Hide Article Text (OCR)
aStew.J[ITou the Jot/feSAt..]Ever.IIYOIPSV WILDE.Ever ftud ever the world poos round, Eoa('i«g ifcj burdens and crosses;Ever lt;wul over lift years voU on,With their lido of sorrow'# and losses, liver and ever the book of I ho Hears upon its pages Tho weary, weary Uy of the heart, Suu^ through nil the ages.Ever atul ever with outstretched haucls, Wo grasp for a golden morrow;Ever and ever the billows of time Are freighted with bitter sorrow ;Ever and ever the lips smile ou.That the.world may walk in blindness ; tattle they know of the heart's wild woe “ When the luce looks but with kindness.iSrer and ever the shadows fail Over the golden mosses ;Ever a gluii from Paradise,[lightens our cares and crosses, liver and ever “.ha mo ruing dawns On hopes that are breathed in gladness; Ever and ever the night brings in Its tide of bitlci* sadness.Eve ran cl ever the eye of God Jsookclli upon us Vi tli pity;Aud cvor tho light is shown to us, That gleams from tho Golden OUy.r-V-vmu..A Narrow Escape:x:-CoNH'KMNKn to dio ! Condemnor! to parish ignoumiiously on tho scaffold I Condemned to hid adieu to wifi), mother, children, and friends!The poor man wept nlouil in the extremity of* his anguish. Ills trembling lips could frame no prayer, and thus the last avenue of escape was closed against him. The most direct and unequivocal evidences i surrounded - this uian—Lloyd Fletcher by name—and the jury, in bringing in their verdict of “guilty in the first degree/’ had only acted on their sober conviction of the man’s guilt, drawn from tho overwhelming evidence.Charles Lancaster, an Englishman, and a neighbor of FletcherV, had been (oiuul brutally murdered, in a lone apob, in the suburbs of London. ' Fletcher s pistol was picked up near him, thrown aside us he found himself pursued.Footprints in tho mud corresponded exactly with the boots tho prisoner wore, and to crown all they had- been bitter and inveterate enemies for months previous.— Fletcher had been heard to say, ou several occasions, that nothing but the man's death could satisfy his implacable vengeance; and then again, he could produce no one to assist him in proving an alibi. Lloyd was a man very domestic in his habits, and very devotedly attached to his family. He was known to be absent from-homo'on that cvouing, yet, ou this particular night, Mrs. Fletcher waited up until daylight for his return, expecting every moment (ou account of the circumstances being so unprecedented) to have him brought home acorpse. He seemed to bo recovering from the deep stupor of intoxication as he entered hia wife's presence on the morning described, and only knew enough to find the bed and sleep profoundly.given aip-sdl hope of ft reprieve, and listened to the building of the sealleld with a solemn feeling born of despair.“I’ve brought another gal to see you this time, Fletcher. It's very probable she won't bo so agreeable-like as t’other one, but will do as much good, I reckon/' A woumn in black stood before the bed on which Fletcher reclined, lie recognized Mrs. Lancaster, the wifo of the murdered num.“Ah, this does me good/' said she, taking a step nearer mid shaking her clenched list in his face. “It does not pay to take a fellow cron Lure's life, does it ? Don’t you speak to me, you Yilla'm—don’t dare to open your mouth. I came here to gloat over your misery, aud sou how tho prospect of leaving your wife and babies a fleet-, ed you. Oh, you tremble. I have found , the tender chord. My husbauefs wife and 1 children were nothing—oh. uo.“ Wretch, villain, may the h\v bo fully justified/'The woman, to nil appearance, exasperated beyond the power of further utterance, stopped nearer, and, with a sly movement, hid one of her gloves under the pillow of the bewildered man. ^ •'“Have you finished, uni'am/' inquired tho turnkey, with his band on the door.“Now, really, Fletcher, don't you rather prefer an interview of this kind to one of those lallygagging sort you have had so many of lately ? 