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his previous demeanour, he became peculiarly silent, when suddenly, as they reached the open country, he broke out, "Precious stupid of those people there to think that the princess was killed with two discharges! How could the murderer have had time to fire twice? once was enough. Why, it was only that there were two bullets in one barrel!" The woman was naturally astonished to hear this assertion. It would seem, however, as if within the man there was a force which was involuntarily driving him to betray himself. He proceeded bitterly to regret that the gun should have been found. When questioned as to what it was to him whether it was found or no, he replied that it mattered much to him, for the gun was not his own but borrowed, and "every thing might in this way be discovered." No sooner had he uttered these words than he must have felt that he had committed himself; he was suddenly silent-then, seizing his companion by the arm, he continued, "Hark'ee, if thou'lt not betray me I'll tell thee something-I am the man who murdered the princess ! ” Frightened at this news, the woman protested that it was impossible, and that he was joking-"True as God's in heaven," rejoined he; “it was I who shot her!" "But," said she, "what could have led you to do it?" "Ah!" he answered, "for money and good words a man will do much." He then stated that he had been ordered to repair to Konigshütte, and there had met the Prince Maximilian and Franke. When alone with the former, who plied him with wine, and was himself very familiar and kind to him, the prince proposed to Obst that he should undertake to despatch the princess. For this purpose, three months' time was to be given, and a bribe of two thousand dollars promised. Obst further mentioned, that his wife was now off on her journey to get the money from the prince, and that he destined this accession of wealth to be the means of setting himself up as a saddler again, and in quite a grand way; and he promised his companion that, if she would not betray him, he would reward her handsomely; but, if she split on him, he would do for her too. Obst, however, according to the same testimony as the above, related certain details, viz. :-that, after he had fired, a dog

had bitten him through his breeches, and he showed the woman the hole in his dress (one which had been given him by the prince) as a corroboration of his statement; and also that he had thrown his gun into the water, and, in so doing, had himself fallen in over head and ears.

Some days later, he mentioned to the same woman that his wife had returned, but had only obtained a hundred dollars, and was to fetch the rest in three weeks. Obst, moreover, mentioned who was with the princess, and the relative position of the respective persons in the room when he fired, and that the gun had been borrowed in Gleiwitz or Beuthen.

Now the good woman Dziedzitz naturally found she could not, in spite of the promises and threats held out to her, retain the secrets which had been confided to her; and in the first place she communicated them to her husband, and finally the woman was examined by the police authorities, and repeated her tale as we have above rendered it.

In consequence of the information Obst was taken into custody. When searched, there was found in his possession a banknote of twenty-five dollars (Prussian), and some Austrian money. Of this, Obst and his wife gave unsatisfactory and entirely different accounts; nor was it unremarked that, shortly before, these people had been in very different circumstances, but were now living much better, and were paying off their debts.

Obst declared positively that the evidence of Dziedzitz was altogether false-mere idle gossip and invention on her part; and there was no doubt a prima facie improbability in parts of the story as that a nobleman should pick up, in such a way as stated, a common fellow and hire him as a murderer; moreover, it would appear unlikely that Obst should choose to enter into a detailed confession of the crime to a casual acquaintance picked up on the road. On whichever side the balance of probability might be, however, it was rendered of less consequence, because, according to the old criminal law of the country which then was in force, such a confession was not evidence under which a conviction could be obtained. So these good people, husband and wife, were let out of prison.

The crime, however, was of too grave a character to admit of the authorities relinquishing all further investigation, and, furthermore, a new criminal code was now introduced, under which the administration of justice was not hampered by rules, which excluded valuable testimony of the above character from having its proper force. Time, too, revealed further circumstances connected with the mystery.

In the year 1850, therefore, criminal proceedings were renewed, and were directed against Michael Passy as an accessory before the act, and against Charles Obst and Joseph Franke as having been engaged in carrying out the murder, and against the wife of Obst also as an accessory.

