Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-06-14

never maze themselves KNOWN, Inougn
lit was but short journey from England
to Ohio. l had no malignity toward.
him, nor feel none towards any human
being. leave a dear wife, who has
in my long confinement, been an ange
in her solitude and care of me. l had
never known her virtues, had it MOI
been for my sad misfortunes. / leave
a dear infant who has been taught tc
clasp its arms around my neck, and
whom I love dearly. leave aged par
J ents, now near eighty years old, from
whose kind hearts l had hoped to keep
the sad news of the ignominious fate Of
their son. Here his voice faltered,
and he burst into tears.) Itwas for the
sake of all these that 1 attempted yes
terday to shorten my life day. 1 feel
that l did right, and hope that those
who report for the public prints will, il
they have any regard for those love,
spare them, if possible, from the pain
Eof seeing my name coupled with that
of murderer. l have suffered much,
mentally and bodily, by my confne-
ment; circumstances have had much to
do in making me improperly under
stood. No innocent man put upon trial
can be certain of acquittal. He labors
under great disadvantages; thousand
circumstances arise and are spread thro'
the world in the public prints. In his
cell, shut out from chance to meet the
unfayorable suspicious with the antidote,
he is borne down by these prejudices
which have taken possession of the pub
lie mind. He cannot efface this first
impression, he is a victim of it, and
to-day declare myself to have been de-
stroYed BY the paragraphs which in the
beginning pronounced me a monster,
hiena, bloodhound, murderer-black,
blacker, blacklist of the guilty. What
right had they to say what 1 intended
to gain by killing Beatson? Mans
mind and intent are secret-no man can
know them.
After speaking twenty minutes he
took sip of wine and rested little,
and asked the Sheriff if he was too long
for his patience, and being assured that
he was not, went on.
had hoped to have spared you this
deplorable scene. Next to the regret
that l cannot spare my wife and child
this shame, is that l leave them in a
land of strangers, destitute and almost
friendless. l should be glad to unfold
10 you the feeling that man entertains
on the threshold of death; but / am
not master of words to express them
At times, l confess, that have felt hu-
inflated and depressed; at others, bitter
and vindictiye; soured, by long and
oppressive Imprisonment, toward the
world. Phase after phase of ones life
appears in different and changing lights;
and the peculiar condition of being shut
out of the light of day, the free air and
the conversation of the world, has, its
unnatural and warping influence upon
the thoughts. l have studied my
thoughts, created my own philosophy,
striven after truth; but the philosophy
of my intentions is not UNDERSTOOD
The honest man will say, "why did you
not, if Beatson fell and killed himself at
the bridge, go Immediately and tell of
it?" All, there is where the circumstan-
ces that environed me, my eleven years
in prison, my blackened character, fash
ed across my mind, and determined me
in what 1 did. l had swerved from
the path of duty, and had lost what
Solomon speaks of in the good proverb,
"a good name." "a good name is bet
ter than riches" An, how truel So
long as your good name is yours, it
will be rock of defence against
thousand assailants, and without it a
single man shall put you to flight
Gentlemen, ! assure you that l do not
deserve this fate. No man has kinder
disposition-no one whose life is freer
from cruel acts. Icannot help express
ing my heartfelt appreciation of all the
kindness / have experienced at the
hands of all who have had to deal with |
me. To my counsel, Mr.. Coe, / must
award goodness of heart, which is un-
surpassed; and for Mr.. Griswold l must
say that his splendid speech in my de-
fence, cool, eloquent and logical, as
tonished me, by showing how mastery
he had expressed nv feelings and inten-
tons. I have received much kindness
from many men of every land. There
sits a man laying his hand on Stewards
shoulder, who, dcrihg the thirteen
months that spent in the Akron Jail,
never refused me single reasonable re-
quest. His children ard family seem
like near and dear friends, and 1 left
them with regret. Mr.. Spangler has
been extremely kind and gentlemanly to
me, and so have Mr.. and Mrs. Bos-
worth and Mr.. Tyler. When 1 am
taken hence give my body to my wife.
1 commend her and the child to you.-I
Let her not suffer in want: Here some
kind person proposed to express the
feelings of those present, by taking up
a contribution, and it was done on the
spot; and S44 go was taken up. On
seeing il, Parks seemed moved by the
kindness, and thanked them with con-
siderable emotion. He then said, "I
have no clergyman present. I had ex-
Pected DR.. Perry, but my request to !
him must have sealed up in a package
OF papers, which I gave to nv wife yes