Year: 1874

The history of English law contains
few more startling Judicial tragedies than
that to which the statute against murder
owed such humane amendment as to make
the finding and positive Identification of
the body of the slain person essential to
the conviction of the murderer; and as
the same remarkable case had peculiar
moral and social significance for the young
lovers of all times, who, in their passionate
devotion to each other, are altogether
too apt to disregard the fortunes Of every
body else in the world, it may be 1e-
called appropriately for modern reading.


Upon the death of Mr. George Perkins,
a widower of considerable property, in
London, it was found that his will ap-
pointed brother of his, living near Ep-
ping Forest, the sole guardian of his only
daughter, and directed that said guardian
should inherit the whole fortune devised
in case his young ward should die either
unmarried or without children. Implicit
confidence in his brother, who was
midd1e-aged bachelor Of limited means,
had, of course, inspired the dying man to
make such will; but Gumbpr Of family
relatives pronounced the document an
extraordinary piece Of servile fatuity, and
darkly hinted that harm would ensue
from it. This feeling caused an a1iena-
tion between the occupants of the Epping
Forest residence and the aforesaid
prophets, and made the latter the bitterest
prosecutors of the dead mans brother in
the strange and tragic succeeding events,
which have been described as follows:


Uncle and niece were both seen one
day walking together in the forest, but
the young lady suddenly disappeared,
I'D H. Z thnf hn l, o1 oon~ht
her as soon as be missed her, and knew
become of her. This account was con
sidered improbable, and, appearances be:
ing clearly suspicious, he was arrested
circumstances, hourly coming to light,
gentleman in the neighborhood had been
paying his addresses to Miss Perkins. 1t
was stated and generally believed that he
had gone, few days before she was
missed, on journey to the North, and
that she, had declared that she would
marry him on his return. The uncle had
repeatedly expressed his disapprobation
of the match, and Miss Perkins had loud-
ly reproached him with his unkindness
and abuse of his authority over her as
his ward. A woman named Margaret
OAKS was produced, who swore thai at
about eleven O'Clock on the day ON which
Miss Perkins was missed she was passing
through the forest and heard the voice of
a young lady earnestly expostu|atiug
with gentleman. On drawing nearer
the spot whence the sound came
Margaret Oaks testified that she
heard the lady exclaim: "Don't kill
me, uncle, don't kill mel" The woman
WAS greatly terrified and ran away from
the spot. As she was doing 80 she heard
the report of firearms On this combina-
ton of circumstantial and positive evil
dence, coupled with the suspicion Of
interest, the uncle was tried, convicted of
murder, and almost immediately after
ward. -accoriing to the customs Of those
days-was hanged.


| About ten days after the execution Of
the sentence upon the uncle the niece re-
appeared, and, stranger stil|, showed by
the history she related that all the testi-
mony given On the trial was strictly true:
Miss Perkins said that, having resolved
to elope with her lover, they had given
out that he had gone on journey to the
! North, whereas he had merely waited
near the outskirts of the forest until the
time appointed for the elopement. which
was the very day on which she had dis
appeared. Her lover had horses ready
sadd]ed for them both, and two servants
in attendance on horseback. While
walking with her uncle he reproached
her with her resolution to marry man
OF whom he disapprov ID, and after
some remonstrances she passionately ex-
claimed:


II have set my heart upon him. If I
don't marry him it will be death to me {;
and don't kill me, uncle, don't kill me!'


Just as she proclaimed those words she
heard gun fired, at which she started,
and she afterward saw a man come from
among the trees with wood. pigeon in
his hand, which he had shot On ap-
preaching the spot appointed for meet
ing with her lover, she formed pretense
to induce her uncle to 60 on before her.
She then fled to the arms of her lover,
who had been waiting for her, and they
both mounted their horses and immedi.
ately rode off Instead, however. of 60
ing to the North, they retired to Windsor,
and about week afterward went on a
tour OF pleasure TO France. There they
passed some months so happily that in
those days, when newspapers were scarce,
when there was no very regular postal
communication and no telegraphs, they
never heard Of their uncle's sad fate until
their rof11rn IN Enn1ani nv y Hrn1Aie