The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1872-05-31
Singular Case of Circumstantial Evidence

1t is only within the present century thai
the law has required in case of murder, the
| finding and Identification Of the victim.-
Previous to that, If a man disappeared, anC
his absence could not be accounted for, 8
! person to whom circumstantial evidence
pointed as his probable murderer, could bt
arrested and hanged for the alleged crime
A most extraordinary case, which occurred
during the war between England anc
France, at the beginning of the century
first called particular attention to the sin
gular law, and was ultimately the cause O.
its being replaced by the statute as it now
stands. The story is substantially as fol
lows:
Two Englishmen, uncle and nephew
took up their quarters at well-known inr
in Portsmouth, close to the pier. They
were well received by the landlord, for they
had plenty of money in their possession
The uncle, whom we will call William, sug
gested to his companion, who shall be call
ed Robert, in the hearing of the landlord
that they should hand their money to theil
host for safe keeping. Robert objected, and
proposed that they should keep it on theil
person. This was agreed to.
| At night they occupied the same room
and the same bed. The inn was an old
fashioned, irregular building. From theil
bedroom the two men could enter LONG
passage which ran along the end of the
house to the pier. They went to their room
together about II o'clock at night. Next
morning Robert entered the landlords room
with hurried, anxious air, and asked the
landlord whether he knew what had be.
come of his uncle. The landlord said he
did not. At the same time he observed tc
his horror that the hands of Robert were
stained with blood. The landlord arose
and suggested that they should go to the
bed room together. They did so. On en-
tering terrible spectacle met the landlords
gaze. The clothes of the bed which had
evidently been occupied by two persons
were stained all over with blood. The pill
low was saturated with it. The wash ba-
sin and the stand were also despatched with
blood. On the dressing-table lay a large
jockey or sailors knife, the handle and
blade all bloody. Drops of blood marked
the floor from the bedside to the door
which opened upon the passage referred to.
The landlord told Robert the case was a
suspicious one, and that he must place it
in the hands of the authorities. He did
forthwith. Robert was arrested. On be-
ing searched his clothes were found to be
bloody. Blood stains were discovered in
the passage from the bed room door to the
waters edge, where apparently there had
been a struggle. On Robert were found
the purse and papers of the missing man.
Robert, who manifested GOODNESS and
presence of mind, told the following story
After his uncle and himself had been in
bed a short time, the former, who lay en-
the outside, complained that his nose was
bleeding. Presently he got up and went
to the washstapd. He used water freely,
but in vain. The bleeding continued, and
so violently that the men both became
alarmed. Robert suggested the application
of cold iron to the back of his uncle's neck.
He took his jack-knife out of his pocket
and applied it accordingly. In attending
his uncle his hands and shirt were stained
with blood. AS the bleeding still contin-
ued, William dressed himself and said he
would go out at the side door and walk on
the pier in the cold morning air. Before
doing so he handed his pocketbook and
purse to his nephew to keep until his re-