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ed against her, and when she must finish her loathed existence in a hospital!

LETTER IV.

-I see the hill side all alive,
With silent faces gazing steadfastly
On one poor single solitary wretch,

Who views not in the darkness of his trouble
→ One human face among the many thousands
All staring towards the scaffold!-

WILSON'S Convict.

Edinburgh, January 5, 1819.

On the 30th ult. a young man, condemned to death for a robbery, was brought to the scaffold; the fatal preparations were made and the drop fell. But the rope being too long for the fall of the drop, the man rested with his toes upon the platform. Attempts were made to cut away the floor, in order that the sufferer might be relieved as soon as possible, but, before this could be accomplished, a loud shout of horror, with cries of murder! burst from the immense maltitude assembled, and instantly a shower of stones thrown by the enraged popu lace, compelled the magistrates, peace officers and workmen to abandon their stations, and no one but the criminal remained upon the scaffold; some of the stones struck his body, and added to his horrible sufferings-a cry of "cut him down! he is alive!" succeeded, and a person, genteelly dressed, sprung upon the

platform, and cut the rope-immediately a number of persons broke through the railing, and took possession of the scaffold-they lifted up the culprit, took off the rope and cap, which they threw among the multitude below; they then deliberately carried him off-while another party tore the coffin prepared for the criminal to pieces, and threw the fragments against the windows of a neighbouring church.

In the mean time, the police officers rallied in augmented numbers, and retook the criminal from the mob. The miserable being, half alive, stripped of part of his clothes, and his body bruised most shockingly, lay extended on the ground in the middle of the street; the constables dragged him, trailing along for above 20 paces, into their loathsome den; here he was bled in both arms, and the half suspended animation was restored. He was again brought to the scaffold, and, while the rope was adjusting, his clothes fell down in such a manner that decency would have been shocked, had it even been a spectacle of entertainment, instead of an execution. While they were adjusting his clothes, the unhappy man was left vibrating, upheld partly by the rope about his neck, and partly by his feet on the table! At last the drop fell; when (horresco referens!) he was observed to hang with his face uncovered, and his fingers convulsively twisted in the noose. The man's face, still uncovered, exhibited a spectacle which no human eye should ever be compelled to behold. He was several minutes in

convulsions, and the mob showed symptoms of agitation, but were prevented from proceeding to extremities by the 88th regiment, which had been ordered from the castle.

I lately paid a visit to the Edinburgh bridewell. The building is semi-circular, which has the disadvantage of enabling the prisoners to see out of one cell into another, and thus gives the opportunity of improper and dangerous conversation. The rooms on the inside of the curve are filled with women condemned to labour. Prostitutes are the principal inmates of bridewell, who are so lodged at night, that they can converse freely together, without possibility of detection or prevention. During the day they spin, beat hemp, or weave, but they are not permitted to choose their trade. Their diet is of a very cooling nature, consisting chiefly of bread and broth; meat being only allowed them twice a week. If any of these frail ones prove refractory, they are deprived of their usual allowance, and are put on the antiphlogistic regimen.

The cells are so constructed that the keeper from his room can see into every one. I thought of the Diable Boiteux, and of the whispering dungeons in ancient Sicily, under the iron sceptre of Dionysius.

The principal source of evil in this prison is its inadequacy in point of size. There are in it only 52 working rooms, and 144 sleeping cells; but the culprits are sent in in such numbers, that the rooms are quite crammed with

hem! This gives rise to much evil communication, "which corrupts good manners," and greatly impedes the system of labour, on the regularity of which the use of the establishment mainly depends.

If the Edinburgh bridewell be as dreadful a resort of misery and persecution, as that of London is described in various writings, it must be the most cruel of punishments to be immured within its walls. Miss Williams, (in Roderick Random,) draws a picture of the London bridewell, which "harrows up the soul:" "Of all the scenes on earth, that of bridewell approaches nearest the notion I had always entertained of the infernal regions. Here I saw nothing but rage, anguish and impiety, and I heard nothing but groans, curses and blasphemy. In the midst of this hellish crew, I was subjected to the tyranny of a barbarian, who imposed upon me tasks that I could not possibly perform, and then punished my incapacity with the utmost rigour and inhumanity. I was often whipped into a swoon, and lashed out of it, during which miserable intervals, I was robbed by my fellow-prisoners of every thing about me, even to my cap, shoes and stockings: I was not only destitute of necessaries, but even of food; so that my wretchedness was extreme."

I believe that there are few cities that can vie with Edinburgh in romantic scenery, or in the beauty of its situation. Seen through the sombrous clouds which perpetually hang over

this most picturesque of cities, the rocks frowning over rocks, the gothic buildings all around, mountains near and far off, and the sea itself almost within hearing of its waves-present a striking idea of the comparative littleness of all human works: but when this magnificent scene is lighted up by the sun, the effect produced beggars all description. When the firmament is all one canopy of crystal blue, and full in the midst "the joyful king of day" spreads his golden rays upon the most magnificent scenery that ever did homage to his radiance, what can be finer than the face of nature at that moment, its majesty being dressed out in the most gorgeous apparel of magnificence! What lines of gold creep along the horizon! How the aerial buildings of the city paint their sombre breadth upon glowing azure of the sky!

In a quarter of an hour's walk from the superb Princes' street, you find yourself in some lonely valley or some secluded path, in which the view of the city is impeded by an eminence, or rocky mountain. Here the sentimental lover delights to muse, to indulge his fancy with golden hopes, or, accompanied by the object of his choice, to enjoy that sweet existence breathing in words of sensibility, which the tongue frames and the lip utters with delight.

The continual variations in the Scotch at mosphere, and the sharp winds which prevail, recal to mind, by a painful contrast, the de

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