Year: 1879

BARNsTADLE, MASS, MAY 5-Publc
| sentiment throughout eastern Massa
| chusetts has set very strongly, not only
| against Charles F Freeman and his wife
but also against the members of the re
| ligious sect who believe with Freeman
that the murder Of his daughter Edith
was a sacrifcial act demanded of him bv
the Supreme Being to show to the world
his and their faith. The matter is re-
garded as so important that the Attorney
General of the State will be here to NOR
row to give it his personal attention. and
the District Attorney has been here to
day. Meanwhile the better class of peo-
pie at Pocasset, the village where Free
man lived. have determined that not
only Freeman and wife, but also the 9th
er Adventists. must be punished and
took organized action to day The scenes
At the funeral of little Edith on Sunday
greatly aggravated the people Freeman
had asserted with great confidence that
God would raise Edith to life on Sunday
His wife. at her preliminary hearing
here last Friday fixed her great blue eyes
On Justice Hopkins and said, as he ex-
presses it, with an almost seraphic ex
preston on her face, that she was certain
that God would reveal himself Their
belief was firmly shared by the other
Second Adventists Mr. Davis, the un
drrtaker at Pocasset, into whose charge
'he medical examiner gave the body OF
Edith, is one OF the number He beiev
ed that Edith would be raised from the
Head or else translated So did the 9th
ers. They were certain that there was t"
he physical manifestation Of some kind
aud rather inclined to the opinion that
she would arise from her coffin while the
funeral services were going on. Freeman
and his wife are in the barn which is
temporarily used for a all in Barnstable,
eighteen miles from Pocasset Freeman s
cell appears to have been the stall of
horse. 1t is boarded up and iron bars
are nailed to the window. His wife was
placed in a room that has been partition
I'd off in the lott. These with one other
- called cell constitute the jail accom-
modatons at present Freeman pacrd
his cell all day on Sunday. He was
without question expecting assurance
that the girl bad been restored. He
,-ked for Bible. but was told that it
would be better for him to desist ON
reading the Scriptures. His wife sat
quietly in her cell all day. She manifes
ed DO emotion. Once in a while she
peered through the little hole in the door
out upon Massachusetts Bay She asked
tor nothing to read, and seemed quite
coutented and entirely rational She
talked freely about her Older daughter
B-ssie, and begged that the little girl
mrght not be told OF the act of the father,
because she would not understand it,


The day passed, aud freeman retired
at night coniessedly II little disappointed
that he had not received assurances that
his daughter had been raised from the
dead H. went tn bed and slept sound
iv, as did Mrs Freeman The Second
Advent people at Pocasset. however


were more or less disturbed because the
promised resurrection did not take place


they attended the funeral which the
Rev Mr. Williams conducted until he
was interrupted by Mr.. Davis, the under
taker. Mr Davis, as the coffin was open
ID at the grave, aud while the face OF
little Edith was exposed to view, began
Il defence, not SO much of Mr.. Freeman q
act as OF his motive He said he knew
that Freeman was actuated by the high
est and puTest motives.


He is murderer" said one of the
spectators.


No, he is no murderer; he is proving
bis faith in God" replied Davis


"Oh, this must stop" the Rev. Mr.
Williams said, and Davis replied that be
had the right to speak because the body
was put in his charge by the medical ex
| aniner, and only force could stop him.
Thereupon the brother of Freeman, an
intelligent shoemaker OF Natick, who
came here as soon as he heard of the
murder, stepped forward. His eyes were
bloodshot, for he had not slept for two
nights, and he was haggard, because he
had eaten nothing except a piece of
bread and drank cup OF tea during the
same time Il shall use force if this does
not stop. 1t is awful Permit the child
to be buried in peace" Davis Saw that
Freeman was determined. and, standing
over the open coffin, he quietly announc-
ed that the Second Advenuists would hold
a camp meeting in that vicinity in June.
! Then he shut the lid. and the cotfin was
lnwered into a very shallow grave Mr.
! Freeman had beard that there might be
an attempt to take the body from the
grave at night, so that it might be an


nuuuced that it had been translated and
| he watched 10y the grave all night.


Davis, who seems TO have taken the
leadership OF the sect since Freeman =
arrest, simply says about the expected
but nun-iutilltd resurrection, that God


has chosen To move in some other way.
The others look upon il IN the same way;


not one ct them Is ready to admit that


they have made a gri vous mistake. -


freeman was this morning told that his