The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-11-21
CHAPTER XIII.
Continued.

shall be dead, lying in a dishOnored
grave. By man shall be condemned,
and in mans eyes my name will be
infamous; but the Supreme, hope and
believe, will forgive the sin it is my
intention to commit This contemplate
ed sin will take the form of confess
sion, in which shall declare myself to
be guilty Of the awful crime you COM
mitted. When you read these lines,
| you alone, of all men living, will know
that am innocent.
1T was an hour past midnight when
was awakened from my sleep by Mr..
| Wilmot's voice. Thinking he needed
my services. l went into his room and
found him in deep slumber talking to
himself. He was talking Of you and
my honored and beloved mistress and
daughter; and although, after I had
| convinced myself that / was not re-
quired, did not stop to listen, heard
enough to suspect that, unless you bent
| yourself to Mr.. Wilmot's commands,
it was his purpose to ruin and beggar
you. Sad at heart, I returned to my
room and sought my bed, and presently
fell asleep again. must have slept
about two hours, when j started up in
bed with an impression that some per-
son besides myself was in Mr.. Wilmot's
apartments. arose, and was about to
ascertain whether this was so, when
the door between his room and mine
was softly opened, and you came forth.
Il shrank out Of sight, and could not
help seeing that your face was white
and convulsed. and that your limbs
were trembling violently. Stepping
very quietly, fearful of attracting no.
tice, you left my room. Waiting a Nttle
while to give you time to get clear.
away, / once more entered Mr.. Will
mots apartment, and discovered, to my
horror, that he had been murdered
by you! Y
what was I to do? To give the
alarm and point to you as the mur-l
derer? In that case, indeed, your ruin
and disgrace would be complete; and
not alone yours, but that of the beloved
mistress for whom would cheerfully
have laid down my life. Overwhelmed
by this reflection, devoted few min
utes to thought. To all outward evil
dence / was the only witness of your
awful crime; my evidence, and only
mine, would convict you. What
frightful repayment for all the angelic
kindness and my dead wife had re-
ceived from my Beloved mistress! To
condemn the man she loved to the
scaffold, and make all her future life
and that of the daughter she loved SO
deeply life Of agcnizing shame and
sorrow! saw them pointed at,
Stunned, or thrust aside in rags, beg
ging for crust. Could I not avert
+, this terrible fate? could.
S"From symptoms which were minis
taxable / knew that had myself but
a short time to liye-perhaps not more
than few days. was, happily, with
out a relative in the world to whom
my death would bring pang Of sor-
row. could give up my life for yours.
II could take you crime upon myself.
my resolution was made. All that
/ desired to avoid was a shameful end
upon the scaffold Flight would fasten
suspicion upon me- I might me able
to conceal myself till was convinced
the end was near. Then would give
myself into the hands of justice, and
make confession Of the crime. Even if
/ were taken, I should in all probable
ity die in prison. After all, the sacri-
fee would not be so great; a few days
Of suffering-that was all; and when
we have done with mortal life it is by
God not by man-that we are judged.
Doubtless you would keep your fearful
secret, and my beloved mistress would
never know that the hands of the hus-
band who held her happiness and honor
In his keeping were stained with blood.
II fed. and for some time have sue
cessfully evaded pursuit; but feel j
am sinking fast 1t is time for me to-
give myself up and make my false con-
fession. From newspapers which l
managed to obtain learned all the
surroundings of the crime. read of
the money being missing from the
dispatch box, and of the stolen ring.
1t is by means Of this information
that l shall be able to make the con-
session so circumstantial that it can
not be doubted
You are rec; your secret is safely
hidden in my grave. What I have
Zone and shall do is for my beloved
mistress and her child. Toiyou say,
repent. Endeavor by good deeds to
atone for the crime which must weigh
heavily upon your soul Pray, and
humble yourself before the Divine
throne; and not only for this deed of
blood, but for your guilty intimacy with
Mile. Resale, may God pardon youl
Destroy the last visible traces Of your
crime, and burn this paper. FAREWELL!
SAMUEL FLEETWOOD"