EDSON PEACOCK. Editor.
VOLUME XX.---NO. 63
EXTRA.
PRO:S
'THE GALLOWS GETS
ITS DUE.
"THE EXECUTION THIS
MORNING.
piii:IOIPIVICIDICMOd
HOW THE CONDEMNED MAN
BEHAVED.
HIS LAST HOURS ON EARTH.
Ilia Farewell Letter, Written Yesterday
alite Crowd Excluded.
HISTORY OF THE DEARING MURDER
Original Anecdotes of Probst,
''Copy of the First Letter to His Parents.
The dread sentenoe of the law was exe
-eated upon Anton Probst, this morning, for
the murder of the Dearing family in April
last.
Sheriff Howell_ early determined to make
"the solemn occasion accord strictly with the
-spirit, as well as with the letter of the law,
rand to that end he confined the number of
witnesses of the execution to those persons
whose presence were imperatively neces
sary, absolutely refusing to yield one iota of
This determination, even though undergoing
a constant pressure from influential parties.
At half-past 9 "o'clock this morning the
Sheriff, a few of his special deputies, his
jury,his legal advisers,and Seven representa
tives of the nevispaper press, met by pre
vious private arrangement, at the Assembly
Building, and taking a special car, at 9-45
o'clock, on the Tenth street railway, the en
tire party was soon within the walls of
Moyamensing Pris On.
The Sheriff in the Prison.
A little after 10 o'clock the Sheriff and his
party reached the pyison, and they were ad
mitted. into ,the Debtor's apartment; from
thence they proceeded to the prison in regu
lar order: '
The - roll of the jnrywas called, and all
.having answered to : their names, Charles
the Solicits of the Sheriff, pro
ceeded to read the waTrantfor the execution=
•oftheprisoner. <
These preliminaries having been - disposEid
.of, the. Sheriff_sent word
_to the attending
clergymen that he was in attendance for the
purpose of performing his duty, and would
.await their pleasure and the convenience of
:the prisoner within the limits of his instruc,-,
•tions from the Governor,
The response was that they were quite
:ready, and the Sheriff, accompanied by
Mr. Perkins, the Superintendent of the
prison, and a representative of the press,
! proceeded to the cell.
Probst was alone; with his clerical advi
=sers, and he had evidently been engaged in
•earnest devotion. He held a crucifix. in his
The Sheriff addressing, the culprit said in
asubitance, "Anton, lAM here for the pur
pose of performing the unpleaSant . duty of
•executing the punishment which the law
dias imposed for the offence of which you
have been convicted. Your excellent re
ligious advisers inform me that you are
..quite ready."
To this Probst replied briefly: "That is
,so." •
The Maeda' then Motioned the party froul
the cell, and, preceded by Messrs. Howell
and Perkins, and followed by fathers
Grund ner and Carbon, Probst proceeded
towards the place of execution.
He seemed perfectly resigned and evinced
much firmness; when an incident that oc
curred just outside the cell door excited
an emotion he had not before exhibited
any evidence of. "
The keeper who had had charge of him
since his arrest, put out his hand, and said
"Good-bye!" "{food-bye!" respOnded
Probst, with a voice choked with emotion,
and tears came into his eyes. The march to
the scaffold was then resumed:
The prisoner wore no clothing except a
coarse muslin shirt, a - pair of coarse, grey'
prison pants, :and a pair- of-brogans.
had neither coat, vest, hat, nor suspenders.
The attending clergymen had requested
that, as they desired that Probst shOuld
carry a crucifix in his hand to the scaffold,
the usual ceremony of pinioning his arms,
in his cell should tie dispensed with.
As the Sheriff had already determined to
adopt the military mode of handcuffing the
condemned behind his back, this request
was complied - with, and he was not thus
manacled until after he had reached the
gallows.
The march to the gallows was then taken
up in the following order:
Order of tlie Procession.
Henry C. Howell, Esq., Sheriff.
Wm. B. Perkins, Superintendent of the
Prison. .
Clergy—Father Grundner.
ANTON PROBST.
Clergy—Father Carbon.
John P. O'Neil, Attorney of Prisoner.
Wm. B. Mann, District Attorney.
John A. Wolbert, Attorney of Prisoner.
H. Yale Smith, M. D., Physician of the
Prison.
Charles Gilpin, Sheriff's Solicitor.
J. Eldon Salter, Assistant Solicitor.
SHERIFF'S JURY.
