The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1862-01-17

clothing ABOUT her Weio u"o"ioN :" oioou'
The landlady shrieked. Murder!
The landlord called for help.
A traveller who had arrived on foot at the
inn some hours after the sisters, and who
had given his name as Mr.. Brown, hurried
along a long, ancient corridor, at the further
end of which he slept. TO the place Of con-
fusion.
Good heavens = he said, 'what is the mat
ter?'
Il was terrible then to see Anna, as un.
consciously she passedhc blOod.stained hands
over her face, and looked about her as one
still in dream.
.lt's murder = said the landlady.
The child! cried tho landlord; 'therc
was a child =
what child p said Mr.. Brown; Il don't
see any child here
Upon this the landlady uttered u terrible
cry, and from between the bed where Anna
was and the wall, she lifted the lfelcs and
murdered body Of little Ernest.
The little one was stabbed to the heart
with steel ornamental paper knife. The
sisters had boen robbed at Liverpool, or on
board the vessel from Ceylon. of a trunk in
which that paper knife might have been.-
But one fact was admitted. The knife be-
longed to Anna, and she bought itat Colum-
bo. This was tho case. On her recovery
from swoon which had lasted many hours,
Rachel made the following statement:
Soon after the conversation we have re-
corded with her sister, she haaEone tp,sleep
with her child on her arm, but finding him
restless and starting occasionally, she had
gently withdrawn her arm from him, and had
been persuaded that he slept soundly. How
long she had remained in this state she knew
not. but what awakened her was q faint kind
of sob, which she felt certain was the last
sound uttered by little Ernest in life. 1t
aroused her in moment, and she sprang
out Of bed on finding that the child was not
with her, and mechanically ran to the door
Of the room, which she flung open.
And here comes remarkable statement
from Rachel. Igive it in her own words
'On opening the door l saw thatfrom some
light below, (that was the oil lamp in tho
pasage) there came up strange reflection
ON the wall of the corridor, which was to the
right hand; and through that reflection,
passing along it, II possible, Isaw the shadow
ofa man, large and not very well defined,
owing to its exaggerated dimensions: but
still, there it was, and it passed away into
the gloom at the further end Of the corridor,
and disappeared.'
Such was the statement Of tho half-dis-
tracted mother, on examination before the
Northampton magistrates Of her sister Anna,
whose innocence Of tho murder o. her child
she declared herself as thoroughly satisfied
of us of the existence Of heaven.
Sir Ralph Heritage was sent for, and the
shock so completely unnamed him that,
although filling the office that year Of high
sheriff Of the county, he was compelled to 50
home, where he took to his bed, from which
it did not seem probable he would rise again.
Several of the seniors ofthe bar had shrunk
from undertaking the defence of Anna Hcrit-
age, and the case was brought to me. Itook
it, and from the moment did so felt that
there was some fearful mistery in it, which,
unless olucidated, would leave the youthful
accused to be iudicially murdered.
And so thought and, pondcred over the
affair until l was afraid that my own mind
would get into some abnormal condition, and
would be unable to do what human means
could do for Anna Heritage.
saw her but once before the trial. !
shall never forget the manner in which she
looked at me, as she gently shook her head,
saying
They will kill me sir; but Heaven knows
am innocent! Ifmy death would bring
back to poor Rachel her boy, (herc she burst
into tears.) should be willing to die; but
as il is am very young to bc murdered! =
could say but little. I pressed both her
hands in mine, and only graspcd out some
commonplace expression Of hopeful consola.
ton, and then l left her.
Tho case was icariully strong against her.
There was but one supposition in her favor,
The shadow-the phantcm.like form seen
by the mothcr-who was he? Was il this
Mr.. Brown? Who and what was he
hunted him uP-I employed people to dog
and watch him. II oil came to nothing
lie was commercial traveller for house in
Marscilcs, and was engaged IN trying to dc
business at Northampton.
Several old counsel, to whom spoke oi
the case. were Of the opinion that the shadow
seen by Rachel was either no shadow at all,
or was the work Of her Imagination, or the
yeritable shadow Of some one Of the people
OF the inn, who, alarmed at her cries, were
fastening to her room.
And 50 at length the morning Of the trial
came. and. full Of anxiety as was, it came
as positive relief to me. The then lord
chief baron Of the e1chequer presided. II,
was calm, enlightened judge, who never
permitted his own prejudiccs-as some of hi
.,...,ssors bave done-to warn either Law n,