“Nor grateful evening mild, nor silent night,
———————— nor walk by moon,
Or glittering starlight,”
had any effect upon his hardened heart—
“His soul was dark within;
He lived but in the sound
Of shamelessness and sin.”
Many a minute stole away, and Cambridge (who had concealed himself in a cane-piece, bordering the road his intended victim must necessarily pass) kept his fatal stand. Not a sound was heard, save the evening breeze as it whispered among the long leaves of the sugar-cane, or the occasional croaking of some night reptile. At length, the tread of a horse’s foot was heard, and warned the murderer to be upon his guard. Unconscious of the dreadful fate hanging over him, Mr. Brown rode slowly on, accompanied by a black boy, when, as he was passing between two cane-pieces, just where the canes grew thick and high, with one bound the murderer was upon him. A heavy blow from the sharpened skimmer upon his head, stunned him; and ere a prayer could rise to his lips, his soul flew to meet his God, and his murderer was left standing alone, with the stain of human blood upon him.[[26]]
The boy who accompanied his unfortunate master was the nephew of the culprit; but as he was unperceived by Cambridge, he was enabled to make his escape into the cane-field, where he remained an unknown observer of the dreadful event. As soon as the murderer had quitted the spot, the boy hastened to the overseer’s house (not far distant) and related to the inmates the fate of his master, and the name of his destroyer. An immediate alarm was given, and, guided by the boy, they quickly reached the scene of murder, where they discovered the unfortunate overseer, bereft of life, and presenting an appearance too horrible for description. They then proceeded in quest of Cambridge, whom they found at his hut, with his blood-stained garments still upon him, and in the act of washing his unhallowed hands.
After a coroner’s inquest upon the body, and a verdict (according to the circumstances of the case) returned, Cambridge was conveyed to the capital, where he took his trial for murder. He was found guilty, and condemned to suffer death by hanging; and to make the punishment more impressive to others, he was ordered to be carried to Osborn’s Pasture, in the vicinity of the spot where the murder was committed, and there to be hung and gibbeted.
Long did his whitened bones glisten in the moonbeams; and as the wind shook the chains which held the body, many a little negro who had strayed that way in search of guavas, fled from the spot, for fear of the “dead man’s jumby.”
About ten years ago, murder again stained the annals of Antigua. The slayer was one of the softer sex, and jealousy prompted her to the act. She broke into the house where her rival lived, and in her passion at finding her husband an inmate of the dwelling, stabbed her who had destroyed her peace. The husband escaped by the window; and after the perpetration of the deed, the murderess obtained the assistance of some of her friends, and between them they dragged the body of the murdered woman to the beach, and threw it into the sea. Weights were attached to the feet of the corpse to make it sink; but they were either insufficient, or they became detached, and the body floated. A negro belonging to a neighbouring estate, who was out searching for stray cattle, discovered it among some mangrove trees, and gave the alarm, the deed was traced to the woman, and she was condemned to follow her victim to the “tribunal of the Just.”
Since then, this offence has rarely been repeated; but some instances there have been since my residence in this country, where the demon Revenge has sealed and stamped them for his own, and instigated them to perpetrate crimes at which the soul revolts. A circumstance of this kind occurred in the year 1840. A black man, of the name of Joseph Gould, formerly belonging to the Rev. Mr. Gilbert, the descendant of the founder of Methodism in Antigua, was living in an unlawful state with a coloured girl, of whom he became jealous, and in consequence resolved to end her existence. The unfortunate woman was murdered in a very brutal manner, by means of a thick stick, which completely shattered the head, and scattered the brains; her fingers and part of her ears were then cut off, to secure the rings and earrings which she was too fond of wearing, and the body then flung into a cane-piece.
The dreadful effluvia first attracted notice; and after some search, the body was found. A woman came forward and related some circumstances which occurred upon the last evening the unfortunate girl was seen alive, which led to the apprehension of Gould. He was brought to trial,—the evidence was all circumstantial,—and after a patient investigation of the case, he was sentenced to transportation for life. It appears, however, that no opportunity has occurred of putting the sentence into effect, as he still remains an inmate of the gaol, where it is said he suffers the stings of a guilty conscience, which conjures up the shade of the murdered girl before him, soon as “evening gray” sets in. This is the last case of particular note which has stained the domestic pages of this pretty little island; and I do hope, that now education is so liberally tendered, the minds of all classes may become enlightened, and this horrible crime become extinct.