V f L". M- m man .
Ttnais or tiik AMunci.ix."
H. H. MAMS Kit, 1 ruaiisnitn ikn
JOSEPH ElriEI.Y. S Pnuhiitoh.
J. It. ,n1SSEIt, Editor.
Ojjict in Ctnive fVfy. in the rear of II. B. Mas-
utr's Slort.
Til 13" AMKKIOAV i publialicd every falur
day nt TWO liOI.I.AKS per annum to be
pjiJ half yearly in advance. No paper disiuiitin.
uol till all araraR-s arc paid.
No subscriptions received for a less periitj linn
an month!. All coinmiinicattona or li'ttem on
business relating to tin- i.H'hc, to insure attention,
must be rOST PAID.
From the Tribune.
MAX.
Behold Mm settled on the earth,
Or vacant o'er its ho-nm ravine i
The strnnerat thine, that e'er had birth
811 mnclly fn-rce, so cently loving !
Now like a apr'na-hird in ilie woods.
In hi ancestrnl groves he nt'e ;
Now p'mighs the wild a il entry finuds.
Or with the msr:nir lempett rcl. .
lie reams, in nes, from door t i do v,
With out-lir'rhfd hand iniiilmiiig J i t T ;
Or s'un1 upon hi pn'are fl-mr,
The lord of h m'et ami of city.
lie vita hmiile ibe aiiminjj s'rr-nms.
Hi spirit in the l.nnd Meal ;
Or rtifl e boldly from his drchms,
'Jo make his Kdwi vi.-ions real !
In croltoea dim his life move on
A riyei-'ifc till hif bend is hoary ;
lie swim's where fi- Ida are .wt and won,
His hand with Ijr.-tl.or-Iif. od i;ory I
He diga the soil he sows the seed,
He count the st.ua through heaven catcer-
ir'B 5
He mount the wind arid mocks their speed,
Omnipotence, itself, scarce fearing !
He aits, in smile, he. ides hi hearth,
A fcodnry In law ar.d ordi r;
Or pr.mls, "at midnight, o'er the earth,
A wild and desperate marauder !
Oh Man ! what h.md ran half portray
"I'hy myteriia ho1 ever u if ed !
Thy mill is hid in shrines uf il-y,
In veils hy wisdom nrvcr lifted.
One Heine, onlv, eVr hid tr-d
The pnth of human life Inside thee.
To whom llmii wert unveiled. Th oik (Jod !
He, only, lie. did lnt deride thee !
He n thrnnch all thy dark d'e-Ku'ee,
A Sort whose dratiny wa heaven ;
The veil, imperious lo our eyes,
He raised and lo ! thou wert forgiven !
8. ( Ehoastox.
UNBUILT AM
AND SIIAMOKIN JOURNAL.
EMICAN
Absolute acquiescence in the decision of the majority, the vital principle of Ilepublica, from which there i no spp al hut to fore, the viul p in td and linmediae ran-nt of ih-potiaiii. .ltrrsMOi.
My Masscr & lHlsr ly.
Sunbury, Northumberland Co. Pa, Jsnfmday, April an, isf3.
Vol. 3--No. 80--liulo No, 13-1.
From Allinon's History of Europe.
SAPor,nox.
When despatches overtook tho emperor, as
they often did. on the road, Duroc, or Caulain
cotirt, who rode at the side of the carriage,
received and opened the h i?, a d presented tho
letters to the emperor without stopping. Di
rectly a number or envelopes were seen filling1
from the windows of the imperial carriage ;
end it wus evident from the rate at which they
who were there on service slept habitually on
Htraw wrapt np in their cloak, ready nt a mo
ment's warning, ritlir r to mount on horseback
and rido twenty or thirty miles without halting,
or to take their turn tlir moment the flmporor'e
voice was licttrd, in the not lesa fntigtiing duty
of nnawrrinir lit depatcheii, oi writing to his
dictation. So crowded was his anti-chamber in
general with attendant?, that it was not inaptly
compared, by those inhabiting it, to the inside
of the wooden liorsio of Troy. The faithful
Itur-'tan, whom lie had brought from I -gyp', -sunlly
a'ept near the dxir ; ho dressed and un
dressed the Emperor; end when he rode out,
was constantly on hand to bring the telescope,
or provide the cloaks and umbrella which
might be required f r protection from the wea
ther. The true scene ofXapoleon's glory, and tho
; most charaetcrii-tic of tho ruling passions of his
' mind, was hi rahinct This npartment was
J never wanting even in t!io worst nccoinmoda
lions; the ingenuity of his attendants supplied
( every defect; and if no room could be got, his
( tent was always on hand, which was arranged
, for the purpose in the middle of the Old Guard,
i Although this important tipartmcnt was over
loaded w ith mHps, military slates, and despatch
ed the mor-t remarkable nnd uniform regularity
was observed in its atrangement ; and it wns so
managed that, though the Emperor, no often
moved his head quarters, every thing was in
the same placeone day as another. In tho mid
dle stood a large table, on which was extended
the best map of the theatre of war ; and on it
was stuck pins, with heads of different colors,
to represent his own and his columns. It w ns
the duty of the director of the topographic bu
reau, to have the maps with the pins laid down
the moment that head quarters arrived nt any
place ; and almost always the first thing which
Napoleon did, was to call for tho map when he
arrived ; for he held to it mure 6trongly than
any other want of his existence. During the
whole night the map was surrounded by twen
ty or thirty wax candles constantly burning,
and a fine compass stood in the middle of them.
