Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-09-13
THE GHOST OF YOUNG MRS
POWI-ING.

that l willingly lent an ear to his
suggestion a few months later to at
tend with him a celebrated trial that
was then agitating the cUGntry. 1t
was suggested, l remember that we
should go down to the Dorset Assizes,
there to take photographs of the
courthouse, the judges in procession,
and even, by great good luck, of the
principal prisoner. Various distorted
pictures of him had already appeared
in newspapers, and he had become,
in an awful way, something of celeb
rity.
/ remember that | stood in the
courthouse on the great day of the
trial with Enoch Voyce beside me,
and that / watched closely all that
happened, and above all, the figure of
the prisoner His name was AbTa-
ham Powling. He was wei dressed
in a frock coat. He was immensely
fat, and had rather a benevolent look
ing bald head and long gray beard
His fat, podgy hands were never still
for an instant upon the edge OF the
dock, and his small eyes were never
still for a moment in their ceaseIess
rowing from the faces about him to
those of the jury and of the judge.
There had been, | remember, some
popular ferment in the town, and ho
had had to be brought to the place
strongly guarded. For the charge
was that of murder, and the victim
his young wife.
Though he was we'll dressed, and
though, by the account of him, ne
came from good family, there was
no strength or distinction in the
look Of him. Craven and bully were
writ large upon him. Once only did
l catch a CLEAN of those small eyes
OF his, and if ever a man carried up
On him the brand of Cain, Abraham
Powling did-in my ewes at least.
The story, as set forth by the prose
cEting counsel amid some murmuring
and stirring in the packed court, was
a particularly atrocious one. 1t APP
peared that the young wife, Anna
Powling, had had a solitary girlhood
and an unhappy one. 1t was suggest
ed that she was totally inexperienced
in the ways of the world Her pa
rents mad died when she was quite
yCung, leaving yer considerable prop
erty, which YVES to be hers and to be
held absolutely at her discretion up
on her coming Of age. There were
no trustees-no one to suggest eau
ion to her or to protect her
lie prisoner had himself been a.
man of fortune, but, despite his benev-
client appearance had run through
it all in low and E,eaE debaocheries.
Coming to the Lille country town
wherein the girl Tad lived her seclud-
ed life, he began. despite mis- years,
to exercise a considerable influence
over her. Deeply religious herself,
she had been attracted to the man
by his own confession of piety; and
against the urgent advice of the few
friends she had. had married him. It
was proved that Immediately follow
ing t2e wedding che had settled the
whole property upon her husband
That was the preamble. From
that events rapidly shaped themselves
until the night Of the supposed muir
der 1t was within twelve months OF
the wedding and the couple, who had
been iourneying about with no fixed
home during al that time, had come
TO the little Dorsetshire village which
was the scene OF her death During
those wauderings the man had once
or twice left her, and had only re-
turned at her earnest entreaty. The
name of another woman was mention
ed in the case, as having been the
companion of the man on these FIRE.
gpent desertions
Witnesses were called to prove mat
the mans loud voice had been heard
On that evening, and that the woman
had been in tears. So much was
sworn to by the people at the hotel.
Ii was admitted that she was often In
tears and that she was lyslerical.
Certain marks Of fingers found on
the bruised aud battered body OF the
woman were admittedly made BY IN
man in restraining her during hyster-
zeal outbursts, Ind on The night OF
her death, after one OF those out
bursts, she had rushed out OF the no
tel. sobbing convuls,vely. aud had
made her way towards the sea. TIC
man followed and the man had come
back alone On the following morn
ing coast guard had found the body
of the woman washing about in the
surf at the foot of the cliffs. and the
suggestion of the prosecution was
that the man had had a struggle with
her, at a lonely spot on the cliffs.
known as the Deyu's Gapway. and
had thrown hor over.
The defense was that the young wo,
man, after a quarrel, had hurried to
the top of the clin and had flung her.
self into the sea. Against that was
set the sworn evidence of a laborer.
returning home in the dusk, who had
seen man about the bulk and height
of the prisoner walking near the edge
of the cliffs with a young. slim wo-
man as his companion, bat the labor
er had not seen the faces. Il had
been a dark night, and he had seen
the figures only against the skyline
Another important witness was c
bluff coast guardsmen who had heard
the scream of a woman some quarter
of an hour after Anne Powling had
left the hotel, followed at a distance
nv her husband More than that.
fb;c xr,ifuper' wife had capn a bfr