,transcribed from the #ahcj ,hatchard   
and ,son edition by ,david ,price1 email
  ccx#jgdpglaf4org                      
,,an ,,account                          
,,of                                    
,,the ,,death                           
,,of                                    
,,philip ,,jolin1                       
,,who ,,was ,,executed                  
,,for ,,the                ,,murder ,,of
 ,,his ,,father1 ,,in ,,the ,,island    
,,of ,,jersey1                          
,,october #c1 #ahbi4                    
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,by                          ,,francis 
,,cunningham1 ,a4 ,m4                   
,,rector ,,of ,,pakefield4              
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3 ,,hatchard ,,and ,,son1       
,,piccadilly2                ,,seeley   
,,and ,,sons1 ,,fleet ,,street2 ,,and   
,j4 ,,nesbitt1                          
,,berners ,,street4                     
99 99 99 99 99                          
#ahcj4                                  

99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3             ,,ibotson ,,and   
,,palmer1 ,,printers1 ,,savoy ,,street1 
,,strand4          ,,advertisement4     
,to determine the real state of mind in 
a criminal manifesting1 for the  first  
time1 when under sentence of death1     
signs of repentance1 is plainly  a work 
of much difficulty4  ,if ever           
dissimulation may be expected1 it  must 
be in the case of a person probably long
 habituated1 and1 in his  present       
circumstances1 additionally excited to  
it by the fear of death3  and the       
experience of every minister of religion
 conversant in such  cases1 must teach  
him that professions of religion1 under 
such  circumstances1 are far oftener the
 language of alarm1 than of real        
conversion4  ,every one1 therefore1     
would earnestly covet1 with ,mr4        
,newton1 to know rather how the man     
lived1 than how he had died4  ,but here 
the life and the death may offer the    
most conflicting evidence4  ,how        

difficult it is then so to decide as    
not1 on the one hand1 to make 8the      
heart of the righteous sad1 whom ,god   
has not made sad20 upon the other1  to  
say 8peace0 to the soul1 8when there is 
no peace40    ,most of the cases of     
religious communication with dying      
criminals1  recorded in the public      
prints1 are in the highest degree       
painful4  ,the  chaplain goes through   
the forms of instruction1 the sermon is 
preached1  and then1 without one proof  
being assigned of the fitness of the    
criminal  for that solemn ordinance of  
religion1 the sacrament is administered4
  ,all the requisitions of our church1  
as to 8those who come to the ,lord's    
supper10 are passed by4  ,the deep      
workings of repentance1 and longing for 
amendment1 the exercise of a lively     
faith in ,christ1 the thankful          
remembrance of his death1 the feeling of
 universal charity so difficult  in such
 circumstances2 in short1 every evidence
 of an awakened and  converted heart is 

neglected1 and the man forced upon a    
hypocritical  avowal of truth1 to which 
he is in reality utterly a stranger4    
,he dies1  in fact1 with 8a lie in his  
right hand0--a lie1 the guilt of which  
is  surely divided between himself and  
the minister who urges him to the rash  
reception of the sacrament4    ,it is   
under the deepest conviction of the     
difficulty of such cases1 that  the     
present tract1 recording the events of  
the last eleven days in the  life of a  
criminal is presented to the public4    
,his crimes had been  great1 but        
hypocrisy was not amongst their number4 
,his faculties were  not such as to give
 him any peculiar facility in adopting  
the truths  presented to him4  ,he had  
received no previous religious          
instruction4  ,he  had no uncommon power
 of utterance4  ,let the reader judge   
whether the  words and conduct1 both    
before and after conviction1 as recorded
 in these  pages1 do not supply an      
evidence of the power of ,god to reclaim

 the  wanderer even in the eleventh     
hour2 and are not calculated1 in the    
highest degree1 to encourage the often  
disconsolate visitor of the sick1  the  
dying1 and the criminal4  ,the facts    
here recorded have been collected       
partly by personal communication1 partly
 from letters to the writer from  the   
,rev4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hall1 and partly from a  
printed account of the ,rev4 ,e4        
,durell4  ,the substance of the         
statement was first inserted in the     
,christian ,observer1 and it is now     
submitted1 with some alteration1 to the 
public1 and with an earnest desire that 
its perusal may1 through the  ,divine   
blessing1 tend to the glory of that     
compassionate ,saviour1 to  whose       
service it is dedicated4          ,,the 
,,last ,,days ,,of ,,philip ,,jolin1    
,,lately ,,executed ,,at ,,st4 ,,helens1
  ,,for  ,,the ,,murder ,,of ,,his      
,,father4      ,,the particulars of the 
crime of this unfortunate young man may 
be stated  in a few words4  ,he had long

 been known in the neighbourhood where  
he  lived1 as an object of disgrace1 and
 the cause of perpetual disturbance4    
,not indeed that he was more profligate 
in character than those with whom  he   
was immediately connected4  ,his father1
 as well as his mother-in-law1  lived in
 habits of drunkenness4  ,she died eight
 months before the son  committed the   
crime for which he suffered4  ,jolin    
was1 with his father1  by trade a       
blacksmith4  ,his business brought with 
it some temptation to  drinking2 and1 in
 ,jersey1 where spirits are cheaper even
 than in ,england1  this disposition was
 most easily gratified4  ,so that1 with 
the example of  his parents1 and his own
 circumstances1 it is not a matter of   
astonishment that he fell into the      
course of sin which led to his ruin4    
,the progress of vice was1 it is to be  
presumed1 in his case1 like that of     
other drunkards4  ,the liquor1 at first 
taken as a bodily relief1  unguarded by 
any restraint1 was soon resorted to as  

an indulgence2 till  at last he was     
enlisted in the number of those of whom 
the prophet  speaks1 8who rise up in the
 morning that they may follow their     
drink1 and  continue till night1 till   
wine inflames them40  ,but the          
abominable  tendency of this particular 
sin is illustrated almost equally by the
  conduct of the father and son4    ,it 
appeared on the trial of ,jolin1 that he
 had been exposed to the  greatest      
cruelties on the part of his father4    
,one person deposed1 that  he had often 
seen him beat his son with a hammer1 or 
any thing else1  which might happen to  
come under his hand1 and almost always  
about the  head2 and the scars from     
these wounds were seen on his head when 
he was  committed to prison4  ,another1 
that she had once heard the prisoner's  
mother cry out for help4  ,she went in1 
and saw the son down1 and the  father   
striking him with an iron bar1 saying at
 the same time1 that he  was going to   
kill him4  ,very often he would not give

 him any food4  ,another witness        
testified1 that1 going into the house of
 the father1 he  saw him put down a flat
 iron bar1 with which he had just been  
striking  his son on the head1 and his  
head was covered with blood4  ,he was   
laid on  his bed1 but his father refused
 to allow any assistance to be tendered 
to  him4  ,this witness had seen the    
father kick his son about several parts 
of the body4  ,what a contrast is all   
this to that scene which the  psalmist  
describes of a household where the      
,spirit of ,god dwells--8,behold1  how  
good and how pleasant it is for brethren
 to dwell together in unity1  for there 
the ,lord commandeth his blessing40     
,these facts are introduced1  not only  
in explanation of the subject1 but that 
some light may be thrown  on the appeal 
which ,jolin afterwards made to his     
judge on his own behalf4    ,on the     
morning on which the last crime was     
committed1 as ,jolin confessed  to one  
who attended upon him in prison1 he had 

drank to excess1 and  become completely 
intoxicated4  ,in this state he returned
 to his own  home--a home of which1 he  
added1 8no one knew the wretchedness40  
,it was  dinner time1 but he found no   
food prepared1 and from his father he   
met  with only that reception which he  
might expect from such a parent2 more   
especially when he himself was overcome 
with drunkenness4  ,he went into  the   
garden to gather a pear1 and about this 
the fatal quarrel ensued4  ,the father  
had come behind1 and caught him by the  
cape of the jacket1 and  kicked him     
about the back and legs4  ,he tore      
himself from his father1 and  was soon  
seen running out of the house crying1   
and the father in the act  of pursuing1 
as if with the intention of striking    
him4  ,the father said  that he would   
8settle him when he returned40  ,the son
 replied1 that he  would 8settle him    
7the father7 also40  ,the son then ran  
to a heap of  bricks which lay in the   
street1 and taking one which he appears 

to have  broken in two pieces1 he       
returned to be revenged on his father4  
,he was  remonstrated with by a         
neighbour1 but in vain4  ,in his rage he
 threw the  brickbats at his father4    
,one of the pieces struck him on the    
head1 and  he immediately fell to the   
ground4  ,the wretched sufferer swooned 
from  the violence of the blow and the  
loss of blood4  ,in this state he       
appears  to have remained1 with very    
little change1 for about an hour1 when  
he  died4  ,it is not stated whether he 
was enabled to cry for mercy to that    
,god1 into whose presence he was thus   
awfully hurried2 or whether he had  time
 to reflect upon the state of his son1  
and his probable punishment4  ,how awful
 must have been the change to this      
wretched man1 when he found  himself in 
a moment lifting up his eyes before the 
,judge of quick and  dead6              
,meanwhile1 the son1 utterly unconscious
 of what he had done1 or feeling  only  
satisfaction at what he thought was the 

suitable punishment for his  father1    
went out again1 and finding his way into
 a neighbour's shop1 told  the keeper of
 it that his father had beaten him1 and 
that he had knocked  him down4  ,here he
 fell asleep1 and slept probably till   
his fit of  intoxication had passed     
away4  ,on rising he was about quietly  
and  unsuspectingly to return to the    
scene of his crime1 when he was arrested
  and brought to prison4  ,when1 on the 
way to the prison1 he was told that  his
 conduct might possibly bring him to the
 gallows1 he showed his first  symptom  
of alarm4  ,he remained in prison till  
,thursday1 ,september #bd1  when he was 
submitted to his first public           
examination4  ,the trial1  according to 
the laws of that country1 was repeated  
on ,monday the #bhth4  ,the judges1 and 
two juries1 in number together          
thirty-seven1 after the  fullest        
investigation of the facts1 and after   
hearing the able defence of  his        
advocate1 ,mr4 ,hammond1 pronounced his 

crime to be murder1 and  condemned him  
to death4  ,the court refused even to   
make application for  the mitigation of 
punishment1 whereupon he was delivered  
to the execution  of his sentence1 which
 he underwent on ,saturday1 ,oct4 #c;d4 
,there were many particulars in this    
case1 in addition to the remarkable     
nature of the crime1 and indeed the     
rareness of any crime of such  magnitude
 in the small district in which it      
occurred1 that made it a  subject of    
very general notice4  ,one leading      
circumstance was the  manifest          
alteration which took place in ,jolin's 
mind during the period of  his          
imprisonment4  ,upon this point there   
was an entire agreement of  opinion     
amongst all persons who had any         
acquaintance with the real state  of the
 case4  ,not only ministers1 both of the
 church and the ,dissenters1  but       
persons of other classes1 bore testimony
 to the reality of a  change2 the nature
 of which1 however1 not so many persons 

could detect1  as its very striking     
effects4  ,the newspaper spoke of an    
8alteration0  which took place in him1  
of his 8confession1 in the most humble  
terms1 of  his own sinfulness20 of 8his 
forcible admonitions to others to       
abstain  from evil1 and to practise the 
duties of religion and morality20 but of
  the change of heart which this case   
exhibited1 the editor of the paper      
seems to have had no real understanding4
  ,the case of ,jolin1 convinced of  his
 sin1 however1 is that of a man1 not    
merely convinced of his guilt in  one   
instance1 and anxious to warn others not
 converted by the ,holy ,ghost1         
acknowledging his total alienation of   
heart from ,god1 and persuaded that  all
 his repentance1 all his good           
resolutions1 could never expiate his    
past sins2 but that1 as he himself said1
 8,christ was his only hope2 for  ,,he  
had paid his ransom1 and ,he would      
receive him into glory40    ,the greater
 part of persons who have had much      

experience in visiting the  dying sick1 
or condemned criminals1 have1 in        
general1 little confidence  in a        
repentance which only springs up under  
the apprehension of immediate  death1   
whatever flights of sentiment may be    
exhibited4  ,they have seen in  the     
backsliding of men who promised every   
thing in the time of sickness1  how     
vain1 generally speaking1 are the       
convictions of their sincerity4  ,in    
the greater part of these cases1 there  
is a want of completeness in the  work  
of repentance and faith1 which the      
experienced pastoral visitor is  often  
able to detect2 too little of real      
contrition1 or too much of  profession  
and confidence4  ,but in the case in    
question1 those who  visited ,jolin     
confess themselves to have been         
impressed1 as they might  conceive the  
spectators to be affected by the case of
 the thief on the  cross4  ,one and all 
were led to say1 8this is the finger of 
,god40  ,under  such circumstances1 it  

