Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lewis m. cj-itisx, proprietor. | A11 Jabepmbent Jfamiln Itetospaprr: jfyr tjjc ^prtrmotion of t|e apolitical, Social, Agricultural anb Commercial Interests of tjje Soutj). |terms?$3.00 a year, in advance. VOL. 21. YORKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1875. 3STO. 43. ju original Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. Sleepy Hollow.! CHAPTER VIII. IN THE BALANCE. I passed a miserable day, tryiDg, in my own , mind, to decide what my duty was, but failing entirely to do so. Filial love and the stroug ; habits of years were not easy to shake ; but j here was a new claim, drawing me with mighty ; force, which it seemed impossible for me to re- j sist. Was it not an ordinance of Heaven, I asked myself, that when this claim was urged, all others, no matter how ancient, must bow j before it? Why, then, should it seem such a wrong thing in me to place it first? My conscience acquitted me of undutifulness, or want of natural affection. I felt that this love, which had taken such firm hold upon my ! heart, was a thing of itself, separate and re-; moved from all others. Then, again, I thought of my father?lone- i ly, forsaken ; his chief interest in life taken from him?and the picture made my heart bleed. He was differently situated from most fathers. He had no one but me to love and caress. His home would seem desolate without his little Rosy's presence. Suddenly the thought flashed over me that if I were to go, aunt Mabel might come and live with him. What an excellent plan that would be! They were very fond of one another, and with Ellen and myself both married, nothing could be more fitting than that they should end their days in the enjoyment of the old companionship of their youth. My aunt, I knew, would gladly accede to such an arrangement. I had some idea of seeking her, aud asking her advice, before allowing papa another opportunity of discussing the subject with me. I felt j almost sure that her sympathies would be enlisted in my behalf; but then, again, might not my father be wounded by any appearauce of a want of confidence, or a desire for the mediation of a third person, on my part ? While I was thus pondering restlessly on the difficult question which had so unexpectedly arisen, my maid brought me a little note, which she said my father had bid her give me. I opened it eagerly, and read as fol lows: "My Dear Rosy.?Wishing to avoid another interview on what is, to me, a necessarily painful subject, I judge it best, before we meet again, to write you these few lines. "I do not wish you to suppose, from any remark which may have escaped me while in a state of some mental excitement, that I have the least intention of forcing your inclinations against their bent. I told you this before, but fear I may not have sufficiently impressed it upon you. Understand, once and for all, that you aredb.iolntcly free to make your own choice. If you decide to leave me, I shall feel no anger at your decision. My blessing, and my earnest wishes for your happiness, will everaecompany you. '"'There is another point, however, which I must equally bring before your consideration. Should you marry Dr. Wardlaw, vou must make up your mind to the fact that all intercourse between myself and him must cease. You will always be welcome under my roof, whenever you dosire to visit me; but to your husband my doors will not be open. You will naturally wish to know whether I have any specially antagonistic feeling toward him. Speaking personally, I have not. As a friend, I like and esteem him; as a sonin-law, the wider the distance that separates him from me the better pleased I shall be. You cannot understand this; it is not necessary that yon should. I speak calmly and without Ill-feeling; but my resolution in the matter is fixed, and no argument will avail to shake it. "Do not permit yourself to be influenced by any consideration for my personal comfort in the j case of tnv remaining here alone. I shall do very ! well, ami have many resources for employing ! my mind, and preventing time from hanging heavily on my hands. "Having explained myself, as I think, in a manner which can leave no room for misunderstanding, I will end here, with the assurance that, whatever you may determine upon doing, I shall ever remain "Your most affectionate Father." I read and re-read the note, trying to derive some comfort from it; but though the liberty given me to make ray own choice was ; absolute, the grantiug of it was couched in ; terms which made it a painful gift. What i strange, unsatisfactory conditions were those I which my father imposed upon me in the j event of ray marriage! How could I be sat isfied, knowing that there was an impassable j gulf of separation between my husband and himself? The knowledge of its existence would take away half the happiness of my married life. Yet, on the other haud, had I the right to blight the future of another as well as my owu, for what seemed to me now merely the emanation of caprice, or of a strangely warped and disordered mind ? My father distinctly assured me that he had no objection to offer against Dr. Wardlaw as a friend, but simply in the event of his becoming his sonin-law Such being the case, no matter whom I married, the result would be the same. I must, therefore, either make up my mind to submit to the singular terms he proposed, or resolve never to marry at all. A hard alternative, truly! Situated as I was, it was more than hard; it was maddening. Oh ! for a counsellor, a guide on whose wisdom I could j rely to help me! But I had none?none but j my own heart, now sorely perplexed and tossed upon a sea of doubt. Even to my kind godmother I could not freely have expressed the emotions that agitated me. Tender and motherly as she had always been, she had newer onme between mv father and mvself. I could not ask her to do eo now. Dinner-time came. I had a racking headache, but thought it best to go down. My father strove to appear as usual, and no allusion to anything but ordinary topics was made ! by either of us. I passed the afternoon as I had done the morning, brooding in my own chamber. Matilda, ray faithful femine dt-chambre, perceiviug that I was distressed about something, hovered with affectionate solicitude about me, trying to discover the cause of my trouble. I told her my head ached, and she insisted on bathing it with eau-de-cologne. I submitted passively to her efforts, and to the stream of conversation, or rather gossip, with which she strove to beguile me during the process; for I was tired of my own unhappy thoughts, and found even humble corapaniouship a sort of j relief. "Let me bring your tea up to you, Miss ! Rosamond. Don't worry yourself to go down again to-night. Your