THREE Hales of Mystery.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 117, 26 May 1871, Page 6

THREE Hales of Mystery.

No. I. A .STRANGELY SHAPED BUNDLE. On the 26th November, 1809, about four .o'clock in the evening, a carriage drove' up [to the post-house at Maitingen, two leagues fr&va. Augsburg. It contained two individuals, .dressed as French army postilions, and a young lady of remarkable whose name, it was afterwards discovered, was JDor.oth.ea Blankenfeld. They ?arere shown into two adjoining chambers —one for the lady, .and another for her fellow-travellers. Shortly after their arjarrival they were joined by a lad, named Charles Marschall, who acted as their servant. Between three and four in the morning the landlord of the post-house heard a piercing shriek, like that of a phi Id, but as it was not repeated he remained in bed. Sjou afterwards the boy (Charles came running down stairs, holding his hand before his face, and coinplaining that his masier had been beating him,. The nigfyt passed without further disturbance. On their arrival the strangers had announced their indention of setting off again at five next morning, but* it was nearly nine before they prepared to depart, The postmaster was standing at the window of his room, watching them packing, when his attention was attracted by a large, heavy, strangely shaped bundle which they were dragging to the carriage. "It is just," thought he to himself, "as if they had. packed, up a dead dog or a human body." Still his sxispicions were net .excited. Shortly afterwards a man, ja woman, and the boy Charles MarsehaU ; entere.d the carriage and drove off. It immediately occurred to the postmaster that one of the party who frid arrived the day before had not gone i.ito the carriage with the rest. A ll alarm spread, all ran to the phambers of the travellers, and at the first glance it became apparent that a murder had been committed- -The jady's bed, the floor, and the wall of her room were spotted with, blood. Information was immediately given to the authorities ; the carriage was instantly pursued p,nd easily overtaken ; and on opening the suspected bundle the mangled body of a female appeared, which was at on?e idenr tiffed as that of Dorothea Blankenfeld. The boy immediately avowed that he had assisted the others in mu dering her ; but it was not until the twentieth examination that .a similar confession was obtained from •ihis pompanions in crime. They at first endeavored to throw the whole blanie upon the boy, and alleged tjiat they l.al merely assisted in concealing his crime. The facts as ultimately ascertained were these: —-

Antoniin' and his wife, disguised as army postilions, had hired a carriage with the professed object of travelling from Berlin to Nassau, but in reality with a view to levying contributions on the road. The boy Marschall was the brother of Antonini's wife. Their characters were of the worst description, and they were very illprovided with money. Dorothea Blankenfeld was & young woman of irreproachable character, on her road from Dantzic to yienna, where she was engaged to be married to a French Commissary. She" met with the Antonini's at Dresden, where she was waiting for a conveyance, and agreed with them to carry her to AugSr burg. The murder was at once determined upon, but the execution was most singularly delayed from day to day, until jbhey arrived at Maitingen, only two leagues from the place where their victim intended to jeaye them. It was then neeessary to effect their object at aiJ hazards, or to abandon their prize. They had already ascertained, by alarming her fears for robbers, that she carried a sum of money concealed about her and, \)y a minute inspection of her trunks, satisfied themselves that they also were of value. The mode of killing ker was left undecided to the- last, but it was settled £]jafc the boy should be th.e instrument, in

which case the Antoninis flattered themselves that they would escape. Before retiring to rest, Blankenfeld was induced to partake of a draught which had been dragged with opium ; and under pretence that they wanted a foot-bath, warm water was procured to wash away the stains of blood. The same preparations had been made at every inn on the road where they passed the night, although some obstacle bad always intervened to prevent the accomplishment of their purpose. . The boy gave the details of the murder as follow :

