Year: 1867

came near the spot itself, he implored
the for mercy.


''Mercy.' | asked, with surprise in
my voice DO you mediate crime !?
Had sou any thought of using this lone
ly road to say me 2 You will think that
| was rash in making these illusions to
the possibility of his committing fresh
crime: but | knew my man, and impi-
ETY. was not one Of his failings.'


Father, he said, 'vou know my guilt


4 know your guilt! exclaimed ;
God knows it 3; | do not


Did you not hear my confession ?


Your confession was made to God,
not to the priest | cahnot -dsre to
speak Of it, even to you If you want
ue to show mercy, you must tell me
cause for which | aui to show it.


Aud so he did He tol. me the
whole story, He bad been jealous of
the young man, and had sworn TO put
him out CT the way; but he had kept
his feelings secret, and had only betray-
Cd theul once by making a slight Ses-
ture. The result was that no one sus-
pected him; the young man took no
precautions against him, and he was
able to plot in safety AS he Was far
weaker than his rival, he would have
had no chance in open fight. Even if
be had surprised him in lonely part CT
the road, his success would have been
doubtful Accordingly, he followed out
the lurking pla you saw, and on the
other side of the road he loosencd
large rock, so that it might give way
with a slight push. He then lurked
for days in his secret nook, slipping back
behind a tree which grew above it when
ever he heard footsteps 1t often struck
him when strangers passed, that if one
of them stood on the rock he had loos-
ened, his revenge would be baked and
he would have committed murder with
out an object. But this never turned
him from his purpose. Sone days his
victim came up with his friends, and
the villain SUNK out of the way; once
he came with his betrothed, and you
can guess the feelings OF the lurking
wretch. At last the day came when he
was alone. As he turned the corner,
his rival rushed out against him. The
poor young fellow suspected nothing !;
did not guard against the shock of their
meeting; did not cry Or struggle. One
push, too slight to be meditated, aud he
reelea but he sprang lightly on the
rock TO recover bis balance. The mur-
derer had counted on this; the rock
yielded to the spring, and went crashing
with the victim.


Here I checked the wretch iu his
recital | was almost fainting again.
The thought of such fearful death was
too much for me. But | nerved myself
and inquired further.


Did the man scream as he fell ?


Once, was the reply, but tnat one
scream was terrible


BY this time we had stopped at the
place, and | marked the track which the
rock had made in its descent. There,
in the bed of the stream, he pointed it
out to mean enormous mass against
which the water rushed with all its vio-
lence, as though it wished to heave it
out on the bank and show the human
body that lay crushed below. With the
sight Of this place all my courage re-
vived.


You have told your tale to God,' l
said, 'and to man. If this is not true,
God knew that you were deceivipg him;
but how shall man know? Will you
swear it to me?' | made him swear the
truth of it, and then-I said nothing
more on the subject


'We finished our walk and then re-
turned together. AS soon as had seen
him safe at home, | set man to watch
him, and went straight to the police
station, where repeated every word of
bis story


And the seal Of confession 2


1T was preserved inviolate. | never
told any one what | heard there The
man himself confded bis crime to me.
If he connected my sacred Office with
myself, what is palmer than that he
WAS blinded in order that he might not
escape his punishment ?


And was nothing said about it? Did
not your sdperiors question you?'


My answers were quite satisfactory.
Every one said that | had done wisely,
and | had the melancholy satisfaction of
attending the murderer on bis last jour
ney. Remember his crime, and the
misery he had caused, and you cannot
think that was wrong. The penalty
he suffered was for the man be killed
he suffered nothing for the grief he had
caused the survivors. Think of the
young girl whose hopes were blighted
Of the old mother driven to despair. To
this day she goes about repeating that
she saw the woodcrtter's threatening
gesture-that she heard her sons diving
scream. And then she will tell you
that her son is TO be married next week
to the prettiest girl in Zell. Which do
you pity the most?'


Il pity you most of ALL l replied;
and the priest did not understand me