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,VOLIJAIE L.X2Mr.
RETRIBUTION!
Igno*ious End of Louis
liai r ,' l the Wife tioiter.
IHYITALOF HIS: MIME.
Synopsis of the Evidence
t7ifiris TritiL
,Vt.',7l' •
:.OP WS Air,.
:Scenek* - li4el ri4 "liiiE*.SiOroli.
110 W HE WAS PREPARED' FOE
DEMI+ AND- / VW DIED-
"Atter residence,-No. Wylleatreet,
ion. Saturday .raoraing,, May 4th, 11368 ,
Henrietia, wife of Louis Lithe, a Colored
barber, whd bOreCOD vary enviabin
itatipn, died suAdisniz. and in such manner
akin give rise to Vie wrill-founded sus .
plelon,that•she had_been poisoned. She
had been' in the ' 'enjoyment of good
thealth np MVOse evening preeedingher
death, when she was suddenly seized
with - a violeisfedoltnass arid. continued to
.grow worse till death relieved her of
agony; The bad character of hei hits
band, who had• tile reputation of having
disposed in a Summary manner of four
witis before her, led the neighbors to ,
stuspoct that he,' ' blaik iodne.ixdirdi
had caused the death of his wife by ad
ministering poison to her. Alderman
Butler was called npbh to hold an in
quest on the bodrof deceased, and in
/he ,_Pieanitind 'Lane Was arrested and
committed to jail to await the result of
the inquest. Tht,stoniach of the de
ceased was removed and handed to
Bra MoNary awl Black emical
analysis of the contents. A few prelim
inary witnesses were examined and the
inquest was adjourned till Saturday,
May 16th. The main (ivldiiithe adduced
was to tue effect that deceased had
informed several witnesses that her
sicknessfitrose from drinking Some whis
key out of a battle given her that day by
.her husband. ()uncolored woman heard
the deceased request/ 'Lane to' go for med
./nal amistanee but. he would .nnt consent
-tolio
.sa~.sireoxd
What' thaprasoner was being conducted
' ethrongh the office to fluVjail;by Warden
/Smith, bs suddenly.trew from his coat
: pocket a small phial, which he dashed
with much force into the_flre place.
'The phial was broken into a thousand
fragments, but a portion of the liquid it
luiacontalued was splashed on the back
wall of the grate, and with admirable
presence of mind was scraped there
dram as it was hardening, by Warden
Eltnitb, and at the subsequent trial was
'Droved to be arsenic. The prisoner se
..connted for this circumstance at the time
by stating that he had been suffering
with a loathsome -disease, which was
arktbad desired to conceal the fact
by_destroying the medicine he .was tak
ing, ficience, however, refuted this
faliehood, and in his • effort to destroy
•evidence against himself, Lane oply Sae
teased his guilt and furnished a damning
link in the attain of testimony an which
• convicted.' '
ACCUMULATED EVIDENCE.
&Atte 16th of May the adjourned Res
.sion of the inquest was held. It was
proven dist the deceased was married to
Zane just one yearprevions to her mur
der; that she was in delicate condition
alt — the'llme of death. In her stomach
Prof. Wrath found, by close scientific in
cvestiklition, enough arsenic to poison
half-s dozen persons. Several small hot.
ties found in the prisoner's carpet bag on
arrest contained various kinds of deadly
poisons, which went to show that he was
an adept"in the art of poisoning.
TEE ARRAIGNMENT.
On Saturday, Tune 18th, the prisoner
w4s belimaht into the. Court of, Oyer and
Terminer And was arralgne(on the in
,dietinent, charging him with') murder.
He pleaded not guilty; and yi reply to a
'question propounded by the ( Court !. sta
ted that he had secured the services of
Joan C. McCarthy, Esq., as oonnsel.
MoCaithy staled that ilnatunach • as the
: prisoner wait Poor lie had'volunteered to
defend him, but asked that the Court as
sign him legal' assistance. His Honor,
Judge Stnwo, willinglyacgniesced in the
request atid appointed W. T. ilaines,Esq.
as additional counsel in the case.
