The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-11-18

South together. 1t was during the trip that
Mary first found resolution enough TO show
her husband letter which she had received
some months before from his home in Virginia
1t ran as follows =
| S'MARY: have CHANGED to see a letter addressed
to Mr.. John Randall, Beevile, Va, by you, in
which you claim that gentleman as your husband
| AS am IN intimate acquaintance and near relative
of his, am surprised at your pretensions (whethel
well or il-foundedD, for he Is still considered a
single man here. where he was born and reared
and passes himself as such. Ii he is married to you
or anybody else, assure that he keeps the matt r
secret here ana am certain that neither his father
nor mother know anything OF IT, Tell me all about
it, and you will oblige INDIANA
That girl is my evil genilrs r exclaimed
John Randall, cxcitedly, when he had read
the note. "She is my first cousin, and has
always loved me from childhood with q sort
of fierce passion When | first saw YOU
| Mary, | was engaged TO her, and ! have
weakly kept the secret, putting off the evil
day as long as | could, OF until my circum-
stances would justify me i'll braying the wrath
of my parents and all concerned But mat
ter have come to i crisis A day or two will
decide whether we are to be rcpudateti OF
kindly Welcomed"
John entreated Mary, '.let us return to
my fathers.
"And thus confirm the gossips in their SLAM
ders? Never! The die is cast Indiana and
her friends will rave let them. Great God
what creature she must be. Did You answer
her letter?"
II did, giving her. in sclt-dctence, all the
information she asked"
"And yet with her full knowledge of my
marriage with you, She has constantly been
eager for me to consllmmatc my engagement
with her, indirectly urging it hy every means
| at her command" ="
1t was Saturday evening when they arrived
at the depot nearest to Beeyille. and stopping
at the hotel there that night, next day Randall
hired o conveyance (driving himsclD started
homeward with his bride.
Monday he returned the horse and vehicle
Tuesday night he escorted L young lady OF
Beevlllc to party, and there bore himself Us
gayly, apparently, as the other young men.
His wife had mysteriouSly disappeared
The public of Beeville and vicinity knew not
OF her coming, and therefore She was not
missed.
1 Where was Shc2
Ten days after the body OF an unknown
woman was found in the woods 8 few miles
from Beeylle. A pistol ball was found buri
ed III her neck; on her throat were thc marks
of murdcrous clutch; and from head to foot
she had 5een beaten and bruised in the mos
cruel manner. The jury Of inquest was not
able to identity her, nor was there found any
likely clue to lead to the detection of hen
murderer. Descriptions Of the murdered
women and her dress We're published, ant
rewards offered for the apprehension Of he1
murderer, but all in vain. The body wa;
buried, but within a few weeks the cxcitemen
occasioncd by the dreadful horror had com
pletely sllbsided. 1t seemed Il hopeless mys
terry, forever impenctrable
Meanwhile, the Ordolfs heard regularly
from Randall. His first letter explained why
Mary did not write :--''You will understan,
why Mary employs me as her amanunensis
when | inform You that she was 80 untortu
nate rs to have her right hand severely brnis
ed by a slamming car-door on her way here
She cannot use it at all At present but W,
are i'll hopes that it will soon be well. Will
this exception we are in enjoying oursclyc:
here, and have prospect of doing well. Mary
is delighted with her reception by my rela
tions and friends, and desire me to assure vol
Of her consent
The next letter from Randall stilled halpe,
upon the injured hand = Mary has caugh
cold in the hand that | told you had beer
hurt, and it is much intlamed, causing hel
great pain. A doctor has been called in, who
expresses fears rs to the result unless grca
fcarc is taken. But he is noted for making
case appear worse than it really is, and W,
are not alarmed"
There was some delay in the next letter
causing the simple and conliding Odolfs mlcl
uncasiness. AT length it came, fulfilling
their widest fears. ''May heaven help you
and all of us to bear it. Our darling Mary
is gone; she is dcad Five days ago She was
seized with lock.aw, and expired next day, il
spite Of every effort to relieve her. She was
sensible to the last, but speechcss She wa:
my grief and dcsolation. You have lost +;
daughter, but have lost in her all that was
dear to me. God help Us all.
81 am too unnerved to write now. Blu
must beg, as a last favor, that You allow my
darllngs remains to rest here undsturbed
will care for them, and water the flowers OF
her dear grave with my frequent tears. A.
soon as have the heart to undertake tht
task. will send You all her clothing, &c.
reserving to myself only few mcmentoes
May Heaven bless you and sustain YOU"
The aged couple We're heart broken ut tn
loss of their only child, and mourncd with
grief that refused to be comtorted. All i
was not long before they would have thanke,
God that their daughters fate had been II,
worse than they at first believed
The rewards offered for the discovery an,
apprehension of the murderer Of the woman
: had stimulated one man to Il patient an,
ceaseess investigation. He was u sort o
amateur detective, named Tinsley, who hat
no special fitness for his selt-assumed office
except an intense curiosity and persistcn
broodng that would sometimes bring from
and, purpose out of chaos He haunted tn
) spot where the corpse was found, and medi
tated upon all the circumstances of the cas-
with the dogged pertinacity of stupidity.
brighter person would have yielded the tasl
) in despair, but his very dullness kept him a
: it, and at length gave him i clue that h
slowly but, steadily followed up. Near tn
} scene of the murder he one day found
!, chignon Of coal black hair. The dead wo
mans hair was auburn and when found sh
wore a chigaton of the same color. Close Il
the chignon lay u piece of muddy paper. l
proved to be an old letter, dated .Nea
Gettysburg, Pa 1t was simply addrcsse,
. to "My dear husband, and was signed "Y on
atfectionate wife, Mary" Nobody but Tnsle
would have attached any Importance to thes
discoveries, but it being his habit of mind t,
} refer everything to the case then in hand, h
once believed that he had found the key t
the awful mystery. Yet how easy it was t
, account for the presence OF those things there
Hundreds of both sexes, from far and near
J had visited the noted scene, and it was YER
nrOh,hla tbot conn nf these ho1 Joct th