The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-03-09
MURDER WILL OUT.
The Private Counselor's Story ot
the Mark in the Bible.

"Of verify. Herr Magistrate" said the
Private Counselor, "you have just given 9
striking proof of the possession of those
powers of induction and deduction that
characterize the born judicial investigator
If this infinitesimally small detail SO
easily overlooked by mind less keen. had
escaped your attention, there is little doubt
that the culprit would have remained for.
ever undetected. But who ltnowsl Since
we are on this subject, could tell YOU o
strange story, stranger even than the one
you have just related, in which / chanced
to play role that it is your duty to assume
officially. i, too, once discovered u culprit,
and under circumstances extraordinary,
by means of clue so slender and improba-
BILE, that the more / think of it the
more the whole affair seems to me like a
genuine miracle. l don't refer TO it to exat
myself, for | should have discovered moth
ing without the direct ntcrpostion of
Chance--or, Providence, if you prefer the
term"
"Your preamble" replied the Magistrate,
''has already greatly excited my curiosity.
hope you will relate the incident"
'Willingly. But let us first adjourn to
the library. ] know you are an admircr of
rare tones, and | must show you mine.
Don't be afraid that they will take me away
from my tale; on the contrary, they will
lead us directly to it, and in the most natural
manner possible" P"
The two men passed from the dining room
where the above conversation had taken
place into a well-tilled library-rour walls
of shelves bristlirg with formidable folos.
Every collector of books has his specially,
and that OF Private Counselor Otto Grotius
was Bibles He boasted of being the pos
nf obi pf t,t,t bn
richest theological library in Germany-that
of Georgia Augusta" in the ancient uni
yersity of Gottingen. The Magistrate, anx-
ious to get to the story, did not, perhaps,
admire as they deserved to be admired, the
venerable illustrated edition of the Holy
Scriptures issued about 1856, by Gutenberg
and Faust; Luther's first Bible; the polyglott
edition Of Plantin that of Aldus Manucius,
and many others. AT last the Private Coun-
selor took from his shelves two shabby,
though modern-loosing volumes, and said
with a sarcastic smile:
~ have kept these for the last; they are
the bright. particular jewels of my collec-
tom
"Whatl Cali this cheap reprint of the
last century jewell"
''Just so, my dear guest. and for double
reason. In the first place, the edition was
given to my father by the great Frederick
himself, who mas cOndesceuded to ornament
one of the two volumes with marginal
notes, more witty, indeed. than rcyerential
as might be expected from the illu ,trious
friend of Voltaire In the second place
and TO this. Herr Magistrate. let mo call
your especial attentiOn-because the other
volume bears between its leaves, as mark,
this bit of yellow paper, commonplace look
ing enough, by itself, but with which moth
N a IN IVA
me tho clue to the terrible and mysterious
tragedy to which | have referred"
sThis time" interrupted the Magistrate
az trust YOU will not keep me longer in sus-
pense."
The Private Counselor sat down and thus
begi2:
In the snrino of 10 7 parried and tha
Fran Private Counsellor nv beloved denart
ed wife. brought me az her doyrv this little
estate of s. which we readily chose as
our home seeing that Il Ia equally distant
from the capital and the summer residence
of his hiqhness the Grand Duke. Won have
been kind enough to admire our old garden.
laid out after French models, with its box
bordered walks, its yews trimmed pyramid
wise and its marble deities pretcntiously
clothed in operatic costumes; but / have
not ventured to lead you further a-field to
show you the useful after the beautiful
the commonplace vegetable garden after
the ornamental park now regret it, for
it is probable that you have never seen q
haunted house, and | could have shown you
one there, or, at least, one roputed to be
such.
There is nothing rorbidding In the aspect
of this insignificant structure whore my
valet assures me that he meets souls in
pain 1t is one-story cottage whose
thatched roof ia starred with stnne -cron
and whose front is entirely hidden by
honey-suchle, Jasmine aud Bengal roscs. II |
one happens to enter one secs that the win
dows are no longer glazed, that the fire.
place is filed with fallen plaster, that the |
inside partitions are so worn as to show |
the lath, and that the walls are crumbling |
under the combined action OF midew and |
saltpeter. This queer structure has for
long time only been used as q convenient
storage place for potted plants and garden
implements. None of my servants would