Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-03-01

| William Evans, the man accused OF the
| murder of Sir Mervyn Ferrand, Bart, in
January last will be tried at these Assizes
which open on the twentieth. The case
which excites considerable interest will be
taken on the first day. 1t is reported that
although fresh evidence against the prisoner
will be forthcoming, il will be of purely
circumstantial nature"
Every word of that sccurSed paragraph
seemed like blow falling upon my head
For some minutes sat as one stunned. ]
felt my teeth chattering. / knew that my
cheek was blanched. Philippa's fanciful
dread had come to pass? Another-an in
nocent man-was bearing the blame Of her
own mad act! Dazed, stupid, scarcely able
TO comprehend what must be the full effect
of what had just read, 1 sat motionless
with my eyes fixed upon that fatal sheet
The sound of my mothers pleasant voice
calling to PhiIippa at last awoke me from
my stupor. They were coming. l could
not face them. / doubled up the newspa-
per, thrust it into my pocket, and rushed
out into the street. As yet had not dared
to imagine what this intelligence might
mean to us. l must have long hours of soli-
tude, in order to decide what course should
be adopted TO face this, the last, the worst
peril.
Ipassed swiftly through the iron gate. l
went up the narrow street at a pace which
must have made all who saw me think me
mad. Whittier did go? Iscarcely remem-
her. think 1t must have been to one Of
the public gardens; but in that hour all sense
of locality left me. l went instinc,iyely in
search Of solitude. l found, know not how
or where, some shady deserted spot. There,
| In. .hao 6
of my sand-founded happiness, 1 threw my
self on the ground, and dug my finger-nails
| into the dry soil.
At first thought was going or had gone
mad. The thoughts which rushed through
my mind were disjoined, and wanted cohsr-
ence. An innocent man accused Of the
| crime! To be tried on the twentieth The
| twentieth! and now it is the sixteenth! !!
Fresh evidence forthcomingt The fools
the utter fools! This the boasted detective
skill! To arrest on suspicion, to bring to
trial man who must be ignorant of every
thing connected with the murder! What
can be done? Oh, my wife my poor darling
| wife!
Then, believe, cried like child. 1t
seemed to me that all was lost. There was
but one thing to be done-one course to be
taken. My darling must give herself up to
justice, and by her confession free this luck
less wretch who now stands in peril of his
| life. She must bear the shame of the trial,
and trust to human justice and the mercy
which she had right 10 expect. Oh, II was
pitiful, pitiful! For long while no alter
native course suggested itself to me-
Human justieei What is justice? See
how it can err. 1t can arrest, try, and-oh.
horrible thOaght.-perhaps condemn to
death an innocent mani How then would
it fare with Philippa? Who, now that mar
riage has sealed my lips, was there to prove
her madness when she slew that man? l
ragged at the thought. 1t seemed to me that
We were hard anu fast in the tolls. might,
1t is true, call William. my servant, to swear
that her manner was strange and wild upon
that Efght. might call the nurses to prove
that when first they saw her she was rseov-
ering FROM an attack of mania. But would
they be credited Would not a clever law
yer soon convince twelve ordinary men thag
It was not her madness which paompted the
crime, but the crime which produced the
madnesSs We were indeed meshed and
bound; hemmed in on every. side; helpless
and, it seemed, hopelessl
And Philippa must be told this! l must
.eli her! How could nerve myself to make
he truth known to her-now, of all times.
when her health was all but restored; when
a kind of sad but placid acqgiescence IN
what fate had wrought seemed to be gradu-
ally coming over her; now, when l was once
more building up hopes of happiness fur her
as well as for mel For knew--ahi think
of this and pity me-that before smother
half year should pass there might be given
to my wife and me gix which would go
far toward sweeping away the memories Of
gloom and horror which had Of late spread
over our lives. even dared to hope, to feel
certain, that as she gazed into baby eyes. as
she pressed tiny head to her bosom, some,
nay, much of the lost sweetness and glory
Of life mi ght return to my love.
Think of this, and picture me lying on the
ground that day, with the damning inteili-
gence fresh on my mindt Think that in a
few hours l must return to my home, and
tell ny wife that the holt had fallen! There
WIS no alternativel
No alternative? Stay, there is an altena-
tive! The blood seemed to course wildly
through my veins, my heart beat fiercely,
my lips grew dry, and choking sensation
came over me, as for the first time the SIM
| pie yet certain way of cutting the knot of
! my difficulties flashed across my mind. So
| simple, so easy it at first appeared, that I
laughed at my stupidity in not having seer
| Il at once.
Tear that accursed paper to pieces, Basil
| Northl Scatter those pieces to the winds.
Forget what you have read. Go back to
your luxurious, s,fiower-bedecked home. Meet
| the one you love with smile upon you.
\ fapp. haya foroad SpniIns hafpra
Greet her as usual. Say nothing Of this
| mornings news. Keep your own coInsel;
bury all you have learned in your secret
heart. Do this, and be happy forsver more!
But the man-the man who in few days
time is 10 be tried for anothers act? Well,
what of him? The fool will doubtless be
acquitted. Fool! Yes, it is the right term
for one who can bring himself under sus-
picion. But if jusaiee runs on the wrsng
track until the epis-if that man dies?'
What then? Nhat is this mserade.life.
what are kandred lives, when. weighed
against PhAippa's happiness? What is con-
science? What is right and wrong? What
is the phantom which Isenf call honor?
What after all, is crime9 Be silent, and
forget You are asked 30 do no more. You
| have riches, youth, health, and strong will
| The fairest woman On the earth adores YOU
| Why hesitate? Why let one Doors life
\ weigh in the scale?
Argue the matter in another way. Are
| not thousands of men slain every year by
| the whim Of a monarch or a statesman The
| thought of their deaths troubles not those
who send them forth to fight. Men kill each
other for revenge, for money, for point Of
| honor, and the killer lives on like other
| men live! Trust this man to the vaunted
| array of Justice. He is innocent, and will
come from the ordeal unscathed. If found
guilty, let him die. He will not be the first
/ innocent man who has died, nor will he be
| the last to die. II is but Cne lifel He is
| nothing to you; think Of him no more.
Come what may, you will always have your
sunny home and the woman you love. Her
children will grow up around you. Why
hesitate? A life's happiness is to be won by
simply sealing your lips. Its cost is but,
| supposing Justice blunders, to bear the bur-
den of one mans death. A paltry price!