i if J1X if 5bv TERMS !JRH.f5 Per Ycnr.) IN A D VANCE. J 7tf Centa for 6 Months I 40 Cta. for 8 months. AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY NEWSPAPER. Now Bloomfleld, taM,Tue8day, Jttno lO, 1873., yoi. vii. IVo. 23. J ! ; if-. Si IE j II t I 31 li 1 i j It. If a r ' 31 Id 51 : It I I - , .. ... !' 1 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 ' " rB PUBLISHED BVEHY TUESDAY MORNIHO, BT ;'EANE M0STIMES.& CO., ' At New Bloomfleld, Terry Co., Ta. Belli provided with Bteam Power, and large Cylinder and Job-Presses, we are prepared to do all kinds of Job-Printing In good style and at Low Prices. . . ADVERTISING RATES I TratulmtH Cents per lino for one Insertion 13 " ' twolnsertlons 15 "three Insertions A Shrewd Detective I WAS called down from London to Ipswich on an errand peculiar to one of my profession. I reached an inn where V 1 was to meet a lollow aetccuve, wno naa expended both time and patience in at tempting to lerret out a mysterious mur der. But it appeared to ho one of those singular cases that defy human detection, and which are generally abandoned by those appointed to discover the culprit, and left to Divine vengeance. , I met Mr. Croft, who formally resigned in my favor, and after taking a glass of rum punch with him, returned to the city, while I prepared for my journey. , I will now Btate how the matter' stood. Some three and a half milos from Ipswich -stood a stone mansion, the property of Charlos Simonds, a retired barrister. He had resigned his profession, owing to hav ing bequeathed to him a handsome legacy by an only brother, -who, after amassing a fortune in Australia, took It into his head to die. Charles was his sole heir. Mr. Simonds had practiced law in Ipswich, but his health bad never been very robust, and soon after entering into his legacy, he pur chased the mansion alluded to, and retired from business, seeking the quiet and rest one in his station so greatly needed. He married when young, but lie made a groat mistake in selecting a partner for life. His wife was pretty (the snare that caught him) but wholly devoid of prin ciple ; illiterate and low in hor tastes, she became the bane of his lifo. She had a brother who occasionally visit ed her house, and who ingratiated himself in Mr. Simonds' favor by his aiminble man ner, genteel address, nnd the frequent brotherly lectures ho read to Mrs. Clara Simonds, his sister. . Morris Opdyke was always well dressed when he came to the house, and his con duct was unexceptionable, quite in con trast to that of his sister. What his profession was could not be ascertained by Mr. Simonds. When he asked his wife, she replied she did not know, and ho forbore questioning Mr. Opdyke himself, for the reason that the gentleman never spoke of having any bus iness. All that could be learned was that he re sided In London, made periodical visits to Ipswich, and remained there two or three days, then left again, whither, no one could tell, or those who could would not. When Simonds retired from business and took ; possession of the mansion, Opdyke came more frequently, and his visits were more prolonged. In spite of the lectures, he and his sister oemed to agree amazingly wcll,aud,to Mr. Simonds' great satisfaction, she grew more refined, or, more properly speaking, less vulgar every day. Rclined she probably never would be ; it was not in her nature to be so ; and she managed, by some means, to render herself loss obnoxious to her hus band, and be conducted himself toward her accordingly. Matters stood thus for five years, when Mrs. Clara Simonds contracted a malignant fever, and died in Ave days after the symp toms manifested themselves. This occur red during the absence of her brother, and he was interred before be knew that she was sick. ' When be heard of . the sad event, bis rage was terrible to behold. He accused Charlos Simonds of being the cause of her death, and threatend to have the affair thoroughly investigated. But ascertaining that his sister died from natural causes, be suddenly disap peared from the neighborhood, and came to visit Chariot Simonds no more. There were no children born to Mr. Simonds, henoe, in the event of bis death, - the estate would fall Into the hands of distant relations, who had gone to America Tears before. One day, somotime after the death of his wife, Charles Simonds examined her per sonal effects, and was surprised to find among them a will, with hor signature at tached to it. Rather amused at his discov ery, ho sat down to read it, and found that she had, in case of her death, bequeathed all her real and personal property to her brother, Morris Opdyke. Her property, when she had none to be queath? She was as poor as a church mouse (to use a homely but quite forcible phrase), when he married her.' Where, then, was this legacy to her brother from her to come from ? ' Thus reasoned the widower when ho read the document, but presently the truth flashed upon his brain. The latter had been made in the ' expectation that she would survive him, then she and her brother would revel in his wealth, and after her death all would bo his. Was this a conspiracy against him ? was his mental question. Had they calculated confidently on his demise ? If so, is it not probable that they meditated using means to accomplish the desired object? Horrible thought. Ho turned to the will to see the date. It had been written six months previous to her death ; the witnesses' names were not familiar to him. Tie communicated his discovery to his legal adviser, and mentioned the suspicion