The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-02-23

Court OF Session establishing the valid
ity of the marriage.
1t is reasonable to suppose that this
would have convinced Miss Blandy of
the erroneous path in which she was
treading. On this occasion she con-
suited her mother, and, Cranstoun hav-
ing set out for Scotland, the old lady
advised her to write to him to know the
truth of the affair.
Absurd as this advice was. she wrote
to him, but soon after the receipt of the
letter he returned to Henley, when he
had impudence enough to assert that
the cause was not finally determined,
but would be referred to the House of
Lords. Mr.. Blandy gave very little
credit to the assertion, but his wife as
scented at once to all he said, and treat
ed him with as much tenderness as if he
had been her own child.
The fact was that the Captain was O
shrewd, plausible, and INSCRIPTIONS
man of the world, and the country gen
tleman and his silly wife and daughter
had little show of safety in his hands.
The old ladys faith in him, indeed, was
something simply idiotic, and she con-
tinued to favor him up to the time of
her death In l7ol.
Once she was dead, the husband at
tempted no longer to conceal the dis
like he had imbibed for his daughters
sutton, and his enmity to his presence
finally overcame even the Captains
cast-iron cheek, and he ceased to visit
the house. He kept up his connection
with the daughter, though, and on the
eve of dis departure for Scotland had q
parting interview with hei, during
which he complained of her fathers i'll
treatment of him.
"But / know how to conciliate him"
he said.
"How?" asked the young woman.
"a friend of mine in Edinburg, n doc
tor, has the secret of some love-powders
which never fail. L will get some from
him and send them to you. You must
give them to your father. Do You un-
derstand?'
The silly woman, superstitious and
narrow-minded, like most of her class
and time, consented; first consulting
the village fortune-teller, who exam
ined her hand and babe her do as her
lover demanded and all would be well.
Cranstoun sent her the powders, ac-
cording to promise; and Mr.. Blandy,
being indisposed one Sunday night be-
fore his death, maid-servant maid
servant made him some water Cruel,
into which Miss Blandy conveyed some
of the powder and gave it to her father,
and, repeating this draught on the fol-
lowing day, he was tormented with the
most violent pains in his bowels. When
the old gentleman's disorder increased,
and he was attended by a physician, his
daughter came into his room, and, fall
ing on her knees to her father said:
Danish me where you please; do
with me what you please, so you do for
give me- and, as for Cranstoun, will
never see him, speak to him, or write to
him as long as L live if you will forgive
me-"
"Why, what do you mean ?" ask ed the
old man III amazement.
The penitent woman then confessed
the whole affair.
1t was too late to mend the matter,
however. Mr.. Blandy died, and post
norton showed that his system was
permeated with arsenic. His daughter
was arrested, and on March 3, 1852,
tried at Oxford Her only defense was
the following curious speech:
My LORD: 1t is morally impossible
for me to lay down the hardships L have
received. L have been aspersed in my
character. In the first place, it is said
l spoke i'll of my father; that | have
cursed him and wished him at hell;
which is extremely false. Sometimes
little family affairs have happened and
he did not speak to me so kind as [
should wish. i own / am passionate,
my Lord; and in those passions some
hasty expressions might have dropped;
but great care has been taken to recol-
lect every word L have spoken at diff
ferent times, and to apply them to such
particular purposes AZ my enemies
knew would do me the greatest injury.
These are hardships, my Lord, such as
yourself must allow to be so. 1t was
said, too, my Lord, that [ endeavored to
make my escape. Your Lordship will
Judge from the difficulties labored un-
der. had lost my father. / was ac-
cused of being his murderer L was not
permitted to go near him. / was for
saken by my friends, affronted by the
mob, and insulted by my servants. Al
though L begged to have the liberty to
listen at the door where he died / was
not allowed it. My keys were taken
from me; my shoe-buckles and garters
too TO prevent me from making away
with myself, rs though was the most
abandoned creature. What would do,
my Lord? / verify believe / must have
been out of my senses. When / heard
my father was dead L ran out of the
house, and over the bridge, and had
nothing on but half sack and petit
coats, without hoop-my petticoats
hanging about me; the mob gathered
about me. Was this n condition, my
Lord, to make my escape in? A good
woman beyond the bridge, seeing me in
this condition, desired me to walk in
till the mob was dispersed; the Town
Sergeant was there; / begged he would
take me under his protection. to have
me home; the woman said it was not
proper, the mob was very great, and
that l had better stay little
When / came home they said / used
the constable ILL., L was locked up for
fifteen hours, with only an old servant