Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1878 — THE BODY-SNATCHER’S SECRET. [ARTICLE]

THE BODY-SNATCHER’S SECRET.

Hundreds of stories are related of the horrible deeds of the body-snatcher, but among them all none is more remarkable end soul-harrowing than the one just about to be narrated. The facts were given to the •writer recently, and it it believed that they are now published for the first time. In'the town of Kilmare, in the North of Ireland, reside many families of distinction. The head of one of these was a Mr. Bell, a young gentleman of 25. He inherited a large estate from his uncle, and soon afterward removed from his former abode to take possession of the family mansion in Kilmare. He married the only child of a wealthy East India merchant residing in Liverpool, by whom he had two children. In the fourth year of their wedded life Mrs. Bell was taken suddenly ill, and expired the next day. The symptoms were of a peculiar nature, and the limbs so increased in size immediately after death that a magnificent diamond ring of great value could not bo removed from the lady’s finger, and was buried with her. Of course, this fact was well-known to. the inhabitants of Kilmare, as Mrs. Bell was the wife of the most considerable man thereabout, and naturally, therefore, all concerning her was matter of conversation and rumor. The old churchyard of Kilmare stood on the side of a hill, and immediately in the rear of the church and adjoining the chancel was the tomb of the Bell family. Here, in accordance with immemorial usage, the body of the deceased lady was to repose, and there it was deposited on the third day after her demise. After the ceremony the key of the vault was put in its place by the sexton in the vestry of the church. The day had been gloomy, and as night drew on a thin rain fell, which increase! at about midnight to a smart shower. Mr. Bell, who was about retiring, went to an open widow, and as he did so fancied he saw a white figure crossing the lawn in front of the house. The next moment it disappeared, and, satisfying himself that he was the subject of a delusion, he commenced to undress. Suddenly the clear tones of the door bell rang through the building. Mr. Bell pausi d, and moved toward the door of the apartment to listen. In a few seconds the sound again reverberated through the house, and Mr. Bell opened the. door and stepped out into the corridor. At that moment, as he glanced down the stairway, he saw the housekeeper moving toward the front door. Then he heard her set the small lamp she carried on the table, and open the lock and bolts of the massive door. Then a dreadful and prolonged shriek followed, and at the same moment, Mr. Bell’s butler ran along the hall toward the front door. Mr. Bell bad reached the head of the stairs, and was in the act of descending when the butler reached the spot where the housekeeper lay on the floor apparently in a swoon. What was Mr. Bell’s surpise to see the butler raise his hands, fix his gaze upon the door, and then sink to the floor as though struck dead. Utterly bewildered and confunded, Mr. Bell hastened down stairs. The sight that met his gaze when he reached the center of the hail almost froze his blood. There stood the figure of his wife in her grave clothes, leaning against the pillar of the door, with one hand thrown across her breast. For a moment Mr. Bell was almost overcome. Then he remembered the white figure which be saw crossing the lawn a few seconds before the bell rang, and another glance showed him that the garments of the figure before him were dripping with rain. "Julia, my darling, my wife!” Mr. Bell exclaimed, and stepped toward the figure. It made a movement toward him, and the next instant it was pinfolded in his arms. The scene that ensued baffles all description. It was indeed the wife, but that day buried, who was restored to the arms of the bereaved husband and children. The explanation which she offered was very imperfect and unsatisfactory. For a short time after her supposed death she was aware of all that went on around her, but before she was placed in the coffin she lost all consciousness. She said that the first sensation of consciousness she had was one of pain. Then she saw an indistinct glimmer and finally a severe pang shot through her frame. With a powerful effort she rose an l saw a woman standing by her side. The woman shrieked and fled, and then Mrs. Bell di-coverert that she was lying in a c< ffiu in the family vault. Fresh strength came to her every moment, and, releasing herself from the shroud, she stepped to the ground and passed out of the vault, the door of which was wide open. Down the churchyard path she went to the street, along which she walked for half a mile, until she reached her late home. Fortunately the large gate to the park was unfas toned, and she hastened up the roadway to the dwelling. The rest the reader knows. She rap dly regained her health, and lived to a good old age. But who was the woman who stood by the side of the coffin when the corpse suddenly rose and stirtled her into sudden flight ? Next day the lamp was found extinguished on the floor of the vault. It was identified as one which usu dly stood in the vestry, and was used by the sexton It had doubtless been removed at the same time when the key of the vault was taken. Beyond that all was a mystery. The object of the woman, however was easily discovered. As already stated, Mrs. Bell was buried with a valuable diamond ring on her finger. The design of the woman was to steal thisfrom the supposed corpse. Finding it impossible to remove it, the darling thief had raised the h ind of the dead woman to her mouth, and in her attempt to withdraw the ring with her teeth caused tjie pang

