The Heart of Mid-Lothian - Penn State University

After the usual words of style, the verdict set forth,
that the Jury having made choice of John Kirk, Esq.,
to be their chancellor, and Thomas Moore, merchant, to
be their clerk, did, by a plurality of voices, find the said
Euphemia Deans Guilty of the crime libelled; but, in
consideration of her extreme youth, and the cruel circumstances
of her case, did earnestly entreat that the
Judge would recommend her to the mercy of the Crown.
“Gentlemen,” said the Judge, “you have done your
duty—and a painful one it must have been to men of
humanity like you. I will undoubtedly transmit your
recommendation to the throne. But it is my duty to tell
all who now hear me, but especially to inform that unhappy
young woman, in order that her mind may be
settled accordingly, that I have not the least hope of a
pardon being granted in the present case. You know the
crime has been increasing in this land, and I know farther,
that this has been ascribed to the lenity in which
the laws have been exercised, and that there is therefore
no hope whatever of obtaining a remission for this offence.”
The jury bowed again, and, released from their
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painful office, dispersed themselves among the mass of
bystanders.
The Court then asked Mr. Fairbrother whether he had
anything to say, why judgment should not follow on the
verdict? The counsel had spent some time in persuing
and reperusing the verdict, counting the letters in each
juror’s name, and weighing every phrase, nay, every syllable,
in the nicest scales of legal criticism. But the clerk
of the jury had understood his business too well. No
flaw was to be found, and Fairbrother mournfully intimated,
that he had nothing to say in arrest of judgment.
The presiding Judge then addressed the unhappy prisoner:—
“Euphemia Deans, attend to the sentence of
the Court now to be pronounced against you.”
She rose from her seat, and with a composure far
greater than could have been augured from her
demeanour during some parts of the trial, abode the
conclusion of the awful scene. So nearly does the mental
portion of our feelings resemble those which are corporeal,
that the first severe blows which we receive bring