The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-06-05
NUMBER 20.
RoM4NCE IN REALITY.
APPEARANCES AGAINST HIN.

APPEARANCES AGAINST HIN.
The history of English law contains few
moro startling judicial tragedies than that
to which the statute against murder owed
such humane amendment as to make the
finding and positive identification Of the
body of the slain person essential to the
conviction of the murderer and as the
same remarkable case had a peculiar moral
and social significance for the young lovers
of all times, who, in their passionate devO-
tion to each other, are altogether too apt
to disregard the fortunes of everybody else
in the world. it may be recalled appropvi-
ately for modern reading.
Upon the death of Mr.. George Perkins,
a widower of considerable property in Lr..-
don, it was found that his will appointed =
brother of his, living near Epping Fore
the sole guardian of his only daughter, a"d
directed that said guardian should inhcgit
the whole fortune devised in case his young
ward should die either unmarried or wi.
out children. Implicit confidence in his
bIother who was a middle-aged bachelor
of limited means had, of course, inspired
the dying man to make snch a will but 4
number of family relatives pronounced tho
document an extraordinary faulty, and
darkly limited that harm would eDsue from
it. This feeling causedlan alienation be-
| tween the occupants Of the Epping Forest
/ residence and the aforesaid prophets, and
made the latter the bitterest prosecutors
/ of the dead mans brother in the strange
and tragic succeeding events, which have
been described as follows:
Uncle and niece were both seen one day
walking together in the forest, but the
young lady suddenly disappeared and the
uncle declared that he had sought her
as soon as he missed her, and knew not
whittier she had gone or what had become
| of her. This account was considered inn
! probable, and appearances being clearly
suspicious, he was arrested and taken be-
! fore magistrate. Other circumstances,
hourly coming to light, rendered his po-
sitiOn serious. a young gentlemen in the
neighborhood had been paying addresses
to Miss Perkins. 1t was stated, and gen.
orally believed, that he had gone a few
days before she was missed, on a journey
to the North, and that she had declared
that she would marry him on his return.
The uncle had repeatedly expressed his
disapprobation of the match, and Miss
| Perkins had loudly reproached him with
his unkindness and abuse Of his authority
! over her as his ward. A woman named
Margaret Oaks was produced, who swore
| that at about eleven o'clock on the day on
which Miss Perkins was missed she was
| passing through the forest and heard the
voice Of young lacy earnestly expostulat
ing with gentleman. On drawing nearer
the spot whence the sound came, Marga-
ret Oaks testified that she heard the lady
excIaim ''Don't kill me, uncle, don't kill
me - The woman was greatly terrified,
and ran away from the spot. As she vas
doing SO She heard the report of firearms.
On this combination of circumstantial aud
positive evidence, coupled with the suspi-
cion of interest, the uncle was tried, oon-
victed of murder, and almost Immediately
notwithstanding to the customs OF
those days-was hanged.
About ten days after the execution Of
| the sentence upon the uncle, the niece re-
appeared, and, stranger still, showed by
the history she related, that all the testi-
mony given on the trial was strictly true.
Miss Perkins said that, having resolved to
elope with her lover, they had given out
that he had gone on journey to the North,
whereas he had merely waited near the
skirts of the forest until the time appointed
for the elopement, which was the very day
on which she had disappeared. Her lover
had horses ready saddled for them both.
and two servants in attendance on horse
back. While walking with her uncle, he
reproached her with her resolution to mar
" a man whom he disapproved, and after
some remonstrance she passionately ex-
claimed
Il have set my heart upon him. II
don't marry him it will be death to me
and don't kill me, uncle, don't kill me -
just as she proclaimed these words she
heard a gun fired, at which she started,
and she afterwards saw a man come from
among the trees with a wood pigeon in his
hand, which he had shot On approaching
the spot appointed for the meeting with
her lover, she formed pretence to induce
her uncle to 20 on before her. She then
fled to the arms of her lover, who had been
waiting for her, and they both mounted
their horses and Immediately rode off. In
stead, however, of going to the North,
they retired to Windsor, and about a week
afterwards went on tour of pleasure to
France. There they passed some months
SO happily that in those days, when news
papers were scarce, when there was no
regular postal communication and no tele-
graphs, they never heard Of their uncle's
sad fate until their return to England.
\ MULE laden with salt and an ass laden
with wool forded a stream tncether- Rr.