Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1846-03-20

agree, two Of them thinking some better dis
position could be made of a man-an able
mechanic in middle life--than to take from
him life, that God-giyen boon, and hang him
up an object of scorn-a demoralizlng spec
tacle to a gaping multitude. But as the
ten Jurors, among whom was one distiller
and three dealers in ardent spirits, were sup
ported by a strong public sentiment in favor
of the execution, it was more than probable,
TO use a cant expression Of the times, that
%''justice trerH be done.' i9 tF'I r.ati
With a heavy heart FASTENED back to
Nora. She had thrown her head back upon
the snow-drilt T; and her hood having fallen
slightly back, revealed the rich auburn curls
that shaded her face. Her hands were con-
vulsively clasped. and her eyes closed. On
hearing my footsteps she sprang to her feet,
saying, " Now tell me-tell me all" | told
her that the case had not been decided. She
had but 10 turn her eyes on me TO discover
that | had heard more than ! was willing to
communicate. Grasping my hand with an
energy that startled me, she repeated, " Tell
me all-every thing they said. If my fIther
must die by the cord of the hangman - the
scorn of the wicked, the horror Of the good,
l may as well know il now. ] know he has
committed an awful crime. Yet, Towering
her voice as if talking to h~erself,) it was not
my father. II was the spirit that was in him,
and the rumseller must answer it. Yes, as
God is just, the blood of the innocent shall
be required at his hands !" There was u
brightness in the eye-a frmncss of voice
an energy of manner, all unlike the gentle
Nora.
With childish fondness | told her all that
| had heard. She thanked me with a quiv-
ering lip for the trouble had taken, and we
bent our steps homeward.
The next day, James O'Drien was senten-
ced to execution in six weeks. Six weeks
may be "a long time 10 the voyager as he
nears home, or to the expectant of some long
deprived boon. Bot to the candidate for the
honor of dangling in mid-air for the benefit,
the instruction, the warning of his fellow
men, or to his broken-hearted friends, it is
far otherwise. To Nora il was but the space
of a troubled dream, yet leaving tho foot
prints of years. Consumption may spare
the beauty of its victim-it is the body onAy
that decays. The soul looks out sunnily
from bright eyes that refuse to look upon
death, and the trusting heart sends its, ex.
preston of hope to the hectic cheek. But
grief is the canKer of the mind, and beneath
its sway the traces of beauty fade as rapidly
as the shadows of night come down upon the
earth. When hope is blighted, the light Of
the soul goes out, and the wringing of the
heart will trace sad lines in the sweetest
face.
Nora passed the few remaining days Of heI
fathers probation in moody silence, seldom
speaking, seldom even weeping. On the
day OF the execution, as the clock struck the
appointed hour, she threw herself upon a set
tee, burying her face in the pillow. Some
minutes passed in silence, when Miss HUI
dab spoke to her in the kindest accents, but
no answer came. mora, my DEAR" said
her mother, as she wiped the tears from her
own eyes yet all WAS still. They raised
her head. The heart-strings, too tightly
drawn, had snapped-Death had released the
stricken spirit.
rhe next day l attended the funeral. Hos
pitable Deacon Jones allowed the orphan a
resting place in his family burying ground.
Her mother, the sole mourner, followed with
the air of one to whose eye every green thing
has persisted from the earth, and every light
gone out from the sky. A solemn pine,
decked with the Jewels of the irost-king,
spread its protecting arms over the grave, a
fit emblem Of one whose bright hopes were
formed to melt away.
L almost forgot TO say that the execution
was witnessed by the usual great multitude,
the profigate, and prolane forming the inner
circle. The morality of the witnesses in
creased with the distance from the tragedy,
until upon the brow of an overhanging hill,
stood the good parson of N, with his
face turned not heavenward. HELEN.