Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 06.pdf/444

 Old -World Trials. The answer was promptly given : " No, you must give her the whole cow." It will of course be understood that this is not a serious question of practical importance, and was not so considered by the Rabbis. It was suggested by their natural desire to view every possible and even impossible phase of questions under discussion, running down every point to its logical result, in order to provide for every contingency and to bring all human action as far as possible under a complete system of law. Although customarily written by a scribe or Rabbi, the Get may be written by any

409

one except certain persons under natural or legal disability, such as infants, idiots, deaf mutes, slaves and idolaters; it must be signed by two competent witnesses. The husband did not sign the Get; his name appeared in the body of the docu ment, and before the witnesses signed they heard his declaration that the Get was given by him to his wife of his own free will and accord. The Get was delivered to the wife or to her lawfully constituted agent, and thereupon she left the house of her hus band and the divorce was complete.

OLD-WORLD TRIALS. VI. THE STANFIELD HALL MURDER. A MORE hardened villain than James Blomfield Rush has seldom stood at the bar of a court of justice, and the story of his crime reads like a romance. Rush was the tenant of three farms on the Stanfield Hall estate, near Norwich, which, at the time of the tragedy we are about to relate, belonged to Mr. Isaac Jcrmy, the Recorder of that city. In the course of the year 1844 he became involved in pecuniary embarrassments, and obtained from his landlord advances of money, the repayment of which was secured by a mort gage. The mortgage deed provided for the discharge of the loan on the 30th of November, 1848. When that day drew near, Rush was not only unable to meet his engagements, but was on the worst possible terms with Mr. Jcrmy, who had been com pelled some time before to. take proceedings against him for ejectment. He did not, however, allow the day of payment to ap proach without making some preparations for getting rid of his debt. Mr. Jermy's

title to the Stanfield Hall estate was being impugned by two hostile claimants, with whom Rush entered into league. These persons practically undertook to release him from the mortgage if they obtained posses sion of the estate. Not content with this satisfying assurance, Rush forged the signa ture of Mr. Jermy (among other documents) to a deed, releasing him from his liability to repay the mortgage debt. This forged sig nature was attested by a woman, Emily Sandford, who had been a governess in his family, and had been seduced by him under promise of marriage. On the evening of the 28th November Mr. Jermy was shot through the heart, at his hall door, by a man whose head and face were concealed from view by a black cape. On hearing the report of firearms in the hall, old Mr. Jermy's son stepped out of the dining-room to see what was the matter, and instantly met the same fate as his father. Mrs. Jermy and her maid, Eliza Chestncy, now came upon the scene in a state of ter