Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-08-21
The Stnrw Teller.
cIRcUMsTANTIAL EVIDENCE.

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eiRcUMsTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
There is one grim old story told in ancient
law-books, of a murder committed at an inn.
It was little country inn, in rather un-
freauented place, and there, on one wintry
night arrived two sets. of guests. One party
consisted of an elderly invalid gentleman and
his man.servant; the other Of two gentlemen,
friends, travelling in company. The accom-
mediation was rather limited, and the man.
servant was slowed away in loft. The two
friends agreed to share one chamber, while
the old gentleman was to occupy that next to
theirs. The three gentlemen spent the even
ing together in the common room, the land
lord and the man servant coming to and fro
in attendance. 1t transpired, somehow, that
the elderly invalid was travelling in pos
session of considerable valuables. This mat
ter was touched upon but lightly; in fact, it
was little more than an inference which might
be drawn from something he, said. About
midnight all the travellers retired to rest. An
houror two after, one of the friends awoke.
Lying in silence, he heard something like
groan, and, on its being repeated, he aroused
his companion, and both listened. The sound
came from the next apartment They sprang
to their feet, and, thinking their neighbor
might be suddenly and dangerously ill, they
hastily struck a light and went to bis room.
But they found that they had been anticipa.
ted !; light already streamed from his opened
door, and at his bedside stood the landlord,
with face of horror, and in his hand a
bloody knife As the gentlemen entered the
room, the invalid gave last groan and ex.
pired from deadly wound in the throat.
Naturally, the two gentlemen seized and
secured the landlord. Between the tell,tale
weapon in bis hand and the extreme dismay
and trepidation which he manifested, he
might almost be said to be taken in the act
They reused the house. The few sleepy SER
wants came hurrying in, among them the
footman of the murdered man. So great was
the hosts terror that it was some time before
he could utter single word which might put
a different complexion on the case. At last
he found wits to declare that, like the gentle
men, he had. been reused by the groans, and,
fearing robbers, had armed himself with
knife and hurried forth, hoping to be in time
to give help; that when he saw the awful
sight in the bed-ehsmber, the knife had fallen
from his hand into the blood, and he had re-
msined for few moments powerless. !
Such story seemed credible enough, but
there were sundry circumstances which IN
stantly falsi6ed it. The room where the land
lord had slept was too remote from the scene
of the murder for any groans to have reach
ed it, and the knife was not one OF those IN
ordinary use, which might have been hastily
snatched up, but resembled others which were
kept locked in chest in his bedroom. OF
these circumstances he could offer no explain
alton, nor yet of sundry CALCULATIONS he had
uttered when first surprised. ' .'
In spite of his protestations of innocence,
in which, somehow, there seemed always a
curious reservation, he was condemned to de-
The night before his execution he made sim
gular confession. He acknowledged that his
cupidity had been 80 excited by the idea Of
his visitors valuables, that he had resolved to
kill him, and to possess himself of them. For
this purpose he took out knife and stole
from his bedroom. Probably, in the preoccu-
patton of his horrible enterprise, he heard no
footstep nor any groan; and the first thing
which warned him that all was not right, was
the finding the visitors bedroom.door un.
latched. When his light fell on the awful
scene, and he saw his own crime had been an.
ticipated, his knife fell from his palsied hand,
and when he found himself in the hands of
his accusers he had cried that Goods judg-
ments were on him" He owned that, though
he was in act guitless of the murder, yet that
he was justly judged. But though he died
with every appearance of sincere repentance,
the general impression was that even his final
confession was but another vagary of Grim:
inal nature, playing with truth and falsehood
to the very end.
But years afterward clergyman was sum-
moned to receive the last condolences of man
sinking in consumption This was the servant
of the murdered invalid. Then he owned that
it was he who had slain his master. He had
stolen from his remote loft, and had just in.
ficted the mortal wound when he was dis.
turbed by the landlords approaching foot.
steps, and fed, barefoot, in an opposite direc'
ton, regained his bed, and remained there
until he was summoned by the cries of the
other dodgers. He indicated how and where
he had disposed of the weapon with which he
killed his master, details which were subse
quently verified. He was too near death tc
be seized by justice, but the particulars of his
confession were made public, thoug b in this
case the story cannot be concluded by the
formula with which the prim old law report
ers generally sum up such tragedies, "that the
innocence of the other man was thus com
petely vindicated."
Far more piteous is the story Of William
Shaw, who lived in Edinburgh in l72l. De
was respectable tradesman, and he had
daughter named Catharine, who, unhappily
had troublesome love affairs. Her own hear
inclined to one John Lawson, to whom hel
father objected, saying that he was protlg
ate youth, addicted to every kind of disslpa
ton. Shaw forbade the lover his house, ano
when he found that Catharine still saw him
ciandestinely, the father imprisoned the
daughter on his own premises.
Whether Shaw was too hard, or whether
Catherine was too wilful, nobody can say
There is one element in the case which draws
sympathy to the girl. There was not only g
lover to be given up, but a lover to be accept
ed. While Shaw banished John Lawson, he
urged forward the suit of one Robertson
Catherine passionately declared that sh'