Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1872-02-21
4 MARROW ESCAPE. .


perish iguominiou>ly on the scatlold.
Condemned To bid adicu to wife,
mother, C,ildrcn.aud friends!
The poor man wcpt aloud i'll the eN-
trcmity Of his anguish. His trcm-
bling lips comd frame no prayer, and
thus the last avenue of escape was
closed against him. The most direct
and uncIuivocal evidences surround
ell rnis man-Lloycd Fletcher by name
and the jury, i'll bringing in their
verdict of''guiltv i'll the first degree" !"
had only acted oil their sober convic-
ton of the mans guilt, drawn from
the overwhelming evidence.
Charles Lancaster, an Englishman,
and 4 neighbor of Fletcher's, had been
found brutally murdered, in u lone
spot i'll the suburbs OF London.
Flctchcr's pistol was picked up near
him, thrown aside Us he found him.
self pursued.
Footprints in the mud c0rrcspOn-
ded exactly with :hc boots the priso-
ncr w ore, and to crown all they had
| boon bitter mud in~otonat1; enemies for
months previous. Fletcher had been
heard To say, Oh several occasions, that
nothing but the mans death co;tld
satisfy his implacablc vengeance: and
then again, hc could produce no one
to assist him i'll proving an alibi.
Lloyd was Il man very domestic Ill
his habits, and very dcvotcdly at
lachcd to his family. lie was known
to be absent from home on that eve:
ming. yet, on this particular night,
Mrs. Fletcher waited up until day
light for his return, expecting every
moment (on account of the Circtru-
stances being 80 unprcccdcntcd) to
have him brought home Il corpse. lie
seemed to be recovering from lie deep
stupor Of intoxicatiun as he entered
his wiic'> presence on the morning
described, and only knew enough to
find the bed and sleep profoundly.
At the time OF his arrest, his hands
this, with the rest, made the sum
too crushing for the skillful counsel
he had employed, and the result was.
"hangcd by the neck, Fletcher, till
YOU are dead: and God have mercy OH
your SOUL
1t lacked now only three days to
the execution, and here he sat i'll his
lone, comtortlc>s, whitcwa>hcd cell
"Can nothing be done? Must die
and his head bowed oil his hands
thus, poor miserable dog that am:
Will Omnipotcncc allow all innorcn'
man to perish? Out upon such at;"'
as that. And the poor fellow struck
wildly at his pri>on-housc. groanina
50 deeply that he aroused the attcn
tinn of the turnkey, who was pa>>in.
the cell. The iron door swung bach
on its crcaking hinges and the stall
wart form of the keeper appeared be
fore him.
Come, come, Fletcher. less noi>'
here; be man. You amt the tir>
man that's had to swing-llot by
long shot! You wont get much sym
pathy here if YOU arc like Il nursin:
infant, can tell you. Die game
Fletcher, die game"
"5ut | am innocent, tell you, yo,
old wretch: as innocent of the Grim
As my little girl baby at home. Oh
my God, my wifc-my rhil'lrcn--
"Oh, shut up, here's your old wa
man. now.'
The hardcncd turnkey waited
minute to witncs the meeting of thi
suffering couple, and then with mad
dencd curses Withdrew. But til
condemned man and his loving. faith
full wife, took no notice ofhis depart
urc. but claspcd in each others arm:
awaited for calmncss to speak.
"Oh. Sarall.'
"Oh, Llov,l! God have mercy on IL
all. my husban,i!i;and now listen. Ii
ldown hcrc-place your head on IN
lap: l have something TO tell you"
'Tell inc, Sarah, did they scare
you this tiinc:' he asked grasping he
hands.
"Ycs. Lloycd. and they found notll
ing. rcpcntcd my rash promises I
You before | reached home. Com
what may: suicide must not be you
fate. But listen, you see that N
comparatively happy; and let me tc
l Won what has produced this chang
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