So frequently did the emperor call for the map
Wtietl Oil hoi ?lbnck, that Cawluiutuuit had a
portable one, which kept constantly lied on his
bu'ton across his breast ; and he often was re
quired to unfold it ten or twenty times in the
course of a forenoon.
At the corner of the cabinet w.re four leaser
tables, at which the secretaries of Napoleon
were to.-r-ed over, the letters were uoouicu (
with the mm. lit v ol In-htnina. 1 lie useless I
declutches were cut to p;eces and thrown out
the same way ; often in nicli quant it ies, as to
strew the track of the wheels with little frag
ments which, trodden under foot by the horses,
or crushed under the wheels of the succeeding
carriages, made a white line across the road.
Napoleon generally cut these despatches to pie
ces with his own hands, nr. if not so employed,
worked incessnit'y with the window-sash or
carriage door ; he could not remain a moment
nt rest. If there were nodes-patches or morn
ing reports to read, he had recourse with the
Pnria ionrn ils. or the last publications of tho
day, with which the drawers of the carriauo
were nUvnvs stored ; but they generally shared
the fate of tho unimportant despatches, being
thrown out of the windows nltera Tew pages
had bepti cut tip. In such numbers were these
rii-rarled literary novelties thus tossed over
board, that the officers of the suit generally
contrived to co'lect heo!iidrBhle stones ofdi
verting trifles, by picking them up on the tra
cea of his carriage. The emperor was insati
able tor some'hing new, and opened with avidi
ty every fresh publication; but his taste was
for solid nnd well-informed writings, not amu
sing trifles ; and ho had an incredible tnct in
discovering from a few page?, whether there
was anv t ilil ' Worth rt'urlinir in the booK. so
tl
uppcare
' puleon himself nnd thechiet of the topographic
depntment, wero to be seen there likewise.
The Emperor usually dictated walking about
in his green surtout nnd great boots, with his
hat upon his bead precisely a he was interred
in the grave at St. Helena. As his ideas flow
ed with extraordinary rapidity, and he spoke as
ARUL'SIKNTM ON TIIK TRIAL OP MICR
l 1011.
We jive our reader thia week, the following
ketch of the speeches of Gov. Vroom anj Oen,
Wall, in defence of young Mercer. Tho eminent
talents of the speikera, aa well a the exciting na
ture of the rase, cannot fail to make them itit'-rest-ing:
Tho Hon. Peter D. Vroom described the is
sue as a fearful one one of life or death. He
admitted that life was taken, that (leberton
was killed, and then after a few appropriate
remarks, proceeded to analyze the evidence,
whichjie did in a masterly manner. Ho then
laid down tho law with regard to murder, cited
several appropriate cases, and described the
prisoner at the bar ns a youth who had not yet
attained his majority. lie alluded to his fa
ther, who, he said, came to this country n
stranger, many years ago, and periled his life
in its delenre. Iy pntient industry he has
gnthoicd around him n competency, if not a
fortune, which henpplied to the education ofn
family with which dd had bles.-ed him. You
have also seen tho unhappy partner of that fa
ther's bosom here as n witness. Their charac
ter you may judge, when you remember tint
he is an Elder in the Fourth Presbyterian
Church ef Philadelphia, and shea communion
member. The sister of the prisoner, gentle
men, Sarah Gardner Mercer, ns von must nil
havo seen, is a mere artless chi'd. Yon re
collect the manner in which she met the de
ceased, Ileberton. It was an unfortunate
meeting, and would to God it never had taken
place. She wns walking with a playmate, an
other child, whom yon have seen here, a fel
low school girl. She observed a gentleman
whom she mistook for a Mr. IJostido, whom
she had seen at her brother's. Sho remarked,
as an artlefegirl might, "why, Mnry, there is
Mr. Bastido !" Her companion very natural
ly turned to look ; both turned, and Ileberton
caught her glance. lie was soon joined by a
friend, and both followed tho little girls.
