Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1888-06-14
A MARROW ESCAPE.

murder, in 1912, he met Coleridge.
aud found him lin profound reverie
upon the tremendous power which is
laid open IN a moment to any man
who can reconcile himself to the ab-
iuraiion Of all CONSCIENTIOUS restraints
if At the same time thoroughly with.
out fear." Let the criminal be not
only fearless, but also couple with his
contempt for all laws-human and
divine--a keen and subtle intellect
and determined will, and he would
have al! that power which Socrates,
IN The Republic OF Plato" invests
the bad man who has possessed him
self Of Gyges' ring. "He can take
what be likes out Of market or chest;
he can enter the houses of others he
can kill whom he will.
The perpetrator OF the horrible
crime in Piripa, town in the north
western part Of Mexico, on the Rio de
Sayopa, in June, 1856, almost an.
swered such man as described above.
The victim was young woman of
considerable personal attractions,
named Juanita Medanos, and occupied
suit OF apartments in fashionable
section of the city. She was an ex.
tremely wealthy heiress, whose father
haddied few years before, leaving
her his whole fortune, to the exclusion
of protigate son, whom he had dis
herlted and driven from home.
On the evening Of June Is, 1886,
Juauita went to a theater with a gen.
t!emen who had frequently called
upon her. The name Of the person
was only known to LA, Juanita' s
maid. BY others he was described
as tall, dark-complexioned, with large
black whiskers, Of pronounced Mex.
lean caste and the outward aspect of
a sentlelnen. He was supposed By
some of the boarders Of the house to
be an Italian, but he spoke Spanish
iIuently.
According to the gossip Of the house,
Juanita had spoken OF this man as
sort of tormentor, who had persistently
requested her to make a trip with
him to the United States, in company
with maid and female companion.
On one occasion the stranger was
with Juanita in the soloon Of her hotel
when the stranger, in taking off his
cloak, dropped large knife. Juanita
picked it up and opened it by touch.
ing spring on the back of the haft.
This blade was about as wide as her
thumb-nail, and had a sharp point.
LA happened into the saloon about
this time, and, through curiosity,
minutely examined the knife.
There was no doubt but that this
stranger came home with Juanita from
the theater arriving at her hotel
about midnight. This is shown by
the evidence Of the driver who drove
them, whose description of the man
corresponded IN every particular with
that given by La, the maid, of the
mysterious stranger. From the mo-
ment when the door closed behind
them OH that fatal midnight, the story
seemed TO have been an impenetrable /
mystery.
About quarter past SIX on the
following morning, a young merchant
named ROsalio, who had slept on the
same floor, was leaving the house to
attend to business when he found the
corpse Of the ill-fated young woman
lying in pool OF blood upon the floor
near the half-open door of the room
in which she slept. Horrifed by the
discovery. he awoke a fellow boarder
and then called in an officer.
The unfortunate woman was quito
dead, and had probably been so for
some hours. She had not undressed,
having only taken off silk dress, and
placed her gold watch on the dressing
table. Beside gaping wound in the
throat, which had severed the wind
pipe, there were several stabs in the
abdomen and below the left breast.
The left thumb was also cut, as II in a
struggle with the assassin. There was
bloody water in the wash-basin, show
ing that the murderer had washed his
hands before leaving.
The profound secrecy with which
the crime had been committed caused
it to create more than an ordinary
degree OF excitement. Rosalio slept
in the adjoining room. while LA, the
msid, slept in the ante-room, separat-
ed only by a door from her mistress.
There were other dodgers in the house.
yet no one had heard the mysterious
stranger 90 out, nor had any sound
disturbed them during the small honrs