cannot surely be wrong to gather        
together a few  particulars of this     
history1 which will be interesting to   
those1 at  least1 who have experienced  
the power of divine grace in their own  
change  of heart1 and who rejoice in    
every display of it in the sinner that  
repenteth4    ,jolin appears in early   
life to have been sent to school1       
although he  said1 that such had been   
the irregularity of his father's house1 
and such  the hindrances thrown in his  
way1 that he had been more impeded than 
encouraged by his parents1 in any       
attempt to attend upon the public means 
of religious instruction4  ,how         
tremendous is the responsibility of such
 a  father and mother2 culpable in their
 neglect1 but awfully so in their       
example6  ,and what a case is here      
presented of the retributive justice of 
,god6  ,the father trained his child in 
habits of intoxication1 and treated  him
 with cruel violence2 and the son1 in a 
fit of intoxication1 by an act  of      

violence1 hurried his father headlong to
 the bar of ,god's judgment4  ,we are   
not able1 often1 so clearly to trace the
 workings of ,almighty  wrath2 nor is it
 to be expected1 that1 placed as we are 
in a state in  which we must look for   
our rewards or punishments beyond the   
grave1 we  should here see any          
proportionate recompense of crime4      
,still we know1  that 8as a man sows so 
he shall also reap10 if not in this     
world1 to  bring him to repentance1 yet 
certainly1 and how much more awfully6 in
  that world where a place for          
repentance is no where found4    ,this  
young man1 on some occasions previous to
 his committal to prison1  had read the 
,bible2 for he remarked to one of his   
attendants1 that when  at sea1 during   
his watch1 he had done so2 but he added1
 8,i then read it  as a sealed book4  ,i
 had neither eyes given me to see1 nor  
ears to hear1  and this was a just      
judgment upon me for my sins40  ,his    
mode of life had1  indeed1 been one of  

complete dissoluteness4  ,he went to    
sea1 because he  was too bad to remain  
on land2 and he returned to shore1      
probably because  he was wearied of the 
restraints at sea4  ,the relations of   
the family1  disgusted at the scenes of 
vice in his father's house1 abandoned   
them4  ,so that it is not easy to       
conceive a state of lower degradation   
than this  young man had reached4  ,no  
one1 as he himself said1 could describe 
the  misery of this state as he had     
experienced it4  ,what situation could  
indeed more completely tend to brutalize
 the mind1 to deaden every  feeling of  
conscience1 to leave the man long       
habituated to it 8without  hope10 and   
indeed 8without ,god in the world80     
,the nature of the crime  for which     
,jolin was committed to prison1 was such
 as to increase the  general horror     
against him4  ,this was exhibited by the
 crowd1 in the  streets1 on the occasion
 of his trial2 so that his various      
crimes had  made him an outcast from the

 pity and compassion of his             
fellow-creatures4  ,it is true1 there   
were particular circumstances in his    
case1 which1 if  generally known1 would 
have lessened the public indignation1   
and which  might have been a source of  
secret satisfaction to himself4  ,these 
were  the exceeding badness of his      
education1 the brutality of his father1 
the  continual discord of his family1   
the state of intoxication in which he   
was when he unintentionally committed   
the crime2 but these points1  although  
once alluded to in his appeal to his    
judges1 were scarcely  mentioned by him 
in his private conversations1 so        
completely was the  conviction          
established in his mind1 that he had    
fallen into sin by the  wilfulness of   
his own heart1 that he had destroyed    
himself2 and that to a  greater depth of
 transgression he could scarcely have   
reached4    ,after ,jolin had been      
lodged in gaol1 he was visited by a very
 respectable  relative1 ,mr4 ,pinel1 a  

member of the ,methodist church4  ,he   
made this  visit1 as he himself         
testified1 without the hope of any      
spiritual  benefit4  ,he1 however1      
desired to relieve his temporal         
necessities1 and  to afford him all the 
comfort in his power4  ,he found the    
poor culprit in  a most pitiable state4 
,overwhelmed and stunned by his         
situation1 he was  lying on a heap of   
straw1 and appeared like one who had no 
hope to look  to in this world1 or the  
next4  ,mr4 ,pinel said to him1 8,young 
man1 ,i  think both your body and your  
soul are in great danger40  ,jolin did  
not  answer1 but sobbed excessively4    
,he then procured for him a bed1 and    
some  comfortable clothing1 and put into
 his hands a ,french ,testament4  ,soon 
after1 as there was at that time no     
chaplain regularly appointed to the     
gaol1 ,jolin was visited by the curate  
of the parish1 ,m4 ,falle4  ,after  some
 days1 ,m4 ,falle's great occupation in 
his ministry led him to  transfer this  

important and interesting charge to the 
,rev4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hall1 a  young clergyman 
residing in the island1 who took the    
more immediate care  of him1 watched    
over1 instructed1 and finally attended  
him through the  dark valley of the     
shadow of death1 till he reached1 as ,i 
doubt not1 the  portal of the heavenly  
abode4  ,meanwhile the ,testament was   
not neglected  by ,jolin4  ,he read it  
nearly through2 but1 in the first       
instance1 it  would seem1 without       
understanding the nature of the message 
which it was  designed to convey4  ,his 
mind1 however1 was no doubt gradually   
preparing  by the ,holy ,spirit to      
receive the instruction about to be more
 fully  imparted4  ,on the #bb;d of     
,september1 about ten days before his   
execution1  ,jolin was visited by ,mr4  
,hall and another clergyman4  ,he was   
then sitting  in his bed1 and looking as
 wretched as might be expected under the
  circumstances in which he was placed2 
as ,mr4 ,pinel had stated1 8without     

hope for this world1 or the next40      
,they immediately entered upon the      
object of their visit1 and spoke to him 
of the nature of his offence2 of  the   
sin of murder1 as condemned by the law  
of ,god1 and aggravated in his  case1   
because committed against a parent2 of  
its sentence in the judgment  of men1   
and its heinousness in the sight of     
,god4  ,they pointed out to  him1 that1 
awful as is man's sentence against this 
crime1 little  consideration was due to 
this in comparison with the condemnation
 which  the law of ,god pronounced2 and 
that this condemnation had passed upon  
him1 and that the execution of its      
sentence of eternal death would be      
inflicted if he did not repent1 and seek
 help and pardon through ,jesus         
,christ4  ,all this was manifest1 for it
 was written in the word of ,god1  that 
murderers should have their part in the 
lake which burneth with fire  and       
brimstone 7,rev4 xxi4 #h27 that         
drunkards should not inherit the        

kingdom of ,god1 7#a ,cor4 vi4 #aj37 and
 this condemnation1 it was also  pointed
 out1 extended not only to these crimes1
 but to that of the  general sin of the 
heart1 and was the necessary consequence
 of its  separation and alienation from 
,god4  ,that this condemnation would    
come  upon all sinners was evident1 for 
it is written1 8,the wages of sin is    
death10 7,rom4 vi4 #bc47  ,one point    
appeared particularly to produce the    
deepest sensation of pain in this young 
man's mind2 this was the  representation
 of the conduct of ,god towards him in  
reference to his  father2 that whilst   
that unhappy man had been cut off1 and  
sent almost  without warning1 with all  
his sins upon him1 before the ,judge who
 will  deal with every man according to 
his works1 he1 the murderer1 had been   
spared1 and brought into a prison1 where
 he had opportunity given him to        
reflect upon his state1 to seek for     
pardon1 and where salvation was  offered
 to him1 if he would turn and seek it4  

,the cry of1 8,oh my father1  my poor   
father60 mingled with his sobs on that  
occasion4    ,although ,jolin's crime   
was so palpable1 and was confessed by   
him in the  fullest1 yet as it was      
committed unconsciously1 and he had seen
 no traces  of it1 except in what others
 told him1 the whole seemed like a      
dream2 and  the deed itself1 with its   
appalling circumstances1 were not likely
 to  fasten themselves on his mind as if
 it had been premeditated1 or as if he  
had been in full possession of his      
understanding1 or as if he1 which he    
himself wished1 had seen his father's   
murdered corpse4  ,however1 this        
circumstance afterwards appeared to turn
 out to his advantage4  ,it  prevented  
him from fixing his thoughts exclusively
 on a particular sin2  and he was thus  
less hindered in discovering the        
sinfulness of his nature  and of his    
general habits1 and learning the lesson 
it is often so  difficult to comprehend1
 that we are not less condemned by the  

law of ,god  for our general alienation 
from him1 than for any one or more      
scandalous  offences which we may have  
committed4  ,not that this state of mind
 in  ,jolin prevented him from coming to
 the deepest sense of his own           
particular offence2 for as he learned   
more thoroughly to understand the       
nature of sin in general1 his feeling   
for his peculiar crime more deeply      
penetrated his soul4  ,one other subject
 seemed to produce in him the same      
intense state of feeling which the      
mention of his father had done2 this    
was the sin of intemperance1 which had1 
as ,i have before remarked1 been  the   
immediate cause of his crime4  ,mr4     
,hall1 thinking that he might be        
suffering from the cold1 confined as he 
was in a large stone-chamber1 of  which 
the window was usually open1 guarded him
 against seeking a refuge  from his     
sufferings from drinking4  ,at the      
mention of this1 he went off  again into
 expressions of horror at the supposed  

possibility of such an  offence in his  
tremendous circumstances1 and declared  
that nothing should  again tempt him    
thus to transgress4  ,yet1 as ,mr4 ,hall
 observes1 were his  resolutions        
expressed rather as if smarting under   
the penalty of his  crime1 than as if   
conscious of his own inability to keep  
the engagement  which he was entering   
into4  ,he spoke as a man strong in his 
own  strength1 and as yet unacquainted  
with the perfect weakness of resolution 
not formed in dependence upon the power 
of ,god4    ,on the point of again      
falling into the sins of which he seemed
 to have  repented1 three distinct      
states were noticed in ,jolin's case    
before his  execution4  ,at first1 as at
 this visit1 he was fully confident     
that1 if  he were once more to be set at
 liberty1 he should never again become  
intoxicated4  ,afterwards1 when he came 
to discover the exceeding weakness  of  
his nature1 he even dreaded the         
possibility of his life being accorded  

to him1 lest he should again fall into  
temptation4  ,and1 lastly1 he  learned  
to believe1 that having cast himself    
entirely upon ,divine grace1  and1      
therefore1 using those means of         
watchfulness and prayer which the  word 
of ,god prescribes1 he needed not fear1 
if he were called again to  life1 the   
temptation even to those vices to which 
he had been most  habituated4  ,on the  
occasion of this visit1 the fifty-first 
,psalm was  pointed out to him4  ,it was
 in the ,prayer-book version1 as there  
was no  ,bible at hand4  ,this ,psalm1  
so remarkably calculated to meet the    
experience of a man feeling deeply his  
sins1 and more particularly of one      
implicated as he was in such a variety  
of vice1 struck his attention very      
deeply2 and the more so when1 the next  
day1 it was read to him in the  ,bible  
translation1 and its chief points       
expounded to him4  ,he learned a  great 
part of this ,psalm by heart2 it was    
nearly the last portion of  ,scripture  

that he repeated2 and it became one of  
the subjects of his  meditation during  
the long nights in which he was shut up 
alone4    ,the next day1 the #bc;d1 two 
or three passages of ,scripture were    
introduced  to his notice2 besides which
 a fuller view was presented to him of  
the  nature and consequences of sin4    
,on this occasion he was taught in what 
manner sin is the defilement of the     
whole heart2 that even the sins of  his 
youth brought him just as much into     
condemnation before a holy ,god as  his 
one great crime2 that eternal death was 
the wages of every  transgression of the
 ,divine law2 and that repentance unto  
life required  not only a feeling of    
sorrow for one sin1 but for every sin1  
yea1 for sin  itself1 as an offence     
against the ,almighty4  ,the promises of
 ,god to the  chief of sinners were then
 pointed out him from ,isa4 i4 #ah1 that
 8though  his sins were as scarlet1 they
 might be made white as snow20 and from 
,isa4 lv4 #f1 #g1 that 8if the wicked   

forsook his way1 and returned unto the  
,lord1 he would have mercy1 and         
abundantly pardon40  ,the former of     
these  passages remained fixed in his   
memory1 and was a continual source of   
consolation to his mind4  ,he now began 
to feel that his sins were as  scarlet1 
and to desire earnestly to be pardoned4 
,two other passages were  also at that  
time referred to1 and enlarged upon4    
,the first of these was  ,john iii4 #ad1
 #ae4  8,as ,moses lifted up the serpent
 in the wilderness1  even so must the   
,son of ,man be lifted up1 that         
whosoever believeth on him  should not  
perish1 but have everlasting life40     
,this type presenting so  remarkable an 
image of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ lifted
 up to bear the sins  of his people1 and
 affording a remedy to those who really 
believe in ,him1  was peculiarly        
calculated to meet his case3 and he was 
further taught  from it1 that as this   
people1 if they had rather chosen to    
trust to other  remedies1 or had refused

