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It. RIME% Proprietor.
Thn. M. POP.TEfft, Editor.
VOL. 62.
TERMS OF PUBLICATION
The 041.0.1.1111.6 fleltl.r , Is published m+oltly on a large
shoot containing twenty 012111 columns, and famished
to subscribers at $1.50 If paja strictly In advance ;
$1.7,1 If paid within the year; or $2 In all terms when
payment, is delayed until after the el.pirathol 01 the
Year. No subscriptions re , elved for n less period than
mix tnanths, and none, discontinued until all arreamgen
are paid, unions at tine optical of the publisher. Papers
sent to s unscribera living mit of Cumberland county
must be paid for in advance Pr the payment assumed
by seine responsible pertain living in Cumberland conn
ty. These terms will be rigidly adhered to In all
elven.
ADVERT - ISWIENTS ,
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twelve linos for throe insertions. and 25 cents for each
subseqnentinsertion. All ibLvertiSenienta of less than
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Advertisements Inserted before Marriages and deathe
8 cents per lino for first insertion, and 4 rents per line
fir subsequent insertions. Commubirations on sub
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1)1, in im cs for errors in advertisements, Obituary
n Abt: d
or Marlavs not exceeding Pro lines, will he
I iNorted,witheut rhArgc. •
JOB PRI:VTING
The earliqle Harald PRi NTINO 11FFIC the
lar4e•it a nd 111 at complet.o•atabli.hment I
tha County
Four a nd a general variety of material
suit , ' I fm plain And I , :oar , i work -nf ovary kind. enabler.
t Jolt Printing at the .Itortmd notice and 017 the
m tat rovt , nahle term, Per44n 4 in want of 11111 s.
111 nr anything In the .101.,binF fin.' it to
their Intereqt to eive ,14 rArl.
„.„
Onterai antl Locat onion-nation.
U. S. GOVERNNIENT
President —AIIII.A 11 01 1.1311 , 1. N.
Vlro President — lt 1I 'llOll /1 OWN,
Soorotnry of &Atm —IV o II 5 . .0
81•1•Nitnry of I n ttirior si 1.0 1-311711.
Stter , l , try Of Treamilry—,(l.3l.lo ell.lolB.
Serret.Lry of War—Sl , loN 1 . 01E1103E.
Socrtalry of Nary ifr.l.Lll.B
Post Ilaster Genern7-- 1 1 , ro•NT.IIT
Attorney Goner:a-I , t'w Ann B kTES.
ustiee of the Unlte.l States—it B. TSNEY
STATE GOVERMMENT
Governor—ANDßEW G. Ct arty.
Seeratary of State—Eit ,S 1 11,1 t.
Survey, General—Wm. II 6CIM.
Auditor General—Tn.. E.. 4'0(11111N.
Attnroey General—WM. M Al r:nentru•
Acljutant General—E. M. l'onln.s.
Tre ,nrer—llvinv D M... 1,1.
of the Supreme C.,urt —E. LEWIS, 3. M. ARV
rri+..r . iti. W. 11. Lowaim 11. W. W.•01 , W A RD. JOIIN M. READ
COUNTY OFFICER
Proaideut Judge-110n. jam. li. Graham.
Icgociate Judges—Hon, Michael Conklin, Dugh
Stuart.
Dis%riet. Attorney—CT. W. Dr G Maier.
Prothonotary—Beni:unit -1 orig. , -
Recorder eYorJnhu Floyd.
RegiitOr— IL A. Brady.
high Shoriff—Thomp.on !Zipper; Deputy, -----
County Treasurer—John I; Lit
Coroner—David Smith
0 my Commissioners—James lg. Wn,'ner, Geo.
Miller, Michael KRA. Clerk to C o mmissioners, James
A rt•-trung.
Directors the Poor—Wm. Drarey. John Miller.
Wm. 0.4 n man. Superintendent of Poor nous , —
Henry Snyder.
BOROUO i‘ OFFICERS
Chief Burgees—John
Asois taut Curgoss—.ldAte ~ee,•enen.
Tmeri Coueell—fohn Wm. Dole, J. R.
Irvine. II scan Carney, JAnr II ti bort, J.R. Vaiii.er, Fired
oriel< Hinkle, S2llllllOl
(Nark to 001111C11.—.)116. 1;. Thisonheimer.
11-Erh Collar:lb/es—Cleo. ly. Joseph Stuart. Ward
COnstahles—Jacob Bretz, Andrew Martin. •
Justiciin of tha aipariaimi, David , Smith
1k1.1.4tel Iluleoclib, Atha':
cuUUctlLs.
- First Presbyterian Church. Northwest angle of Cen
t .oiSluare. Rev. Conway Wing p a st or.—`nee lees
every Sunday Morning at 11 o cluck, A. M., and 7 e'rleelt
P. N 1
Second Prosbytkkrian Clitik.•ll, corner of South Remover
and Ikon fret ltreets. Re v. Mr I.;e11.. Pact,. Services
coruatence Ikt 11 o'clock, A. M.. and 7 o'clock. l'. M.
St. John's Church.( Prot rio., op.kl) norilkeast tingle of
Centre S Itukre. Rev. Pr %or .I('lure, Rector. Services
a t 11 o ' c lock A. M., and :; P. M.
Eirrlish Lutheran Church. Erdford between Male
an her streets. liev—Hcol, Fry, Pastor. Services
at I I o'clock A. Ti., and 0 0 . o'clock P. M.
lieriu.tik Reformed Chord,. Louther, between Haw
over and Pitt. streets. Rev Samuel Philips, Pastor.
Services at I I o'clock A. M. and 61,6 o'clock P. M
Methodist E. Church, Oil nl charge) coruerut Main and
'Pitt Streets. Rev. Joseph A. Ross, Paster. Stir ticesat
11 o'clock A. M. and 6il °Mork P. 11
Methodist IL. Ilhurclvotec , nd charge.) Rev. Herman M.
