Year: 1867

I y


have felt as though a mountain had


been removed from my breast. As tc


whether he understood what was re-
quired OF him, probably most will


think that he did not. at the time
believed that he did. Under this great
anxiety, with my mind fixed on the


necessity of my boys yielding for his
own future good, and expecting that
every moment that he would yield,


was not aware of the extent to which
| had gone, or to the effects | was
producing upon my child. ! suppose
my defective eyesight had something
TO do in the case by preventing my
seeing the actual effects / was pro.
ducing but the main cause, l believe,
was great anxiety and my mind fixed
upon its being necessary for the good
Of my child that be should yield ]
was not angry or in passion in all
this. wish TO state this and without
reserve; that, if | know anything OF
the action of my mind, was not an
cry. | never could have punished my
child for an hour or half an hour, or
anything like it, in anger. Were it
so, | should have felt very guilty, and
to have done SO would have been mon-
strous. But never for one hour or
one moment have | been conscious OF
any criminal intent in this case. No
true man or woman will wish me to
belle my convictions in this matter.


Do not misunderstood me here. |
have been greatly misrepresonted up
on this point. l consider the act TO
have been wrong and very wrong, but
as to a criminal intent there was none
in any form. greatly misjudged,
and the fearful consequences, in the
loss of my child, have come upon me
with crushing weight. A word
more here as to the idea that | was
angry. The Judge says "his (Lind-
says statement to the Coroner that
he was not angry, is not to have the
same weight as the rest of his state
ment, because it was in his own favor.
Does not that depend on circumstan-
ces I Is it just or Impartial in this case!
All that ask is that the public shall
have the same faith in human nature
that | had What / mean is that
made my statement III frankness TO
the Coroner. II you can discoverthat
| was then fixing up something for
my own defense to shield myself from
justice; if you can discover that / had
any idea of legal prosecution, or that
my friends had if had known any
thing of the bearing of anger upon the
degree of criminal offense, which
knew nothing about, then there would
be reason in such distinction. But
did | have any such feeling or appre-
hension, or did my friendsY i could
then just as easily have shortened the
time during which was engaged with
my child, in my statement before the
Coroner, as to have misrepresented
on the point of anger. What ! might
have said to the Coroner as to helength
of time, | do not remember, but
think l have usually stated the time
at from two to two and half hours,
and should think it was as probable
that it was more than two hours as
that i. was two and half The Cor
oner testifes that punished the child
until | saw signs of weakness. This
is a mistake; do not wish to pro-
woke controversy with the Coroner,
nor am ] accusing him Of intentional
misrepresentation, but it is a mistake.
| made a statement to DR.. Crawford
on the same day and he will testify to
the truth of what / say, though it
could not be brought into court. /
stopped punishment because | felt that
it was useless to 60 farther. | took
my little boy and laid him upon the
settee, and covered him up AT the
time | ceased the punishment, at the
time laid him upon the settee, and
for some time afterward | saw no signs
that the child had been injured. lie
had talked during this time and APP
peared natural. Then there was
change, and soon afterward he died.
Then it was | began to realize my
fearful loss, and the terrible pang the
circumstances of the case gave to il
then it was | felt and said not long
after to my father, that would have
given my own life for my darling boy.
If men could have seen my heart as
God saw it, they would not have
borne down upon me so heavily as was
done because | shed no tears. Did
they not know that the deepest grief
does not manifest itself in tears Did
they not know that some countenances
did not show the mighty undercur-
rent of feeling and sorrow which flows
beneath ! "Bdt," they say, che went
to sleep afterwards and slept till morn
ing" After being repeatedly urged |
did 90 to bed, and may have slept a
little through that long and weary
night ! am sorry that any should
have thought so poorly Of me or of
human nature, as to believe that |
could have burned the feet OF my child.
1t was impossible for me to have done
it, and such thought never entered
my mind. A word as to why the
limbs and arms were so extensively
discolored. 1t arose from this, that |
aimed not to repeat the blows in the
same place. ! carefully avoided the
vital parts of the body. There were
no blows at all upon the body of my
child. am not aware that struck
the head at all with the instrument
used, nor with anything else. Think
the slight marks must have been pro
duced accidentally, as they might have
been. As TO the time spent in actual
punishment. | could not state it with
accuracy. AT frcouent intervals |