Wm. H. Kern, Robert P. King, '
Geo. H. Roberts, A. J. Flomerfelt,
Samuel P. Hancock, John Thornley,
Spencer Roberts, Wm. 'Pinot,
Hiram Horfer, Jas. V. Stokes,
Geo. J. McLeod, Alfred Taylor,
.Notary Public—Samuel L. Clement.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PRESS.
Charles C. Wilson, Casper Bonder, Jr.,
Wm. J. Jones, Charles Graffen,
Robert S. Davis, M. L. Simons,
H. Engle.
OFFICERS OF THE PRISON.
HEWETT SHERIFFS,
W. R. Leeds, - James Bain, Jr.,
Wm. Andress, Samuel Daniels,
Henry J. Mclntire, Joseph S. Allen,
Jos. Watts, John C. Smith,
Richard B. Ott.
During the march from one extremity of
the prison yard to the other, the gallows
being fully in view meanwhile, the clergy
men were constantly exhorting the doomed
man, and whispering words of religious
comfort in his ears.
Probst meantime repeatedly clasped the
crucifix to his breast and pressed it to his
lips, and gave every evidence of religious
fervor.
On the Scaffold.
Upon reaching the scaffold, Probst as-:
cended the steps with entire firmness
There was no sign of defiance or bravado
about his demeanor, but an appearance of
entire resignation and earnest contrition.
The culprit was accompanied by his re
ligious advisers, by the Sheriff, and by Mr.
Perkins. Probst, pliant as a child, took his
place upon the drop, and knelt with the at
tendant priest; together they recited the acts
of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Contrition ; the
Lord's Prayer, the Hail Maly, the Apostles'
Creed, in-the German language;.the con
demned mail repeatedly kissing the cru
cifix which 'he held in his hands.
The trio then arose to their feet, and the
Sheriff stepped forward and, having slipped
on the hindcuffs, proceeded to adjust the
rope about the neck of the wretched man.
His lips moved* constantly, apparently in
prayer, aid his suffused eyes were turned
- to heaven.
A curious evidence of tbe German phlegm
was'afforded in the fact that, while in the
midst of his religious fervor, he settled his
head and neck to suit the fatal noose.
There ivas nothing but the placing of the
white cap needed to complete the work of
material preparation, and while this was
being done the reverend gentlemen were
whispering short prayers in the ears of the
wretched man.
We watched the
His
closely at this
dreadful mament. His shrouded face was
turned heavenward; his limbs were planted
firmly on the hollow floor, and but for the
heaving of his chest there were no signs of
agitation. But the breast did heave, and it
told of the terrible struggle going on within.
Father Grundner stood upon the steps of
the scaffold' when all others had left the
wretched man, and he continued to encour
age him until the last moment.
At fifteen minutes before eleven, all the
preliminaries having been arranged, Mr.
Grundner gave the signal, and, the Sheriff
pulling the cord attached to the prop, An
ton Probst hung dangling betWixt heaven
and earth.
The condemned man had a fall of about
`t/llto 'RO I and Ida neck_ was probably
PHILADELPHIL, FRII)AY, JUNE 8, 1866.
broken on the instant. There was a con
vulsive twitching of the hands and legs for
a minute or two, and then all was over.
The Murder of eight innocent mortals had
been avenged and the law had been justified.
After hanging until the death of the con=
demised man was clearly ascertained, the
body was cut down and handed over to the
medical faculty.
The Decordusitess of the Execution.
The strict limitation placed by the_Sheriff
upon the number of persons who should be
Present at the dread scene, had the' effect of
producing a scene of almost unexampled
decoruia. Everything was done with entire
decorousness; the Sheriff performing' his,
entire duty with far more pain ,to hiniself
than he had inflicted upon others by de.;
priving them of the opportunity of gratify
ing a morbid curiosity.
The Crowd Outside.
Although there was nothing but stone
walls to be seen, a considerable crowd gath
ered outside the prison. There was a strong
force of police present and no disorder what
ever occurred.
The Gallows.
The gallows was the same that was used
in the execution of Langfeldt, the Skupin
ski binthers, Arthur Spring, Peter Mattocks
and Thos. T. Armstrong. It is u very sim
ple, but a most effective contrivance, the
entire floor giving way in an instant upon
the removal of a supporting prop.