pa won't mind," said the sable maiden persuasively, when the tea- j bell rang. "You ain't fit to be anywheres 1 but in bed, this blessed minute; you iooks < like a ghost." "Never mind, Tilly ; I'll go down. It won't make me feel worse," said I, looking pitifully at the reflection of my pale cheeks and heavy j eyes in the glass. I was so unused to sorrow, 1 it seemed to me a pathetic thing that I should he made to suffer so much, and all for no fault! of mine. The weary evening wore away, and the i clock struck the hour for retiring. As I bid ; papa good-night, he retained ray hand in his. "You look ill," he said, with an anxious look. "Do you feel badly ?" "I told him what was the matter. "I trust a good night's rest will cure you, my dear." "Thank you," said I, with an effort. "Good- > night." "Good-night!" I had scarcely reached the door when he called me again. "Have you written any letter to-day, Kosy ?" j Of course I understood the allusion. "No, J papa," I answered in a low tone. "I have . not felt able to write yet." He made no comment, but simply bowed : his head in acknowledgment of my reply ; and without another word I left him. ' I was so exhausted that on going to bed I soon fell asleep and knew nothing more until morning. With the bright early sunshine, something of my wonted euergy revived; my mind felt braced and more capable of exerting itself. Without difficulty, I decided upon a plan of action. I would write to Dr. Wardlaw, and telljhira exactly how matters stood; would own that I returned his affection, but ask him to wait patiently, for my sake, until a more propitious time for us to bind ourselves by an engagement. In the interval, I trusted that papa might change his mind, or that I might be able to influence him in our favor. This resolution taken, I felt more easy, and was able to look and speak like myself. Papa regarded me several times with an earnest look, as if endeavoring to discover the cause of my restored equanimity; but I was determined to say nothing until my letter was! written, unless I was asked any questions. I went up-stairs immediately after breakfast, leaving to Aunt Patty the ministration of all household affairs, and set myself to the i task of composing that importaut letter. It was harder than I had imagined, to express i it in terms that would convey to him a right j impression of my feelings, without saying I either more or less than I thought desirable, j After two hours of painstaking. I finally sue- j ceeded in producing a satisfactory result. It j was not much like a love-letter?not like what I had always fondly anticipated my first love letter would be. My next duty was to tell my father what I , had done. Accordingly I went down stairs, j where I chanced to encounter him in the hall, just preparing to go out. "Papa," I said, timidly, "I have written my letter." He went on brushing his hat in a quick, nervous manner, without looking at me. "Well!" he said, half below his breath. "And I have told him the truth," I continued, gathering courage as I went on. "Be a little more explicit," he rejoined, after waiting a moment, and finding that I stopped there. "I have told him he must wait?that I cannot engage myself to him now?that I could not leave you yet." "Not leave me yet" he echoed, with bitter emphasis. "Then you have made up your | mind to leave me?at some future time. Be I it so. I am glad to know the worst at once." ! "Papa," I said, sorrowfully ; "you are very ; ' ? UL1 rvtft Ar\ no T nlnoan on/1 ! imru Ull I Lie. JL UU uru 1UC UV UO JL MUW then reproach me." "Reproach you, child ! I don't reproach you. What word of reproach have I said ?" "If you don't wish me to send that letter, I will not. Perhaps you had better write to him, instead." "Of course I shall write to him, under any circumstances. Common politeness demands j that I should not leave his communication | unanswered. But that has nothing to do with j your writing." "Would you rather have me write him a different sort of letter?" "I would rather, you should do just as you ! please. Either you mean to marry him or you do not mean to marry him ; which is it?" "I cannot give him up," I answered, falteriugly. "Very well. For Heaven's sake, let us have no more talk about it now." He strode to- ' ward the door, then turned suddenly, and i coming back to where I stood, caught me in : his arms and kissed me. "Child ! child," he ; said, brokenly, "You do not know how I love , you!" I burst into tears ; but he quickly unclasped ray hands, put me gently away from him, and was gone in an instant. I did not see his letter to Dr. Wardlaw. I only knew that mine went in the same enclosure, and that they were mailed that very evening. Those were restless, anxious days that en sued, i could oinu ray mougnis 10 none 01 ray usual occupations, but waudered aimlessly about, sometimes picking up a book and glaueing iu a desultory fashion through its pages; then listlessly putting a few stitches in a piece of work, but most often dreamiug through the golden auturau days, waiting, hoping, wondering what the end would be. The time I had allowed for receiving an answer to my letter, came and passed. I grew uneasy at Dr. Wardlaw's silence. Was he too deeply offended to make any reply? What had papa written to him ? I longed, with an impatience that grew almost intolerable, for some token that he appreciated my position, and would give me the help I needed. My father, though he never made any allusion to the subject of my disquietude, (indeed it had become, by mutual consent, a tabooed subject,) had never been kinder to me than now. He sought, by a hundred nameless little attentions, to testify his fondness for me and his anxiety to give me pleasure. He brought me new music, new books; he gave me a beautiful pony, and took me to ride every afternoon. Iu short, he left nothing ur?doue which he fancied might divert my mind and arouse me from my moodiness and abstraction. I was grateful to him, but my heart could not respond as readily to his advances as it had once done. A chord had been rudely jarred, which vibrated yet and spoiled the harmouy of all my inner being; and it was his hand which had created the discord?a hand which I had once thought could never be lifted to give me pain. If I was unhappy, however, he was at least equally so. I could see that, notwithstanding his efforts to appear as usual, he acquired a care-worn look that was not habitual to him ; j and I fancied that his steps were slower, and his hair more gray than formerly. One evening my father and I were sitting | in the parlor as usual. He had been reading aloud some extracts which he thought would interest me, from a book he had that day brought home, and was now expressing his j own opinion of their merit, and trying to draw