Indiana Palladium, Volume 1, Number 36, Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, 9 September 1825 — Page 1

1 N ps Xisfe Pi te? i f 4

Equality of rights is natures flax And following nature is the march of man. liurlozc.

Volume I.J

LA WREN C EB U KGI i , INDIANA; FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1825.

Number 36.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED

BY

BI. GREGG & D. V. CULLEY, OX EVERY FRIDAY.

Frain the Museum of Foreign Literature St .Science.

"But you cannot expect men to sleep so

well the night before they are hanged as they are likely to do after wards T

He looked round in all our laces, as it to

But with calmness he attended to the work-! my poor mother,' embodied in speech a porman, who directed him how to stand. Hejtionof the agony which raged in his bosom.

manifested great presence of mind, and, I

I thought, seemed to gaze with something of

A BREAKFAST LX XEWGATE. Returning from the country, I found myself in the Old Bailey, shortly after seven in the morning. I had some ditliculty in making my way through the crowd there assembled; which I instantly perceived, from the nlatform erected in front of Newgate,

had been brought together to witness one of

those mournful exhibitions which the administration of criminal justice so frequently furnishes in this immense metropolis. " My first impulse was to retreat with all possible expedition, but the impediments opposed to my doing so compelled a pause; and it then struck me, that however reluctant to witness suffering, there was much in the scene before me on which a reflecting mind might dwell with interest, if not with advantage. The decent gravity of some of the crowd formed a strong contrast to the jocund vivacity of the majority; and this again with the important swagger of the constables, who seemed fully to appreciate the consequence which the modicum of authority, dealt out to persons of their standing in society cannot fail to impart. Then the anxiety to complete their task, which the workmen who were still employed in preparing the scaffold evinced gave another feature perfectly distinct from what had before caught my attention, while the eagerness of the inhabit

ant housekeepers to let "excellent places for

seeing" and ol certain ambulatory pastry

cooks to accommodate the rapidly increasing

multitude with such delicacies as they had

for sale, added to the variety, though not to the solemnity of the scene. Some undertaker's men were carrying coffins across the road to the prison, for the reception of the sufferers after execution. They were much pushed about, and this caused great mirth. I turned from the general display of levity with disgust. "On no account," I mentally exclaimed, "will I remain mixed up with such a herd of heartless beings. But who am I," I retorted on myself in the next moment, "that I should thus

condemn my fellows, and ;bite the chain of nature?'" for what 1 saw was nature after all. A mob, save when depressed by a sense of peril, can never long refrain from some indications of merriment, however awful the subject of their meeting. The unfortunate Hackman, in one of his letters to Miss Ray, described himself to have been shocked by

a snectacle of this sort. On the morning of

the day on which Dr. Dodd suffered, Hackman was at Tyburn. While the multitude

were expecting the approach of the culprit,

an unfortunate pig ran among them; and the writer remarks, with indignation, that the brutal populace diverted themselves with the animal's distress, as if they had come there to see "a sow baited,' instead of attending to behold a fellow creature sacrili-j ced to justice. But the pressure of accumulating thousands was too much for me, and I asked a female, who,with an infant in her arms, stood fuU in my way, to let me pass. I was retiring, when the carriage of one of the sherifls drove up to the Sessions House, and out stepped my friend Sir Thomas , who, in the performance of his duty, came to superintend the last arrangements within the prison, and to give the governor a receipt for the bodies of the unfortunates who were to die. I was instantly recognised, and the sheriff kindly complimented me with the offer of an introduction to the interior. Such politeness was not to be withstood, and I signified mv assent with a bow. We passed up a staircase, and into a well furnished and carpeted apartment. Here

I was introduced to the under-sheriff, who, attended bv a half a dozen gentlemen,

-brought in, like mvs elf, as a matter of favor, was about descending to the room in which the culprits are pinioned. Sir Thomas, who

had bestowed much humane attention on the

prisoners, inquired, with real solicitude, how

they had passed the night. His colleague,

who had just had his person embellished

w ith the insignia of office, replied, in a live

ly tone, "O, very well, I understand. lie added with iniidite coolness and intelligence

collect our uflVages in favor of this pleas-jcunosity on the operation, which he contri antry. His hish rank and importance Mm,! buied all in his power to facilitate. Th

prevented any word or sign of displeasure.

Most of us lifted our upper lip so as just to shew our teeth, thereby intimating that we knew he had said a very good thing, at which, but for the painful business then in

progress, we should be ready to die with laughing. We now followed the sheriffs through the Sessions House, and thence, by a covered passage on the eastern side of the yard of that building, to the prison. 1 shuddered at beholding the numerous precautions which experience and ingenuity had suggested to cut off hope and prevent enape. Spikes and pallisades above, and doors of massy iron below, appeared in long and terrible array against the wretch, w ho, hav ing eluded the vigilance of the officers of the gaol, should attempt, by ilight, to save his life. At one of the iron doors, we were severally inspected with as much suspicious care as if we fead been seeking to get out.

e iet in.

