Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1875-06-12

could not find the passage. 1t wa
late l was wearied by much pre-
vious labor l therefore went t,
bed and soon fell asleep. Great!
did l marvel the next morning when
on arising and seating myself a
my writing desk, saw before me
written in large letters upon shee
of paper, LET no man be deemet
happy before his end cOlnetR Isl
rach, XII. 34) But not this alone
| found likewise Il funeral discourse
short, but as well written as any
II had ever compassionate all in
my own hand writing. In the cham.
Der no other than | could have
been; knew therefore who it was
that had written the discourse, and
that it WAS no other than myself.
No more than half year previous
l had, in the same marvellous state,
gone in the night time into the
church and fetched away hand
kerchief which | left in the chair
behind the alter. Mark nOw--when
the two witnesses this morning de-
livered their evidence before the
court, then my previous night.walk-
ings suddenly flashed across me !;
and | likewise called to mind that
in the morning after the night dur
ing which the corpse must have
been buried, l had been surprised to
see my dressing-gown lying on the
floor just beside the door, whereas
it was always my custom to hang it
on a chair by my bedside. The I'M
happy victim of my unbridlcd pas
sion must, in all LIKELIHOOD, have
fallen down dead in the wood and
| must in my sleep-walking have
followed him thither. Yes-the
Lord have mercy $50 it was, so it
must have BEEN"
On the following day sentence of
death was passed upon the prison.
era sentence which many felt to
be severe, and which led to a friend.
lN conspiracy on his behalf, and had
it not been for his refusal to be
party to anything unlawful, he
might have escaped. The .jailor was
gained over, and the fisherman had
his boat in readiness for flight to
the Swedish coast, where he would
have been beyond the reach of dan.
ger. But sioren Quist refused to
flee. He lonsed, he said, for death !;
and lie would not add q new stain
to his reputation by furtive flight.
He maintained his strength of mind
to the last, and from the scatold he
addressed the bystandcrs a dis
course Of much power, which he
had composed in prison during his
last days. 1t treated of anger and
its direful consequences, with touch
ing illusions to himself and the
dreadful crime of which his anger
misled him. Thereafter, he dotted
his coat, bound with his own hands
the napkin before his eyes, and sub
mitted his neck to the executioncr's
sword.
One-and-twenty years after the
pastor, Soren Quist of Veilby, had
been accused, tried, condemned and
executed for the murder of his serv-
ing man, an old begger applied for
aims to the people of Aalsoe, the
parish adjoining to Veilby. Suspi-
cions were aroused by the exact
likeness the begger bore to Morten
Burns of lngvOrstrup, who had
lately died. and also by the curious
and anX ious inquiries the man made
concerning events long past. The
pastor of AalsOe, who had buried
MOrten Burns. took the vagabOnd
to his parsonage, and and there the
fellow, all unconscious of the pOr.
tentiOus nature of the admission,
acknowledged that he was Niels
Burns, the very man for whose sup
posed murder the pastor had suffer
ed the shameful death of a crimi-
nal. Had his brother MOrten sur
-vived him it is pretty certain the
truth, concealed SO long, had never
been known, as Niels had only re-
turned to the district in the hope of
by MOrten's death, the
news of which had accidently reach
ed him. He prOfessed-and, indeed,
plainly experienced,-t utmost
horror Oh hearing the dreadful his
tory of the pastors cruel fate. 1t
was all Morten's dOings, he said
but he was 50 overcome by the ter
rible narrative that he could scarce
" gather strength to reply to tue
questions put to him.
The result of his examination and