The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-05-04

she stepped to the ground and passed
out of the vault, the door of which was
wide open. Down the church-yard path
she passed to the main street, along
which she walked for half a mile un-
til she reached her late home. Fort
unately the large gate to the park was
unfastened, and she fastened up the
roadway to the dwelling. The rest the
reader knows. She rapidly regained
her health, and lived to good old age.
But who was the woman who stood
by the side of the coffin, when the
corpse suddenly arose and startled her
into sudden flight?
Next day the lamp was found extin-
guished on the floor of the vault. 1t
was identified as one which usually
stood in the yestry, and was used by
the sexton. 1t had doubtless been re-
moved at the same time when the KEY
of the vault was taken. Beyond that
all was mystery.
The object OF the woman, however,
was easily discovered As already
stated, Mrs. Bell was buried with a
valuable diamond ring on her finger
The design of the woman was to steal
this from the supposed corpse. Find
ing it impossible to remove it, the dar-
ing thief had raised the hand of the
dead woman to her mouth, and, in her
attempt to withdraw the ring with her
teeth, caused the pang which went
through the frame of the evident victim
of a trance, and aroused her to con-
seriousness. On the finger, Just below
the ring, the marks of teeth were dis
tinctly visible for several days after Mrs.
Bells resuscitation.
Every effort was made to keep this
remarkable circumstance secret from
the gossip of the neighborhood; never
theless, every eXertion was used quietly
to ascertain who the robber of the tomb
was. The general impression was that
the garb of a female was assumed as a
disguise, and that the depredator was
in reality man, and probably a pro-
fessional body-snatcher.
1t was thought that the remarkable
circumstances attending Mrs. Bells sup
posed death had aroused the desire of
some medical expert to possess the body
for the purpose of an autopsy; that he
had employed person to steal it, and
that the body-snatcher, discovering the
valuable jewel, had resolved to cain
possession of it for himself.
Soon after this extraordinary occur
renee the vicar of the parish resigned
his living and removed his family to
England. Several years passed away,
and the incidents herein recorded were
almost forgotten. Mrs. Bells father
died, and Mr.. Bell and his family quit
ted kilmare and took up their residence
at Toxteth, near Liverpool.
And now for the sequel.
During the Chartist riots in 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-
tession of many crimes, and among the
rest of his exploits as professional
body-snatcher in which business he had
engaged for many years. The follow
ing facts are taken from his confession:
In July, 1920, he was living in Bel
fast, having fled England to escape
punishment for his otfenses. He had
done several small jobs in Belfast for
the doctors, and on the night of July
20, in the year named, a well-known
physician of Belfast 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 rich proprietor, had just
died of peculiar disease, and the doc
tor and his associates desired the body
to investigate the cause of death. The
doctor paid him so much money down,
and dispatched him to Kilmare with
such instructions as were necessary.
He was to secure the corpse, and a
coach would be ready at the church
yard gate in which there would be two
assistants who would be ready to assist
him at 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 re-
move it. At midnight he went to the
churchyard armed with wrench, a
pair of shears, and a picklock. First
satisfying himself that the coach was
in waiting, he entered the graveyard
and proceeded to the vault. The night
was dark and the 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 in. He saw the coffin
lying along the marble slab and in front
of it woman was standing. A second
glance showed him that the woman
was at work trying to remove a ring
from the finger of the dead. A 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 skirt of
the woman's dress and retired unob-
served. As he remained for an instant
peering into the strange scene, to his
horror and establishment he saw the
corpse arise and raise the hand which
the woman was apparently in the act
of putting to her mouth. The woman
gave shrek, rushed through the door
and fled, leaving the lamp burning on
the floor. The body-snatcher guessed
at once the woman's design and, i'm
pressed with the conviction that she
was a person above the ordinary rank,