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cotollum tt 6trritson, proprietors.
For tits DEMOCRAT.
THE YOUNG SOLDI.E.R.
.Young he is, yet he falters not,
Viral in the ranks be stands,'
Proud is his inlets, and true his aim,
Untrembling ars his hands.
And well may he, that 'pliant youth,
E'en in his maiden fight,
Stand firmly 'mid the battle's din,
Nor tremble at the sight.
F i or well he knows each leaden WI,
He on its 'mission sends. •
Was fashioned by his Mother'S band;
Her prayer for bim ascends.
He thinketh of his cabin hotne,
And the lonely mother there,
Who bade 'him, at bin Country 'a call,
For the battle field, prepare. '
\
'Tis this that fires his youthful eye s
And Makcet.bis soul so brave—
May soul aad mothent, such as these,
Our Country ever save. 3Ematt.
ADDRESS -
Delivered before the Susqueltatuta 'County
Normal &kook Son. 2d, 1857.
BY It. B. LITTLE. ESQ,
• L►ntes AND GENTLIDIEN OF TIM NOILVAL
Scnoot.:—We Meet, to-night, upon common
gronud. - It is gratifyiug to brow that, how
ever various and discordant oar opinions may
be with reference to religion, ',politics, and
the pumberiess other topics or &ought,. we
write in the conviction that the cause of pop
ular education, is identified with all the best
tr o
interests dhuman
That, as the earth liroduces and feeds the
tree, that . flings out its arms in t o the rich air,
laden with' green, with . perfuse, and with
fruit,--scr a wise and liberal education begets
and sustains, itythe public mind and heart,
such etrength and beauty:as make the field of
Herr and worthy. ,
Agreeing in this " belief , argumentio stip•
port it, would-be misetnployed and we have
no duty left, but to minister to that interest,
in the cause of education, now ,10 happily
growing upon die public mind.
liFith this aim\ I prcmeed to submit a few
rapid and desultory thoughts :
The introduction,. intoetir State, of the
System of Common Sch4ls, is within the
memory of the greater number now present.
The opposition, tliti struggle, the victory,
'and the' fears, too, with which its- less clear
sighted friends hailed its final advent, are all
in our remembrance. Now, the , wonder
is bow FO simple, and yet so mighty an
engine of human piogess:conld 4 r. long hare
remained undiscovered.
It diffused learning; -the very democracy of
letters; alike in the city fullltud in the wil
d :me* ; in the palace and in the hut,—pen
etrating the far-stretaed
to bill-top,=and . resching, with its kindling,
animating influence, every log cabin beyond
the mountains!
Wealth and ease are cot favorable to the
growth of mind,— , -me find more vigor of
thought, and power ,. of application, in the
ranks of self-de'pendect industry. Oat of
them, equal education takes mind, and ex
alts it above the r ulgar distinctions of wealth ;
and thus overtones., in our social plan, the
aristocratic tendencha :of life. Mind is of
fio age, nor set, titre ritik, bor celos nor birth.
In the light of its concentrated beams; the
dark lines of mete fade away.
Our system makes the money or the dom.
monwealth educate the children of the Com
monwealth. This provision was new, and
came out of a grand thought.
Before, learning (I say learning, because if
you impart the rudiments to the inquiring
mind, it will go on to !tun, in spite of ob
stacle=) was partial; unequal, depending upon
the means,,or caprices of individual, parents,
--nose, it is equal, and universal, as God's
air, that breathes alike on all bis children.
Thea, men bad Barrow property ideas 'of
mind s —now, they own that poeby,eloqueace,
music, art, science, and Virtue, belong, not
so much to individnalS, as to the race. his
`true that the ethereal, invisible, immortal
part, that thinks, reasons and wills, is our
common heritage, to be exalted and beanti
ied by common efforts. •
Yet some grumbled against the law that
=de them pay, to instinct other men's chil
dren Why, in this sense of mind _ and heart,
they are everybody's children. This part
of their nature is not confined •ithin
the individual body; but breathes out,—
spreads over their own geoeration,—aod
eiown-reaches into ages yet unborn; to bless,
or to curse. It is every man's laterals, as
well as duty, to join in this'work of lifting
up the mind and heart of the Country, out
of ignorance and vice. and - pushing.it into
the sunlight,—and towardi God.
The rselfeshrs of this objection, is paral
leled by the prayer of s hard-faced, Virginia
deacon, who Isms the joint owner of a slave.
It was thus: "0 Lord, bless me, and in;
wife, and my child and saylizaf of Cuffee."
Sow. different was the prayer of another man,
exhibited as he was passing in the street,
where a three stop inniding was in dames.
