, 1860-12-10
CHICAGO, MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1861

nothing ln them All tcs general expressions Of
contrition, such As COME from anJ true Chrls-
tian heart, when aft1lcrc.; deeply BY true
sense Of uuworthincss. Suppose This :ase had
never occurred or been heard Of, would Dr..
Patterson have put this construction upon It.
WOMAN that does not contain the same thing.
Bunyan in his "G1acc Astounding" th r.fs
himself. With the vilest crimes, and for " hi|e
the world thought him 4 pronigate, becaute~
with tender ccrscieuce, he poured out Ills
heart 10 pcnitentia1 confessions. Toe most
trivial sins rolled themselves into mountains
Of guilt to his vision. When devout man
mon7rs his exceeding sfnfulness he adopts i
p-r.scufexy peculiarly N1ble TO miscoustTuc-
ton There is notti1y more common in life
than for pcnitent Christian5 to write In thfs
way. But why were they written? She knew
Promised that they should never be seen. ani
SHE had no idea that these letters would he
read In tho light o. these confessions DE-
Patterson's fault was not In writing his letter.
That Is good-hcarted. His fault lay in rende,
ing up that letter to her accusers. 1t
was private lcttet, never intended to
be made public, and be should never
in Court If these letters are read in the
light she intended, there is nothing III them.
But Bufch lad showed them to Patterson, and
that is the way he Was lnitlea. md lis answcr
from that standpoint is that Of L kindheaEtcd
pastor. Now, why we're these letters written!
They arc full Of her children. Whatever else
may be In Mrs Durch's heart, its prcdonllna-
ting passion is that of her Lore forh her children.
She WIS maddcned by her kSp-rs:lon from
them. Her hcart still clu9g 10 The loved ones
ut home Her heart mougned for her children
and shc refused to bc comforted- They werr
either to lie saown to III. Rulch to procure
sympathy ut q Eltherless heart, that she might
once more feel upon her feyered cheek The
kiss Of ier tlaushtees. She knew sic Was not
guilty anil that he knew 1t, and she hoped to
reach lis heart through them once more
She was writing for ons who knew she WIS
guilty pf manE thingt: She thought the others
did not know OF her confession. All the sins
Of her life passed before her and seemed to be
reaping their punishment at th1t time. Every
.,ody lad been told here arc her voluntary
confessions" everybody read them in that
light
vi all the men that walk the earth, Mr.
Durch should desire vctdict uf not guilty
1t your isa1lds. or Ill men he should most re-
joiee :t verdict that would wipe away the
fonl stairs from the memory Of bis children.
and will enable them to 50 through the
would with al occasional glimpse Of sunlight
| 10 illumine their pathway, not followed
! through all their weary pilgrimage here with
the oyershadowing cloud Uf = mothers ~
| fanny and dlsgE1ce. And when be comes to III.
| kast hour, repoacs upon tho bed Of death, aud
finds himself struggling with the monster who
Is too strong for HIN, and whose assaults he
cannqt repel, with his last dying breath, he
| will breathe prayers for blessings upon youI
name for yindicatipg his vito aud chlIdrcr
| from this foul stain.
Gentlemen, aul done. There Is tie poor
hcart-bIokcn, widowed mother, whose gF5J
hairs you bring with sorrow to the grave, Il
| you pronounce this unrishteous Judgment
| aaainst her suffering daughter. l give them