Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1865-11-30
IAE MualER:a.. !.

IA little more than fifty year
ayo. a man by the name of Henr,
r thompson called at q house of Mr
. j. Smith, resident In a retired
part of England, and requested
|, ght's lodging. This request wa
!, granted, anu the stranger. havin.
taken some refreshments, ret.ree
early to bed, requesting that h,
r might be awakened at an early
hour the following morning. ) +
When the servant appointed t.
call him entered the room for thai
purpose, he was found in his bed
perfectly dead. d
/ On examining his body, nc
marks of violence appeared, and
his countenance looked extremely
natural. The story of his death
soon spread among the neighbors,
and inquiries were made as to
who he was. andoby what means
he came to his death. s. d q
Nothing certain, however, was
] known. He had arrived on Horse
back, and was seen passing through
a ncighboring village about AN
hour before he reached the house
where he had come to his end.
And then, as to the manner of
his death so little could be discov-
cred, that the jury which was
summoned toinvestigate the cause,
returned a verdict that he died
''by visitation from God" When
this was done, the stranger was
buried. lri aif4
Days and weeks passed on, hut
little further was known. The
public mind, however, was not at
rest. Suspicious existed that foul
means had hastened the strangers
death. Whispers to that effect
were expressed, an d in the minds
of many, Smith was considered as
the guilty man.
The former character of Smith
had not been good. He had lived
il loose and irregular life, involved
himself in debt by his extrava-
gance, and at length, being sus-
pected of having obtained money
wrongfully, he suddenly fed from
the town. i8Fa
More than ten years, however,
had now elapsed since his return,-
during which he had lived at his
present residence, apparently. in
good circumstances, and with an
improved character. His former
life, however, was now remember
ed, and suspicion, after all, was
fastened upon him. Es....5 +.
At the expiration of two months,
a gentleman, one day, stopped in
the place, for the purpose of ma
king inquiries respecting the stran-
scr, who had been found dead in
his bed. He supposed himself to
be the brother Of the man. The
horse and clothes of the unfortu-
nate man still remained, and were
Immediately known as having be-
.longed to his brother. The body,
also, was taken up, and though
considerably changed, bore strong
les 2mblance to him.
He now felt authorized to as
certain, if possible, the manner Of
his death. He proceeded, there
fore, to investigate the circum-
stances, as well as he was able.
At length he made known to the
magistrate of the district tie in
formation he had collected, and
upon the strength of this, Smith
was taken to jail, to be tried for
the wilfnl murder of Henry Thomp-
son.
The celebrated Lord Mansfield
was then on the bench. He
charged the grand jury to be eau
tious as to finding a bill against the
prisoner. The evidence Of bis guilt,
# guilty, might be small. At fu-
ture time, it might be greater.
More information might be obtain
ed. Should the jury now find a
bill against him, and should he be
acquitted, he could not be molested
again, whatever testimony should
rise up against him. The grand
jury, however, did find a bill, but
by a majority Of only one.
At length the time of trial ar
rived. Smith was brought into
court, and placed at the bar. A
great crowd thronged the room,
eager and anxious to see the pris-
.oner. and to hear the trials. lie