The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1853-06-16
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
ARTHUR SPRING THE MURDERER.
The Closing Scene of his LIfe--No Cor

|
The Closing Scene of his LIfc--No Con-
1 fession.
re- The closing scene in the life of Arihnl
Spring, the convicted murderer, took place il
Philadclphia. on Friday last He sufferet
death on the scaffold, within the walls of Moya
mensing Prison. The hour was few. minutes
after eleven o'clock. a large number of citizens
were in attendance, while thousands of indiyid-
uals gathered outside, clam6ered upon the
walls, and occupied the cm;nences. The day
was clear, warm, and bright, and the curiosity
manifested by large portion of the communi-
ty to witness the death scene and the dying
struggles of the wretched culprit was truly ex-
traordinary. The High Sheriff of the City and
County was in attendance from first TO last, and
superintended all the solemn proceedings. The
utmost order and decorUm were preserved. The
prisoner manifested little apprehension, and was
wonderfully calm and self possessed all the cir
cumstances considered. He was attended bv
the Rev. Mr.. Street, the Rev. Mr.. Alexander,
the Rev. Mr.. Allen, and the Rev. Mr.. Kensil,
Marshall Keyser, Recorder Lee, the Sheriff s
Posse, the Sheriff's Jury, the Police Board, a
number of deputies, and the Reporters Of the
Press were also present
The religious exercises were appropriate and
impressive. A hymn was sung as the process
sion passed through the avenue, and in this the
prisoner joined. The Rev. Mr.. Allen read the
service for the dead, according to the Episcopal
Church, and the Rev. Mr.. Street offered up a
touching prayer. The culprit mounted the
scafold with step apparently firm, and in re-
ply to several questions that were addressed to
him, his voice distinct and clear, and his
manner earnest. Contrary to the expectations
of many, he made no confession. immediately
the Rev. John Street, and protested that he was
innocent of the murder Of Mrs Lynch and Mrs.
Shaw, that he never saw Mr.. Rink in his life,
and that Arthur Spring, Jun, his son, was also
clear of the murders. 1t thus appears that while
he took back the foul slanders that he so per-
sisted in for many weeks against his son, he al =
hered to the last to the allegation Of his own
innocence He affirmed further, that he never
murdered any human being, and that although
his son brought home the money, he, the son.
never said that he murdered the women, neither
did the father believe that he knew anything
about the murder.
and improbable, but we give them as part and
parcel of the history of truly hardened crimi-
nal. The last words of the mu rderer were, that
he went TO bed OF the night of the tragedy at
O'clock and that he never knew anything of the
murder until the next morning, when the off,
GERS came and called him. Soon after uttering
these, the cap was adjusted, the rope was pla-
ced about the neck of the unhappy man, he was
taken by the hand by the Sheriff and his spirit
fell, and he launched into eternity lie
died with scarcely a struggle; and even 1T the
very latest moment, his department was firm
and calm. Thus has persisted, just sacrifice
upon the altar of the law, one of the most ex-
traordinary criminals of the present day. The
awful murders for which he suffered were per
petrated in the District of Southwark, on the
10th of March last, exactly three months from /
the time of the execution. The victims were
two unoffending women, who had never harmed /
the ir slaughterer either by word or deed. On /
the contrary, they had extended towards him
many acts of kindness. He had no feelings Of
ject was gold, and in securing that he not only
LOOK TWO uVeS, out pefllled lDoSe OF TWO heipleSS
little children, and then added the crime of
arson to the already formidable list. In conse-
quence of an informality he was tried twice and
on each occasion, ample opportunity was given
for ingenious and plausible defence. But
the circumstantial evidence was against him /
and more than all, the testimony of his own
son, to whom in an hour of confidence, he con-
fessed the revolving details of the tragedy. He
doubtless believed long after his conviction, that
hut for this testimony, he would have been ac-
quilted, and hence we may infer his pertina-
oious and cruel attempt, 10 blacken the charac-
ter and embitter the life of the youth. Fortu-
nately for the latter, there was not particle of
evidence to sust ain the story of the father. And
yet it required not only the earnest appeals of
the clergynen in attendance, of the presence in
person, and the heart touching solicitations of
the son himself, to wiring from the father a re-
luctant admission thlt the son was guiltless, .
and that much that he had preferred against !
him was false This, however, at last was ex-
torted, and it is matter of congratulation in I
many points of view.
But how are we to account for the fact, that
while Arthur Spring trembled on the verge OF
eternity, he solemnly asserted his innocence, /
and thus entered into the world of spirits, with /
a falsehood upon his lips? Only by remember /
ing that he was a man stepped in crime, and
that his heart and conscience were as the neither
milestone. Or that to the last he cherished a |
hope of reprieye or pardon. In this connection