The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-17 00:00:00

of the occasion. He hoped tl lat be should not hear
any loud talking, not a voice during the progress of
the proceedings.
From the gaol-office, the she; , supported by De-
puties Rugg andFrceman, proc, :ed ed to the prisoner's
cell, followed by the witnesses and other deputies,
where an impressive and eluque at prayer was offered
by the Rev. Dr. Ptitnam, he bei, le the only officiating
clergyman present. No other services were held.
The prisoner, during prayer, v ?A 3 in his cell in a
kneeling position.
After prayer we had an oppr )rt unity to see Pro- I
fessor Webster in his cell. We hsd not looked upon
him since the day he was sentenr He was greatly
altered for the better. We neve r saw a more healthy
looking man than he appeared to b ?. His countenance
was much more pleasant than wl nhe was upon his
trial.

Shortly after, at 20 minutes / st 9 o'clock, High
Sheriff Eveleth, attended by DeL su ties Coburn, Free-
man, and Rugg, Mr. Andrews, the g soler, Mr. Holmes,
the turnkey, and the prisoner, ; tei •ompanied by Dr.
Putnam, came out and ascended t. he platform of the
scaffold, the prisoner taking his po it ion upon the drop.
Dr. Putnam immediately ente: tea I into earnest con-
versation with Professor Webster -, and continued to
do so through the reading of the governor's warrant
by the sheriff, and until gaol ei • Andrews stepped
forward to pinion the legs of the prisoner, when the
Doctor shook the Rev. Dr. Putn n affectionately by
the hand, bade him a final earthly farewell, expressing
at the same time the hope that th r should meet again
in heaven.

The priioner was dressed in aIA tck suit, apparently
the same clothes that he wore du eh ig his trial.
Deputy-Sheriffs Rugg and Fee 4 man adjusted the
rope at 25 minutes to 10 o'clock.
Before the cap was drawn over his eyes he shook
hands with the gaoler Andrews, Mt . Holmes, and last
with the sheriff, and thanked them. fc it their kind treat-
ment of him.

Sheriff Eveleth then said--'' u the name of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in accordance
with the warrant of the Chief Est cutive, I now, be-
fore these witnesses, proceed to ex acute the sentence
of the law upon John W. Webster , convicted at the
March term of the Supreme Judicial Court, of the
murder of Dr. George Parkman."
This said, the sheriff placed his foot upon the fatal
spring, and in en instant more the <victim was launched
into eternity. He gave several struggles and all was
over.

After remaining some thirty minutes, Drs. Sted-
man and Clark pronounced the body lifeless, when
it was lowered into a black coffir. , and conveyed back
into the same cell where, in the full vigour of man-
hood, it had but a short period before trod. It will
be delivered to the family this of ;ernoon, and without
much ceremony be buried at M• aunt Auburn, in the
family vault. Thus far we have no knowledge that
there exists any other confession than the bare state-
ment which he has repeatedly made, that the law of
capital punishment was right, and that he was justly
a subject of it.
The following, letter, which we find in the Boston
Transcript, was addressed by Pro fessor Webster to
the Rev. Dr. Parkman, brother of Dr. George Park-
man. A copy of the letter was retained by Pro-
fessor Webster, and confided to a friend, with per-
mission to make such use of it as he might see fit,
after the execution :

" Boston, Tuesday, Aug. C.
" Rev. Dr. Parkman—Dear Sir,—l cannot leave
' this world in the peace of mind for which I pray
without addressing you as the head of that family
which I have so deeply injured and afflicted, to make
known to you and them the bitter anguish of soul,
the sincere contrition and penitence I have felt at
having been the cause of the affliction under which
you and they have been called to mourn. I can offer
no excuse for my wicked and fatal ebullition of pas-
sion but what you already know, nor would I attempt
to palliate it.
"I had never, until the two or three last interviews
with your brother, felt towards him anything but
gratitude for his many acts of kindness and friendship.
That I should have allowed the feelings excited on
those occasions to have overpowered me so as to in-
volve the life of your brother and my own temporal
and eternal welfare, I can, even now, hardly realize.
" I may not receive from you forgiveness in this
world, yet I cannot but hope and believe you will
think of me with compassion, and remember me in
your prayers to Him who will not turn away from
the humble and repentant. Had I many lives, with
what joy would I lay them all down to alleviate the
affliction I have caused ; but I can now only pray for
forgiveness for myself and for every consolation and
blessing upon every member of your family.
"In Justice to those dearest to me, I beg to assure
you, and I entreat you to believe me, no one of my
family had the slightest doubt of my entire innocence
up to to the moment when the contrary was commu-
nicated to them by Dr. Putnam. That they have
your sincere pity and sympathy I feel assured.
" There is no family toward every member of which
I have always felt a greater degree of respect and re-
gard than that of which you are now the head. From
more than one I have received repeated acts of friend-
ship and kindness, for which I have ever been and
am most truly grateful.
" Towards yourself in particular have not only my
own feelings been those of the most sincere regard
and gratitude—every individual of my family has felt
towards you that you were their pastor and friend.
Often has my wife recalled the interest you took in
her from her first becoming your parishioner, and
()Pen has she spoken with feelings of gratitude of the
influence of your public ministrations, and of your
private instructions and conversations, and of your
direction of her inquiries and reading in what related
to her religious views. These she has often recalled
and referred to as having firmly established the reli-
gious faith and trust which are now such sources of
consolation and support to her and our children, as
well as to myself.
" Nothing that has occurred has weakened these
feelings, and although those I leave behind me may
not meet you without the keenest anguish, I trust
you will exonerate them from any participation in or
knowledge of the father's sin, up to the moment I
have mentioned ; and may you remember them in
your prayers to the father of the fatherless and the
widow's God.

" I beg you, my dear sir, to consider this strictly a
private letter, and by no means to give it publicity ;
at the same time I will request- you to make known
to the immediate members cf your family the state of
my feelings and my contrition.
" Teat every consolation and blessing may be
vouchsafed to yourself and to every member of your
family, is the heartfelt prayer of yours most respect-
fully, " J. W. WEBSTE3."
--"drIDENTS OF THE EXur”----
The Boston Journal says :