A strange terroi just-crept through the crowd,
chilling emery one into stupor; as the *shriek
of - a child came, fitfully, out of AO upper
Toe are of the stranger took in
the scene, in an instant. A !Oder er placed
against the already tottering
mounted, amid smOke rad Ilasnee—disappear
ed for* atotnent,.and thee .ratureed to the
window, with the childin his arms. 0 what
a shout greeted him I lie hastily de . oeeded,
ied - buitif soaped the (AO; TOOV . As be
went away,
j his etimpanion remonstrated wi th
him for penhag his life in that way,—" why,"
said he, " it wasn't your child, "No," replied
our hero, " but it was sontebedg's child I"
return to our subject k the School
System, like ever other human endeavor,
will need to be improved and perfected, as
timelshnll suggest. Ought not teaching
itseltto be more iistematized I ,
Young men
resort to it as a necessity, or means to get
Into some more coveted pursuit. They never
regard it , as a calling, a life-path to usefulness
and honor. It ought to be a profession, set
apart to such °sty as have sto o d the proper
test dcampeteaay. We undervalue this of
flee. To excel in it, requires not only attain
ment& of mind, but the best qualities of heart.
We err, too, when_ we suppose any teaches
will - - do in the pinery school,--and se;
commit our children, in those tender and im
pressible years, when, all that is seen, heard,
And felt, sinks into their nature, and ultimate
ly indurate* into character, . to the care of
strangers. In this school, it needs patience,
gentleness, child-sympathy, and a deliberate
tact, united with a nice sense of the beauti
ful and the good in nature, and in morals.
Rare gifts,—but necessary in those who plant
the head-springs of thought and emotion,
and shape its first Outlets, that ire to flow on,
with gathering volume and power, until they
fall into the ocean of mind. This is a nicer
work than surgery, and more delicate than
di. painter's art !
The budding thought of childhood, 'is won
chilled and blasted, in the cold air of eterw
ilitss and neglect; it only expands into blos
som, amid genial warmth and sunshine. The
book and' the school are sure to be hated,
when they come to be associated with tasks
and punishments; and the teacher's influence
is better maintairi by kindness than by se
verity.
While strict order *should prevail, still the
discipline must be so tempered as to sprled ,
over benches and desks, sunshine and freedorn,
instead of terror and restraint. The same
rule should obtain at home too; and parents
ought to second the ;teacher. Yon have all
heard hows , ,,,onr own , distinguished country
man, Gen. Marcy, loVed to relate a seho_ol
incident of its early boyhood, to which he
ascribed his afterauccess. His first teachers
were severe and cruel; and the boy was
givers' over -as obstinate and wicked. Then
came another teacher, who was forwarned,
even by his father, of his difficult temper.
As be finished his first recitation, and was
handed the book, he recoiled, as if expecting
a blow: The te . aaser, fixing his ihoughtful
eyes on him, said, " I believe after all, you
are a good boy."- The words, and the man
per' so new and unexpected, sunk into his
heart, ana he resolved to' merit them. From
that hour be was the best boy of the school
and before the term was oat, the teacher pre
dicted for him a great career.
How many -dispositions' are soured,—bow
many tempers bardened,—bow many bright
natures clouded, by unkindness of parents
and tutors! Harshness summons up all pride
and resistance; while a kind look, or tone,
touches an answering chord, and melts into
cheerful submission. Or, the seveity may be
carried far 'enough to break the child's spirit,
add redoes him into abjectness. No man s
can tell how much the world has suffered from
abuse in early discipline.
0 bright", careless, hopeful, joyous' youth,
gone never returns! True, we may
forget thee, when, with one foot upot the
threshold of manhood or *omanbood, we
catch the first breezes from the summer fields
of lite,-"--or when in the later ; hot pursuit of
the selfish objects of this hard, graipihg
*orld,—but *tett frosts wither the green
leaf, and , the unsheltered arms of our beihg
bend and blacken in the wintry storms of
' age; oh,. then, bow the bruised and wort
heart' yearns over the scenes of -
bow the eye moistese, as it took beeksyvei
the moonlit waters of memory I
Another writes, a who of us doses not, in
this leaping from the starting-poet of mind,—
in this first spread of the encouraged wing,
in the free heaven of thought sad knowledge,
recognize the most joyous and onatingled of
the emotions of his youth t He who, in later
life, has leant his faith upon the charity of a
sect in religion,---twbo has soiled t his bright
honor with the tools of political sassbitiot,--
-or has lived, hoped, and trusted, is the wider
arena of life and Manhood, must look back
"upon days like these, as the broken-winged
eagle upon the aky,--.-as the Indian's subdued
horse. upon the mite.,
• Again, care should be used to train the
physical powers, by labor. A string mind,
preying upon a weak body, is a pitiable abor
tion. What wretched foppery of the schools,
is that, which looks upon band labor as de
grading ! Such apes are belost the retch of
contempt.