Johnson Pastor.' Services In Emory 111. E. Church at 11
o'clock A. M. and 3 P
St. Patrics's Catholte Church, Pomfret near East' st.
Rev. Jamey Kelley, Pastor. Services every other
Subbith At_la Vespers at 3.
tiorstu. Lutheran Church corner of Vpmfret and
Bedford streets. Iter. G. S. Strums Pastor." Services at
11 o'clock, A. M., and 634 o'clock, P. M.
.thy-When changes In the above are neceseary the
proper persona are requested tc notifY us.
DICKINSON COLLEGE
Ray. IT. M. Johnson, D. D., President and Professor of
Moral
James W. Marshall, A. M.
William C. Wilson, A. M., Professor of Natural &Innen
And Curator of the Museum.
Rev. Wm. L. Boswell, A. M., Professor of Greek Lau
gua.te and Literature.
Samuel D. Kiliman, Professor of
ofta
John K. ritaynin, A. M., Professor Latin Lan
guage; and Literature.
A. Y. Mullin, A. M., Pruidpal of the Bremner
Be hool.
BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
President, H. Saxton, P. Quigley, E
Cornwall, C. P. guincrich,J. Manilltou, Secretary,Jakou
W. Eby, Treasurer, John Splutr,_ Messenger. Meot on
the lst. Monday at oach.llontli at 8 o'clock A. M. at Ed
ucation nail.
,CORPORATIONS
CARLISLE DEPOSIT DANK.—PTBsidata, it. M. Henderson,
Cashler. W. -- M. Deotem ; Aset. Cashier J. P. Ilaslor
'
Teller Jas.- Roney„; Clerk, C. 11 Plaider,• Messenger,
John Underwood:. Directors, It. It. Henderson, Jobb
Zug, Samiuel Wherry, .1. D. tiorgas, Sklles Woodburn,
It. C. Woodward, Col. Henry Logan, Hugh Stuart, and
James Anderson.,.
CUMBERLAND VALLEY DAIL ROAD Conexsy.—President,
Frederick Watts: Secretary and Treasurer, Edward M.
Diddle; Superintendent, 0. N. bull. Passenger trains
tides a day. 'Eastward leaving Carlisle - at 10.10 o'clock
A. 51. MIA 2.41 o'clock. I'. M. Two trains every day
Woodward, Marto& Curlisla at 0.21 - o'clock A, St, and
3.30 P. 51.
o.)Must.X OAB AND IVierna COMPANY.—President, Lem
uel Todd; 'treasurer,A. L. Spoosier; Superintendent,
George %Fine: Directors, F. Watts, Win, It. Deetomi
E. It. Diddle, floury Saxton, It. C. Woodward. John IL
Bratton, P, Uardner, and .Ichn Campbell.
CUMBERLAAID •VALLEE BANK.--Prnsidont, John S. Ster
rett; Cashier, H. A. Sturgeon; Teller, J 0,,. C. Hoffer.—
Directors, John S. Sterrett, Wm. liar, idelchoir 'lrene
man, Richard Woods, John C. Dunlap, Itobt. C. Sterrett,
U. A. Sturgeon, and Captain John Dunlap.
BOCIETIIIS
. .
Cumberlatnt Star Lodgo- No. 197, A. Y. 71. meets at
Bfarfon Ilan -on taw ..ndi'•illid 4th Tuasdaya of ovary
blono. • - ~,
St. Johns' Lodge No 290 A. 1,31., , Meets, 3d Thurs
day of each nionth; at Marlon-Mal; , • •
tlarllsleilltodgiiNo 91 1. 0. of 0. F. Made I,fonday
evening, at Trouts' hutldlug. . . . .
FIRE
•
The• Union Fire Company was organized ha .1.189.
President; 11. Cornmau; Vice president. Samuel
'Wetzel; 'Secretary, .1. D. Hampton; Treasurer. P, Mon
yes. Company meets the first Saturday In March, Jtuip - ,,
September; and - Deceintair.
-The ()timberland Fire Company was Instituted Pam
ary 15, tatr,, President, Thos. thou; , bOll ; SeCrat.4l7 . l
Philip Qill4llr, Treasurer, 11. I). Quigley The company
meets en the th,ird, Saturday of January, April, July,
and Qctober.: — .• - : • ,
• Thellood Will IlossiCuemanywas Institut dd In Al arch,
1855. Prnsident, U. 4.4iturgcont•Vice President, e. P.
llumrkubt Becretary,-Wllllam . D: halbert; Treasurer:
)os,Pb. The ettrapany meets' the second
,Thureday of.is'nuary, Aprll. July, and October.
_ The. Empire Wok and LaddarCompany'4settleUtut.
'edit:l_lBsB. • President, Wm. M,Porteri Vito President,
-John o.,Arrion; - orrefusurer, John Campbell; Secretary,
John W. Paris. Time company moots on. the first 'Fri.'
dey 1n Stinuiry, April, July and October.
ittTES or VOSTAOLI
•
Postage on ith lot toitiorcin o-baterliinco ,NvolAt.gr un
der 8 cents Pee paid, except to 'California or Oregon,
which 1810 cents Prepaid. ; • - • •• •
Footage' nn the '" llereld"—withlre the County, , free.
• Withlti tho State 13 cents per year. .To any part of the
_United Mates 28 cents. Pcstage on all transient papers
- - vides 3 ounces In weight,l cent pre-paid or two cents
, 4.dcorthied lettera, to be charged With the cost
, „ , A - r. p.
