The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-14
EUGENE ARAM.
The True History of Man Whose Career
Furnishes the Basis of Various Fictions.

New York Tribune.
Eugene Aram was born at the village of
Ramsgill, IN Nidderdale, Yorkshire, IN l7O4 His
father, Peter Aram, was man of good family,
but becoming reduced in circumstances, he took
service as gardener on the estate of wealthy
local gentleman, Sir Edward Blackett of New
by Hall. IN ITO Peter Aram and his family
were living at Bondgate, near Ripon, and there
Eugene went to school and learned to read the
New Testament AT a considerably later period
he was instructed, during one month, by the
Rev. Mr.. Alcock of Burndall. This was the ex-
tent of the tuition that he ever received from
others. For the rest he was self-taught. lie
had natural passion for knowledge and he dis
played wonderful industry in its acquisition.
When sixteen years old he knew something OF
Latin, Greek and Hebrew and later he made
himself acquainted with Chadaic ana Arabic
bis occupation up 10 this time, was that
of assistant to his father, the gardener But
about l72O he was employed III London as a
clerk to merchant, Mr.. Christopher Blackett,
relative to his fathers patron, Sir Edward.
He did not remain there long. A serious illness
Frustrated him, and, on recovering, he returned
to Nidderdale, with which romantic region his
fate was to be forever associated. He now be-
came tutor, and not long after this time he
was employed as such at manor-house, near
Ramsgill, called Gowthwaite Hall, residence
built early in the seventeenth century by Sir
John Yorke, and long inhabited by his descend
ents While living there he met and courted
Anna Spance, the daughter Of a farmer, at the
loueIy OIL anu III l.01 ne illdr-
red her. The Middlesmoor registry contains
the record of this marriage, and Of the baptism
and death of their first child In 1734 Eugene
Aram removed to aresborough, where
ne kept school. lie had all this while, sed'
ulously pursued his studies and he now was
scholar of extraordinary requirements, not only in
the language but in botany, heraldry, and many
other branches of learning His life seemed fair
and his future bright; but change was at hand
He had not resided very long at Knaresborough
hafN hnh tptn 1xx-;+h fhrnn
most unlike himself in every way. These men
were Henry Terry. Richard Houseman and Dan
lei Clarke. Houseman was q flax dresser Clarke
was travelling jeweler. All Of them were in
of Eugene Aram's downfall was the appetite for
drink. The confederacy that he formed with
these men is not easily applicable, and probably
it has never been rightly explained The &C
copied statement is that it was a confederacy OF
fraud and theft. Clarke was reported to be the
heir presumptive to large fortune. He pur-
chased goods. punctual in his payments,
and established his credit. He was supposed to
be making purchases for a merchant in London
lie dealt largely in gold and silver plate, and IN
watches, and soon he made liberal use of his
credit to accumulate valuable objects. In 1744
he disappeared, and he never after was seen
heard of again. His frauds became known, and
the houses of Aram and Houseman, suspected as
his associates were searched, but nothing was
found to implicate either of them.
Soon after this event Aram left Knaresbor
ough-deserting his wfe-and proceeded to Lon
don, whore for two years he had employment as
teacher of Latin. He was subsequently an
usher at the boarding school of the Rev. An
thony Hinton. at Hayes, in MiddleseX, and here
1T was observed that he displayed an extraordi-
airy and most scrupulous tenderness and solici
tude as to the life and safety of even worms and
insects. These he would remove from the garden
walks and put into places of security. AT
later period be found employment as tran
scriber of acts of Parliament, for registration iii
chaucery Still later he became usher at the
Free School at Lynn, in Norfork where among
other labors, he undertook TO make compare
tive lexicon, and with this purpose collated over
5000 words in English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew
and Celtic. He had, of course ample opportun
ity to leave England; but he never did SO. At
length, in 1859, a laborer who was digging for
Im aSeat,I c, at place ; known as 81
borough, came upon human skeleton bent
double and buried in the earth. Suspicis~. was
aroused. These bones, it was surmised, might
be those OF Daniel Clarke. His mysterious dis
appearance, and his associates were remem-
bered. The authorities sent forth and arrested
Terry, Houseman and Eugene Aram, and these
persons were brought to their trial at York A
bold front would have saved them, for the evil
dence against them WAS weak. Aram stood firm
but Houseman qualed, and presently he turned
'statess evidence and denounced Aram rs the
murderer Of Clarke. The accused scholar spoke
in his own defense, and with astonishing skill,
but he failed to defeat the direct and decisive
evidence of his accomplice Houseman declared
that on the day of the murder of Clarke, Aram
and himself were in company, and were occupied
in disposing of tho property which they had
obtained; that Aram proposed to
walk in the fields, and that they
vicinity Of st. Roberts Cave. Clarke and Aram,
he said, went over the hedge and advanced
toward the cave. and Aram struck Clarke sew
eral times upon the breast and head, and so
killed him. 1t was dark night, and in the
middle of winter, but the moon was shining
through drifting Clouds and Houseman said he
could see the movement Of A:am's hand, but not
the weapon which it held lie was distant about
twelve yards from the spot of the murder He
testified that the body of Clarke was buried in
the cave. The presiding justice charged square
against the prisoner, and Eugene Aram was con
victed and condemned to the gallows. He sub
seguentiy, it is sad confessed the crime, alleg
ing to the clergyman by whom he was attended
that his wife had been led into an amorous i'm
trigue by Clarke and that this was the cause of
the murder. Here doubtless, is the indication
of the true nature of this tragedy.
Aram, prior to his execution, was CON
fined in York Castle, where he wrote poem
of considerable length and some merit and also
several shorter versifed pieces. On the morning
of his execution it WAS found that he had opened
a vein in mis- arm, with the intent to bleed to
death, but the wound was stanched, and he
was taken to Knaresborough and there hanged,
and afterward his body was hung in chains in
Knaresborough Forest. His death occurred on
Aug. 13, 1859, in the ffty~ffth year of his age.
On the night before his execution he wrote
rhythmical apostrophe to death:
Come, pleasing rest! eternal sumber fall!
Seal mine, that oncer must seal the eyes of all!
Calm and composed my soul her journey takes;
No guilt that troubles and no heart that aches"
Such is, substantially, the true story of Eu-
gene Aram-a story which has furnished the ba-
SIS of various fctions notably OF Bulwers
famous novel, and which inspired one Of the
best of the beautiful poems Of Thomas Hood.
An Insane Horse.