Soldiers' record, 1870-02-05

              ONE FLAG, Om LAND, ONE JIBAR1\ ONE HAND, NATION, EVERMORE!
YOL. II. HAKT]?ORD, OOXX., SATURDAY, EBBRUAKY 5 1870. NO. 31.
I)ours at Dome.
C O L D A I ^ D Q U I E T.
«Y JEAN INGELOW.
Cold, my dear, cold and quiet,,
In tlusir cups ou yonder loa,
Cowslips fold the lirowii boo's diet;
So the moss entbldetli thee.
'Tlant. mo, ])laiit me, 0 love, a lily flower,
riant at my head, I pray you, a «rri!on tree;
And when our children sleep," slieslj^hed, "at the
dnsic iiotir,
And when the lily blossoms, 0 come out to me!"
Lost, my dear % Lost, nay, deepest
Jjove is that which loseth least;
Thronjfli the night time while thou sleepest,
ytill 1 watch the shrouded east.
N(;ar thee, near thee, my wife tliiit aye liveth,
"Lost" is uo word for such a love as mine ;
Love from her past to ino a present s^iveth,
And love itself dotli comfort, making x)ain di-vine.
Kest, my dear, rest. Fair showeth
That which was, and not in vain
Sacred have I kept, God knoweth.
Love's last words atween us twain.
'•Hold hy our past, my only love, my lover;
Fall not, but rise, O love, by loss of me I"
Boughs from our garden, white with bloom, hang
over.
Love, now the children slumber, I come out to
thee.
MUEDER MOST FOUL.
Concluded.
All Beeville and the country around
was amazed when it was announced that
John llaiidall has been arrested lor the
murder. It was incredible. His char-acter
was excellent, both as a citizen and
soldier, and he was noted for his absti-nence
not only from the vices but from
the follies into which young- men com-monly
fall. Yet when all the damning-developments
appeared, it seemed impos-sible
to doubt his guilt, yvs he hail once
been high in public estimation, so now
he fell, like Lucifer. The popular indig--
hation rose against him in a tempest and
lie was threatened with the summary
vengeance of an excited mob.
Ou the trial it was positively establish-ed
b.y the identiiication of clothing and
ornaments that the dead womau was
jMary Kaiidall, once Ordolf; that the
prisoner m:irried her iu 18()5, and hud
since strangely kept that fact a secret,
not only from his acquaiutanees at Bee-ville,
but from his own family ; that, iu
short, he brought her to Virginia, aud
was last seen with her in a carriage driv-ing-
through Beeville on the Sunday we
ha ve ab-eady noted, that at the hotel on
Saturday night before, he told his wife
that he intended next day to take her to
liis uncle, whose house she never reach-ed
; that he was engaged to be married
to Indiana llandall, liis cousin ; and that
he had cruelly duped the Ordolfs into
believing that his wife had conuj to a nat-ural
death. There was a (jloud of other
testimony to the like effect, and though
he was ehxiuently defended, thejui-y did
not hesitatti in returning a verdict of
"Guilty ot'murder in the lirst degree."
When asked if he had anything to say
why sentence of death should not be pa.s-sed
upon him, Jiandall simply answered:
"Nothing 1"
ilis counsel appealed, bnt iu vain—be-sought
executive clemen(;y, but without
avail. The day before that set for the
execution of the condemned man, the fol-lowing
communication appeared in the
Jiec^ville Ciazette:
" E D I T O R ( I A Z E T T E : I do not cJaim to
be tlui only person in town who imparti-ally
and critically heard and examined
the evidence submitted in the case ol'
liandall, who»issoon to be hanged; but
such seems to be the fact. Whihi 1 must
admit that the mass of that testimony ap-l)
ears to bear fata'ly against the'con-demned,
there are certain o<lds and ends
of it thati)oint aw;iy from him to another
or others. The man who lirst found the
body sail! that he saw no tracks of a man
near it, only the tracks of a wt)man or of
AvonuMi. Xot distant from the s[)ot was an
old well into which the body would have
been thrown by the condemned had he
killed her; the ])resumi)tion is that he
did not kill her, but that she was killed
by some one unable to convey lier corpse
to that place of concealment. A Ireedman
testilied to seeing two females • ]»ass that
way on the Sunday in (|uestion. Mr. Tins-ley
found a coal black chiff non near th(i
scene, which was not claimed as Mrs.
