Year: 1874

Murder had been done in Philadelphia
or, at least, so it was supposed-and
the papers were full of it. The journals
were divided in opinion about the mat.
ter, some maintaining that it was a sim.
pie case Of suicide, others inclining to t..
belief that there had been foul play, and
still othersarguing in favor of death from
natural, though unknown causes. In
deed, it would appear at first sight as
the latter were the true supposition, and
the majority of superficial readers and
thinkers whs talked over the affair at
home or in the streets, the next day,
seemed to have very little trouble in ar.
irving at the same conclusion.


All that was known was this: An es-
teemed citizen-a man of wealth and
high station-had retired to rest the
night before, apparently in sound health
and good spirits, and at two o'clock tho
following morning had been found dead
in bed, without one visible mark of vio-
lence upon his person. His son, who had
returned from a pleasure party at that
hour, had entered his fathers chamber to
deposit the front door key there, as usual,
and had made the horrible discovery.
This young man, steady, reliable, and
devout church member and Sabbath
school teacher, had then aroused the
house, and communicated the i'll news to
the terror-stricken family.


At the coroner's inquest was present,
and there the son, after repeating sub
stantially what has been said above,
called the attention of the jury to the fol-
lowing additional and important facts
That on entering the chamber he had
found everything undisturbed and as
usual; that the bed-clOthing even were
not rumpled, and that the position OF
the deceased, as he lay, was so natural
and easy, that it was not until he had
noticed the absence of the deep and regu.
lar breathing Of sleeper that he sus.
pected, for an instant, that anything was
wrong.


Twas not on the jury, but was there al
the request of the family, in my official
capacity of murder detectives; and it i,
needless to say that subjected the body
and its surroundings to the closest scru
tiny. could discover nothing, however
that appeared in the least suspicious, OF
to warrant supposition of foul play
The post-mortem examination failed
equally to satisfy, and developed no in
dications of poison in the system. Yut
one thing it did develope, and that wa,
that up to the time of death the interna
organs of the deceased had been In
state of healthy and vigorous action.


For once in my life / was at fault, and
must confess that did not know how Il
proceed; but still, for all the absence q
proof, and the seeming regularity o
things, felt in me deep mistrust thai
murder had been done in the premises
and by no unskillful hand.


While was celebrating how to act
the son came over, and began a conver
sation. He talked on the all-absorbinf
topic of the moment, and was rs nervous
restless and agitated as man could be
We were walking rapidly up and dowr
the chamber where lay the corpse, still
fresh from the searching hands of the
coroners physician, and as we paused
now and then to gaze in its pale, mani
mate face, / remarked that nv com.
panion shook with slight and we'll
defined tremor. j made mental note
of this, but at the same time did not Mt
tach much importance to il, as / consid
cred 1t but the natural effect Of the trying
and painful scenes through which the
son 80 recently passed, and whose recol
lection was refreshed by those moment
airy views Of the dead. / did not, oI
course, for one moment imagine that the
man ut my side was q parricide, but q
murder detective, from habit, is always