 to look at the brazen serpent1 or had  
spent  their time in mourning over their
 maladies1 instead of doing as they were
  commanded1 would never have been      
healed2 so if the sinner does not look  
to ,christ1 there is no hope for him4   
,one other important lesson was also    
gathered from this subject2 namely1 that
 8if a serpent had bitten any  man1 when
 he beheld the serpent of brass1 he     
lived20 and in like manner1  8,whosoever
 believeth on ,jesus ,christ shall not  
perish1 but have eternal  life40  ,jolin
 was thus instructed in the mode of     
pardon before ,god1  through the merits 
of ,jesus ,christ2 and in the efficacy  
of this remedy1  the universality of it 
to all that believe1 and the nature of  
faith1 the  means by which it can alone 
be appropriated4    ,the last passage   
referred to was the history of the      
,scape goat1 contained  in ,lev4 xvi4   
,in this history we find that ,aaron1   
whilst the people  afflicted their      
souls1 7ver4 #bi17 laid both his hands  

on the head of the  live goat1 and      
confessed on him all the iniquities of  
the children of  ,israel1 and all their 
transgressions1 putting them upon the   
head of the  goat1 and that the goat    
bore away with him all their iniquities 
into a  land not inhabited4  ,the       
illustration of this subject1 and its   
application to ,jolin's own case1 were  
very obvious4  ,the people  8afflicting 
their soul10 denoted the state in which 
every sinner must  present himself      
before ,god--for it is the broken and   
the contrite heart  which ,god will not 
despise2 the 8confession of sin0 on the 
head of the  goat pointed out the first 
and necessary duty of the returning     
penitent--for 8if we say that we have no
 sin we deceive ourselves1 and the      
truth is not in us2 but if we confess   
our sins1 he is faithful and just  to   
forgive us our sins30 the laying the    
sins upon the head of the goat          
exhibited the act of faith1 by which the
 condemnation of the sinner is          

transferred to his atoning sacrifice2   
and the leading away the goat into  the 
wilderness1 the full1 perfect1 and      
eternal pardon promised in the  ,gospel1
 of every sin to every repenting sinner4
    ,although ,jolin was not a person of
 uncommon capacity1 and although these  
passages of ,scripture seemed to be new 
to him1 yet he apprehended them in  a   
manner which gave just indication that  
his heart was under the ,divine         
teaching4  ,it is said1 ,isa4 liv4 #ac1 
8,all thy children shall be taught of   
the ,lord40  ,this state of             
teachableness now seemed to have been   
produced  in this poor young man4  ,the 
power of ,god had made his heart        
willing1  ,ps4 cx4 #c2 and he came very 
soon to understand the truths by which  
he  might be saved4  ,when the will of  
man is not disposed to submit to ,god1  
every doctrine of the ,gospel presents  
difficulties2 one point is              
unreasonable1 another impossible1 a     
third useless2 but when the mind is     

taught of ,god1 it is astonishing how   
soon all these difficulties vanish4     
,the doctrines of the ,gospel1 which    
seem the most hard to understand and  to
 receive1 are at once comprehended4  ,it
 is like a change from darkness  to     
light4  ,the passages of ,scripture     
which teach the sinfulness of our  own  
nature1 the worth of a ,saviour1 the    
nature of faith1 the pleasantness  of   
religion1 the delight attendant upon    
dwelling with ,god1 are at once         
received and adopted2 and the whole     
system of ,christianity is discovered   
to be one exactly suited to the sinner's
 own state4  ,but the willingness  of   
heart which is necessary to a right     
reception of religion1 we are  every    
where in ,scripture taught1 is the gift 
of the ,holy ,spirit4  ,it  cometh 8not 
of blood10 that is1 from our parents2   
8nor of the will of the  flesh10 that   
is1 by our own natural inclination2 8nor
 of the will of  man10 that is1 by the  
teaching of others2 8but of ,god40      

8,the wind  bloweth where it listeth1   
and thou hearest the sound thereof1 but 
canst  not tell whence it cometh and    
whither it goeth3 so is every one that  
is  born of the ,spirit40  ,we see then 
how necessary it is that1 if any man    
8lack wisdom10 he should 8ask it of     
,god20 and so much the more1 as our     
,lord himself declares1 ,luke xi4 #ac1  
his desire to give his ,holy ,spirit to 
them that ask him4    ,the #bdth was the
 day of ,jolin's first trial1 at the    
close of which he was  found guilty4    
,some of his friends1 whom he had asked 
to go to him1 went  after the trial4    
,they expected to find him1 on this     
occasion1 in some  degree disturbed and 
agitated in mind2 but it was altogether 
otherwise4  ,the irons to which he was  
sentenced were put on him in their      
presence4  ,to this1 as the natural     
consequence of his condemnation1 he     
submitted  almost without notice4       
,indeed1 the trial and the condemnation 
itself  seem to have made little or no  

impression upon him2 for it was only by 
minute and repeated inquiry as to the   
proceedings of the day1 that  visitors  
could obtain from him any account of    
them4  ,his mind seemed  absorbed in    
something else2 and what this was1      
afterwards appeared4  ,his  conduct1    
during his trial1 had been remarked by  
many of his judges1 as  entirely        
suitable to his awful situation4        
,indeed1 his whole frame of  mind was   
now beginning to discover the influence 
of a new principle1 and  to show that   
the great work of regeneration was      
taking place4  ,in the  early part of   
his confinement1 and indeed very        
recently1 he had wished1  as he might   
naturally1 for his escape2 and his cry  
to his advocate had  been1 8,save me    
from the gallows20 but at this period1  
the desire that his  life might be      
spared1 seemed to be taken away from him
 in a most  astonishing degree4  ,it was
 not so with the very zealous and able  
advocate to whom his cause had been     

committed1 and who very properly        
continued to the end1 to urge every     
plea1 and to encourage his client to    
every effort1 by which his punishment   
might be remitted1 or even delayed4     
,his friends too were most kindly       
anxious on this point2 and they even    
attempted to prove him insane1 that they
 might effect their purpose4  ,for  a   
time he was influenced by the same      
desire4  ,but to those who visited  him 
about this period1 he never once alluded
 to a desire to escape2 but  on the     
contrary1 seemed almost always to refer 
to his sentence without  apparent       
emotion2 and towards the end1 he        
appeared to long for1 and to be  earnest
 for its completion4  ,this state of    
mind was no doubt to be  attributed to  
two causes2 in part1 to a complete      
acquaintance with the  state of his own 
case1 and to its final settlement by his
 judges2 but  probably much more to his 
new state of religious feeling2 a sense 
of his  own spiritual condition had     

begun to swallow up every other         
consideration4    ,a friend had given   
him the second chapter of the ,ephesians
 for his  consideration1 that he might  
gain still further views of his state of
  guilt and defilement1 and that he     
might more clearly trace both the power 
of ,divine grace1 by which the sinner is
 quickened1 and the bright  prospect    
placed before those who seek for pardon 
by the blood of ,christ4  ,the          
conversation of this day led to the     
subjects contained in this  chapter2 and
 more particularly to the impossibility 
of man's pardon1 but  by the grace of   
,god1 through ,christ ,jesus4  ,in the  
midst of a statement  of the hindrances 
in the way of salvation1 from the evil  
of our heart1  the weakness of our best 
endeavours1 and the defilement of our   
services1  ,jolin remarked1 8,i must put
 off my sins40  ,it was asked1 what he  
meant by  putting off his sins4  ,his   
answer manifested at once the simple1   
but  clear1 manner in which he had      

received the ,scripture illustration    
pointed  out to him the day before1 and 
it was truly gladdening to the feelings 
of  his visitors3 8,did you not tell me 
yesterday about the live goat on whose  
head the sins were laid80  ,the         
application of the type of the scape    
goat  had thus been made by him to his  
own state2 and he had arrived at the    
conviction1 that1 whatever might have   
been his sins1 and whatever were  his   
hindrances1 he was permitted to 8put    
them all off10 upon that  all-sufficient
 atonement1 the ,lamb of ,god1 which    
taketh away the sins of  the world4  ,he
 had thus been enabled to feel his      
burden1 to bring it to  the cross of    
,christ2 and at once it seemed to have  
fallen from him at the  feet of his     
,redeemer4    ,the nature of faith is   
illustrated in a very interesting       
manner1 by the  case of ,jolin4  ,the   
sinfulness of his own state he knew1 and
 felt deeply4  ,he did not1 however1    
seek to excuse himself1 or to palliate  

his offences3  he did not think that    
past services would be any compensation 
to ,god2  that any circumstance of his  
life or character would skreen him from 
,almighty wrath2 or that by repentance  
he might be pardoned through the  mere  
mercy of his ,heavenly ,father4  ,in    
himself1 therefore1 he had no  ground of
 hope whatsoever3 he was as a debtor who
 had nothing to pay2 as  a sick man     
whose case was desperate3 but he felt an
 assurance that ,christ  was able to pay
 his debt1 and to cure his disease1 and 
that in his own  particular case1 he    
would do it2 and he himself did in      
heart1 what the  high priest did with   
his hands1 transfer all his sins to the 
atonement4  ,thus he came to feel1 not  
indeed presumptuously1 but with         
confidence1  that all his sins were laid
 upon the sacrifice2 and he was able to 
contemplate the ,saviour's mercies      
instead of his own merited doom as a    
sinner4  ,the ground of this assurance  
in his mind was an acceptance of  the   

simple testimony of ,god1 that he would 
blot out his transgressions4  ,he       
believed in this word of promise1 and   
joy in believing was at once  imparted  
to him4  ,the simplicity with which     
,jolin received the testimony  of ,god  
in this instance characterized his      
religious experience during the  whole  
of his remaining course4  ,the          
,scriptures were as a message of ,god   
to his soul4  ,he received them as      
feeling there could be no doubt but     
every word of them was true4  ,i often1 
said ,mr4 ,hall1 in the after part  of  
his history1 tried to persuade him that 
it was1 naturally speaking1 an          
incredible thing that ,god should have  
come in the flesh and atone for  sin4   
,but he always said that he believed it1
 because it was so written  in the book 
which is the truth4    ,i have before   
noticed the indifference which ,jolin   
appeared to feel to  outward            
circumstances4  ,i have yet to observe  
another point connected  with it1 in    

this day's visit1 which was the         
brightness and almost  cheerfulness of  
aspect that his manner and countenance  
gradually assumed4  ,in the period      
before his condemnation1 his downcast   
look and general air  of wretchedness   
were not unsuited to a state of despair2
 but now he  lifted up his head1 and    
even his voice seemed to have changed   
its tone4  ,this surprising change was  
observed by others4  ,mr4 ,hammond1     
,jolin's  advocate1 told ,m4 ,durell1 as
 he himself has recorded it1 that when  
he saw  the prisoner on the twenty-third
 of ,september1 he found him 8in really 
a  distracted state1 torn by every      
conflicting passion1 and all his        
faculties hurried by the unutterable    
anguish of remorse4  ,the dread of      
death was uppermost in his thoughts2 and
 there was nothing to which he  would   
not have submitted to avoid capital     
punishment3 but when he saw him  again  
on the evening of the twenty-sixth1 he  
was astonished at the sudden  change    

which had taken place in him3 he was    
calm1 placid1 and resigned1  and he had 
not one wish to live4  ,i then10        
continues ,mr4 ,durell1  8mentioned to  
,mr4 ,hammond1 that ,i had found him    
exactly in that state on  my first      
visit1 the twenty-sixth1 which had      
preceded his own only by a  few hours40 
,he adds1 8the opinion of an impartial  
and enlightened man1  like ,mr4         
,hammond1 was certainly very important3 
but ,m4 de ,quetteville1  the mayor of  
the town1 and other laymen of the       
highest respectability1  who had        
formerly known the prisoner1 had been   
equally struck with that  great and     
salutary change4  ,from a comparison of 
dates10 adds ,mr4 ,durell1  8,i am      
inclined to believe1 that his change    
must not only have been rapid1  but that
 his heart must have been almost as     
instantaneously touched as  that of the 
penitent malefactor in the gospel40     
,now how was this  wonderful change to  
be accounted for8  ,we read in ,acts    

xvi4 #cd1 that when  the keeper of the  
prison in ,philippi had received ,st4   
,paul's message1  8,believe on the ,lord
 ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be      
saved20 that he  8took0 the apostles    
8the same hour of the night1 and washed 
their  stripes20 and was 8baptized10 and
 rejoiced believing in ,god4  ,it was   
perhaps this very feeling of joy which  
,jolin now experienced2 a joy which     
arose from a clear1 full1 well-grounded 
belief in the doctrine of  justification
 by faith4  ,this doctrine1 which gives 
peace with ,god1 is1  when rightly      
apprehended1 attended with an experience
 of the love of ,god  shed abroad in the
 heart by the ,holy ,ghost1 ,rev4 i4 v41
 and this  necessarily brings joy with  
it4  ,thus1 the man who has been taught 
to  look to him that justifieth the     
ungodly1 is able to walk in the light of
  ,god's countenance1 and is 8filled    
with all joy and peace in believing40   
,on the #beth1 ,jolin narrated to his   
visitor the whole history of his        

melancholy life2 his difficulties and   
discomforts1 arising1 not so much  from 
others1 as from his own sinful1 wilful  
heart4  ,like many other young  persons1
 he had chosen the way of dissipation   
and folly1 instead of that  which many  
circumstances had led him to think was a
 happier and a safer  course4  ,it is   
indeed true1 that his parents were not  
in a state to check  him in his         
proceedings2 but he seems to have had at
 many intervals those  convictions of   
conscience which were sufficient to have
 guarded him from  the transgressions   
into which he fell1 and even to have    
guided him to  seek the paths of        
religion4  ,his wretched education1     
however1 came in aid  of his natural    
self-will1 and soon confirmed him in    
those vices which led  to his ruin4     
,his state had been1 as he himself      
described it1 at times truly miserable2 
but drinking had quickly expelled every 
conviction of his own guilt1 and  he    
soon returned again to his mad career4  