Akin to this weakness, is the slavery tofash
-4;ok—a feminine folly,--which accompaey
lug vivacity and beauty can scarcely redeem
from' disgust. When will our women learn
that their sea wiU be lifted in the "scale of
being, jai is impaction m they giro more
care to solid attainments, sad lan to the en
ervating frivolities of Action and fasting' f
Another, indeed the first object of all in-
tellectoal tteleiog, is selfilistiphas. 1 emu
-the parer to grasp a *ale sabjecs; sad to
reduce its thought and exptedion into a
compaet order. This is the highest attais
blest of inilld t —the oa¢*MA Of Power,—
the vest Nspoloosio foi e with'
*hick all the asemesplisluessis d wit ; lad
pees, sodslarseeklied
WEJJAG ALL EQUAL BEFORE GOD AND THE CONSTITUTION. 99 .4assies Bachasum,
.:Jrnttrost, 3usquetma tenutg, teall'a i iturshit Settting, obtinbtr 12', 1857.
and trifling. To reach this, you must not
study_ by fits and starts, nor, tire of difficult
subjects. There mist grow upon you a habit
of order and method, in your 'study and
thought; and of clearly comprehending every
subject, before you leave it. It is wonderful
bow the mind grows under such treatment.
t becomes intense in argument,—laying dis
tinctly its premises; and then marching, with
logical precision to its conclusion'', that grow
strangely luminous,—sod then weaving
around the whole, a garland of imagery, that
at once commands the judgment and wine
the fancy.
Thi scompact,dear order i iithivery eminence
of mind,—never soared, to by mitre Nature,
however gifted t - , —.but steadily gained, by an
-accept so toilsome, that it is forbidden to all
but the few, who are toe.perserering to loiter,
and too courageous to deviate.
No brilliancy of natural genius, can do
more than to daub for a moment, and then
disappear,--Idle the summer flash, .upon the
bosom of some distant cloud. A loose, ram
bling thought bends its owb weakness to the
speech, and to the life. In the Common
School; is the foundation of this discipline
to be laid. As is the seed-time, so is the
harvest.
Let us turn now, tq contemplate some of
the wider results to flow from Education.
And first, we look to it for the abatement
of Party spirit. It is written, in all the
blood-stained pages of the world, that the
animal phrenzy of Party passion, forbade all
popular, or self government. -
Oar own country has, more than once,
trembled on the l'verge of this very 'ally's*.
Between two great, rival parties,. the clash of
opinions, soon leads to the clash of arms,—
amid whose Babel thimders, the voice of law
is hashed,—the arm of government is palsied,
--and civil war spreads its red pall over the
sanctuary of Liberty.; through whose reeking
folds, slowly emerges the great form of mon
archy. Tbis is an ancient lesion,--time ap
proves it true,—and those wbo know it best,
deplore it most."
There is- but one remedy. As equal edu
cation prevail's, mason, always calm and re
flective, takes the place of animal passion'. If
every voter be a sovereign,then let every voter
be eduaited.
Then we 9 than be a nation of men
not Of bigots. While firm in , ouri , own be
lief, we shall still rerpett the opinions of oth
ers; knowing that their right to self-thought
is as•sacred as our own, and that, after all,
they may be right. Thus, difterenCes will
be but a healthy frictiop,—polishibg and im
proving both,—a wise tnedium, between the
extreme of dead, unquestioning uniformity.,
and that other one, of wild, lawless passion.
The mere bigot, who hates every man that
differs from him, is jest removed from the
brute. Liberty is not a great bone, to be
growled over, and snarled at, by a pack of
human dogs,—but it is a bright; fleaven
descended blessing, earned and preserved by •
calm reason and menly . judgment. The po
litical bigot is compounded of a -narrow
mind and "a malicious heart,—be lives in
agitation and discord,—and would anticipate,
on earth the kindlings of his native bell. All
the protection of law, all the glories of Free
dom, all the joys of country, are nothing, in
the eyes of
. his narrow hate r '—these 'men,
that would fiddle, when Rome was on fire.
Why, an American citizen is greater that a
king I Citizenship is a 'broard platform of
civil and social equality and brotherhood.
The great sirm of this mighty Republic is
ever outstretched, to avenge the least wrong,
done to her humblest citizen, in the remotest
corner of the earth.
Lastly, we loot to a diffused Education
too, for the
. reduction of Party zeal in mug
" Ikbeh seitarits, 4l said the great Irish
orator," dispeto about creeds, it► the beat and
acrimony of the , c.enseless contekt,religion, the
glory of one world, and gnide to another;
drifts from the splendid circle in which she
shone, into the 'comet•mate of uncertainty
and error."
