The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-02-21

( up, and / was CON manded in no generous
| tones to stand In another moment L
was III the clutches of those who claimed
me as their prisoner
u was too much stupefed at first to ask
what it all meant. l did SO at last and
! when tho explanation came it was terrible
| Dly 1Iiend, with whom l had so lately set
out in company, had been murdered and
| robbed near the spot at which l, but alone
! knew We had separated. l WAS the last
person known TO have been with him, and
l Was now arrested on suspicion OF his mur-
der.
A search Of the premises was immediate
| ly instituted. The watch was found in the
drawer in which had put it, and was iden-
titled as the property of the murdered man!
His horse too, was fOUld in the stable, for
the animal l had just put there WAS none
otheI. l recognized this myself when l
saw him ii the light.
Nv hat l said know not. Ny confusion
was taken as additional evidence Of guilt.
And when, at length, did command Lam
guage to give an intelligent statement ii
was received with sneers of inCredulity.-
The mob spirit is inherent in man, at least
in crowds Of men. 1t may not always man
ifest itself in physical violence. 1t some
times contents itself with lynching char
Gcter. But whatever its form, it Is always
relentlesSly cruel. AS the proofs of my
=
mutteriugs gradually grew into clGmor for
vengeance and but for the tiTmnesS Of one
man-the officer who had me in charge-I
would doubtless have paid the penalty OF
my supposed offence on the spot. 1t was
not sympathy for me that actuated my pro-
tectOr. His heart was rs hard as his office,
but he represented the majesty of the law,
and took a sort Of grim pride in the posi-
ton. AS much under the glance Of his eye
as before the muzZle of his pistol, the cow
ardly clamorers drew back. Perhaps they
were not sufficiently numerous to feel the
full effect of that mysterious reflex influence
which makes a crowd of men SO much
worse, and at times much better, than
any Of them singly.
At the end of some months my trial
came 1t could have but one result. Cir
cUmstancCs too plainly declared my guilt. |
alone knew they lied. The absence of the
jury was very brief. To their verdict I
paid little heed. 1t was a single hideous
word; but had long anticipated it, and it
made no impression. As Httle impression
was made by the words Of the judge which
followed it, and lis solemn invocation tl1at
God might have mercy upon me, which
man was Just to vOuchsafe, sounded like
the hOllOweSt of hollow UOCkericS. Itmay
be hard for the condemned criminal TO meet
death-it is still harder for him who is in
acquiesCcs in his dOem, and gives himself
up to repentance the heart OF the other,
filed with rebellion against mans injus-
tice. can scarcely bring itself to ask pardon
Of God. I had gradually overcome this
feeling, in spite of the good CleTgymau's
irritating efforts, which were mainly di-
rected towards eXtortiug confession, with
out which, he assured me, he had no hope
to offer.
"On the morning of the day fixed for
my execution, I felt neasurably resigned.
had so long stood face to face with death
had so accustomed myself to look upon
it as merely momentary-aDd felt sure
that my memory should be one day vindi-
Gated. She for whom | had gone to pre-
pare home had already found one in Hea-
ven. The tidings Of my calamity had
broken her heart. She alone of all the
world believed me innocent, and she had
died with q prayer upon her lips that the
truth might yet be brought to light. All
this | had heard, and it sOothed as with
sweet incense my troubled spirit. Death,
however, upwelcOme the shape, was now a
portal beyond which could see one angel
waiting to receive me. l heard the sound
Of approaching footsteps, and neryed my
self to meet the expected summons. The
door of my cell opened, and the sheriff and
his attendants entered. He held in his
hand a DaDcr. He began to read it. The
WCLItS llli anu IL &C IstiNtOIA "CAS tA4C
TO strike my prs-occupied senses. They af-
fected the bystsuders moro than myself.
Yet so it was; 1 was pardoned for an of
fence had mover Tnr'aitted
The real culprit-none other, it IS need
less to say, than he who sought and abused
my hospitaHty-had been mortally wound
ed in recent affray in a distant city, but
had lived long enough to make disclosure
which had been laid before the Governor
barely in time to save me from shameful
death and condemn me to chcerless and
burdGnsOme life.
This is my experience. Ny judgment,
as yours, in the case before us leads to but
one conclusion, that of the prisoners guilt!
but not less confding and apparently un-
erring was the judgment that falsely pro
nounced my own"
We no longer importuned our fellow
juror but patiently awaited our discharge
on the ground of inability to agree, which
came at last.