The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-02-22


her uncle In the morning, she went to
call him. She was dreadfully shocked
to find the bed stained, with blood, and
every inquiry after her uncle was in
vain.
The alarm now became general, and
on further examination, marks of blood
were traced from the bedroom into the
street, and at intervals down to the edge
of the pier-head. Rumor was immedi-
ately busy, and suspicion fell of course
on the young man who slept with him,
that he had committed the murder and
thrown the body over the pier into the
sea. A warrant was issued against him,
and he was taken that evening at his
mothers house. On his being examin-
ed and searched, marks of blood were
discovered ON his shirt and trousers, and
in his pocket were knife and remark
able silver coin, both of which the land
lady swore positively were her uncle's
property, and that she saw them in his
possession on the evening he retired to
rest with the young man. On these
strong circumstances the unfortunate
youth was found guilty.
He related all the above particulars in
his defence; but as he could not account
for the marks of blood on his person,
unless that he got them when he re-
turned to the bed, nor for the silver coin
being in his possession, his story was
not credited. The certainty of the boat
swain's disappearance, and the blood at
the pier, traced from his bedroom, were
supposed to be too evident signs of his
being murdered; and even the Judge
was so convinced of his guilt, that he
ordered the execution to take place in
three days. At the fatal tree, the youth
declared his innocence, and persisted in
it with such affecting asseverations, that
many pitied him, though none doubted
the justness of his sentence.
The executioners of those days were
not so expert at their trade as modern
ones, nor were drops and platforms in
vented. The young man was very tall
his feet sometimes touched the ground;
the gallows contrived to give the body
some support as it was suspended
After being cut down, those friends bore
it speedily away in the coffin, and in the
course of few hours, animation was
restored, and the innocent saved. When
he was able to move, his friends insisted
on his quitting the country, and never
returning. He accordingly travelled by
night to Portsmouth, where he entered
on board a man. man on the point of
sailing for distant part of the world; ;
and as he changed his name, and dis
guised his person, his melancholy story
never was discovered.
After few years of service, during
which his exemplary conduct was the
cause of his promotion through the
lower grades, he was at last made a
masters mate, and his ship being paid
off in the West Indies, he and few
more of the crew were transferred to
another man of war, which had just
arrived short of hands from different
station. What were his feelings of
astonishment, and then of delight and
ecstacy, when almost the first person he
saw on board his new ship was the
identical boatswain for whose murder he
had been tried, condemned, and executed
five years before. Nor was the surprise
of the old boatswain much less when he
heard the story.
An explanation of all the mysterious
circumstances then took place. 1t
appeared that the boatswain had been
bled for pain in the side by the barber,
unknown to his niece, on the day of the
young mans arrival at Deal; that when
the young man awakened him, and
retired to the yard, he found the band
age had come off his arm during the
night, and that the blood was flowing
afresh. Being alarmed, he rose to go to
the barber, who lived across the street,
but press gang laid hold of him just as
he left the public house. They hurried
him to the pier, where their boat was
waiting, few minutes brought them
on board a frigate then underway for
the East Indies; and he omitted ever
writing home to account for his sudden
disappearance. Thus were the chief
circumstances explained by the two
friends thus strangely met. The silver
coin being found In the possession of the
young man could only be explained by
| tha ooniaokura that xuhan ha tOolr tho