Mr. Vroom described the w hole of this first
interview of Sarah Mercer w ith Ileberton in a
masterly manner, showing that the whole con
deet oftho rrirls wns but childish, if; :
discreet. He then described the fatal meeting
oftho parties and the ruin of the unfortunate
girl, and cxhib'ted tho simplicity of her con
duct in strong and palpable contrast with the
duplicity, cunning and heartles6ness ofherde
stroycr. After she hnd been thus betrayed
gentlemen, said Mr. Vroom, Ileberton promis
i ed her marriage. Is it at all strange, that she
believed him! Do wo not all know that n fe
male clings to that hope under such circuin
stances, like drowning men cling to straws?
She had no other hope than a marriage with
her betrayer, and it is not strange that she m
him Aii-iin nnd ai'ain. When sho wssather
ster's, nnd n servant came lo tell her that hi
thought, it was no easy matter tor his seeretn- ,-.,.. i.-.i hP.r, f i.r connexion with Heber
riesto keep pace with his elocution. To faci
litate the expression, a certain number of hiero
glyphic symbols were established by h:m to
signify certain things ; and they wero not a
little curious, as aflording an index of the liffht
in which these things were regarded by him.
Thus, the tail of the dragon signifies the French
army ; a whip, the corps of Davoust ; a thorn,
the empire ; a spong, the commercial town.
It was the duty of the secretaries afterwards
to decipher this chaos, and extend it in proper
sentences, which was often a work of no small
difficulty, but the Emperor had a singnhir faci
lity in making it out. nt the symbo'n had bei-n
established by himself. (Men there were two
despatches to which answers were to b" dicta
ted at the same time one from Spain, another
from a distant quarter of Germany; but the
complication and variety of the objects to be
considered, made no confusion, on such occa
sions, in steadiness of his mental gaze. The
moment that a despatch wus read, nnd its ben-
, , , , . il-.. r rer questioned, an answer to it was commen-
hiit. n h s hands, the ephemeral literature or I 1 '
' 1 . . ! ccd : and not uiifreoneiitlv. while the secretary
the dav disappeared a i most as last at it was in- ; . ..t.:., t. f, v,,
t rod u red.
ton, and wished to see her, w h it did she do
She fled to the house of Mrs. Pidcr, and seemed
to believe that her only safety lay in meeting
Heberti -n.
When the unfortunate pirl was bronchi
borne to her family, they naturally rejoiced that
the lost one had been restored to them, but the
mother, with that instinctive doubt so peculinr
ton mother, feared that all waa not right with
her daughter. She took that daughter to bed
but not to sleep ! During that unhappy nievf
the ruined girl poured the dreadful tale of her
w ron;:s into her mother's ear ! What was th
consequence ? In the morning, Singleton went
up stBirs nnd met his mother, w ho accosted him
in these words, '-Oh, my dear son, Ileberton
has ruined vnur si.-ter !" What was the eflect
of that revelation upon the imfortunnte prison
erl lie rushed wildly into hii sister' cham
her; his mother followed, and saw him elas
hi sister in his arms. Thnt sister exclaimed
Oh! Sinuhtoii. do not kill me!" "No my
dear si-ter." he rerdied. "I will not, for I lov
von h.-tter than I do my life." It seeire.l ns
The anti-chamber of Napoleon duringa cam
paignwhether in his tent, in the field, or in
the apartment of farm houses, or even cottages,
which were dignified for the time with the ap
pcllation of the "palace" presented the most
extraordinary spectacle. No one could form an
idea of the fatigue there undercono by the
whole attendants, from the grand Esqnirt Cuu
Uincourt to the lowest valets. Duroc and he,
ware themselves indefatigable, and, by unva
ried exertion and eitraordinary activity, had
introduced the utmost degtee of regularity into
the imperial household ; but it wa no easy
matter for tho strength of any other in atten
dance to stand the rigorous services which were
eaacted. Person of illuatriou birth or the
highest ranksuch a Count Narbonne or Cat)
Uincourt were obliged to wait here after night,
sleeping on atraw or stretched out on chairs,
ready at any moment to be called in by the em
peror. Frequently be aroused his attendants eight
or ten times in the night when despatches rc-
a j riitr ir.sUnt alttnt on ere rctelv.f. A'.!