forth mine. I was listening and an- : swering mechanically, when the sound of ap-1 proaching horses' feet fell on my ear. "Can that he a visitor, so late 1" I exclaimed. "Scarcely," he replied. "There is no one who is likely to come at such an hour. It is probably a message of some sort." The next moment, the hall-bell rang. I heard a servant go to the door, and then the tone of a voice that made me start, sending a thrill of mingled pain and delight all through me. My father's eyes and mine met. He, too, heard and recognized the voice, for it was one not easily forgotten. Before I had time to recover from the sudden tumult of feeling iuto which I was thrown, the parlor ; door was opeued, and Dr. Wardlaw entered. I never knew exactly what sort of greeting passed among us all. I felt the pressure of his warm, strong hand, for an instant, on mine, and heard my father say something in a courteous, though formal tone; and then I recovered from my confusion to find mv lover sitting on a sofa near me, talking with his wonted ease and polish of manner, exactly as though nothing unusual had occurred. I watched papa with secret anxiety. But whatever his feelings were, he was too much of a gentleman to be otherwise than hospitable and polite to a guest. With a sort of vague wonderment, I heard them discussing politics, the weather, the crops, and other trilling topics ! of the day, apparently oblivious of all the tragedy of life. I was thankful that Dr.: Wardlaw scarcely ever spoke to vie. It was a relief to me to sit (juiet and, as far as possi- ; hie, escape observation. i We had been sitting thus, about an hour,' when our visitor'arose to go, saying that, with 1 ray father's permission, he would call again on ! the followiug day. ; "Surely, you will remain with us!" said papa. "You will find the room you former- i | ly occupied in readiness for you now." j Dr. Wardlaw hesitated. "You are very ; kind," he rejoined, "but I did not anticipate intruding myself upon your hospitality ; I | : have already made arrangements to stay at j j the village hotel." "I beg you will not think of such a thing," j 1 was papa's reply. It will give me great pleas- j ure to have you here, for as long a period as j you will favor me with your company." "My stay will necessarily be a short one," said Dr. Ward Jaw. "Iam compelled to re! turn home the day after to-morrow." "Short or long, I trust you will pass it under my roof. Rosamond, ring the bell; I i will give orders to have Dr. Wardlaw's horse i properly cared for." Wkile our visitor was thanking him, with a few graceful words of acceptance, for his hospitality, a message was brought that some one especially desired to see my father at the door. He gave me, I thought, an uneasy glance; but with an apology for leaving the room, went to answer the summons. The next moment Dr. Wardlaw had my hand in his. "Were vou verv much surprised to see J ? - . 4 I , me ?" he asked, bending forward with a smile. "Very," I answered, shyly. "I have come to plead my cause. Do you think I will be successful ?" I shook my head. "I am afraid," I replied in a low tone, "there is very little hope. "I will have your co-operation though, will I not?" "I have done all I could ; I am afraid to go too far." "Tell me candidly, Rosamond, does your father dislike me ?" "No, indeed ; he likes you very much?a9 a friend, only." "Does he ? Then I have hope. But you know, whatever happens, you are mine?mine always; are you not?" I looked at him wistfully; my eyes gave him the answer my lips still feared to utter. "All will be well," he said, pressing my hand. "Do not fear." At this moment we heard my father returning, and we could say no more. This dialogue, brief as it was, had given me hope also, and I went to bed with a lighter heart than I had borne for days. I awoke in the morning, feeling as if Dr. | Wardlnw's arrival must be a dream ; but I was convinced of the reality of it by Matilda's irrepressihie chatter on the subject. I had scarcely finished dressing when there was a knock at my door, and, to my surprise, aunt Mabel entered. "Don't look at me as if I had dropped from the clouds, my dear!" she exclaimed, gaily. "Did you not know that your papa had sent over for me to come aud play hostess to your visitor ?" I had not known it before ; but I was very glad of it, and I told her so. I felt that it would be a great relief to me to have her there. It would save me from much embar- : rassmcut, and her cheery, sunshiny presence j would be a support under any difficulties 1 which might arise in the unusual circumstan- i ces of our present position. [to be continued next week.] <ihe ^lovh Civcnit (Ecnul | trial of J. ALBGRTUS HOPE AM) MARY E. HOI'E, KOR THE MURDER OK MISS MARY ISA?ELLA CASTLES. In tlic Court of Sessions lor tin; County of York, Ills Honor T. J. Mac key presiding.?October term, 1875. [continued from last week.] Sidney Hill?Cross examined.?i was ; summoned to the coroner's inquest; was noti- j tied, when in Charlotte, by a telegram from ; 1 Coroner Williams. I had quit Mr. Hope's j and left this State. I accompanied some j | men of that neighborhood to King's Moun- i j tain Station, where I met a man to whom ! I hired as clerk and accompanied him to ! t Charlotte. I did not know the man who j ; employed me would be tit King's Mountain j ; when I went there. At the inquest I told j I near about all i have here said. [Counsel here read Sidney Hill's testimo- j ! ny before the jury of inquest as follows:] "Sidnky Hili., .sworn, says:?I resided at Mr. Hope's until last Monday morning, the 23rd of j November. At about half-past three o'clock, on | i Tuesday morning, the 17th of November, 1874, I ; I was woke up by Mr. Hope, who desired me to I ! go to Meek Whitesides' and tell them as quick as I i I could?tell them Mary Castles was dead?and I I done so. I went to Mr. Hope's with Mr. Whitesides and wife. I was at Mr. Hope's the day before she died. I eat supper with the family. The I deceased was there. I was impressed with the j belief that Mary Castles was in a family way j from the size of her waist?body. I heard that | Mrs. Hope and Mrs. Whisonant had charged | I Marv Castles with being in a family way before ! i her death. Heard the same at her death. I have j i saw the deceased away from home; saw her at j I show. It was in August last. The deceased and ! j Mrs. Hope had some rash words. I heard this j while I lived in the family. I have been living i I with them since the third of October, 1873. I I heard Mary say she wished she was away from there. I was directed by Mrs. Hope, the wife of i Mr. Albertus Hope, to watch and see if there was an intimacy existing between Mr. Hope and the j deceased. Since the death of the deceased, Hope J told me that the reason he did not tell me