trifle it cost;
But that which annoyed him the most,
Was to find out too late, that certain as fate
The landlord had acted the Ghost."

The tragic story of Eugene Aram has received attention at the hands of
the historian, poet, and novelist, and his name is the most notable in
the annals of crime in the North of England. In the winter of 1744-5 a
shoemaker, named Daniel Clarke, who had recently married, and was
possessed of money and other valuables, as it subsequently transpired
not obtained in an honourable manner, was suddenly missing, and two of
his associates, Richard Houseman and Eugene Aram, were suspected of
knowing about his disappearance, and even at their hands foul play was
suspected, but it could not be brought home to them. Aram left the town,
and in various places followed his calling--that of a school teacher.
The mystery of Daniel Clarke remained for some years unsolved, but in
1758 a labourer found at Knaresborough some human bones, and it was
suspected that they were Clarke's, and were shown to Houseman, who was
supposed to have a knowledge of the missing man, and in an unguarded
moment said that they were not those of Clarke. His manner aroused
suspicion, and on being pressed he confessed that Clarke was murdered
and buried in St. Robert's Cave, and that Aram and himself were
responsible for his death. The cave was explored, and the skeleton of
the murdered man was found. Aram was arrested at Lynn, where he was an
usher in a school, and was esteemed alike by pupils and parents. He
stoutly protested his innocence, and undertook his own defence. He read
it in court, and it was regarded as a masterpiece of reasoning. It was,
however, made clear from the statements of Houseman, who was admitted as
king's evidence, that Aram had murdered Clarke for gain when he was in
indigent circumstances. The jury returned a verdict of guilty against
Aram, and he was condemned to death, and his body to be afterwards hung
in chains.

It appears quite clear from a careful consideration of the case that
Aram was guilty of the crime.

He attempted, after his trial, to commit suicide by cutting his arm
with a razor in two places, but when discovered, with proper remedies,
his failing strength was restored. On the table was found a document
giving his reasons for attempting to end his own life. On the morning of
his execution he stated that he awoke about three o'clock, and then
wrote the following lines: