The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-04-10

The mob spirit is inherent in man-at
least in crowds of men. 1t may not always
manifest itself in physical violence. 1t
sometimes contents itself with lynching a
character But whatever its form, it Is
always relentless, pitiless. cruel.
"As the proofs Of my guilt one after an
other, came to light, low mutterings gradu-
ally grew into a clamor for vengeance; and
but for the firmness of one mantle officer
who had me in charged would doubtless
have paid the penalty Of my supposed Of
Tense on the spot. 1t was not sympathy
that actuated my protector. His heart was
as hard as his Office, but he represented the
majesty of the law and took sort of grim
pride in the position As much under the
glance of his eye as before the nluZzle Of
his pistol, the cowardly 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
so much better, than any one of them
singly.
'At the end of some months my trial
came It could have but one result. Cir
cumstances too plainly declared my guilt.
! knew they lied The absence of the jury
little heed. 1t was single hideous word.
but l had long anticipated it, and it made
no impression. AS little impression was
made by the words of the judge which fol-
lowed it, and his solemn invocation that
God might have that mercy upon me
which man was toe just to vouchsafe,
sounded like the hollowest of hollow mock
cries. 1t may be hard for the condemned
y y. Sc ctil how or
for him who is innocent The one, when
the first shock is over, acquiesces in his
doom and gives himself to repentance; the
heart of the other, filed with rebellion
against mans injustice, can scarcely bring
itself TO ask pardon of God. l had gradu-
ally overcome this feeling, in spite of the
good clergyman's irritating efforts, which
were mainly directed toward extracting a
confession, without which, he assured me,
he had no hope to offer.
Son the morning of the day fixed for my
execution | felt measurably resigned. |
had so long stood face to face with death,
had so accustomed myself to look upon it
as merely a momentary pang, that l
no longer felt solicitous save that my men,
DRY should one day be vindicated. She for
whom l had gone to prepare a home had
already found one in heaven. The tidings
of my calamity had broken her heart. She
alone of all the world believed me inno-
cent, and she had died with prayer upon
her lips that the truth might yet be
brought to light. All this had heard,
and it had soothed, as if sweet incense, my
troubled spirit Death, however unwel-
come the shape, was now a portal, beyond
which 1 could see one angel waiting to re-
1 E L.
ing footsteps, and nerved myself to meet
the expected summons. The door of my
cell opened, and the sheriff and his attend
ants entered. Heheld in his hand a paper.
1t was doubtless my death warrant. He
began to read it. My thoughts were busted
elsewhere The words full and free par
dom were the first to strike my preoccupied
senses. They affected the bystanders more
than myself. Yet so it was; L was par
doned for an ofTense 1 had never COM
mittedi
1.-THE real culprit, none other, it is need
less to say, than he who had sought and
abused my hospitality had been mortally
wounded in recent affray in a distant
city, but had lived long enough to make a
disclosure, which had been laid before the
governor barely in time to save me from
shameful death and condemn me to a
cherries and burdensome life. This is my
experience. My judgment, as yours in the
case before us, leads to but one conclusion,
that of the prisoners guilt; but not less
confident and apparently unerring was the
Judgment that falsely pronounced 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.
The prisoner was tried and convicted at a
subsequent term, and at the last moment
confessed his crime on the scaffold.-Louis-
vile Courier-Journa