Mary l i was sick, that he did not wish to wake me on I | such an occasion. The message sent by me was j | to tell Meek that Mary Castles was dead. J. S. Hill." Cross examination resumed.?At the inquest I told all I knew. I told all that I have told : here to-night. I related the story of the child, i Lulu, at the supper-table. At the inquest I did not say Mary Castles wa3 pregnant in July; I do not think I specified the date. I j did relate, at the inquest, the proposition Hope 1 made to me that if I would marry some body to please him, he would give me the lower; part of his plantation. Hope's kindness to Mary and his erabbedness toward'his wife, j were the grouuds of ray suspicions. Mr. Hope did not permit her to visit as much as other girls of the neighborhood were accustomed to. I disremembcr about her going to the sacramental meeting at Smyrna two weeks before her death. I cannot say positively, but I think Mary was at a pic-nic at White- ; sides' Mill that autumn, or some time alter j the crops were laid by. She went several j times to J. Whilesides', and to Mr. Whison-, ant's once; also to Meek Whitesides'. I cannot say what time in the year she went to j Meek's, hut it was not in the fall. I do not j remember of the sacramental meeting at Smyrna. The child's story of Mary and Hope on the porch did not excite or shock ' me. I thought about it, but made no remarks. : Though friendly with the Whitesides', I said nothing to any of them about it. I first told this story to J. B. Whitesides and two others at Smyrna during the inquest. Previous to ? r lll.TI 1 tne inquest I was asKen wnat 1 Knew aoout the child. I did not then tell all I have here said. Though I had seen what I have here related, when I was interrogut d as to the father of the child, I did not say I suspicioned Hope. I was afterwards interrogated by Mr. j Bell, in presence of Robert Whitesides and ! Thomas Brown. I then told a part of what 1 have here said. I was not then asked as much as I have beeu asked heie. It was while j returning from Mr. Hambright's that Mrs. ' Hope asked me to watch her husband and ! Marv. This was previous to the supper-table ; scene. 1 did not say that in July I thought Mary was pregnant. I did promise Mrs. Hope that I would watch her husband and Mary ; but I did not tell her of my suspicions or of what I had previously noticed. Mary had 110 beaux to my knowledge. I was em ployed as a laborer in the fields, and if sh had visitors during the day time, I did nc know of it. Hope quit teaching before Mary1 death. I do not know the interval betwee her death and the time she stopped going t school. She stopped for the purpose of drj ing fruit. Two grown boys went to the sam school. The coroner telegraphed me to al tend the inquest. I had hpard that I wa suspected of being the father of the child ; heard it from first one and then another, had but one conversation with Mrs. Hop about watching her husband and Mary. lie-direct examination.?Diphtheria was pr( vailing in that section then. I cannot tel how long previous to Mary's death diphtlu ria was in the family;.{ cannot fix the seaso nf* tko unar A t thp t. imp tKp Hinhftiprin urn ;v"*' ?- ? ? --r iti the family, I went to inform Mr. Hdjm He was at Kobert Whii:esides' repairing gate; I went for him on the day the child was dit covered to have the disease. Mary was a gooi looking girl. No threats were made agains me, nor no force was employed to induce in to tell what I knew ; I was only asked to tel My interview with Mr. Bell and the othe men named, was at-Air. Bell's house, subse queut to the funeral?on the Sunday afte Mary was buried. Mr. Bell interrogated m( and asked me many questions. No threat were made. I told only what I was willinj to tell, and what I have here said. By the Court.?Were you the father c that child? No. Did you ever cohabit with Mary? No. J. B. Whitesides, re-called.?Hope ha told me that he had read medicine. R. W. Smith, sworn.?I have bad convei satious with Hope about women being preg nant. He has given me names of women whoi: he said were in that condition. He said h could tell by their shape, and by their wall) even if their backs were to him. He mer tioned names whom I did not suspect until h called my attention to them. In some in stances I found that he was correct. Cross-examined.?I was a juror at the ir quest. Mrs. Susan Hambright, sworn.?M husband's name is Doctor Hambright. W live two and a half miles from Hope's. Hop came to my house a mouth before Mary death. My husband was absent visiting patient. Hope asked where the Doctor1 strychnine was kept. I gave him perraissio to look for it. He said he wanted to kill dog. He also said he wished to examin some medical hooks in reference to putri sore throat. He took some strychnine, saw him get it. He took the quantity tha would lie on the point of a knife-blade fou or five times. I mean a small knife-blad( He put it into a small bottle, and put th bottle into his pocket. I did not take notic to the stopple of the bottle. He next too down a book and read in it, and then laid th book away. He was there half an hour, knew he got strychnine, from the label. Th bottle containing it was labelled strychnim I noticed no other words on the label. It we in a small bottle with a printed label. Tli bottle was kept in a box on a shelf. He gc no other medicines or drugs. I did not notic whether it was an old or a new book that h read. Cross-examined.?I.would know the vit into which he nut the strychnine. TA vif was shown, which was identified by witness s being the one.] I would know the knife li used. [A knife was shown to witness, whic she identified as being the one used in tram ferring the strychuine from one bottle to th other, and the blade designated.] The bottl contained a printed label. At that time pr trid sore throat prevailed in that section, a tended with a good deal of mortality. Re-direct examination.?I don't think ther was diphtheria then at Hope's house. I hav not, since he took the strychnine, seen, unt to-day, the knife and bottle. Hope showe them to me to-day, before court met, an asked if I could recollect them. I told him could. I do not remember when Hope's chil was sick. I had uo conversation with Mr Hope and Mary Castles. Mrs. Hope did nc ask me not to say anything about them, know of no cause why she should entertai jealous feelings. Dr. John P. Hambrioiit, sworn.?I kee strychnine in my house. It is labelled strycl nine. It was kept on the medical shelf in private box. I have a medical library, have Paine's Practice. I have no work treating specifically of poisons. Paine's Pra, tice gives antidotes. I remember the tim when Hope's child had diphtheria. I gav him medicines for the child. He met me t Calvin Whisonaut's house for the purpose < procuring the