Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-21

| what plaintive and entreaung tone.
l shuddered with craven fear, and turn
ing hastily round hurried on toward the
town.
A few minutes walking brought me into
the market-place. 1t was evidently market.
day, for in spite Of the early hour there was
already q considerable hustle going on.
Shops were being opened, and the country
people we're exposing their butter, poultry
and eggs for sale, and for about two hours
] wandered amongst the busy and con-
stantly increasing crowd, listening to every
scrap of conversation that reached my ear,
s4d vainly endeayoring to connect them
| with the strange summons that had reused
me from my bed and led me, nolenS, Uolens to
the town.
could hear nothing that interested me
in any way and feeling tired and hungry,
l decided on breakfasting at the hotel,
which overlooked the market-place and
then taking myself back TO the cotts ge, in
| spite of the mysterious voice.
The cheerful and noisy hustle of the
market had indeed partly dissipated the
morbid turn which my fancies had taken.
After 1 breakfasted l lit my cigar, and
strolled into the bar, where l talked for ten
minutes with the landlord without eluci-
dating any thing of greater moment than
| that it was his (the landlord's) opinion that
things were bad-very; that Squire Thorn
bury was going to give great ball on the
occasion of his daughters approaching
| marriage; and that Mr. Westons OK was
certain to carry off the prize at the next Ag-
ricultural Meeting.
/ bade him good-morning, and turned
my steps homeward. / was checked on my
| do,gp ba biob ctroat hv a nonsidaro hla
crowd, and upon inquiring what was the
matter, was informed that the Assizes were
| being held, and that an " interesting muir
del case was going on. My curiosity was
roused l turned into the courthouse, and,
meeting an acquaintance, who FORUM
ately happened to pe man in authority,
was introduced into the court, and accom-
modated with a seat.
The prisoner at the bar, who was accused
of robbing poor country girl, was a man
of low, slight stature, with a coarse, brutal
cast of features rendered peculiarly strik-
ing by their strangely sinister expression.
As his small bright eye wandered fur
lively round the court they met mine, and
for an instant rested upon me. shrank
involuntarily from his gaze, as l would
from that of some loathsome reptile, and
kept my eyes steadily averted from him till
the end of the trial, which had been nearly
concluded the previous evening. The evil
dence, as summed up by the judge, was prin-
cipally circumstantial, though apparent y
overwhelming in its nature. In spite of
his counsels really excellent defense, the
jury, unhesitatingly, found him "guilty."
The judge, before passing sentence, asked
the prisoner, as usual, if he had any thing
further TO urge why sentence of death should
not be passed upon MIN.
The unfortunate man. in an eager, ex-
cited manner, emphatically denied his
guilt-declared that he was an honest, hard
working travelling glazier-that he was at
Bristol, many miles from the scene of the
murder on the day of its commission-and
that he knew no more about it than a babe
unborn When asked why he had moi
brought forward this line of defense during
the trial, he declared that he had wished it,
but that the gentleman who had conducted
his defense had refused to do so.
His counsel, in few words of explana-
tion, stated that, although he had every
reason to believe the story told by the pris-
oner, he had been forced to confne his en-.
deavors in his behalf to breaking down the
circumstantial evidence for the prosecution
that most minute and searching inquiries
had been made at Bristol, but that from the
short time the prisoner had passed in that
town, (some three or four hours and from
the heightened period which had elapsed
since the murder, he had been unable to
find witnesses who could satisfactorily have
proved an abb and had therefore been forced
to rely upon the weakness of the evidence
produced by the prosecution. Sentence oi
death was passed upon the prisoner, whC
was removed from the bar, loudly and per
sistently declaring his innocence.
l left the court painfully impressed will
the conviction that he was innocent. Tit
passionate earnestness with which he haC
pleaded his own cause, the fearless, haughtJ y
expression that crossed his ill-omened tea
tures when, finding his assertions entirely
valueless, he exclaimed, with an impre
cation, "Well, then do your worst, but an
innocent; l never saw the poor girl in my
life, much less murdered her''-caused the
whole court, at least the unprofessiona
part of it, to feel that there was some doub
about the case, and that circumstantial eYi
dence, however strong, should rarely be per
mitted to carry a verdict of guilty"
f am sure that the fervent, though unsup
ported assertions made by the prisoner, at
| fected the jury far mole than the forid de
fense made for him by his counsel.
The painful scene that l had just wit
messed entirely put the events of the morn
ing out of my head, and l walked hom
with my thoughts fully occupied with tn
trial.
The earnest protestations of the unfortu
nate man rang in my ears, and his face
, distorted with anxiety and passion, ros
| ever before me.
/ passed the afternoon writing ans Wer
to several business letters, which had founc
me out in my retreat, and soon after din
ner retired to my room, weary with wan
of sleep the previous night, and with tn
excitement Of the day.
1t had been my habit for many years Il
make every night short notes of the events
of the day, and this evening, as usual, sa
down to write my Journal. had hardl,
opened the book when, to my horror, tn
deadly chill that had experienced in tn
morning again crept round me.
I listened eagerly for the voice that ha
hitherto followed, but this time in vain; nc
q sound could hear but the ticking of m
watch upon the table, and, 1 fear 1 mus
add, the beating of my own coward hear
got up and walked about endeavorin
to shake off my fears. The cold shadow
however, followed me about, impeding, as
: seemed, my very respiration. | hesitate
for q moment at the door, longing to ca
up the servant upon some pretext bu
checking myself, / turned to- the table, an
J, resOlutely sitting down, again opened th