The well-known cases of Dr. D. the divine and Mr. F. the banker, who
were executed for forgery, notwithstanding the powerful intercessions
that were made in their behalf, induced me to suppose that any
mitigation of punishment under similar circumstances used to be a very
rare occurrence; and, if so, that a curious instance of successful
application for mercy may interest some readers of "NOTES AND QUERIES."
A young man of respectable Scotch connexions settled in a town in the
north of England as a merchant, and soon afterwards made an offer of
marriage to a young lady of the same place. Her parents rejected his
suit, on the ground of his not being sufficiently established in
business, and he seemed to acquiesce in their decision. In a short time,
however, the young merchant took possession of larger premises than he
had hitherto occupied, and showed other symptoms of wishing to have it
understood that his fortunes were improving. But these appearances were
of short duration. He was suddenly arrested, and committed to take his
trial at the ensuing assizes on several charges of forgery. Immediately
after his arrest, a sister of singularly energetic character arrived
from Scotland, and applied to the father of my informant for
professional aid. This gentleman told her that he never touched criminal
business, and declined to interfere. But she was no common client, and
it ended in his undertaking to prepare the defence of her brother, and
receiving her into his house as a guest. Her immediate object was to
prevent the prosecutors pressing their charges at the trial; and, by her
indefatigable management, she succeeded with all, except the L---- bank,
the directors of which, as a matter of principle, were inexorable to her
entreaties. The trial came on at an early period of the assize, and the
prisoner was found guilty, and condemned to be hanged. His sister left
the court, and instantly proceeded to Scotland. There were no railways
in those days, and she had to rely on coaches and post-chaises, and she
travelled for four days and nights successively, without stopping or
removing her clothes, and carrying a petition with her from house to
house amongst her titled and powerful Scotch friends.
With this she returned to the city at which the assizes had been held,
just as they were concluded. The two judges were in the act of
descending through the cathedral nave, after partaking of the holy
sacrament, when the petitioner cast herself at their feet, and held
forth her document. Baron G. was notorious for his unflinching obduracy;
but her devotion and energy were irresistible. He received her petition;
and her brother's sentence was eventually commuted to transportation for
life. But his story is not yet finished. The forger was placed in the
hulks prior to transportation; and, before this took place, he had
forged a pass or order from the Home Secretary's office for his own
liberation, which procured his release, and he was never afterwards
heard of.
This "Jeanie Deans," who was the means of saving the life of her
unworthy relative, was described to me as a person of extraordinary
force of character. Indeed it could not have been otherwise. She
prevailed with the solicitor, who before had been a stranger both to her
and her brother; with the main body of the prosecutors; with the
petitioners in Scotland; and ultimately with the judge himself. My
friend, who lived in his father's house during the several weeks she
stayed there, told me, that, night and morning when he passed her door,
she was always in audible prayer; and he was convinced that her success
was attributable to her prayers having been _extraordinarily_ answered.
Her subsequent fate, even in this world, was a happy one. She became a
wife and a mother, and possibly is so still.