On this page
-
Text (3)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
THREE EXECUTIONS . WIUIAMSOVE . At noon last Saturday , William Dove , the Leeds poisoner was hung in front of York Castle . From ten thousa nd to fif teen thousand spectators assembled to see the sight , and no doabt went away duly edified and softened * The criminal took the sacrament , according to the Wesleyan forms , on the previous evening , in the course of which he frequently engaged in prayer and in reading
from the Bible . The Rev . J . Hartley , Wesleyan minister , and Mr . Wright , the prison philanthropist , remained with him during the night . Shortly after twelve o ' clock , Dove lay down on his pallet , and slept in a disturbed manner for rather less than an hour . Waking in trepidation , he demanded , in an excited manner , what he could , do , over and above what he had already done , to save his soul . He was answered by various references to Scripture ; and shortly afterwards he engaged in a Wesleyan hymn in conjunction with Mr . Hartley , Mr . Wright , and the officers of the prison . At eleven o ' clock , on Saturday , he -wrote down a reference to the texts in the Bible which had given him most comfort . His manner was calm and collected , and his face looked quite
healthy . Saturday morning was rainy , but this did not hinder the people from collecting to the number already indicated . The gallows was erected at daybreak , and at about six o ' clock the grave-digger arrived , and at once commenced making the grave for the yet-living man . Mr . Barret , Dove ' s solicitor , was -with the convict while be was being pinioned ; and during this operation Dove tield him by the hand . At this juncture , Mr . Barret vailed himself of an opportunity of asking Dove if there was anything in the statement he had made on the previous Thursday which he wished to alter or correct . Dove replied , " Not a word ; it is strictly true . " Subse-• quently he turned to Mr . Barret and said , " Mr . Barret , tell my poor mother I die happy . " These were the last words he uttered , except in prayer .
The " hanging process was performed by a debtor in the prison , who , being a novice , acted with great deliberation ; but he appears to have acquitted himself with more completeness than is often exhibited by Calcraft , for death ensued very speedily . The reporters on the spot record that , up to the moment of drawing the bolt , Dove had remained with his hands clasped , and that they remained clasped for a second after he fell . The hands then relaxed , the legs were drawn up , and the body swung to and fro : this continued for about a minute , at the end of which time the hands were again clasped , the legs dropped , and all was over .
On the afternoon of Thursday week , Dove made a confession to his solicitor . He stated that his first idea of poisoning his wife was derived from conversations he had with " a third person , " apparently alluding to the man whom he regarded as a wizard . He did not , however , directly implicate this person . He added that , on the day when the fatal dose ( admitting there were several ) was administered , he was in a state of semi-intoxication . The precise moment when the strychnine was put into his sick wife ' s medicine glass was after Mrs . Witham had given her a draught at mid-day . The glass remained upon the washh ' and-stand until eight o ' clock in the evening , when the culprit says he was asked to give his wife her medicine . He adds that he did so by pouring the draught into the wine-glasa conwife had
taining the strychnine , and that , as soon as his drunk it off , and he saw her dreadful sufferings , the thought flashed across his " muddled" brain that he had given her strychnine , and that she would die . He declares that , had the medical man been present at the moment , his contrition was such that he should have confessed his crime , and implored him to save his victim . A& it was , he ran out of the house , and when he returned with the doctor his wife was dead . He admits that he was in a dreadful atate of mind for several days lest a pott mortem examination should have been made , and . he sayB he was immensely relieved when the period had expired within which Professor Taylor had declared in Palmer ' s case it was alone possible to discover the existence of strychnine in the human subject . This narration was commenced at the moment when a violent
thunderstorm burst over the city , and the convict's feelings are said to have been painfully excited as the darkness of his cell was illuminated by flashes of forked 'lightning . Dove remarked to Mr . Barret , " Is it not strange that this terrible storm should commence just as I am about to unburden my consoionco by making a fatement to you ? " . ¦ '•¦ ''« "Another and very long statement was made by Dove * 0 , MNi Barret , just after his attempt to send out , by a dlsohteMd militiaman , a letter addressed to Harrison , but wldbh -was intercepted . If the statements in thia document may be depended on , the criminal must have been in - * state Wt the most lamentable subjection to the eo-called " wise num , " to whose repeated assertions that be ( Dove ) would never be happy while his wife lived , coupled with hints that she would die in February , and with suggestions as to the secret operation of certain poisons , the murder appears to be attributable . In this statement there u ho confession of the murder , though
Dove admits that he purchased strychnine ; but this , he says , was to poison cats .. Dove became acquainted with Harrison through hearing of him from . a working man , who alleged that he knew of several wonderful feats performed by him . Dove , therefore , sought him out ; and here we may repeat the abstract of the criminal ' s statement presented in a leading article of the Times : — "Of course , there is a good deal of drinking , for which Dove pays , , and then the future murderer gives Harrison the date of his birth , that his * nativity' may be calculated . The precise object of this horoscope does not appear , but it is connected with the renewal of the lease of Dove ' s farm , which a Mr . King , the steward , was unwilling to grant .
