Weekly Trinity journal., 1870-04-23
Johnathan Bradford.

elapsed since the story Of Johnathan Bradford
was converted into a drama, the interest of
which shares in that excited by George Barn
well" The drama is very seldom played nova
| days, but the main circumstances will be suffi
ciently remembered by every theatre .goer for the
subjoined synopsis of the actual facts upon
which the drama was founded TO be read with
! interest;
Johnathan Bradford was executed at Oxford
| in the year 1895, for the murder of Christopher
Hayes. This Bradford kept an inn on the road
/ from London to Oxford. He bore exceptona-
! BILE character. Hayes, gentleman of fortune,
being on his way to visit relation, put up at
| Bradfords house of entertainment. He there
Joined company with two other gentlemen, also
incidental travellers like himself, with whom he
supped and in course of conversation mentioned
unguardedly that he had about him large sum
of money. In due time they retired to their res
pective chambers; the two gentlemen to dou-
! ble-bedded room, leaving, as is customary with
many, candle burning in the chimney corner.
Some hours after they were in bed, one, being
| awake, thought he heard deep groan in the ad-
! joining chamber. This being repeated he softly
awakened his friend. They listened together,
and the groans increasing as of one dying, they
both arose and proceeded silently TO the door Of
! the next chamber, whence the sound proceeded
and the door being ajar, saw light in the room.
| They entered, but it would have been difficult to
paint their CONSERVATION on perceiying person
weltering in his blood in the bed, and man
standing over him with a dark lantern in one
hand and knife in the other. The man seemed
as petrifed as themselves, but his expression
carried with it all the terror of guilt. The gen.
glemen soon discovered that the victim the
stranger with whom they had that night supped,
and that the standing over him was their
host. They seized Bradford directly, disarmed
him of his knife, and charged him with being
the murderer. By this time he had recovered
his aseumpd air of innnranca
positively denied the crime, and asserted that he
came there with the same humane intention as
themselves. Hearing IA noise, he said, which
was succeeded by deep groaning, he got out of
bed, struck light, and had only entered the
room a minute or two before them.
These assertions were of little avail he was
kept in close custody till the morning, and then
taken before a neighborng Justice of the Peace.
He still resOlutely denied the crime, butt never
theless with such an apparent indication of
guilt, that the Justice made of extraordi-
nary expression on writing out his mittimus-
Bradford, either you or myself committed this
murder"
This extraordinary affair naturally became the
conversation Of the whole country Bradford was
tried and condemned over and over again in ev-
cry company. In the midst of all this prede-
termi nation came on the assizes at Oxford.
Bradford was brought to trial. He pleaded
" Not guilty" Nothing could be more conclu-
SlNt Ludu Tue utspOSlllOu OI the TWO BeOUemtE.
They testified to the hnding Hayes murdered
in his bed Bradford at the side of the body
with light and knife; the knife and tue
hand which held it bloody; their entering
the room he betrayed all the signs of guilty
man and few moments before they had heard
the groans of the deceased.
Bradford's defense on his trial was the same
as before the gentlemen. He had heard noise;
he suspected that some vllliany was transacting
he struck light he snatched knife, the only
weapon near him, TO defend himself; and the
terrors he discovered were merely those of hu-
manity, the natural effects of innocence as well
as guilt, on behoding such horrid scene.
But this defense considered weak con-
trasted with the powerful circumstances against
him. Never circumstantial evidence more
conclusive. There little need of comment
from the Judge n summoning up the case. No
room or plea appeared for extennation. The
jury brought in the prisoner guilty without even
going ont of the box. Johnathan Bradford was
executed in due course of law, still declaring he
was not the murderer, nor prvy to the murder
Of Hayes bat he died unpitied and disbelieved
by all.
Yet were these assertions not untrue. The
murder was actuay committed by Hayes foot
man, who, Immediately stabbiHg his master,
ri6ed his breeches pockets of his money, gold
watch, and snuli-box, and escaped unobserved
to his own room. This could scarcely have
been five minutes before the entrance of Brad
ford into the unfortunate's man chamber. The
world owes this knowledge to a remorse of con-
science in the real delinquent eighteen years
after the execution of Bradford, on Il bed of sick
ness. 1t was death-bed repentance, and by
that death the law lost its due victim. 1t seems
strange that as the two gentlemen had distinctly
heard Hayes say that he had large sum of
money with him they did not search his clothes
to see if it had been distracted, and at the same
time examine the person of Bradford to detect
the plunder in his possession if it was on him
Its absence would have been II point in his favor
which ought not to have been overlooked.
1t would be most satisfactory if this account
could close here but it cannot Bradford
though innocent, and not party to the murder
for which he suffered the extreme penalty of the
law, was, nevertheless, the murderer in design
He had heard as well as the footman, what
Hayes had said at supper TO his having a
large sum of money about him, and he went to
the chamber with the same diabolical intentions
as the servant. He was struck with amazement.
He could not believe his senses but in turning
back the bed clothes to assure himself of the
fact, he, in his agitation, dropped the knife on
the bleeding body, by which both the hand aud
the weapon became bloody These circumstan-
ces he acknowledged to the clergyman who at
tended him after his sentence.
WEAKENING OF PARTY LINEs.-If it be true