Towards midnight they stole into Blankenfeld's room to make observations. They found her in a deep sleep, but in a position unfavorable for the murder, her h ad resting on the face, and turned to the wall. While waiting for a more favorable opportunity, it struck Anfonini that it would be better to kill her by pouring molten pewter into her ears, or, as ihe boy suggested, into her eyes. Wish this intention, they a pewter spoon into pieces and melted them in a tin spoon ; but a drop which accidentally fell upon the bed, and merely browned the linen, induced them to fear that the metil cooled too rapidly for the work of dest 'iiction, and they, therefore, resumed their original plan. Towards four in the morning they again stole into Ihe chamber, and found Blankenfeld lying on her back, with her head bent forwards. Antonini then armed the boy with a heavy roller, and led. him to the front of the bed, directing him how to strike. Mar chall, urged on to the deed, lifted the weapon, but hesitated, trembled, and lowered if aga n. His brother-in-law whispered words of reproach into his ear, seized his hands, gave the club the proper direction over the head of the sleeper, and the firs' blow fell upon her brow. She started from sleep, exclaiming, "Jesus, my head!" Antonini sprung upon her breast, while his wife rushed forward and seized he* feet. The unfortunate girl wept and prayed for mercy, off'ring all that she .possessed if they would only spare her life. The boy, overwhelmed with compassion, anguish, and ho.Tor, threw down the club ; but his sister pursued him and compelled him to repeat the blow. In his confusion he struck Antonini, win, startled by the shock, for a moment relaxed his hold. His victim immediately sprung out of bed and rushed to the door, but was followed by Antonini, who felled her to the ground, and repeated his blows for some time. As she lay in the deathstruggle, he tore her clothes from her body, and possessed himself of her concealed treasure. He then attempted to drag her on his shoulders to the court and hide her in the dunghill, but, finding his strength unequal to the effort, he allowed his wife to dissuade him from it. At this moment the death-rattle recommenced in the poor girl's throat. "This carrion is becoming alive again for our benefit," exclaimed the. wife. Antonini then stepped upon the body, and continued trampling upon it until she had groaned her last. He th i n tied a rope round her neck, and packed up the body in a sack. Their subsequent attempt to carry it off, and to evade discovery, has been described.

Antonini and his wife were condemned to be beheaded ; the boy, Charles MarsehaU, was sentenced to ten years' hard labor.

No. II

The MYSTERY-of the BLACK MILL

The close resemblance between the following narrative and the story of the Oenci, immortalised by Shelley, will at once strike the reader :

In a narrow valley, enclosed by high mountains, in the interior of Germany, and about 310 paces from the last house of the neighboring village, lies the solitary Black Mill. In this lived, until the 9th August, 1817, the master miller, Frederick Kleinschrot, a hale, hearty man of sixty years of a?e. His business was profitable, his capital very considerable. He had lived with his wife Barbara upwards of thirty years, and had twelve children by her, of whom five were still living at the period above mentioned. His eldest son was settled in another place ; two sons and two daughters, the youngest a girl of eighteen years of age, still resided under the paternal roof. Within the curtilage of the mill stood a separate cot qr building, tenanted by a laborer named Wagner and his wife. A lad of thirteen, who slept in a stable, completed the establishment. On the 9th August, 1817, the miller suddenly .disappeared. JN o clue to his fate could be discovered. His wife notified the fact to the Magistrate of the district, by whose direction some inquiries were instituted, but in vain. About a year after-

