Guilt Revealed in Dreams

Southland Times, Issue 11362, 21 January 1890, Page 3

Guilt Revealed in Dreams

Law reports of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries contain numerous reference! to supernatural occurrences in court and on the scaffold. One of the moit remarkable records of this kind is connected with ■ m order trial which took place in England early in the reign of the first Oharles. One Johan Norkett, a farmers wifp, had d'*d, and at the coroDer's icq^es' evidence wa« given proving that, the womtn's throat had been cat from ear to ear. At first the jury favoured a verdict of felo de se, and the body wm interred. Bat rumours became general pointing to fonl play, and the b>dy wm examined. Thirty day* after the death the jury assembled before the body, an<i four ■ospected persona were brought in. *' They, (the prisooera) did touch the dead body, whwreupoo the brow of the dead, which was before a livid colour, began to have a dew or gentle sweat arise upon it, which increased by degrees till the sweat ran down in drops upon the face, the brow turned and changed to a lively colour, and the dead opened and shot one of her eyes and shut it again, which she did three different times. She likewiie thrust oat the ring or marriage finger tbree times and pulled it in again, and the fioger dropped blood on the' ground." Naturally enough such remarkable evidence as this w .b received with some suspicion by the court. Ample confirmation of an obviously impartial character was, however, forthcoming, and the ' admiration ' changed to horror, so much so that the prisoners were convicted and two of them suffered death at the hand of the oommon hangman . Of more recent date was the ' Bed Bam Murder,' remarkable for the fact that the murder waa discovered through the means of information imparted in a dresm. The victim of the murder was a rustic beauty named Maria Marteo, who was a source of perpetual jealoupy among the young men in a village near the English east coast. Maria's father was a mole-catcher, but the girl was edaeated beyond the average of village maidens. Her first accepted lover was a rich young ">#n named John Oordeo, who led the girl from the paths of virtue and then abandoned her. A itill more wealthy sui-or appeared, who in turn was di«plac*d by William Cordon, a brother <i John. Unier promite of marriage Miss Marten was again fed astray, and, when she found herself soon to become a mother, she importuned her betrayer to fulfil his promise. Corden tired of this, and, goirg to the bouse one evening, arranged with great detail to run off with the girl to a neighbouring city, where tß6y were to be lecre'ly married. The girl gladly consented, and agreed to meet her lover at a red barn on his mother's ftum Corden nut her there, snd, in compliance with a prearranged scheme^ sbot sod buried her. He then disappeared, returning after a few daye, and explaining to toe mole catcher that ttamarriHge had taken place and tbat his bridr was in lodging* at Ipswich. Months passe t away, the barn under which the body lay was filled with grain, and yet no tidinps came from Maria. FonD*? Garden, however, explained that she had hurt her right hand and conld not wiite. He subsequently left the neighbourhood. One night Mrs M.rt.n dreamed that her daughter had been murdered b; goiden, «u) tint tat body wm iatfßM

nnder the barn, The dream wai repeated so frequently that she repeated it to the mcleeatcher, who, after many refusal'- and much ridicule, finally went to the bsrn, pot the grain removed, and comra»riced to Jig at the spot indicated in the ('ream. The l<;dy was immediate y dis^rvrred a^d identified. Suspicion, of cou *■ , ;>■ ijiel to Cor in, who was t>Ri;td to Lonrii.n, wn -<• he ha ; uiamed a schoolmistress, and na-> living on hrr earnings. He was arrested, convicted, and executed. An Irifch murderer was convicted largely upon dream evidence. A Waterford publican named Boge rs dreamed one night that he »aw a man murder another man on a green ipot on the summit of an adjoining monntain. tie was able next day to describe both men with perfect accuracy, and did so to many of his friends. One of the men w^s exceptional.y strong, the other weak and puny, but it wa* the latter wbo, in the vision, committed thp mupier. Rogers persuaded the parish priest to accompany him to the spot, which be found without difficulty, but where there seemed to be no traces of murder or struggle. Hence Rogers got rather laughed at. Next day, however, two men entered the saloon , and Mrs Rogers at oncn recognised tbem from her husband's description as the beroes in tbe vision. Much alarmed, she fetched her huaband, who was alai certain they were the two men When they rose to leave Rogers begged tbe one he expected to be murdered to remain, but without avail. He nearly fainted with fright after the men had left, and finally persuaded a neighbour to accompany him to the green -pot on the hill , where sure enough the tragedy of the dream had taken place in reality. The murderer wai tracked and oanght, and Rogers was tbe principal witne«t. His reciul of ins dream was so vivid that the prisoner at once confessed, adding that he killed bis i ompanion exactly as foretold in tbe dream. The weapon used was a knife, and as eight stabs were seen by Rogers in his vision, so the murderer admitted that he drove bis knife up to tbe handle in his companion's body exactly that number of timer. A remarkable interposition of Providence >« on recoru in Paris. In 17G6 a young peasant girl went to Paris and was hired as a lotnestic «< rvaat by a roan whose reputation «»aa •xoellrnt. but who wu a b) pocrit; and a libertine. He made improper pr>p isals to rbe young girl, wbo refuned to under»tand bis meaning ur give him any en> ouragement, Cbis fiua'iy so eur-ged him that he bad hrr arrested for tnrft, and secured hrr conviction ov hiding some j wellery in her trunk. Tte prisontr had no friends to intercede for her and was hanged. The executioner wa« a novice, bungled over the woik, and af'er repented attempts to k:ll tbe girl . imagined h* bad succeeded, and b»ud«d the body over to a dissecting nurpeon. The first cut with a knife showed that the feiri lived, and she was quickly restoed. When she op»ned her eyes the imagined herself in another world, and it was some time before she could be convinced of her escape. Her description of wbat she saw during ber apparent death was listened to with wonder and amazement by h-r new -found friends, fche told of lovely parterre* with beautiful streams flowing t-ro gh and around them, of flora and f -una of d/izzling gorgeousi.ess, of perpetual sunshine and immcarureible happiness. The young girl hud lived apros.ic life, wai poorly etucated and had no imagination at all if tbe chronioer is to be credited, and her revelations are the more remarkable in consequence. The scoundrel who compassed ber ruin was arrested but acquitted on technical grounds.