WANTE. —
);i: . J Ewa good jouyriutpari
Talloie, will tina employment by !Applying tat
nrilletely to
. r .nnv'ci : il.a
fant in her arms, descended and passed
round the corner of the house. She had'
barely disappeared when the niurdress
crept from her lair, and, swift and noise
less as a serpant or a cat, glided up the
steps through the open door, and in an ,
another moment had again concealed
' herself beneath the leaves of a large table
thtit stood in the hall close to the door of
the - siek room, which, standing ajar; gave
her an opportunity of studying once more
' the situation of things within. In the
corner farthest from her lurking place
stood the bed on which her master was
slumbering, concealing, with its curtains
the front window against which it was
placed. At the foot of this, under the
other window s was the pallet of tl e nurse,
and midway between it and the door
through which - it - passed was the Tow trun
dle ha - Of the - sick child, on which at this
moment lay the pother,—soon to become
a mother again; while at the farther end
OT the-room a candle was burning dimly
upon the hearth. Thus, for half an hour,
the murderess crouched within a few feet
of her victim and watched, noting every
cireumstantm with the eye of a beast of
prey about to spring. At the end of that
time the nurse returned, placed the quiet
ed child beside its mother, and, closing
the door, retired to her own pallet, whence
her loud breathing almost immediately
told that she was asleep. Still with bated
breath the 'mulatto waited, stooping with
her ear at the keyhole till the regular res
pirations of the mother and the softened
panting of the little invalid told her that
all was safe. Then, at last, turning the
handle of the latch silently and gradually,
she glided into the room and stood by the
side ‘of her victim.
The whole range of imaginative litera
ture cannot furnish an incident of more
absorbing interest; nor can the whole his
tory of the theatre exhibit a situation of
more tremendous scenical power than was
presented at this moment in that charm
ber of doom. The four unconscious sleep
ers with the murderess in the midst of
them, bending with hard, glittering eyes
over her prey, while around them all the
huge shadows cast by the dim, untrimmed
light, like uncouth monsters, rose, flitted,
and fell, as if in a goblin-dance of joy
over the scene of approaching guilt.—
Sleep, solemn at any time, becomes al
most awful when we gaze upon it amid
the stillness of night, so mysterious xs it,
and so pear akirrto"the deepe mystery •
of delth;—so peaceful, with a'peace so
much like that of the grave; men could
scarcely compreUend-the idea of the one,
if they were not acquainted with the real
ity of the other. '1 here lay the 'mother,
with her arms around her sleeping child,
whoSe painf.d breathing showed that it
suffered even while it. slept. Such a
spectacle might have moved the hardest
heart to pity; but it possessed po such
power over that of the desperate slave,
whose vindictive purpose never wavered
for an instant. Passing round the bed,
she stooped, and softly encircled the ema
ciated little neck with her fingers. One
quick, strong ,gripe,—the poor, weak
hands were thrown up, a soft gasp and a
slight spasm, and it was done The frail
young life, which had known little except
•suffering, and which disease would proba
bly have extinguished in a few hours or
days, was thus at once and almost pain
lessly c;it short by the band of violence.
And now at last the way was clear.—
" I knew," said she afterwards, " the sit
uation of my mistress; and I thought that
by jumping upon her with my knees I
should kill her at once." pisturbed by
the slight struggle of the dying child,
Mrs. Wilde moved uneasily fora moment,
and again sunk into quietude, lying with
her face—that hard, cold face—upward.,
This was an opportunity for the destroyer.
Bounding with all her might from the
floor,,shc came down with beaded
But
upon the body of her victim. But the
shock, though severe, was not fatal ; 'and
with a loud cry of "Oh, Captain Wilde,
help me !" she, by a convulsiVe effort,
threw her assailant to the floor. Though
stunned and bewildered by the suddenness
and violence of the attack, the wretched
woman in that terrible moment recognized
her enemy, and felt the desperate purpose
with which She was animated,—and so
recognizing and so feeling, must have
known in that momentary interval all that
the human.aoul can know of despair and -
terror. But it was only for a moment;
for,-before she could utter a Second ery
for,.help, the baffled assailant - was again
upon her with the bound of a tigress. A
blind 4nd breathless, struggle ensued be
tween Ithe desperate ferooity of the slave
and the equally desperate \terror of the
mistress;- while. fasterand wilder-went the
huge, 'dim shadows in their 'golden-dance,
as the yellow flame flared and fliekerectin
the agitated air. . For a few moments,- .
indeed, the result of the-struggle seemed
doubtful, and-Mrs. Wilde at length, hy .
violent effort, raised herself almost 'up
right, with the infuriated slave still hang.;
ing to her throat; buttlie)atter convert
ed, thii into an advantage, by • suddenly •
thr'dwing-her-whole.Weight-upon the-breast --
of her mistress ; thus'easting - her violently .
'backward across thp heard board of the _
bed, and dislocating Another'
half-uttered. cry, convulsive struggle,
and the 'deed
,was: accoMplislied. One - -
slight' shiver. crept , over thnlimbs,. and' •
then the 'body hung: limp and - lifeless
where it had. flillen,the 'head resting.
upon the floor;' on which the king raven
Bair wns:_;sprettd -disordered--
,''The. victor 'gazed..-criolly on her'
work while recovering Wadi; and then,
to 'make
,assuriinee•doubly- sure,- took tp, •
-she.: thought. a:otiiiiking.-friam the lied
,and - deliberately4ied it 'tight round the
The.n, gliding to th - 0 ,..
neck of the corpse.
door, she quitted . the.seene of her. fearful : •
labors no• TlOisolpqabi.a!g, she lititt 'entered, „-
leaving
,behind her ;not One &See of her
presence,--but leaVing;uniti ten tioneilli,
most fatal_ false -trace, which :814i:clod
6,, o lintiod : to , f lliitc.unti! it had rlin . Pll •
II Ft
CYRIL WILtE
CONCLUDED
11 1 03% STEM P.44,PalliAT CEIRGRAM
entirely innocent man to his grave. The
last act of the drama of woman's passion
and woman's revenge was over; the trage
dy of man's suffering and endurance still
went on.