medicines. I thought the chil had diphtheria in a mild form. This was pr< vious to the time I am told he got the strycl nine at my house. I did not know he had g( the strychnine until after Mary's death. Ft his sick child I gave him one ounce of tint ture of iron and some quinine. He told m the child got well. I saw Mary Castles whe she was dead. I gave an expression of m views as to the cause of her death. I thougl dVta /Iin/) in a /lanimtlciati T /)i/) nnt qqv a'hc Ollu V4IVU III U VUli I UiOIWUi JL U1V1 LIUV UMJ *? "K I thought caused the couvulsion. J. 1 Whites ides was there at her death. He aske me my opinion. I don't think 1 gave a opinion as I did not know. I attended Mri Hope in her last confinement, since the deat of Mary Ca9tles. I did not tell the Solicito: to-day, that at the burial I expressed th opinion that she had been poisoned. I neve said she was poisoned. I saw her body whe in the coffin. The arms were a little uji hands contracted ; mouth or lips not contraci ed ; teeth closed. The appearance indicate ,1 .i, e utu? r, ueaui nuiii aw y uiiiiiijc. x tic ay in tv/iuo u poison by strychnine are convulsions and cor traction of the fingers, arras, hands, brows, &< Cross examined.?I was practicing phys cian in Hope's family previous to this occui rence. Child-birth sometimes causes deat by convulsion, followed by contraction of th limbs. Convulsions sometimes occur in child birth, before and after labor, more particular ly if the mother is a robust woman. lie-direct examination.?There is a similar ity in the appearance of death from lock jaw and poison by strychnine. Re cross examined.?I made no special o critical examination of the body. J am ics A. Wallace, sworn.?I was fore man of the jury of inquest on the dead bod; of Mary Castles. I had a conversation witl Mr. Hope on that occasion. I had aske< Hope a question in reference to some gum o camphor and opium, which he said had beer lost or misplaced, and which he said h thought Mary had taken. I then asked bin why he would suspect her of taking thos< drugs; but before he answered, the jury tool ? rr-nns* and durim? the recess. Hone reuuest ed an interview with me, asking if there wa any impropriety in doing so. He requeste< me not to "press him too hard" on that point as it would be neither "here nor there." H then said he thought she took the gum am opium in consequence of some improper lan guage she had heard from Mrs. White, failed to learn the alleged reason of her ta king the drugs, she being supposed to be ii good health. He said the camphor and opiun had been given to his wife to use iu case o flooding, but Mary had not been so affected This was the point on which he said he die not wish to be pressed. Cross examined.?Hope said he had somi guiu camphor which he kept iu the clock, aiu it had been misplaced. He thought Mis Castles had removed it. He said she was no in a condition to need it; but took it in conse quence of a conversation, improperly held ii her presence, by Mrs. White. Hope aske< me not to press him on the point of the earn e 1 pbor and opium. I asked him who had used it j this improper conversation, supposing it was 's the names of the parties he did not wish to n reveal. To the question, he replied, "Mrs. 0 , White." He did not say any one else was r- present. I supposed the conversation was in e the presence of a third party. t- j Be-direct examination.?My understanding s 1 of the conversation was that he did not want 1 j me to press him as to the party to the converI sation alluded to. e Dr. Huuh G. Jackson, morn.?I was present at the inquest, in the capacity of a physi> i cian, to take out the stomach of the deceased. 1 | The body was badly decomposed, and I could ! | tell but little of the probable cause of death n from appearances at that time. The arms ? j and hands were rigid. I opened the body to ;. | take out the stomach; found the afterbirth 3. ! partially expelled from the womb, but not j- entirely passed. The symptoms of poison by d strychnine are similar to convulsions from it lock-jaw or spasms. The teeth are clenched, e the muscles contracted, the head thrown back, I. and the toes and heels inclined to point to* * 1 * I *1 -5! I X r Virara eacn omer, me meuicui term iur which >- is opisthotonos ; the hands become rigid, the r fingers clenched, the arms bent, the lips ;, slightly parted, the teeth clenched, and the a features contorted. Lock-jaw and couvulej sions from strychnine are similar. Contraction of the limbs in death from puerperal conif vulsions is similar to the contraction caused by appoplexy. The convulsions come on suddenly. During convulsions caused by strychs nine the patieut is conscious, and will remain conscious while dying. In convulsions caus - ed by child-birth, there is a rush of blood to ;- the head, while in convulsions caused by n strychnine tlie flow of blood is checked by e contraction affecting the arteries. I heard :, the symptoms of Miss Castles, as described by i- witnesses here to-day. The symptoms, as dese cribed, are nhe same as those of poison by i- strychnine. I have seen death from lock-jaw. The tfipt.li are clenched until the convulsion i- passes away, and after death the teeth remain closed. In convulsions caused by child-birth, y the tongue is sometimes bitten, and the patient e gives a hissing sound while breathing. I e never saw a subject die from puerperal or '8 child-birth convulsions. I have seen patients a with the convulsions. During theconvulsion, 's if the patient is not properly attended, and if n the necessary precautions are not used, bloody a froth will issue from the mouth, caused by bie ting of the tongue. Should the tongue not d be bitten the froth will be white. Frothing at I the mouth does not result from convulsions it caused by strychnine. The smallest amount r of strychnine reported by the books to have 3. caused death is one-half a grain. One grain e is considered an ordinary dose. Haifa grain e has been known to produce death. In respect k to the quantity required to produce death, e much would depend upon the state of the I system of the person taking it. The same e quantity will cause the death of a debilitated s. person in much less time than would be is required to destroy a person in good health. ie [The prosecutor for the State required witit ness to dispose on a piece of paper the :e quantity contained in a grain of strychnine, e which was exhibited to the jury.] [The bottle in evidence by the accused was shown I fr. uiitnooa Ho era wo tho nnininn that if one il third full, it would contain thirty grains.] is The taste of strychnine is bitter, similar to ie that of quinine. The taste of quinine will h remain, if it be dissolved in sixty times its 3- weight of water. The taste of rhubarb is also e bitter. To one not