The instrument of death was erected in
the extreme northwestern part of the yard
of the prison, at the end of the north corri
dor, on the convict side of the prison.
Sheriff Howell chose this location for it in
Order to prevent the prisoners in the
cells from witnessing the execution,
and also to shit it out from a view from
surrounding elevations. It was pat up
yesterday afternoon, and' the blows struck
by the workmen could be distinctly heard
by the prisoner in his cell. A sound more
gloomy and soul-depressing than the falling
of the clod upon the coffin-lid.
Probst's Lost Hours on Earth.
During yesterday the Rev. A. M. Grand
ner,-Pastor of the Church of St. Alphonsus,
was in almost constant attendance upon the
condemned man. He exhorted him earn.
fttly to place his trust in his Redeemer, and
the wretched criminal appeared to be sin
cerely devout and earnestly penitent. -
Last evening, the tbrmal confession of
Probst was received by Father Grundner,
and absolution was given. Early this
morning the same reverend gentleman was ,
in attendance, together with Rev. Peter M
Carbon, Pastor of Trinity Church. The
condemned man received the Communion
this morning, fasting. The attending
clergymen then engaged in prayer
and exhortation with the prisoner, and con
firmed these exercises until the arrival of
Sheriff Howell.
Probst retired to his pallet at a seasonable
hour last night, and appeared to sleep
soundly. Perhaps he dreamed; perhaps he
dreamed of his old home in Baden; of the
old father and mother whose hearts he has
crushed and whose heads he has bowed in
grief; perhaps he dreamid.of "Little Mary,"
the sister of whom he was so fond, and who
had known him in more -innocent and hap
pier days.
But then, perhaps,, he dreamed of his
butchered victims, and saw the ghastly
ghosts of the slaughtered family, from the
strong father, the fond mother, "the stran
ger that was within their gates," on down
to the little prattling babe, and then with
his soul frozen with horror , he awoke to
chains, and grim bars.and bOlts, and to the
avenging doom that was tracking close upon
his heels and sure to overtake him before
many hours had-sped. ` - •
The words of ,Mrs. Heman's song:of Thi
,
:Wakening, rush fresh to our memory
this connection: •
"And some, In the gloomy convict cell.
To the dull deep note of the warning bell,
As It heavily calls them forth to die,
W hen the bright sun mounts in the laughing sky.'
The condemned man awoke about four
'o'clock this morning from a sound'sleep. -
He ate a hearty breakfast, and seemed per
fectly cheerful and resigned. We have al
ready stated that he was engaged in rell
gious exercises until the arrival of the
Sheriff.
History of the Case.
The crime, or rather series of crimes,, for
•which Anton Probst paid the forfeit of his
life upon the gallows, stands foremost in
atrocity in the annals of blood. Probst was
a day laborer employed upon the farm of
Christopher Dearing. The farm was in the
"Neck," near Tones' lane, and about a
quarter of a mile from the Point House
road.. It wasin an out of the way location,
with but very few houses in its immediate
neighborhood. The family of Mr. Deering
consisted of himself, his wife, five children,
the youngest a babe, and a bound boy
named Cornelius Carey. One of the'child
ren was absent from home at the time of
the murder.
On Wednesday, the• 11th of April last,
the attention of a man employed
on a neighboring farm was directed
to the fact that the horses and cattle
of Mr. Dearing had not been seen out
of the barn for several days. He went to
to the barn, fearing that something was
wrong, but little suspecting the truth.
Everywhere was Silence; the house was
OUR, WHOLE COUNTRY.
closed, andmo litunahlife appeared
The barn was deserted, except by the poor
animals -tied in their stalls; nearly dead
from Thirst and hunger. To his horror the
neighbor saw in a 'dark corner a human
foot protruding from a heap of, hay. He
looked no further,but fled from the spot;
rushed to give the alarm, and in half an
hour had returned with others,and dragied
from.beneath the hay the mangled decom
posing bodies of Christopher Dearing and
his niece,- Elizabeth Dohtn. The bodies lay
aide by side, with their feat toward the door
of the barn, and their heads not far from
the-aperture leading into the- crib. - The
skulls of_thevictims were crushed in, evi
dently by heavy Nowa • with an axe," and
Their throats were cut and mangled most
horrihly. It was, perhaps, half an =hoar
liefore - -the bodies of Mrs. Dearing and her
fourlittlkones were found heaped together
in the Crib; a decomposing maser covered
With dirt and hay. They were not three
feet distant from the place where Mr. Dear
ing and Elizabeth were discovered.
