Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-09-05
THE SCHOLAR AND THE SKULL
How a Woman Was Brought to the
GalIows by Simple Incident.

deathleSS renoWn rests upon the fact
that a great man brought her to her
doom, and so the details of her life
story are meager, but a few facts have
survived.
At the beginning of the seventeenth
century she was maid servant in tn.
home of wealthy citizen of Hunting
donshire. She was unusually good
looking and had some education-a
rare thing for a handmaiden in those
days-and was generally above her
station. In the employ of the same
family there was a middle aged man
named Armstrong. He was rather
uncouth, with a huge shock of sorrei
hair and little more is known of him.
except that he was a great favori;e
with his master Armstrong saved his
money penny at time, and as he
approached the sere and yellow lear
he found he had money enough to buy
an inn that was for sale. He and
Sarah were married and took posses
sion of the inn.
1t is reasonable to suppose that the
influence of the master was brought
to bear to effect this marriage of the
servants, and it doesn't seem probable
that Sarah would have chosen as her
husband loutish man more than
twice her age. However that may be.
the two settled down in their cara
vansary, and Sarah was greatly re-
spected and admired. Many young
men made eyes at the handsome wife.
but they had to keep their distance.
Then one morning Mrs. Armstrong
calmly informed her neighbors that
her husband had died during the night.
He had drunk himself into a stupor
| before retiring. she said. and died
| from the effects of his debauch. Tha.
seemed strange to some of the neigh
bors, for Armstrong was known as an
unusually temperate man. There
doubtless was some malicious gossip.
but the husband was buried in the
| crowded churchyard. Before he had
been there. among the rude forefathers
of the hamlet. for twenty-four hours.
| the widow had married a young man
named Maxwell Then there was more
talk--enough to fasten the events ir
the memories of the inhabitants for
future use.
Sarah and her new husband con-
became the mother of several admir-
able children. and was in every way
an excellent matron. AS she waxed
older she became deyout and was free
with precept and admonition. Every
Sunday she might have been seen in
| the church, and the eloquence of the
new preacher often moved her to tears.
His eyes wer often upon her as he
| talked, for a good listener is a great
| help to a clergyman, and this motherly
| woman seemed so intelligent and APP
preciative that it was a pleasure to
| talk to her.
The new preacher was DR.. John
| Dome. one of the truly great men OF
| his time He had accepted living
| in Huntingdonshre and occasionally
| preached there, although most OF his
| time was spent in London. He was d
great preacher, and the most beauti-
| full man in England. Beautiful is the
word. the old writer's say he had the
| face of an angel. Izaak Walton wrote
a beautiful tribute to him. saying that
"he carried his hearers to heaven in
holy rapture. he pictured vice so
that we hated it. and virtue so tha-
| we loved It,
AS poet he was equally great, AMI
| many learned men of the period held
| that he was without peer Ben
Johnson said he was the first poet III
the world in some things. but he will
| perish for not being understood
which prophecy came true. Dryden
| said he was the greatest wit of the
nation He was an impulsive man,
full of fantastic moods and fancies.
Some of his poetry was as light as
thistledown and some was profound.
Now it was voluptuous, and again
morbid.
He wrote much about the mystery
death, and that subject interested hirl
to such degree that he haunted grave
wards. One day he stood in the grave
yard surrounding his church an
| watched the weary sexton at work. |
i was an old, old cemetery. and every
time a grave was dug bones wer
/ thrown up Poor people buried Their
| could not count upon undisturbed re
pose. In few years at most they
| would have to make way for others
Presently, as the sexton welded nj
/ shovel, he threw out skull and Tn
preacher picked 1t up and doubles
moralized upon the vanity or humai
life. AS he turned it around IN MS
hands his fingers encountered proJec
ton. 1t was the head of nail Exam
nation showed that the nail mad beer
driven through the skull and 1t still
projected into the interior cavity two
or three inches.
The reverend doctor realized at once
that horrid crime had been committed
He questioned the sexton as to whose
grave had been disturbed, but the sex
ton didn't know. He had oflciated only
few years. Perhaps his predecessor
might remember. The predecessor was
white and wintry gaffer who lived at
some distance. Dome hunted him ur