lla.ndairs. A (jertain young lady witne.ss,
with raven tresses, possessed at least of
a motive quite equal to that . alleged a-gainst
Randall, admi'.ted that she knew
Randall was nnirried, had seen a letter
from his wife to him, h;ul written to her,
etc. Is it not barely possible that her in-formation
of the marriage nmy have been
derived from the very lettc^r found by
Tinsley, dropped there by some one—not
Jiandiill ^
These things that I have briefly men-tioned,
are, of course, inconclusive, but
they are teri-ibly suggestive, and 1 could
notlet John Randall die before bringing
them to public notice. JUSTIGJO."
On the day ofcxecution Randall's coun-sel
pul)lished a card, iu whicli they said :
''The communication in yesterday's
Gazette, signed 'Justice,' indirectly im-putes
to us a gross negligence iu the de-fence
of our c.lient. We can only say, in
self justilication, that the line ofargu neut.
indicated and the course of investigation
suggested by the facts, alluded to, were
peremptorily objected to by Mr. llandall
liimscl , and wereaccordinglv aband<)ned
by ns."
Randall was hanged in accordar.ce with
his sentence—dying without coiilession
or denial.
I l l
After the exc^pution the sherilf forward-ed
to Mr. Ordolf a sealed letter from Ran-dall,
written on the eve of his death. We
give an extract:
"•i did not do it, nor consent to it, nor
know of it until the uwful deed was done
beyond remedy. 1 would willingly have
sacrificed a thousand lives for her, as 1
now sacrilice life and reputation to screen
the one who is really guilty. With Mary,
perished every desii'O in me for life. 1
long lor death—even the death of the gal-lows.
But 1 would not die leaving you
for ever under the horrible belief that 1
am the murderer of our dailing. Oh 1
adjure you to credit me when I swear
hure, in the presence of God and eternity,
that I am innocent;. Mary, who knows
me guiltless, will meet me joyfully beyond
the tomb."
Indiana llandall was said to bo a rav-ing
maniac Fi-om the first arre^^t of John
Randall she had exhibited symptoms of a
mind urisettleil by the weight of sudden
aud overwhelioing grief, llei- family gave
out the loss of her lover under such fear-fiil
circum.sDances had temporarily alFect-ed
her physical and mental health, and
friends and ac({uaintances were re(|uested
to forbear then- visits until her recovery
wa.s announced. She was seen rarely,
and then -under the closest siu-veliaiiee.
As the day of Randall's exe;;ution ap-
[)roached, it was rumored that she gi-ew
worse, and on that day it Wiis whispered
that she w s so violent as to require strong
re.'straint and constant watching. Audit
was so. She was mad, but there was a
teirible method iu her madnuss. She
sought to break from her conlinement and
rush to the place of execution. She sbriek-
We had met just beyond the path whioh
leaves the main carriage road and cuts
olf about a mile of the distance to the
house. yVs wo all could not ride, I sug-gested
that she aul I should wali; through
by the path, while John drove around i)y
the road. John strongly objected to this,
Out she seemed anxious to accompany me,
aud he at last reluctantly consented.
"I had no idea of hurting her. The
wish was strong iu my heart that God
would strike her dead, but I had no in-tention
of raising my own hand against
lier. As we proceeded, talking as well
at my state of mind would allow, wo came
to tlie spot where her body was found.
