The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-10-02
Guilty, or not Guilty?

Guilty, or not Guilty!
Guilty, or not guilty?
No legal aclimrn can make it clear.
| No jury dare decide God only in His
infinite wisdom knows whether Donald
McShcrlev was guilty, or not guilty. But
| il i strange. Il thrilling story, and rs
true rs il is strange and startling. 1t is
filled with my stcry and destiny. 1ou shall
hear how it all happened a beautiful
river, broken here and there by mossv
waterfalls. winds through pleasant town.
Along the bank Of the river stretches
:; railroad whose ponderous trains pass
and repasS many times 4 day. In a grassy
meadow perhaps ten rods back from the
railroad track, stands Il fine farmhouse
against u back kgrounl of green hills and
blue SKY Farmer Brady lived here He
was u we'll to do. prosperous farmer. of
Scotch descent He had a wife and several
children. He had a little boy three years
old. with blue eyes and curly hair He
was the Jewel Of the household. Never
was 4 little boy more beautiful, never one
more loving and loyable.
II is pellUu~ living 50 near 4 railroad
Little children are sometimes surprised by
the swiftly moving trains. Sometimes
they are paralyled by the ponderous en-
gine- laundering down upon them, and
are ground up beneath the merciless
wheels; sometimes in pleasant weather
they wander on the track. lie down, fall
asleep and never Wahcn.
Farmer Brady knew all this He had
known ii for years. 1t had been Il source
oi great anxiety to him. But his own and
I,oI cnyal tl,n,,,
from any such calamity. The children
save little Robert, his darling. He too
would soon be old enough to comprehend
tit, danger, and then all anxiety would
cease.
Ii was in the month of July. Farmer
Brady was doin@ haying in the meadow
The field wher, he wa al work was on
the opposite side Of the railroad, between
the track and the river There was rising
@roNd between him and the house, 50
that he could not see the track where it
passed in front OF the buildings. Farmer
Brady had eaten his dinner that day, and
was preparing TO 90 to his work As he
passed ont ut the door he took little
Robert up in his arms and kissed him.
Little Robert tNined his arms around his
fathers neck and returned the kiss. 1t
WAS the last time
When Farmer Brady sat little Robert
down. something impellod him to turn TO
his wife and say: II never feel easy when
| am away. You know what an awful
thing it would be if Robert should oct on
the track Keep your eyes on him, and
do not let him 90 out for a moment"
Mr., Brady promised to do SO, and the
farmer went to his work.
Donald McSheelcy WAS the engineer Of
the freight train. That day he run down
the river The next day he was torun up,
Two hours after dinner the train of fifty
heavily laden freight cars came thunder
ING down the valley. Opposite Brady's
house ii WAS descending grade The
hUus, was hidden by q curve until the
tlain was within Il hundred rods. AS the
train swept round the curve Donald Nc
Nheclrv SAW 4; child on the track, opposite
the house A shll alarm whistle startled
farmer Brady ut his work. Rushing to
the brow Of the little declivity he threw
bis arms wildly in the air and shrieked
aloud My God Robert is Oh the track -
Fifty heavily laden freight cars are not
easily stopped. The steam was reversed,
every break was applied hnt the train
still Numbered on, on. on The brave
engineer ran out on the engine at the
peril OF his life, and stroye to save the
child Ii was AL in vain The merciless
wheels rolled on their way. No one
would have dreamed that the mangled,
shapeless mass so tenderly borne into the
home after the train had passed was little
Robert Brady, the beautiful, blue-eyed,
clrly-headed boy, the light Of whose life
had gone out forever. From that moment
the question was on every tongue Could
Donald McShecley have stopped the train
in season to save the child? If he could
have done il, yet failed to, was he not a
murderer? Was Donald McSheeey a
murderer? Was he guilty, or not guilty ?
This was the all absorbing question, not
only of private conversation but of public
journals.
The train moved or to its destination
No one knows what was in the heart Of
Donald McSheeley at that hour. This
can only be conjectured from what fol-
lowed Two days after little Robert
Brady'a mangled body was laid away.
The little curley head the little arms that
twined so lovingly around the fathers
neck, were hid away in the darkness and
silence. Think We that little Roberts
spirit is hid away with the mangled body,
waiting in Inconsistencies to be restored
to the reorganiZed body? Or has it flown
where it walks in new beauty and rejoices
in n new body that can never feel the
touch Of pain and decay? No pen can
picture the anguish Of farmer Brady's
household How it occurred that little
Robert stole out so mysteriously and was
not discovered until ii was too late will
never be known.
From that hour farmer Brady could not
help revolving in his mind the oft re-
iterated question, was Donald McSheeley
guilty of the murder of his boy? The
story was told in the papers far and near,
and the startling question everywhere
raised was he guilty, or not guilty?
a week passed and farmer Brady OBJ
tanned no satisfactory answer to the ques-
| ton He began to believe that Donald
McShecley had not tried to save the child.
He fancied that his climbing out on the
engine was merely pretence. No, he did
not intend to save the child. few such
examples would learn people to keep their
children off the track. Engineers could
not stop the trains for everybodys children.
SO farmer Brady reasoned and believed.
1t was impossible for him to understand
the awful momentum of fifty heavily laden
freight ears. The public grew clamorous
for an answer. But what need was there
for an answer? Why should the public
clamor that Donald McSheeley should be
called to account for such an improbable
murder, when numbers of more accidents
occasioned by utterrecklessness had passed
unnoticede 1t is hard to tell unless
| destiny ordered it all
| Eor,,a,. RraIv co,1ob+ tl,a c,,i,.it ot on