City Crimes; Or, Life in New York and BostonThompson, George
General
City Crimes; Or, Life in New York and Boston
Thompson, George
Boston (Mass.) -- Fiction; Crime -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
'The prisoner, whose appearance and behavior after his arrest
proved his guilt, was conveyed to the Tombs, to await his trial
for one of the most atrocious murders that has stained our
criminal courts for many years.'
Thus it will be seen that poor, innocent Frank was regarded as the
murderer.
It is needless for us to enter into the particulars of his trial:
suffice it to say, he was convicted of the murder and sentenced to
death. The evidence, though entirely circumstantial, was deemed positive
against him. Mrs. Flint testifying that he was the only person who had
entered the house that evening, and the situation in which she had
discovered him, the murderous weapon in his hand, and his clothes
stained with blood, admitted not a doubt of his guilt in the minds of
the jury, who did not hesitate to bring in their fatal verdict,
conscientiously believing it to be a just one.
A few days previous to his trial, the public were astounded by the
intelligence that Mrs. Stevens, the prisoner's aunt, had committed
suicide by hanging; and her nephew's disgrace and peril were supposed to
have been the cause of the rash act. But when it came to be discovered
that a robbery had been committed in the house, and it was stated by the
servant that a strange man had sought and obtained an interview with the
unfortunate old lady that evening, the public opinion took a different
turn, and the belief became general that she had been murdered by some
unknown miscreant, whose object was to plunder the house. No one
suspected that she had been slain to prevent her from giving favorable
testimony at the trial of her nephew Francis Sydney.
The diabolical outrage perpetrated upon the boy Clinton at the
masquerade ball soon became noised abroad, and gave rise to many
surmises, and much indignation; tho' no one as yet imagined that any
connection existed between that horrible affair and the brutal murder of
Mrs. Stevens.
After his conviction and condemnation to death, Sydney was placed in
irons, and treated with but little indulgence by the petty officials who
have charge of the Tombs. An application on his behalf was made to the
Governor, in the hope of either obtaining a pardon, or a commutation of
his sentence to imprisonment, but the executive functionary refused to
interfere, and Frank prepared for death.
The day before that fixed upon for his execution, a lady applied for
admission to the prisoner's cell, her request was granted, and Frank was
astonished by the entrance of Julia, his guilty and discarded wife!
Did she come to entreat his forgiveness for her crime, and to endeavor
to administer consolation and comfort to him in this his last extremity?
No, the remorseless and vindictive woman had come to exult over his
misfortunes, and triumph over his downfall!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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