TILE VIRST TRIAL.
-On Thursday, rnerning,.JunelBth, = the
f
jiruidner wali.brotight into Clout% for trial,
- Judges Sterrett and Stowe presiding on
othirbench. The Oommonwesith was rep•
resented by Dhariet Attorney Daff and_
Leggate, Esq.; the defence by
411.+Mrs. Haines and McCarthy.: , The
.original plea of not guilty was permitted
, ty the Court to be withdrawn in order
ittiat anew arraignment might be made.
At this juncture Mr. Haines moved to
'quash the indictment on the strength of
STe technical reasons submitted in wri
ting to the Court. The motion to gnash
Win Overruled and the prisoner was re-,
stirldirttlid, pleading not guilty and ask
-14 to be tried -41 13y God and his country."
-
„
The jury was scion obtaineirandAft,
Haines opened the isase..-
Fleming _Kenney, a near neighbor, was
sworn--Deceased was vomiting In the
yard on the Thursday aftermiclti
preced
ing her death; wiled witnessf to get:het
whisky to stop thOomi4- witness would
not do it, fearing Lane would maig:is
fuss. - •
2dra. Grace AZlen was ' sworn;=At
eleven o'clock on Thursday, May 7th;the
deceased was very. well, and at NW
past one o'clock that afternoon she;q!„o3
purging, and vong / tlng; while ahe' 'Was
sitting at the tabli4gave her a glass of
water, when she: said her insides were
bdrning i t.Lane was .ixann to dinner"
that day; saw no one else about the
Mrs. Mary 'Kenny testified that Lane
would not perinit -nny one to go into
hittroonn he forbade spy -of, the geighr
boriiloin associating With
Emily Reed testified as to the nature
of the sickpess . of ' deteasod q 4 symp
toms, corroborating previous witnesses
in those respects. Onee,heard prisoner.
threaten to burn his wife and her bastard
up when he was quarreling with her.
.Racliel Kenny - datr through the win
dow on Friday morning that Mrs. Lane
was vomiting and ptirging. Could not
get into her house, as the -door was
lcicked;
. Dr."; MONary and Btackand Prof. Otto
Wufh gave evidence of; the presence of
polsOn in 'the deceisees- - stemacii; of the
fact that the bottle thrown into the, are
place in the office of the jail contatried
arsenic, and also of the fact of the small
bottles found in his carpet:eack contain-,
ing deadly polsois.
Mr. Kenney, sworn—Lived above pris
oner in rooms of the eameihouse. Lane
and wile quarreled nearly every night.
On the'Friday nightlidrs. Lane was sick.
Heard them quarreling,'when Mrs. Lane
itisiste4tluit her hnsband should go for a
doctof.' Heard Lane rehising, saying he
'would give her medicine himself. She
asked him about a dozen times to go for
a :dOeto - f. ' Heard, her groaning all•
t rough the night. - Szivi Lane on Thurs
day come and go at, dinner and supper
time. After Lane left on Friday morn
ing he soon came back and locked the
door with a padlock, saying alend to
himself, "I'll keep all you damned nig
gers oat." He was about backwards and
forwards to the house on Friday. Mrs.
Lane was locked in the house alone.
With several other corroborative wit
noises theComrnonwealthelossitend the
' 2ifi-s. Kiel aWorn—Never knew of any
quarrels bet Ween Lane and his- wife; saw
them nearly every day; ' 'lain in the
front house'of the court with them. At
half.paist MX -o'clock on the Saturday
morning on which deceased died Lane
ask me to be so kind am to come
n il
itiAnd"
see is wife as she was very ill; this was
afe minutes before_stadied. I asked
her f she took herself or got anything
fro 'Laze that should cause' her
death; she replied_"no nothing that I
I -
know of." Saw Mrs: Lane at Aye o'clock
on T
ea i t
ursday evening sitting at her own
door and sewing a calico dress; saw her
no ore till she was dying.