wards a rumor was circulated that the miller had been murdered in his mill; but this was clearly traced to an expression made use of by Wagner, purporting that the family at the mill were completely in his power. The rumor, however, derived so much credit from the bad terms on which the miller was known to have lived with his family, that the Magistrate thought it his duty to renew the investigation ; but after a few examinations the inquiry was again and a three years' silence on the subject took place. At the end of that period the Magistrate of the district was dismissed for misconduct, and a successor appointed. Before the latter, however, had entered upon the discharge of his duties a lire broke out in the judicial registry, by which many of the documents there collected were destroyed. The late Magistrate was suspected of having caused the conflagration in order to render his milversa'ions more difficult of detection. Be this as it may, the fL'e led to an active search for documents to supply th a plac? of those which had been destroyed ; and among others a bundle of papers relating to the missing miller eame to light, which rendered it evident that strong grounds of suspicion had existed, and that the Might-ate had been induced by a b/ib* to d.'op his inquiries. A fresh investigation wis accordingly instifuted, and at the ir st examination Wagner and his wife con'ess -d that the miller had been murdered by his sons, with his (Wagner's) assistance, the wife and daughters being privy to the ciine. The body, thr>y added, was bu'ied in a fissure of the rocks in the neighborhood, where accordingly, after a s»a"ch, the remains of a man were found. At such a distance of time the onlv ma-k by which they could be directly identified was the beauty of the teeth, for which the deceased had been r 'markable. The family were taken one by one to the grave, but they viewed the bones with composure, and. denied all knowledge of the crime, until the eldest daughter, having been led to the spot, exclaimed —" I am innocent of the deed —I am innocent. Ikn >w nothing of the mat'er until my father began to cry out fearfully, but it was t'ven too late. I have not had a quiet hour since. Oh, God ! what will become of us ?"

This, of course, rendered all further concealment nugatory, and full coniessious were soon afterwards.made by the criminals. The recitals were aflvering in the extreme. The wife and children were described by all who knew them as kind, gentle, and amiable, while the father's

character appears to have been that of a demon rather than of a man. Vicious in every relation of life—a bad son, a bad father, an unfaithful husband, and a tyrrannical master —he had rendered miserable the lives of every person connected with him. He was proved to have habitually so malireated his father that the old man was compelled to have recourse to bolts and bars to defend himself from his son's b.utality ; t;hive lived in habitual inadelity to his wife, not even allowingthe presence of his family to prevent the most shameful exhibitions of his incontinence ; to have wasted his substance on his spurious issue while his legitimate family were kept in the lowest state of want; and to have frequently beaten his wife and cbi ! d -en in a manner that left them maimed and muti ated for weeks. In his fury he made usrf <~f whatever weapon came to his i hand- H ■ struck his wife so severe a blow with a hatchet that she was disabled for a fortnight. As to servants, hardly any could be got to submit to his tyranny, and.he was constantly changing them. " Such a mons er," said the youngest son, in his confession, ' was our lather. Alas! so long as we have been in this world we have never known either joy or peace. Before our father's death we were tormented by him, and since his death tormented by our consciences." It that the unhappy family had applied to lie cnirts of law for protection, ind had been informed that there was neither help nor counsel for them there. Tiie idea of being their own deliverers had gradually stolen upon them. They at first, in th.ir ignorant superstition, made use of cliarms to accomplish their purpose, and after finding these means unavailing, at length resolved upon a more decisive effort. Wagner readily agreed, for a reward of 200 ilorins, to despatch his master, and, after an obstinate struggle, effected his purpose, the sons keeping wateh on the street. Immediately after the crime had been committed the children were seized with remorse. Konrad, the eldest, went up to his mother wailing and exclaiming " Oh! mother, if it were but undone, it should never be done at all." The next day the two young men repaired together to a neighboring mountain, fell upon tneL* knees, expressed their bitter repentance for their crime, and prayed God to pardon their sins. The motlier felt no such compunctions. According to her own confession, she shed no tears for her husband, but entertained a thorough ponyictipn that