The'

, . i j . i i i i

Ueavv blows ecnoea mrougu me room, and rudely broke in on the low murmurs and whispers which had for some little time been the onlv sounds heard there. A singularly

irrational feeling came over me. I could have reproved the striker for indecorously breaking silence, and even have questioned

his humanity for being capable of such vig

orous exertion at a moment when, a it struct

rne, every thing ought to have presented the coldness and motionless stillness of the grave.

The rivet was knocked out, the fetters fell to the floor, and the prisoner was passed from the anvil to the further extremity of the room. A second entered. This was a middle-aged man. Reflection seemed with him to have well performed its duty. Calm and undismayed, he advanced to the anvil, apparently" unconscious of the presence of a single spectator, and wholly occupied with meditations on eternity- Having already witnessed that part of the preparatoiy ceremonv which he was then to undergo, I with-

instp.id of nressim forward i

At length we rcachedagLomv apartment, jdrew from the circle to observe the other which, Ibelieve, is called the ' Press-room. sufferer. He had now been joined by the ' A 1 " ill

Here I found rather a toller attendance than I had expected; some eight or ten persons having been .admitted by another entrance. These had formed in two lines, and their eyes were incessantly turned towardthe door. I fancied, when I made my appearance, that they regarded ine with peculiar attention, as if for a moment they and mistaken me for a more distinguished character thao I really was. If I were right in

this, they certainly were soon ur deceived.!

ordinary, and was standing near a table, on

which several ropes were lying, lie was directed to place his hands together, and he was then pinioned. Here, again, I felt a

disposition to criticise the conduct of the of

ficers, like that which 1 had previously ex

perienced while witnessing the labors of the

smith. 1 he adroitness ana mercitui despatch which I noticed, I could hardly help

regarding a meriting censure lor the insen

nihility which they marked. Those who

MinVrlimr vyilh them. I looked about me, as lihave to pei form a severe duty cannot often

c,u-"ihr.m b.L' nbr.nt. Sih-nre oncrall v 1 P operlv fulfil tbeir task, and at the same

prevailed. A few whispers were exchang

ed; and now tad then such sentences as, "The time grows short' "They will soon be here" "What must Oieir feelings be at this moment?" were murmured along the ranks. That amelioration of the culprit's destiny, which, by relieving him from the galling fetters heretofore deemed necessary for the safe detention of his person, now leaves his mind more perfect leisure for communica

tion with hi Creator, had not then taken place. The approach of the prisoners was signified fust by a whisper, and then by the clanking of the. irons attached to the limbs of one of them. It was a dreary morning; and the sombre aspect of the apartment well

accorded with the dismal preparations of which it was to be the theatre. A block with a small anvil was placed near the entrance, by w hich a miserably attired individual was stationed with a candle for the pur

pose of lighting the workman who attended to remove the irons. The (lame of the candle was too small to afford a general illu

mination of the room; but its limited pow

er crave to the eve a more distinct

little circle round the anvil, in

main objects were the smith, with his hammer already grasped ; his assistant, and two or three officers, were, in the ahber.ee of the more important objects of curiosity, eagerly gazed on by some of the party, and by me ifor one, as appendages of the picture not unworthy of notice. The sound of the fetters was now close at

hand, and the voice of the minister who at

tended the wearer of them, could be heard.

time conciliate the admiration of the pitying

spectator. Lest what I h ive said should be

misunderstood, it is right distinctly to say,

no want of consideration lor the feelings of

the criminals was evinced. The oflicers who pinioned them, when their work was

done, shook each by the hand with an apa' fT'l

pea ranee ot sincere commiseration. i ne matter-of-roui se way in which they acquitted themselves offended me, but I had no right to expect that in performing what to them were but common-place labors, they should study my fastidious notions of fitness and effect. But a still greater contrast to the awful character of the preparations presented itself. When I drew near the table on which

the ropes lay, and by which the miserable

being who had most ergrossed my attention then stood, I per- eived on that very table the materials for gambling. Lines passing

across it, had been indented to prepare it for a game, I believe the same as that which King Henry VIII. took some trouble to put down, under the name of "Shove-groat."

He was conducted to a bench, on which his

fellows had just been seated. A glass of wa

ter was handed to him, with which he mois

tened his fevered lips, and the voice of devotion again claimed attention, and com

manded silence.