There the path became so narrow that we
had to go singly, and it so chanced that
she went before. It Hashed upon me like
lightning from hell! The place was des-olate
and lonely. There she was, a few
lectin I'.'ont of me, all unconscious and at
my mercy. It was a, mad impulse, l)ui,
in a nu)ment I drew the pistol and fired !
She fell, but attempted to rise. I sprang
upon her in a frenzy of excitement, and
kicked, beat, bit and choked her until she
lay quite still—dead !"
"My child, said her pale and trembling
father, "these are but the distempered
fancies of fever. You have brooded ov-er
this unhappy matter until it has quite
upset you. Doubtless you wish to save
John—so do we all—but it is folly for
you or any of us, to seek to become a sub-stit-
ate for him. My child, take our as-surances
that all this circumstantial ac-count
of your killing that unfortunate wo-man
is the mad work of a disordered mind.
Calm yourself, in a few days you will be
better, and will have forgotten all that
you now insist on so vehemently."
"Ah, father," she exclaimed, "itmay
suit your purposes to argue that I am
mad. Perliaps 1 am. But I know my
guilt, and 1 will no longer conceal it.
You all know it too. Who, that fatal
evening, kneeled to the furious and dis-tracted
John and besought him to silence?
Whose entreaties prevailed on him to-a-dopt
the vei-y course which has brought
him to the scail'old ? To save me you
will allo-iv him to be sacriiiced ! 1 have
been deceived long, but it is not yet too
late I will proclaim my guilt to the
world ; 1 will take his place on the g-il-lows
! L( ose mo !" But her cries and
struggles were in vai".
'J'hus she raved of her real or imagin-ary
part in the horrid tragedy, giving
now a cohei-ent version, as plausible as it
was astounding, and anon a confused and
silly jumble of impossibilities that arous-ed
)(auglitbut jdtyand incredulity.
The scallbld from which John Randall
had been launched into eternity was still
standmg in the jail yard, wien, one night,
close on the stroke of twelve, the guard
beheld with terror the noiseless ai>proach
of a IVu-m arrayed in white. Awed to si-lence
by the apparition, the guard watch-ed
its motions with breathless attention.
Entering the yard, it proceeded at once
to the scaH'olcJ and mounted it. In a few
ed loud avowids of her own guilt and de- nujments the staring guard beheld the lig-clarations
of the innocence of John Ran-1 ure suddenly sink through ihe platform
dall. She prayed to bo permitted to die ! to the shoulders, where, after some con-in
bis stead. Alas, poor wretch ! she was vulsive motions, it remained stationed
T O S I S T E R M A R Y FKANCJ!:S.
T U K A N O E L OF TUIO H O S P I T A L.
«Y JOHN T. FOIIUKST.
How .sofb the haud, and sweet, the voice
Like iiiu.sic by the .sick man's bed;
llow would tlie wounded boy rcjoico
To see thy face, to hear thy tread.
If Ueaven, to save poor sinful man,
.Sends augels from i l l s courts above,
Thou, gentle sister, sure aro ouo.
Anil full iliy heart of heavenly love.
Ah, sister, in my inmost soul,
Tho' years have passed, sweet memories i-iso:
Une morn you held the soothing bowl
To my parched li^ts, aud in your eyes
Glowed such a tenderness, such love
For the weak boy, so helpless tliere,
Methought some augel from atiove
Had coiuu the nurse's watch to share.
And when you spoke. I seemed to hear,
That mother who my childhood nursed,
Aud to my eyes the t)oy's hot tears
Welled up, niy lieart seemed like to burst.
Forgot tlie drcam.s with uiiieh I came
To t.he briglit ."South, forgot the pain
Tliat racked and tore my feeble frame,
Ur turobOed within my swollen brain.
And in those after weeks, when life
Seemed ahuost to have lied, too weak
Aud worn to bear tli' uneiiual strife,
>Sonu> pciice utiyoiul this world to seek,
Scant rest you U)ok. And when my eyes,
liy fever closed, with reason's view,
(iazeil round tlie room iu strange surprisoj
Tliey rested longest, nurse, on you.