,he observed to ,mr4 ,durell1  that     
since #ahbc1 he had not seen one happy  
week4--,there are two things to  observe
 on these transient convictions of guilt
 in a state of  unconversion4  ,until   
the ,spirit of ,god has enlightened the 
heart1 sin  does not by any means1 in   
all cases1 appear as it had appeared to 
,jolin1  and as it invariably does to   
the renewed heart1 a grievous burden4   
,the  life of many wretched sinners is  
one unbroken course of                  
self-satisfaction4  ,they are described 
in the seventy-third ,psalm1 as  often  
passing from their cradles to their     
graves without a feeling of  sorrow1 or 
an apprehension of death4  ,the ,bible1 
however1 teaches1 that  such a state of 
unmixed prosperity is the most dangerous
 in which a man  can be placed2 that the
 sinner1 when thus left alone of ,god1  
is lifted to  that very slippery        
pinnacle from which he will fall to his 
eternal ruin4  ,ministers cannot1       
therefore1 press upon their ungodly     

hearers the  universal conviction of the
 misery attending upon sin as an        
evidence of  their unconverted state1   
because sin does not in this life       
uniformly  bring along with it any such 
conviction4  ,their state of            
self-complacency  is1 indeed1 a state   
which comes as short of the real        
spiritual happiness  of the true        
,christian1 as darkness does of light2  
but it often affords a  false peace1    
which perhaps does not leave the sinner 
till his punishment  begins1 and the    
door of hope is shut against him for    
ever4  ,another  observation arising    
from ,jolin's feeling of wretchedness in
 his former  state1 is1 that the pain   
sometimes connected either with the     
practice of  sin1 or a view of its      
consequences1 will not1 unassisted by   
the ,spirit of  ,god1 produce the real  
repentance which the ,gospel requires4  
,it is true1  the compunctions of       
conscience1 like the afflictions of     
life1 are means  often used to prepare  

the sinner for the doctrines of the     
,gospel4  ,yet1  in how many cases do we
 find men wounded1 but not contrite2    
stunned1 but  not really affected by the
 deepest distresses of life4  ,thus we  
learn1  that it is not any mere         
dispensation of ,providence which       
necessarily  brings men to that         
knowledge and faith which are needful   
for salvation4  ,it is true1 that ,god  
does bless the endeavours of the willing
 mind  whenever he sees them2 but the   
mind is not necessarily made willing    
because it suffers1 any more than a     
child is necessarily made more          
compliant by the punishment which is    
inflicted4  ,some substances harden     
whilst others melt under the fire4      
,thus some souls are only confirmed in  
sin by the events which are instrumental
 in recovering others from it4  ,for    
this he must be quickened by the power  
of ,god1 he must have an  entirely      
different sense imparted to him from the
 mere feeling of the  misery of an evil 

course1 or the afflictions of life2 he  
must be  convinced of his own desperate 
state in the sight of ,god1 and of the  
need  of that sacrifice which the       
,saviour has wrought out1 before that   
good  work is really begun1 which1 it is
 promised1 shall be carried on till the 
day of ,jesus ,christ4  ,so far1 then1  
from the common notion1 that the        
sufferings of our life will atone for   
its offences1 those sufferings have  no 
connexion whatever with our state       
hereafter1 except as they may have  been
 a means of bringing us to seek that    
sacrifice by whom alone any of  our sins
 can be pardoned4    ,but to return to  
,jolin's history4  ,in the visit of the 
#beth1 he was again  led to a           
consideration of the only sacrifice for 
man's transgression1  particularly as it
 is exhibited in the fifty-third chapter
 of ,isaiah4  ,in  this portion of      
,scripture he learnt more exactly the   
cause for which  ,jesus ,christ came on 
the earth1 and became a man of sorrows1 

and  acquainted with grief3--8,surely he
 hath borne our griefs1 and carried our 
sorrows40  8,he was wounded for our     
transgressions1 he was bruised for our  
iniquities2 the chastisement of our     
peace was upon him1 and with his        
stripes we are healed4  ,all we like    
sheep have gone astray3 we have  turned 
everyone to his own way2 and the ,lord  
hath laid on him the  iniquity of us    
all40  ,other passages of ,scripture1   
connected with this  subject1 and       
pointing out the love of ,god as the    
first cause of man's  salvation1 were   
also explained to him1 as1 ,rom4 v4 #h1 
8,while we were yet  sinners1 ,christ   
died for us40  ,and in connexion with   
this1 ,ephes4 ii4 #d1  #e1 8,god1 who is
 rich in mercy1 for his great love      
wherewith he loved us  even when we were
 dead in sin1 hath quickened us together
 with ,christ40  ,and1 ,rom4 viii4 #a1  
8,there is no condemnation to them that 
are in ,christ  ,jesus1 who walk not    
after the flesh1 but after the ,spirit40

  ,the being in  ,christ ,jesus1 and the
 nature of faith1 by which alone he     
could apply the  merits and sufferings  
of the ,saviour1 were now1 as they were 
continually1  dwelt upon4    ,the faith 
of the ,gospel1 he was more particularly
 taught1 was such a  reception of the   
truths of ,scripture1 and more          
especially of the  engagement of ,god to
 pardon every sinner who came to him in 
,christ ,jesus1  as led not only to an  
entire dependence upon ,christ1 but to a
 complete  submission to his will1 and a
 consequent change in our own nature4   
,it  was not merely a reception of the  
doctrine of faith1 which was to be      
regarded as faith in the soul1 but the  
creation in the heart of a new and      
animated feeling of trust in the        
,redeemer4  ,the influence of faith in  
the  soul was like that of food to the  
body2 it imparts a new feeling and      
character2 gives new nourishment and    
vigour1 and works by love1 not only  to 
the ,saviour himself1 but to all around 

us4  ,faith1 therefore1 to be a  living 
principle1 must be felt by ourselves1   
and must be seen by others3  and of both
 these points the faith of this young   
man gave ample proof4  ,it gave         
confidence to his own mind1 and even    
gladdened his heart2 it made  the ,bible
 a new book to him2 it cheered the      
solitude of his prison2 it  directed him
 to be mindful of every practical duty2 
it gave a new  direction to all his     
hopes and fears1 and enabled him to go  
onwards in a  spirit of filial          
dependence to meet the last conflict4   
,it was at this  time1 ,i think1 that he
 made a confession1 which served to     
explain his  previous state of mind1 and
 to show how remarkably his attention   
was  fixed on one point4  8,how         
extraordinary1 sir10 said he1 8it is1   
that for  these last two days ,i have   
been able to give my mind only to one   
subject2 the thought of my crime and of 
my death have been taken from me1  and  
,i have scarcely been able to give my   

attention to either40  ,the one  subject
 which occupied all his attention1 and  
shut out every other1 was  the love of  
his ,saviour1 who had given himself for 
his sins4  ,this1 as he  said1 8filled  
his heart40  ,his state of mind served  
to show the absorbing  nature of this   
,divine principle when it is fully      
implanted in the soul4  ,when the mind  
has suddenly gained a view of its former
 state of  alienation1 and has been     
brought nigh again to ,god1 it is       
impossible that  the sense of this vast 
change should not swallow up every other
 feeling4  ,it is difficult at all times
 to think much of ,god1 and to think of 
any  thing else2 but how much more1 when
 the first conviction of the ,divine    
presence overwhelms the soul4  ,and1 as 
,david1 in the fifty-first ,psalm1      
appears to have comparatively lost sight
 of his sin against his country1  the   
family of ,uriah1 and of all the        
consequences of it1 in the depth of  the
 feeling which he had of his sin against

 ,god2 so the love of ,christ  took     
possession of ,jolin's mind2 and in its 
length1 and breadth1 and  depth1 and    
height1 so filled his thoughts1 and so  
absorbed his soul1 that  every other    
subject sank into nothing4    ,it will  
be manifest1 that1 in the explanation of
 all these subjects1  there was a       
constant repetition of points before    
explained1 and reference  to many texts 
which are not noticed4  ,jolin did not  
talk much2 and indeed  it was chiefly in
 answer to a question1 that he made any 
observation at  all4  ,when a passage of
 ,scripture was read to him1 he would   
often take  the ,bible and read it over 
slowly to himself1 then observe         
carefully  whether a paper to mark it   
was so placed1 that he might find the   
place  again1 and return the book with  
some slight expression of his feelings4 
,in this way did he seem to lay up      
portions of the ,divine word1 upon which
  he might reflect in his solitary      
hours4  ,his manner was always calm and 

self-possessed2 and his answers to      
questions were such as showed that he   
clearly understood the grounds upon     
which the answer was to be made4  ,he   
was never beside the mark in a reply4   
,but it was quite evident that all  the 
lessons which were taught him1 and which
 had the warrant of  scriptural         
authority1 sank into his heart1 and that
 he found in them that  which           
corresponded with his own experience4   
,the next day1 the #bfth1 he was visited
 by ,mr4 ,dallas1 one of the  chaplains 
of the ,bishop of ,winchester1 and by   
,mr4 ,durell1 the rector of  ,st4       
,saviour's parish4  ,these two clergymen
 have each given public and  repeated   
testimony to the state of mind in which 
they found ,jolin4  ,the  visit of ,mr4 
,dallas was chiefly occupied in an      
endeavour to search out  the reality of 
the foundation upon which the hope of   
the penitent rested1  and he viewed it  
as most satisfactory4  ,mr4 ,durell     
visited ,jolin at the  request of the   

,dean of ,jersey1 in whose parish the   
prison is situated4  ,mr4 ,durell says  
in his little work1 8,i came to perform 
a difficult and  unpleasant duty1 which1
 indeed1 ,i could not refuse4  ,i       
mention this  indifference10 he adds1   
8to show1 that when ,i first repaired to
 this poor  man's dungeon1 there must   
have been something very powerful to    
have  affected me to such a degree40    
,he at first brought ,dodd's ,prison    
,thoughts with him to read to ,jolin2   
but1 on the suggestion of a friend1  he 
changed this book for the ,bible4  ,mr4 
,durell visited ,jolin many times3  and 
he has published an account of each     
visit4  ,his remarks are candid1  kind1 
and very clear as to his belief of the  
real change of ,jolin's  character4     
,the facts which he narrates are some of
 them in the highest  degree            
interesting4  8,i have sympathised10 he 
says1 8in ,jolin's cell1 in  all the    
horrors of his situation4  ,i have      
shuddered at his nefarious  parricide2  

