The Red Cloud chief., 1888-08-31
IDEAS,
A Wise Mans Opinion OF What tho Re-
morse Of Criminals Means.

morse Of Criminals Means.
. II am glad I'm copied" said Mr..
Jackson when he fell into the hands OF
the myrmidOns of the law. Upon
which text several ~lay-sermOns have
been delivered on the effect of remOrse
upon gentlemen of his class. In my
opinion, this now historic phrase
should not have been quoted without
its context: Il have had IA hard time
Of it lately" This latter reflection. I
believe. is what most persons in Mr..
Jackson's position mean by their re-
morse; their sorrow is not for the crime.
but for its consequences. In the case
of offenses that fall short OF murder,
though they are often infinitely more
disastrous. and sometimes morally
worse. it iscertainly so. The swindling
banker comfortably located at Stock
holm, in asociety fhis fellOw-cOuntry-
men, the grades OF which, l am told,
are peculiar-the highest circles have
''gone in" for upwards of SlO0. 900 and
the lowest being mere pilferers of f10.-
600 odds not disturbed by widows
moans and orphans grOans: but if he
is where extraditiOn is possible. he is
full of regret and pity-fOr his own
perilous position. The idea of dis
cOvery and arrest is W absent from
his mind. He hears the voice We can
not hear" (saying Il arrest you for
f~orgery.') he ''sees the hand we a
not see" (taking hold of his shoulder)
every hour in the day; but it is not the
personal apprehension Literally appre-
hensiOn). He is glad to be ''cOpped"
though it is noticeable that he very
rarely anticipates that pleasure by
giving himself up-because he has
such a bad time of it. and not ut all be-
cause he has initiated another gentle
mans handwriting. Yet if some
habitual criminal who has been beat
ing his fellOw-creatures within an inch
of their lives. ever since he could ham
die a %bludgeOn. goes beyond the inch
and kills the fe~llow-creature. we i'm
Rgine him FRUSTRATED with o A
than that this sort of creature appre-
ciates in the least degree ''the sacred
ness of human life" The case of a
sentimental person, like Eugene Aram.
for example. who thinks he al COM
nit a murder and shave done with it,"
is wholly different; the deed itself
haunts him, and gives him bad nights;
though it is to be observed that if he
murders one or two o people his
insomnia disappears. and he
his appetite. As for Mr.. William
Sykes being troubled by Nancy's eyes.
1 never believed one word of it. If you
had put the question to him. l could
his contemptuous reply
exactly. though l decline to write it
down. The opponents of capital pun
ishment are such excellent people
themselves that they car not under
stand the feelings of Messieurs les
assassins. Ask any prison warder how
many days purchase he thinks his life
would be worth if q %..lifer" could not
be hung for taking it; for what is very
remarkable, your ruffian is sensitive
about the sacredness of human life
whom it is his own. but in no other
believe me. Nh. jackson. of
course. may not be found guilty OF
MURDER; but | object to any person of his
class heinp reDvasenfed IA influenced
by the sentimental emotions because
he sings The Thorn" and the '.Pil-
grim of Love- so tOuchingly. Gifted
with such an ''Organ." if he had only
thought Of backing his face and assum-
ing the guise of a niger minstrel. he
would not have been ''languishing in
chains.'-LOndOn NeWS.