How or by whom the terrible spectacle
in that chamber of death was first discov
ered we aro not told. All we know, from
the reports of the negroes, is, that Captain
Wilde, who seemed stupified at first, sud
denly passed into a state of excitement
little short of distraction,—now raving,
as if to an imaginary listener, and then
questioning and threatening those about
him with iticoherent violence. To these
simple observers such conduct was entire
ly incomprehensible; but we may easily
suppose that at this moment the unfortu
nate man first realized the fearful nature
of the circumstances which surrounded
him, and perceived the abyss which had
yawned so suddenly at his feet. And no
wonder that he shrank back from the
prospect, overwhelmed for the moment
with consternation and despair,—not the
prospect of death, but of a degradation far
worse to the proud spirit of the Kentucky
gentleman, on whose good name even
po
litical hatred had never been able to fix a
The terrified negroes carried the alarm
to the nearest neighbors, and soon the re
port of this appaling occurrence was fly
ing like lightning toward the utmost bounds
of the county. The first stranger who
reached the scene of death was M: Sum
mers, formerly an intimate friend of Cap
tain Wilde. When he entered the room,
he found the poor gentleman on his knees
beside the body of his child, with his face
buried in the bed-clothes, At the sound
of footsteps he raised his wild, tearless
eyes, exclaiming, " My God I my God!
Mr. Summers, my wife has been murder
ed here, in my own room, and it will be
laid on me !" Shocked by the.,almost in
s the excitement of his old friend, and sen
sible of the imprudence of his words, Som
mers begged him to compose himself,
pointing out the danger of such language.
But the terrible thought had mastered his
mind with a monomaniacal power, and to
every effort at consolation from those who
successively came in the only reply was,
"Oh, my God, it will all be laid upon
me !" Fortynately, those who heard
these expressions, were old friends, who,
although they had been long unfamiliar,
knew the native uprightness of the man,
and still felt kindly toward one whose es
trangement they knew was the effect of
weak submission to the dictation of his
wife, not the result of any change in tie
ow,n feelings. yin, regaiiiid* . hie :tifd
words as - only the incoherent utterances
of a mind bewildered by horror; and were
anxious to put an end to the harrowing
scene, and remove the stricken man as
soon as possible from the observation of a
mixed crowd that was now rapidly assem
bling from all directions, many of whom
knew Captain Wilde only in his unpopu
lar capacity of .exciseman, and would
theretbre be apt to suspect a darker ex
planation of his strange behavior.
So shocking had been the.sight present
ed to their eyes, on entering the room,
that hitherto - no one had had sufficient
presence of- mind to examine the bodies
closely; but at last Mr. Summers, cooler
than the rest, approached to raise that of
Mrs. Wilde, and then, for the first time,
perceived the bandage about her neck.--,
It proved to be a white silk" neckerchief,
which summers removed and began to
examine. As he did - so, his face was seen
to grow suddenly pale as death. All
pressed anxiously forward to see; and a
silent, but fearfully significant look passed
round the circle; for in one corner, em
broidered in large letters, was the name
of Cyril As silently every eye
sought the devoted man, and on many
countenances the look of doubt settled at
once into - one of conviction, when they
saw that he wore no cravat; and to many
ears the heart-broken moan of the wretch
ed husband and father, which a moment
before seemed only the foreboding of over
sensitive innocence, now sounded like the
voice of self-Accusing guilt, So great- is
the power of imagination in modifying
our beliefs!
After such a discovery an arrest follow
ed as a matter of course; and a popular
feeling adVerse to the accused quickly
manifested itself in the community. But
it is pleasant to know,
that, in spite of all
appearances, many of Captain Wilde's old
friends never lost faith in his innocence,
or hesitated to renew in his hour of adver
sity the kindly relations that had existed_
before his marriage; while his own
,kin
drod stood by him and bravely fought his
hopeless battle to the last,—employing as
his advocate the celebrated John Break
inridge, who was then almost ; without a
rival at the Kentucky bar. ut, on the
other hand, his wife's family pursued their
unfortunate, relative with a savageness of
hatred hardly to be paralleled. .Having
hunted him to the:very foot of the scat;
fold,- their persevering malice seemed
sated even by the sight'oEtheir - victim
-
suspended as a felon before their very .
eyes ; for it was reported, at the time, that
two of the murdered woman's brothers:
were seen upon the ground during the'°X.
ecution l , •
And now it was that, the nap' Plihtrity
osulting• from Captain -- W ilde'e off mai em
ployment manifested its most .baleful ef
fects. Had he posseSed at this crisis the
same general good will he had-,enjoyed
four, years before, ho niight pave ,bid de
fiance to the rage of his enemies, and have
escaped, in spite of all the suspicious cir
cumstances by which , he'stood environed.
