The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1891-07-22

my Wondefment l made some eXclsi-
nation and put my hand toward it.
But the Inspector was too quick for
me. Having secured it, he put his
finger and thumb into the bag and
took cut a pinch of the stuff it con-
tanned and held it UP to the light. 1t
is salt, isn't it ? my wife remarked.
THE same kind of salt, ms am, that
your arfowroOt was seasoned with, If
am not mistaken the inspector an
severed, as he carefully tied up the bag
again; this is arsenic Hearing this
my vito shranlS from me with a look
of horror, and without a word went
back 10 the bedroom, while i, feeling
stunned or like one in dream, was
taken away to the police station.
have already tried your patience.
gentlemen, with my long story, and
will not trouble you with the terrible
details of what followed. was COM
mitted for trial for the attempted muir
der. It was shown that with my small
salary | had insured my wife's life for
600 pound sterling, and the doctor
was called to prove that within q
month the symptoms which were con-
sistent with slow poisoning began to
appear. 1t was shown that the packet
of arr1wroot in the cupboard and the
heef-tea essence, which were iptealled
lNI WIG tAClAANING ttcS,- " t-lG
already poisoned, and j could not deny
my own declaration To the Police In
spectOr that the keys OF the desk where
tho little bag of arsenic was discovered
were never out of my possession. You
may be sure that the prosec utiOn did
not fail to point out how much my
guilt was increased by the cunning
attempt to put the crime on the inno-
cent servant-girl, and the end of it was
that | was sentenced to ten years
penal servitude.
As | have already informed you, /
never from the time of my conviction
received any communication from my
wife. which, of course, added much to
tho bitterness of my cruel punishment,
since it put it beyond doubt that she.
too, believed me guilty, and scores of
times / prayed that / might soon die
in prison, like Seth Taplow. But my
conscience of Innocence supported me,
and L lived through it. And now
comes the most terrible part of my
strange tale. never thought to see
my wife again. hut on my way here
this morning i met her. / did not
know her at first, she looked so old
and altered. 1t was joyful moment
when | beheld her, and put out both
my hands, but she clasped hers behind
her. and there was relentless hatred
in her eyes. Good God said. can
it DO that you have all along and still
think me guilty p There was no
wasting of words between us. With
no one to overhear us, she said, listen
to what | have come on purpose to tell
you. L know of no guilt of yours but
One-your murder of the man | loved.
1t was for that / married you, that /
might be well revenged.' And then
she told me how she herself had
planned tho poisoning for which had
been tried and convicted. 1t was she
who had procured the arsenic and with
a false key placed it in the desk where
it was found; she who had mixed the
poison with the food. To carry out
her fiendish design. she had taken
small doses of tho deadly stuff, and
finally a larger though not a fatal dose,
50 as to make it abumdantly clear that
it was my villainous intention to muir
der her so as to obtain the insurance
money. And still with no one to
overhear u.s. she said, let me tell you
that it was not that you might be
sentenced for Q paltry ten years that
/ ran the deadly risk. | hoped You
would have been sent away for twice
rs long-for your life, perhaps. But
j have not done with you yet. John
Lock. To be rid of me you will have
to kill me. / will gOad you to it. and
die happy, knowing that you will end
your life on the -gallows.'
have nothing to add to John Locks
strange story, and the reader is as we'll
able as myself to Judge if there was
any truth in it, or whether it was
romantic fabrication on the ex-con-
vict's part to excite sympathy. In
quiry, / believe, was made for his
wife, but she had been lost sight of
for years, and was nowhere to be
found, while as for John himself, at
his most earnest request, and to the
last perSisting in the statement he had
made, he was shipped to America
London Telegraph.