Year: 1872




But his visitor would not depart with
out testifying his gratitude according to
the custom of the country, by treating
his kinsman to some drink, which he
on doing insisted in sthe will ge public
house, the .loor of which stood open
close by them.


Mccarthy accordingly went in with
him. They sat down at table, and
the stranger, having ascertained what
his cousin liked best, and ordered pot
of porter, making some excuse for not
partaking himself.


When Mccarthy raised the pewter
pot to his lips a sudden pain. which he
afterwards describes more particularly,
in the back of his neck, compelled him
70 set it down untasted.


The stranger urged him to drink it,
and without explaining the cause uf his
hesitation, he a second time raised the
vessel to his mouth. Pecisely the same
thing occurred again.


Once more the stranger expostulated,
and pressed him more vehemently to
drink; and again he tried it with exactly
the same result.


"What ails ye and why don't you
drink your liquor? Don't you like it ?"
the stranger demanded.


| -
thy, getting up, "and don't like you
nor your ways, and in Gods name, I'll
have nothing more, good or bad, to say
to you"


ITO the devil pitch you and it," said
the stranger, breaking into undisguised
fury, and at the same time, through the
open door, he flung the contents of the
pewter pot npon the road.


Without another word, in this temper,
the unknown cousin strobe out of the
door and walked on his way. leaving the
farmer in a state of perturbation and
suspicion.


Happening to look into the pewter
pot, which had contained the porter just
thrown out, he saw Il white sediment at
the bottom of it. He and the publican
put their heads together over it, but
could make nothing of this deposit.


1t SO happened, however, that the
physician was in attendance at the dis
pensary, only few yards away, and to
him they submitted the white powder
that lay in the bottom Of the measure.
1t proved to be arsenic.


The mud upon the road where the
porter had fallen was also examined and
some OF the same deposit WAS found up
on it.


Upon these facts, and the prompt in
formation sworn by Mccarthy, neigh
boring magistrate at once issued his
warrant, with which the police pursued
sion of his purpose having been discov-
cred, was pursuing his journey, quite
at his ease. He was arrested. and duly
committed to prison.


The animu, and purpose of the
henious enterprise came afterwards to
light. The pretended cousin, whose
real name was Mara, had been bribed
to put Mccarthy to death, by a person
inter ested in the termination of a lease
in which Mccarthy was the last life.


The attempt to poison was only re-
source in reserve. The primary plan,
and that relied on with good reason,
WAS of totally different kind. Under
the pretext 1 have mentioned, McCar-
thy was to have been induced to accom-
Mara to the lonely graveyard, the posi-
ton of when and the stile by which it
was entered, being familiar to him. He
was to have allowed Mccarthy to cross
the stile first, and following him closely,
as he descended it at the other side, he
was. from above to have dealt him, with
his heavy loaded stick, such a blow up
on the head as must have felled him to
the ground, and as he lay stunned in
the graveyard, he would have easily dis
patched him. The sounds Of violence
in that sequested place no ear could
have heard, and no human aid could
have interfered to prevent the consum-
nation of his atrocious purpose.


The women, who, in the large barn
like room were attending to the prepara-
tions for supper at its further end. had
caught nothing of the conversation of
the two men at tine doors. The effect
of this might not very improbabiy have
been that no one would have known in
what direction their walk had lain, or
could have conjectured where the body
of Mccarthy, if he had been murdered,
was concealed. 1t might have lain un-
der the wall of that rude cemetery un-
di covered until the next funeral brought
people into its solitary inclosure.


At this point all turned upon the pre-
sentiment which had SO mysteriously de-
termined Mccarthy without motive of
which he was conscious, going over the
s.1le before him. Mccarthy was too
nowerful a man to have been assailed
on fair terms, with a reasonable chance
of the intended assassin's success.


When the trial was over, Mr.. Bennett,
WV informant who. though not in the