'Twill do you more good-ten to one. W'liat arc you doing now?’' “Giving him fine more look, fchut is all. Murderer! robber I wretch I I want to ougravo his picture 011 iny brain so indelibly that I Can never forget a .single feature“By the crown, your old man must havehad u Tartar 1 Oh, ho, I10, ho !” and the Bit turnkey shook his fat sides with laughter/ “J. don’t believe he's got it much better where lie is staying now than Jie had with you. It taken a woman tor.se up theKing's English. I always said so, now Iknow it.Mrs. Lancaster drew her veil over her face, mid quietly loft the prison. As soon ha he dared, with trembling fingers/Lloyd drew forth the glove. 1 In it was a vial containing a mixture of chloroform or either, a small sharp instrument to fife his shackles, and a note. It read thus :You arc not the man. and I cannot allow you to be hung. Overpower the keeper, take his clothes, and leave. Go to the old rookery, No. first floor where a disguise awaits you, and then God' hclp’you, for you must conceal yourself.Lloyd, with a wildly beating heart, concealed the articles and tried to think. Tho hooper did not enter the cell till he brought his tea, and how could he accomplish his purpose thon?‘Thorc would be too many astir in the prison thfin, and lie might be detected.“Defeated now, with the weapons of deliverance in my hands. No, indeed, LloydFletcher!“Fletcher, I suppose you know that according to the prison rules you are not allowed to stay alone to-night. It would be barbarous to leave a foiler without good company his Inst night on earth/' said tho turnkey, an hour or two after Mrs. Lnn-cuafcov'a visit.“You'll have to take your pick between old Father Walsh and myself, but 1* suppose you will take mo, bad us you hate me, afore that hypocrite/'“Why can't I have my wife? askedAt the time of his arrest, his hands Lloyd, with u voice full of bitterness.were found lame and bruised; so this, wiLh the rest, made tho sum too crushing for the skillful eounset be had employed, and tho result was, “Hanged by the neck, Fletcher, till you arc dead: and God have tnoroy on your soul.It lacked now only three days to the execution, . and here he sat in his lone, comfortless, whitewashed ^oll/aml his headbowed on his hands. “Can nothing be done? Must I dio thus, poor, miserable clog that I aiu ? Will Omnipotence allow an iuuoccnt man to perish ? Out upon such a God us tlu\t! Ami the poor fellow struck wildly at his prison-house, groaning so deeply that ho aroused the attention of tho turnkey, who was passing the cell.— Tho iron door swung back on its creaking hinges and the stalwart form of the keeper appeared be fore him.“Coiue, come, Fletcher, less noiso horoj be a man ! You ain't tho first umn that's had to swing—not by a long shot! You won't get much sympathy here if you arc like a nursing infant, I can tell you. .Die game, Fletcher ; die game/'“But I am innocent, I tell you, you old wretch; as innocent of the crime us' my little girl baby at home. Oh, my God I my wife—my children—-r”“Oh, shut up, hero’s your old woman,now.))The hardened turnkey waited ft minuteto witness thomootingof this sufferiiurcouple, ftftd then with maddened curses withdrew. But the condemned man and his loving, faithful wife took 110 notice of his departure, but clasped in each other's nr ms awaited lor calmness to speak.“Oli, Sarah!“Oh, Lloyd 1. God have mercy on us all, my husband! and now listen. Lie down here—place your head on my lap; I have something to tell you/'“Toll iue, Sarah, did they search you this tiino? ho asked, grasping her hands.“Yes, Lloyd, nncl they found nothing. I repented my rash promises to you before I reached liouic. Gome what may, suicide must not bo your. late. But listou. You 3co that I am.comparatively huppyj and let me tell you what has produced this3hauge—a sweet Tittle dream in which I saw you and our darlings all together,comfortable and happy.“Oil, Sarah, talk not of dreauis to . a loomed man like mo; perhaps we may be happy in another existence; but no, that i.mnot be—for surely God will notallow m innocent man to die tho dcsntli of the guilty. Oh, no, Sarah, oh, no !“Keep up your courage, my dear husband, a certain, strange, mysterious something assures me that all will yet be well, liow or in what manner heaven only knuws.”