Harrison , by his spells , is to force the steward to let Dove have the farm on his own terms . We now come to the details of magical conjuration as practised in Yorkshire at the present day . The ' wise man' comes to the farm to bewitch it . He takes out a mariner ' s compass to learn the points of the horizon ; then , producing some little pieces of copper , like halfpence , with mystic marks upon them , he begins the spell . The copper-pieces are buried with ceremony in various spots—in the barn , the yard , and the cowhouse . Each entrance to the premises is similarly laid under the spell . The enchanter then begins to pray aloud , invoking the power of the seven wise men , of whom he himself is one , to free Dove and his farm from hurt . ' No one can pass this gate to do
you harm' is his promise . Next he demands pens and paper , writes something in hieroglyphical signs , and gives it to Dove . ' If you want to retake the farm , put this in your pocket and go to King , who will let you it , only you must tell me beforehand when you are going . ' We may as well pursue this incident to the end at once . Dove goes to the steward with the talisman in his pocket , but it is of no use . King is inexorable , and Dove goes back , somewhat shaken , to his mentor . ' Never mind , ' says Harrison , ' he has the spell upon him ; he is an Irishman , and will take a good deal of working upon . ' Dove is quite satisfied with this philosophical explanation , and his faith in the wizard suffers no diminution . " Dove continued in constant communication with " the
wise man" up to the time of his being taken into custody ; and , as the reader has seen , it was owing to his suggestions , according to the murderer ' s statement , that the poisoning was committed . In his final confession , Dove says : — " I continued to believe in Harrison ' s power for some weeks after I was committed to prison . I believed that he had the power to save me until June or July . On the day when I wrote the letter commencing ' Dear Devil , ' I was in a low , desponding , and queer state . I can ' t describe mj' feelings . I during that day thought of committing suicide The instrument which was found upon me on the search made that day would
have been probably used for that purpose . In the evening of that day , I wrote that letter , but I cannot tell you my feelings at that time . I did feel certain that the devil would come to me that night according to my request . I wrote that letter , but never intended it to be seen by any person . " The concluding portion of a letter addressed by Dove to Mr . Barret on Friday week was as follows : — " I would wish to remark , that I committed the crime through the instigation of that bad man , Henry Harrison , of the South-market , Leeds . Had it not been for him , I never should have been in these circumstances . " Statements of this nature coming from a man like Dove must of course be received with the utmost caution .
In answer to a question from Mr . Wright , who wished to know whether Dove poisoned his wife because he wanted to marry Mrs . Witham , the culprit declared solemnly that such was not the case ; but in his confession he says he did think that he should have been able , on his wife ' s death , to make the ludy in question an offer of marriage , though this did not prompt him to the crime . The motive still remains n mystery , but it seems probable that the means were suggested by the murder of Cooke by Palmer . In the course of the Friday preceding the day of execution , Dove said he had no feeling of resentment against the judge who tried him , the jury who found him guilty , or the witnesses who appeared against him . On the previous Tuesday , he wrote to Mr . Wright a letter which exhibits the singular condition of egotism and diseased self-satisfaction to which criminals are often brought by the well-moaning efforts of professional religious advisers . It runs thus : —
" York Castle , Condemned Cell , August 4 . " Mr . Wright . —Dear Sir , —I take this opportunity of writing to you . You told me that at any time that I wrote to you , and requested you to come , you would . Dear Sir , I shall bo very glad to aeo you on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest , for I feel my time is short . I cannot sufficiently thank you for your kindness to mo while you were at this place . I cannot reward you , but my God and Father will reward you . Dear Sir , while I was meditating on the goodness of God , and thinking
of my past sins and wickedness , all at a moment a thought flashed across my mind that there was a reprieve for mo . And what do you think that reprieve was ? Well , bless God , it was this—• Thy bins , which wore many , arc all forgiven you . ' It was no delusion , for it was so impressed on my mind that I could not help but make the remark , and tell my fellow-prisoners and ' the officer that was there . Dear Sir , I do not intend to stop thoro ; but I intend to ' preas forward to the mark for my high calling which is of Clod , by Christ Josus . '
