A Unique Case. or his occupation. He had arrived on horse back, and was seen passing through a neigh boring village about an hour before he reached the house where his existence was so mysteriously terminated, but could be traced no farther. Beyond this, all was conjecture. With respect to the death, as little could be learned as of the dead man; it was, it is true, sudden — awfully sudden; but there was no reason, that alone excepted, to sup pose that it was caused by the hand of man, rather than by the hand of God. A coro ner's jury was of course, summoned; and after an investigation, in which little more could be proved than that which I have here stated, a verdict was returned to the effect that the deceased died by the visitation of God. Days and weeks passed on, and little further was known. In the meantime rumor had not been idle; sus picions, vague, indeed, and undefined, but of a dark and fearful character were at first whispered, and afterwards boldly expressed. The precise object of these suspicions was not clearly indicated; some implicated one person, some another; but they all pointed to Smith, the master of the house, as con cerned in the death of the stranger. As usual in such cases, circumstances totally unconnected with the transaction in ques tion, matters many years antecedent, and relating to other persons, as well as other times, were used as auxiliary to the present charge. The character of Smith, in early life, had been exposed to much observation. While his father was yet alive, he had left his native country, involved in debt, known to have been guilty of great irregularities, and suspected of being not over-scrupulous as to the mode of obtaining those supplies of money of which he was continually in want, and which he seemed somewhat inex plicably to procure. Ten years and more had elapsed since his return; and the events of his youth had been forgotten by many, and to many were
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entirely unknown; but, on this occasion, they were revived, and, probably, with con siderable additions. Two months after the death of the stran ger, a gentleman arrived at the place, im pressed with the belief that he was his brother, and seeking for information either to confirm or refute his suspicions. The horse and the clothes of the unfortunate man still remained, and were instantly rec ognized; one other test there was, though it was uncertain whether that would lead to any positive conclusion : the examination of the body. The test was tried; and although decomposition had gone on rapid ly, yet enough remained to identify the body; which the brother did, most satis factorily. As soon as it was known that there was a person authorized by relation ship to the deceased to inquire into the cause of his death, and, if it should appear to have been otherwise than natural, to take steps for bringing to justice those who had been concerned in it, the reports which had been previously floating idly about, and cir culated without having any distinct object, were collected into one channel, and poured into his ear. What those reports were, and what they amounted to, it is not necessary here to mention; suffice it to say, that the brother laid before the magistrates of the district such evidence as induced them to commit Mr. Smith to gaol, to take his trial for the willful murder of Henry Thomson. As it was deemed essential to the attain ment of justice to keep secret the examina tion of the witnesses who were produced before the magistrates, all the information of which the public were in possession be fore the trial took place was that which I have here narrated. Lord Mansfield's charge to the grand jury upon the subject of this murder had excited a good deal of attention. He had recommended them, if they entertained rea sonable doubts of the sufficiency of the evi dence to ensure a conviction, to throw out
