The Saint Paul globe., 1896-10-05
ance and the adoption of every pre-

expressed the firm belief that he would
not be hanged. He assured him that,
however, he had no idea of escape,
other than by some divine Intervention,
which would surely establish his in
nocence and point out the guilty man.
Not many days before the one fatal
day the sheriff found the prisoner Wis
IDLY agitated and in an excited state,
noticeably different from his usual
calmness. In answer to the officers
question as to the reason, Devereux
gave the following explanation:
II have had" he said, "a most ex-
traordinary experience. 1t came to me
last night in the form of q dream SO
real, distinct and different from the
usual hazy dimness of ordinary visions
that / believe it to be the premonition
Of an actual event. I cannot rid my
self Of this impression. I expect 1t
may seem foolish to you or the result
Of the broodings and half-waking
imaginings Of man in my condition,
but nevertheless will tell 1t to you.
Last night I dreamed was stand
ing on the scaffold facing thousands Of
people. The scene was as real to me
as the actuality itself. I had spoken q
few words Of farewell and was about
to resign myself to your hands when
suddenly by the exercise of some new
faculty or perception I saw the real
murderer standing in the crowd before
me. I never saw him before, and yet
I knew him to be the man in whose
stead was about to suffer death. He
was slight in build, with dark hair and
eyes and neatly dressed. His features
are indelibly fixed in my mind. With
this recognition my dream faded away.
There was no further intimation as to
my fate, yet I feel, indeed, as though
God himself has spoken to me and re-
vealed the absolute assurance Of his
divine protection
The narrator's manner was so ear
nest and impressive that hope sprang
up responsive in the sheriff's mind that
something might happen. He was men
tally prepared and on the watch for
the happening Of the miraculous.
The day of the execution was a
beautiful, clear, cool October day.
Thousands Of people were in attend
ance and had gathered about the gall
lows 1t was to be a public hanging,
and the multitude availed itself OF the
privilege Of seeing a human being
choked to death. AS has been init
mated, there was much feeling and
sympathy for the doomed man, much
argument as to the fallibility Of cir
cumstantial evidence and hundred
vague rumors in circulation suggest
ing his innocence
At last Devereux stood upon the gal
1fvuy Loaf
There was no man in all that crowd
apparently so cool, so collected and SO
much the master of himself. He
stepped forward to say a few words
of farewell. His voice rang out in the
strained stiffness clear, distinct and
perfectly audible to ALL
Friends" he said, "this is not a.
fitting time to indulge in vain protes-
tations. I can but simply reafirm
that I am not guilty, knowing well
what would be the consequence of q
ralsehood, standing as I am. almost
In the presence of my immortal God
desire especially to relieve any man
Irom the possible thought that he NAV
nave misjudged or wronged me and
might have to meet my accusing words
before the great tribunal hereafter. It
was a human error the result"
AT this moment the speaker stonped
short and leaned heavily against the
railing. His countenance BETRAYED ter
rible excitement. His eyes seemed hxed
on some one In the crowd before him
whom ne indicated, bound as he was,
as well as he could. When he found
MS voice again he fairly shrieked:
There he is! There he IS! The man
of my dream, the murderer. Stop him,
Stop him!"
he had pointed out slightly built.
almost feminine looking young man
who uttered a hasty exclamation and
attempted to get away, but before he
could do so was roughly seized and
held by the crowd The sheriff. almost
beside himself with excitement. rushed
down from the scaffold, followed by
half dozen deputies. The young man
was hurriedly searched there and then.
Upon his person was found a watch
pistol and certain papers of value
well known to have been the property
of the murdered treasurer. He seemed
to give up at once and in answer to
numerous excited questions sullenly
responded:
well, 1T seems you have me, I was
a fool to come here. / demand of the
officers protection from this crowd -
Protection was needed Like quick
silver a knowledge of the matter
seemed to have permeated the whole
multitude. An innocent man was saved
and the guilty apprehended in the nick
of time. Cries arose of: Hang the
scoundrel!' Turn Devereux loosep'
arose from all sides, while the officers
struggled f1ercely to withstand the
surge of the angry mob. There is no
knowing what might have happened
had not Devereux's voice arrested the
! movement.
Let the law take its course" he said
For Gods sake do not be too rash. ]
| implore you, as one who has been SC
near an ignoble death by reason of this
| awful mistake, to let the sheriff take
| this man. Give him a fair trial and
may God forgive him for what he has
tried to do to me-
The words of no other man could
| have saved the new prisoner The
| crowd gave way. The hanging of Dew
/ ereux was out of the question The
populace would not have permitted ii
and the sheriff would anyhow have
felt justified in suspending the execu-
| ton.
The mob poured up the gallows
! stairs and cut the ropes that bound
Deyereux. The officers hurried their