There is no point of view in which the parental character shines forth with greater beauty than that in which it appears while working for and promoting the happiness of a daughter.  But you, it would seem, did not think so.  You punished the father by a dastardly and unmanly act, for guarding the future peace and welfare of a child so young, and so dear to him.  What would become of society if this exercise of a parent’s right on behalf of his daughter were to be visited upon him as a crime, by every vindictive and disappointed man, whose affection for them he might, upon proper grounds, decline to sanction?  Yet it is singular, and, I confess, almost inexplicable to me at least, why you should have rushed into the commission of such an act.  The brief period of your existence has been stained by no other crime.  On the contrary, you have maintained a character far above your situation in life—­a character equally remarkable for gentleness, spirit, truth, and affection—­all of which your appearance and bearing have this day exhibited.  Your countenance presents no feature expressive of ferocity, or of those headlong propensities which lead to outrage; and I must confess, that on no other occasion in my judicial life have I ever felt my judgment and my feelings so much at issue.  I cannot doubt your guilt, but I shed those tears that it ever existed, and that a youth of so much promise should be cut down prematurely by the strong arm of necessary justice, leaving his bereaved parents bowed down with despair that can never be comforted.  Had they another son—­or another child, to whom their affections could turn—­”

Here the judge felt it necessary to pause, in consequence of his emotions.  Strong feelings had, indeed, spread through the whole court, in which, while he ceased, could be heard low moanings, and other symptoms of acute sorrow.

“It is now your duty to forget every earthly object on which your heart may have been fixed, and to seek that source of consolation and mercy which can best sustain and comfort you.  Go with a penitent heart to the throne of your Redeemer, who, if your repentance be sincere, will in no wise cast you out.  Unhappy youth, prepare yourself, let me implore you, for an infinitely greater and more awful tribunal than this.  There, should the judgment be in your favor, you will learn that the fate, which has cut you off in the bloom of early life, will bring an accession of happiness to your being for which no earthly enjoyment here, however prolonged or exalted, could compensate you.  The recommendation of the jury to the mercy of the crown, in consideration of your youth and previous good conduct, will not be overlooked; but in the mean time the court is bound to pronounce upon you the sentence of the law, which is, that you be taken from the prison from which you came, on the eighth of next month, at the hour of ten o’clock in the forenoon, to the front drop of the jail, and there hanged by the neck, until you be dead; and may God have mercy on your soul!”