On these proceedings evidence was adduced which, in each particular, supported the statements made by Obst in his supposed confession. Thus, the man in Gleiwitz was found who had lent the gun spoken of. He had lent it to Franke. The gun had two barrels; but one had burst and was plumbed up; and only one explosion had been heard. The tear in Obst's breeches had been remarked at the time. Again, his wife had been absent, and could give no satisfactory explanation of her absence, and he had been heard to say he "should now have money." He had mentioned in fact to various parties, that he should ere long have two thousand dollars, with which he should set up his new saddler's shop. He had been observed about the castle for some days before the murder, and certain clothes which he wore were identified as the prince's. No better explanation than before was offered as to their increase of fortune; besides which, other passing remarks of the man had been heard by various witnesses, which were scarcely consistent with his innocence.

With regard to the complicity of Franke and Passy, and the wife of Obst, several facts of suspicion were proved which in an English court of justice would, where admissible at all, have carried no great weight, but which we need not here further enumerate; and the court, after due deliberation, pronounced this verdict as regarded Passy and the wife of Obst, NOT GUILTY; against Charles Obst, GUILTY.

So soon as the sentence had been pronounced, Obst changed his demeanour. His hardened declarations of innocence were relinquished. A violent attack of fever prostrated him, and he then professed a desire to make a complete confession before he died. When, however, he was brought before the judge with this view, he reiterated his innocence; but was willing, he said, to reveal truly all he knew of all the circumstances connected with the murder. The effect of this confession of Obst was as follows:

"He had become," said he, "whilst working on the railway, more particularly acquainted with Franke. On one occasion they were out together hunting, when Franke observed that Prince Max Sulkowski would marry Flora Tschaskalik, the sister of Franke's wife; and he further suggested that Obst might make his fortune if he would undertake a job for the prince." Some days afterwards Franke met Obst and gave him some silver and some clothes, which came from the prince; and, making him swear that he would not betray him, said—"If you can make up your mind to do for the princess, you can get a thousand dollars and a situation under the prince in Slupna." Some fortnight later Franke produced a double-barrelled gun, one of the barrels of which was burst, and remarked that it was so bad that it might be thrown away, but good enough to shoot the princess with, adding that a good piece might betray the act. The one he had was, he also said, borrowed from a gunmaker in Gleiwitz. Franke went thereupon to Slupna, and some days later Obst heard that the princess was shot.

On the day after the murder Franke called Obst to him and said "I have had to do what you ought to have done. The princess is with God. Betray me not, and I will give you two hundred dollars." He also gave Obst certain articles of dress. Obst admitted, moreover, that he had communicated the above fact to the woman Dzieditz, and that she had by misunderstanding, and mixing his statement with common gossip, or perhaps through revenge or some other motive, made up the rest of her statement.

It was expected that Obst would not abide by the above confession, but would acknowledge other matter, supposed to be real

truth; but the man continued to grow worse and worse, and in a few weeks' time he died. His wife, also, who had been relieved from durance, died within a few weeks of her husband's death.

That Franke was directly or indirectly an agent in this horrible event, was now rendered more than probable, and it became an object with the authorities to bring him to justice; but he had vanished since the year 1848. He was traced to Vienna, thence to Presburg and to Pesth. He had been active in the Hungarian insurrection, reached the post of captain in the revolutionary army, was one of the last who adhered to that cause, and was amongst those who took refuge in Turkey. He, however, soon stole back from that country, assuming another name and character. He entered on the profession of gambler, was ere long captured by the Austrian police on the ground of treason, and various criminal passages in his life were now revealed. He was eventually convicted, and imprisoned several years in Ofen. Hence he broke out, and got again free across the Turkish frontier. He next escaped to England, where he entered the foreign legion. After this he entered into commercial business, which brought him to Hamburg. Here he met his sister-in-law Flora Tschaskalik, who soon departed for England, where she now is, or was very lately. But Franke, after many turns and chances, at last fell into the hands of the Prussian police. He was brought to Gleiwitz, and criminal proceedings were forthwith commenced against him.

The prosecutors were embarrassed, however, as to how they should frame the indictment, whether on the first statement which the man Obst was supposed to have made to the woman on the road, or on his deathbed confession. It was still doubtful whether it was Franke who had pulled the fatal trigger, or whether he had only been the man who had induced Obst to commit the murder. The evidence, which was of a dubious and shifting character, offered by Passy, rendered the difficulty all the greater. However, the prisoner was put on his trial.

The adventures of Franke since the murder were brought before the court, had affected their minds, it is said, very unfavourably

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