,i have rejoiced in his unfeigned       
repentance2 and ,i have been  soothed by
 his delightful anticipations of a      
blessed immortality40  ,he  adds1 on one
 occasion1 8,i never saw a man more free
 from enthusiasm4  ,all  his religion   
centred in the atonement of ,christ40   
,on another1 8,i never  heard him       
complain of the evidence against him1   
nor of his sentence2  never did an      
expression of murmur or of invective    
escape from him40  ,he  says again1     
8,this visit lasted three hours2 than   
which none ever made a  deeper          
impression on me1 or will perhaps be    
more conducive to my own  spiritual     
improvement40  ,he adds again1 8,it may1
 perhaps1 be supposed1  that it was the 
dread of death which had excited his    
religious fervour2  on the contrary1    
those apprehensions ceased from the     
moment that holy  principle originated  
in his heart3 neither was it that       
instinctive fear  of dying that drove   
him into religious inquiries and        

self-examination4  ,that fear may1      
indeed1 have caused a wicked man to be  
sorry for his sin2  but the growth in   
knowledge1 in grace1 and in so many     
gifts of the  ,spirit1 was so           
extraordinary and so unprecedented1 that
 ,i cannot account  for it as having    
been the result of natural causes       
operating on an ardent  and distracted  
mind4  ,i am not only impartial1 but am 
conscious that ,i am  as free from      
superstition and enthusiasm as any man2 
yet ,i feel inwardly  convinced1 that   
,jolin's conversation had something in  
it more than human2  and that           
,providence assisted him with an        
imperceptible1 though equally           
miraculous1 working of the ,holy        
,spirit2 to the end that his edifying   
repentance might operate like a         
distinguished example to open the bosom 
of many an infidel to an examination of 
the sacred truths of  ,christianity1 and
 to persuade the thoughtless and        
profligate1 that1  unless they abandon  

their dangerous course1 they will be    
doomed to  certain destruction40    ,but
 it may be interesting to lay before    
your readers the last  communication of 
this kind friend1 when ,jolin was about 
to be executed4  ,it was in a letter to 
one of the ministers then with him in   
the prison4                        ,st4 
,saviour's1 ,oct4 #c1 #ahbi1 #i o'clock 
in the morning4        8,sir1--,the     
deep1 the ,christian interest1 which ,i 
feel for our      departing brother1    
induces me to write you a short note4   
,tell him      that ,i pray that the    
strength which is imparted from on high 
may not      fail him in his last hour1 
and that the sufferings of the ,saviour 
may      inspire him with religious     
courage to bear his sufferings4  ,tell  
him      also1 that since we are not to 
meet again on earth1 he departs with    
my blessing and my prayers2 and that1 ,i
 trust1 we shall meet again      where  
every tear shall be dried from every    
eye4  ,the sixteenth      chapter of    

,st4 ,john is most particularly adapted 
to his awful      situation4  ,the      
thirty-third verse is a glorious precept
 and example      for him3 #8,these     
things have ,i spoken to you1 that in me
 ye might have      peace4  ,in the     
world ye shall have tribulation3 but1 be
 of good      cheer1 ,i have overcome   
the world4'                             
8,i am1 sir1 yours truly1               
8,e4 ,,durell40    ,on the last ,sunday 
of his life1 ,jolin had many visitors4  
,his mind seemed  gradually to ripen for
 eternity4  ,he gained every day clearer
 views of  his sinful nature1 of the    
power of ,divine grace1 of the nature of
 faith1  of the immensity of the love of
 ,christ1 and of the offer of a free    
salvation made to himself4  ,he could   
now trace very distinctly1 in the       
various events of his life1 the         
manifestations of the great mercy of    
,god  in his favour4  ,the returning    
prodigal 7,luke xv47 he felt more and   
more  to represent himself and his own  

case4  ,he saw his heavenly ,father     
waiting to be gracious to him4  ,he had 
scarcely time to offer up his           
supplications1 when he found1 that      
before he called1 ,god had answered1    
and while he was yet speaking1 ,he had  
heard4  ,there was one circumstance     
connected with the visit of this day    
which is1 in itself1 striking4  ,the    
last trial was to take place on the     
morrow4  ,he had1 under the direction   
of his legal adviser1 prepared a paper1 
which was to be read to the jury4       
,there was still1 therefore1 a          
possibility of his escape from the      
punishment of death4  ,this latter      
circumstance became a subject of        
conversation1 and an earnest hope was   
expressed on the part of his  visitor1  
that1 if he was set at liberty1 he would
 be supported by ,divine  grace1 and    
that he would be enabled to live to the 
glory of ,god4  ,his  answer to this    
observation clearly showed how well he  
understood the  power of the grace of   

,god1 and how entirely his heart was    
stayed upon  that as his only support in
 every emergency of his life1 whether he
 were  to escape from prison1 or be led 
to the scaffold4  ,he observed1 8,sir1  
the  man that is fit to die1 is fit to  
live4  ,i have known what it is to  have
 a heart as hard as a diamond2 but ,i   
now feel ,i have a heart of  flesh40    
,his persuasion was thus very clearly   
expressed1 that the same  power which   
had changed his heart from stone to     
flesh1 could and would  keep him on his 
way2 and that1 depending upon ,divine   
grace1 he need not  fear whether life or
 death were presented to him4  ,in this 
calm and  confiding posture of mind1 he 
seemed continually to rest4  ,all his   
hope  and trust were grounded on his    
,saviour4  ,he had come to the full     
experience of the psalmist--8,it is good
 for me to draw near to ,god40    ,a    
hymn of ,cowper's1 which had been given 
to him1 seemed very much to have        
arrested his attention this day4  ,it is

 on the subject of the fountain  opened 
for sin1 and for uncleanness4 7,zech4   
xiii4 #a47        8,there is a fountain 
filled with blood1         ,drawn from  
,immanuel's veins2      ,and sinners    
plunged beneath that flood         ,lose
 all their guilty stains4        ,the   
dying thief rejoiced to see             
,that fountain in his day2      ,and    
there have ,i1 though vile as he1       
,wash'd all my sins away4        ,e'er  
since1 by faith1 ,i saw the stream      
,thy flowing wounds supply1             
,redeeming love has been my theme1      
,and shall be till ,i die4        ,then1
 in a nobler1 sweeter song1             
,i'll sing thy power to save1      ,when
 this poor lisping1 stammering tongue   
,lies silent in the grave4        ,lord1
 ,i believe thou hast prepared          
7,unworthy though ,i be7      ,for me a 
blood-bought free reward1         ,a    
golden harp for me4        ',tis strung 
and tuned for endless years1            
,and formed by power divine1      ,to   

sound in ,god the ,father's ears1       
,no other name but thine40    ,this hymn
 he was very fond of1 and he repeated it
 on his way to the  scaffold4  ,it had  
been an object to store the mind of     
,jolin with subjects  which might1 by   
the ,divine blessing1 be sources of     
encouragement and of  comfort to him    
when left alone with his ,bible1 or in  
the silent hours of  the night4  ,the   
following points1 in addition to those  
already  enumerated1 had been dwelt     
upon2 and now1 as the opportunities for 
visiting his prison by the individual   
who proposed them1 had drawn to a       
close1 some of them were at this time   
again earnestly pressed upon his        
attention4  ,these were1 the 8tender    
mercy0 of ,god1 7,luke i4 #gh17 by which
  alone the ,day-spring from on high    
visits the soul1 and by which it is     
brought out of its state of natural     
darkness2 the view of ,christ touched   
with the feeling of our infirmities1    
7,heb4 iv4 #ae1 #af17 and encouraging   

us to go with boldness to the ,throne of
 grace2 the invitation to ask with      
importunity for the ,holy ,spirit 7,luke
 xi4 #a-aa72 the intercession of  ,jesus
 for his people 7,rom4 viii4 #cd72 the  
promise1 that ,god who had not  spared  
his own ,son would with him freely give 
us all things 7,rom4 viii4  #cb72 the   
remedy against all trouble to be found  
in faith in the ,lord  ,jesus ,christ   
7,john xiv4 #a72 the parting address and
 prayer of ,christ  7,john xiv4 xv4 xvi4
 xvii472 and the engagement that nothing
 shall  separate the believer from the  
love of ,christ 7,rom4 viii4 #ce-ci74   
,to  this was added1 as much examination
 as to the working of these doctrines   
on his heart1 the degree in which they  
were felt1 and their practical  bearing1
 as the time and circumstances would    
admit4  ,all these subjects  ,jolin     
appeared to understand and to receive2  
and if he could not  enumerate them as  
distinct articles of his religious      
creed1 yet he seemed  fully to          

comprehend and to receive them as the   
testimony of ,god4    ,monday1 the      
#bhth1 was the day fixed for his second 
trial2 and here he  exhibited the       
character of a real ,christian4  ,his   
defence he had written  before1 and it  
was as follows3--8,gentlemen1 whatever  
may be my fate1 ,i  shall not die       
without having to reproach myself for   
not having quitted my  father's house4  
,by so doing1 ,i should have avoided    
being the victim in  different unhappy  
affairs that often took place between my
 father and  mother1 in which ,i was    
generally the object upon which the     
weight of  their discontent fell4  ,i   
was often obliged to submit to being    
beaten  most severely1 and to hear      
language unworthy of being uttered by   
either  father or mother4  ,now1 left to
 myself in the solitude of a dungeon1 ,i
  reflect on times gone by1 remembering 
that ,i was the only child1  abandoned  
to the most deplorable fate4  ,yet ,i   
ought to have been wiser1  and not      

followed the example of my nearer       
relations1 the source of my  misfortune4
  ,but now that respectable ministers of
 the ,gospel have taken  the trouble to 
visit me1 and point out my duty towards 
,god and towards  man1 ,i rest          
contented4  ,i pray to ,god to pardon   
the horrible1 but never  premeditated   
crime of which ,i am guilty4  ,if ,i    
ever had an intention of  killing my    
poor father1 ,i had a very favourable   
opportunity of doing so1  when he was   
stretched upon a bed of sickness1 unable
 to help himself4  ,i  was then the only
 person who took care of him1 and       
administered to his  wants1 as there was
 no other person besides myself in the  
house4  ,i beg  pardon of all those whom
 ,i may have willingly or unwillingly   
offended4  ,gentlemen1 after this       
declaration1 ,i submit myself entirely  
to your  wisdom4  ,it is you who are    
going to decide my fate4  ,i am ready to
 meet  it1 and ,i will submit to your   
judgment without a murmur4--,,ph4 ,g4   

,,jolin40    ,this paper is a           
translation from the ,french1 in which  
language it was  originally written4    
,whether it is accurately translated1 or
 whether it  was written by ,jolin      
himself1 or by his advocate1 it is      
impossible to  judge4  ,the passage in  
it which relates to his parents1 if his 
own1 is  liable to objection4  ,the     
faults of a parent1 especially faults so
  awfully punished1 ought not to have   
made a part of his defence4  ,if the    
language is that of his advocate1 it is 
only the language of legal              
justification1 and the facts are both   
true and of much weight for the         
extenuation of his crime4    ,it is     
said1 that during his trial1 his        
calmness was remarkable4  ,his lips     
apparently were employed in prayer1 and 
this he afterwards confessed was  the   
case4  ,he prayed for himself1 that he  
might be strengthened to go  through his
 trial1 and also for his judges and his 
jury4  ,there was no  effrontery in his 

look2 but1 on the contrary1 the         
appearance of deep  humiliation4  ,for  
four hours1 during which time his trial 
lasted1 he  never lifted his eyes from  
the ground4  ,on his return from the    
trial1 he  had to encounter the         
indignation of the populace against his 
crime4  ,on  the former occasion1 a     
woman had cried1 8,ah1 le scelerat60    
which had a  good deal affected him4    
,this time he addressed the people from 
the  prison gates1 and when they        
observed that he was half dead from     
fatigue1  he said1 amongst other things1
 8,i have a strength within me ye know  
not4  ,this supports me4  ,weep not for 
me1 weep for yourselves40    ,during the
 following days of his life1 he received
 continual visits from  a variety of    
persons4  ,on the #bhth1 the ,rev4 ,p4  
,filluel2 on the #bith1  from both the  
chaplains of the ,bishop of ,winchester2
 ,mr4 ,dallas was  indeed as assiduous  
in his attendance at the gaol1 as his   
many other  duties at that time would   

permit2 and all these gentlemen         
expressed the  strongest conviction of  
the reality of ,jolin's conversion4     
,many  ministers1 and others beside1    
very kindly came1 desiring to impart to 
him  some spiritual gift4  ,he received 
all gladly2 but more especially those   
whose conversation led him to believe   
that they came to him in the  fulness of
 ,christian love4  ,his discernment on  
this point was a striking  evidence of  
the clear views of doctrine which he had
 attained4  ,he  perceived and felt the 
inadequacy of those religious systems   
which were  not connected with deep and 
experimental views of personal          
corruption2  and with exclusive         
dependence for salvation upon the       
atonement of ,jesus  ,christ4  ,with a  
sense of gratitude for the instruments  
made use of in  awakening his mind1     
,jolin appeared remarkably independent  
of any outward  help4  ,he was by no    
means like a man who hung upon another's
 teaching1  but upon that of ,god4  ,it 

was on this account that he was1        
perhaps1 able  to bear without injury   
the multifarious instruction which he   
received4  ,his own language was most   
satisfactory2 he always spoke of the    
salvation  procured for him as a free   
and unmerited gift of ,god2 and dwelt   
upon the  peculiar manifestation of     
,god's grace to himself1 inasmuch as he 
had  twice saved him from shipwreck when
 he was in an entirely unprepared  state
 to meet death1 and now he had been     
brought to that prison that he  might   
learn the way of salvation4  ,his       
expressions of the sense of his  own    
unworthiness were clear and strong4  ,he
 told one of his friends that  he had   
nothing to offer to ,god1 but his heart2
 that all his repentance1  all his      
resolutions1 all his short conflict with
 the carnal heart1 could  never expiate 
his sin4  ,on another occasion he said1 
that he was not  worthy to pick up the  
crumbs under his ,master's table2 and on
 another1  that ,christ was his only    