Religions persecutions, sod religious wen
have in every age, desolated the world, Our
Puritan fathers made a sublime sacrifice to
be free; when, bidding adieu to country,
kindred and Wealth, they gathered up their
loved ones, breasted the perils of tbe great
deep—and the greater hardships of oar in
hospitable wilderness—hereto . hew out
borne, in which Conscience might be free.—
Obedient to this Heavenly impulse, they or
dained, in the very organism of the Repub.
lic that "no religi / ens test should be made a
qualification for any Office--and that 0:e
-gress make no law respecting the establish
meat of any religion." Conscience free, yon
see—the creitare linked to, the Creator, by
one tie, too sacred for other bands to touch I
Let us cherish this principle---platited thus,
mid only, in the New World: He is a great•
er traitor than 4roold,who betrays the life and
spirit of this 44fiseriewidocteine, by bating or
anathematizing his fellow citizen, on account
of his religion. Nor is this all ; be defies
God too—who has ordained that diversities
must be as numerous and intractable, as are
the essential distinctions,' which nature hab
it :Ind circumstance have created amongst
I
Is our world there is so two mei, who are
cot liplike io their sweetid, as iD their physi
cal aspect. All that meets the eyed grad all
,that arrests the es" ban the stamp of booed
how aid id its variety I The miry banso-.
tries *nom, of &doer aid of -form, result
1 eoetrissiotrists sebordisated by
one pervading principle, which reconciles,
without confounding the component elements
of the music, the painting, or the structure.
In God's works, there would• be nti panty
without endless diversity. -
In religious life, is this all-obtaining law of
Nature reversed I In the onogrand aliment
ofsalvatiOn. unireitta: faith is coturtiandUd
for reasons unsuited to this Essay. But forins
were left eery much to the diversities of mind
and cicumstance.
We look too much to the mere outward
and visible. Thus, in oommon bands analy
sis stops at the species, and cannot rise to
the class. Vulgar obierrera of Nature, are
content to distinguish birds from fishes;
beasts from insects. But Cuvier could trace
thesublime unit, the universal type, the fon
tal idea existing in the Creative mind, which
connecto, as one, the mammoth and the
snail. So outward observers only see outward
distinctions of form, in worship—and they
only minister to prejudices and hatred. Of
all the forms ever assumed by blind bate,
there is none so remorseless, so gloomy,. and
so terrible as theta( religious bigotry.
We believe that many sects, who are now
accustomed to denounce each others errors,
will, - atJast, come to be regarded as members
in eoliiinrtn, of the one great and comprehen
sive Church, in which Biversities or arm are
harmonised by an all pervading unity of#pirit,
Go - en then, Teachers--pupils! Yon are
engaged itrw 'noble enterprise. I feel the fu
tility of. this, and of any attempt to shadow
forth its vastness—that belongs to the un
speakable mysteries of the future.
MY FIRST BB Ti
A. LEAF FROM A COUNSELLOR'S NOTE BOWL
ST ;OBS 11. 'WILLIAM, M. D.
With the exception , of medicine, there is
no profession so difiCult 'to obtain a footing
in, as law. It frequently happens that the
best years of a young man's life are passed
in some obscure street waiting fora stepping
stone which is to lead him to professional
honor, and what is more . important still, put
money in _his purse. No one knows but
those who Imre bad stern experienpe for their
mentor, all a young man has to go through
before he can obtaiti a respectable position in
this world of competition and cares. None
but these can tell of the heart sickness, a
thousand times worse than any bodily ailment,
*hid: ttesti Wirers after reputation are
obliged to suffer.' Bat there is'one satisfac
tion:4iWith a steady purpose, sterling integ
rity; and, unflinching, perseverance, the day
of fortune will toultii it may be delayed—
but come it evittusdly must, and then,
when the end istalkie, the' striiggles tb at
tain it appear much less than they really
were. t ,
In 1840 I was adreltted to the loft. f shall
never forget my feelings of,pride when I saw
for the first. time my name,
litittt MELTON',
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
in all the glory of gilt letters on a black la
bel, nailed to the front of a dingy looking
house in Chambers street; in the City of New
York. Know then, gentle reader, my offices
were situated in" that same house. They
were two in number; the first being a kind
of reception room,. and the other my sanctum.
I remember how the latter waslurnisbed
tinctly, although so many years have inter
vened since-then. ' The principal articles of
furniture were two large book cases, contain!
ing my library—the lower shelves were filled
with large books, bound in sheepskin, and
backed with a red title. The upper shelves
contained works of a little lighter description,
and if the truth must be told, the latter
were taken down much oftener, than the for
met.
Well, I seated myself at my . de*l the same
day that the before ;mentioned shingle was
exhibited outside, and expected that I should
soon be Overwhelmed with business, but I
soon found myself deceived ; day after day
passed, and not a soul callrei- Imr in di
vain say email means *ere slowly oozing
away, for; In spite °tall my economy, I was
obliged to eat.
Six months passed away and I-had not a
single client. One day l 6 beard titig at the
bell; bttt 1 took no heed of it now when I
first occupied my office such a peal as that
would have caused me to pis my band
through rely pair, straigbtetf down my vest,
and seine one of the pale, yellow bound books
with red titles—but I had been so often de
ceived that I scarcely noticed it now, or only
expected my boy- to enter stating that " a
man wanted twenty-lye cents for the Herald,"
or some other demand upon my purse.—
What, then, was my - surprise, when the boy
opened the door, saying with a smile :
If you please, sir, there's a lady wants to
speak to you I'
I started, and was completely dumMonnd
ed for a moment; but the boy looked at me
with .so curious a glance, which appeared to
say, first client,' that - ?that - ? immediately recover
ed myself, and assuming , all the dignity. I
could command, I told the.boy to inform the
lady that I should be disengaged in a few
minutes.
