The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-01-09

SAoshec, ~ 40 w PAs'eas 49, S~A'6 'ss1s
from without he opened it, and | read thes
printed words:
.'Iwo HUNDRED POUNDS REWARD"
"The above will DO given to any persol
not actually concerned in the crime, VIII
shall give such information Us shall lead b
the discovery Of the murderer or murderer
OF John Spigat, in the Swaffham Road, Hen
borough, on the night Of December the thir
ty-frst, eighteen hundred and thirty'fye."
"Why, you, Charlton, were one of TIN
jurymen, if remember right, who were up
on the inquest in that matterH" l said.
al was, doctor; and are you sure thers'r
nobody under tho bed, or in the cupboard
or behind the chimney-bOard ?-and his mur
derer, also :"
"why, what hypOcritical ruiian YOU
must have been :"
"Doctor, good doctor, have mercy upor
me don't tell, don't tell and don't think
so hardly Of me until you have heard m,
out am not so bad as | seem.
alt was on New Year S Eve near TWEEN.
ty years ago, and very late at niSht,-whcr
| had put up my last shutter, and was going
to lock the door Of my shop, that stranger
called. He had come from the Swaifham
end Of the road, and had never seen him
before in all my life he could hardly speak
at all, he was so drunk. lie said he must
have more rum. told him we only had
ginger beer and such like drinks; and. be-
sides. that il was too late at that time OF
night to sell anything. He sworc horribly
at this, said that my wife and were both
liars; that We had sold rum often enough
to other folks, he knew very well. He man.
aged to stagger up the stone steps and push
in ut the door. lie should get into the back
parlOr, and sleep there all night, he said
| took hun by the collar, intending to set
him outside the door, but he was tall, stout
made man, and could not-he struggled
with me in dull, heavy manner. l had
hard matter to thrust him from the parlor.
did do so, and pushed him violently, and
he fell on the floor at full length, like log;
no never groaned after he had touched the
door, but lay silent and mOtionless.
My wife cried, "What have you done,
George? You've killed the man."
"Nonsense, said but when we tried to
raise him, and saw tho CLASSY look OF his
eyes, knew it was true. A hundred hor-
rible thoughts would have crowded into my
mind at once, but that, swifter than they.
devices for getting the corpse away, and re-
moving suspicion from ourselves, had al
ready filed it; the simple, honest plan Of
telling the truth, and calling in the police,
at once, never so much as suggested itself.
What if neighbOr should step in, as this
poor murdered man had done, and find him
lying there? There was not moment to
lose; | took the dead man by the head, and
my wife. all in tremble, managed to raise
his legs, and shutting the door carefully af-
ter US, we bore our dreadful burden about
fifty yards along the Swafham Road. Moth
ing was stirring. We heard the tread Of
the watchman outside our closet door, and
his past twelve o'closk die away in the
but we had put out the lights, and
felt certain that he had observed nothing
unusual.
ave went to bed Immediately, but not
to sleep; our ears were on the stretch for
the moment when the cry should arise, and
We should know when the body was found.
One o'clock, two, three, four; the time
crept on with painful slowncss, and the
hours and quarters seemed to prolong their
iron voice horribly. And now the dawn
was breaking, and there was light enough
for chance traveller to SEQ the CORPSE
There was turn in the Swaffham Road
beyond our house, and it was further than
that; and yet dared not look in that d.
rection as | undid the shutters.
swatch, watch! Help, help" Then
they have found him at last; and the street
6lls with q hurrying crowd and | run with
them among the first. But my wife, she is
faint with terror, and darcs not move, tell
ins the children, who have heard the cries,
that it was nothing.
"It leans against tho railing where We
set it; but its right hand points to me! =
Nobody saw my faco, they were 80 horror
struck with the dreadful thing. or l should
have been carried of to prison at once, with.
out any further proof, know. As they
were about to take it down, DIR. Scott (youl
predecessor at the Union, sir) who was in
the crowd, cried, 4" stop! " and called atten'
ton to the position Of the arms ~ dC
not think-bear me witness, all Of you
that any tit or strong eonvulsion whatsoever
could have thus twisted them And I Dor,
witness loudly with the rest. was, sir. N
you have said, upon the jury. I thought
il was best, stst to be, despite the thing
had to deal with. When all the evidence
which was chiefly medical, had been given
| was with the minority for wilfal mur
der against some person or persons unknown,