D . Black-sworn—On Saturday morn
ing ne wanted me to go and see his
d wife. He said there was a good deal
of talk; I told him that a Coroner's Inquest
t
wou d have to be befit - when he left me.
He as quite anxious that 1 should go;
offer . motley to have me go.
T case rested after offering some re
butt ng testimony, when . &Reaches were
mad to thejury on both sides, and Budge
Sto delivered an able — and impartial
char, .
Th Wry returned a - verdict of guilty
of murder in the first degree, after a de
liberation of but fifteen minutes. A mo
tion for a new trial was at once made by
the defence, and reasons filed.
&NOS.
A SECOND TILLfiL.
The new trial was granted, and on Jan
uary Bth, Lane was again convicted of
murder in the first degree. He Was duly
sentenced, and his death warrant was
promptly signed by the Governorl r
Louts LANE'S
Little ie known.beyond what we have
already published of the life of tha man
who died yesterday to - vindicate the ma
jesty of the law. He was born between
fifty and sixty, years ago in Waterlbrd,
London county, Virginia, or free parents.
He worked on aatation till he was of
age, an married h a cousin, /Isobel
Lane, when about twenty-two years_
old. He lost a situation he held because
of attempting to - tame a horse by the
novel method of cutting off a fore-leg
with a scythe, cad fled prosecution. He
went to. Wellisburg, ran on the steam
boats awhile on the Ohio •river, and in
11148 took up his residence in Washing..
ton. Pa. His wife joined him there, and,
uite - 1111 - ding with her a short time she
died suddenly. A son by this wife now
resides in Cleveland, and would not come
to see his father in ids distrees, as it is
i c
said he entertains th idea that his moth
er was murdered by IM. A second wife
named Mcßee was t en to his bosom in
)
Wheeling, and she ed suddenly, and
in such manner as direct suspicion
towards the hustled . The third wife
was Ellen Bonier, o Washington. The
couple came to Pitts nrgh, and Lane ob
tained employment at the old Perry
Hotel as a waiter. he died suddenly.
A.. fourth wife was se ured in Pittsburgh,
and Louis took her t Washington to re
side. She died suddenly. Lane refused
Danorcit OPENED.
.OTT . ??..pc - RPH .iPIII.L 186.5*
.
to admit ...body in. to see her body
after - death. A: fifth wife lOW imp.%
Lewis,
.7ho he :; married Be
Oditk in the "Wiishingtott
county Court, and sentenced
to the Viratttoriit4hijeatiaryhtlibrilarn
1860, lin ts ,the: toini of mix years for at
tempting to 11604 the life of
nerlbr
He attempted to 'Min her up while` she
was sick in by looking the door
and setting fire to the house. She Jump
ed from a ascii:4ld story window to - skew
her life. nowtn. ,Brow.ns
ville, and the ..city yesterday.
Lane served fits term out in the Peniten
tiary, and in 1867 married Henrietta, the
woman fbr whose llfe the law caused ,him
to.likfeit hisown yesterday,.:. .
Tan - menus
The scaffold onwhich Lane WBB , ()lie
euted wag etecied on WediniadaYt Lu thp '
southern yard of the jail. It- was built
with much care by Mr. - Samuel Thornp.
son, of Hazelwood, on a plan submitted .
by Sheriff Maley. In 'obr c:ayacity'afra
reporter, we have:B43°li several styles of
scaffolds andunhealtatingly pronounce in
favor of this One, as vastly superior to
any we ever saw performing the •
awful work for which made. The plat
form of the engine of death is made with
two doors resting on a letter T brace, and
hinged at either side, each section caleß
lated to fall in oppositedireetiOri, (oink
ing a sort of open square-into which; the
dangling . body of the. felon dropped.
The brace imderneath had a thick rope
tiedebout it, andbonneeted with &heavy
beam located about ten feet from the
scaffold, and held in an inclined position
by a rope tied to the trigger, ready to fall
as soon as - the foot touched the fatal
spring. The beavy . beam falling by its
own weight drew out tiavritipportfrom.
beneath the scaffold and down came the
unfortunate, man so far. as the rope
about his neck permitted lan. The
fall_ .was :about eighteen ittches,-, but
the scaffold is more , than , usually
high, • thus guarding against the poll
sibillty .of the . murderer's feet touch
ing the ground. The scafflld is ap
proached ;from the eastern side of the .
yard by means of a broad pair of stairs.