Could a poor sinnei's prayers avail.
To aid so pure a soul as tliiiie ;
To make tiiy life on eartli less hard,
Or send thee to the arms Divine,
15e sure f i t pray—ami yet the prayer
Were sinful, earth thy presence needs.
And ill eonld lo.se thy loving care,
Thy holy prayers, thy chrisLian deeds.
Then follow stiTl thy heavenly guide,
With lowly heart and purpose true;
i'ut.tiiig each thought of self aside.
And dt)ing work He'd have you do.
And we, who watch thy noble life,
May better be, freed from earth's leaven;
Loving our kind, forgot each strife;
iiy thy example led to heaven.
already beyond the vengeance of law. To that guard it was tho ghost ol Ran-
Could her guilt have been established be- dall, and he fell fainting with alarm. In
yond a doubt, she was now insane, and it his fall his musket was discharged, and
was too late to save the coiulemned.
"I knew,'" she cried, "that he had gone
this bringing the jailer aud others on the
scene, it was speedily discovered that th
to see his wile, perhaps to return with ' was a woman ! Eluding her guardi-her,
and I watched daily for his coming and providing herself with .a cord,
back. Constantly alone in these watches, I'xUar.a Randall followed the man slie
I managed to get one of John's pistols loved through the same exit he hud taken!
from his room, and this I carried with ine,
but only for self-ilefence. I met them that
V as he alone guilty ?
Or was she alone guilty ?
Or were both guilty 'i
W. C.ELAM.
•Sunday afternoon, and iny soul was in a
tumult of emotion as John accosted me
and introduced me to his wife. His wife!
Yes, I knew it was before he told me. I The female pickpockets of Boston wciir
had known lor months of his secret mar- Arab wraps or shawls. As a good paper
riage. Suppressing my feelings as much expresses it, "they fold their shawls like
as 1 was able, 1 endeavored to be calm, the Arabs aud silently steal away."
T U B L O V E O F B E A U T Y .
THE love of beauty and refinement be-longs
to every true woman. She ought
to desire, in inoaeratiou, pretty dresses,
and delight in beautiful colors aud grace-ful
fabrics ; she ought to take a certain,
not too excessive, pride in herself, and
be solicitous to have all liclonging to her
well-chosen and iu good taste : to care
for the perfect ordering of her house, and
harmony and fitness of her furniture, the
cleanliness of her surroundings, and good
style of her arrangements : she ought not
to like singularity, either of habit or ap
pearance, or be able to stand out against
a fashion when fasliiou has become cus-tom
: she ought to make herself conspic-uous
only by the perfection of her taste,
by the grace and harmony of her dress,
and unobtrusive good-breeding of her
manners: she ought to t-^et tho seal of
•jeutlewoman ou every square inch of her
life, and shed the radiance of her own
beauty and roliueinent on every material
object about her. Dr./norent's Monthly.
A Tiiuio PATRIOT.—A correspondent of
the Baltimore says that under date
of January 9, the ( 'ommissioner r)f Pen-sions
received a letter from Daniel K.
Wild, living at Abott village, Maine, who
was formerly a private in Company K,
84th Pennsylvania volunteers. The let-ter
states that the writer had regained
his health, and can got along without his
pension. He therefore requests that his
name be str'cken from the pension rolls.
Such a singular request attracted a good
deal of attention in the bureau, and to-day
Commissioner Van Aernam address-ed
Wikl a letter, informing him his
retjuest had beeu granted, and con-tinues:
"I^ivlng in au ago when t!io
honest imjiulses of tho great mass of tho
people are blunted by an overweening de-sire
for gain, this request, with your ser-vices
as a soldier iu the iield, shows that
yiui are alike honorable and patriotic, and
your name should go do'.vn to history as
a worthy example for the coming genera-tion.
Peimit me to tiiauk you for your
noble letter."
A low articlc of dress—Stockings.