After having arranged some paper an my
desk, -and taken down- one of the aforesaid
sheepskin bound volumes, I requested the lad
to show the lady in.
..' Immediately afterwards she was ushered
into the room. I no opportunity ofjudg
lug whether abe was old or young, as she
was closely It' was evident she had
recently suffered some loss in her family, for
sbe was dressed in deep black. I invited her
tO"be seated, and placed myself in a listening
attitude.
'Have I the pleasure of speabing to Mr.
Melton r she asked in a musical voice.
I bowed affirmatively.
• 'I wish to consult you, Er, she continued
in the same dear voice, 'on a matter which
nearly concerns my happiness. I will at
once lay the case before you for your °pin:
ion. Dittould first tell you soy name is fir-
Leed,llzi - et -
wi • •
r I interrupted, whit s start.--
I Not any relation to the gentleman who list
week was—hesitatefi td" finish the see.
term.
idurdered,you were . About to say;' she
continued. ' Yes; air, I Ifni his d'ingliter. l —;-
And she lifted her 'veil from her face as she
said this, resealitit natures of urusurpossed
lovelitueN
gazed With increased interest on nil fair
visitor, Ent the - fact is, the murder of 'James
Mlenti had made a great noise. The pa
pets had been filled with .the details of it dur-
ing the past week.
' You are aware,' contionaMiss M'Leod,
' that a young man named Ilaivey . Johnston
is arrested on suspicion of haring committed
the deed; but I know him to be innocent P
' Indeed !' I returned,' how is that. Ap
pearances are very much against him, if we
canjudge by, newspaper reports.'
'I tell ymi he is innocent, innocentl' she
exclaimed, liiiisting into tears. , 'Harvey
could never have committed a crime like
that I 0, yen don't know him, sit, if you
did, not the slightest shade of sitipiciou would
remain on your mind for a minute. _
By the vehement tone in which she, ddies
ed me, I immediately penetrated her secret,
that she was in love with Etarvey Janson.--
I gently hinted that such was the cue to her;
she immediately acknowledged it to tie the
truth,
I besought. the young lady Id 1i the
whole facts of the cue before me as she
knew them. This sho proceeded to do, and
the stthstanca of her statement wai as fol
lows :
Mr. James M'Leod *ass retired titercliant
living up town, as Bleekei street was then
called. He was a widower, his family con
sistingzof himself and his daughter—the only
child he had, a middle aged lady, aho actedi
as a kind of governess, and two female- ser
vants.
Mr. Milked was a very stern Man, who
never changed opinion, and who would -be
obeyed to the -letter in bis leorkuld. He
scarcely ever smiled, but passeldlthrough the
world rinlovinf and unloved. it is true his
only Agiiiightor, Margairet, sometimes appeared
to 'soften him, but still be never seemed to
regard her with the - fond:tem of a parent.—
He was polite to her, and that was all. As
for Margaret, she loved ber father as much as
his cold nature would anal - her,' but never
having received any tokens of love from him,
it can scarcely be wondered that her affection
was more a matter of duty than feeling.
,• Up to within a year from the date of this
bigot°, they
,had
.lived a very retired life,
seeing little or ;no company. Their house io
Bleeker street was: a very large one, to they
could - only ciccupfa small portion of it, and
I remeMber the impression of loneliitess con..
veyed to my mind by Miss M'Leod, when she
was describing the uninhabited part of the
house.
One diiy .her father infornied her thit he
had : made an engagement, fur her and _him
self to spend the evening with a' former part
ner of his. It was here she first diet Ilariey
Johnston,-and , they were soon attached to
'each other.; They became fast friends, and
the friendship - soon ripened into love. For a
length of time they , met atandeslittely; Mar
garet not. daring to make her father acquaint
ed with her passion. At lenglb Harvey per
suaded her td allow him to make known his
stilt to Mr. it'Leocl. He did so, and toot
with an indigeart refOfil in fact; Margaret's
father bad even gone ito ter a 3 td insult him,
and forbid him from ever speaking to his
daughter again. It is scarcely neediest to
say that his orders were disobeyed—the lov
ers corresponded and met as before. At last
Margaret M'Leod made up ber mind that
if her father would not give his consent to
her marriage, she would marry without it,
but she wished Harvey to make one more
effort.
This brings us down to the day or the mur
der. On. that night Harvey paid Mr. Meleod
a visit, about 9 o'clock in the evening—high
words were heard to pass between them, and
then there was a blank.