The house had evidently been ransacked
in search of plunder, and the few valuables
in it were carried off. Probst and the bound
boy Carey were both missing, and it was at
first thought the murder and robbery were
the joint work of the two. On the following
day the body of the poor boy was found
concealed under the edge of a haystack
which stood at a considerable distance from
the house, and the horrid fracturing of the
skull and the gashing of the throat told too
plainly that the bloody deed had been com
mitted by the same cruel hand.
This made the list of victims eight; as fol
lows: -
Christopher Dearing, - aged 38 years
Julia Dearing, - - - 61 45 i t
Elizabeth Dolan, - - 44 „
John Dearing, - - - 8
Thomas Dearing, - 6 6
Anna Dearing, - -. " 4
Emily Dearing, - - it 2 46
Cornelius Carey, - - " 17 "
Mr. Dearing, as it was subsequently dis
covered, had left his fatally early on the
morning of the previous Saturday, to go to
the city to attend to some business; he was
to meet his niece, Miss . Dolan, at one of the
steamboat wharves, and drive her to his
home. He missed , her, and had got within
a short dislaxtee of his 'farm when he over
tookher and carried her to his home, where
they both shared the cruel fate that had
already befallen the hapless wife and little
ones. •
If. is not necessary for us to enlarge upon
the Berl e - exeltement that followed the dis
covery of the murder; and the prompt ar
rest of the criminal by the officers of the
law, who were early upon his ,track, kept
alive the Mimeo? popular feeling. The sus
pected murderer was arrested on the even
ing of Thursday, April 12, and it was with
great 'difficulty that he could be shielded
from popular violence.
On the following day the criminal had an
informal examination before Mayor Mc-
Michael, and he confessed to the killing of
the boy Carey, and the sharing of the pro
ceeds of the robbery of the house; but he
declared that all the other victims fell by
the lands of an accomplice, named Jacob
Ganther. The investigations made by the
Detectives proved the falsity of the story of
an accomplice, several articles which he
said Ganther had carried away having been
traced directly to the custody of the pri
soner.
On Saturday April 14th the funeral of the
eight victims took place and caused a pro
fonxtd sensation in the city. On the 18th of
the same month the grand jury found
true bills against Probst for all the mur
ders. On the 25th he was brOught up for
trial, Wm. B. Mann, Esq., conducting the .
case for the Commonwealth, and. Messrs.
John P. O'Neill and John A. Wolbert de
fending the-prisoner, at the request of the.
Court. On the 28th he was found guilty of
the murder of Christopher Dearing ; on the
first of May he was sentenced to death by
Judge Allison; on the 9th of May his death
warrant was read to him by Sheriff Howell,
and the sentence of the law was executed
this morning. The excitement about the
Court-house, the yells of the angry mob
whenever sight could be obtained of the
criminal, conspire to render the trial a most
memorable one.
Probst's Confession.
The murderer made several confessions.
Or rather, be made the same confession on
different occasions, and he made one state
ment that was notoriously false. The
latter we have already, referred to.
The truthful confession was first made
to his religions attendant, Father
Grundner, it was repeated to hia counsel on
the following day, and eri the, same day,
May 7thite made a full statement to the
representatives of the press. The substance
of this confession was, that his cupidity had
been excited by seeing Mr. Dearing, who
Was a cattle dealer, counting large BUMS of
money ; he determined to rob him, and
to that end, to first murder the family. He
had first thought of killing them ' one by
one as they came down stairs in the morn
ing; but he finally adopted the of
getting them in separate places, killing them
in detail, and then accomplishing his object
of robbery.- He first killed the boy Carey,
near the hay-stack, then got Mrs. Dear
ing into the stable under pretence that
a steer was sick; he killed her there, covered
up the body and then got the children aver
one by one and killed them and concealed
their bodies. He awaited the coming of
Mr. Dearing, and was surprised to find him
accompanied by Miss Dolan. The latter
went into the house; Mr. Dearing was got
into the stable by the same expedient that
had been practised upon the wife, and there
he was killed, and Miss Dolan was tempted
into the slaughter-pen by the same means
and the grim work of murder was com
pleted. He ransacked the house for valua
bles, found but little to repay the search,
gave 4fill tattle a large supply of food,
'acted Miss Dolan's traveling- bag
with plunder, and made his way to some
dens of vice in the lower part of the Ele
venth Ward, where he soon wasted in dissi
pation the means for which he had stained his
soul with the blood Of eight innocent crea
tures. He declared that he would have
confessed the entire truth at the start, but
he feared that if he did so the populace
would tear him to pieces. He said be had
all along intended to make a clean breast of
it as soon as the trial was over, and he
would no longer be compelled to face the
angry multitude.