accustomed to tho tasto of e strychnine, the taste would appear about the i- same as the taste of quinine or rhubarb. A t- half-grain of strychnine would, I think, cause death to a woman in Mary Castles' condition, e One-half or one grain of strychnine could be e administered in three of Cook's pills. They il are composed of calomel, aloes and rhubarb, d : and have a bitter taste. Half a grain, or oue d grain, of strychnine could be incorporated in I three of Cook's pills without increasing the d size. The color of Cook's pills is brown, 3. though they are frequently sugar-coated, giv)t ing them a white appearance; or, sometimes I they are gelatine-coated, giving them a black n appearance. Uucoated, the pill is of a brownish color. One case of death from strychnine p is reported to have resulted in fifteen miuutes, l- from one-half a grain, the victim being an a adult. It is possible for one-half a grain to I cause death, in fifteen minutes, to a girl in s child-birth. One grain would cause death in c- a shorter time. Strychnine possesses peculiar ie properties. It is an alkaloid poison?a prepe aration from nux vomica. Sometimes it is ' i? It uimeuit to detect its presence uy uiicmii;ui )f analysis, if only a few hours intervene after it d has been taken. Eight days after death, it e- would be almost impossible to detect it in any i- part of the human body. Unlike a mineral )t poison, it becomes absorbed and dissipates ir through the system. Alkaloid poisons are the 3* discoveries of science, within the last few ie years. If one grain of strychnine were adn ministered to a woman in child-birth, there y would be little chance to discover any traces it of it eight days afterward. In case of deit I composition of the body, the chances would 5. be further diminished ; the poison would disd j sipate and pass away. I have never read or u | heard of a case of poisoning by strychnine in 9. which traces of the poison were discovered h eight day9 after the death of the victim, r, Cross examined.?Child-birth is a critical e period in the life of a woman, more especialir ly with the first child. The shock to the n nervous system and to the brain, which is the ; centre of the nervous system, is severe. Puert peral or child-birth convulsions are not pre d I monitory. iney coine wunoiu wanting, if i [Counsel read passages to this effect from i- the Encyclopedia of Practical Medicine.) Sometimes there is no warning of their api proach. The convulsions do not always come -; in the form of appoplexy. There are three h | forms of convulsions. In child-birth, they e j occur suddenly. In other forms the patient I- j is conscious. The premonitory symptoms are - sickness and pains in the stomach. In any j sudden death, contraction of muscles and - limbs ensues. All cases of poisoning, from : whatever substance used, are similar, iu some I | respects, to be sure. Heart disease may be j r | the cause of sudden death. Paralysis, the re! suit of appoplexy, may cause sudden death, i- i In cases of this class, it is natural for the y body, after death, to be rigid, but not so prob- ; li : able as if death resulted from convulsions. I \ J am not familiar with the so-called remedy f j known as squaw-weed tea. It is a remedy in i use by old ladies who recommend it to produce j e ' perspiration and relaxation. In cases of ob- > i ; struction it might be good. In such cases, it is ' p. a nrudent course to eive warm teas. I do not , t i # # C? ( ( I i know the composition of Ayer's pills. I think | .-! they contain rhubarb. They are sugar-coats ed. For constipation it would not be impru- j J dent to give thera. Medical authorities re-1 ! port cases of catamenia duriug conception, e but the cases reported are few and of rare oc- j 1, currence. The flow is not altogether the ! -! same, though it would appear so to an un- j I practiced eye. It is usual after the birth of} - j a child to make preparations specially for the i 1 purpose. Spirits of camphor is a good stira-1 l ulant. Females sometimes go into a syncope j f state after child birth. It is possible, some- j . i times, for births to occur in families unexpec- J 1 , tedly, when there is nothing to indicate such ! an event. Strychnine is sometimes used to ! b kill dogs and crows. There has been an in- i 1 creased demand for it among farmers for that s1 purpose. During child-birth, the pains and j t; exertions of the woman may produce a flow ; - of blood to the brain. It is the greatest strain . ) to which the female system is subjected. 1 Re-direct examination.?Puerperal convul sions occur suddenly. Pain in the head is a ! symptom. A tendency of the head and heels | r to meet, is not to so great an extent the re-. h i suit of puerperal convulsions as of convul- > a ! sions caused by strychnine. But in the case a j of puerperal convulsions, ray impression is n i there would be some rigidity. The umbilical n I cord could be torn. p [ To the Court.?Frothing at the mouth is fc always the result of puerperal convulsions, t I It never occurs from the effects of strychnine. I | Some of the symptoms are the same in both ; h ! but I maintain the first statement. Contrac- s | tion of the lower limbs and of the arms is in- t j cident to poisoning by strychnine. I do not t : know that warming would straighten the con- h | traded limbs. Friction or heat would be the a j proper agency for removing rigidity in living l ; persons. g Re-cross examined.?Expulsion without as- n sistauce would break the cord, if the mother v were on her feet. u Re-re direct examination.?For the purpose t of killing crows, strychnine is used in the o spring season. o j Dr. A. I. Barron, sworn.?I am a physician n I by profession; have been in the practice of n i medicine forty-five years. I saw the body of g j the deceased. It was in a state of decora ooei- t tion. The arms were contracted, and the ti hands and fingers drawn up. The head was a so decomposed I could tell nothing about it. ti The after-birth was expelled from the uterus, ti Five or six inches of the umbilical cord was h attached. It seemed to have been cut. I have s: never seen a person die from puerperal cou- li vulsions. I have seen one death from strych- 1 nine?the case of a little girl who had swal- v lowed the poison by accident. I do not know v the quantity she swallowed. I was called to a treat her. She was in violent convulsions. She was in violent convulsions and died two hours after swallowing it. She was aged fourteen years, and in good health otherwise. I did not remain long after the death, nor take particular notice to the condition of the body, though there was contraction of the limbs. [The remainder of this testimony, on the subject of poisons, convulsions, and the appearance of the body after death, was subi stautially the