About eleven o'clock the same Diet a
policeman was walking down Bleeker street,
and discovering Mr. li'Leod's front doot Oen,
he mounted the steps in order to close ir,
when he fancied be heard the noise of foot,-
stepsin the house. He entered and attended
the stairs. When be. reached `the front
drawing room a terrible sight met his
Mr. M'Leod was lying all his length on the
floor, stone dead. A pool Of blood was beside
the ody• as well as a knife with, which the
deed bra evidently been committed, for it
was proved opal' farther eiatuination that his
throat bad been cat from ear to ear. But
the strangest part of the story. was that Har
vey Johnston was discovered in the room with
the murdered man. When the policeman
first entered the - room he discovered him
groping around the walls; for. the apartment
was qufitt &tit until the policeman brought
his lantern. Of course, Johnston *as arrest-
ed, sod the roof against him appeared
oterwhelating, for it wise uKI that the knife
with which the murder bad been committed
belonged to him. A coroner's jury Was
summoned, and Darts y Johnston was com
mitted to take his - trial at the ensuing assiies
fur the wilful murder of Mr. M'Leod, and et
ery one Who read the details of the coro
ner's inquest appeared perfectly satisfied of
his guilt.
Such was the substance of Mies llitLeod .'s
statement to tee, of Course in. bet relation she
frequently wept, and made repeated asserva
tions of her lover's innocence.
Now, Mr. Melton,' she added; as she
concluded. 'I want yon to undertake -his
case—arid for Heaven's sake do everything
you can for him, for I confess toyou that all
my hopes of happiness is this world are wrapt
up in him. Spare Do expense—l am certain
it will be proved that be ts innocent.'
4 But, my deer young lady, I am afraid
his case is desperate. What la his explana
tion 1 1
I hare neither seen nor beard from him
since his arrest; but I feet that he is, inno-,
cent:
am confident such evidence as that will
be of bat little avail to hint in a court of jus
tice; however, I will call and see him, and
Lear his statement ; I will then let you know
the result.'
With a reiterated 'mined that I _should
spare no expense, and promising, to call the
next day, the young lady took het depar
ture.
The moment .be bad gone, I put on my
hat, and 'outdid my way to the Tombs. M.
tar making known my businem, I lud no
difficulty in obtaining season to tiosyrisoses,
I found myself in the resew. or *tow look
jog young man about lbw and twenty rani
of ;see, He was 4ocesemed of • fine era
countetiance, and t . sought in vain to discov
er the slightest indication df guilt in anyone
feature. All w plaeid and serene there.—
I made known n y business to him, at the
same time audio , that I. bad been sent there
by Miss M'Leod. '
• Poor girl I' exclaimedhe. the moment I
mentioned her name, 'she believes in my in
nocence then. Teo, yes, I know that it must
be so, she knows.me too well to suppose fore
moment that I could commit such a horrible
deed l'
He paused an instaiit and hurriedly wiped
away a tear, supposing that I did not notice
him.
have 0W been incarcerated Lere for
more- 43. 12 a week,' he continued, after-a
pauie,, and yet I cannot realize the fact,,it
appears like a hideous dream to -me. ask
myself is it possible, I can be arrested! for
nturdet, And for the murder of the father
of my own dear girl f, But no jury can bring
me is guilty,,'
'Mr. Johnston, truth compels
me to state that. tree evidence against. you is
fearfully strong' •
Why, Mr. Melton, you thinly do not be.
liebe me guilty of this hideous clime f' Wald
be, bis face duelling with indignAtion.
Let _me bear your statem ent' I replied,
'and the:4 will answer your question. You •
are aware of the nature of the:: evidence
against you. It can be 'writhed up ie a few
words. A gentleman is found murdered in
bis driwing room—e.• policeman'.': enters the
apart:Mew. and discovers you there alone with
the murdered man—and tbe deed is found to
be committed with your bowie-knifil, besides
your clothes being sprinkled with the vic
tim's blood.'
' Mr. Melton,' replied the prisoner, lifting
up his bead to Heaven, I swear before God
that I knew nothing of the murder until the
policeman entered the room with his lantern.
The discovery of the„borrid deed inspired me
with as much surprise and terror a 9; It did
him. • '
I looked at Johnston after he 'tittered
these words; to sets" if he were not deranged.
But no, his countenance was perfectly calm
and collected. '
lain touittelf,' I exelaiined, 'for
the life of Jae, I cannot understand you.—
You appear to me to de speaking iurradox
es:
I will give you a plain statement of what
I know of the matter. Yoa can form your
own opinion as to how far I am implicated
in it. On the night in question I went to
pay MlLeod a risk, in order to obtain if pos
sible his consent to my marriage to daugh
ter Margaret. I found him in the front
drawing-rootg. t suppose...it was about nine
o'clock Ithenl visited theftuse. Mr.Mleod
received the very lotughti i .
