Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1847-11-03

length the investigation was concluded; the
arguments were closed; the verdict was
rendered "G6flty," but recommended to
ehe mercy Of the court. The-clemency Of
ihe court! And that court vested in the
person: Of Judge~Rrooks, the man whom of
ail others the prisoner had injured; injured
in his domestic relations, and in his public
and would he exercise elernency
that was not imperntivef The world said,
mo" but those who knew him best, said, /
"aye, and all the nnore?" 1. now, only
to pronounce the sentence Of the
INV, and filled with emotion, the Judge
proceeded to discharge the last, remaining
duty. He alluded feeliagly to the relation
TINT had subsisted between himself and Mel.
vile, in the days Of "auld lang syne;;"
adverted to the father and mother whose
hearts would be anguished at the mournful
tidings that must ere long reach their ears
pictured the rock upon which he
had 30 fearfuliy wrecked; the strife Of the
boy, the rivalry Of the youth, the unholy
emulation, and discontinue Of the man, the
rage and the dagger Of the assnssin-and
these were traced with the skill Of O limner,
and the emotion ofa brother. Awaiting
himself Of the power with which he was
vested, he commuted his punishment to
Imprisonment for term Of years. There
ras but one pair Of eyes unwet in the whole
assembly, and those were Melville'sl
s.F1arry MELVILLE" said the Judge, in
concluding his remarks, ''.here have been
moments in the progress Of this trial, when
the strange relation that now exists between
~, was forgotten; when we two wandered
upon the shaded banks Of that far crystal
river; when sitting eide by side, we studied
the lesson from the same volume-the heir
to affiuence and the widows son! A thou
sand little acts Of kindness ren,ember-a
thousand words Of plessantness-at thousand
hopes of brightness are linked with memories
Of you. An! ,cell was it then, that the We
Of f1turty could not be lifted; that the
length'ning vistas Of beauty, Hope had SO
artfully painted upon the curtain, were
mistaken for the real scene Of the stage of
life. Alasl one act with you is already
past. Could any word Of mine save you
from the cell Of the felon, j. should be utter
ed with the full-heariedness Of a brother; but
there ID one thing | cannot do. In the long
years that must elapse, ere you again breathe
the bright air ofliberty, cannot save you
from yourself | change yol, consecrate
those hours to solemn thought; remember
that truth, and truth alone, is at once the
girdle, the goal and the glory in the race
and the fight Of intellectual and moral life.
The foes within the soul are more to be
feared than the combined efergies Of q
hostile world. Oh! emulatioH! enihlationl
when will the parent and the preceptor
cease to quicken the germ Of the traitor in
the bright-eyed boy-a spirit that fell with
Lucifer from Heaven, and lighted in the
autumn leaves Of Eden and kindled in
Avernus! Melville, it is in no spirit Of
harshness that speak thus; in the lonely,
cherries home whither you will be led,
the sympa,hies Of one at least-.him who
now speaks, will be with you-he has NOT
forgotten that he is ''the widows son!"
One1 one, did say?-Methinks low wall
as of childless mother comes to my ear
from the distant north. God help her in
this her ca;amity--keep that aged and loving
and beggared heart, beggared by the work
ings Of false system of education-whole.
and beating, till she shall clasp once more
her returning and repentant son, loving
truth and his mother better than all the
world beside; I'LL. then, may God in kind
ness spare, when she can lift upshsr voice
and her spirit together, on the wingedwords
Of ancient prayer and say-"Now let Thou
thy servant depart in peace!'' .
He ceased. The prisoner was melted at
last, and in a voice broken like his spirit,
he begged to speak with the Judge. Leav.
ing the bench, Brooks s:ood before him;
Melville grasped his hand and sobbing like
a child, prayed the forgiveness Of him he
had injured. The Judge replied-"yes,
Melville, as hope to be forgiven!" The
poor condemned bent his head to that noble
hand, and n,urmured, 'break the intelli-
gence to my-my mother-oh! God! and
he went out aloud. 81 will, Harry
will,'' and MS he Withdrew his hand, it
was drenched in tears! Slowly he turned
and resumed his place. He attempted to
call on the next cause, but could not, and
without formal adjournment, rs il to escape
the heavy atmosphere Of the place, the
audience and the court moved silently and
sadly away.
IfAmelia had felt the sentiment Of love
springing up in her hea,t,- before, she idol
lied him now, and the affection Of the wo-
man was strangely mingled with the ado
ration of the worshipper. As for Frances,
she was filled with selfreproach that she
had ever been led to doubt for an instant,
the truthfulness Of being 80 generous
generous to the bitterest enemy of his life
.-kindling with sympathy for fallen foe!
One may appear noble in the midst of
friends, where the smiles that light his eye
are but the reflection Of theirs; he may
seem majestic, as he ,riumphs over the
legions tha, oppose him, but he never rises
to the true dignity of his God-given nature,
till he bends over the feeble and the fallen
enemy, and whispers in his ear the words
of hope and truth. The plumes that are
wet with the grateful tear, are richer and
brighter than the crimson crssts Of Mara
thon of Leuctra.
The beautiful astral in No. 80 shed a