For the general drift . of sentiment in 'the
West hai always, been,againstimPital pen
al ties,--and-it-isrnext- to-impossible-to tarry
such penalties into effect against a popu- -
kr favorite. ".[n, ,a country like this we
might,ati soon_ expeet , to see* 11 aRd s ,of
a clock move in a - airection contrary to
the mael,4nery. by . whieti it is governed,
as a jury to run counter to plainly 4,eola
red pops! .r ,feelings. There may no}P
and then be instances of" their acquitting
Contrary - to the general sentiment,' where i
that sentiment s . unimpassioned; but:*
much dcinbt 'whether there has over Mt
r, gin . 1 . 1 »1;:. I. ' • 'if 4.1,1f.y
CARLISLE, PA.,
..
ing a person in whose favor the sympathy
of a whole 'eminaunity Was, warmly and
earnestly expressed Of such sympathy
Captain Wilde had-none ; •for. to the great
majority he was known only as-the excise
man, and as such was:ptriobjeet of hostil
ity. Not ibaehis hostility 'at •any time
took the form of insult and abuse,—for
1 we are proud to sayythat outside of the
large towns - suet' disgraceful exhibitions
of feeling are unknown,"--but it left the
minds of the general mass liable to be
operated on by all the suspiciona.pircum
,
stances of the case, and by the slanders of
-
the personal enemies ef the-accused.-
On the 23d of November, an immense
crowd of people, both - - men and women,
were assembled in the court house at
to witness a trial' which was_to,fix-a dark
stain on the judicial annals of-Kentucky,
and ,in which, for the thousandth time,
a court of justice was to be led fatally as
' tray by the accursed thing called Circum
stantial Evidence, and made the 'instru
ment of that feeard - optevable - of all buman
tragedies, a formal, l_gaPzed murddr. It
is one of the most glaring inconsistencies
of our law, that it admits, in a trial, here
the'life of a. citizen is at stake, a species
of testimony which it regards as too in
conclusive and ton liable to misconstruc
tion to be allowed in a civil suit involving,
it may be, less than the value of a single
dollar. True, it is a favorite maxim
. of
prosecutors, that, "circumstances will not
lie;" but it 'requires little acquaintance
with the history of criminfil trials to prove
that circumstantial evidence has murder
ed more innocent men than all the false
witnesses and informers who ever disgra
ced courts' of justice by - their presence;
and the sFghtest reflectien_ will convince
r us that this shallow Sophism 'Contains even
less practical truth than the general mass
of proverbs and maxims, proverbially false
though they be. For not only is the
chance of falsehood, on tlie part of the
witness who details the circumstances,
greater,—since a false impression can''be
conveyed, with far less risk of detection
by distortion and exaggeration of a fact
than by the invention of a direct lie,—but
there is the addidonal danger of an honest
misconception on his part; and every law
yer knows how hard it is for a dull wit
ness to distit-gnish between •the filets and
his impressions of them, arid how impos
sible it often is to make a witness detail
the former without interpolating the lat
ter. But the greatest risk of all is that
the jury themselves may misconstrue the
circumstances and dra - unwkonteil cor
cluSions there Cm m. ,T ;as.' ',.. , ,,:,* fai - a.
r i tiponsibil . ‘
atilpiion of tY topclpio co -
elusions in such cases, and Cho I ap too
often proves to have been Made in the
dark. --God help the wretch-who ;is ar
raigned on suspicious appem4inces before
, a jury who believe that "eircuinsances
won't lie I" for the Justice that presides
at
/ such a trial is apt to provoas blind and
capricious as Chance herself. In review
ing the present trial in parlicular, one
may, well feel puzzled to decide which of
these deities presided over its conduct.—
A Greek Or Roman would bade said, Nei.
ther,—but a greater than either,—Fate;
and we might almost adopt the old , hea
then notion, as we watch the downward
course of the doomed gentleman from this
point, and note how invariably, every at
tempt to ward off destruction is defeated,
as if by the persevering malice of some
superior power. We shall soon see the
most popular and influential attorney of
the State driven from the ease by an - dwk-
Ard misunderstanding; another, hardly
inferior, expire almost in the very act of
pleading it; and, finally, when the real
criminal comes fOrward, at the• last mo
ment, to avert, the ruin which she has in
voluntarily drawn down upon the head of
her beloved master, and take his place
upon the scaffold, we shall behold her. -
roic offer of self-sacrifice frustrated by in-
1 fluences the most unexpectA,— ; political
influences which—with shame be it told
—wore sufficient to induce .a goVernor of
Kentucky to withhold the exercise of_ek
ercise of executive . clemency, the Most
' glorious prerogative intrusted to our chief
magistrates, and which it ought to have
been a most pleasing privilege tei-grant4-
for, incredible as it may4eetu, Governor
knew, when he signed the death
warrant, that tho an he was consigning
to an ignominious giavo was innocent ;of',
the crime for which he was to suffer.' • ,
. .
Tho trial was opened in the preSence'of
a crowded assembly, among whotidt. was
easy to discern that general cot.vietion *of
the , prisoner's guilv , zo- thilling•_ , to the,
spirits - of a - defen - dent - 'Mid his counsel,
and',Ao much deprecated by the latter, lie.
cause he-knows too well how far it, goes,
toward a prejudgmetit, of his cause: Siw
eral of the most prominent members of
the bar had been retained by the .ftitopy
of Mrs.:Wilde to assist the State's, attar=
ney in the prosecution. In thetlefewee
John Breckinridgu stood alone - 044ditik
no help; for all knetv that whatever Men
could-do in behalf of his olient would he'
done by him. -- Theyriiiolief hipilitlfotliiio
whom all eyes were turited, appeitred'4o . -
jected, but calm, like one who,flad:itisign:
-cd all hope. The :minims ,fore.botliagy
which had so overcome him op 'the fatal
morning of the rnurder f ' , had never' loft
him'.for IA single - moment. FrOM"Witit ,
hour he had - lookod - updfilitUseltas dilont‘ -
cd, and had yielded only a paisive COOL ,
escence in the measures of defencelo
posed by - his friends, awaiting. , ilia 'l' to
which ho regarded •is inevitable with( a
patience. almost arathetio. ' AtiVer4o
brought, out in-bold relief :qualitiett i -t4t
might have . :Sustained a cause wiitio: - ,ii - r
tortes - are martyrdoms, .but how useloots o
one'requirinwaetiie horoistia 1.,,„
..
