"What were the particular circumstances of his decease?" inquired Preston. "A young girl, a native of Normandy, of the name of Corday, Charlotte Corday, traveled from her distant home to Paris to deliver her country from the rule of a tyrant; she obtained access to him under pretence of delivering important papers to him. When she found herself alone with him, at one blow she stabbed him to the heart." "I rejoice at the prospect of a deliverance of the French people from the tyranical abuse of power, but I can not rejoice at the method in which this deliverance is likely to be brought about," returned Preston. There was a glow on the pale cheek of the Abbe as he replied. "Hath not the Lord said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' my son, and, wilt thou object when He, in carrying out His wise purposes among men, chooses his own instruments ?" "By no means, Pere Imburt, but it is the instrumentality I question, not the divine purposes," answered Preston. "Canst thou doubt the instrumentalities against the decisions of our Holy Mother church ?" "Pardon me Abbe Imbert," replied Charles, bowing politely to the Rev. Father, "Pardon me, sir, but I can, and do doubt and question every thing that is not self-evident to my mind. This unfortunate young lady who assasinated Murat, will undoubtedly suffer the penalty of murder on the guillotine" "Pardon me Monsieur, for the interruption, but she has already been beheaded," interposed Colonel Perrault. "Indeed! is justice then so swift in France, or are the people only mad? Monsieur Abbe what, now, becomes of your divine instrumentalities? God uses Mademoiselle Corday to kill Murat, and the headsman to kill His instrument. How is this? Can he not protect His instruments from Jacobin inhumanity in Paris? Such a thought impeaches his power. Will He not protect His passive instruments This thought impeaches His goodness and His justice. Pardon me, Father, but I have a higher reverence for the divine nature than Holy Mother Church indicates, and can not sympathise with such unreasonable theories, as these dogmas enunciate." "It is written on every page of nature's book, notwithstanding the text you have quoted, an eye for an eye, &c.,' that he who kills his fellow-man is a murderer, although the act may be authorised by law and sanctioned by a judicial tribunal." "My son, I will withstand thee in this heresy and refute thine argument," resumed the Abbe Imbert, "It is written in the holy scriptures whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' Take that divine command in connection with the divine declaration vengeance is mine, and I will repay,' and doth it not appear, plainly, that the executioner is an instrument of the divine vengeance ?" "It may so appear to you, perhaps, Father, but it does not so appear to me," answered Charles Preston, and continued, "You will remember that in this view the executioner assumes the divine attributes of the Infinite, through and by virtue of a human tribunal. Vengeance is now with the Lord,' but your human tribunal contradicts this divine assumption, and says Vengeance is mine.' Now which of these contending parties, the Infinite, or the human tribunal is right?" "I do not plainly see the point, my son," said the Abbe Imbert, "please put thy proposition a little more clearly.” "There are four fundamental objects in the infliction of all penalties," said Preston." They are as follows: First, the vindication of the majesty of the law; second, the protection of mankind from crime and its consequences; third, the reformation of the criminal, and fourth, restitution to the injured party, or to society if society be the sufferer. These embrace the vindicatory, the primitive, the reformatory and the remedial elements of punishment. "Society, through its legitimately constituted tribunals can have plenary authority to do any act which society could do in an aggregate capacity, but society cannot delegate the divine attribute of vengeance to its instruments, its tribunals or its executioners; for, vengeance is the Lord's, and, is not within the reach of society to dispense to its creatures. "No human power can have the right to execute a judgment, which it cannot reverse, and render full restitution for its consequences, should it, after the judgment, and execution, discover that the judg ment was erroneous. "When a judicial tribunal discovers, (as they often do,) that the victim of the law whom they have decapitated, or hung by the neck until he was dead, is innocent, and has suffered cruel murder at the hands of the law, how can the judgment be reversed? innocent martyr to this cruelty be restored to life, and his rights of life, limb and liberty? 66 How can the reinstated in Suppose, however, that the victim is not innocent, that he acknowledges himself guilty of deliberate murder; what are we to do with him ?" "Let him expiate his offence with his life upon the gallows or the guillotine?" answered the Abbe. "Would you send him with his hands red with his brother's blood, unshrined, into eternal torment?" said Preston. "Would not that be a contumaceous assumption of the Infinite? a doom of eternal punishment? is it not enough to take the life of the victim of the law, but would you also assume to plunge his soul into the torments of the damned? do you claim this right for a human tribunal ?" "My son, I would not. Here ensues the functions of our holy order. It is our duty, as the ministers of mercy, to visit the convicts in their prisons, present the holy cross and to deliver their souls from the chains of sin. Our vocation is to prepare them for this great change, and, through our mediation to present acceptable sacrifices to our heavenly Father until He is satisfied with the propitiation, pardons their offences and places them on His right hand, washed from their sins and healed from