hope2 that ,he had paid his ransom1 and 
that ,he  would receive him into glory4 
,with another class of visitors1 those  
of  his family and friends1 he was      
equally decided in declaring what great 
things ,god had done for his soul1 and  
what necessity there was that they      
should turn and repent if they would be 
saved4  ,indeed1 a discourse of  this   
kind had made some of them think him    
insane4  ,he had told his  relations who
 had come to him1 that he was formerly  
unclean and unholy2  that they were so  
at that moment4  ,he therefore entreated
 them to apply  to ,him who had cast out
 the unclean devils into the swine1 to  
cleanse  their souls4  ,on all          
occasions1 when he could1 he manifested 
the same  desire to instruct others1 and
 lead them to that refuge which he had  
found so precious to his own soul4      
,on ,thursday1 ,october #a1 ,mr4 ,durell
 records a very interesting visit which 
he paid the prisoner3 interesting1 as it
 showed the state of mind in  which he  

found him4  8,as we approached the      
passage10 says ,mr4 ,durell1 8we  could 
hear the loud ejaculations of the       
prisoner's prayers40  ,the gaoler       
observed1 that he always found him thus 
employed when he was left alone  in the 
cell4  ,mr4 ,durell read to him the     
account of our ,saviour's death1  from  
,matthew xxvii41 and concluded with a   
prayer1 at the end of which  ,jolin was 
much affected4  ,he exhibited1 on this  
occasion1 the deepest  sense of         
gratitude to all about him2 and ,mr4    
,hammond1 his advocate1 who  was also   
present1 bore witness to the calmness   
and the change of ,jolin's  state of    
mind4  ,to the latter gentleman1 he1 on 
that occasion1 expressed  his sense of  
the great services rendered to him on   
his trial4  ,he sat up  on his bed1 and 
clasping both his hands together1 said  
most earnestly1  8,mr4 ,hammond1 ,i     
thank you over and over again for the   
pains you have  taken for me4  ,i regret
 that ,i have nothing to give to reward 

you as you  deserve40  ,this same sense 
of gratitude led him constantly to      
express his  thanks to his gaoler1 whose
 kindness and attention1 those who were 
so  often going out and in the prison   
can fully testify4  ,but it was not on  
this occasion alone1 for the evidence   
afforded to his state of mind was  very 
remarkable4  ,the acting                
lieutenant-governor1 the dean1 the      
mayor1 a  leading medical man who came  
to inquire into his insanity1 clergymen1
  dissenting ministers1 his advocate1   
his relations1 his attendants1 all      
appear to have come away from the prison
 with a common conviction1 that  the    
power of ,god had been at work in       
producing the wonderful change which    
they witnessed4    ,on the day previous 
to his execution1 the event to which ,i 
have referred  with regard to his       
relations occurred4  ,they1 not         
understanding the  nature of the change 
which had taken place in him1 and1      
judging from  reports of blows which he 

had received1 and other circumstances1  
endeavoured to establish the plea of    
insanity2 and they brought a very       
eminent medical practitioner to examine 
into his state4  ,but this  interference
 was followed by the best consequences2 
for1 whilst on the  one hand it was     
clearly ascertained that ,jolin was in  
no state of  derangement1 or delusion1  
or enthusiastic fervour2 on the other1  
the  clearest and most satisfactory     
evidence was given of his real state of 
mind4  ,after this1 the ,dean of ,jersey
 kindly attended to administer the      
sacrament to him4  ,before he received  
the holy communion1 he underwent an     
examination2 and to the dean1 and three 
other clergymen1 he gave1 in  answer to 
their questions1 a reason of the hope   
that was in him4  ,he  explained with   
such clearness the object and the nature
 of his faith1  testified so deep a     
sense of his own unworthiness1 and      
showed so good a  feeling towards all   
his fellow-creatures1 that they had not1

 any of them1  a doubt of his fitness to
 partake of the feast prepared for the  
penitent  sinner4  ,this examination1   
which was peculiarly solemn and         
affecting to  ,jolin1 looking1 as most  
of the people of that island do1 with   
deep  veneration on the high and sacred 
office of the dean1 was remarkably      
calculated to detect any thing which    
might be suspicious in his views1 or  in
 his real state4  ,throughout this day1 
,mr4 ,hall reports1 that ,jolin was     
longing to depart1 and to be with       
,christ1 saying1 8,the hours pass       
slowly40  ,it was remarked that he must 
wait ,god's time1 who had yet work  for 
him to do in his vineyard4  ,and most   
faithfully was every hour  devoted to   
the duties of his immediate calling4    
,he warned1 rebuked1  exhorted1 with all
 long-suffering and patience4  ,he said 
he thought it  would be better for him  
to die on the scaffold1 than quietly in 
his cell1  as he might thereby glorify  
,god by his patience1 and be an example 

to all  of the fatal consequences of    
indulgence in sin4    ,mr4 ,durell has  
given an account of his last visit to   
,jolin on the evening  of this day4  ,he
 chose the same subject to read to him  
as on the day  before1 but from another 
,evangelist4  ,it was ,luke xxiii41 the 
account of  our ,saviour's crucifixion4 
,during the reading1 ,jolin's           
sensibility was  greatly excited1 and   
his half-broken sobs were heard4  ,mr4  
,durell1  thinking it proper to check   
this state of mind1 pointed out the     
sufferings of ,christ as a matter of    
holy joy1 and threatened to lay down    
the book1 and read no more1 if ,jolin   
continued to feel so much4  ,mr4        
,durell1 wishing to avoid any thing     
which might discompose ,jolin1          
carefully omitted making any comment on 
the most affecting part of our          
,saviour's sufferings4  ,he1 on the     
other hand1 sought to comfort him by an 
application of the promise1 that 8they  
who sow in tears1 shall reap in  joy20  

and by the prospect of paradise held out
 to the penitent thief4  ,he  adds1 in  
conclusion1 8,in the course of my       
profession1 ,i have seen many           
individuals on the brink of the grave2  
but never before did ,i witness  such   
coolness and such self-command--a scene 
so holy1 so edifying1 so  sublime4  ,had
 he been in the full bloom of human     
prosperity1 and with the  prospect of   
adding half a century longer to his     
existence1 he could not  have been more 
collected4  ,i was myself almost falling
 into a delusion  contrary to the       
evidence of my own senses4  ,i could not
 believe that one  so near his end could
 retain so much courage1 or such        
contempt of  ignominy and death4  ,i    
could not believe that one so gentle1   
and now so  well instructed in religious
 duties1 could have been ever capable of
  committing a crime for which he       
deserved to die--that he could have been
 a  murderer40    ,on the night previous
 to his execution1 the kind relation who

 had first  visited him in the prison1  
and brought him the first message of    
salvation1 in bringing him the ,new     
,testament1 and ,mr4 ,gallachin1 an     
excellent minister of the church1 sat up
 with him4  ,they endeavoured to  sing a
 hymn1 and1 feeling the imperfection of 
the service1 he said1  8,to-morrow ,i   
shall join in very different singing    
from this40  ,at  half-past one in the  
morning1 he fell into a kind of dozing  
stupor for an  hour1 but did not sleep4 
,during that time he was heard repeating
 the  fifty-first ,psalm1 and also      
repeatedly exclaiming1 8,glory to the   
,lamb6  glory to our ,lord ,jesus       
,christ60 and when he awoke1 he said    
that he had  seen glorious things in a  
dream4  ,he also said1 between sleeping 
and  waking1 as it appeared1 8,there is 
now1 therefore1 no condemnation for     
them that are in ,christ ,jesus40  ,at  
waking he requested that a hymn might   
be sung4  ,the next morning ,mr4 ,hall  
went to him at half-past six o'clock4   

,when he entered his cell1 ,jolin said1 
8,oh1 ,mr4 ,hall1 ,i am so glad to see  
you2 ,i am so happy4  ,i have slept four
 hours1 and the rest of the night  we   
have spent in such delightful           
conversation4  ,i feel so strong1 but ,i
  will wait patiently the ,lord's time40
  ,the day before1 ,i have observed1  he
 thought the hours passed slowly1 he was
 so anxious to depart and to be  with   
,christ4  ,mr4 ,hall took occasion to   
warn him1 that he had still a  work to  
do4  ,he must not only glorify his      
,saviour by his conduct1 and by  his    
patient resignation1 but he must again  
speak a word of warning to  those about 
him4  ,and he assured him that he might 
be able to do more for  the praise and  
honour of his ,master in his death upon 
the scaffold1 by  bearing testimony to  
his own exceeding wickedness1 and to the
  unsearchable mercy and love of        
,christ1 than if he had died in a more  
private manner4  ,to this he assented1  
and took the resolution of doing  all in

 his power4  8,great1 indeed10 says ,mr4
 ,hall1 8were the grace and  support    
which he enjoyed4  ,he felt sick at     
breakfast time1 and could not  eat2 but1
 to oblige me1 he said he would try4    
,about nine o'clock his  irons were     
taken off2 and ,i could not help        
thinking of this as symbolical  of that 
liberty which soon1 when passed beyond  
this life1 he would enjoy  for ever in  
the presence of his ,saviour4  ,jolin   
immediately proposed to  me to kneel    
down and thank ,god for what he had done
 for him2 saying1 #8,i  have always     
before prayed in bed2 now ,i can go on  
my knees in the proper  posture for a   
sinner4'  ,oh1 at this time1 how deep   
were his confessions  of sin1 committed 
both in thought1 word1 and deed2 his    
acknowledgment of  mercy through ,jesus 
,christ2 his expressions of dependence  
upon ,him for  grace1 to keep him in his
 fiery trial1 and to open for him the   
kingdom of  heaven6  ,when he drank his 
milk1 he said1 #8,oh6 ,god1 ,i thank    

thee that  thou hast been so merciful   
and good to me1 who have been so great a
  sinner6'  ,his hand was never cold1   
and his pulse was always regular to  the
 end4  ,i never witnessed one to whom   
the ,lord was pleased to give a         
stronger faith1 which was proved by his 
conduct to the last4  ,he sat  calmly   
speaking and listening till about       
half-past twelve2 when he left  the     
prison1 leaning on me and ,mr4          
,gallachin4  ,an immense concourse of   
people presented itself at the prison   
gates1 and their rush and noise  were   
greater than we expected4  ,the         
newspaper account says--#8,he was calm  
and collected1 walked with steadiness1  
and evinced throughout the most         
decorous firmness4  ,we could not       
perceive that he trembled4  ,his mind   
seemed quite absorbed in religious      
exercises2 and1 from all we can learn1  
there was good and satisfactory evidence
 that he was a true penitent1 and       
relied on the ,divine mercy4'0    ,as he

 was leaving the gaol he was heard to   
repeat the fourth verse of the          
twenty-third ,psalm1 8,yea1 though ,i   
walk through the valley of the shadow   
of death1 ,i will fear no evil2 for thou
 art with me1 thy rod and thy  staff    
they comfort me40  ,mr4 ,hall continues3
 8,the noise of the people  prevented my
 being heard by ,jolin1 who walked as   
firmly as myself3 ,i  therefore opened  
my hymn-book1 and pointed out to him the
 sufficiency of  the ,redeemer1 in one  
of those hymns which ,i had previously  
chosen for his  perusal4  ,the hymn     
chosen was one beginning--        #8,he 
lives1 the great ,redeemer lives6       
,what joy the blest assurance gives6    
,and now1 before his ,father1 ,god1     
,pleads the full merit of his blood4    
,in every dark1 distressful hour1       
,when sin and ,satan join their power1  
,let this dear hope repel the dart1     
,that ,jesus bears us on his heart4'    
8,he told me1 that he did not mind the  
people1 that they were poor worms2  that

 he would endeavour to warn them from   
the scaffold1 for they were  standing on
 the brink of the pit4  ,we mounted the 
steepest part of the  gallows hill4  ,he
 said1 his ,saviour had toiled up       
,calvary with a cross1  which he ought  
to be thankful that he had not to bear2 
and that ,jesus  ,christ had done this  
for his sake1 whereas1 he was receiving 
the due  reward of his transgression4   
,this reflection seemed to give new     
wings to  his exertions in pressing up  
the rock4  ,i think that a worse place  
of  ascent could not have been chosen4  
,when we arrived at the summit1 the     
,greffier read his sentence aloud1 and  
,mr4 ,gallachin prayed most fervently   
with him in ,french4  ,after the prayer1
 he ascended the platform with ,mr4     
,gallachin and myself1 and addressed the
 people in ,french1 as you will see  by 
the account in the newspaper4  ,but the 
account is deficient in one  most       
essential point4  ,he urged the people  
by the love of ,christ1  whom he had    

