Centre Hall reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1868-1871, 1871-09-29

SAuVA anu Nihd it un again, since ne hau
/ performed both those acts ON the day PIE
ccding Mr., nUhourgs visit The accuracy
OF the clock thus vdached for, the eonclu-
sion ON the eyidvuce was irresistible Mr..
pubourg stood onVicled " having been in
I the tlcld at the time when the muraer Was
Committed; of having, hy his own sdmls-
sion, had quarrel with the murdered
man hot long before, terminating in an as
sanlt and threat on his side and, lastly.
at having attempted 90 set up an allbi by
false statement Of the question Of time.
There was no alternative but 90 commit
him 60 take his trial az the ASSiEes, charged
with the murder OF the builder in Pardun's
I Piece.
The trial occupied two days.
No new facts Of importance were discov-
cred in the interval. The evidence fol-
lowed the course which il had taken at the
I preliminary examinationS-with this ditf-
erence only, that il was more carefully
siIted. Mr.. Dubourg had the double ad-
vantage Of securing the services Of the lead
/ ing hatrister In the circuit, and Of moving
the irrepreSSible Sympathies Of the jury.
shocked at his poNtion. and eager for proc,
of his innocence By the end OF the first
/ day the evidence had told against him with
such irresistible force that his own counsel
despaired Of the result. When the prison
er took his place in the dock on the second
day there was but one conviction In the
minds cl the people in court; everybody
said, "The clock will hang him."
II was nearly two in the afternoon and
- -
adjourned for half an hour, when the at
torney for the prisoner was seen 10 hand =
paper TO the counsel for the defense.
I The counsel rose, showing signs Of agita-
tion which reused the curiosity of the an-
dience. He demanded the immediate
hearing Of new witness, whose evidence
/ in the prisoners favor he declared 20 be
too important 70 be delayed for single
moment. After short eolloquy between
4 the Judge and the barristers ON either side,
the Court decided 10 continue the sitting.
The witness, appearing in the box,
| proved 20 be young woman in delicate
health. On the evening when the prisoner
had paid his visit 10 the lady she was In
that lady's service as houscmaid. The day
after she had been permitted 10y previous
arrangement with her mistrcss) 20 take
weeks holiday, and to 20 on visit TO her
parents, in the west OF Cornwall. While
there she had fallen i'll, and had not been
strong enough since 10 return to her en-
ployment. Having given this preliminary
account Of herself, the houSemaid then mar
rated the following extraordinary particu-
lars in relation TO her mistreSs's clock.
On the morning Of the day when Mr..
Dubourg had called at the house she had
been cleaning the mantel piece. She had
rubbed the part Of il which was under the
clock with her duster, had accidentally
struck the pendulum. and had stopped il.
Having once before done this, she had been
severely repFoved. Fearing that repeti-
ton Of the ofiense, only the day after the
clock had been regulated by the maker,
might lead perhaps to the withdrawal OF
her leave Of absence, she had determined
TO put matters right again, If possible, by
herself.
After poking under the clock in the
dark, and failing 10 set the pendulum going
again properly in that way, she next at
tempted to lift the clock, and girs il a
shake. IL was set in a marble case, with
bronze figure on the top, and il was so
heavy that she was Obliged 70 hunt for
something which she could use as lever
The thing proved TO be not easy TO find on
the spur Of the moment. Having at last
laid her hand on what she wanted, she
contIived so to lift the clock few inches
and drop it again on the mantel-piece as to
set it going once more.
The next necessity was, Of course, 10
move tue hands on. Here again she was
met by an obstacle. There was a difficulty
in opening the glass case which protected
the dial. After uselessly searching for
some instrument 10 help her, she got from
the footman without telling him what she
wanted il for) a small chisel With this
she opened the case-after accidentally
scratching the brass frame Of it-and set
the hands OF the clock By guess. She was
fiurried at the time, fearing that her mis-
trcss would discover her. Later in the
day she found that she had over-cstiInated
the interval If time that had passed while
she was attempting to put the clock right.
She had, in fact, set it exactly a quarter Of
an hour too fast.
No safe opportunity Of secretly putting
the clock right again had occurred until
the last thing at night. She had then
moved the hands back TO the right time
At the hour OF the evening when Mr.. Du-
bourg had called on her mistress she posi-
iively swore that the clock was q quarter
Of an hour too fast. It had pointed, as her
mistress bad declared, TO twenty-five min
utes to nine-the night time then being,
as Mr.. DuboUrg had asserted, twenty min
utes past eight.
Questioned as to why she had reirained
from giving this extraordinary evidence at
the inquiry before the magistrate, she de-
clared that in the distant Cornish village
TO which she had gone the next day, and
in which her illness had detained her from
that time, nobody had heard Of the inquiry
or the trial. She would not have been
then present to state the vitally important
circumstances to which she had just sworn
if the prisoners twin brother had not
found her out on the previous day, had not
questioned her If she knew anything about
the clock, and had not (hearing what she
had to tell insisted on her taking the jour
ney with him to the court the next morn
ing.
This evidence virtually decided the trial.
There was great burst Of relief in the
crowded assembly when the woInan's state
ment had como to an end.
She was closely croSs-examined, MS
matter Of course. Her character was in
quired into; corroborative evidence (rela-
ting to the chisel and the scratches on the
framel was sought for, and was obtained.
The end Of il was that, at late hour on
the second evening, the jury acquitted the
prisoner without leaving their box. Ii
was not too much to say that his life had
been saved by his brother. His brother
alone had persisted, from first TO last, In
obstinateIy disbelieving the clock-for no
better reason than that the clock was the
witness which asserted the prisoners guilt!
He had worried everybody with incessant
inquiries be had discovered the absence
of the house maid after the trial had begun;
and he had started of to interrogate the
girl. knowing nothing and suspecting moth
ing-simply determined to persist in the
one everlasting question with which lac
prosecuted every body: "The clock is going
to hang my brother; can you tell me any
thing about the clock :"
-Four months later the mystery OF the
crime was cleared up. One Of the disrep-
utablc companions OF the murdered man
confessed on his death-bed that be had done
the deed. There was nothing interesting
or remarkable in the circumstances.
Chance, which had put innocence in peril,
had offered impunity to guilt. An infa-
nous woman, a jealous quarrel, and an abb
sence at the moment of witnesses on the