The uprights in the centre, from which
the rope will depetal, are in the pint jof,
• but with sharply defined angles.
On either aide there are wilily working
pulleys. The rope passes up a groove
in the inside of the upright and over the
pulley. - .ltl the aide \ therkii. are; ltrialiglk"
: meals fin regubia4 the:- iength of the
'Tripe to suit , the occasion. Altogether, the
scaffold is a model one, and the'care with
- which it was prepared-reflects the largeat
credit to • Sheriff blitey, and those
. en- -
trusted with its erection. Striding alone
in all its ghastliness, it seemed a silent
mocker of, humanity, and an, awful:Com
mentary on the wickedness of mankind.
We hope it may never again be called
into use in our: county; bnt - if it is, we
should like very much to have the selec
of the individuals to enjoy a sling from
its cross-beam. Our discrimination would
be lauded by tbe tc ' i n in u nit7; •
TBB ROPE.
-The rope used was an extra %nality of
hemp, made expressly tor the'oocasion".
It was not stretched previous to use, as
Sheriff Cluley wisely abandoned that
old. and' should—be explodid idea A
rope, no matter. how well made, will
stretch. and stretch .until It breaks. It
is quite stxupon thing forropes to give
away just as the man falls through the
scaffold. We take large stock in the
theory atNanoad by the Sheriff, that in
placing heavy weighta upon the ropes to
take the spretolt Duty they are weakened
and,when nem:lon- the felon, give way,
often entailing painful . scenes at the
gallows. This place of information may
prove niehil to any of our readers enga
ged in cheerfully contemplating to what
their present courses of living may lead
them.
TrrE NOOSE
The noose through which the head of
the wretched mati'vniSpacell,
was aa:or
dinarily tied sliding one, such as any
school boy would tie to catch a pigeon
by the leg.--The hangman's knot was ,
carefully tied to come under the left ear,
to secure what is terrnedneck•breaking,
bat which, In reality, is merely the sev
ering. of a link in tho vertebras. Oa the
precise location of this knot depends
largely the succif-th - e - hanging. It
every murderer. oontemplatict • the Ter
petration of a crime could 1 agine that
his.throat was encompassed w th such a
noose as that now idly ban'. ing to the
gallows awaiting the , hes. • of , the
next ' cidPrit, -- there would be less
crime committed. But mur • erers sel
dom tOnbliti thatfisetcpt.. h such.
thoughts and are content In t inking of
the multitude of loop tolet in the law
through which they - Warier:di sitio 'into
the 'NI •,,toifoptlent :At ape v ,rather
°
than the minions noose thro gh which
agulltYieloaltreattgibity. flees td lkaindr
_ _
'^':- troabln - ouitroarry.
n6"-pleasant thing 'to be/Wther
hanged or' present when a fe tping
is expressed by swift carriage into eter
nity to satisfy. Justice. There is some
thihg so Wicked and terrible
tton that people with correek nerves and
fine seriSibflitles should prefer traveling
a thousand miles away from such a scene
rather than wear out their 'boots and
faces In efforts to be selected as one of
the small party to witness the legal mur
der. 8o depraved., however,
are the
tastes of mankind, that hundreds, nay
thousands of applicatiods forth.; pleaSnre
of 'seeing Line switetiea off from the
gallows, were made't* till yesterday
morning, and we dare that the oaar
teens Sheriff has secured many enemies
hem l ine he found it impossible to gratify
the morbid curiosities of all who ; wanted
to`pack the jail yard with their presence.
An it was there were none Leo many in
the yard and no confusion ensued, and
those who weieicept away,have the con
solation of knowing that they were -not
asked for by the condemned felon or
any other MGM.
irlriXiNTlearrlATlLD 11114811110ENT.