God himself must have inspired her and her children with the design of jnurdering him. Wagner and Ronrad, the eldest son, were sentenced to imprisonment in irons for life; Frederick the younger son, to fifteen years' imprisonment in a penitent tiary; the mofcfc.u' to eight years impri* sonment in a penitentiary, The daughters were acquitted. »'*■' No. 111, VICTIMS of a foutujstb teller! Andrew Bjchel, a native of Germany, had for a series of years perpetrated the most atrocious murders without incurring suspicion. The circumstances which ultimately led to his detection were as follow :- About the beginning of the year 1808, a young woman, named Jfcuherine Seidel, weiii- to look into a magic mirror possessed by Bichel, for the purpose of learning her iU: ure fortunes. It was said to be essenr tial to the charm that the inquirer should be dressed in her best attire. Ka herine accordingly packed up her finest clothes, and proceeded to Bichel's house. She ! never returned. Her sisters, with whom she resided, made the most anxious in* quirii-s in vain. All the in forma: ion B chei c ;uld give was thaL after inspecting the mirror she left his house in company with a man who had brought her to him. No further intelligence of her fate could be procured. The sensation created by her mysterious disappearance gradually subsided, and all inquiry ceased. Many months afterwards a younger sister of Xatherine Seidel happening to make some purchases at a clothier's, ru* c ->gnised among his wares a portion of the dress which hor sister had taken with her at her depart we. She asked how it had been obtained, and was informed that it had been left there by Andrew Bichel, This excited suspicion, and she immedi* ately gave inr'orma.ion of the whole cir* ciiinsiunces to the authorities.

Upon this information various inquiries were instituted. Oilier garments were identiiied as having belonged to young women who had recently disappeared as suddenly and as mysteriously as Katherine Seidel. They were all.traced to Bichel, and it also came out that he had been in the praeiice of luring girls to his house under the pretence of telling them their fortunes. These circumstances were suspicious, but still decisive proof was wanting. This was at length obtained in a singular manner. The ofiieer who conducted the inquiries had a favorite dog which constaniiy accompanied him during his investigation. Every time that he passed Bichel's house (his animal sprang into an adjoining woodshed, and continued smelling about so long that several times he had to be called off'. This at length attracted attention. The floor, which seemed so strongly to excite the dog's curiosity, was turned up, and first one liuman body and then another were discovered, terribly mangL'd, though not so much as to prevent their being identifi.'d as the bodies of two of the missing females. . Notwithstanding this discovery BicheJ still maintained his innocence, until an attempt was made on his nerves. In con--'ormity with the directions of a royal ordinance, by which the torture had been abolished, Bichel was taken to the spot where the body was found, and informed that the rest of the examination would be held in presence of the body. Bichel be* come exceedingly faint, and required water to bring him to himself. The Judge of Inquiry's address, delivered with great earnestness and judgment, was not of a character to restore his composure. But though the wretched man trembled ex* ceedingly, and again nearly fainted, he could not be induced to confess. The recollection of the scene, however, effected what the scene itself had failed to do. Two days afterwards he demanded an ex* animation and confessed all. He had lured the youug women to his house by operating on their curiosity to look into his enchanted mirror. H<J had blindfolded them as a necessary part of the ceremony, and had then stabbed them in the back of the neck, and thus murdered them. Thecircumstanees attending Katherine S.ndel's death wore thus narrated by hi ai:—

" I had now (after committing the mur« dei) a desire to see how she looked in the inside, and for this purpose took a wedge, placed it upon her breast, and hammered it with a cobbler's hammer. In this manner I opened her breast, and then cut through the fleshy parts of her body with a knife. Instantly, after the stab in the neck, I proceeded to the opening; and even if a man could pray as rapidly, yet he could not utter ten'Ave-Marias in so short a time as I took to open the breast and the rest of the body. I then prepared and dressed the body of tliis girl as a but* cher does the carcase of a beast, and

tacked it to pieces with a hatche-;. to fit it for the hole which I had made upon the hill. I can safely say that I was so eager during the opening that I trer l>ied, and could fain have cut off a bit and eaten it. After Seidel had received the first stab she uttered a shriek and six or seven groans, and sought to defend herself, and struck with her hands. As I opened her so immediately after the stab, it is possible that she was still living when I cut her up. " The only motive for the murders was the clothes. I must own that I was not under the pressure of absolute necessity. It was, however, as if some one'stopd by me and said, ' Do it, and buy bread.' " Bichel confessed that he had lured other women to his house for the same purpose. Among others, his aunt appears to have been one of his victims. He was sentenced to be broken alive upon the wheel.