that bad entered his breast. The attorney said it looked remarkably suspicious, yet still they might have meant no harm. The attorney addressed, also said : "If such a plot did exist it does so no longer ; at least it cannot affect you ; for what would Morris Opdyto gain by your death?" "True," replied Simonds, " I need not fear anything from him." Yet in two weeks from this conversation Charles Simonds was found sitting in his chair in the library, stone dead. He had boon shot through the heart, the ball enter ing bis back. He must have been dead many hours before the scrvaut discovered him, and the strangest part of the affair was none of them heard the report of tbo pistol or gun. He entered his library after supper, and, as was bis usual custom, sat there reading until the hour for retiring, which was eleven o'clock. They discovered his dead body in the morning, and at once gave the alarm. All those particulars Mr. Croft related to me, and he had little faith in my ability to make more out of the affair than he had done. I reached the mansion, and at once entered upon the business that brought me there. I examined the room where the murder had been committed, and discov ered that Mr. Simonds had been sitting with his back toward the window at the time he was shot, and so true bad been the aim that the ball sped through the heart, completely severing it in two, as was as certained by a post-mortem examination. . A broken pane of gloss in the library window attested from whence the shot came. The library was on the second floor, and situated in the north wing of the mansion. To gain access to this window the only one the room contained the mur derer must have encountered great diffi culty, unless he used a laddor to reach it. There was one other way, which was to climb to the window by tlie leaden water spout. I examined the ground beneath the window, and could see no Blgn of a ladder having been placed there ; not a trace of footsteps was visible, and I came to the conclusion (hat recourse was bad to the spout. I procured a ladder and placed it beside the water-spout, and made a careful exam ination of it from the ground up to the library window. I was soon assured that the murderer bad made use of that moans to reach the window. The lead was soft and yielding, and it bore the fingor marks of the assassin, each finger having made an impression on the metal. When I had finished this part of the ex amination, I sat dowu and pondered well over the mattor. I had made two very im portant discoveries ; one was, the assassin must have fired the weapon with his left hand, for I was perfectly convinced that no man could have hold himself by the water. spout with his left hand so as to enable him to fire at an object in the middle of the room, where Mr, Simonds invariably sat while reading, and where be was found seated when discovered in the morning.. Now, what could I deduct from thin olr cumstanoe but the fact that the assassin was left-handed ? My reason for the con viction was a good one. None but a left- handed person could have made so fatal a shot from the position he must necessarily have occupied at the time, and that he knew how to use the weapon was also man ifest, for no chance shot could have been so fatal in a thousand trials. This, then, was conclusive evidence, and though I mado the , discovery, I communicated it to only one. The other discovery was no loss impor tant. The man who climbed by the spout had but three fingers on the right hand. This was plainly seen by the finger-marks on the metal, the spout was marked but in four places by his right hand the thumb and threo fingers ; the index finger was gone. I gave instructions not to allow any one to meddle with the spout, and deputized a constable to see that my ordors were strict ly obeyed. I next questioned the servants of the late Mr. Simonds, four in number, and elic ited the following information : On the evening previous to the finding of the dead body of Mr. Simonds, a female mendicant called at the mansion, and re quested permission to stop over night. The woman, a dolicate-lookiug creature, seemed much worn out by her tramp during the day, and the kind-hearted cook bade her stay, at the same time asking her to take a cup of tea and something to eat. The poor creature was half starved, and ate ravenously, after satisfying her hunger, she laid down on a bod the cook had pre pared on the floor for her, and in a short time fell asleep. The woman had a small black travelling valise with her, which she placed under her head before lying down. - Next morning the woman had gone be fore any one hod arisen, and, strange to say, she had loft the black valise lying in some bushes in the rear of the house. It was not discovered until after the depart ure of Mr. Croft, the detective. I instantly asked to soe the valise. It was produced, and I broke the lock without hesitation, hoping I might get somo furth er clue to the perpetrators, presuming that this (probably pretended) mendicant was an accomplice. The valise contained absolutely nothing it was empty. I was on the point of throwing it asido, when I felt the rustling of a paper in the lining. I fishod it from its hiding-place. It proved to be a letter ; its date was three weoks old. The envel ope had no address on it, nor had the let ter any signature. It ran thus: IrswicH, June 2, 1859. " Call on me, No. 85 Hollings Court, nnd ask for me. I have a fat job for you and your Rill. Call between the hours of nine and ton in the evening. Burn this letter after you have read it. This