crucified1 and whom they were crucifying
 by their sins40  ,the  substance of his
 warning was on the subject of          
intemperance1  ,sabbath-breaking1 the   
neglect of ,god and of religion2 and it 
was  addressed principally to parents   
and to the young4  ,these warnings he   
twice delivered2 once before1 and once  
after the rope was fastened round  his  
neck4  8,although ,i do not accurately  
remember10 ,mr4 ,hall continues1  8the  
words of any of his speeches1 ,i can    
safely say1 that he expressed  his      
conviction that the work which had taken
 place in his heart had been  effected  
by no power or will of his own1 but by a
 sovereign act of ,divine  grace4       
,jolin then read aloud some verses from 
the ,testament1 which  sufficiently     
indicate the view which he took both of 
the nature of his  change1 and of the   
source from whence it sprang4  ,they are
 taken from #a  ,pet4 i4 #c-e3          
#8,blessed be the ,god and ,father of   
our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1  which        

according to his abundant mercy hath    
begotten us again unto a  lively hope1  
by the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ   
from the dead1 to an  inheritance       
incorruptible and undefiled1 and that   
fadeth not away1  reserved in heaven for
 you1 who are kept by the power of ,god 
through  faith unto salvation1 ready to 
be revealed in the last time4'  ,to     
these  verses he was particularly       
partial4  ,he then spoke to me1 and told
 me  that he had full confidence in the 
sufficiency of the blood of ,christ to  
blot out all his sins2 and that ,he who 
had loved him so much as to shed  his   
blood for him1 and had kept him to that 
hour stedfast and immoveable1  would    
receive him into glory4  ,when the cap  
was drawn over his face1 ,i  told him   
not to dread the momentary pain1 for    
soon he would be in the  presence of his
 ,saviour4  ,he pressed my hand1 and    
said he was not afraid2  for he knew    
that ,he would take him unto himself4   
,i told him that ,i would  pray that his

 sufferings might be short1 and went    
down40  ,mr4 ,gallachin  then read a    
part of the ,burial ,service1 until the 
fatal moment4  ,his  sufferings appeared
 not to be great1 and were of brief     
duration4  8,whilst  ,i was in prayer10 
,mr4 ,hall adds1 8the drop fell1 and our
 poor brother ,i  knew had entered into 
the presence of his ,redeemer4  ,the    
women around me  screamed out1 #8,the   
,lord have mercy upon his poor soul6'   
,i could not but  pray that their souls 
might find the same mercy4  ,he died    
without a  struggle4  ,i never saw him  
after ,i pressed his hand when alive1 as
 ,i  ascended the hill through the      
crowd1 and was spared seeing his mortal 
remains40    ,thus ended the course of a
 young man1 whose history is a solemn   
memorial1  not only of the awful effects
 of a bad education1 and of the         
wretchedness  of sin1 but also of the   
wonderful compassion of ,god4  ,much of 
what has  been narrated may appear      
almost incredible to some readers2 and  

many of  those1 especially1 who are     
justly suspicions of death-bed          
repentances1  may be led to doubt how   
far the work of this young man's        
conversion was  complete1 and whether1  
if he had been permitted to live1 he    
would have  lived as he has died4  ,if1 
however1 he was really converted in     
heart to  ,god1 the observation which he
 himself made must be applied to his own
  case3 8,the man that is fit to die is 
fit to live40  ,the same grace which    
brought him into the fold of ,christ    
would have kept him in all his way2  so 
that the enemy of his soul should not   
have overpowered him4  ,and there  is1  
as before mentioned1 the most remarkable
 concurrence of testimony as  to        
,jolin's state at the time of his death4
  ,not only ,mr4 ,hall1 ,mr4            
,gallachin1 and many others1 bear       
witness to the facts2 but the public    
voice has acknowledged the wonderful    
change which took place in him4  ,one   
person1 not a believer in revelation1   

but who stood by ,jolin on the  gallows 
hill1 and witnessed his conduct1 came to
 a minister1 and  acknowledged1 that    
8there must be something in religion to 
support a man  in such a manner2 and    
that he had therefore determined to     
attend a place  of worship1 and to bring
 up his children in the fear of ,god40  
,mr4 ,hall  says1 8,i have never had a  
doubt on my mind as to the reality of   
the  change4  ,his conduct in the court2
 his complete deadness to the things of 
time and sense1 and this even when his  
friends seemed so anxious to save  him  
from an ignominious death1 were so many 
pleasing testimonies that he  was really
 risen with ,christ1 and that his       
affections were set upon  things above4 
,god did indeed work mightily in him3   
though last1 he was  one of the first4  
,he seemed so convinced of sin1 and to  
have such simple  dependence upon the   
truth and firm foundation of ,christ's  
promises1 and  he showed so abundantly  
that these feelings were not merely     

talked into  his head1 that ,i always   
returned delighted with my visit to him4
  ,i used  to pray instantly with him   
that he might not be deceiving himself1 
nor be  deceived by ,satan1 or any of   
us2 and ,i can say1 as far as ,i was    
capable  of judging1 that his was a real
 work of ,divine grace40  ,the testimony
 of  the editor of the ,jersey          
newspaper1 also1 while it is beyond all 
suspicion of enthusiasm1 and does not   
even exhibit the proof of a  tolerably  
distinct view of the real foundation on 
which ,jolin stood1 is a  most          
satisfactory testimony of the reality of
 this change4  ,he says1 8,we  are not  
amongst those who would hastily give    
credence to the genuineness  of         
conversion in the cases of great        
criminals1 or who approve of  religious 
ecstasies in the short interval between 
the commission of  dreadful enormities1 
and the violent death awarded by law2 we
 do not  think it desirable that1 while 
so many good men1 after a long life of  

exemplary piety1 approach their last    
hour with solemn apprehensions1 such  as
 have lived in a course of profligate   
vice should boast of triumphant         
feelings and peculiar joy on their way  
to the scaffold1 where they are to  be  
suddenly compelled into the presence of 
their ,creator and ,divine              
,judge2--but1 in the instance before us1
 we have much satisfaction in  believing
 that a real change of heart had taken  
place1 before a change of  worlds was   
experienced4  ,in his last days1 ,jolin 
evinced much solidity of  mind on the   
subject most important to him3 his      
conduct was marked by the  most becoming
 propriety2 and if he expressed a       
confident hope of  acceptance before    
,god1 it was accompanied with humility1 
and1 as far as  man can judge1 with     
sincere sorrow for his offences40  ,the 
rapid  attainment of ,divine knowledge1 
the simple belief of the truths of the  
,bible1 the consistent walk in that     
which he believed to be the will of     

,god1 are fruits which can be ascribed  
only to the grace and ,spirit of  ,god4 
,where the ,lord of all power and might 
is pleased to exercise his  sovereignty1
 who shall say that the work of many    
years may not be  produced in a few     
weeks2 or1 as in the case of the thief  
upon the cross1  in a much shorter time8
  ,the case of the thief on the cross is
 one in  which the probabilities1       
before-hand1 of repentance1 were not so 
great2  and the evidences of his real   
conversion are scarcely more complete1  
except the incidental circumstance of   
the testimony of our ,lord4  ,both of   
these criminals felt sorrow for their   
sins1 confessed them to men1            
acknowledged them to ,god1 and owned the
 justice of their condemnation2  both   
testified the sincerity of their faith3 
but1 if the thief did this  under       
circumstances more trying to his        
sincerity than those of ,jolin1 it  is  
also to be remembered1 that he saw the  
,lord of life2 and that to ,jolin       

alone1 therefore1 the language applied1 
8,blessed are they that have not  seen1 
and yet have believed40  ,i know of no  
mark of true conversion which  was      
absent from the case of ,jolin4  ,his   
faith was clear and strong4  ,it  lifted
 him above the world1 and1 wrought by   
love1 it gave him courage1  and zeal1   
and love4  ,he went forward in implicit 
dependence upon ,divine  grace1 and     
pursued1 as was permitted him after his 
change1 a holy1  humble1 consistent     
course2 and1 with the cap upon his head1
 and the rope  round his neck1 he could 
say with calmness1 that 8he was not     
afraid1 for  he knew that his ,saviour  
would take him to himself40    ,but it  
may still be said1 ,how do we know that 
,jolin was sincere in all  that he said1
 or that he was not under delusion in   
what he felt8  ,to this  question the   
reply has been1 ,i think1 already       
offered in these pages--by  pointing to 
the workings of his mind1 and the       
consistency of his conduct4  ,and here  

we must leave the case till the last    
great day4    ,in the meanwhile1 let us 
learn from this history1 some of the    
lessons  which it is calculated to      
teach4    ,the first of these is1 the   
misery and danger of a state of sin4    
,st4  ,paul1 in describing the          
consequences of a state of sin1 says1 in
 an  appeal to the ,roman converts1 7vi4
 #ba17 8,what part had ye then in those 
things whereof ye are now ashamed2 for  
the end of those things is death40      
,that is1 sin yields no real fruit2 it  
produces shame2 and the end of it  will 
be death4  ,every ,christian feels the  
truth of this statement1 as  respects   
himself2 and it is the case with all    
other men1 although they  know it not4  
,what1 for instance1 is the usual fruit 
of drunkenness8  disease1 quarrelling1  
and loss of one kind or another4  ,the  
drunkard is  usually a blasphemer1      
hard-hearted1 and cruel1 as he proves   
himself to  his wife and children1      
starving or ill-treating them to gratify

 his own  lust4  ,his habits of         
drunkenness make him a bad child1 a bad 
neighbour1 a  disgrace in himself1 and a
 plague to others4  ,so it is more or   
less with  the followers of every sin4  
,sin1 then1 brings no real fruit1 and   
the end  of it will be eternal death2   
for it is written1 8,the wicked shall be
  turned into hell1 and all the people  
that forget ,god40  8,as surely1        
therefore1 as a man sows1 so shall he   
also reap2 he that soweth to the  flesh1
 shall of the flesh reap corruption40   
,how awful is the history of  ,jolin's  
father6  ,his life how disgraceful1 his 
death how dreadful6  ,would  the sinner 
who reads this be content to come to    
such an end8  ,but to  this1 in his     
present state1 he is every moment       
liable4  ,let the sinner  remember1 that
 he who called this poor wretch to      
judgment at a moment's  warning1 may say
 to himself1 8,this night thy soul is   
required of thee40  ,the probability of 
thus dying is commonly passed over2 and 

it is the hope  of a sinner that he     
shall still live to repent1 as ,jolin   
did4  ,yet how  great are the chances   
against this6  ,many a man has been     
deluded by such  a hope1 and perished in
 his transgression4  ,he has looked to  
some case  like this1 or like that of   
the thief on the cross1 and delayed his 
repentance1 till1 in an hour when he has
 not looked for it1 he has been  8driven
 away in his wickedness40  ,but in this1
 as it is said by an old  writer1 8,the 
perverseness of our nature may be seen1 
in that this one  case1 that of the     
penitent thief1 serveth us to looseness 
of life1 in  hope of the like3 whereas1 
we might better reason1 that is but one1
 and  that extraordinary2 and besides   
this one1 there is not one more in all  
the ,bible2 and that for this one that  
sped1 a thousand thousands have  missed4
  ,and what folly it is to put ourselves
 in a way in which so many  have        
miscarried2 to put ourselves in the     
hands of a physician1 that hath         

murdered so many1 going clean against   
our own sense and reason6  ,whereas1  in
 other cases we always lean to that     
which is most ordinary1 and  conclude   
not the spring from one swallow4  ,it is
 as if a man should  spur his ass till  
he speak1 because ,balaam's ass did once
 speak2 so  grossly hath the devil      
bewitched us60  ,let sinners1 then1     
meditate upon  their own state1 and     
remember1 at the same time1 the appeal  
of the  ,almighty to them to turn again 
and repent4  8,have ,i any pleasure at  
all  that the wicked should die8 saith  
the ,lord ,god3 and not that he should  
return from his ways and live8  ,repent 
and turn yourselves from all your       
transgressions1 so iniquity shall not be
 your ruin4  ,cast away from you  all   
your transgressions1 and make you a new 
heart and a new spirit2 for  why will ye
 die1 ,o house of ,israel8  ,for ,i have
 no pleasure in the death  of him that  
dieth1 saith the ,lord ,god3 wherefore  
turn yourselves1 and  live ye40 7,ezek4 

xviii47  ,that text which first appeared
 to move ,jolin to  repentance1 may     
speak to every other sinner--8,come now1
 and let us reason  together1 saith the 
,lord4  ,though your sins be as scarlet1
 they shall be  white as snow2 though   
they be red like crimson1 they shall be 
as wool40  7,isa4 i4 #ah47  ,the same   
words of encouragement may also speak to
 us1 in  the language of a merciful     
,saviour1 8,i am not come to call the   
righteous1  but sinners to repentance40 
7,matt4 ix4 #ac47  ,the same promises1  
8,god so  loved the world1 that he gave 
his only-begotten ,son1 that whosoever  
believeth on him1 should not perish1 but
 have everlasting life30 and  again1    
8,there is joy in the presence of the   
angels of ,god over one sinner  that    
repenteth10 7,luke xv4 #aj47  ,i would  
say then1 again1 in the language  of    
,peter1 8,repent ye therefore1 and be   
converted1 that your sins may be        
blotted out1 when the times of          
refreshing shall come from the presence 