I should say
i
genie months ago I
_bad I ifitervietyLwith
him on the same subject, .which passed off
anything but satisfactorily..` The moment, I
broached the Matter again to hint, he became
very violent, and used very harsh 'language
to me--at length_ my blood was up, and I
believe I retorted, in very strung words.; I
have no idea bow long this interview lasted ;
it must have been sometime, however, for I
felt it my duty to enter into a considerable
explanation; and to frhe myself from -various
charged be brought against - rte. ' At
,last I
took up my hat to go; and had already turn
ed towards the dtior, when someone approatth
ed me from behind, and clapped a. handker
chief to my mouth, saturated, I suppose, with
chloroform for ins motaent I was senseless.
and God it my witness that I am utterly ig
norant of all that passed in the room after
that. I only recovered my - senses a few
minutes before the policeman entered with a
light. And this is all I know about the mat
ter.
Whilst Johnston was making,this explana
tion. I scrutinised - his face closely, but could
not detect the slightest uppearancci of decep
tion in his features. '
•
'But bow do you account for the mur
der baying been committed with your bowie
k tire 11
'lt must bate been taken from my pocket
while I was insensible, for I acknowledge the
knife is mine, and that I bad been *dens
tonied to carry it about me for some months
put.'
Efavd yotr tiny idea sato codici Lain Cot.
mitted the deed I enquired after a pause.
'None in the world, he replied ;' it must
have been some one from the outside, for
there were none other but women in the
house.' ,
After a little further conietsation on the
matter I took my departure; without giving
him any decided opinion lie to my belief in
his innocence. When I reached my ofqce.
I seated myself in an easy chair, and.ponner
ed over the matter long and seriously. I was
well aware that Johnston's statement was an
impossible ode, and would of counte-have no
weight in a court of justice; but there was
something in his manner of telling it to me—
something in his frank open countenance.
which impreseed me strongly in his favor,and
after mature consideration I came to the con
chrsioti that the statement might be true.—
fiat it is one thing to believe in a person's
innocence, and another to prove it The next
question to be decided; was, if Johnston was
innocent, who was the murderer I Here I
must confess I was totally at fault, I had not
the slightest clue to guide me. It appeared
certain to we that tine of the inhabitants of
the house could bade done it, for as I before
stated, the j' consis4d only of Miss M'Leod,
Miss Leroy, an old maid who acted as kind
of Governess to Margaret, and the two ser
i rant girls. I made utilny mind that it must
have been some one from without, and the
door, having been left open, favored the sup.'
pition. I began to invent a thousand . dif
ferent theories as to bow the murder wag ef
fected, until my brain grew dizzy. The
thought then entered my bead to go .And
'search the house where the deed had been,
committed, to see if could discover any clue
there. I immediately acted upon it, and in ai
few minutes found myself before 'the door of
the late Mr. M'Leod's residence.
It was a large, gloomy looking house,
bearing anything but an inviting aspect, and
just such a place as one would imagine to ba
the theatre of some dark deed. I knocked
at the door and requested to see Mies M'Leod.
was ranrediately shown into a parlor; nod
in a few minutes she entered the Monti.
I then big:mot her as to the result of my
interview. with Hervey Johnston. J. also told
ber that 1 believed ill his innocence. but did
not seek. to disguise from bar the fact that
, there; Was ranch to be done before we should
be able to couvisot ri jury sad to be the
Oolitic 14,
case. I then requested pa t e iesioti to aentelli -
the house. It was immediately glinted. ,
My search did 'not amol k st ia to much. - . 1 1
noticed, however one thing, drairintrooor
door wa*so situated that *fish riii , hie 'toed
on the threshhold of it becould not Sea iiirro
lion of the room on account of the- Pqrnjecniet .-.
fire place. I was further satisktid tbbt b Ow
eon might easily bah etitdred front erithotiti:
ascended the units, stupefied one lit hear elf
the inmates of the drawing :lointt withoblinek
form and then committed- deid.- I. wale
about leaving the house, i t en tbii airtight
struck me I had not exami Mr.- hrteed i lt
bed-room. I hastened to re 'r my forgetthlt
Bess. I found it to be a • ordioar'. sing
chamber,
t f il
chamber, tab tiathiug epee al in it etteeptint•
old bureau, which immediately atm& toy at
tendon from the feet of my tether havingpos%
sassed one eiactly like it. I opened the top
of it; and found that it contained two Writ
- recesses like ours at nome. I opened 'thew
- receive, and discovered ona to be empty, - the
other contained a tingle' paper which proved
to be an old letter, yellow •Iwith age. , I felt
justified in opening and reading 1i It Ida at
follows:
_
Ateerrt N. Y.. d ay 10, ieH.
" have basely deserted me, and. dre;:'
coived me,—all my burping 1614 isnot gift
ed to bitter batre4 but do not iMaginelod
shall escape irith ImOnity.' By . tRa .1544
God I:swear to be 014 - aged 17 , I can' welt
:ears, aye, years, to aciemitiskiar Potovir:
Think , au it and trembler'.
•®mod *aid& .