Dear Sir , do not forget to pray for me , that I may not be ' weary in well doing , so that , in due time , I niav reap , if I faint not . ' And may the God of all grace bless you and yours is the fervent prayer of yours respectfully , / " William Dove . " P . S . —I shall anxiously wait an answer . " A second letter to the same gentleman , written on Friday week , was as follows : " York Castle , Condemned Cell , August 8 " Respected Sir , — My time is short , my days are numbered , and soon I shall have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ ; but I trust my Judge is my advocate and friend , and that I shall meet His smiles , and be welcomed to mansions in the sky . I can truly say— ' I the chief of sinners am , But Jesus died for me . '
Oh ! the consolation derived from this passage . I am saved through fire and by death ; ordinary means God had used , but they failed . He has , therefore , used extraordinary means , and blessed be His holy name . I believe it is in answer to the prayers of my dear mother and that I shall have reason to bless and praise Him through all eternity , that He checked me in my mad career , and adopted this plan to save me . " Oh ! my dear Sir , accept the thanks of a dying man for the kindness I have experienced at your hands . May that God , who is your Father and my Father , bless you both in this life and that which is to come , and may -we meet in heaven , is the prayer of , respected Sir , yours affectionately , " William Dove " Mr . T . "Wright , York . "
Shortly before death , Dove requested that a cast might not be made of his head : this was acceded to . The authorities have also determined , at the request of the relatives and friends , not to dispose of the criminal ' s clothes for the satisfaction of morbid curiosity .
ELIZABETH MARTHA BROWN . This woman , who was recently convicted of the murder of her husband , under peculiar circumstances ( see the Leader of July 26 th ) , was executed last Saturday at Dorchester at eight o ' clock . She appeared resigned , penitent , and extremely calm , while her female attendants were overcome . On arriving at the place of execution , a cordial wa 3 administered to her , a part of which she drank . Calcraft was the hangman , and , as usual , bungled . He forgot to tie the culprit's dress , and was obliged to return to the platform for that purpose . The bolt was then drawn , and a few struggles terminated the convict's existence . The woman was forty years of age ; the husband only twenty . The subjoined confession was made some time previous to the execution : —
" My husband , John Anthony Brown , deceased , came home on Sunday morning , the 6 th of July , at two o ' clock , in liquor , and was sick . He had no hat on . I asked him what he had done with his hat . He abused me , and said : ' What is it to you , you ? " He then asked for some cold tea . I said that I had none , but would make some warm . He replied , ' Drink that yourself , and be . ' I then said , ' What makes you so cross ? Have you been at Mary Davis ' s ? ' He then kicked out the bottom of the chair upon which I had been sitting . We continued quarrelling until three o ' clock , when he struck me a severe blow on the side of my head , which confused me so much that I was obliged to sit down . Supper was on the table , and lie said , ' it yourself , and be . ' At the same time he reached down from the mantelpiece a heavy horsewhip -with a plaid end , and struck me across the shoulders with it
three times . Each time I screamed out . I said , ' If , you strike me again , I will cry , Murder ! ' He retorted' If you do , I will knock your brains out through the window . ' Ho also added— ' I hope I shall find you dead in the morning . ' He then kicked me on the left aide , which caused me much pain , and he immediately stooped down to untie his boots . I was much enraged , and , in an ungovernable passion , on being so abused and struck , I directly seized a hatchet which was lying close to whore I sat , and which I had been using to break coal with , to keep up the fire and keep his mippcr warm , and with it I struck him several violent blows on thu head . I could not say how many . He fell at the first blow , on his head , with his face towards the lircplnoc . He never spoke or moved afterwards As soon as I had done it , I wished I hud not , and would lmve given the world not to have done it . I had never struck him
before , after all his ill-treatment ; but , when ho hit mo so hard thia time , I whs nlmo . st out of my senses and hardly know what I wan doing . " Elizaiieth Maktiia linowN . " If those allegations could bo depended on , the punishment surely ought to have been commuted , the ofl'mici " boing more manslaughter than immlur ; but tho woman had proviounly in ado somo other coiifcasioiia of n different character , and this thrown aoniu doubt over thu last .
WKVAN , TIIIC MAIUNIC . Novan , tho marine who whs convicted of shooting u sorgoant of tho Royal Marines on board her Majesty « ship Runnymode , nt Saltash , in tho Iliiinonsto , Plymouth , suffered tho oxtromo penalty of tho law on Monday morning nt Bodinin . Ho appeared to be deeply affected , and died struggling violently .
Untitled Article
OUR CIVILIZATION .
Untitled Article
772 THE LEADER . [ No . 334 , Saturday ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 16, 1856, page 772, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2154/page/4/
-