, 1873-09-12

sheriff prevented the people from tear
ing the Murderer 20 pieces.
The man had not friend nor dol
lar in the world. lie was a negro, and
he had been five years in tie State
prison. When he was arraigned, and
the Judge aske,l him II he had any law
yer to defend him, the man said, stolid-
ly: t
81 don't know"
"Will any one defend this man ?"
asked the Judge. 81 .-
Mr.. Seward rose and said:
MAY IT please the Court, | appear as
counsel for the prisoner
The truth was, that Mr. Seward and
two or three benevolent persons Of Au-
burn had become satisfied. after a la
bOriOus investigation Of the case, thai
the man was an IDIOT subject to fits of
mania; and Mr.. Seward was resolved
upon trying to prevent his neighbors
from doing themselves the grieYOus
wrong of putting him to death. For
four weeks this lawyer exerted HIMSELF
night and dqy, to save the prisoner;
frOwned upon, as he passed, by people
who had esteemed him for years. The
rage of the people could not be ap-
peased, and of course the advocate had
Ito share the odium. In his closing
speech Mr.. Seward had few eloquent
and touching words in defence of him
self. On other occasions, he said be
had been eheered on by popular
sympathy, or at least by the gratitude
ef a client.
"but | speak now," he added, ''in
the hearing of a people who have pre-
Judged the prisoner, and condemn me
for pleading in his behalf. He isNa
convict, a pauper, negro, without In
.tellect, sense. or emotion. MY child
with an affectionate smile disarIns my
care-worn face OF, its frown whenever /
cross my threshold. The beggar in the
street obliges Inc to give, because he
says, God bless you! > as | pass. NV
dog caresses Ine with fOndness if but
smile on him. My horse recognizes
me when 1 fill his mahger. But what
reward, what gratitude can / expect
heres There the prisoner sits. Look
at him. EoOl at the assenIblage round
you. Listen 10 their Unsurpassed
.eensHres and their excited fears, and
tell me where I can expect to find re-
ward or recognition. am not the
prisoners lawyer, am, indeed, q
volunteer In his behalf; but society and
mankind have the deepest interest at
stake. / am the lawyer for society, for
mankind, shocked beyond the power Of
expression at the scene have Witnessed
here, Of trying a maniac as a male
factor" f'i aii 10
The eloquent plea did not avail. The
man was convicted and sentenced to
death.I He died soon after In prison,
and post mOrtem examination slowed
that the brain was so permeated by dis
ease as TO be destroyed as an organ Of
The trial Is vividly rem
30 this day In Auburn.
Who ever thought Of William II. |
Seward, as a military man? He was,
however, for some years extremely
active In the militia, and commanded
regiment noted 10 the county for its
good discipline; and he was generally
known as Colonel Seward until the
whole country heard of him In 1889,
when he was but thirty-eight years Of
age, as Governor Seward Of New
York.
His political life is fresh in the reeol-
levtions ofus all, and the whole country,
l believe, Is agreed In honoring his
memory as a public servant whose
career was not free from error, but In
which the good greatly preponderated
over the evil. Like most benevolent
men, he was apt to be too sanguine, too
hopeful. When The war broke out In
April 1851, he was perfectly sincere In
saying that the trouble would be over
In sixty days-an error which brought
upon him great ridicule. But, on the
other hand, In the darkest hours Of the
war, and even when he lay himself in
bed gashed by the assassin's hand, he
had a joyful confidence, not only in the
triumph Of his country, but In the final
triumph Of his country's principles all
over the world.
When he was Secretary Of State, be
used to ''receive" his friends on Satur-
day evenings. He lived in 4 wide.
rather shabby looking brick-house, that
looked old enough 10 have been inhabi-
ted BY Madison or GaIIafin. The rooms
on the second floor were thrown open
to the company, the walls Of one Of
which were covered nearly al over.
= = -