M On the putiids it' bore di* inscription,'
51 % Front street. New York.' I
read the letter over several -times; it waiik-ar.
tay Ike least of it, a curious document, and
&mid - edit° keep it in env passes**, note irk
petting that it wodid laid to. any disoOinty
—it appeared to be written' loogago for that:
and the chances Were , that Helen 3forriewaai
long, long ago summoned to bet long,. le*
hotrie. . ,
I'returned bogie, *eery and unantidett—a -
For the next three weeks I made every pan&
ble exertion to clear tip the\ ritYstery within*
the slightest success. The day Of trial itif•
poached, and I bad ttot discovered tbealigfri
eat evidence to corrohoptte the l lniaciooll
statement. &goodly a day piasiid
M'Leod either called bOntelf, or sent to know
what progress I was-ctsaking. 1 mild eV*
her but very slight,lmpe of being able to save
Ileu vet. • - • '
On the evening before the day Axed for Ali
trial, I seated myself in thy office ; utterly i •
plat e d and Wenti out. had no hope of itietl
ing able to convince a Jury of Johnson'et
nocence. I was well aware , that hitstatte4
ment would be laughed lit; and, the only *it- -
atm I could bring forward, wool4l be its to
character.. I was miserable at the Mussel
bringing such a rime, defence into court . =
and my first cause, too, V y -
I thought I *mild Stbolte s bigar,lind
if it would have any I nflect in soothing trr y ir.
ritated perves. I sore a piece from an ad
Bersad, io order• to: , _ it,,--when ft.:stir
strange iircumstaisce,, what ; it is die:tilt-10 '-
explain, the . following advertisement attlong
the "personals" caught my eyes. •.!
"If the lady who purchased the chloroform '
of Aiessrs. l l3. & C., apothecaries, gOl tirosed
way, will call upon the latter, she *ill hisie
restored to her the purse which she hilt on
the counter."
I snatched the other portion of :the paper L -
for the ptirpose of discovering the datit, 1 2 --
found. it td have been issued theveiriddy - it
ter the murder.
To throw away my cigar, -put ori thy hilt
and rush from the bottle was theAtork of a
moment. I had not but a littleWaYs to go
and on found myself Messrs, R. 4it
store,
' A lady bought some Choloroforttl of j , ott,
,e )1
about,two m onth s ago r said l', to a gentle
man) y loilking. Jerk; behind tbo counter:
.;
4 Yes, sir:
' She left, -purse on the counter, I' . - %,
' 4 Yet. air: .
. ,
4 Will, you be good , enough to iatitrui Me if
she ever reclaimed , that purse)' . ':
' She has not, although we advottisedit
-seteral days.'
' Who served her with tha - eholorotentt r
\
\ . I did.' ,
,
' Did yoti notice her appearance £
'She was quite elderly. I wpsittprisedni
her buying Ito much at a time ; but she stet.
ed she wanted it for her husband, who wad *-
physician, and so 1 let her have it: • "
: Would you know' her if s jou were to 1 1 / 1 111
her again it =- , . - ' ~
' I believe I - should. I noticed that. she •.,,;
wore a blue shhiel with hd tibget'ii struck
me particularly, *sure it • had sockets - on.
common aPpearetiett: , '
I could obtain:no further inforrnation frets
the clerk, and returned torny . Oka with ore& -
my last hope swept away: •
The next day I was in courfearli. I dn. •
termined to do all I could fei int dlielli ;Int -
without the, faintest hopeif succeed. the f.
case was soon - called - ,,0n, an the prosecut ing
attorney commenced' his address-40,.4sted
to the court what he intended to prove, end
as he recounted the fearful - array of fivideacke
against the prisoner, 1 conid 'not help turning'
my eyes to the latter, and, observed be stood
perfectiy aghast at the . arcing. card made
against him. Not - a sip& event that bad
transpired during hts inter4surse, With.. the
Istiosod family but was tuitied taco thkstrtmg-
est evidence against him. . . F . ii -
Miss Ineoa was the frst eituess4 clled.
Her test . mopy made fearfelly Alta Ws
prisoner. Shoneknowledged there been' .
a violent quarrel:'between Harvey Johnston'
and her father semetitrie preslious, and libel
the former had bee* ery nth irritated by
some epithets bestowed on hi by lin WU.'
od, and. bad emelt vaguely tirades* *in
gesnee. - ' ~ , -
By the cries exansinatioe of this wittieso
elicited the fact , that the prisoner's disposlo
tion was good, kind-amiable; bat' her imalaty
to say as muoh as possible for bar lover aid
him more harm then good. . lid ashen elle
descended from the:stand, to y reproachful
glances were cast after,her; - ..
,' •
The two iervaots followed ad gale limit
the game evidence as Miss /I' . 1 dieelitp.
i d
ed to cross -examine them. itaellear erere ,
then called to fix the °trues if, of the knits
on the prisoner at the bar. elicited _talk
tug on cram examination ; 4' it Ina ibit
same with the policeman` who first diligent*"
the murder.; , • -
The' governess, Julie Leroy, I liiitetti eiTted
on the gaud. For moment* trio abet did
not reply to ber Dante, It Lad Übe ripieted
two or throe 'WWI. At lksolielhi mole fig.
untie 44.