was all the letter contained ; no names were mentioned. It was evident that the request' to dostroy the note had not been complied with why, I could only conjecture. Either the recipient meant to keep it for future use, or it had been lost sight of; for when I found it, it was imbedded within the folds of the coarse linings of the valise in such a manner as almost to escape the notice of, a detective bent upon getting every clue he possibly could to ferret out a murderer. The read er has seen, how even I, came very near throwing away this, perhaps, important document. I made strict inquiries whether anything had been purloined by this woman, and was. answered in the negative; at least, they supposed not, for nothing had been missed. The kitchen door leading out into the yard, as well as the gate, had been loft un fastened by the woman. I followed the path she had probably taken when leaving the mansion, and came upon a clump of bushes where were strewed some scraps of newspaper; these I examined, and saw they were pieces of a Londou paper. While mechanically placing the pieces of newspaper in my pocket, I cast my eyes around the spot, and presently they alighted on a square cut glass bottle of abont four ounces capacity. I picked it np the cork was in it, and the bottle contained a limpid liquid, perhaps two ounces. A label on it designated that in contained chloroform. I opened 1 and was soou convinced that such was the case. " The label had on it the business place of an apothecary well known to me. I con cluded to keep the bottle for the purpose of ascertaining who had purchased it and its contents. I bad no doubt now that the subtle drug had been used as a means to stupefy the Inmates of the mansion while tha. murder was committed. The woman had probably put the servants to sleep, and her husband, from the outside, committed the dastardly deed. The reason he did not enter the house and do the doed while tho servants were rendered insensible, was probably owing to the fact that Mr. Simonds invari ably barred the library door when he re tired at night. The fact must have been known to the assassin, hence tho mode adopted to accomplish his object. ' I obtained no further clue;' in fact, I thought I had sufficient for my purpose. I came to the following conclusions, and contemplated acting upon them: Some intelligent person, who desired re venge on Mr. Simonds, had hired another person and his wife to do the deed he prob ably shrank from. I had every reason to suRpect Morris Opdyke as tho principal in the affair, and it was my object, first, to find out where he resided in London, and then to take measures to ferret out this left-handod murderer. - . The reason I wished to see Morris Opdyke was to discover whether he was minus a linger on tho other hand. I fore bore questioning the servants on this sub joe t. Probably they might have informed me correctly, but then servants will talk, and my secret would have been thrown to the winds, which might have wafted my suspicions into the ears of the culprit. To avoid these contretemps, I hold my tongue, and started for London. ' I called upon the apothecary, and, hand ing him the bottle, I asked him if he rec ollected to whom he had sold the chloro form. He at once replied in the affirroa mative, and gave the name of Opdyke. I was quite surprised at the information, and could not speak for a moment, so unex pected was it. I hod only hoped to get a partial description of tho purchaser, and intended to compare it with that of Op dyke, a description of whom I had obtain ed of the legal adviser of the late Charles Simonds. "Are you acquainted with Sir. Opdyke?" I asked. " No, sir." " How, then, do you know it was he who purchased the drug ?" " Because, just as he paid for it, anoth er gentleman entered the shop and called him by name." I hore made tho apothecary describe tho personal appearance of Opdyke, and it tallied with that given mo by Mr. Yates, the attorney at Ipswich. I had an advertisement inserted in the principal payers, by which means I ascer tained the residence of Morris Opdyke. He lived in fine style, and was presumed to bo a gamester by vocation. He was unmar ried, but entertained his acquaintances in a superb manner. He had somo half doz en servants to minister to bis wishes. I managed to become acquainted with a person who had the entree of his house, and had the satisfaction of accompanying him one day to' one of Morris Opdyke's re gal entertainments. To all casual observers, I euterod upon tho enjoyments of the hour with gicat zest, but I nevertheless kept a keen eye upon everything that transpired around me. I soon convinced myself that Opdyke was not left-banded, nor had lost one of his lingers. It was then certain that he was not the actual perpetrator of the deed. I examined tho hands of every guest, but could not discover my man. One, it is true, I took to be left-handed, from the fact that he always took up his glass with that hand; but then, that was nothing, for I knew right-handed folks to do the same thing. I, however, looked at his right hand. The fingers wore all there, or at least, ap peared to be, for the man wore kid gloves. Suddenly a bright idea entered my brain and I resolved to cany it out. I provided myself with a pin, and watchod for an op portunity when ho would lay his hand on a chair or a table. In the meantime, I had been introduced to him, he called himself David Jarret, and was a married man. The opportunity presented itself ; he rested his right hand on the tablo, when I directed his attention to a distant part of the room, and while he looked I drove the pin into his index Anger, just above the first joint. He did not move his hand. I withdrew the pin. It came out as easily as it bad entered It was not flesh, but cotton. I beheld the assassin of Charles Simonds ; of that I was firmly convinced. 