=' - All - the amaging foots attending : o
discovery of the murder- , --the. , failu 151:
any signs of the stranger's proselme inti e
apa:tment;, the peel:that-behavior:ler:4 0
A
accused, the; finding of his env* on
. 1 0 . ,
nook of the corpse, his acknowiedgenatnt
,of hating worn. it-oh- the previous -..jj,' ~ . I
were fully, but . impartially; detiiile i. ...,y
the witnesses for the C r omtnon*ealth; • u
one; could deny
. that the cirminstan es'
were strongly 'against' :the .;prhampr ;.- a d
these shadows; at best, and too oftentif re
4., l, ive•iiiir4v. ottrath;" the loirtnlle .I.'
A
TRIDAY, DECEMBER 1861.
_ ---
to be weighed against the Heat' a man.
Against these shadows all the powers of
Breckinridge were taxed to the uttermost;
and he might have succeeded, for his-el
oquence was most persuasive, mid his in
fluence over the minds of the people near
ly unlimited, had not a false witness ap
peared to add strength by deliberate per
juries to a case already strong. It was
the ungrateful sister-in-law of the accused,
who had owed to him a home and an asy
lum from the merited scorn of her family
and the well , who now came forward to
complete the picture of her own detesta
ble character, and put the finishing hand
to her unhallowed work, by swearing
away that life which her arts had ren
dered scarcely worth defending, could
death have come unaccompanied by dis
grace. With a manner betraying sup
pressed, but ill-concealed eagerness, and
in'language prompt and• fluent, as if re
citing by rote a carefully kept journal, she
wont on to detail every fault or neglecter
impgiiiiit act of her relative, not sparing
exposure of the most delicate domestic
events, at th'e same time sup
pressing all mention of his' provocations.
In reply to the question, whether she had
ever witnessed any violence that led her
to fear personal danger to her sistet' .ottho '
replied, that, on one occasion, Ca l btain
Wilde, being displeased at something in
relation to the preparation of a meal,
seized a large carving knife and flung it
at hid wife, who only escaped ferther out
rage by flying from the house. On an
other occasion, she remembered, he be
came furiously angry because her sister
wished him to see sonic guests, and seiz
ing her by the hair, dragged her to the
door of his study, and cast her into the
hall so violently that she lay senseless
upon the floor until accidentally discov
ered,—her husband not even calling as
sistance. It is easy to imagine what .an
effect such exposures of the habitual bru
tality of the roan, narrated by a near re
lation of the sufferer, and interrupted at
proper intervals by sobs and tears, would
have upon an impulsive jury, obliged,to
`derive their knowledge of the case wholly
froni such a- source, and already strongly
impressed by the circumstancial details
with a presumption unfavorable to the de
fondant. Now since there were other per
sons in the court-house who had witnessed
these two scenes of alleged maltreatment,
it may seem strange that they were not
brought forward to contradict this woman
on those two points, which would at once
have destroyed tl* effect of her entire tes-ii
1.160 - ny,-the maikim, Falsum ire uno, fal
sunz in omnibus, boing always readily ap
plied in such caseS., Had this been done,
a reaction of popular feeling would almost
certainly have followed in the favor ofthe
accused, which might have borne him
safely through, in spite of all the presump
tive proof against him. For nothing is
truer than lord Clarendon's observation,
that, " when a man is shown to be less
guilty than he is charged, people are very
apt to consider him more innocent than
he may actually be." But in this case
the falsehood was secured from expose
ure by its very magnitude, until it was too
late for such exposure to be of any benefit
to the prisoner. The persons who had
beheld the scenes as they really occurred
never thought of identifying them with
brutal outrages, now narrated under oath,
at which their earts grew hard toward
the unmanly perpetrator as they listened.
Against the strong array of facts, and
actions presented by the prosecution the
only circumstance that could be urged by
the counsel for the prisoner was, that the
child was murdered along with the moth
er; and this could only avail to strength
en a presumption ofinnocence; had inno
cence been otherwise rendered probable;
but when a conviction of hie guilt had
been arrived at already, it merely served
to increase the atrocity of his crime, and
to insure the enforcement of its penalty.
After two days' struggle, in which eve
ry resource of reason and eloquence was
exhausted by the defendant's counsel, the
judge proceeded to a summing up which
left the jury scarcely an option,
even had
they been' inclined to acquit. The latter
withdrew in rthe Midst of a deep and sol
eusn'tilence-, while the respectful demean
or of the spectators showed that at last a
feeling of pity was begining to steal into
their hearts for the unhappy gentleman,
who still sat, as he had done during those
wo long days of supense, with his face
buritid in his hands,. as motionless as a
statue. A. profound stillness reigned in -
the hall during the absence of the jury,
broken only occasionally by u stifled sob
from some of the ladies i present. After
an absence of less than an hour the jury
returned arid handed in a written verdict;
and_as the fatal word " Guilty" fell from
'the white lips" of the agitated clerk, the,
calmest. face in That whole. vast assembly
woe that of him whom it dimmed to - the
ignominious death of a felon. And calm •
Ire- had, been ever since the dreadful
in orning_of his
_arrest_; _for the vial. of
wratliliad - then been broken upon his head, •
and he had tasted - the whole bitterneBB of
an agony which can be endured but a
short while, and can never be felt a second
time..., 'leer, as intense heat, quickly, de.'
strops the'vitulity of the 'nerves On 'which
it actS, 'and ae flesh once deeply cauter
ized: by:fire'-is - theoceforth insensible - to --
impreseings of pain, so the soul over which
one 'of the - fiery agenies of life has passed
can never experience a repititiori thereof.
