Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-09-23
The Confession.

The Confession.
Hound among the papers Of deceased Prassian Judge
This is myl ast night and standing as l do, on
me brink Of eternity, will fill up the hours that
intervene before my execution takes place. in writ
log down the history Of ny progress in crime and
! hoW, step by step, reached this dungeon. May
| Il be accepted as the act Of atonement on my
| part, aud st the same time serve IS 3 warning 70
/ others.
Wasa forward child, Of sullen, suspicious char
aoter, and afterwards became a rough soldier dar-
\ ing couple Of campaigns, st the close Of which
| peace having succeeded TO war, left the service
] 70 farm small estate which my wife had inherited
1 Soon after ny return from the army mp brother
siekened and died. He was open hearted, noble
fellow, far better looking than myself and univer-
sally beloved. All those who ever sought my ae-
qusintance, whether at home or broad, from being
his friends, seldom tOek kindly to me- and generally
observed, the fIst time they saw me, THAI never
were two brothers more unlike both in person and
| in manners.
! We had married two sisters; and this eircum-
stance, which ought to have been an additional
bond between US, only o0ntributsd to esirange us
sull more His wife saw through my character but
! too well, and l always felt, whenever gave way
to any bad impulse Of envy haired in her pres>
enee, as II she had read my thoughts like open
book. Il was q relief to me when the soOlness be-
tween US ended in open rupture, and still great
er Feler when l received the news Of her DEATH
while vas with my regiment abroad. ItnoW seems
TO me IS though had presentiment % the frights
ful tragedy that was to take Dlaosl dreaded her
and she seemed to pursue me-ay even now see
her reprOsohful eyes glsring upon and freezing
up my blood When my brother in turn fell H. and
his life was despaired Of he summoned my wife 10
his bedside and intrUsted his litlle orphan, boy
four years old to her protecting care. He be-
Queathed all his property to him, stating in his will
that should the child die, his fortune to deyOlTe
on my wife, as The only return he could make for
her affeetionate kindness. Then, after exchanging
= few fFaternal words with me, and Eegretting our
long sstrangement, he fell back, exhausted, into
deep slumber, from which he never aWOke.
As We had no children, and the two sisters had
always been very united, my wife loved this boy IS
II he had been her own. He was passiOnateay fond
Of her; but, being the true picture Of his mother,
| both in mind and person, could never, somehow,
/ take kindly to l cannot tx any particular
period at which first became aware Of this kind Of
aRiiPathy his part, but began to feel un-
easy whenever he was present. AS often as sWOke
out Of train OF gloomy thought, there was that
child staring at me, merely with the inquirinR
gaze OF childhood, bat with the piercing lock 60
iuIl of meaning that used TO annoy in his moth
er II was not merely empty fancy Of mine, At
rbUtabls TO his strong likeness to his deceased pa
rent for never could stare him down, let me lock
as fierce ss might. HeEss evidently afraid Of me,
in spite Of which he seemed 10 have imbibed here
ditaTy contempt for me. .s
may deceive myself-and yet do not think that
INTENDED st that period do 70 him any harm. It
might, perhaps, occur 70 me now HQNaGtakeOu8 u
would be for TO inherit the boys property, and
might secretly wish him to die, still do not think
had the least idea Of taking away his Hfe-- The
idea came very slowly at FIRST, and merely in the
dim and distant outline in which We set vision Of
an impending earthquake, or the day Of the Last
Judgment--theE it approached nsarer and nearer
still, and began to lose portion Of its horror sud
improbability, and after assuming q more dehnite
shape il became the constant theme Of my specula-
tiOns. When these foul PhantOms crossed my brain,
could not bear that the boy should perceive was
staring him; yet, By kind Of fascination, could
not help gazing on his fragile form, and thinking
how easy the work Of destruction would be Some
times l watched him in his sleep, but Oftener still
from the garden, as l crOuehed behind the bushes
garing like tiger his prey, into the parlor,
where he sat learning his Lesson low stool, be-
side my Wife's knee
Close to our country house lay deep pool, but it
was not visible from window l spent several
days in carving rough model Of q boat with my
penknife; aud, when it vas completed, puTPOsely
left it in the childs way. / then hid myself near
the pool in a spot that he must pass by, in he
came TO set the little toy ahOat on the water But
he came neither on that nor the following day.
Still felt certain he in my tolls, for had heard
him prae about his toy, which he had even taken
10 bed with him. l waited patiently, and on the
third day 1 could see him, from my hiding-Plsee,
come running along jOyousy, with his silken locks
streaming in the wind, and siDgDg-Poor ehld-a
merry tune, though he would scarcely lisp the words
stole behind him, beneath some bushes that grew
near the bank, and the Evil One knows how |, q
strong grown man, trembled in every limb as fol-
lowed the footsteps Of this little child while ne sp~
preached the waters brink. was close behind
him, crOuehed on my knee, and was raising ny
hand to push him in when he saw ny shadow IN the
water, and turned round. r ..
Bis mothers spirit cleaned forth from his eyes.
The sun now burst forth from behind cloud, turn
ing the water into 8 sheet Of melton gold Every
thing sparkled as if all nature had eyes don't
know what the boy said-thOugh so young ne ala
not IA n upon me- nor try to sOOthe me; all reeol-
lsct thai ne screamed out not that he loved mei
and then ne ran back the house as fast ss be could
The next time | saw him, my sword was IN my
hand and he was lying stiff and colo 81 ny ieet.
took him mn in nv arms and laid him gently in
thicket. Ny wife was not a. nome Lhas aay' nor
was abe 10 return till the morrow. Our bedroom
WindoT the only one on this side Of The house, be-
ing only few feet from the ground, resolved 70
osi ont through IT, ia the middle Of the night, and
bury my victim in the garden. had not the slight
est idea. At that moment that had frustrated my
own scheme and that when the pool would be
DRAGGED and no dead body forthcoming the proper
~ must remain in abey lnoe, as ! meant 10 confirm
the belief that the child was lost or had been stolen
For the present all my thoughts were eenered on
the necessity Of hiding every clue to my crime
What l endured when the servants came and told
me the child vas missing and when the messengers
dispatched in all directions returned 10 inform me
their search had been in vain, word possibly
/ describe That same night buried HIM But now
the worst remained to be done; and that vas to race
/ Iy wife, and give her hopes thas the child would
| yet be found. This l continued to do with suon
] show Of sincerity, / believe, that no Suspicion
/ rested upon me. The next thing did was 70 seat
/ myaels at the bedroom window, from whence
could watch, all day long, the spot where lay con,
csaled my dreadful secret. II was plot OF grouha
that had been recently dug up ready fer laying down
fresh sods and had chosen It as the one where the
marks Of nv spade would be least likely to attract
notice The Eorkmen who we're laying down the
seds must have thought me crazy. was continually
calling out to them 70 get on faster, and occasionally
running out to help them, and stamping on the
ground while I kept urging 'nem 70 still gfes5sSII
haste Their task vas finished before night, and 1
felt comparatively secure. -,
fell asleep at last that night-but what tron1
bled Sleep 1t was, and what frightful dreams NeLe
there fsncied l saw now . hand, nov hSalss .s
rising cut Of the unhslleEsd sPot Of groana. 4N4N