The Antecedents of Profit.
Anton Probst was born in Uehling,en,Ba
den, in 1842, and was twenty-four years
and five months of age. His father and
mother are still living, and he worked at
home at farming for his father, who, though
a carpentr, had never taught Anton any
trade. He denies that he ever committed
any crime in Germany, and says that he
came to the_ United States because he
a
thought this better country. This declar
ation is sustained by information received
from the Old World; his reputation there
Was good. On May itth, 1863, he arrived at
New York in the ship Columbus, from Bre
men. Two hours after he was on shore he
enlisted in the Twelfth New York Cavalry,
from which he deserted while in Washing
ton. He then enlisted in the Forty-first
New York Infantry, and deserted again
after serving nine months. The Fifth Penn
sylvania Cavalry was his next regiment,
in which he remained till May 28th, 1865,
when he was discharged. According to his
statement, his thumb was shot off acciden
ally, by the discharge of his own gun, while
on picket duty before Richmond. After his
discharge he came to Philadelphia, where
he spent his bounty money in two weeks,
and then seems to have wandered about,
working at different jobs, in this city, New
York, and the country, alternating between
labor, in which he obtained money,and dis
sipation, in which he spent it. Much of last
winter he passed in the Blockley Alms
hou'e. In 1865 he was employed by Mr.
Dearing, and after staying on the farm
about three weeks was discharged. He
returned there in February and asked for
work, telling Mr. Dearing he had been tar
Germany. He was again taken into the
employ of Mr. D., and the rest of the story
of his connection with the unfortunate
family we have already given.
Probst Writes Home.
Between the time that the murderer made
his false statement, and the period of his
truthful confession, he wrote a letter to his
parents. He knew this letter would be ex
amined before it would be suffered to leave
the prison, and he was compelled to make
it accord with the story that he had already
told. He probablydesired, too, to break the
-blow to his parents, by lessening the appa
rent enormity of his crime. We have pro
cured a literal copy of this letter,the original
being in German. It is as follows:
Probst's Letter to his Parent*.
PituamEixtuA,lBth of April, lB66.—Dear
Parents, Brothers and Sister: I write to you
now for the last time, and desire to inform
you of the terrible fate which, has befallen
me. I have now got so far in America,
that, with a companion from the Canton
Scha f fhausen, I deprived, of life an entire
family,consistingoi eight persons. Although
I was taken on the third day after the fearful
occurrence, and now do not know on what
day I must die, they have not as yet caught
the one who was with me. At first I did
not wish to write to you any more, but I
could not bring it over my heart ; I felt that
I must let you know of the awful niurder.
No doubt, it will be a matter of surprise to
you to know how I could have fallen so
low. I will tell you.
Immediately upon my arrival in this
country I became a soldier, in which posi
tion I heardnothing but cursing and swear
ing, and soon became a sharer in every
wickedness. When than I was freed from
the army, I gave myself up to evil com
panionship, and to every sort of licentious
ness; and thus I soon reached such a pitch,
that I no longer believed in God nor in. any
thing. Now I humbly, ask you all to for
give me, and do not take! the matter too
much to heart; it has happened, and we
can now no longer change it. Therefore, I
only aols your forgiVe4o3oo 01100 again.
F. FETHERSTON. Publisher
DOUBLE SHEET, THREE CENTS
beg of you, pray, pray for me, for I greatly
need it. When I only think how good and
kind you:always were to rae,and how happy
and comfortable ralways was whilel was
with you ; and now I have sunk so low that
here, in the years of my youth, I must
die on the gallows, I would desire but
one more hour to spend with you, then
I would willingly dia. When I think of
you at home; father, mother, brothers, and
little sister Mary, my senses almost leave-,
me. But it has once happened, and now - I
Can no longer remedy it. Once again I ask
Your pardon. Do not , let this tronble.crush
you. I only beg of you, help me by your,
prayers, help me as much as.you can.
t I will now close my letter with many
thousand greetings. I have been ' •
Your ungrateful son and brother,
ANTON PB.OBST.
