Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-07-21
A Pennsylvania Tragedy.

THREE years ago young Ehglishman
named Hicks came to the village of Gale
donia, in Pennsylvania, and set up slioe
store, prospering fairly, although he occa-
sionally drank too inuch liquor. He
boarded with Il family named Shapland,
and year and half ago the man of the
house died, leaving young widow and
one child. Hicks remained with Mrs.
Shapland as bOarder, and in due time
they were engaged to he married, With
her 1t was probably a mere matter of con
yenience; with him it was a matter of
overmastering passion. In the meantime
young blacksmith named Cochrane had
come to the widows house as a boarder,
and he too fell in love with her. When it
is known that Mrs. Phoebe Shapland pro-
nounced him the finest manshe had ever
met, the result may be readily predicted.
She made the first spree upon which
Hicks went the preteXt for breaking off
their engagement, and married Cochrane
some two weeks ago. The discarded
suitor removed to rooms overhis store, and
for ten days bfooded over his misery
and meditated revenge. He went out five
times to kill the woman he loved, but
each time his heart failed him. FL
nally, on Friday last, he slaipehed a
shOe-khife and went to her house,
passed her little boy on the doorstep,
and found her sitting sewing. She rose
as he came in, and asked him to take II
chair, but with the single exclamation
Phoebe, you have made madmau of
me, " he caught her round the waist and
drew the knife across her throat Leaving
| the little boy clinging to his dead mother,
worked, and, holding up the bloody knife,
said: "You are widower and / am a
murderer" The husband rushed home,
| but soon returned in fury to the black
smith shop, where the murderer remained.
He would have dashed Hicks brains out
with Il sledge had not the crowd inter
fered, the murderer being perfectly will
ing to suffer death at his hands. After
the inquest, where Hicks declared that he
had to kill the woman and wanted to suf-
fer the consequences, he was taken up to
his room to prepare for the journey to
Jail, merely remarking to one of the con
| stables guarding him, who said that it was
difficult to keep the crowd from lynching
him: 81 am sorry they were prevented y
| 1t is creditable to human nature to add
that while the constables were amusing
themselves looking out of the windows,
as constables are accustomed to do on such
occasions, Hicks took a penknife from his
pocket and cut his own throat as effective
ly as he had cut the womans.
When we see the passion of Romeo or
Othello represented upon the stage we are
disposed to look upon the poets concep-
ton of love and its influence on men as
exaggerated, a romantic ideal pleasant to
dream about, but never met in actual life
| Yet here in quiet Pennsylvania town,
among ordinary people, we see scope
and play of passion such as novelists sell
dom conceive of, and tragedy is worked
out which we should consider unnatural
in its horror had we read of il anywhere
save in u newspaper, where nothing seems
out of place. 1t is clear that human love
surpasses in its height and depths any
thing in human literature; and the chron-
icle and brief abstract of the time which
the press presents, proves that genius has
rather understated than oyerstated the
| power of sentiment. We laugh at love
and skeptically discuss the very possbil-
ity of its existence, reading of Dido's sui
eide and Leander's drowning and Gabriel's
long search for Evangellne as things that
might be, but are not; and yet every day
brings as vivid illustrations of the power
of human passion. Sometimes we find it
combined with Jealousy, sometimes con
| fused with vice, sometimes mingled with
despair, but always the same curious in
comprehensive, imponderable but effect
i've force, capable of all sacrifices, all
| crimes, all delights. N Y World