In that moment few, if any, of the specta

tors remembered the crimes of those they

looked upon. Every mind was solely occupied with the terrible punishment about to be inflicted. But distressing as the scene was, before it closed I was sufficiently myself to recognise, with satisfaction, the majestic inarch of justice the resolute, but humane adminisv

tration of the law. It was sad to behold the ghastly pictures of despair then breathing, but destined so speedily to cease to breuthe.

buch scenes are rendered familiar to us in romance, but to gaze on the reality, and to feel that, pity as we may, no joyful denouement can be furnished to avert the contem

plated sacrifice, occasions for the time excru-

ciatmg sorrow. Hut while i lelt this, and

was pursuaded that each of all who were with me (however idle the curiosity which brought him there) would have been glad for himself to have given them life and freedom, I admired the serene determination which still urged on the proceedings, and the sorrowful concurrence which attended them. It was the triumph of civilization, to behold every effort made to soothe calamity, without any abandonment of the forfeit justly claimed on behalf of society. The sheriffs inquired if the unfortunates had any thing to impart, or any request to make. Answered in the negative they added their voices to those ef their religious assistants, to assure them of their hopes that they would And that mercy in another world, which the laws and the interests of their fellow creatures denied them in this. This language, however suited to the occasion, had been so often addressed to them, that the sufferers received it almost as a matter of course, and made little or no reply, but looking up to Heaven, they at least seemed to feel that thither alone could their

thoughts be advantageously directed. They continued sitting on the bench or form to which they had been led. From time to time the sheriffs referred to their watches. The under sherilf, who had been doing the same, now exhibited his timepiece to his superior. It wanted live mim utes to eight. Sir Thomas, by a slight inclination of the head, intimated that he comprehended what was intended to be conveyed. "Had we not better move?" he inquired, addressing himself, in a tone but litile above a whisper, to the ordinary. "I think we had," the functionary justmentioned rejoined "the last time, yoS know, we were rather late." The under sheriff waved his hand for the

The strange variety thus placed before melspectators to stand aside. His gesture was

t view of a! the mingling symbols dissipation and mis-j promptly attended to. The sheriffs, holdwhich theiery, of pastime "and of death, caused my ing their wands in their hands, then present-

uunu, aireauy suincieiuiy excueu, iu expe-ieu uitusacuL-a i3 icauj iu maim m p rotes

rience a sudden emotion which I know not how to convey to another. The third criminal entered. This was a young man of prepossessing exterior, who had recently moved in a higher sphere than either of his companions in suffering. His cheek was flushed when he entered, and he

staggered forward, writhing in agony, and-

r l-.i r. ! .1 ...

sion. lmmeuiateiy alter tnem trie minister appeared, with his open book: the culprits were next brought forward, and placed immediately behind him. The spectators, who had given way on the sides, prepared to bring up the rear, were admonished by the under sheriff not to press on the sufferers; and strange as it ma)' seem, the intm-

In the next moment two or

I nn; lincr WP TO flllloUPll

the ordinary and one of the malelactors.l u.t ui . -

fhe latter looked right and lelt, as u he had - &

calculated on recognising there some friend removed, n wu aue nueu uy a oenevo-

r rpb.iivP. A idiastlv paleness sat on his lGm Person vwiu luinmun. assist t.uu ihu,

' O . 1

carceiv able to sir tain himself. He look- sive curiosity of some of the party, impress

ed at those who surrounded him as if he'ed upon me a belief that this hint was not

1 "iivp iuMvfinsii

leareu 10 UISCOV er some w no nau iuiuu u mm

cheek, and there was an air ot disorder in

the upper part ot his lace, which his wild K... ..!..-.-. , , - , nml i r or Li tyo n 1 1 v rrKril

inn sunueii eu, cvnui w

locks joined to furnish. The unhappy youth,

lor he was not more than twenty, advanced with a steady step to where the smith expected him. He was resigned and tractable. When about to place his foot on the block, he untied a band, which had passed round his body to sustain the weight of his irons; and as he disengaged it, he let it carelessly

tall, with an expression in his countenance

which told, so I fancied, that, in this moment, reflecting lie should never want it again, the immediate cause and consequence of the

miserable relief flashed full on his imagina

tion, with all their concomitant hojrrors.

in their last moments, and who, though no

ecclesiastic by profession, seemed equal to the duty of imparting religious consolation.

His voice now contributed to soothe ins un

happy charge, and in a few moments all that

was necessary there to be done, nad neen performed. The hands of the culprits were

secured, and the halters by which they were to perish were thrown round their shoulders. The fortitude of the young man first brought in had, till this moment, enabled him, though not unmoved, to look with calmness on the appalling scene. But now, when he saw that but one more ceremony intervened between him and the grave, his reso

lution suddenly failed him. He burst into

altogether unnecessary.

No further delay wag allowed. The sheriffs moved on: the ordinary, the culprits, and the oflicers did the same; and that class of attendants to which I belonged followed. I shall not easily forget the circumstances of this brief, but melancholy progress. The faltering step the deep-drawn sigh the mingling exclamations of anguish and devotion which marked the advance of the victims the deep tones of the reverend gentleman who now commenced reading a portion of the burial service, and the tolling of the prison bell, which, as we proceeded through some of the most dreary passages of the goal, burst on the ear, rendered the whole spectacle impressive beyond descrip tion. to be concluded.

The life of Nopoleon Bonaparte, by th

tears, and a wild shriek cf "0 my mother -author of Waverly, is promised.