. I .1 .'t l' I.- .1.1.1 1 , .1 yiflhil
til one corner was ma King out oriurs oi ine most me i: j urn in g s uo.i niu m-u i- i"
importdnt kind for tho war in Spain, the one in J un'orluoate young man ; he rushed down 'he
tho other corner was drawing a diplomatic stairs w ith a p'.-t.jJ in each hand; he uttered.
note; a third otic wis busy with the orders of
twenty brigades: and the fourth with A IH'
for the king of Rome. Nothing could exceed
tho distinctness with which tho threads of all
these varied subject wero preserved in his
mind.
CiruNO a Cold. Bristol, will your Hal-
sam of Iloarhound cure a cold V 'Certainly,
sir, you will oblige me then by giving the
weather a dose." Get out you impertinent pup-
py
A Vali'abie Boy. "What can you do, my
boy ! "Oh, I con do mowin, considerable, I
rides the turkeys to water, milks the geese,
card down the old rooster, puts up the pigs
tails in papers to make 'em curl, hamstrings
the grasshoppers, makes fires for flies to court
by, and I keeps tally for dad and mammy whon
they scold at a mark !"
Whiskered dandies are like eats cut eff
their tmel'crsar J they are u-rcler.
hoi rid imprecations upon his father und hi$
mother he became a ravin? madman ! Mr,
V. cited several strong cases ns iu point, and
particularly the case of Ann Bruderick, who bad
been seduced, was abandoned when the mo
ther of a family, nnd then bec itne the murder
ess of her botiuyer. The evidence us f.irllier
analyied, the plea of insanity was enforced, and
tho learned counsel concluded w ith an eloquent
and most feeling appeal to the Jury.
THURSDAY, April fl, 19-13.
Cm. Wall for the defence, said substantially
the defendant here charged with an atrocious
crime, is a stranger among you. But a long
a the history of our revolution remains, the
name of Mercer will bo associated with all that
i brave and patriotic.
This defendant etand charged with the
crime of murder. Il unnecessary for me to
go into the detail of the evidence, which ha
been produced to prove the hilling. I shall
wjn'cnt rmfe'f with the renaik of n col
league, that to warrant a conviction of the kill
ing oflliherfon by the, hand of Mercer, must
have been proved to the sutisfiiction of your
minds beyond a reasonable doubt. You will
take tho facts on this point as they arc, and de
cide according to your 'Consciences.
If you bring home the killing to this defend
ant, another important question arises. Wns
the killing murder! I shall place this now
efore you aa murder in the first degree, ifany
crime at all. You will therefore have no diffi
culty in deciding tho different grades.
The law of thisrnsc has been fully explained
in tho very eloquent opening of my colleague
from Philadelphia, w hich w ill stand as a monu
ment of his professional ability so long as the
history of this case shnll continue. And I
must also be permitted to express my admira
tion of the manner in which the prosecuting
Attorney has discharged his duty on this occa
sion.
Did the defendant, when he killed Ileber
ton, know that he was committing an offence
ngiiin.-t the laws offjinl nnd nature? I shall
how from the evidence that ho had not that
knowledge.
In the Hrst place, wat it an offence 1 This
is a lteccFSBry preliminary question, for if the
provocation justified the net, then he has been
guilty of no crime whatever.
Could ynulr.ve visited 'he fireside, and heard
the tale of that grav-lmired Hither but one short
month before this unfortuua! occurrence, you
would have heard that he abandoned the home
ofhis fathers, tho hind where the heel of des
potism treads down the rights of man, but
where generosity nnd the social affections are
the birthright of all ; he would have told you
that he cimetolhia country that when the
American flag wns unfurled during the last
war with Great Britain, he fought with Deca
tur, nnd your own Lawrence, and Sotners, un
der that flag. Ho would hove told yon how he
went on by honest industry, for he was but a
common sailor tinder Decatur, from poverty to
competence. You would hnvc seen at this
fireside this voung man; there you would have
seen this ronnir oirl. innocent and iin-r
inc. She knew not then the doctrine of ill, nor
knew that others did. If the heart of this old
man then swelled with gratitude to Heaven,
he had reason for the feeling. He could say.
