(_Concluded from page 134_.)
No further delay was allowed. The sheriffs moved on, the ordinary, the
culprits, and the officers did the same; and that class of attendants to
which I belonged followed. I shall not easily forget the circumstances
of this brief, but melancholy progress. The faltering step--the
deep-drawn sigh--the mingling exclamations of anguish and devotion which
marked the advance of the victims--the deep tones of the reverend
gentleman who now commenced reading a portion of the burial service, and
the tolling of the prison bell, which, as we proceeded through some of
the most dreary passages of the gaol, burst on the ear, rendered the
whole spectacle impressive beyond description. Few steps sufficed to
conduct us to the small room, or entrance-hall, into which the debtor's
door opens, and from this we saw the ladder which the criminals were to
ascend, and the scaffold on which they were to die. I was on the alert
to detect any sudden emotion which this spectacle might cause, but could
not perceive that it had the slightest effect. The minds of the
sufferers had been so prepared, that a partial view of the machine to
which they were being conducted, seemed to give no additional shock. No
further pause was deemed necessary. The clock was striking eight, and
the ordinary and the youth first brought to the press-room, immediately
passed up the ladder. To the two culprits that remained, the gentleman
whom I have already mentioned offered his services, and filled up with
a prayer the little interval which elapsed, before the second was
conducted to the platform.
I heard from without the murmur of awe, of expectation, and pity, which
ran through the crowd in front of the prison, and stepping on a small
erection to the left of the door, gained a momentary glimpse of a
portion of the immense multitude, who, uncovered, and in breathless
silence, gazed on the operations of the executioners. I retreated just
as the third halter had been adjusted. The finisher of the law was in
the act of descending, when the under-sheriff addressed him--