The act of ushering an immortal
reeking in sin and Iniquity, into the pres
ence of God, althOugh eccomPlished
in the name of justice, is not calculated
to inspire - any reverence for the wittdom, •
charity and good will of man, nor does it
prove that we have-advanced so °foie to
that refifredient Wand perfection we 'aie
vain enoughto imagine, attained.' It is'
not ticr_province here to'discuss whether:
it is in accordance with . or egainst the
Creator's pletteure that man should de
prive a felloW being of the life which be
lunge only to -God and himself; but the
cruelty atid- awful wickedness of aveng
ing law, when carried to its extreme de
tdands, cannot fail , to staitiloubts as to its
divine, origin. ` The torture which a.crint
,euffers. on the scaffold is a\ re
lief when compared with the pain
and mental anguish he experiences
from:the moment the death wairant is
read up to the drawink doWn over the;
eyes of the cap which forever shuts out is
wicked world from view. Ile tandem:Ks
in the dreadful counting of fast fleeting-
Moments, hours and weeks which-re - nen
the distance to the gtassra agony so
exquitsitively painful that none who have
never been similarly situated can imag
ine:: The mere- physical suffering, a mo
mente unpleasantness Xbout the throat, a
gasping for breath. theca dash of brilliant
pyrotechnic displays before the eyes,and
unconsciousness, all experienced in the
twinkling of an instant, are:mere trifles_
to the greater' punishments not conteM
plated by the law, nfantitioil, of wait
ing, of mentally undergoing death every
minute until the final end is accomplish
ed.: Lane, incapable in a large measure
of realizing the dreadful place • he occu
pied, was a frightful eXample of the truth
thSt the law of capital punishment inflicts
a severer penalty than the mere taking
'awey of life i .,or the 1919x!gippile,9tajoa.
for 'better or for wont, etstrattlst lie
up to the-last hail been failikig and falling
away, both In mind and body 'and the
mental torture • he endizred 'cannot be
expressed. Religion may soothe the
nerves and direct the soul heaveuWird
for hope and consolation, but, It eanbot
tear from the inner sight the horrors of a
felon's death. It is not human- nature to
be fearlese of defith or ;to brave and defy
the dark messeriger when It does come
in reality; all the possible religious non= 7
*elation administered to an actively
working mind, does not lessen the terror
which creeps over the physical .body. in
anticipation of the taking off, escpecially
when the precise moment for de
parture and mechanical inetteds adopt
ed for the shifting, are settled menthe
in advance. •
Lanesuffered greatly in the terror. of
anticipation. Ile feared death, and it
was only when the last few hours crow
ded ,upon him that he felt' capable of
staring fate in the face. He was so
cheerful, pleariant and buoyant yesterday
morning, and so full of hope in the flier-
ay of God that we cannot but believe
that his heart was truly cleansed in the
waters of repentance. Re died game,
but exhibited none of the disgusting
braiptdocia and swagger which so often
mark death on the gallows. Not a nerve
quivered. although previous to yesterday
his spirits had given-away and his whole
frame shook with paralysis. `He was en
thusiastic in his religions faith, and felt
that the drop through the scaffold was
only the momentary torture and prelude
to his admittance in heaven. He died
bravely and firmly—at least so far as
tholie terms can be applied to a man who
keeps his nerves up to squarely face the
masselager cannot help dreading. i
~
THE LAST. NICHIT'ON EARTH.
Rev. Father Kerr, a good hearted and
zealous priest was with the prisoner all
Wednesday night and up to Thursday
morning at two o'clock, when he retired
and the wretched culprit took. a brief
sleep, awakening at elx in the morning.
Nothing happened-, ,durimt the' night
worthy of record , save the exclamation
of the prisoner, as the full 'toned alarm
bell pealed ' . forth•, the. hour of mid.:
night unheard by thousands ,of calm
and peaceful, tleePets, sins mid
night. This time to-morrow night. I
will eouipany with engele Ohaut
ing praise before the.,,thrOne of God.",
He laid down to rest at two o'olook and
slept soundly till six In the morning,
when - he awoke witha tremor, and Wok
-14130,0 iduk affrlghied caned for Father.