Besides, it is well knothi , that the, antici
,' - pation - of an Unjust,acctisation is' far more
agitating to a virtuous man than the re- ,
alitylyhich is Sur: to arouse_that strange
Martyr spirit wherewith injustice always ,
arms - its victim, and supported by which
almscreven - the - most - timid mon havcroften
stillired'with fortitude, and the most un-
Vorthy died with dignity, - -
At the time the judicial.arran' gements
of Kentucky allowed an appeal, in critui- ,.
nal cases „fretnAlirenit-to , the sPistriet
-Court :And it was determined-to carry this
Caned before the Ittetor tribunal, Mr. "heck
enridge declaring that he •• believed, lie,.
should ,be able to'refersi3 the_ verdiot. 4 e-
On what ground he founded thitropiniom
wo.tio net. know; ,whether ILO' felt con- •
itMed that the Weal prejudice against his -
client and the influence of his enemies in
the County of—had mainly contributed
to bring about the unfavorable result of
the present hearing, he, hoped . to escape
these - adverse agencies by a change of
venue,'--or whether he counted on a
change of public feeling, after the first burst
of excitement had subsided, to bear him
through,—or whether he had discovered
the falsehood of the testimony, of the sis
ter-in-law,—or, finally, whether it was
that he had obtained a clearer and more
favorable" nsight into the ease, and recog
nized grounds of hope therein,—it is im
possible now to say. - But it is certain,
that to the defendant and his friends he
declared his confidence of a final acquit
tal, if 'the cause were transferred to the
appellate court; and John Breckenridge
was not a man to boast emptily, or to hold
out hopes which he knew could never be
realized. But at this crisis occurred a
strange misunderstanding, which drove
from the support of the wretched victim
of Fate the only man who thoroughly un
derstood the case in all its minutest details,
and would have been most likely to con
duct it to a happy termination. When
the preparations for the last struggle were
almost completed, and at the time set for
the final trial drew near, Mr. AMC
who, as Captain Wilde's brother in law,
had been most active and zealous in his
behalf, was informed by some officious in
termeddler that Breckenridge had said in
confidential conversation among his friends,
" that the case was entirely desperate,
that he had no hope whatever of altering
the verdict by an appeal, and the family
would save money by letting the law take
its course, there }being no doubt of the
justice of the sentence." Mr. 1 4 1cC---,
believing that he might rely on the word
of his informant, unfortunately, without
'any inquiry as to the truth of the tale,
and without assigning any reason, wrote to
Mr. Breckenridge
.a curt letter of dismiss
al, and immediately employed George
to conduct the further defence. This
gentleman, surpassed by no man in Ken
tucky as a logician, lawyer, and orator,
was inferior to the discarded attorney in
that great requisite of a jury:lawyer, per
sonal popularity, besides laboring under
the disadvantage of being new to the case,
and having but a short time to make him
self acquainted with its details. Person
al pique and professional punctillio, of
course, witheld his predecessor from af
fording any further assistance or advice in
*lttusiness,,frWwhieh he had. been -so
We cannot now
measure accurately the effect of this
• change of eimusel ; we only kii t owjhat, at
th6..tinte - it /was considered most disastrous
by those taxying the best opportunities of
j edging.
But if Mr. went into the cause
under this disadvantage, he was spurred
on by the consideration that in his client
he was defending a friend : for they had
been friends in youth, and, though long
separated, the tie had never been inter
rupted. Hence he threw himself into the
case with an ardor which money could
never have inspired, and in the course of
the few remaining days had succeeded
in mastering all its essential points.
The interest excited by this second
trial was as deep and far more widely
spread than by the first. Few proceed
ings of the kind in Kentucky ever called
together a crowd at once so large and in
telligent, a great proportion being lawyers,
who had boon induced to attend by the
desire to witness what it was expected
would be one of the most brilliant efforts
of an eminent member of their fraterni
ty.
The principal difference between the
two trials was, that, on this occasion, the
testimony of the sister-in-law was much
damaged by the exposure both of her
exaggerations and suppressions of impor
tant facts touching the incident at the
break flist-table. Having incautiously al
lowed herself to be drawn into particular
izing 'so minutely as to fix the exact date,
and so positively as to render retraction
impossible, she was to her own evident
discomfiture, flatly contradicted by more
than one of those present on that occasion,
who described the scene as it actually
occurred. Of course, after such a reve
lation of untruthfulness, her whole testi
mony became liable to suspicion, the more
violent that the falsehood was plainly
intentional. Moreover the defendant was
now provided with evidence of the con
stant and intolerable provocations, to
which he had been subjected during the
whole of his married life. Of this, howev
er, the most moderate and guarded use
was to be made; because, while it was
necessary, by exposing the true character
and habitual violence of his wife, to
relieve the prisoner of that load of public
indignation which had been excited
against him on account of his
.'alleged
autality, it was even more important that
no strong resentment should be. supposed ,
to, have_grewn, up on his_part-against his
tormentor. This delicate task was man
aged by the attorney. with such consum
mate skill, that, when the - evidence on
both sides was closed, public sympathy, if
not public conviction, had undergone a
;very perceptible change. The prosecutors,
aware of this,. felt the success of their
case endangered, - attd - exerted themselves,
,to the .utmost to •prevent the tide, now
almost in equilibrium, from- ebbing back
with a violence proportionate to that of its
-
'flow. But the argument even of their
ablest champion, John --; seemed
- almost .puorile,.in comparison with :this
the last effort — of George--, pn
effort which was -long remembered, .even
less on account of, its melancholy termina
ztion • than - foe - its extratirdiiiity — elOWffee.
The Kentuckians of that•day were mouth
toured• to heat Breckinridge, Clay, Talbot,'
Allen, and-Grundy, all men of singular I
oratorical fame,—but never; •we havel l
_heardit 4firmed,__ was- a more moving
appeal poured into the ears of aKentuoky
jury. Availing _
resource
of professional slt ill, ho,poii;dernonstrated,
to the NI satisfaction of many,. the utter
ituidequency of the circumstantial evi
dence upon which so much stress had been
laid to jusffy a- conviotion,- , - - sifting and.
