The Wildfire Club - The Emma Hardinge Britten Archive

102 THE HAUNTBD GRANGE.
to satisfy justice. Well, well, that is natural enough.
when I come to think of it; justice is but a murdere88
herself, and, doubtless, revels in such histories as these.
It little matters the purpo.e - that is answered, one would
think, by the knowledge of the perpetrator; but what is
that compared to the choice relation of the harrowing details?
Good! good!" she cried, laughing wildly; .. why
to hear how the murder was committed will be almost as
good as to see it done; and next to the entertaining spectacle
of my own murder to-morrow --"
.. 0, hush, hush! in mercy be silent!" exclaimed the
unhappy Edward Rookwood, rising from an obscure corner
of the room where he had sat with his face buried in his
hands. " Good God, sir! can you derive either profit or
enjoyment from the hideous details you seek? If the ends
of justice require this woman's life, take-it and be satisfied
with your victim; cease thus to gloat over the useless horrors
of the revoltiag story." _
"Be patient, child, yet a moment; child of my love!
my soul's sun! my Edward!" whispered the captive;
"and for you, holy sir, you cannot, may not, enjoy this
ohoice history alone; call in your witnesses, and summon
all your eager fellow-executioners; I have a most aml,lsing
scene to enact for their edification, and details to gratify
the largest possible number with the coveted feast of
blood."
Urged by her entreaties and goaded on by her taunts,
the chaplain summoned various of the jail functionaries to
the cell, which was soon crowded to excess. Then it was
that a scene ensued, for the elucidation of which we must
again have recourse to the pages of the Causa Celebra:-
"Then the fearsome oldwife, having filled the place
with these God-fearing men, did, of a /ludden, fall into Q