"my sons are all brave, and my daughters all
virtuous." The niter i n which the sacred teel
ings burn brightest is the family hearth.
The evii'ence shows you how, in" one short
month, witliTHttnny one act on the pait of that
circle, the evidence slu usyou what a (bang
has been effected. The evening of the Gthor
Fibmarvthe father received a caut;on to N
on hisfjinrd noainM the l.tiertine, o'V-o-?
Attorney General has become the apo'oir'st nnd
champion. He merely sent a message for her
to return home. Parental solitude wns awak
ened. The servant did not tell her that her
father "had found out the connexion between
her nnd Hberton on thnt subject," but simply
that she had been seen walking with Ileberton
and 1 hrpe the Reporters will mark this ob
vious distinction. Her eyes were opened, and
she saw the infatuation of her conduct For
you will recollect that she said, "Sho loved
him;" that he hud promised to mnko her Ins
wifn. Then it waa that she fled to those dens
of prostitution which her feet had never trod,
which her heart had never visited. Then it
was that at that fireside was heard the sound of
lamentation and woe. Then it was that sick
mother left her house at night, nnd went to the
mother of Ileberton, for she felt that if Ileber
ton could not give back her daughter, a mo
ther' heart could feel a mother's woe.
She was the younger sister all a brother's
nffectiotis were garnered up in that young sis
ter. Ho was her natural protector.
He appeals lothe hw. for sho has been seen
n company with Heberton. Ileberton is
br -uhl befor.-. the ni-igistnite, and after giving
a flit denial to He clrire, he deliberately
(dces his hands on thu railing, nnd with
ft-jHIish in-iit;iiity remarks, 'Ayounggirlesme
l l.im.r k ul:il tli.'lit 111 V brother W" lit to
tf.e door nnd she looked eiioiili lo.e yon lo u;
your sister."
Why, il that young ti'tm had been as vm
dieitie ns he bus Urn n-pr sennd, whutwould
he li .vc doiu what would yi u have done 1
He cii.l not s-iy "J weni to the door" b it "my
bmlhir went to tho iW," und et he ndd, with
fiendish malignity, "She looked enough like
you to be your sister."
Trunk of 'he fi-elmg of the mother' heart.
when she exclaim-, "My ". "'J ". Heber
ton has ruined your sister ! Think of the
ft el ini'S of that brother w hen h ritshra into
s
(he room of that innocent heart, w hen sho ex
claims, "Ob, my dear brother, do not kill me !'
Think of the milk of human kindness which
filled the heart of that brother aa he clasp her
to his bosom, snd replied, "No, my dearsi'ter,
I love you ns I do my life but tell me all !"
It was when the story of her wrongs had been
peered into his car, tbut reann Wt hei throne.
Iiook at the story of this young girl is de.
tailed here in all simplicity. She wns abroad
with her young companion, to carry consolation
to tho heart of a sick friend. They were its
buds in the infancy of th spring before) the
Moss-ims aro uiifoldc-d .- She is necovtod by
Heberton, whom sho has mistaken for Mr.
Bastido, un honorable man. She no doubt said
to her hart, ho mores and speiksand acts like
a man of honor. To her yoting imagination, a
man of honor wns not an a man of earth.
As the acquaintance progresses, and he tel's
her that he moves in the first society ; that he
had travelled in Europe, and had been in pre
sence of crowned heads ; her fancy is excited
and her young heart, already his, clings to him
with increased tenacity.
The course of Heberton to necompli-)h the
seduction was described, and the scenes at the
houfe in Elizabeth street were dwelt upon with
impressive nnd heart stirring eloquence. A
mora brutal deed, ho said, was never commit
ted in any community.
She yielded her heart to blandishments
which she could not resist, but alio fell a Tic-
tim only to art, to deceit, nnd to brutal force. I
know not, gentlemen, how I should act under
such circumstances. In infinite mercy, spare
me spire me! The man who could do this
could not have any more humane feeling than
a brute or a beast. I would not unnecessarily
dis urb the ashes of th" dead but when the se
curity of the public morals is at stake,! would
walk over the crave of nil the roues in Phila
delphia or elsewhere.
