The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-04-28

on human conduct, on common life, and liv-
ing manners" and according to these the the
ory Of "quickened conscience" is more
probable than that OF hallucination produced
by false accusation. There are but few
instances in the modern records OF crime
where false confessions have been
made by persons, sane in mind and
| body, under delusion. There Is one
case, however, Of such remarkable and ro-
mantle nature that we will refer to it, 1t is
the case OF Soren Qvist a Danish clergyman,
mentioned in Phillips Famous Cases Of Cir
cumstantial Evidence" This man was the
pastor OF the village OF Veilby, and was a
person of noted virtue and great piety He
was widower with an only daughter, who
kept house for him. Near by lived man
named Morten Bruins, who had amassed con-
siderable wealth by dishonest practices,
and who became sutton for
the daughters hand. In consequence of
his bad character he was rejected by both the
father and his child which so irrtated Bruins
that he swore to be revenged on both. Some
months later, when the short-lived suit had
been forgotten, the pastor, being In want of a
farm hand, employed Niels Bruins, a poor
brother of the rich Morten, the discarded
lover. Niels proved an idle, worthless fellow,
and his master was constantly forced to re-
prove and even thrash him. Upon one oc-
casion, being unusually vexed, the pastor
struck him with spade. Niels fell
to the earth as il dead. but when
his master raised him up, in great
alarm he broke and ran away and was never
seen again. This was the pastors story. In
short while Marten Bruins accused the pas
tor Of the murder Of his brother Nies By
two witnesses he proved the assault with the
spade, accompanied with threats to kill. One
Larsen a laborer deposed that on the night
OF the day following that of the disappear
ance OF Ntels, he was returning home late,
and passing along the footpath by the pas
tors garden, he heard some one digging In |
the garden. and no looked to see who it was, |
when he saw the pastor, In the green dressing
gown he usually wore, and with a viii te
on his head, busted in Ieveling the
earth with a spade; but more than this he did |
not see, for the pastor turned suddenly, as il |
and the witness, being afraid of |
ran away.
Morton then insisted upon searching the
pastors garden for the body of his brother and
there corpse was found In the spot indi-
Gated by Larsen. The face was so decom posed
that 1t could not be recognized, and the
features had been injured by blows; but all
his clothes. even to his shirt with his name on
it, and leaden earring in the left ear. were
identified as those Nieis had worn on the day
Df his disappearance. Upon this testimony
the pastor was arrested, but he stoutly as
serted his innocence
When, some weeks later, the trial came off
5wo more witnesses were produced They
ieposed that on the fatal night they had seen
! man clad in q pale green coat and white
zap, bearing a sack on his back, going into
he pastors garden. No sooner did the pas
or hear this evidence than he suddenly broke
Town, and cried out in O faItering voice II
I'm fainting!" He then made confession of
he crime. The testimony, he said, had over
ome him with conviction Of his guilt He
vas given to Sleep walkings, and rected one
Instance in which he had written an entire
ermon when asleep. He likewise called to
mind that in the morning after the night in
question he found his dressing-gown
wing on the floor near the door Of
0 hang it in certain place. These
convinced him that he had
iled the man and buried his body In his ,
leep, and upon this confession he was SEN
enced and hung, refusing to avail himself OF {
opportunities offered him Of escaping. !
One and-twenty years after his execution
|eils Bruins returned to Vielby, in the hopes
profiting by the death Of his brother Nor 4
IN, the news Of which had accidentally
cached him. He professed the utmost I
orlor on hearing the dreadful history Of the +
astor5 fate, and finally disclosed all he
new Of the facts leading to 1t. Morten had c
rought it all about He had induced his !
rother to take service with Qvist, and
nd spurred him to provoke violence t
his hands. On the day in uues-
on, when he ran from the pastor, he
i'd gone straight to his brother and told him T
the circumstance. Morton locked him up,
, said, and at midnight they went to a place
here suicide had been buried few days E
fore, dug up the corpse and took 1t into :
orten's house. Niels was made to strip and (
IN suit of Morten's clothes, and the corpse r
as clad in Niels' cast off clothes, even to the
aden earring. Then Morten battered the Ii
ce with spade and hid 1t in a sack till the
sxt night, when they carried it to Vielby
ood near the pastors house. Neis asked i
hat all these preparations meant; Morten
Id him to mind his own business, and to go
Id fetch the parsons green dressing gown Y
i'd cap. This Niels refused to do, where
Don Morten went for them himself
I'd giving Nies hundred dollars,
de him leave Danish soil, never to return, as
would answer for it with his life Niels
as he was commanded, and only returned
ter Merten's death to make this strange
velation and free from all stain the memory a
an innocent and upright man. This. how
er, is one of the romances of the law, and q
ould not be allowed to in any way discredit
g value of confessions in ordinary cases.
ais seems to be a day of 'quickened con- :
iences," and there will doubtless be many hi