Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-08-22

Of su,!o.ngs and sorrows; aud one morning,
when his master went TO tackle hun Tor the
cart, he found him PROSTATE upon the earth,
Lis throat cut from car to ear, and the yuturo
and the crow, making sad havoc with LIS cur
case.
0J-THI SENTENCE. We hive recently no
ticcL, that The sentence of death, I..onounccd
upon the miserable Strang, iOr the murder Of
Wmppic, IS taking the rounds OF the ncwspa-
pers, and by almos. every Editor, who has pub
Hshcd II, II has been recommended 10 the al
tcn,on Of the public, in terms Of almost un-
qHaiiicd commentator.
is TO tAe scn'onco,it il we'll enough, 50 far as
rhetorical flourish Ii concorncd,bu wc are Tar
ifoH entertaining an opinion. that It's extensive
publication, and pcrusal will he productive Of
any particular benefit. Il IS read just as any
other article is read by the curious, and the
next mpnont is forgotten, and thrown ..sdc,
and Tho author ot II. and S'rans, immediately
2nk into original insignhcancc.
For our single selves, wc never could discoy-
or any propricty in the delivery OF these long
and studied Sentences; and it appears TO ~,
That after man has been found gully by ins
peers, ofa crime that merits death, the Judge
has nothing more 10 DO taan to pronounce, lin as
fsY words as possible, the sentence upon the
culprit, and 10 designate the time and place Of
execution; this done, the duty marked out for
the court, is completed. But Of late, it has
become very fashionable we say fashionable,
because the practice IS mere matter of fash
I.n for a Judge, when he pronounces SELL
tcnce on cu!prt, To entertain la" multitude
with long, studied, ard cold-bloOded ha-
rGn9ue, in which he rccapi;ulates the whole of
the facts connected with tho crime; adds to
them thousand exaggerated tints and shades,
harroWs up the feelings Of the offender, thl lie
either becomes obduratc or ncorrigible, dead
- every human feeling, or fains beneath the
dark recital, and then deliberately tells him
what ho would have known, without The reel
tai, that on certain day, between the hours
of twelve and two, he Is to be taken to the
place of public execution, and there hung by
the neck TIL he is dead.
And for what is all this done! For the ben
eft of the prisoner? Certainly not For the
benefit of the spectators? No; but il is done,
that pedantic Judge may have an opportu-
nifty, OF making display of his learning, and
discover to mob, that he "sends u fellow
uorta! TO unknown worlds in stylc," as Cen
eral Jackson once said, and that he can make
use OF strong and beautiful language, and ut
ter an elegant TRADE, about the cnormity ofthe
crime, at the expense ofthe feelings of a whole
family, as well as those of the cond d,mned.
If oar Judges, would bat follow the example
of NJ. Chief Justice Marshall, they youl
avoid 10 small ltbour and unnecessary study;
and woIld sui serve the causes f humonlty ana
religion. Those who have read the sentence
Of dc 9TH, pronounced by him on the urtor,u-
nate Captain John b. Amcdc, have seen tha,
lie simply discharged the requirements Of tie
Law; and instead of making all attempt TO
please the voracious appetites of curious mob,
and TO pierce the heart of a wretched man
with thousand daggers, simply informed
him, that he had been found guilty of TIE
crimes charged upon him, by jury of his coun :
trv, and that on the 29th day Of June, he must
die; and having recommended HIM 10 seek
forgiveness at the shrine of the Rcdc, mer, DIS
m;..cd the hapless sufferer from his presence.
Al this was done with due regard to the law
whose requirements he fulfilled, and with rev.
eronce for the rights of humanity and common
proprictv. The course pursued by Judge
Marshall should be followed by others; and
they colId not have happier example.
We recol.ect of reading some two or three
years since, the sentence pronouncedby Judge
Woolworth. on the three Tn yers con' i"tcd of
the murder of a man in the interior Of The
Stltc Of New York; and ioore extraordinary
production never fell within our observation; /;
AMI We doubt not that the pronun: ,tion of il
cost the culprlts tar mor3 pam THAI vas n
iiictca upon them; in ihc hour Of execution As
a rhotorcal production. i was one ut the most
eloquent we have G.cr !c2d; and had il been
written for any other occasion, IT would have
done as much credit 10 the tahtc ofthc Judge,
Us il certainly did TO his talents. We have
never seen Anything of tho kind that was near
is cQuai; md though whist reading it, we
could not but reverence the talents Of its au-
thor, We condemned the cold and deliberate
feelings Of his heart, as well as the motives
which induced linn to write 80 extraordinary "a
sentence. IN this instance, the culpr,s cndur-
cd double execution ore III open court, and
one before the multitude, on tie gnllows; -
they 40, ONLY had their nechs broken, but their
feelings placed upon the rack of torture.
WoolN,orh was a young and an aspiring
man: he had not long been elevated TO the
bench. and anxiouS TO present himself TO the
public IN a favorable guisc, with the hope of
making an impression on their opinions, he de-
liyered the extraordinary sentence to which we
alludc; and though il was what might be call
ed mleterly production, and displayed The
cmcnat.ons of almost uncIual!cd genius, the
motives which induced II, should have nth
held from him the patronage of every humane
he art ,and ofevery rejecting member of society.
We do protest against those long, Gr-fo,ch-
cd and studied sentences, and cannot but hope,
that our courts of justice, will never be dis
graccd by them. II is sufficient that the Judge
simply fails the duty required Of him; and it
is unjust and scandalous, thai he should I'M
prove such an opportunity TO gain popnlority
and fame, at the hands Of the multitude.
c%- \ DROWNED MAN.--Wlthout intend
ing TO offer any disrcspcci to the understanding
of others, or TO find fault with the construction
any one NAV place upon our language. we must