Execution.
The Times, 1824-07-27T00:00:00

William Divan, alias Devan= 1s Divine, who wa6 oh the 14th ult. convicted before the High Court ofJYisiwicary. of the barbaroug nmurder of his wi7 by cuttisig her threat with a razor, Was yester., day, pursuant to his sentenmce executed in front of t&e gamL It vill be reeollected that he pleaded I not guilty" at bis trialf but with less than one third of the witnesEes summoned against hire. the public prosecutor so dearly proved the charge as to commsad ati tunanimous verdict of " Guilty" from the jry 3nd yn previously' to the passingof the sentence of the Court,' eirethednman flhipoxt his knees, and rising his hand twice, he said-" My Lord, befo:e Ged and the world I am not guilty." aorin in llreaDd, snd edu- cated a Roman Catholic, since he wa,s brought bxck to 4l&n9wr he has been regularly visited by the Rev. lleasts. Scott and Mirods, and several of his Catholic brethren; and althongh he made no o0Ac fessior of his euilit Of the ctrime for which he was doie& to suffer, he listened attentively to their advices atd inatmdotes.t On Tuesday he was vi5ited by his sons. three fine younglaG andt the partingt sias very affecting. Devi, advised thesn to be dil1eat at their work, and ay implicit obedienceto the comsnands of thele employers, to shun all bed compnany, to attend the church, and to psay regularly to Ged, ho would be a father to them, and guide and protect themn ,hen their rerchcd fa her had ceased to eXi!t upon earth. About two o'dloek the Illagistrates entered the Hall. and Devan was soon brought up, pinioned in the usual form. Lok- ing up to the agistrates, he declared, before his Mairef, in whose presence he wrould apper in a fewv minutes, that he va$ ilno- cent of the crime for which he was about to suffer. ir. Scant CeA him if he knew anv thing at all of the murder of his wife, and he de- claredl in reply, thatheknew n,othing abont it, either art or pare Thns it is seldomn or never that a manl condeamned foz the greatst of crimes confesses his turpitude. It is of small offence, tlat confes- sion of guilt may be expected. The Magiitrates then left rse Hall, and the prisoner was assisted to the drop by the two Catholic cergy. men. When all was ready he repeated after iSlr. Scott r sor prayer, ending with 4" I,ota Jesus receive my spirit." Upon tie pronouncing of which he gave fthe signal, theArop fell, and after a severe convulsior of nearly a miaute, which excited a shudder thtough the whole spectators, he died. After the body hdt hung the usual timne, it was taker up in a cart to tee anatomical theatre in the College. The seats were all filled bv twO p'clock, and the halt was soon after c-owded nearly to suffocar:ion- gev;, al of the magis- trates *vere present. The naked body was carriel in ,ioulder hiQ4l, and in the most adroit manner laid on a boarl. Tht fe was cons,i derably swelled, and had a deep Pu,rple appearancee but inb t: courmr of the experiments it assunied a tmore natural coloutr. The vmj-us apparatus and instruments being all rewdy, Dr. Jedfay and Ide wk sistants ihmmediately cwnmnenaen operatou. tine of thte acsistamta held the culprit's head in a proper position, while anothee bl6ew aprsa of bellows into lis unostrils. This experiment was made to elldes vour to inifate the luMgs and hear! 'With ordinary airin order to restore respiration and the circttlation of the blood. This exeri- ment was perseveret in for aconsidlerable time,btthanngfailcdss1ntr doubt,was expected,several incisions were madein rtnspartscftlro body,and the nerves connected with thevital organs wereacted on witis full forcebymneansofa rod in connexion with thegalvanic battery When an incision was niade on a principallnerve at tleelbbw,shedl&t ot'fie shock was most visible. The armv was litedup qniclly,.snd umoved for some time in a tTemulous manner. T3e chest wiiascs.. siderably swollen, and perceptibly braved at the samne t3me. Tlihe under jaw also occasionally mioved; but there was no cortortion of' the features Dr. Jeifray said the operations bad not turned ont altogether so well as could have been wished. This miht be owing to a varietv of causes. A good deal might depend uptn the way inwhich the ropc was put round the neek. When the loOp wax fairly behiind, it resembled a case of choking or drowning-; but- urhen it was at the one side, it iight to rend and destroy the netves as to defeat the parposes ot galvanism. Having inrstssated that no further galvanic experiments were to be made, the audience left the hall.-Glasgow Chroxicle. EXECUTION.