Tho loss of chastity in the female is more de-
p'ornble than death. Th" sacred honk nfT rds
n i miracle by which the lost rh i'-t'ty of woman
baa beeii restore
The rase of Virg'-rs. hnd A?p:tts C'fl" litts
riticr.sj OP ADVERTISING.
I squire. I Imrrlion, f 60
1 do S da . . . . 0 16
I do 3 d t . . . . I IK1
Hvety subaeqnenl Invrll, n, 0 5
Yearly Advertisement l one column, JS5 ) half
Column, f IB, three sqnans, It two etjnsTn", f9 ;
one. f quite, fS. Half-yearly: one column. fS t
half column, f IS I three tqtiarra, f3 ; two iquarea,
$ S ens Situate, J:! 50.
Advertisement left without direction a in lbs
Innqth of lime they are to be published, UI I
continued until ordered out, and charged rcord
ingly,
fj-HUleen lines make a square.
1
was referred to. Vrjvnins prefer".'! the
shedding of lis daughter's h'nrd, to geirij- her
within the grasp of Ch'i l'U-' ! phtrteej th"
knile into her bosom the multitude ri e in his
defence and Apnutu Claudius ceased to exist.
The ease of T.uret;a and Tarqirn, was also
dwelt upon. She had lost what rendered her
vaitiatue in me eyes ot nor nustnnd, and she
plunfjed the dagger into her own bosom. What
do the people here do they rally around the
husband of Lucretia, and Tarqviin is hurled
from power.
So l t us come down to the days of Edward
IV, the days of chivalry the history of
Richard Neville, the Inst of the Rarons The
insult off-red n'y Clward to the daughter of Ne
vlle, raised th na'ion eg inn him, and cost
htm for a t:r:;e tit" tlirone of England.
It h been s.tii! that the day s!' chivalry are
n i-t. 1 1 1: not pf r?e bv a woman, with no
her guar.!ian than her chastity, may travel
frein onn en ! nt the country to the other, un
protected every cabman and stage driver
every gentleman is her knight-errant and pro-
tecto-.
This occurrence may be one of the dispen
sations ot" Providence, to purify the moral at
mosphere.
Lady Rulwer has said that man has made
laws for the punishment of his own wrongs, but
he has made no laws for the protection of wo
man. The rights of woman have been commit
ted to the protection of the strong arm of the
Father and the Brother. In the lnws of chi
valrv. the man who assumed the order of
knighthood, was bound to protect the females
ofhis own household, and it is a feeling which
belong? also to the present age.
If you assault a woman with intent to vio
late, she may stab you to the heart but if you
pull a man' nose, or spit in hi face, he can
only have recourse to the laws. It is thi prin
ciple, that chastity is the very life of woman
which makes her the protector of her own
honor.
I proceed to show that this doctrine is not
unfamiliar in court of Ju.-tice. The case ill
Belgium cited by my learned colleague, where
the husband shot the paramour ol h. wife, is
cne where the htitb.md had long diseowrrd
that he had been dishonored, and yet, when he
-ets the seducer in bis power, he deliberately
-hoots him totl.e bent. The uct was commit
ted deliberately, premedit'ttely, and yet what
diJthe Jury ray in that case: The foreman
declared, in a som rous voice, when a-keJ it the
prisoner was guilty. "Upon my honor and my
conscience, 1 say, on the fir.-t count, .No ! on
the second ri err, -o ! en the third count .No
It was th irreprrs- .?e ' human nature
Tl... e. r r:i ? -y'.Ttfi : r.r.-ther. She
del b"..it l v w.-::t into the p.rln o'ber s-J;
and shot him t.t th h-'-'.t. It will be hire
nrt..n,!:l Pi-.t. there wa i:i-anirv, but it wn
inutility pro'ueed by an overwhelming senre t
wrnni?.
But wo will fo fnm e-isra Vy Reporters.
We all know how liaU- they are in be uvsuk
en how they can be influenced by money or
by feeling. I will go to ease by an inspir.o
Renorter II. Samuel the case of Amnon and
Tamar. the aister of Absak.m. Yeu will per.
erv how stroog is the tcsemUaace between
I'l-liLJ lli JJ Jl!JJl.'!?;l'ilJJL.lJ.J-lLJ
that case and this. For Tamar lad a brodier
Absalom, ani Amnon fell beneath that bro
ther's hand. And what was the conduct of
David whon Absalom bowed his head belore
the king! Ha did not kill Absalom, hut he
raised him up and kissed him.
