Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1872-11-23
The Secret Closet.


In the year ls-, John Smith. Q use
ficticious names) was indicl ed for the
wilful murder Of Henry Thompson. The
case was one of most extraordinary ma.
ture, aud the interest excited by il was
almost unparalleled. The accused was a
gentleman of considerable property, re-
siding upon his own estate. A person
supposed to be All entire stranger TO him,
had, late i'll summers day, requested
and obtained shelter and hospitablity
for the night. He had, it was supposed,
after taking some light refreshment, re.
tired to bed in perfect health, requested
to be awakened at an early hour the fol
lowing morning. When the servant ap.
pointed TO call him entered his room fOr
that purpose, he was found there perfect.
ly dead and from the appearance of the
body it was obvious that he had been SO
for many hours. There was not the slight.
est mark OF violence upon his body, and
the countenance retained the same ex-
preston it had borne during life.
Days and weeks passed on, and little
further was discovered. In the mean.
time rumor had not been idle. Suspicious
were vague, indeed, and undefincd, and
were at first whispered, and aiterward
boldly expressed. The precise object OF
these suspicious were not indicated some
implicated one person, some another
but they all pointed to Smith, the master
of the house, as concerned in the death
of the stranger and III fine, the magis
trates were induced TO commit Mr.. Smith
to jail to take his trial for the wilful muir
der of Henry Thompson. As it was deem.
ed essential to the attainment of Justice
to keep secret the. examination of the
magistrates, all the information OF which
the public were i'll possession before the
trial took place was thai which l hav,
here narrated. Such was the state o.
things the morning OF the trial.
The counsel for the prosecution opened
his case to the jury in manner that in
dicated very little expectation Of a con
viction. He began by imploring then
to divest their minds of all that they
heard before they came into the box h,
entreated them to attend 10 the evidence
ard judge from that alone.
1t would be proved beyond the pos
by pIison-poison of a most substle ma
ture, most active in it's operation, ant
possessing the wonderful and dreadful
quality of leaving no external mark o
token by which its presence could be de
tected. The ingredients of which it wa
composed were of so sedative a nature
that, inst cad of the body on which it haC
been used exhibiting any contortions, OIL
mark OF suffering, it left upon the features
nothing but the calm and placid quiet o.
repose.
The prisoners family consisted only 0
himself, a housekeeper, and one man-ser
want. The man-servant slept in an out
house adjoining the stable, and did 50 OF
the night of Thompson's death. Th,
prisoner slept at one end of the house ant
the housekeeper at the other, and the
deceased had been put into room ad
joining the housekeeper's.
1t would be p owed, by person wins
happened to be passing by the house The
night in ques ion, about three hours atlcl
midnight, that lie had been induced t
remain and watch, from having his atten
tion excited by the circumstance, thel
very unusual, of light moving abou
the house at that late hour. That persoI
would state most positively that he conlC
distinctly see figure, holding light
60 from the room in which the pr.sone
slept TO the housekeepers's room; tina
two persons then came out of the house
keepers's room, and the light disappear
ed for minute. Whether the two pei
sons went into Thompson's room he coulc
not see, as the window of that room look
ed auolher way but in about minute
they returned, passing quite along th'
house TO Smiths room again and II
about five minutes the light was extiu
guished, and he saw it no more.
Such was the evidence upon which tn
magistrate had committed Smith and
singularly enough, since his committa
the housekeeper had been missing, no
could any trace OF her be discovered.
Within the last week, the witness VIII
saw the light had been more particular
examined, and in order to refresh hi
memory he had been placed at dark II
the very spot where he had stood on tha
night, and another person was place.
with him. The whole scene, as lie ha
described il was acted over again but
was utterly impossible, from the caus
above mentioned, to assert, when th
light disappeared, whether the partie
had gone into Thompson's room. AS i
however, to throw still deeper myster
over this extraordinary transaction, tn
witness persisted in adding new featur
TO his former statement; that after th
persons had returned with the light int
Smiths room, and before it was ex
tinguished, he had twice perceived som
dark object to intervine between III
light and the window, almost as large a
the surface of the window itself, am
which he described by saying it appear
ed as it door had been placed befor
the light.
Now in Smiths room there was moth
ing which could account for this appear
ance his bed was in q different part, an
there was neither cupboard nor press i
the room, which, but for the bed, wa
entirely empty, the room in which h
dressed being at distance beyond.
He would state only one fact more
(said the learned counse), and having
done his duty, it would be for the jury t.
do theirs. Within lew days there ha'
been found, in the prisoners house, tn
stopper OF small bottle ofa very singu