1 resolved to try another test. ' I had the letter found in the valise in my possession. I went home, took an exact copy from it, then sent a copy in an envelope to Mr. Opdyke by a boy, after which I returned to the saloon of my Lost, excusing myself for tho temporary absence. According to my instruction, the lad en tered the room and handed the envelope to Morris Opdyke. I had written nothing in It. I merely sent a copy. I wanted t see how it affected him. The ruse was perfoctly successful. As soon as he glanced at it he turued pale, and when he concluded it he cast a glance around him, then leisurely sauntering to ward the spot where Jarret, Bat playing cards ; he handed him the note and beck oned him to follow. Opdyke entered a sido door, presently followed by his accomplice ' Now was the period for action. : I had some half dozen of the boldest policemen stationed within hearing. I gave the sig nal, they entered, and in a short time had my birds caged. It was subsequently ascertained that Mr. Sinlonds had been robbed of a very large amount of gold and bank notes. So the assassin must have entered the house after dispatching his victim, and added the crime of robbery to that of murder. I could now account for the splendid manner in which Mr. Morris Opdyke livod. He lived on bis blood money. The evidence against the culprits was too strong to admit any doubt of their gnilt They were duly arraigned, and thoirexecu- ' tiou followed close upon their conviction. I gained two things by my participation in the aft'air that Croft had abandoned in despair. The first was one thousand pounds, which was the reward offered for the apprehension of the assassin. The other was, I gained the reputation of being the shrewdest detective in the entire force, a title Croft envied me not a little. LEGITIMACIES OF KISSING. rpHE old Connecticut " blue laws" for J bade a man to kiss his wife on Sun day, so they say. But in Indiana it is n. question of taste and agreement between the parties when and where the kissing shall be done. The caso has been tried and settled in Clark County, and is given as follows in the Jeffersonville Democrat: William W. Lowd, a man of years and of reputed wealth, intermarried with a young and beautiful Miss Hay, of highly respecta ble parents, of Charleston. Tho mother objected to the marriage, but it was- never theless consummated. At first everything went merrily as a marriage bell. Dissatis faction on the part of the old folks subse quently arose. Tho wife was ill for several days. Tho husband sat by her and watch ed day and night until nature was exhaust ed, when be left his place to another person and went to bed. When Lowd awoke tin wife was gone. Inquiry showed she was at the mother-in-law's. Lowd was denied access to, or communication with her. After diligent watching, the almost frantic husband met her on the street, and ap proaching her in the kindest, though in n somewhat excited manner, begged to be permitted to kiss her and talk to bar. Her father interferred to prevent. Tbe hus band persisted in his attempt to prevent him; in doing so, the father laid violent hands on the husband, finally knocked him down. Hay, the futher, was indicted in the Clark Co. Criminal Circuit Court for as sault and battery, and the case came on for trial at the pi-esont term. Judge Dun bam presiding. There was no evidence that the husband bad ever neglected or maltreated bis wife, but in everything did the duty of a husband, the only complaint being that he had interdicted from the house persons he believed were attempting to alienate tho affections of his wife from him. The judge, in his chargo, statod that tho father bad a right to protect his child against all persons whilst the child remain ed under protection ; but when the child was married, either by consent or without, according to law his right of protection was transferred by both the operatiou of Jaw and nature to the husband as to him, and that henceforth as against the husband he had no more right to interferefor the child's protection thau any other person. Every one has a right to interfere to prevent illegal personal violence. The husband has a right to approach and dotain his wifo, either for conversation or to kiss her, anywhere, without let or hindrance from anybody, so he does it without physical violence, until she is taken from his protection and control by due process of law, and he may resist any interference with this right, even by force, if necessary, repelling force by force, so he uses no more force than is necessary to protect himself in his right. The time and place of suclr kissing is a matter of tato, whioh does not concern outsiders nor the courts. A parent would be liable in civil damages if by improper means or per suasions that parent seduced the wife from her allegiance to the husband and alienated herafl'eotioni from him. The jury returned a verdict fining the defendant one dollar. We understand that the parents claim the daughter was ill-treated by the husband, but no such evidence was adduced before tbe court. - The faot that the jury assessed a line so low would seem to indicate that they thought there were mitigating circum stances in tbe case.
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