Rerr. .When.teld that ids' apiritual.ad
visor had gone, but would loon again be
with him; Lane Iternarked, "well the
poor elan must be tired He has been
faithel to ni4, and knotile much wor
ried
THE LAST BREAK AST.
• . ,
I,..dainty breakfast was spread before
the prisoner by , Warden Soandreth, and
everything calculated to coax the appetite
was upon the table. The prisoner merely
tasted of the *tuella, +laying that , he had
no appetite. He.was very Oheerftil 'and
good natured and conversed freely with
. .
e
'his cell.' '.1:1. ire.
qMMtly,. Arirted 'to kindness of
S4riff'Ciuley - and the liVrardenry' Messrs.'
Seshareib and by.-whom be said
hellailbeen made eci comfortable.
711..E.DRESS POR DEATH.
After , partaking of his breakfast tha
prlsopar unlocked . his trunk and drew
tberefroch a suit of fLne black clothes,
White dross shirt and paper collar; in
whialihe?eFrayed himself for death. Ere
caretully ,Witalled : himself from neck to
Cheek' imd, when' he had donned his.
clothing' and combed his hair looked
like a new man. His coat was of supe
rior broadcloth, made intndress style,
paitia of line clualimere broad and
full, and his peat of black silk. Hewee
a pair of bright polished little , slippers.
One wonld•have thought from, the' neat
ness of his attire, that he was dressed for
a party rather than for a coffin, so &slid
lons did he appear.
THE BITERS or MERCY..
At: eight o'biock two good Sisters of
Mero; from the Webster street Convent,.
v,hdted the Cell and:were cordially met
by the prisoner. They knelt down and
prayed with him fatly k quarter of an
hour, *hen, after affectionately bidding' .
him adieu forevei,"they took their de
nal tote. As they tett, the prisoner trim-.
eifiM the jailor and said, ' , l'll see angels
like them c ,very soon 1n
_, heaven." The
Miters were very fir.fthinl in their atten-
Lions to the poor black culprit, and oon
tribufad mach by theLe zeal and piety to..
wards preparing him forthe future state.
Theyvielted and prayed . with him'every
daelnce the death warrant was signed;
and'atrove earnestly to impress with
the awful soiemniw of his position. God
`Lass' such women!
THE "FINAL PREPARATION.
A few nunutee after eight o'clock Fa
there: Kerr, Dfraill and O'Rourke entered
the'_ Prisoner's cell. They found him
cheerful and bioYant, and ready
for death. Father Kerr introdumd
Father O'Rourke to Lane; where•
Vet:the murderer remarked, "I am glad
to kriow yon, Holy Father. Had it not
been ; for my good - Father here, (Rev.
Kerr) 'I should have gone to hell to-day.
Six weeks ago I made his acquaintance.
He has pointed oat the road to heaven.
I ain!going,to travel soon in that direr-
tion.l I know 1 have been .wicke4, but
my forgiveness hat been recorded above,
at leatit4 pray that God„.will pardon .me.
Thalia Intela (Father Xeti.)l am indebt
ed far lifanffitir Ina the means of my tioul's
salvation, but oh ! pray lbr me when all
is Father O'Rourke' assured .the
prisoner of his belief that all was w_el
and that God would'forgive him, wlere
upon the prisoner said, "my time is short
but God is merciful, and will take me
home."