I do not say Singleton Mercer Was absolute
ly insane, hut I do say that he was in that
state of mind, that ho did not know that he wns
committing a crime against the laws of God
and nature. I care not for the opinions of
doctors, when they ate contrary to the dictates
of common sense. Doctors learn to look calm
ly on the woes of others. Their dogmas ar
(he cheats which they put in other men's minds
nnd on their owni
The Iord has said "vengeance is mine"
nnd what the Iird says he performs. The very
victims become tho instruments of His Ten
geance ! Here was the ruin of the sister and
tho disgrace of the whole family pressing on his
brain, and yet these doctors come hero and talk
to us about reason and insanity, as if human na
ture cannot feel. They tell you that to consti
tute insanity, there must be delirium 1 btil will
it be believed hero that an imaginary evil will
sooner drive a man mad than a real wrong.
When these cunning doctors come here and
tell roti that no one can judge on this subject
but themselves, it shews you the extent of their
presumption, and the amount o? their ignorance.
Take not the opinion of doctors who come hero
to swear away men's lives. Every thing in tho
conduct of this defendant is stamped with the
impress of insanity.
We have been called on for the opinions of
physicians. Have we not given you the o
oinions of one who stood by him in hin difficul
ties, nnd who tolls you thnt when ho first
v;sited him in prison, tho symptoms wero pre
c'sely tho of a person recovering from tempo,
rn-y !:i"cy.
Tc'l ri" rot that the law requires blood for
oo i (;: -re not trim me man who nas urtven
this poor boy mad. is not dealt with by an a
vchging Providence, when he falls by tho
hands ofhis victim.
i . - ,'
than that he should not have done thia deed. I
speak as a man, and not as a lawyer. But
when we feci that he ha done right, why,
hand him over to that clemency from other.
which you all feel, and which may come or may
not.
The attempt of Lawrence to shoot General
Jackson wns refered to, as a case of delusion,
end the symntoms there compared with those in
thiscise. See the cns of Ann BroJcrick.too,
as in this young Mercer, the delusion was in
ferred from the act committed.
If this young mnn, in the opinion of the jury
has been driven to temporary insanity, leave
him in the hands ofhis God. If your minds are
balanced on this question of insanity, I need not
tell you that your doubts in such a case should
be allowed to preponderate in fevor of the de
fendant. I trust you will bo enabled to arrive
nt such a conclusion, that this young man shall
again be restored to that society from which
he has been torn, snd of which he may yet
hee -me an ornament. And when you shall re
lease him to the arms ofhis gray-hnired father,
the thanksgiving of that fimily circle will as-
end to Heaven, that tranquility, if mt happi
ness, has been restored, of w liich you have been
made the instruments.
Some yenrs ago a witness was examined be
fore a judge in a case of slander, who required
him to repeat the precise words spoken : tho
witness hesitated until he received the atten
tion of the whole court on him ; then fixing
his eyes earnestly upon the judge, began "May
it'please your hon.ir, you lie, and steal, and get
your living by cheating!" The face of the
judgo reddened, and he immediately exclai
med, "turn to the jury, sir, iryou please.
'Queer play-billsin the Crcsent city.' Moss.
Pau., the modern Hippopotamus, will (by re-qm.-t)
balance the Commercial Bunk and its
accounts on his chin, and lift a granite pillar
by the force of his eye-winkers. This tnutt
be secu to be believed.
A melting sermon being preached in a coun
country church, all tho congregation fell to
weeping except one man, who begged tobe
excused, n he btlonged to another church 1
A Yankee haajntcnted a plaster so strong
that i drawa prizei iu lotteries; likewise tho
most beautiful landscape views.
I would ndvife you to put your hend 10 i
dye-tuh, it' rather red.' said a joker to a sandy
beaded girl. In return, rir,l would advise
ve;) to put your head into en oven, it's rather
fc.ft' was the reply.
W( ere are vc.t going V asked Jack of an
ncq'ia'nitance 'l o tee a friend.' Well I'll
go Willi you, fori nrversaw one yet.
The MidniehtCry.'a the father said, when
he vol up to warm Siiino pap for the stjualliiig
yoong'uo.