Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-11-02


know, hut something at last whispered
10 me 10 SEQ II l could do nothing Tor
him, and was unb0tt0ning his poor
torn clothes 10 SOC II his heart still beai,
when I was suddenly seized from behind
and thrown down on tho ground, and
bound with rope that almost ont my
wrists and ankles In two, before ] could
oven sse who were my assailants, 10
nv horror I discovered ! was IN the
hands Of tho two gamekeepeis who had
come NJ when | was engaged IN knock
ing Lord Weston down, and | lay and
ga2ed at them speechleasly, while they
called me all the names under tho hun'
"Wasn't II enough for the poor young
master to beg your pardon, You London
aliaper," sail tho one. "withOut yonr
numbering Of him IN cold blood y
"Wasn't II enough to murder him,
said the other "withont trying to rob
him afterY Who IL to toll my lordS !
know not he waa tho very apple Of his
eye" -,
Aud so they kept up duet, until
want OF breath allowed me TO got IN q
word and | yainly asked them to hear
mo. In vain | represented that l had
only found his lordahip that moment
that | had no blood on mo Rt all, and
had no weapon about mo with which !
conld have done tho deed they poiutcd
to my hands that had come in contact
with his saturated garments, and soon
produced, iiom an adjacent furao bush,
long sharp knife, which had evidently
been thrown there ag soon 40 the mur'
der was finished,
Things began to assume u hopeless
aspect, moro especially On We were now
Joined by the ono policeman OF tho vii
laee and several OF Lord Verwood's men,
who had noticed us and come to see
what the matter was, and j almost es'
pectod TO bc lynohed, whom suddenly
| heard in the distance, above all the
clamor, n loud gigglc, implorcd tho
mon TO liston, too, but OF course, they
heard nothing, But, as | heard 1t
again and again, and now could distinct
" point out 10 them deep hollow, I'LL.
cd with furze, from which tho sound OF
proceeded, throo of tho men consented
TO search tho hollow, leaving mo bound
tightly in tho hands OF my two keepers
and tho policeman, to whom they gave
full account Of my capture, altering
tho particulars in such an astounding
manner, that l could hardly recognize
myself in tho villain thoy discovered
dancing with Joy over tho corpse OF his
victim, waving tho carving knife in his
hand, and only throwing IL away when
he was seized by these valiant souls.
At any other timo this practical illus.
tmtion OF how history is made would
have amused me- but now | was in toe
great fright, and in far too much ankle.
ty TO care bit and | allowed them to
talk viii l listened intently to the
progress made by tho searching party
At first nothing WIS discovered, and
the mer were about to return, more in
censed against me than ever, when sud
denly the furze bushes were thrust on
one = -, aud ont of the thickest por'
tion i the brake stepped, majestically,
Mrs. James, as mad, or madder than she
was on tho first day | had ever seen
her.
Bowing to tho men, she again us.
sumed the regal airs she had INDUCED
in when found her in the little room
over the news, and waving her hand,
she demanded their pleasure, and re-
questcd to be told why they had intrud'
ed on her sylvan retreat AT first no.
body answered her, for more truly
awful spectacle was never seen.
Almost all her garments were torn oil
her back, her hands were scratched and
bleeding, and her long gray hair hung
down in festoons. What few clothes
she still kept round her were simply
covered with blood, and no one who
saw her could for one instant have doubt
ed that she and she alone was the MUIR
deress.
Had any additional proof been needed,
she furnished it by announcing what
she had done, and also stating that it
was necessary act as Lord Weston had
the evil eye, and bewitched everyone
and everything with which he came in
contact.
The men secured her, and, although l
asked repeatedly that should be re-
leased, utterly refused to let me go, say
ing that I was an accomplice, and that
no woman could possibly have over
powered and slain such strong, healthy
young man as his lordship; and I real
ly thought should be dragged like a
sack of wheat through the village to
Verwood court, when Mrs. James her
self volunteered the information that |
had had nothing to do with it, and that
she hoped she could do her own work
without the assistance of any man what
ever. She then began to sing hymns in
thin, high h-pitched voice, and taking
no notice of either the poor murdered
lord or of her captors, became so ex.
tremely wild in her conversation and
behavior that no one could doubt for
one moment who had done the deed.
However, although my legs were I'M
bound, 1 was allowed to get up, my
arms were still tied tightly together,
and we were all dragged up to the hall
to await our examination before the
magistrates, who naturally began by in
sisting that l must have had something
to do with the murder, or l should never
have known where to tell the men to
search for Mrs. James and I had to OK
plain my state of hearing, and give
practical proofs of it, by listening to
whispers at one end Of tho room, and
repeating them at the other aloud, like
a human telephone; before they could
even consent to allow me to tell my
story, after which they still seemed as
if they would prefer to commit me for
trial at the next assizes, somewhere
about December - when poor James
entered tho hall-wllere the informal
proceedings were taking place and
gave full account of his wife's vagaries
in London, and how had first made
their acquaintance.
You can all imagine how it ended
now. How poor James fell about the
old lords knees, weeping for his dears
young master while Mrs. James went
of to the asylum that she ought never
TO have left, and where she died shortly
utter, never having recovered her senses
a,,,;n fnr ona sir0le inatant