Year: 1861

Some eight or nine years ago the body
of a man was found in the Tiber at Rome.
II was recognized as that OF porter WELL
known about the city, but strange thing
was that a second body (also that of man.
was found at the same time, tied up in
sack which was strongly stitched on to the
collar of the coat of the porter. The body
was not SO easily recognized, but the
strangeness of the circumstances set all the
authorities Immediately 10 work in the
greatest earnest, and excited much interest
in the city. Before long, suspicion arose:
which attached itself to a woman oil doubt
ful character, who lived in the outskirts,
peared, All, however, that was known,
was this-that she had lived unhappiiy with
him. Nothing could be discovered or
brought home to her, beyond the fact that
he was gone, ard of course she maintained
that he had left her, and that she was a
much injured person. And thus, as there
was no proof, after while the talk of the
affair was dying out, when all at once ii
was famed into a flame again the sus
pecled house was revisited, and the woman
actually brought to confess the truth, that
she had murdered her husband and caused
likewise The death Of the porter Upon
this, without further ado, she was appre-
hended, and had 10 undergo her trial. The
obtaining of this confession, ,and the discov-
cry of what had baffleG the wisest heads in





nobody seemed TO know how it was it had
been brought about. Upon her trial she
said she had murdered her husband out of
jealousy, and with no help from any human
creature The great difficulty she found
was in disposing of the body. AT last she
hit upon this con,rivance, She crammed it
into sack, and sent for porter with
whom she was acquainted. 1t was then
the dusk OF the evening. On his arrival
she represented that she had been cleaning
out her honse, aud had collected a great
mass OF rubbish, which she did not know
well what to do with or how TO get rid of /;
she thought 1t a good plan 10 stuff il into
sack and have it thrown into the river 1t
was heavy, she said, but she would pay
him well for his job, and give him refresh
ment before he started with his load The
matter thus arranged, ;hey supped and
caroused together, and she supplied him
with drink that he was well-nigh overcome.
She then brought out the sack and while
pretending to adjust it 10 mis- shoulder, stitch.
ed il strongly 10 the collar Of his coat, tell
ing him all he had TO do when he got to the
middle of the bridge was TO lean it toward
the edge, and chuck the sack as far as he
could over the parapei, so as TO get II clear
out of the way of the current, and she
would give him his money when he came
back which of course he never did. She
could not tell, she said, how it had been
found out, but she supposed God and the
Virgin Mother had brought it TO light; that
was the whole truth, she added, and all she
had to tell. When the trial had arrived al
the point, young lawyer stepped forward
and asked her if she had ever told anybody
what she had done, or had any accomplish
who could not have divulged ita


"No," she said, "nobody helped her, and
they might as well suppose she would
not be such fool as to tell any living crea.
ture."


"What, nobody!" the young lawyer ask
ed


"No," said she, "only 10 my confessor."
Here was the solution of the whole busi-
ness. and the lawyer soon discovered that
the contessor had brother in Tie galleys,
and calling TO mind an old custom that il a
galley slave can be the means of bringing
worse criminal than himself TO justice, he
receives his freedom, he arrived at the con-
clusion that tie galey-slave had furnished
the clue, which turned ort TO be the fact
The woman escaped punishment, as the
discovery had been made through breach
of the confessional. The father-confessor
absconded as soon as possible. The young
lawyer rapidly rose to eminence.