“X wish I could seo it—I wish I couldfool it, Sarah; do not mislead 1110 with false hopes. Oh, my God, if there could nly be found a way to escape from this‘Oil, wives ain't allowable on such occasions. ShoTl be around in the morning an hour or two; but talk quick, which will you have? ^■“What difference do you think-it makes to me, you heartless wretch, who watches with my last moments on onrtli, when my only friend is denied me ?S'o it wius arranged. The turnkey was to occupy his cell, and Lloyd went to work with his little.instrument to fife the hand-, cuffs and chains which bound liiiu. It was slow and tedious, but in an hour's time ho had the satisfaction of one free hand, uud had the power to remove his limbs from the galling rattling torments which had so firmly belli him.lt;(I must be able to throw these fetter? off, or I am tost/' So lie worked away industriously until the obstinate link was displaced, and lie could .wear, or leavethem off at his pleasure. Ten o’clock arrived, and the turnkey had his cot brought in 'the cell.or“When arc you going to turn in Flctcli-:? Fin as tired us an ’East India nigger.Flagy nlVnicl I shan't be inuch company to-night; better had the priest. You wrote all your letters yesterday Flotchcr, didn't you? and the keeper yawned deeply, turned once or twice, and in 8vo minutes was snoring profoundly.‘•Now is my time/' thought Fletcher. “It will not do to wait/ Heaven helpme.\t)I1Itignominious death!v“Come, madam, time’s up, and the iuvnkcy umdc his appearance. “Hato to listurb such :l pair of cooing doves, but mlers uro orders, ma'am, and must be bcycd. Always obey orders if you break nwns. You ought to persuade your msbnml to stop liis sniveling. Mark what C tell you, ma'am, you’ll bo looking for mother husband in three month's time. jontmncd the wretch, ns he walked out by ter side. 'Sarah hurried through the corridor, en-leavoring to hear as littlo ns possible of ho bruto's conversation, and reached her ionic and children, thoro to hope and pray.Noiselessly he stepped from tho chains find drew off tho torturing ’ handcuffs. It wins but tho work of a moment to saturate the hunclkcrchlof with the mixture, and in less tune than it takes to tell it, Lloyd hud stripped tho hardcuod wretch/ There was a trifling difference in height, but Lloyd luckod the aldermanic proportions of thojailor. However, ho managed that quickly aud easily, unlocked the door of the . cell, stopped into tho corridor, looked it again, carefully withdrew the key, and imitated as nearly as possiblo the dull, heavy tread of the kcepor. The jail phyichm was just leaving tho building,and .Lloyd walked along after him, us if to sco him safely out. Only 0110 subordinate guarded the entrance, aud so Lloyd and the doctor walked out together; without exciting tlicslightest suspicion. ‘He roach ed the old rookery, donned his attire, which proved to bo a soldior’s uniform, removed the black wig of the keeper, and substituted ft light, curly one, and before twelve o’clock had reach od tho houseof ft friend, two or three miles from thecity, told his story, and y/na mvmjy received and promised protection, Lloyd felt sure lio had left no clue by which ho could be traced to this spot, and, almost overcome by his groat happiness, he full ou Ids knees and thanked the God be had previously foreswore, lor tho miraculous escape.The next morning nil was astir in the prison, but our turnkey did not make his appearance; what could it mean? A key was produced to open the coil door, and the mule inanimate figure of tho Hit keeper wasprcsenLod to their astonished view. In tho middle of tho cell was tho prisoner's wardrobe; All he could spare from the make-up ed the turnkoy's lusty proportions. A little cold water aud fresh air revived hiui, bub lie could throw no light on the mysterious disappearance of Flctch-or. He had seen nothing, know nothing, and vemcwboicd nothing. Mrs. Fletcher was arrested on suspicion ol’ assisting herIhlcLa11Bt«ahusband to escape, but nothing could be proven, uud a few dovs saw her at liberty.provL’l.. .......i-v tirad0kPt:feIIVafiJ»s:u0Dtit(PCiir0:dft!hu:re
Newspaper Details
Huntingdon Journal
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, US
Wed, Jan 24, 1872
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Mary B.
USA 17 May 2018
Other Publications Near Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon Gazette
Huntingdon Journal American
The Daily News
Huntingdon Journal
Huntingdon Globe