which went through the frame of the evident victim of a trance, and aroused her to consciousness. On the finger, just below the ring, the marks of the teeth were distinctly visible for several days after Mrs. Bell’s resuscitation. Every effort was made to keep this remarkable ni rep mstance, a secret, from the gossip of the neighborhood, nevertheless every exertion was used quietly to ascertain who the robber of the tomb was. The general impression was that the garb of a female was asiumed as a disguise, and that the depredator was in reality a man, and probably a professional body-snatcher. It was thought that the remarkable circumstances attending Mrs. Bell’s supposed death had aroused the desire of some medical expert to possess the body for the purpose of an autopsy, that he had employed a person to steal it, and that the body-snatcher, discovering the valuable jewel, had resolved to gain possession of it for himself. Soon after this extraordinary occurrence the vicar -of the parish resigned his living and removed his family to England. Several years passed away, and the incidents herein recorded were almost forgotten. Mrs. Bell’s father died, and Mr. Bell and his family quitted Kilmare, and took up the residence at Toxteth, near Livergpol. During the Chartist riots in 1840, James Binnis was arrested for murder and lodged in Lancaster jail. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. Before the last sentence of the law was executed, he made a confession of many crimes, and among the rest of his exploits as a professional bodysnatcher, in which business he had been ergaged for many years. The following facts are taken from his confession : In July, 1820, he was living in Belfast, having fled from England to escape punishment for his offenses. He had done several small jobs in Belfast for the doctors, and on the night of July 20, in the year named, a well-known physician of Belfast sent for him, and told him that he had a very delicate piece of work for him to perform. A Mrs. Bell, a lady of great beauty, and the wile of a rich proprietor, had just died of a very peculiar disease, and the doctor and his associates desired the body to investigate the cause of death. The doctor paid him so much money down, and dispatched him to Kilmare with such instructions as were necessary. He was to secure the corpse, and a coach would be ready at the churchyard gate in which there would be two assistants who would be ready to assist him at a given signal. He went to Kilmare on the day of the funeral, at which he was present. He examined the lock on the door of the vault, and was satisfied that he could easily remove it. At midnight he went to the churchyard armed with a wrench, a pair of shears, and a picklock. First satisfying himself that the coach was in waiting, he entered the graveyard and proceeded to the vault. The night was dark, and rain was falling. Creeping up by the side of the church, he approached the tomb of the Bell family. To his surprise he saw that the door was open, and a faint light burning inside. Stealthily drawing near, he glanced in. He saw the cofliu lying along the marble slab, and in front of it a woman was standing. A second glance showed him that the woman was at work trying to remove a ring from the finger of the dead. A sudden thought struck him, and slouching down he reached in at the door, and with his shears, which he had brought to rid the corpse of its cumbersome shroud, he cut a piece from the skirt of the woman’s dress aud retired unobserved. As he remained for an instant peering into the strange scene, to his horror and astonishment, he saw the corpse arise and raise the hand which the woman was apparently in the act of putting to her mouth. The woman gave a shriek, rushed through the door, and fled, leaving the 1 imp burning on the floor. The body-snatcher guessed at once the woman's design, and, impressed with the conviction that she was a person above the ordinary rank, he resolved to follow and see where she went to. He had no difficulty in tracking the rapidly retreating figure. It passed out of the churchyard at a small wicket on the north side of the church, aud entered the parsonage. Satisfied that he possessed an important secret, out of which he could mike money, be returned to the vault. The light was still burning, and he signaled the men in waiting. They were soon on the spot, but on entering the vault they discovered, to their amazement, that the coffin was empty. The body-snatcher kept his secret, and the mysterious disappearance of the body was a matter of uumixed surprise. Extinguishing the lamp, the men quit the churchyard, the body-snatcher returning to his quarters at a small inn, aud the assistants going back to Belfast in the carriage. .The next morning the news of Mrs. Bell’s restoration to life was abroad in the town. The body-snatcher lingered in the neighborhood until he ascertained that the clergyman had quitted home for a friend’s house. Then he called at the parsonage, and asked for the lady of the house. It was with some difficulty that he obtained an interview, as the domestics informed him that the lady was indisposed and confined to her room. "My business,” he said, "is of very great importance, and it is absolutely necessary that I should see her. ” After the lapse of half an hour, a middle-aged, handsome, stately lady entered the parlor, and, gazing with considerable dignity at her visitor, said: “ What is your business with me, sir?” "Let me shut the door, ma’am,” he said, and, quickly stepping behind the lady, closed the door. " I think we have met before, ma’am,” he said in a firm but respectful tone. "Sir!” the lady exclaimed in offended accents. *‘ I am sure we have met before, ma’am,” the man said. "You are mistaken, sir,” the lady replied, "utterly mistaken, sir ; you will oblige me by quitting tbe house immediately.” "You forgot last night, ma’am, in the vault,” the man said in a low tone. The cheek of the lady evidently blanched, and she gave a gasp for breath. Instantly recovering herself, she said : " I don’t understand you, sir. You are laboring under a mistake. ” "Well, I may be,” the man replied; " that’s a fact; but my impression was that I saw you last night in the vault when you were trying to remove the ring from the finger of what you supposed to be a corpse. ” The lady had sunk into a chair, and was deadly pale. By a powerful effort she overcame her momentary weakness, and said in strong tones : "I don’t know, sir, what you speak of. You are either laboring under a mistake or you are a lunatic. ” "Do you happen to have a dress like this, ma’am?” the man asked, drawing from his pocket the piece which he had cut from the dress of the occupant of the vault the night before. The lady’s lips grew white and dry. She tried to speak, but her tongue clove to the roof of her mduth, and utterance was impossible. "I am reasonable, madam,” the man said ; “ I know your secret, but I will keep it if you will make it worth my while. ” " How much do you require ?” the lady asked, acquiring the power of speech by a great effort. ff Twenty pounds down •will satisfy j

me for the present,” Hie man said, "and more at another time when I need it” The money was paid, and within a month the man returned and demanded more. The lady evidently revealed the story of her disgrace and crime to her husband, for he paid the money, and soon after resigned his living and retired to England. Thia part of the condemned man’s confession was made known to Mr. Bell. All the parties to this strange transaction are not yet dead, and hence the names used here are fictitious. The writer’s informant, however, vouched for the truth of the story, and there is no reason to doubt his veracity.