Star.
London, England, 1825-12-26 00:00:00

CONDEMNED SERMON•

Yesterday the three unhappy criminals, Wm. Henry
Austin, Richard Wm. Jasper, and John Edmonds, whose
doom is fixed for to-morrow, attended Divine Service at
the prison Chapel. They were, as is usual with persons
in their calamitous situation, placed in a pew apart from
the other prisoners, generally termed the c,,ndemned
pew. The Rev. Mr. Baker sat with them during the
service, the Rev. Mr. Cotton being the officiating Cler-
gyman. During the progress of the service, they ap-
peared self-possessed and attentive. When it had con•
eluded, and previous to the sermon beini; delivered, a
penitential psalm, entitled, "The Lamentation of a S n-
ner," was ciranted, in which the criminals all joined with
considerable fervour. The text selected for the con-
dem. ed sermon was taken from the 17th verse of the
51st Psalm, and was most appropriate to the occasion.
Ile Rev. Ordinary, in descanting on it, took occasion
to enforce the necessity of repentance, and pointed out
to his hearers bow acceptable a sacrifice was a contrite
heart in the sight of the ALm IGIITY. Repentance, he
said,should be sincere,and confiding in the mercies of the
LORD. Despair was not to mark its features. Hope was to
be placed in GOD% mercies, who would realize that hope,
and receive the repenting sinncr, as (Id the father of old
the prodigal son. The impressiveness of the Rev.
Gentlanan's delivery was not expended in vain ; his
auditory, but more particularly that part of it which
is so near e:ernity, appeared deeply affected; and per-
haps the day, the Nativrty cf c ur SAVIOUR, added to
the solemnity of his appeal. The sermon, which had
heretofore been preached on a similar m-lancho;y occa-
sion, was selected at the instance of the convicts diem-
:,elves. At its conclusion they were removed to their
cell-, sensibly alive to the awfulness of their situation,
and deeply impressed with the necessity of a sincere
and c infiding repentance.
Austin, who is 35 years of age, was charged with
stealing a Bank note for 51. the prop ,r; y of C'•arles'
Gat diner, which had come into his possession by virtue,
of his offi..e, as a letter sorer at the General Po,t
Office. It appears thit the note in question was sent,
from Mr. Gardiner, at Wimbourne, to Mr. Pyrke, of
Oxford. It came by the way of London, and where,
among• other letters, it r. maned in the Post-Office to.
be sorted ; the prisoner, who PM a sorter, went to the
box several times, and examined the Tetsworth boa,
which adjoined the Oxford box. A man named
Wallis, who had known the pi is•rner since 1811, proved
that he met the prisoner in July, when the prison •r
gave him thre.. 51. country notes, and requested him L .
get them changed at the banking house; in the City.
Wallis got them changed as he was desired, and met
the prisoner by appointment on the Southwark bridge.,
' The prisoner then told Wallis to get some French
money to the amount of 101. Wallis obtained the
French money as he was desired, but having met with
some difficulty in passing one of the .1. notes, he put
'his own name on it, and got it cashed at the Bank of
England. The prisoner, on hearing this circumstance,
appeared rather flurried, but he. ae,:epted the French
and Errglish money, and gave Wail s cue sovereign for
his trouble. Wallis was however apprehended, 0..
account of his name being on the note. The prison;::,
who made no defence, w.rs strongly rec•lamencled t.)
m.rcy by the Jury, on account tri the exccllent cha-
racter he had received.

John tdpumck, who is c2l: years of age, w.is tried for
horse-,te ding. Tile prisoner was seivint w Mr. We!ib,
of Great Marlow, from whom the pi ironer had stolen
the horsz.., and soil it f-r 121. About a rriouth after the
horse had been restored to r.e prosecutor, the prisoner
stole it a second time, and offered it for sale for 141.
The prosecutor recommended him to mercy, but the
Judge said he was fearful, for the sake of example,
that the law would be carried into effect.

Jasper, who is 25 years of age, was charged with
forging a bill of exchange for 251. with in:ent to defraud
Messrs. Fox and Co. When placed at the bar to take
his trial, he pleaded guilty, and was strongly recom-
mended to mercy by the prosecutors.

The oath of allegiance to CONSTANTINE, the new
Emperor of Russia, was administered yesterday, at the
Russian Chapel, to the members of the Legation, and
to the principal Russians re•ident ie this metropolis.
Papers front Rio de Janeiro, to the 27th October,
have been received. The 12th was the Emperor's birth-
day, and the anniversary of his being proclaimed Em..
peror of Brazil; and the Dian° tiuntinense contains a
long list of promotions on the occasion, recopying seve-
ral numbers of that journal. An extraordinary outrage
1141 been perpetrated at Rio on an Englishman, named
Edward Holland, who, with his clerk, was dragged
from his house and thrown into prison, by order of the
'Judge of Villa Carneta, because he refused to sell him
certain articles which were waned for the public ser-
vice. The British Consul. however, having made a
proper representation on the subject, the Emperor
ordered she Judge. to be brought to account for his ar-
bitrary conduct. The species of retribution to which
he was subjected does not appear. The hostilities in
the Banda Oriental still continued.