Fathers Kerr. Devlin and O'Rourke
theUeuMred into prayer with the pris
oner; reciting the litanies of the Saints
and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Lane
was asked whether he. firmly and truly
believed in the 13atholic religion. Be
responded firmly,."l believe in no other
faith - , Vivant to die
,in it." The priest
then ba e him kneel, down,' and Fither
Devlin tending .as . God-father, the. cul
prit Fs baptized in the name of the
Fattier, Son and Holy Ghost, and made a
member of the Catholic Church, Fathers
Devlin and O'Rourke retired, when the
prisOner made a private confession of
the Sins of his life to Father Kerr, recited
an ant i of contrition and-was_ absolved
He imbsequently partook of the Holy
Saml,amerit, and at eleven o'clOCk was
ready ft death. ,
I. PARTIZia INTERVIEW. 4 .
1114 f past eleven-o'clock we were
permitted to enter the cell of the.pris
one!. He arose and cheerfully welcom
ed and took tho writer by the hand in a
manner to impress the cordiality
intended. He was 'cheerful and 'pleas.
ant,' and . 'was decidedly more buoyant
tha# we had ,ever noticed him. ,We
tol4.himil l iat we had called to bid
riruit'end long good bye, when he readied
,forth his hands, and with a genial smile
said: I sin -soon to go homed , Angels
wilt keep Me cOmpany. I hope to meet
yoi, all In ' the better land." We said,
Mr. Lane ,;it is painful to say good bye,
butt we must do. ; it. . /12 !a.;few
Minutes all will be aver, may God re-'
ceive and have mercy on your soul". He'
replied, 4.1- am happy and resigned, I
am gotn home. All will be well: Hope
to meet you gentlemen above this skies."
PAherKarr, here apoke and said that
44 18, 1aa ready to die, and waited hil
-1 patiently, for meeting his kather in
Heaven, and•ll3lt - •not only resigned to
!bliii' fate bit prepared 'for the Ithange
. 11'0 1 31116 to 'deatli. He - did not dread
IheAnoitientsry'Pain on the scaffold as
he 'tat ante `Of Iminedlitely entering
Into the
" •happintiss cif eternity . "Oh,
,
yee,,asid Lane, "I. tun happy. I 04
gointheme, and don't dread the pain
of death, that is nothing. I wish to
meet you lid Heaven. Good bye."
Wti retired; feeling in our belong that
tog % t hehign %influence must have
wrought a change in a heart that we
had PrevihßelY thought incapable of en
tertaining a noble sentiment or hope for
forglieness. •••
• ; irlsioNiato YOB rptant.,
4t the stroke of the great bell..an
'
nouncing twelve o'clock, noon,the priests
who hadheen engaged in religiorie exer
cises with the prisoner; threw' open the
doOr of the ea and awaited thocoming
of sheriff Cilutei to lead thio culprit to
death. That officer soon 'made hill ap
appearance, accompanied by "Deputy
Sheriff Fife. Lane advanced with a
pleasant smile upon his taw, to wel
come them, 'and said, "Time's up is
it? lam read r i." Deputy Fife proceeded
to tie with a linen bandage; the arms , of
the prisoner.--While this was progres
sing Sheriff Coley spoke kindly to the
prisoner telling him that the binding
was for has own good, and to prevent his
pain on the scaffdid. "Oh yes," said
Lane, "I understand that, Sheriff, I am
thankful. , This left arm hurts." "Yes,"
replied the Sheriff, Hit hurts now but it
is all for the beat." "Now Louis, try to
more your arms as hard as you can."
The prisoner tried in vain move, his
arms, and wady remarked "I am
fixed." The Sheriff bid Win good-bye,
as did 'also the spiritnali attendants.
Lane was wholly composed; and smiled
pleasantly as heleft the : cell, after kiss
ing the crucifix tor the .
The solemn cortegG moved slowly
through the jail to the yard Iff - which was
erected the scaffold, as follows:
Sheriff puley,-Loule Ex-Slieriff
Retorters of the Press.
Warden Seartdreth and Jail Officials and
In the jail yard there had assemb led '
about forty , persons as witnesses of the . '
last sad "scene, including jurors, pbysi—
clans, officers of the court; journalists and
privileged visitors. Every hat was raised
as the pr . oliessi9n reached the yard, and
the utmost silence reigned. The clergy
men; recited prayers set apart •by the
Catholic church for the departing souls on'
the marebto the scaffold, the prisonerre
sponding in a clear, firm voice. •
He marched tip the stairs leading to .
the platform without a tremor, and stand.;
'ing, squarely hi the centre looked ap
pealingly towards :heaved and then
-firolind the jail yard. He was, asked by
'the Sheriff if he had anything to say and;
replied I ‘.t have nothing to say." The
priest's and Sheriff took theirleave of the:
prisoner, and Deputy Sheriff Fife drew'
down over his face the white' cap which
shut out forever his view of things earth- c
.Iy, and fixed the noose about his neck.
