New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-06-08
TIL E CHILD'S COFFIN
Or, The Repsntant Criminal.

4 patient who resided at Hendon, and who |
promised not 10 be long for this world when as
crossed a style that led me into the high road
after making which | had near cut across
some felds, heard words Of contention between
a man ana q woman.
1t was an autunnal evening, and twilight was
fast disappearing, yet there was sufficient to
tho figures Of two persons, who we're
too intent upon their quarrel to see me as they
passed the stile, particularly, as l paused and
drew back little
. You shall carry it," cried the man, with
brutal oad; you shall carry it. | know well
that if don't take care that you have good
hand in it, you will be preaching upon the
whole affair some Of these days. Carry it
curses.
' Oh John, John, am i'll, SO ILL
90 III be hanged. Come on. It's an excuse.
You don't like to carry coffin, but shall"
IL ala faint, John. do not know what
it is that has come over me, but IL am very
faint and i'll. Oh if this should be some .judg-
ment Of God. Oh John, Ohm, let us repent"
'.Silence will you D-n it-how do | know
but some one may be listening. Give Inc the
coffin. Conlound you, won't you come on |
wish had the buying Of your own coffin, in
stead of the child's. Come on, will you What,
will you lie down, will you Take that, then"
| heard blow or kick given: and | COM
menced whistlng with all my might as tramped
on after them with quick step. This had the
effect of stopping any further violence, and all
vas still till reached the spot where the man
and woman We're. The latter Was upon the
ground, while the man had an dd-shaped bun
die Of something upon his shoulder, which was
so veil disguised, tlittt II | had not, from their
previous conversation, known it was n coffin,
certainly should not have recognized it as SO dis
NAL an object
\ line evening, said g Ilalloa anything
amiss =
"Oh doar-God bless you--no sir, said the
man in canting voice q the Lord lie good to
us-no sir. It's my wife, bless her hcart-she's
a little tired o. 50, that's all-come, old woman,
get III, the Lord will help you.
The old woman struggled to her feat with diff
ieulty.
8 Good evening, Sir, said the hypocritcal
scounlrel; ''good evening sir; ! thank you.
sir"
'toh! I'm Going your way, said
lie paused n moment
"Ol r he sail, sto Hampstead. er sup.
pose. Conc, Old woman, keep up Think oi
the Lord, and cheer up.
PARTY to IIamrstead,H said 7, 8 and partly
no lis q bsaeing night amt it | have
come across the fields and don't know much
! about here. Is that u public house =
! '' es. sir that Is n resort Of sinners called
the Bull AMI Bush Ah sir, if people woulc
think oftheir immortal state it would be better
| for all
| "Why-wny. cid woman, you can't get on =
Dear. dear the Lord help US
| But for the offered assistance Of my arm, the
woman must have fallen. Dim as the light
was | could see vcSation depicted upon the
mans face; and he shifted the coffin first on to
one shoulder and then on to the other, to see il
he could not help the woman without me, but
that took good care ne should not do; and
said
.'she seems i'll, indeed. will help you tc
your own door, ii you are not going far
g But we are going far, he said, '' the LorC
willing"
." Oh, well, replied, ''never mind, have
plenty of time.
There was no such thing as getting rid of mt
without a quarrel, and that he seemed to bC
afraid Of; 50 we all walked on in silence fol
some distance down a dark turning, and ther
down another, until we stopped at the door of
cottage, when he said:
+" Good night, sir-good night. We are al
home now. Good night. The Lord be with
you, sir
= Amen, said / good night and away
walked at a brisk pace, never once looking be
hind me for nearly quarter of a mile an(
then l turned and ran back swiftly upon m,
toes for | felt strong conviction that somethin!
was wrong, although had no direct clue t
what it was ! had taken sufficient notice o
the cottage to reach it without any difficulty
and in few minutcs-rather out Of breath,
admit stood before it.
1t was one Of those cottages with door il
the centre, and latticed window at each side
but there were shutters TO the windows on tn
inside, which provoklngly prevented me fror
getting a glimpse: and there | stood fGncyln
there was some secret Within but totally una
BILE to find out what it was. ! fapcied too tha
heard the murmur of voices, and being resolve
not to be foiled, if possible / made my way t
the back OF the cottage, whore there was gar
dem and thence got into kind Of scullery o
wash-house. There was window exactly tn
level of my eyes, and once saw into a room
where a scene was going on which transfxe
me with horror and astonishn:ent
The man and the woman were both in tn
room; on chair was placed small, common
rough-looking childs coffin At the momer
that | looked into the room, the woman wa
upon her knees with both hands uplifted, as
in supplication, while the man stood ever he
with his fists clenched, and in an attitude as
to strike her
9 OH John, john" Sue said, .'you know !,
is not dead John, have mercy-have mercy
Do not do it Oh God, God, do not let him !
it -
I Peace, fool-peace, say, or you will tenn
me to silence you mos. eilcctually. Get ii
child--get the child"
? . John, John il only sleeps-no, it is II,
dead. Oh! God, oh it is not dead, John. Yo
know | got the laudanum from Mr. Spragg, an
You gave it. Oh, no, no, no You cannot, no
that it has come to the point, put the Twin
child into the coffin. II will awake--it will II
cover. Oh !--oh oh Kill me first
: But you consented. You know you COT
Scnted. And when Mrs, Blanchard left you Il
twenty pounds, and said that she'd not be baC
from France for a year, you consented to NAL
: away with the brat"
81 was mad
lou are mad now But if you won't e
the child, will It won't awaken till it's III
der ground in the morning, I'll be bound NJ
chen it don't matter We haven't killed it, aft
all. Didn't we send for Mr. Spragg, and didr
/, he look at it, and say it was dead'''
> mo, no, John; Mr.. Spragg came, but
never went into the room where the child la.
iou know he did not
"What is that to you' Confound you, Il
collin is too small, or you should get into it
well. Oh. you won't leave 20, won't you We
soon see about that. Take what you deserve
a blow struck her down, and then he stepp
to little bed that was in the room, and to-
n from it what looked like sleeping child al
Il crammed it into the coffin His wife recover
sufficiently to see what he was about, al
elung to his knees shrieking He struck h
! with his disengaged hand, and commenced pr