The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-04-05
marks of teeth were distinctly visible
for several days after Mrs. Bells resus-

| citation.
Every effort was made to keep thi
remarkable circumstance n secre
from the gossips of the neighborhood
nevertheless exertion was used quietl
to ascertain who the robber of tn
tomb was. The general impression
! was that the garb of female was as
sumed as disguise, and that the dep
redator was in reality n mau, an,
| probably professional body snatcheI
! 1t was thought that the remarkabl
| circumstances attending Mrs. Bell
| supposed death had aroused the deSir
of some medical expert to possess tn
| body for the purpose of an autopsy
and that he had employed a person t,
steal it, and that the body snatcher
discovering the valuable jewel, haC
resolved to gain possession of it TO
himself.
Soon after this extraordinary occur.
renee the Vicar of the parish resigned
his living and removed to Eng
land. Several years passed away, anC
the incidents herein recorded were al
most forgotten. Mrs. Bells father
died, and Mr.. Bell and his family
quilted Kilmare and took up theil
residence at TOXteth, near Liverpool
THE SEQUEL.
During the Chartist riots of 1910,
James Binns was arrested for murder,
and lodged in Lancaster Jail. He was
tried, convicted and sentenced to be
hanged. Before the last sentence OF
the law was executed, he made a con-
feSsiOn of many crimes, and among
the rest of his exploits as a profession
al body snatcher, in which business
no had hnan for
the following facts are taken from his
confession:
In July, 1920, he was living in Bel
fast, having fled from England to es-
cape punishment for his offenses. He
had done several small jobs in Belfast
for the doctors, and on the night of
July Goth, in the year named, a we'll
known physician of Belfast had sent
for him and told him that he had a
very delicate piece of work for him to
perform. a Mrs. Bell, lady of great
beauty, and the wife of q rich pro-
prietOr, had just died of very pecu-
liar disease, and the Doctor and his
associates desired the body to investi-
gate the cause of death. The Doctor
paid so much money down, and dis
patched him to Kilmare with such in
structions as were necessary.
lie WAS TO SECURE THE CORPSE,
And coach would be ready at the
churchyard gate, in which there
would be two assistants, who would
be ready to aid him ut a given signal.
He went to Kilmare on the day of
the funeral, at which he was present.
He examined the lock on the door of
the vault, and was satisfied that he
could easily remove it. AT midnight
he went TO the churchyard armed with
a wrench, pair of shears and pick
lock. First satisfying himself that
the coach was i'll waiting, he entered
the graveyard and proceeded to the
vault.
The night was dark, and rain was
falling. Creeping up by the side of
the church, he approached the tomb
of the Bell family. To his surprise
he saw that the door was open, and
faint light burning inside. Stealthily
drawing near, he glanced i'll. He
saw the coffin lying along the marble
slab, and in front of it a woman was
standing. y second glance showed
HIM that the woman was at work try
ing to remove ring from the finger
of the dead. \ sudden thought struck
him, and slOuching down he reached
in at the door, and with his shears,
which he had brought TO rid the
corpse of its cumbersome shrOud, he
cut piece from the skirts of the wO-
mans dress, and retired unobserved.
As he remained for an instant peering
i'll at the strange scene, to his horror
and establishment he saw the corpse
arise andra the hand which the wo-
man was apparently i'll the act of put
tirnnr fn hnr mouth Tho
a shrek, rushed through the door and
fled, leaving the lamp burning OH the
floor,
The body-snatoher guessed al once
the woman's design, and, impressed
with the conviction that she was a
person above the ordinary rank, he
resolved to follow and see where she
went to. He had no difficulty in
tracking the rapidlX retreating figure.
1t passed out of the church-yard at a
small wicket on the north side of the
church and entered the parsonage.
Satisfied that he possessed an impor-
tant secret out of which he could
make money, he returned to the
vault. The light was still burning,
and he signaled the men in waiting.
They were soon on the spot, but on
entering the vault th6y discovered to
theIo utter amazement7 that the coffin
was empty.
THE BODY-SNATCHER
Kept his secret, and tho mysterious
disappearance of the body was a mat
ter of unmixed surprise. Extinguish-
ing the lamp, the men quit the
churoh-yard, the hody-snatcher re-
turning TO his quarters at q small inn,
and the assistants going back to Bel
fast in the carriage.
The next morning the news of Mrs
BelPs restoration to life was abroad in
the town. The ebOdy-snatcher fingered
in the neighborhood until he ascer-
tanned that the clergyman had quilted
home for a friends house. Then he