1 $1 50 par annalist In advent*
Is 2 00 If not paid In advance
weighing every fact and detail, and try
ing the conclusion that had been drawn
therefrom by the most rigorous and
searching logic,—and then, assailing the
credibility of the testimony brought for
ward to prove the habitual cruelty of his
'client, he gave utterance to a withering
torrent of invective and sarcasm,'in which
.the character of the main hostile witness
shrivelled and blackened like paper in a
flame.—Then—having been eight hours
on his feet—he began to avail himself
of that last dangerous resource which
genios only may use,—the final arrow
in the lawyees'quiver, which is so hard
to handle rightly, and, failing, may prove
worse than useless, but, sped by a strong
hand and true aim, often tells decisively
on a hesitating jury,—we mean a direct
appeal to their feelings. Like a skilful
leader who gathers all his exhausted
squadrons when he sees the crisis of battle
approaching, the great advocate seemed
now to summon every- overtaxed- power of
body and spirit to his aid, as he felt that
the moment was come when he must
wring an acquittal from the hearts of his
hearers. Nor did either soul or intellect
fail at the call. Higher and stronger
surged the tide of passionate eloquence;
until every one felt that the icy barrier
was beginning to yield,—for tears were
already, seen on more than one of the faces
now leaning breathlessly forward from
the jury-box to listen,—when all at once
a dead silenee fell throughout the hall,:
the voice whose organ tones had been
filling its remotest nook suddenly died
away in a strange gurgle. Several physi
cians present immediately divined what
had happened ; nor were the multitude
near kept lung in doubt; for all saw, at
the next moment, a crimson stream
welling forth from those lips just now so
eloquent,—checking
their eloquence, alas,
forever! It was quickly reported through ,
the assembly that .the speaker had rup
tured one of the _larger blood-vessels in
the lungs.. The accident was too danger
nue for delay, and George—was borne
almost insensible from the sce ne o f hi s
struggles and his triumphs, to re-enter
as it proved no more. 1.1 e lived hut three
days longer,—long enough, however, to
learn that he had sacrificed his life in vain,
the jury having after a lengthened con
sideration, affirmed the former verdict
against his friend and client.
The unfortunate man stood up to re
ceive this second sentence with the same
face of ,iraeaSsive misery with which he
hat - • e ? ' to the first. To the solemn
moe , , 6 ,*eglea had any 'thing, to urge
wh ''' _
ee -. (#4 death should, riot be passed;
ure ' 4 ,
1
.P-ei ho shook his lidad wearily;.
ant ~„4 ' o,red, "Nothing." It was evident
that th... 4 2nind was failing - fast under the
overwhelming weight of calamity. It
was sad to see this highborn, but ill-fated
gentleman thus bowing humbly to a fel
on's doom ; and the remembrance of that
'scene must have been a life-long remorse to
I his judges, when the events of a few
weeks revealed to them the terrible truth,
that he was innocent of the crime for
which they had condemned him.
We will not dwell on the events alluded
to ; for nearly at the distance of three
quarters of a century they are too painful
and too ituiniliatine. Suffice it to say,
I that, when the murderess discovered that
her beloved'master was to suffer for
her crime, .and 'that no other chance
of salvation remained she made a fult
confession of the whole matter. But
the sentence had been pronounced, and
the power of suspending its execution
rested with the Governor • and that dig
nitary—let. his name, in charity, remain
unsaid—was about to be a candidate for
re-election to the office which he disgracd,
while the family of the murdered lady was
one of the most extensive and influential
in the State, the whole of which influence
was thrown into the scale against mercy
and justice With what result was seen
- when, on the morning of the—of
April, 17—, the prison-doors were opened
for the last time for his passage, and
Cyril Wilde was led forth to the execution
of an iniquitous sentence, though even
while the sad cart was moving slowly,
very slowly, through the crowded, strange
ly silent street, some of the very men who
pronounced it where imploring the Gov
enor, almost on their knees that it might
be stayed. The prisoner alone seemed
impatient to hasten the reluctant march,
and in_•et.the final catastrophe. Ile knew
of the efforts that were making to save
him, and .the confession on which they
were founded. Ho had listened to the
hopeful words and confident predictions;
but noexpression of hope bad thereby
been kindled for an instant on his pale,
dejected face. The-ominous 'premonition
which had come upon him at the moment •
of Unit first overpowering realization of
his danger continued to gain strength
-with-every - successive stroka - of - untoWard -
Fate, until it had become the ruling idea
of his
Juind, in which there grew up___the ,
sort of desperate impatience with which
we long for any end we know to be inovi- ,
table. The waters of his life had been
so mingled with ga11,.., and the bitter
draught so long pressed to his lips, that„
now he seemed only eager to distin . the
dregs, and cast the hated 'cup from him
impatient to find-peace-and-rest- -
in the grave, oven if it wore, the grave of
a felon, antra the foot of the , gallows.
Here let the curtain fall upon the sad
closing scene. We will only remark, in ,
'conclusion, that the name andlamily of
this: ill-fated - victim of fable and circum•
stantial , evidence have long since disap- -
peered front.- the :lar - - nt-where:-they had
- .
:known suck 'disgrace; and but fair per
sons....areLnow_living_who-can Lreetdl—the—
' foregoing detaile.of .the 'once celebrated
‘‘ Wilde Tragedy;" - , ' . .
. . .
. , SW' • Beautiful was the 'reply of a v©,:
erable man.to4he ..questien -whethei, , ~ e
was still in the land of the liviag: "Nci,
butt 'am-almost there." . , - .
Air The moat diffioult punctuation—
putttng a WI) to a woman'o tongue.
air If yoii mei; ppe'alc . upon 13: Oftep,lt .
point, , be the.,lppetiker- , 4f 7 you can.
NO. 3.