The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-06-26

found him to be q villain. >, He did
not mean to make her his wife, as he
had promised, and she fled from him.
She stopped here and turned toward
Oliver. Then she swept her gaze
over the multitude, and, with her
hands ciasped upon her bosom, she
said, in tones that carried conviction
to every honorable mind:
fl"I had been ksslS guilty OF much
T guilty Of trifing and deceit-but,
before God, and as I hope for Heaven
hereafter, I have been guilty Of
nothing that true repentance may
not wash awayP'
She turned again to Oliver Cart
wright, and this time she rested
upon his bosom. and he murmured
thanks 80 God as he clasped his arms
about her. Nh
At this point, DIR. Crawford came
forward and said he thought he could
clear up the mystery, as soon as the
clothing came for which he had sent.
Meanwhile, the jury were instruct
ed anew by the court, and their
verdict was very quickly rendered.
Ere long man came in with tho
clothing which had been taken from
the dead body that had been found
by the pond, and when DR.. Crawford
had examined the linen, he recog-
nized it as having belonged to o
former patient Of his.
s:She was q fine young GIRL" he
said, "and very intelligent; but her
mind had been turned by religious
excitement, and she fancied that the
second advent of Christ had come
while she slept, and that the elect
had ell been taken up into Heaven,
leaving her behind. In the frame of
mind she sought to take her own life,
and to prevent that catastrophe, and
also to effect cure, if possible, she
was sent to our asylum. She had
been there only two weeks, when she
managed to escape. We searched
for her far and near, and day before
yesterday, as I was on my way home,
I met this young lady in the cars.
At first, I supposed I had found my
patient, and L had been in converse
ton with her for some moments be-
fore I discovered my mistake. When
1 had satisfied myself that I had been
mistaken, L told Miss Downing Of
the circumstance, and when I had
related to her the story of the un-
fortunate girl of whom I had been in
search, she told me of the girl she
had seen some weeks ago in her
native place. She was on her way
home, she told me; and under the
circumstances, I felt it to be my duty
to accompany her. I found her
anxious and uneasy, and when she
explained to me that she had seen O
newspaper, and that Oliver Cart
wright had been accused of her MUIR
der, I suspected the truth"
And his suspicious had not led him
far astray. Tie poor, crazy girl had
evidently found the pistol which
Oliver had thrown away, and had
shot herself, thus accomplishing the
cherished purpose of the insane
spirit that possessed her. The disfgur-
ing of the face, caused by the wound
between the eyes, and the burning of
the skin by the powder, had prevent
ed Laura's nearest friends from dis
covering the mistake.
And so ended she trial.
"Ah," said captious friend to me,
as we were leaving the court room,
"here is another startling case of the
unreliability of circumstantial evi-
'dence."
Not so." I replied. "The cir
cumstantial evidence in this case
was conclusive. It was the direct
evidence that failed. The only direct
evidence-that upon which the whole
superstructure of evidence was to
rest-was the finding of the coroner's
jury, No, no, my friend, in this
case we see how direct evidence can
be made to swear an innocent man s
life away"
AS for Oliver Cartwright, no one
has pretended to question his sanity
since that trial, and to-day he is one
of the most worthy and valuable of
our citizens; and I dare to say that
she that was Laura Downing has
been to him most faithful and
affectionate wife. I am q frequent
and welcome visitor at their peace
full and happy home, and surely I
ought to be able to Judge.