Year: 1874




When asked what he had to say in his
defense, the pastor replied. solemnly:


so help me God, will speak nothing
nut the truth ! struck the deceased with
the spade, but not otherwise than that he
was aele TO run away from me, and out of
tue garden; what became of him AFTER
ward, or how he came to be buried in NV
Garden, know not. As for the evidence
OF Larsen and the dairy maid. who saw
they saw me in the garden in the night. It
Is either foul lie or it is a hellish delu-
| sion, Miserable man that I am? have
no one on earth to speak in my defense
II tie IN heaven likewise remains silent /
have only to submit to His inscrutable
will" ''0, ''''''''
When, some weeks later, the trial came
! on, two more fresh witnesses were pro-
dnced. They declared that on the Oft
mentioned night they were proceeding
along the road which ran from the pas
tors garden to the wood, when they met
man carrying a sack on his back, who
passed them and walked on in the drec-
ton of the garden. His face they could
not see, inasmuch as he was concealed by
the overhanging sack; but, as the moon
was shining, they could plainly descry
| that he was clad in pale green coat and
a white night-cap. He disappeared near
the pastors hedge. No sooner did Soren
hear the evidence than his face turned of
an ashy hue, and he cried out in a falter-
ing voice, 81 am fainling." He was so
pros'rated in mind and body, that he had
to be taken back to prison. There, after
a period of severe suffering, to the intense
astonishment Of every one, he made to his
friend, the district magistrate who had ar
rested him. the following strange confess
sion


From my childhood, as far back as
can remember, have ever been passion
ate, quarrelsome, and proud-impatient
OF contradiction, and ever ready with
blow. Yet have l seldom let the sun 90
down on my wrath, nor have borne i'll
will to any one. When but lad I slew,
in anger, a dog which one day ate my
dinner, which | had left in his way.
When, as student, went on foreign
travel. entered, on slight provocation,
into broil with a German youth in
Lcipsic, challenged him, and gave him a
wound that endangered his life. For that
deed | feel that l merit this which has
now come upon me after long years; bat
the punishment falls upon my sinful head
with tenfold wei ht, now that am broken
down with age, clergyman and father
% Father in heaven, it is here that the
wound is sorest :"


After a pause of anguish, he continued:
81 will now confess the crime which no
doubt / have committed, but of which
| am, nevertheless, not fully conscious.
That | struck the unhappy man with the
spade, | know full well, and have already
confessed-whether it were with the flat
side or the sharp edge. could not in my
passion discern; that he then fell down,
and atterward again rose up and ran away
that is all know to surety. What
followed-Heaven help me -four wit
nesses have seen, namely that l fetched
the corpse Irom the wood and buried it.
That this must be true, am obliged to
believe, and will tell You wherefore.


Three or four times in my life. that
know Of it has happened to me to walk in
my sleep. The last time (about nine years
ago), was next day to preach a funeral
sermon over the remains of a man who
had Unexpectedly met with dreadful
death. | was at loss for text, when the
words OF wise man among the ancient
Greeks suddenly occurred to me: Call no
man happy until he be in his grave To
use the words of heather for the text of
Il Christian discourse was not, methought,
seemly; but then remembered that the
same thought, expressed in we'll nigh the
same terms, was to be met with some-
where in the Apocryha. l sought and
sought. but could not find the passage 1t
was late | was wearied by much previ-
Gus labor, therefore went to bed and
soon fell asleep. Greatly did marvel the
next morning when on rising and seating
myself at my writing-desk, l saw before
me written in large letters on sheet of
paper, ''Let no man be deemed happy
before his end cometh" (Sirah XII. 34)'
But not this alone; l found likewise a
funeral discourse-short, but as we'll writ
ten as any had ever compassionate all
in my own hand writing. In the cham
ber none other than could have been. |
knew. therefore, who it was that had writ
ten the discourse, and it was no other
than myself. Not more than half a wear
previous | had, in the same marvellous
state, gone in the nighttime into the
church, and fetched away a handkerchief
which | had lett in the chair behind the
altar. Mark now-when the two witness
es this morning delivered their evidence
before the court, then my previous Sleep
walking suddenly flashed across me; and
| likewise called to mind that, in the
hioihihs pifNA WulCu the
corpse must have been buried, had been
surprised to see my dressing gown lying
on the floor just beside the door, whereas,
it was always my custom to hang it on a
chair hy my bedside. The unhappy vic
tim of my unbridled passion must, in all
likelihood, have ia len down dead in the
woods; and must, in my sleep-walking,
have followed him thither. Yes-the
Lord have mercy SO It was-so it must
have been -


On the following day sentence Of death
was passed upon the prisoner--a sentence
which many felt to be too severe, and
which led to frieudly conspiracy on his
behalf. Had it not been for his own refus.
al to be party to any thing unlawful, he
might have escaped. The jailer was gained
over, and fisherman had his boat In read.
mess for flight to the Swedish coast.
But Soren Qirst refused to flee. He longed
he said, for DEATH and he would not add
new stain to his reputation by furtiye
tliuht He maintained h;o c..a.,..L r.