The hydraulic press., 1860-11-10
The Jonathan bradford Case.

The Philadelphia Enquirer publishes the fol-
lowing synopsis of the celebrated Jonathan Brad
ford case, which terminated so unjustly and fa-
tally.
Jonathan Bradford kept an inn on the London
road to Oxford. He bore a respectable charac-
ter. Mr.. Hayes, gentleman of fortune, being
on his way to Oxford, put up at Bradford's house.
He there joined company with two gentlemen,
and, in conversation, unguardedly mentioned
that he had about him a considerable sum of
money. In due time they retired to their res
pectiye chambers, the gentlemen to a two-b bedded
room, leaving, as customary with many, a candle
burning, Some hours after they were in bed,
one of the gentlemen, being awake, thought he
heard deep groan in an adjoining room, and,
this being repeated he awoke his friend. They
listened together, and, the groans increasing, as
of one dying in pain, they both instantly rose
and proceeded silently to the door of the chanr-
Der from whence the sounds seemed to come
The door being ajar, they saw light in the
room. They entered-but it is impossible to
paint their CONSERVATION perceiving person
weltering in his blood in the bed, and man
standing over him, with a dark lantern in one
hand and knife in the other The man seemed
as much petriied themselves but his terror
carried with it all the appearance of guilt. The
two gentlemen soon discovered that the mur-
dered person was the stranger, with whom they
had the night supped, and that the man who was
standing over him was their host. They seized
Bradford directly, dsarmed him of his knife, and
charged him with being the murderer.
By this time he assumed the air of innocence,
positively denied the crime, and asserted that he
came there with the same humane intentions as
themselves; for that, hearing noise, which was
succeeded by a groaning, he got out of bed,
struck light, armed himself with knife for
his defense, and had but that minute entered the
room before them. These assertions were of no
avail; he was kept in close custody till the morn
ing, and then taken before neighboring Justice
of the peace. Bradford still declared his inno-
cence, but with such apparent indications of
guilt, that the justice hesitated not to make use
of this extraordinary expression: "Mr. Brad
ford, either you or myself committed this murd-
er." Bradford was tried, convicted, condemned
and executed. To the very last he persisted in
the same story that he told the two gentlemen
who surprised him, with the knife and dark lam
tern in his hands, bending over the body of the
murdered man. But no one believed in him.
Yet he told nothing but the truth. Bradford was
not the murderer.
Who, then, was the midnight assassin, who
took away the life of the sleeping man? No
other than the footman of Mr.. Hayes, the muir
dered man. This miscreant, Immediately on
stabbing his master, rifed his pockets of his
money, his gold watch and snuff-box, and then
glided back TO his room. This could scarcely
have been effected, as after circumstances showed
more than two seconds before Bradford entered
the unfortunate gentleman's chamber. To the
after of the villain, the world is indebt-
ed for this information. 1t was death-bed
confession, and by that death-bed, justice was
defrauded of its due. More, however, remains
to be told. Bradford, though innocent of the
murder, and not even privy to it, was muir
derer, in intention. He had heard that Mr.. H.
had money, and he entered the chamber of the
deceased, with the same criminal design as the
servant. To his utter astonishment, he found
himself anticipated. He could hardly believe
his senses; and in turning back the bed-clothes
to himself of the fact, he, in his agitation,
dropped his knife on the bleeding body, by which
means, both his hands and weapon became
bloody. These circumstances, Bradford ac-
knowledged to the clergyman who attended him
after his sentence, but who, it's extremely prob
able, would not believe them at that time.