P. S.—Once more I ask yon.all, forgive
Me! I wish you much happiness, mul
Many blessings, and-pray for me.
The accomplished scholar -who' made the
translation at onr request, says concerning
it, "I nfed scarce remark that I have en
deavored only to- translate it literally, en
deavoring to preserve his idiom and style
of expression, at least, as far as possible."
Probst's Last Letter to his Parents.
Yesterday afternoon the murderer asked.
for writing material% so that he might write
a farewell letter to his family in Germany.
They were furnished to him, and he wrote,
in quite good German, a letter of which the
following is a translation. It was addressed
on the envelope - as follows:
"Mr. Martin Probst,
trehlingen Amt,
Bondorf,
Grand Duchy of Baden,
Germany."
"PHILADELPHIA, 7th of June, 1866.—. Dear
Parents, Brothers and Sister I do not
know 'whether or not you received my last
letter, in which I sent you the sad intelli
gence of my fate. I desire to write to you
once again, to inform you how I have spent" -
my,time here in the prison. I have now
spent eight weeks in this cell; and have en
deavored to prepare for my death as well as
I possibly could. The clergyman has
visited me every day, and has instructed
me well. I have several times confessed
and received holy communion. Besides
this, many prayers are offered up for me
throughout the entire city, and therefore I
am now so cheerful and consoled that I can
gladly offer my life as an atonement for my
fearful crime. I trust that you also will be
consoled and cheerful as I am:
"The clergymen will send you all the par
ticulars of my death. I only entreat you.
all, pray forme. Have the holy sacrifice of
Mass offered up frequently for the repose of
my poor soul.
"Joseph Wte chter has also visited ma
several times during my imprisonment. He
will send you my picture and a lock of my
hair. ;
"The eighth of June has been appolqiitki
as the day of my death, and to-morrow will
be the eighth of June; on which I am ready
to offer up my life with greatest joy for my
sins.
"I trust to meet you all in eternity, in
a happier and better place, and this hope
makes me rejoice with my whole heart.
"I will now close my letter with many
thousand greetings to all of you. --
"I send a most heartfelt farewell ! May
we meet again, in a better world.
"ANION PROBST."
Joseph Wachter, who is alluded to in the
above letter, is the only person known to be
connected with Probst's family in America.
His sister is married to a brother of Probst.
in Germany.
Post Mertens Proceedings.
After banging about twenty minutes, the
body was cut down and laid upon a hurdle
where it was inspected by numerous per
sons who were admitted to the prison after
the execution.
The body was then. placed in the hands or
Dr. B. Howard Rand, who, with five assist
ants, proceeded to make a number of scien
tific experiments. The first of these con
sisted in the examination of the eye, with
the aid of a powerful electric light, for the
purpose of detecting an image remaining
upon the retina.
The right eye was afterwards taken out,
to allow of more careful examination, as
there is a modern scientific theory. that.
events occurring immediately before death ,
remain impresied upon the retina.
• 'The galvanic battery was then applied„
one pole being plaCed in the mouth and the
other to the temple. A powerful current
was then passed through the wires, kpro
ducing a fearful contortion of the frame.
The jaws worked convulsively 'and the
chest heaved as if with a strong_ respira
tion. This action was of course purely
mechanical, as the neck had been broken
by the fall and life was entirely extinct.
Dr. Rand and his assistants were still pro..
matting their experiments when our, re
porters left the prison. The postmortem of
the body will be made by Dr. Pancoast be_
fore the class of the Jefferson Medioal Col
lege, to-morrow.
The Deportment (lithe culprit.
The peculiar stolid manner of the prisoner
has been a subject of much remark. He was
believed to be impassive, utterly without
feeling, and void of any feeling
of remorse for his monstrous crime.
This, we are assured, by those who are
,tho
roughly qualified by experience and oppor
tunity to judge, is a mistake. Helad but
limited knowledge of the English language,
and he 'disliked to converse except in Ger
; man. Where he was spoken to in his mo.;
ther tongue, and the better , , traits of his
nature were aroused, he seemed; to use the
words of our informant, to have an "under
; laying of good in him." His feelings of re
mores for his crime were represented as be
' ing most acute, and he 'often saw, in his
mind's eyeln thesilent watches of thenighti,
the ghastly corpses of the men, women aid
- (Conthined on ' the bat page)