Litchfield enquirer., 1874-02-26

swept dismally through the great wildef- ness, and the midnight voice of the pines mourned the, dying year.4 The next day at noon, very weary Womanyon foot, with q small bundle and q large dog, put up at the little village hotel hard by the county IalL .s-.4 f-fssr sysstqT-+fa esTs3 .sasI
 Another day passed and then the pre- Hminary came on before a justice, to de termine whether there was sufficient evil dence to hold John in custody until a grand jury of the county should be as- sembled for the next Court of Oyer and Terminer. H
 Three days were spent in this examina- ton before the justice; the captain of the sloop who had overheard the quarrel in the night told his story, and the boatmen who had found the body told theirs Two men who had been the crew of Johns lit tie vessel were also called. But they could tell little more than that they were absent on shore upon the 4th of July, and when they returned to the vessel William had gone, they knew not where or why.
 The evidence against John seemed to the magistrate clear and conclusive. But the counsel for the accused (employed by Johns mother) took the ground that as the offense was committed in Canada, a justice in the United States had no iuris- diction in the matter. rs. :
 This view prevailed, and after five days the accused was set at liberty. But that voice of the people, which the ancient proverb says is like the voice of God. had decided that John was guilty. It was un- der this crushing condemnation that John and his mother left the county town on a cold December day, turning their steps homewards; and at evening they climbed the acclivity so familiar to them, and reached the lonely log-house upon the mountain Their neighbors were glad to see them back again, but were plain to say that ''it appered like as if John was guilty" These dwellers in the solitudes were accustomed to speak truly what they thought. John and his mother too spoke openly of this matter. It was only of showing affection and love that these peo- pie were ashamed and shy. They both admitted to their neighbors that the ev1- dence was very strong. but John added quietly that he was not guilty, as if that settled the whole matter
 But the voice of the people and a sense of justice would not let this crime rest. It came to be very generally known that a man guilty of murder was living near the shore of Lake Champlain unmolested. Arrangements were effected by which it came to pass that the Canadian authori- ties made formal application to the United States for the delivery of one John Wilson, believed to be guilty of the mur- der of his cousin William Wilson
 And so again two officers, this time United States officials, climbed up to the little log-house upon the edge of the great valley. Through drifting. binding storm of snow they were piloted by a neighbor to the lonely house. They made known their errand, and in the course of half an hour the officers and their prison Her were out in the storm en route for the distant city of Montreal. ..--..
 It was many days before the woman saw her son again. For four months John was imprisoned. awaiting his trial before the Canadian courts. Doubtless those four months seemed long to the solitary woman. She had not much opportunity to indulge in melancholy fancies; she spent much of her time in pulling brush and wood out of the snow and breaking it up with an ax, so as to adapt it to the size of her stove.
 The nelghbors tried to be kind, and often did commissions from her to the store and grist-mill in the valley: But after all, ," said Pete Searles, one of Johns friends, i'll speaking of the matter after ward, "what could neighbors amount to, when the nearest of them lived a mile away, and all of them were plain to say that they believed she was the mother of a murderer?
 But the neighbors said the woman did not seem to mind the solitude and the rough work Morning, noon, and night she was out in the snow or the storm at the little hovel of barn back of the house, taking care of two COWS and a few sheep..which were hers and Johns. At other times travellers upon the Wilderness road would see her gaunt, angular figure clambering down rocky ridge, drag ging poles to the house to be cut up for fuel.
 She received two letters from John in the course of the winter. The first told her that he was imprisoned, and awaiting his trial in Montreal, and the next one said that his trial had been set down for an early day in March. ..,-.. .f,,.... :.
 This correspondence was all the infor- nation the mother had of her son; for the lake was frozen during the winter, so that the boats did not run, and no news could come from Canada by the boatmen -s @-''' @e'F @aS' @t@
 When March came and passed away without intelligence from John, it was taken by the dwellers upon the lake-shore and along the Wilderness road as 8 sure indication that he had been convicted of the crime. A letter or newspaper an- nouncing the fact was confidently looked for by the neighbors whenever they went to the distant post-ofice for their weekly mail. sz f '.
 As March went out, and spring days and sunshine came, 1t was noticed that the face of Johns mother looked sharp and white, but she went about the same daily duties as before, without seeming to feel ill or weak. ,....s .a.....- ...s-
 On plashy April day full of sunshine, she stood on the rocky ridge back of the house, looking down upon the lake. A few early birds had come back and were twittering about the clearing. Although the snow still fingered in patches upon the highlands. the valley looked warm below, and the first boats of the season were dotting the wide, distant mirror of ''old Champlain." A man came slowly up the muddy line of road, through the gate, and around the house; then first the wo- man saw him. A slight spasm passed over her face. There was pitiful quiver of the muscles about the mouth, and then she walked slowly down the ridge to where the man stood.z She struggled a little with herself before she said, stWell, John, am glad to see you back"
 John tried to be cool afso, but nature was too much for him. He could not raise his eyes to hers, and his simple response, ''Yes, mother, was chokingly uttered. .,,
 The two walked into the house together in the old familiar way; the woman with out word begun to spread the table, and her son went out and prepared fuel, and bringing it in replenished the fire. Then he sat down in his accustomed place by the stove, with a pleasant remark about how we'll the fire burned, and how good it seemed to be at home again. And the woman spoke a few kind, motherly words. f-a sai E5 assIs7di l8g4i1ss
 It was the way they had always done when John came back, but now there was great sadness in it, for he had come from prison. ," Jupiter seemed fully to