The Jersey City news., 1889-11-20

faithless wife. She Is obliged TO follow
Shakcspeare's maxim, affect virtue,
though she has it not"
The only man who remained true to
me was my lawyer, Mr.. Malcolm Camp
bell. He set to work manfully to de-
fend me. He said the press were aw-
fully down on me. Numerous biogra-
phies were published of me, which
brought to light events in my life never
before known, either to my parents, my
self, or any of my relatives. One paper
called attention to the significant fact
that many murders had been committed
during the past twenty years which
have never been traced, and that most
probably my exterior respcctability and
hypocritical piety had averted all sus-
picion from myself, and that no doubt
many an innocent man had been hanged
for my crime.
At the trial my wife and daughter de-
posed, as they were bound to do, to my
unusual behavior on that emphatic even
ing.
My standing on the steps of my door
before l rang the bell was observed
by villainous, prying old maid, who
came forward and deposed to facts in
addition which were pure inventions.
My swallowing brandy at dinner, as adj
mitted by my own family and domes-
tics, was the occasion of some eloquent
leaders in the papers, the gist of which
was that deserved hanging even for
that alone.
The prosecuting attorney called atten-
ton to my physiognomy, in which he
read more murders than dozen New
gate calendars, and concluded an elo-
quent address by warning the court that
if was acquitted he felt sure that some
fine morning, like the Assyrians of old,
all New York would awake and find
themselves to be dead men, with their
throats cut from ear to ear, especially
the judge and jury, who would deserve
their fate if they turned such notorious
murderer loose to prey upon the citizens
of New York.
Notwithstanding the eloquence of my
counsel, Mr. Malcolm Campbell, who pos
itively surpassed himself and knocked
Demosthenes and Cicero into the mid
die of next week, all seemed dead against
me.
The explanation gave of my unusual
behavior was pronounced by ali as being
too ridiculous to merit moments CON
sideration.
The judge who presided, and who had
turned deaf ear to every mendicant
since he had been possessed of cent to
give away, said that he had never given
anything to a beggar in his whole life,
and that it had never made him miser-
able.
Indeed" sarcastically added this light
of Christian law, sit would have made
me more miserable if had ever given
a penny away"
The whole audience roared with laugh
ter at the judges wit, althoughit it stamped
him as being heartless brute.
He summed up dead against me, and,
as I had not taken the precaution of
buying up the jurors, / was found guilty
OF willful murder and condemned to be
hangedl
The fatal day arrived. Hardly able to
walk, was carried to the scaffold. The
reporters crowded around me, shaking
hands with me as though they were
proud of being introduced to gentle
man who occupied such an enviable po-
sition. The rope was put around my
neck, the cap was drawn over my face.
heard sharp click and felt the rope
tighten. was suddenly thrown up into
the air as a flood of fire rushed from my
brain and filed my eyes.
Convulsiyely threw out my arms. l
heard tremendous crash, as though all
creation was crockery and had suddenly
been smashed. opened my eyes, not
upon another world as l had expected,
but to see that had knocked over the
table, broken into thousand pieces my
wife's best china tea service, spoiled her
new satin dress, scalded her pet spaniel,
which was bowling like a Methodist
ranter, and that all the buttered toast
was in my daughters laps, who were all
dressed to go to the opera.
Since then my wife never lets me snore
in my easy chair after dinner.