Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1860-02-18

lHe jurors SlHreu VI cucH OlHer unu NJ Int
Judge, they had no reason to give The fatt
was their conviction of the prisoners guilt
had been very much shaken by the cross-ex-
animation Of The chief witness for the prosecu-
promise which conscience made with doubt
| have known many such instances.
The usual ridiculous formality of asking the
wretched conyicts what they had to nrge why
sentence should not be passed upon them was
gone through the judge, with unmoved feel
ings, put on the fatal cap and then new and
startling light burst upon the mysterious, be-
wildering affair.
"Stop, my lord y exclaimed Armstrongwith
rough yelcmencc. "Hear me speak I'll tell
ye all about it ; will indeed, my lord. Quiet,
Martha, tell ye. It's ], my lord, that's guilty,
not the woman. God bless yc, my lord not
the wife Don't hurt the wife, and Sc tell ye
all about it. alone am guilty; not, the Lord
be praised, of murder, but Of robbery"
''John John Y sobbcd the wife, clinging
passionatcly to her husband, I" let us die to-
gcther!n
"Quiet, Martha, tell yc! Yes, my lord,
Ise tell yc all about it. | was gone away,
wife and |, for more nora week, to receive mo-
ney for Mr. Wilson, on account of smuggied
goods-that money, my lord, was found in the
chest. When we came home on that dreadful
Sunday night, my lord, we went in back way |;
and hearing noise, went up stairs, and found
poor Wilson stonc-dcad on the floor. | were
dreadfully skeared, and let drop the candle.-
cd out, and amaist tainted away. And ther,
my lord, all at once the devil shot it into my
head to keep the mrney | had brought; and
knowing as the keys OF the desk where the
mortgage writing was kept was in the bedroom,
crept back, as that false-hearted woman said,
got the keys, and took the deed and then per-
suadcd wife, who had been trembling in the
kitchen all the while, that we had hetter go
out quiet again, as there was nobody in the
house but us had tried that woman's door
and we-might perhaps be taken for the mur-
derers. And so we did and that's the down
right honest truth, my lord. I'm rightly serv-
ed; but God bless you, doant hurt the woman
my wife, my lord, these thirty years. Five
and-twenty years ago come May, which ] shall
never see, we buried our two children. Had
they lived, might have been a better man +.
but the place they left empty was soon filed
up by love of cursed lucre, and that has brot
me here. deserve it but OH mercy, my lord
mercy, good gentlemen !" turning from the
stony features of the judge to the jury, as If
they could help Kim" not for me, but the
wife. She be MS innocent of this as new
born babe. It's IL | scoundre that | be, that
has brought thee, Martha, to this shameful
pass" The rugged man snatched his life
companion to his breast with passionate emo
down his rough cheeks
was deeply affected, and felt that the man
had uttered the whole truth. 1t was evidently
one of those cases in which aperson liable to
suspicion damages his own cause by resorting
to q trick No doubt, by his act of theft, Arm
strong had been driven to an cxpedient which
would not have been adopted by person per-
fectly innocent. And thus, from one thing to
another, the charge of murder had been fixed
upon him and his llapless wife. When his con-
fesson had been uttered, felt species ofself-
accusation in having contributed to his de-
struction, and gladly would have undone the
whole days proceedings. The judge, on the
contrary, was quite undisturbed. Viewing the
harangue of Armstrong us u mere tissue OF
falsehood, he coolly pronounced sentence of
death upon the prisoners They were to be
hanged on Monday. This was Friday.
"a bad job!' whispered the counsel for the
defence, as he passed me- "That witness of
yours, the woman Strugncll, is the real cul-
prit."
tasted no dinner that day; was sick at
heart; for felt as if the blood of two fellow
creatures was on my hands. In the evening
sailed forth to the judges lodgings. He listen
ed to all I had to say; but was quite impertur-
able. The obstinate old man was satisfied that
the sentence was as it should be- | returned
to my inn in fever of despair. Without the
approval of the judge, knew that an applica-
ton to the Secretary of State was futile. There
was not even time to send to London, unless
the judge had granted respite.
All Saturday and Sunday was in misery
denounced capital punishment as q gross in
iquty-a national sin and disgrace; my feel
ings of course being influenced somewhat by
| recollection of that unhappy affair of Harvey,
noticed in my previous paper. half resolved
| to give up the bar, and rather go and sweep the
streets for livelihood, than run the risk Of
getting poor people hanged who did not de-
serve it,
| On Monday morning l was pacing up and
down my breafast-room in the next assize town,
| in state of great excitement, when chaise-
and-four drove rapidly up to the hotel, and out
tumbled johnson, the constable. His tale was
soon told. On the previous evening the land
lady of the Black Swan, roadside public
house, about four miles distant from the scene
of the murder, reading the name of Pearce in
the report of the trial in the Sunday county
paper, sent for johnson to state that that per-
son had, on the fatal evening, called and left
n portmanteau in her charge, promising to call
for it in an hour, but had never been there
since On opening the portmantcad Wilson's
watch, chains and seals, and other property,
were discovered in it; and johnson had, as soon
as ii was possible, set off in search of me. In
stantly--for there was not moment to spare
!, in company with Armstrong; counsel, sought
the Judge, and with some difficulty obtained
from him formal order to the Sheriff to sus-
pend the execution till further orders. OFF j