The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-06-29
A T'racicaR Romance,


men went into Il store in the town Of West
ONe,tnn, OHIO. and bought apint of wlskey.
The Younger and smaller of the two, who
was well dressed and locked respectable.
paid for the spirit, and the pair went oil.
Next morning The younger man was found
insensihlc and apparently dead drunk under
tho shed of a stable; and on Tuesday he died.
There were nn marks OF violence or his
body, but his coat was missing, and all his
pockets had been turned inside out. His
companion of the day before was nowhere
to hc found. An inquest w;ls held, but no.
thing further was elected than we have told.
The facts warranted suspicion Of the missing
stranger, but neither his discovery nor that
OF anything else that would throw light on
the asair has yet been heard Of. EEL.
So far The story is strange, although there
have been stories like it before. That two
unknown persons should appear i'll Il certain
place, and one subsequently be found dying
or dead. while the other has taken himself
off, is, unhappiIy, no novelty. There are, to
he sure, points in the case of some peculiar
ity. II the whslley was poisoned, for cN'
ample, and both men were drunk, how came
one OF them to escape? If the second man
cr,wlrd away to some as yet undiscovered
retreat to die, why should he take his
friends coat, or rifle his pockets? The spec
ulative interest, however, that attaches &c
these, or other like inquiries, paes before
| that of collateral incident which is little
short Of miraculous. When tho inquest
| was ended, man who had witnessed
| the proceedings stepped forward, aud sait
that the corpse was that Of one Hiram
| Christ, of RcaSansport. On this, several
Others who hal known Mr.. Christ during
| life were found, who affirmed lis identity
with the body before them. Next, the father
! of Christ was sent for, who, on seeing tho
corpse, promptly declared it to be that of hi
son. On examining more closely, however
| the father was unable to find Il scar on the
chin of the deceased and another on the foot
| which during life existed This was rather
staggering, but somebody came forward with
the plausible suggestion that scars often dis
appeared after dcath--why or wherefore was
not set forth. Meanwhile the mother O
| Hiram arrived, and she also ut once said tho
body was her sons. Yet she, also, not find
| iug the ''nlark on the chin and the split il
the toe" hesitatcd, and was left in the mos
painful perpleNity, vascillating between hop
and fear. b.. $685.. .... $3.50.
/ AT this point 4 bright idea occurred to til,
father. He remembered that when his sol
was last Mt home he had bought pair o
boots. He complained, on coming home
that one Of these was too tight, and on eX
animation found that the boots were of diff
ierent cumbersome being No. 8, tn,
1 other q No. Z. The son remarked that h,
| hated to take them back, and guessed HI
| would keep them as they We're. Mr.. Christ
ST., having related this incident, the boot,
worn by the corpse We're closely inspected
when, wonderful to say, one was toun(
| 10 be No. 8 and the other a No. !
| This certainly seemed conclusive, an(
was accepted as, such by the. bystandcrs
| although the parents could not feel en-
| tircly convinced i'll the absence of the scars
Presently, Hiram'S sisters were sent for
! and arrived only to increase the common per
pleXiiy. for one insisted at once that the body
| was that OF her deir brother, willie the other
| rs positively declared it was not. Two ,aays
passed, and no more satisfactory under
standing could be reached. 1t became neceS
sarye to bury the deceased. Whether thu
corpse was that of Hiram Christ, OF that
of somebody else, it was requisite that
it should be inferred. This was accord.
ingly done, and the strange spectacle was
presented of the sisters attending the fune-
fM, Wntie the ltieh.e AeiuScu ~ oo 80.
After the obsequies, q messenger was dis
PATCHED by the father to seek out his son.
The latter had been sent, it trauspired, by
his employer to MrKeesport, short time
before. To this place he was followed; but
on inquiry it was found that he had disap.
reared. and lie most diligeit search failed to
reveal the slightest trace Of him. Inc father
and mother, in great 500. , Eo. Az.
mltted that they must have =. ~ ia a, ali ~,
respecting the identity of the body, : u'' VI J
ders were given for It's iisinterinent ain.
removal to the family @urving-place.. to
which they llad refused it adMittance before.
This l,fpeeading was begun; but IL sssas never!
con&s,nmatcd. Il Was |ii,f;4