same as that of the preceding witness.] With this testimony the State closed. THE PRISONERS' DEFENSE. I. D. Witherspoon, Esq., of counsel for the prisoners, then opened for the defense as follows: May it Please the Court and Gentlemen of the Jury : In behalf of the prisoners at this bar we propose to show to the reasonable satisfaction of this Court and jury, that the sudden and deplorable death of Mary Isabella Castles, at the prisoners' house, on the night of the 17th of Noveinbor, 1874, should be attributed to a natural cause; that she yielded up her life in obedience to the sentence of death which hangs suspended over overv human being?a result that could not be averted by human skill; and that it was one of the mysteries of God's providence that this Court, at all times fallible, cannot fathom or determine; that the charge of murder against these prisoners cannot be established by the State with that degree of certainty that the issue of life and death demands. The testimony on behalf of the State being entirely circumstantial, we shall ask and expect such a verdict as will vindicate the irreproachable character, hitherto sustained by the prisoners, on the just and humane principle of law which prescribes that where the result of the evidence gives a natural cause to which death can be attributed, a jury is not authorized to merely suppose or conjecture that it might be attributed to some other cause. With the proposi tions thus laid down, we announce our readiness to proceed in the defense of the prisouers arraigned for trial. Rev. L. A. Johnsox, sworn.?I am a minister of the gospel, of the Methodist denomination. I have known J. Albertus Hope, the prisoner, for ton years. Ilis general character, so far as I have ever heard, is without exception. His character is as good as that of any man I could name. His disposition toward his wife and children evinces a great deal of affection. Rev R. A. Ross, sworn.?I am a minister of the gospel. I ain of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. I have known J. Albertus Hope for the last thirty years?perhaps for thirty-one or thirty-two years. I have not known bira intimately, but have known his general character. I have never known or heard anything derogatory to his general character. His character is as good I as that of any man whom I could name. ' Cross examined.?By the Solicitor. Did t you never know of men to fall from high po- \ sition and disgrace themselves? I have. 1 Did you never know a man of previous good t ? -*??< # A * _ 11 character to jau jrom urace : Are we uoiuu i liable to fall from Gracet There is no telling i when a man may fall! [Laughter.] 1 S. R. Moore, sworn,?I know J. A. Hope; ( I have known him for twenty-five or thirty 1 years. His general character is good?as i good as that of any citizen within ray knowl- f edge. \ Cross examined.?I live in Yorkville, nine 1 or ten miles from Mr. Hope. I knew him c ten or fifteen years ago more intimately than r of recent years ; was more intimate with him 1 twenty or tweuty-five years ago. Have never v heard anything derogatory to his general 1: character. I Re-direct examination.?I have been fre- c queutly in the prisoner's neighborhood, of i late years, but have not often met him there, t J. A. Carroll, sworn.?I have known J. r A. Hope for twenty-five or thirty years. I t know his character to be good. I never knew c it impeached in any wise. We were both c raised in the same neighborhood ; were boys 'J together, and were at school together. c Cross examined.?I am not aware that the h prisoner, J. A. Hope, ever was Under indict- ? ment for crime and turned State's evidence, n [Objection over-ruled.] I do not know that o he ever turned State's evidence, nor did I ever t hear it intimated until the question was asked, s J. C. Chambers, sworn.?I know Mr. a Hope. I have known him fifteen or twenty 1; years. We were both raised in the same j h ! neighborhood ; we were boys together. I j s know nothing against his general character, ii Cross examined.?I know that Mr. Hope fi was once a witness in the United States Court, u but I do not know the circumstances of his s beinc a witness. I J.C. Mitchell, sworn.?I have known Mr. | si Hope from boyhood. He was raised within ' c two miles of me. He was an honest, indus- j o trious boy, and I have never known anything ! tl harmful of him. ! v Cross examined.?I do not know that he j v> was arrested as a ku-klux. I did not know j n that J. A. Hope was used as a witness against i A the ku-klux. R. Hayes Mitchell is my son. j p I have seen a copy of the ku-klux trials; I b have the book ; have read portions of the j a book ; never read it regularly through. j tl J. Albertus Hope, sworn.?I am forty-six It years of age. I was born in York county, j ai and have lived here all ray life. Mary Isa-; tl bella Castles lived with me up to her death; j h; she lived with me not auite four years. She I in came there and expressed a desire to live with , it her aunt and her small sister. She remained j in some time before her effects were moved to j T my house, which were taken there by Meek j so Wbitesides and myself, after the death of her ai aunt, Mrs. Castles. I did not charge her for I board. I seut her to school last year; she tb commenced going to school in April or May. m The school closed in September. She missed, SI perhaps, three days of the time, for the pur- to pose of assisting in drying fruit; she missed i in from no other cause, that I remember. I did b< not charge her for tuition. I paid for that w part which was not paid by the State. The tb night before the morning on which I and Mr. ai Smith had appointed to go to King's Moun- to taiu Station, I had loaded the wagon and tb made agreement to go with Mr. Smith. We b< were to have started on that morning. I was ce aroused from sleep by a noise at five minutes ce to two o'clock. I raised up in bed. The in noise was as of moaning and sighing, which I ecognized as coming from Mary. I called er. She said she was sick at the stomach, nd her bowels pained her. My wife was up t the time, sitting by the fire, suffering from ieuralgia. I went to the sitting-roota where ay wife was, and asked her if her tooth was aining her much. The body of the house conains two large rooms, one fire-place, which is to he sitting-room. There is a door irif&cood, eading out, and a door in the partition,' I ieard the girls going oat. I went info the leeping-room and got some hartshorn; reurned, and my wife put some of it to her ooth. She then reported to me that Mary iad told her she was unwell. I had no reaon to believe what was the matter with her. gave her nothing. My wife suggested to ;ive her some tea. I gave her nothing at all ayself. Mary's sister Lee was up. Except rhen out with Mary, Lee was present with ae and ray wife at the fire-place, where the ea was prepared. Lee was out only a few ainutes. I took no part in the preparation f the tea. It was squaw-weed tea. I did iot suggest the tea. I don't know that ay wife had ever used squaw-weed tea. I ;ot the pills, but I do not know that Mary ook them, as she was out of the house at the ime. The tea was used as a remedy for obtruction. I recommended the pills for cosiveness. They were Ayer's pills. I bought hpm frnm .Tnhn AfeOill fnr mv wife, and I ad given her two potions of them out of the ame box. I was not Mary's guardian. She acked a little of being eighteen years old. 