The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1861-07-02

on the occasion Of visit from lin while
was in Boston, that while sitting by ii,
fire, and while speaking on general sab
jects he, as il the thought struck him Oh
the instant, said
"By-ihe.by, a strange thing occurred
in our jail not long ago. Did you hear
anything r
No;" said +
1" You remember the famous affair Of
David M-si"
Yes but that affair has gone out Of
my mind. Has any discovery occurred
! have never given up the opinion that
the poor woman was innocent"
d" Iou remember the hati9
I Yes"
"Well, took this view Of Il. Why,
in the first instance, was not The hat
claimed: !: Secondly, was il not presuma-
bic that il was connected with the affair
in the smithy? Suppose that ithad been
found twenty yards from the shop, il place
Of forty; the difference would not have
mattered much. Suppose il had been ten I;
you come aliltle nearer asuspicion. Sup
pose the ten reduced TO five; your sus-
picion increases. Then 90 on from that
TO three, from that TO two, from that 10
one; what thenY Oh very suspicious
indeed Suppose next it had been found
on the threshold Of the door, you could
hardly have avoided a conviction. Go
further, and place it within the threshold;
the difference would have been little be.
tween that and finding il alongside the
body and if il had been found within the
threshold, would Mrs. M---s ever have
been suspected Y
81 think not"
"Then retrace your steps back TO and
up the lane At what particular spot would
a sagacious prosecutor have come to the
determination Of apprehending Mrs Ms
rs the murdercss? Would you have done
it at the distance Of one yard p
"No," said |.
"At two, or three, or four?"
"No."
"At five, or six, or seven?
"lle would have been getting more
doubtful"
"Suppose we arrive at the foot Of the
lane r
More doubtful still"
I" So, till you ct up to where it was
found?"
There the prosecutor showed hizdoubl
was resolved
Exactly; few yards made the diff
ference whether the woman should be de-
graded and ruined for life or not"
"Surely it comes TO this
"Well, he would have been wrong. |
though the hat had been found len miles |
off. Did you ever hear that the quondam
dancer had son grown up, and able to
WELD smiths sledge hammer"
No. If had would have had even
a different notion of the case from what |
when heard the trial, be-
cause then | could have known where to
look, at least for motivc.p
That hat" he continued, " belonged 10
the show-dancer's SON"
" could have sworn il the moment YOU
she had boy," said /. But
how could the fact come to be known SO
long afterwards 5? Who was 10 prove the
ownership Of the hats"
He TO whom il belonged"
What motive could have induced him.
him sane, to make such con-
ession as that I"
"There is a time for all Of us, when
he closed up heart opens TO the touch Of
! monitor, who, though always present, is
by the high-strung nerve of hu-
nan passion. II seems that the young
ad got into serape which brought him
within the arm Of the law, from which he
rad so long escaped, as the ayenger Of his
more aggravated deed. When his mother
listed him he said:
Mother, have long concealed from
'ou something. ] would Ike 10 confess
t before | die, for / feel / will not live
ong. did not expect to die in iail, and .
ess did | expect TO have TO tell you what
have now TO say" lie paused for
reatl and strength. DO you remember
bat terrible night Z"
The woman was silent.
That terrible night when David Ms
'as killed !"
She was still silent.
Well, that was the hard,7 holding up
is white, 'hrivelled paw, " that struck the G
low"
She Iaised her head, looked up in the q
ice Of the dying lad, and burst into tears
.fter a time, when he seemed easier she 7
entured to say:
+" And do you forgive meY
Ay, now" he replied, 8 but only now,
nd never till now. The finding Of my
at was always my greatest fear. II was b
d God | feared then, but it is Him ] v
ar now, and only Him"
The young man died that same eve "
ng.
"A