In retiring from the scaffold 'the Sheriff
stewed oelhektrigges tun the drap failed r
to fall as the wet weather had swollen
the wood work._ With remarkahle pres
ence ofmini4 the Sheriff advanced to the
timber connecting the main stay of the
latform and gave it a push; apd Louie
Lane was dangling befween heaven and
earth.
In ninety seconds the pulse ceased to
beat. In forty seconds thereafter it re-,
turned and the small frape of the cul
prit shook in oonvnisions. Inside of fif
teen more sicxmds the soul departed and
the cunning wife poisoner was no.morn.
Death might in this case be termed in
stantaneotis.
At twenty-iive minutes to one o'clock
the body*ms writ down and placed in an
imitatiOnrosewood coffin, furnished by
W. IT. Deirore, ' Undertaker. The do
.
ceased looked very natural, not being
the least disfigured. Drs. Mei:Cebu and
Gilmore decided that. death resulted
rixim strangulation, an opiniod to which
Dr. Kern dissented. A postmortem ex
amination was held, and It was fOuud
that the heck was dislocated.'
Lane-was anxious that he should be
properly buried after death, and was
inueh pleased when the priests assented
to take charge of his remains' It ap
ptrs, borieviir, that the medfcal gentle
men claim, under the law, the corpse for
dissecting , purposes. We i t hope Sheriff
Cluley will not permit the body to pato
-into their, possession. Lane, when Ilv
ing,willed hie remains. to his Spiritual
A.dvieorsi and they alone should be per-
Witted tomcat,' the final disposition by
interment in the eethetery,as was faith
fully, Promised the unfortunate man be
fore death. Lait'night the 'rigid
,corpse,
dram. mutilated „by, the, knife, of
sclenCo;i was kept in a.dark corner of the
jail, and there it still remains as a mark
of vindicated law l •
THE AILHANCIENENTIL
Sheriff-Cluley, his deputies. andWer
dens Scandieth and Smith cannot be
awarded too inuCh credit forthe manner
In which they conducted theexecutlon.
Notwithstanding the great. , presattia
ibrntight to.becir on the Sheriff for liaises,
only some fbrty-three were leaned: and
node without cards were admitted..
Diehl, the .oourteons arid obliging chief
clerk eftbe Sheriff, kept the Fifth aye
.nuct geteituk 4 BiernlY robised as many as
a hundred proininent .genclemen admit
tance on -sealant of , their haying no tick
ets.. Alerge force of rolice under Lieut.
Seth WilMot were stationed about the
yard to prevent disturbance and Intim.
sion. Altogether, the airangenienia
were moat: complete, and the exeCutien
was one of the. best conduCted and Most
orderly everlield in our county.
„
Rev. 'Father 'Kerr, of the, tathedr4l,';
Rev. Father 'Devlin and - tile:Sisters of
mercy were 'untiring tfistr. - efforts to
prepare the infoitneeteldetini for desth.
Father; Kerr. ape/3101ln who iNee chief
spiritwil adviser, won the golden opinion
of all throgh his ratuielesa andd-devoted
attentions • to , IthS poor -,:and'-!friendlesa
•
.
,
-.'*•-..")#,1,V,i...,1-‘4.ai.4.cf-sc,-...zl:At-,-1;:;44%.1-.Fikt,-4, •
NUMBER 105.
MARCH TO DEATH.
Stewart.
Vathei Kerr, Father Devlin.
Deputy Sheriffs. '
Visitors.
ON' TEE SCAFFOLD
AFTER DEATit.
DISPOSITION OF THE If QDT.
, ZNALOVS AND DDV(MTD.
(Conthmect on Eighth Pa4e.)