of  the ,lord40    ,a second point of   
consideration in this history is the    
conversion of  ,jolin's mind to a sense 
of religion1 and the nature of his      
conversion4  ,jolin's early education1  
as far as reading and writing1 had not  
been  altogether neglected2 and the     
daily misery his sins brought with them 
was  not without its effect on his mind4
  ,but it is evident the work of        
regeneration1 the first step in his     
after conversion1 had not taken place   
before he came into prison4  ,but when  
the ,holy ,spirit brought home the  word
 of ,god to his heart1 the change was   
rapidly effected4  ,a conviction  of the
 sinfulness of his nature and habits was
 at once deeply impressed  upon his     
conscience2 he waited to see the way of 
pardon by a crucified  ,redeemer1 and   
the influence of the ,holy ,ghost       
immediately produced that  change in his
 will and affections which always       
attends real conversion4  ,his whole    
state of mind seemed almost miraculously

 changed3 so that  between the          
twenty-third and the twenty-sixth of the
 same month1 in the  judgment of his    
legal adviser and others1 a complete    
renovation had taken  place4  ,in the   
former state he is described as in a    
distracted condition  of mind1 suffering
 unutterable anguish2 the dread of death
 being  uppermost in his thoughts3 in   
the latter1 he was calm1 placid1        
resigned1  and he had not one wish to   
live4 #de    ,although it would be      
contrary to the facts and spirit of     
,scripture to  say1 that no conversions 
of this kind were real and complete1    
every one  must acknowledge1 that as    
conversion is ordinarily a gradual work1
 too  much caution cannot be exercised  
as to a change accomplished as rapidly  
as this may appear to have been4  ,it   
may1 however1 be truly said1 that  there
 was a remarkable absence of any thing  
like enthusiasm in his state4  ,a dream 
which occurred in the commencement of   
his religious course will  not be       

conceived to indicate a disordered      
imagination4  ,for some nights  he had  
been dreadfully agitated1 and could not 
rest4  8,i dreamed10 he  said1 8that ,i 
was dragged over frightful precipices1  
till at last ,i was  brought1 as it     
were1 into the presence of our ,saviour1
 and there obtained  mercy40  ,this     
dream so harmonized with the spirit of  
many passages of  ,scripture pointed out
 to him1 that it was not unlikely to    
occur4  ,in his  case1 as in every      
other1 the first touch of religion on   
the soul was  immediate2 but the after  
stages of conversion were gradual--far  
more so  than many others recorded in   
,scripture2 and there was time to       
perceive  the regular progress of growth
 in grace4  ,this case1 therefore1      
should  not be confounded with what are 
commonly called instantaneous           
conversions1 because although compressed
 into a short period every step  of     
scriptural conversion may be traced in  
it4  ,from first to last1 ,jolin  was   

able to give a reason for the hope which
 was in him1 and these  reasons         
corresponded with the feelings and      
convictions described in the  word of   
,god4  ,he felt those convictions of sin
 on which ,scripture  insists4  ,he     
found1 agreeably also to ,scripture1    
nothing in his own state  upon which he 
could depend for salvation2 and1 relying
 entirely on the  merits of the ,lord   
,jesus ,christ1 he found peace and joy  
in believing4  ,in  this manner1 if his 
conversion proceeded rapidly1 it was not
 wanting in  any of those evidences     
which are the unquestioned fruits of the
 teaching  of ,god4  ,his conduct is the
 best1 and indeed the only satisfactory 
commentary on the whole work4    ,a     
third point worthy of consideration in  
the history of ,jolin1 is1 the  means by
 which it pleased ,god to open this     
young man's mind2 and this1  ,i may     
venture to affirm1 was the ,holy        
,scriptures4  ,it was the simple        
exhibition of the fifty-first ,psalm1   

which at first seemed to expose his     
real state to him4  ,it was the promises
 of the ,new ,testament1 and the  types 
of the ,old1 which gave him his first   
clear notion of faith1 and  which       
conveyed to his mind a hope of pardon4  
,the ,scripture then became  the subject
 of his meditation day and night4  ,it  
was as a 8lamp unto his  feet1 and a    
light unto his path2 a treasure more to 
be desired than gold1  yea1 than much   
fine gold2 sweeter also than honey1 and 
the honeycomb40  ,the value of          
,scripture arising from its clearness1  
authority1 and its  peculiar power1     
under ,god1 to fasten truth on the soul1
 are remarkably  conspicuous in the case
 of this guilty person4  ,he heard1     
marked1  learned1 and inwardly digested 
its all-important truths1 and they made 
him wise unto salvation4  ,but in       
connexion with this1 and every other    
means employed1 is to be noticed the    
influence of ,divine grace4  ,the       
,almighty power and sovereignty with    

which this was exercised1 was           
frequently acknowledged1 and continually
 felt by ,jolin4  ,he perceived it  in  
all the remarkable circumstances of his 
life--in his various escapes  from      
death--in his final allotment--in the   
events which occurred in the  prison4   
,and whilst all this distinguishing     
mercy was shown towards him1  he could  
discover nothing in himself which       
deserved any such remembrance  at ,god's
 hand4  ,why was he called1 and not his 
father1 was one of the  points which    
first struck his attention on the visit 
of his friends4  ,but  to those around  
him some other circumstances1           
illustrating this  influence1 were      
perhaps more obvious than even to       
himself4  ,the manner in  which he was  
enabled to receive the truths of the    
gospel2 the gift of  spiritual          
understanding2 the willing heart2 the   
subdued spirit1 and  sanctified heart1  
were all circumstances to be referred   
only to the  sovereign grace of ,him who

 worketh in his people to will and to do
 of his  good pleasure4  8,o1 the depth 
of the riches both of the wisdom and    
knowledge of ,god6  ,how unsearchable   
are his judgments1 and his ways past    
finding out60    ,a fifth lesson to be  
learned from this history1 is the       
benefit of  education4  ,here was a     
young man most unlikely to profit from  
the early  instruction he had received2 
and to what account did it turn8  ,in   
his  worst times he was enabled to read 
the word of ,god1 and this he was led   
to do in the tediousness of his sea     
watches4  ,in his imprisonment1 the     
blessings of his previous learning was  
incalculable4  ,in his last             
exhortations on the scaffold1 he pressed
 upon his youthful auditors the         
advantages of attendance upon a ,sunday 
school1 and the public means of         
instruction4  ,it is impossible to say  
how much1 or if any of the  preparatory 
work of religion1 had1 by means of      
education1 been going on  in ,jolin's   

mind4  ,but information had been        
given--a desire for instruction  had    
been implanted--the wretchedness of a   
sinful course had been  taught--the     
,scriptures had been read--the          
scaffolding1 in fact1 had been  put     
together1 by which the future edifice   
might be erected4  ,how striking  is the
 lesson of encouragement derived from   
this history1 to those who  are         
labouring in the school or in the       
prison4  ,who could have thought  that  
in either case1 as it concerned ,jolin1 
the event would have been  what it was8 
,but who knows what the most untractable
 child may yet  become1 or how far the  
seed which is sown1 may1 even a long    
time hence1  produce the desired fruit4 
8,in the morning sow thy seed1 and in   
the  evening withhold not thine hand1   
for thou knowest not whether shall      
prosper either this or that1 or whether 
they shall both be alike good40  ,we    
may1 in our efforts to instruct1 meet   
with many disappointments1 but  it is   

plainly our duty to proceed1 with       
becoming care indeed1 but in the        
remembrance both of ,god's almighty     
power to teach the heart1 and of        
instances1 such as this1 in which that  
power has been so remarkably  exerted4  
,the state of prisoners is one which    
invites1 as it has in  general received 
the peculiar commiseration of our       
countrymen3 men are  often to be found  
there in ,jolin's state of mind4  ,the  
prison is1  perhaps1 their first        
resting-place in a career of ignorance1 
and sin1 and  misery4  ,the visitor may 
too often1 in his researches1 discover  
the man1  as ,mr4 ,pinel did ,jolin1    
8without hope for this world or the     
next10 and  may lead him to discoveries 
of what1 perhaps1 never entered his     
imagination4  ,at all events1 the       
circumstances of trial and affliction   
are those most favourable to seriousness
 of reflection2 and this is the  course 
by which the sinner is most often led1  
by the grace of ,god1 to  turn from the 

error of his ways1 and to seek the hope 
offered in the  ,gospel4  ,the event is 
always in the hand of ,him who directs  
the heart4  ,but1 under all             
circumstances1 we work with the blessing
 of the ,almighty1  and with his        
promise1 that our labour shall not be in
 vain4    ,a sixth lesson to be learned 
from this history1 is the happy effects 
produced by the possession of true      
religion4  ,in the case of ,jolin1 how  
speedily did it tranquillize and cheer  
his mind4  ,it was like the word of  its
 holy author1 when he said1 8,peace1 be 
still1 and there was a great  calm40    
,those who visited the chamber of death1
 where he dwelt1 could not  but feel a  
degree of surprise at their own         
feelings1 when they remembered  that    
they were with one who had been a       
drunkard and a murderer4  ,but  religion
 had softened his character1 and created
 in him those genuine  fruits which1 as 
we are taught1 spring from the work of  
the ,holy ,spirit4  8,the wilderness had

 become like ,eden1 and the desert like 
the garden of  the ,lord4  ,instead of  
the thorn had come up the fir-tree1 and 
instead of  the briar had come up the   
myrtle-tree2 to be for a name1 and for  
an  everlasting sign that should not be 
cut off40    ,lastly1 there is a lesson 
of application to our own souls4  ,it   
may be  asked1 ,what is the intimate    
acquaintance which we have had with the 
experience which this poor dying        
criminal passed through8  ,he1 being    
dead1 may speak to many of his own age1 
who have1 perhaps1 had far  greater     
advantages of education and example2 or 
he may speak to those who  have seen    
more years1 and yet have not attained to
 that ripeness of  faith1 and that full 
assurance of hope1 which made ,jolin    
climb with such  eagerness the gallows  
hill1 and long for the time when he     
should be with  ,christ4    ,this       
history applies most emphatically to the
 case of young men2  teaching them to   
avoid sin1 even when it may have the    

sanction of  parental example4  ,the    
,bible1 they must remember1 and not men1
 especially  ungodly men1 should be     
their direction4  ,by this law we shall 
all be  judged1 and must stand or fall4 
,in ,jolin's last address1 he said1     
8,avoid  bad company1 drinking spirits1 
vicious habits40  8,i exhort young      
people  not to violate the ,sabbath1 but
 to frequent church1 and attend to their
  religious duties4  ,would that this   
tremendous example of punishment might  
lead every young person who hears it to 
inquire into his own state1 and  to     
remember how soon one act of sin may    
bring judgment upon him2 and how        
tremendous will be his judgment1 if1    
after this warning1 he is found         
unprepared40    ,this history also      
speaks most loudly and awfully to       
parents4  8,you see  in me10 ,jolin said
 from the scaffold1 8the effect of bad  
education and  example4  ,from early    
youth ,i have been addicted to          
intemperance4  ,my duty  to ,god was    

never pointed out to me4  ,those who    
have children committed to  their care1 
,i beseech to send them regularly to    
church1 and to the  ,sunday-school1 and 
teach them their duty to ,god and man40 
,let those1  then1 who are teaching     
,sabbath-breaking1 swearing1 passion1   
habits of  drinking and vice1 to their  
children1 by their own example1 look at 
the  horrible instance of sin and its   
consequences1 which this case           
presents--a  parent1 murdered1 and a son
 hanged6 from the effects of a father's 
example6  ,the case speaks for itself3  
and may the ,holy ,spirit enable us  to 
learn the lesson which it teaches4      
,may we all who read or hear this       
account1 apply its lessons to ourselves4
  ,let us adore the astonishing love of 
,god in the case of this poor outcast   
sinner2 ,his sovereign power1 ,his      
boundless mercy1 ,his all-sufficient    
grace4  ,may we seek to lay all the     
burden of our transgressions upon that  
,sacrifice in whom ,jolin trusted4  ,may

 we1 with him1 find the ,holy ,spirit   
making us as fit to live1 as1 we trust1 
he was fit to die3 so that when  we have
 fought the good fight1 we shall receive
 the crown of glory1  which1 we may     
trust1 this believing penitent has been 
called to wear in  the presence of ,him 
who gave him the victory1 through his   
own blood4                              
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3             ,,ibotson ,,and   
,,palmer1 ,,printers1 ,,savoy ,,street1 
,,strand4          ,footnotes      #de  
,durell's account4