
grateful for our preservation in the past to seek
aid and strength that we may walk safely in the
future. 50