Essays on the punishment of death / [Charles Spear].

  • Charles Spear
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Essays on the punishment of death / [Charles Spear]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    broken in retirement. But they are not forgotten by the true philanthropist and the Christian.5* They are not forgotten by Him who ‘looks down from the height of His sanctuary, ... to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to death.’ Oh ! the anguish of their hearts ! Could we get admittance there, what griefs should we see ! It is, indeed, on such occasions, the living who die! ‘ There is no killing like that which kills the heart! ’ This is admirably presented in the following thrilling sketch from Frazer’s London Magazine. THE CONDEMNED FORGER AND HIS FAMILY. The forger had been convicted, and condemned to suffer the dreadful penalty of death. His wife was a sensitive and accom¬ plished lady, although the wife of a felon. An hour had been ap¬ pointed for the last earthly interview. Pale and trembling, the wife, with three children, entered, to them, the tomb of a living be¬ ing, who had been their only love and hope in this world,—he whose solicitude to insure their happiness, was the cause of their misery. After an absence, it is natural to rush into the arms of those we love ; but disgrace and consequent shame make strange havoc with the impulses of the heart. # A beautiful instance is given by Prof. Stowe, in his Report on Edu¬ cation in Prussia, &c., of the provision made for the children of crim¬ inals :—* 1 When I was in Berlin I went into the public prison, and vis¬ ited every part of the establishment. At last I was introduced to a. very large hall, which was full of children, with their books and teach¬ ers, and having all the appearance of a common Prussian school-room. 1 What,5 said I,‘is it possible that all these children are imprisoned here for crime?5 ‘Oh no,5 said my conductor, smiling at my simplicity; k but if a parent is imprisoned for crime, and, on that account, his chil¬ dren are left destitute of the means of education, and liable to grow up in ignorance and crime, the government has them taken here, and main¬ tained and educated for useful employment.5 The thought brought tears to my eyes.
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