Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1855-08-15
( v,.,, !, F. vailed aurasrsss.

/ A visit % sao Vailed Murdsrsss.
| r. sAs Eslfnr afsks Sesr FORK TfTbssss
SIR: There 10 always 4 morbid curiosity
/ existing 10 the commsn mind to know the
history, condition and appearance Of pcrsons
supposed to BE guilty of great crimes. To
this morrill, Curiosity | am not willing to
/ minister, snd We; | belieye there IS SOME
/ thing heneath the surface of all this, which
] il not only lsgitimtte, but praisewafthy a
/ blind sympathy in fact, beating OF the
/ common pulse il, accordance with one suffer-
/ ing, even though guilty Al heart. More than
| this. by detailing individual experiences some
! light may come to us for future application.
/ AS sat by her, gathering up my feetfrom
i the Goor, for the mice were having perfect
carnival aboat the neatly: keat room, | could
not bring nv mind to think, that this young
creature, full of health, with nerves so deli
cately strung, would, in less than ten days,
! lie an inanimate clod, and that, too, BIZ the
| hand Of violence. She had talked with me
| SO candidly, often with su h childlike sim
| plicitr, laughing even over some bygone ex-
perience, and then weeping, like a POOR, ILL
| treated child, that yentured to say as much
to her.
Yes she replied, ga week from mex.
Friday nv soul will be with God; | wan. to
die; am sick of this cold, wicked world,
where cannot trust anybody. Oh! have
found people cruel; they have made me
wicked when my heart was good. He gave
me drugs, and went mad, more than once
went mad. Oh I long to go home to God"
could not look Karshly and coldly upon
the poor weeping Magdalen. took her lit
tie pale hand in mine and wept with her,
As yet she had talked perfectly sane. She
seemed like very excitable, but not in the
least like an insane one.
When her mood was gentle or religious,
whenever her own consciousness was in the
ascendant, her fingers moved uneasily about
her neck. She would pull the collar away
from her throat andswallow. This wasvery
touching.
'But have come to see you and to help
save you from the final penalty, and in that
case you would be willing to livc."
ssNo, no, want to go home to my God;
| am prepared for death now. The mode is
nothing to NE now that am at peace with
God. He is more merciful than men. He
will forgive me and allow my death to
atone for my evil life. No, want to die,
and long for the day to come. My dress is
all ready very decent it is. l shall be car
ried out [her fingers were touching the side
of her neckl and die. No one will see my
face. shall be very still, and my Saviour
lifting her eyes] will pity me- The Sisters
promise M that shall not be seen. They
will bury me away where shall not be ia
ken up. They have promised to stay with
me and to receive my body, and all this is
better than to live and perhaps lead an evil
life again, and then die unprcpared and for
saxon of God. Oh no, dear, do not try to
save me-
Surely the weakest heart--the ckcdest
heart that ever beat in woman's bosom
has a spot over which an angel might rejoice;
dim, solitary chamber, which might be
swept and garnished, an | made an altar
place for the good Father. r.
'sBut if you 60 to a prison or hospital
and preserve this frame of mind, you can do
good to others, you can teach the ignorant
and comfort the suffering, and take care Of
the sick and dying" ..-.
81 don't know Il don't know; it is better
for me to die might live thirty years in q |
prison; death seems better"
| looked st her 1.-THE, active make, and |
could easily divine that imprisonment would |
be the greater penalty. ] then told her the |
melancholy story of Margaret Divine, whom
! believe to be entirely innocent Of the crime
for which she is convicted to twenty years of |
solitary imprisonment in the Newark, New
Jersey Penitentiary. A child If fifteen
losing the best years of life in a prison.
while hardened, ruflanly villains are par
doned out. This girl so young so mile, so
hop less, wearying out her life in the prison
of foreign land, affects ME greatly; ana
Mrs. Robinson listened and wpps, and shud
dercd at the recital. 49,
"What pity,' she exclaimed, s:thcy did
not convict her,"
's1he public would not allow of her exc
cution."
'sBut they will let me die 90
! shook my head.
s'They will, they must. Oh, am so sick
of the world. Look here, please, my poor
husband and - 80 not know where am
they know nothing of all this. My father
and mother are both dead; have concealed
my family name; while live people nre Gu
riouS to know about me-wEen am dead all /
will die with me. have promised nv broth
or to be very still to die without batraying
anything, and when | am gone shall cease
to worry and distress my family. Here am
smut out from the world, of no use in it,
sick Of it. Oh, let me 20 home to my God"
There was n manly courage ana good
sense in this forlorn desire for death. 1t
shows, also, that the fear of it may be over
come in many ways.
eff you are executed, you will be the last
woman who will endure the penalty in our
country. 1t will. raise storm of indignant
protest, which will compel our rulers to an
nul the statute, at least where a woman is to
be The victim.''
She smiled in a very sweet heavenly man
1er; "Then l shall do some good in my
leath. Is not God very good if he will per-
nit a sinful creature Ike me, not only to
"a h., -. |
Heath, but may even allow some good to
grow out of it." 4
care you willing to remove YOUR vail 90 {
"Oh yes, for you, hut do not like to have T
strangers come and stare at me. On nv
rial felt could not could not be look f
ID at 1t seemed to me should make other +
women ashamed" 4
She then laid aside her vail and showed me :
Ter hair beginning to fall! off, and her head r
much too large for the vital region except !;
he lungs. She smiled like a child when | h
ut my hand upon her temples and expressed h
nv syml athy for the grief she must have en- n
ured, and the trials which would disturb q
nd madden such an organization. Here
he wept. l.
'sWill you tell me truly whether you are !;
ulty of the crime for which you are con- t
emned What you may say shall not t
arm you in the least !,
Her eyes assumed a wild expression. r
"No, am not guilty. These people we're :
God to me; sometimes when others were J.
nkind, they were good to me They came \
. me when was sick, and sent their chill
rem to stay with me. never treated hu-
ian being ungratefully. My heart is kind .
ne. lhave with my own hands taken care
rich people, and cooked up things for the II
DOR, and have helped them as much as |
o"ld. Now these enemies who accuse me v
now that | am not guiity-tbat never O
reamed OF poisoning my friends. | don't v
now about it. [She began to talk wildlv.l 81
ha! been sick: was mad for while. be-. f,
nuse -- gave me something that took Il
way my senses. Itry to think over a. great b
ANY things that happened. and can't uu- il
erstand them. | can't tell exactly how v
OF here. | know am wicked woma, b,t a,