'he only persons present on that morning rere ray wife, Lee Castles and myself. Hill ras in my employ. He was then sleeping in room of my house. He was employed by he year, and had agreed to serve out last ear. I aroused Hill soon after administerng some camphor and hartshorn to Mary, 'he noise I heard proceeding from the yard ounded at first like the squalling of a cat. 'he second time I heard it I became alarmed, ,nd went in the direction whence it sounded, .ccompanied by Lee, who carried a candle. iVe went to where the sound appeared and ound an infant lying on the ground. I called o my wife for God's sake to come quick, vhich she did. I told her she must take the iliild in the house, and that it must be taken lare of, and to prepare a bed for Mary. My rife carried the child into the house. We all vent in a group; I can't say who was the irst to enter the house. When we returned 0 the house, Mary was sitting on the end of he steps. I said to her: Go into the house; f you are able to do what you have done, rou are able to go to bed. I meant by this >nly what the language would imply. I went >n into the house to assist in preparing a bed. Hie child was placed in a cradle. When I lad passed on half way from the door to the ire-place, I heard Mary's exclamation that 1 1 1 * . i. 1 ine was aymg, ana went lraraeaiaieiy 10 ner. [ caught her while she was in the act of faling from the steps. At that time my wife vas preparing a bed for her. I have been jrippled by being thrown from a horse. I lid not go from the house until I heard the noaning noise. The first time Mary and Lee went out, they were gone five minutes; ;he second time, ten minutes. I was by ;he fire. Mary passed through the room on ;o the steps of the entry door. My wife ind Lee remained some time with her, on he second time she went out; the first time ihe went out, my wife was not with her. Af;er my wife and Lee went out, and after the )ills were given, I heard, either from Lee or ny wife, that Mary said she was better. Lee :ame to the door while I was with Mary on he steps after hearing her exclamation of disress. We laid her on a pallet immediately ifter carrying her in. The pallet was partly >n a chair placed angling against the wall? ler feet eight or ten inches from the edge of he hearth. The hearth, from edge of the ire, is two feet wide. It was damp and cool hat night. My wife had kindled up a little ire. After I thought Mary was dead, I startid the fire again and it bad pretty much burnt lown by the time the people arrived. I did not lee her blistered leg. I supposed it to have jeen caused by the heating of the woolen cloth. There was covering over her feet. There was i good deal of confusion amongst us for a vhile. Mary lived three or four breaths after [ laid her down. When she died there was i quivering sensation?only the appearance >f a convulsion. We used camphor after layng her down. When I found she was dead, [ awoke Hill. My desire was to notify some >f her nearest connections. I first sent for VIeek Whiteaides and his wife, who arrived n about an hour. Mary died in an hour and ive minutes after I was aroused. When I vas aroused, it was five minutes to two o'clock. The body was not moved from the time she lied until after the people came in, though I nay have taken the pillow from under her lead after she died. When Meek and bis rife came, I met them and reported what lad occurred. We all went into the house, tfrs. Whitesides commenced attending to the hild. My wife had wrapped it up and laid " ? tin - !J _L - t in the cradle. Mrs. wnitesiaes saiu sue mew how to treat the cord. I cut it at her equest, but I told her I did not know where o tie it. I had no knowledge of Mary's pregtancy, and so stated at the inquest. I had 10 knowledge of ray own of her condition. There were rumors, though I heard none exept what came from Mrs. Whisonant. I leard it four weeks before the occurrence.. >uch rumors, if mentioned to Mary, were not mentioned in ray presence. Alter Mrs. Whisnant left, I saw Mary evincing evidence of rouble, and I heard Mary say she would never peak to her aunt Margaret again ; that her unt Margaret had been impeaching herfalsey. Mary was of low stature, somewhat like er mother, and their resemblance was the ubject of frequent remark. There was no itiraation of poison when Robert Whitesides rst came. The subject was not mentioned ntil after the turn of the day. It was first poken of in a conversation on the fence. J. Whitesides was speaking about poison, and aid Mary had certainly taken something to ause her death. I made an explanation to him f all things as I saw them, and as I explained hem to others. When the suspicion of poison ras mentioned and I left them at the fence, it 'as to go to dinner?it being then ready. I oticed Robert Whitesides in the room where lary kept her trunk. He was searching for oison. I then told him I had poison in a ox in my private trunk and proposed to exmine it. We went into the room containing le trunk. The lock of the trunk was a spring >ck and out of order. I took out the vial nd we examined it. It was the same bottle tat has been exhibited here in court; it as been in my possession eversince, and nothig has been taken out of it since I showed to him. I took the pills from the same box i the trunk that contained the strychnine, here were other medicines in the trunk? me rat poison in the box. All the family id Mary knew there was poison in the trunk, had told them there was poison in it. I got le strychnine at Dr. tiambright's. hie told e to tell bis wife where it could be found. ie gave it to me. I got it to kill crows and poison a dog which had been trying to get to my cellar. The crows, at that season, had jen destroying soft corn in my field. A dog as annoying me of nights, near the end of ie bed-room, and I wished to stop the annoyice. I had told Mr. Smith of my intention > poison the dog. I endeavored to poison ie dog by putting the poison on a piece of ;ef and fixing the beef to the door of the illar. Next morning, after doing this, I perived the beef was gone. I arose that morn- .. g before any of the rest of the family. I [continued