Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1880-03-10
THE SECRET CLOSET.
"For murder, though II have 40 tongue,
will speak with most miraculous organ


"For murder, though II have 10 tongue
will speak with most miraculous organ
In the year Of 49,, John Smith Y
use fictitious names) was indicted fol
the willful murder Of Henry Thomp
son. The case was one Of tho mos
extraordinary nature, and tho Interest
excited by it was almost unparalleled
The accused was q gentleman Of con-
siderable property residing on his es'
tate. A person supposed TO be an
entire stranger to him, had late IN
summers day requested and obtained
shelter for the night. Ho had, it was
supposed, after taking some light re-
rreshments retired to bed in perlec,
health, requesting to be awakened at
an early hour the following morning
When the servant appointed to call
him entered the room for that purpose
he was found in the room dead and
from the appearance of tic body II
was obvious that he had been 50 many
hours. There was not the slightest
mark of violence upon his person, and
the countenance retained the same OK
preston it had during life.
Days and weeks past on and little
further was discovered. In tie mean-
time rumor had not been idle. Sus-
picion was vague indeed, un'
defined, and were at first whispered,
and then boldly expressed. The pre-
else object of the suspicion was not
clearly indicated; some implicated one
person and some another /; but they
all pointed TO Smith, the master of the
house, as concerned in the death of
the stranger, and, in fine, the magis-
trates were induced to commit Mr..
Smith to Jail to await his trial for the
wilful murder of Henry Thompson.
As it was deemed essential to the at
taiument of justice to keep secret the
examination of the witnesses before
the magistrates, all the information
of which the public were in possession
before the trial took place was that
which / narrated. Such was the state Of
things upon the morning of the trial.
1t was soon proved beyond the pos
sibility Of a doubt that deceased died
by poison-poison of the most subtle
nature, most active in its opperation,
and possessing the wonderful and
dreadful quality of leaving no mark by
which its presence could be detected
The ingredients of which it was COM
posed were of so sedative a nature
that instead of the body on which it
had been used exhibiting, it left upon
the features nothing but the calm
and placid appearance of repose.
The prisoners family consisted only
of himself, housekeeper, and one
man servant. The man servant slept
in an ont-house adjoining the stable,
and did so on the night Of Thompson's 4
death. The prisoner slept at one end
of the house and the housekeeper at
the other, and the deceased had been
put into room adjoining tine house
keepers.
1t would be proved by a person
who happened to be passing by the
house on the night in question, about
three honrs after midnight, that he
had been induced to remain and watch
from having his attention excited by
the circumstances, then very unusual,
of light moving about the house at
this late hour. The person would state
most positively that he could dis
tinctly see a figure holding a light 60
from the housekeeper's room, that
two persons came out of the house
keepers room, and the light disap-
peared for a minute. Whether the
two persons went into Thompson's
room he could not see, as the window
of that room looked another way, but
in about minute they returned, pass
ing quietly along the house to Smiths
room again, and 10 about five minutes
the light was extinguished and he
saw it no more.
Such was the evidence upon which
the MAGISTRATE had committed Smith