their corruption, as it was with the thief on the cross with the blessed Son. My experience teaches me, that, through our holy offices, but few die on the gallows who are not accepted of the Father and at once enter into the joy of their Lord.” "In that case," said Preston, “ why kill him then? if he be prepared for heaven, certainly he ought to live upon the earth. The ends of punishment could be better subserved by restoring him purified and sanctified to society, to become a useful member, and, by good deeds, to compensate for the evil he had done. If he be harmless after thus having received pardon from the Most High, certainly there is no motive to kill him for the safety and protection of society. The law has been vindicated by his apprehension, his conviction and his retribution. What, then, is to be gained by killing him, and depriving society of another worthy member?" 66 6 "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth' saith the Lord,' replied the Abbe. "Whoso smiteth thee on the right cheek, turn him the left, also,' saith the Son of God," answered Charles. "My son," said the reverend Abbe, "thou seest with the temporal eye, and cannot clearly understand those hidden things which only the spiritual eye seeth and comprehendeth." "I only desire to see with the eye of reason, my reverend Pere, and, conceeding that it is right to kill a bad man, my reason does not indicate why society should kill a good man under any circumstances. The reform of the offender is one of the philosophical reasons for punishment, what is gained by the reform, if as soon as the object of the punishment is attained, you kill the reformed ?" The disputants were summoned to the breakfast table, by Madame Druilliard, to which they adjourned. "I have news for you, Madame Mont Martre," said Charles as he bowed to her, and took her arm as together they left the room after completing the morning meal. "Indeed!" said the Countess, smiling," you please me, very much, by telling me so; how much more I shall be pleased to hear the news?" They paced the large parlor, several times, to and fro together, without another word being spoken, the Countess, at every turn looked up into Preston's eyes with an air of inquiry. At last she asked: "Why do you not tell me your news ?" Preston looked down at the Countess and laughed pleasantly as he said: "I do not know how to begin." "What has happened?" asked the Countess. "Why do you think anything has happened ?" asked Charles. you would not appear so strangely. Come, now, tell me, what has happened?" "Nothing has happened." "Then why do you laugh?" "Because I think of what is yet to happen." "Then it must be pleasant to cause you to laugh." "It is pleasant." "Then let me participate in your pleasure, for you know your pleasures are also mine." "You speak more like a wife than a sister." "Still I feel more like a sister than a wife." "You are a dear charming sister." "I am so pleased to hear you say that, it seems so to come from a brother's heart." "Now, how shall I tell you my good news!" "Is it a great secret ?'' 'Not to you." "Then, just tell it. "Well I will. be my wife." Before next Chaistmas the banker's daughter will "Oh! I am so rejoiced. news-it makes me so happy. O, I am so happy. It is such good Did I not tell you so? Your news makes me so glad. You will be so happy now. Your beautiful wife I will come to you, and live with you, and your wife shall love me, for I shall be so kind to her that she must love me" will be my sister. "Alas! alas! I have lived all this long life alone! The sisters were so cold and insensible; they were like forms carved out of solid rocks. Their smiles, if they ever smiled, were like the flowers we see frozen in the ice. Their touch was like frozen icicles-their voices like withered bows that have no freshness-no joy in them. Ah! this religion in which I was so rigidly disciplined is a great destroyer of the cheerful sun-shine of the heart. I know that God does not desire his creatures to mortify themselves, and make themselves unhappy. I know He is pleased when we are happy." 66 'My dear sister, Father Imbert will reprehend you for such thoughts." "He may reprehend, perhaps, but that is all he can do. I care not for his reprehensions. I hate the religion that aims to suppress and to subjugate the heart's highest and purest impulses-that casts dark clouds upon its innate joyousness-that erects as standards, for the young and the innocent to imitate and emulate, the penitent old sinner groaning in darkness and sorrow under a burden of remorse. It is religion to be glad and joyous—to be pleased with everything— to be pleased with ourself, with our neighbor, with our friend, with every one, and always to be pleased with God, and not afraid of Him. If we be afraid of God, we must hate Him, for we cannot love things we are afraid of." "It is religion to be all the time anxious to do something very good-something that will make us very happy." "I told Father Imbert, a month ago, that I would not be a Roman Catholic any more, and would not go to mass, nor confessional. He scolded me, very much, and said you, my dear brother, had imbued my mind with vile heresies. I told him that my rigid and unnatural schooling in the cloisters had disgusted me very much, by its imprisonment of both body and soul." "Last Sunday I went, all alone, to hear a Presbyterian preach. The preacher was a descendent of the Huguenots and preached invery good French." "And how were you satisfied with the Presbyterian doctrine?" asked Charles. "Ah! the Presbyterians must be very bad people. They all looked very wicked, and dark; their countenances appeared to be cast in pot metal without a cheerful line, or a redeeming smile. The elders looked to me like so many convicts for the gallows. There was a living horror imprinted on each face, that made me turn from |