agony before death comes to their relief. In Roman Catholic countries the murderer expiated his crime upon the rack. Several writers on crimes and punishments deny the right of man to take away life, given to us by God alone; but a crime of the dreadful nature of that now before us, however sanguinary they may find our laws in regard to lesser offences, unquestionably calls loudly for death. Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed,' saith Holy Writ; but with the life of the murderer should the crime be fully expiated? The English law on this head goes still further: the effects of the murderer revert to the State-thus, as it were, carrying punishment beyond the grave, and involving in its consequences the utter ruin of many a virtuous widow and innocent children, who had looked up alone to it for support. Yet we may be thankful for laws, the dread of which affords us such ample security for our lives and property, and which we find administered with rigorous impartiality, awarding the same punishment for the same offence, whether the culprit be rich or poor, humblé in life or exalted in rank. In proof of this we need only refer our readers to the cases of Laurence Earl Ferrers, Doctor Dodd, the Perreaus, Ryland, and many others, whose lives are recorded in these pages. It is the opinion of an able commentator on our criminal laws that punishment should succeed the crime as immediately as possible, if we intend that, in the rude minds of the multitude, the picture of the crime shall instantly awaken the attendant idea of punishment: delaying which, serves only to separate these two ideas; and thus affects the minds of the spectators rather as a terrible sight than the necessary consequences of a crime. The horror should contribute to heighten the idea of the punishment. Next to the necessary example of punishment to offenders is to record examples, in order that such as are unhappily moved with the sordid passion of acquiring wealth by violence, or stimulated by the heinous sin of revenge to shed the blood of a fellow-creature, may have before them a picture of the torment of mind and bodily sufferings of such offenders. In this light THE NEWGATE CALENDAR must prove highly acceptable to all ranks and conditions of men; for we shall find, in the course of these volumes, that crime has always been followed by punishment; and that, in many instances, the most artful secrecy could not screen the offenders from detection, nor the utmost ingenuity shield them from the strong arm of impartial justice. THE REV. THOMAS HUNTER, EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF TWO CHILDREN, SONS OF MR. GORDON. THE criminal recorder has too often to detail the atrocity of ambition, the malignity of revenge, and the desperation of jealousy; but the perpetrators are generally confined to the abandoned and irreligious-the illiterate and intemperate. Their follies or former crimes account in some measure for their delinquency, and we lament their want of virtue and education; but, when we meet in the criminal catalogue with a culprit like the present-a man of education and a minister of the Gospel-guilty of a premeditated murder!-the murder VOL. I. of his own pupils, the sons of his benefactor!-the soul recoils with horror, and we shudder at the want of religious principle evinced in the deed; for this criminal subsequently avowed himself an Atheist. The Rev. Thomas Hunter was born in the county of Fife, in Scotland, and was the son of a rich farmer, who sent him to the University of St. Andrew for education. When he had acquired a sufficient share of classical learning he was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts, and began to prosecute his studies in divinity with no small de B agony before death comes to their relief. In Roman Catholic countries the murderer expiated his crime upon the rack. Several writers on crimes and punishments deny the right of man to take away life, given to us by God alone; but a crime of the dreadful nature of that now before us, however sanguinary they may find our laws in regard to lesser offences, unquestionably calls loudly for death. Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed,' saith Holy Writ; but with the life of the murderer should the crime be fully expiated? The English law on this head goes still further: the effects of the murderer revert to the State-thus, as it were, carrying punishment beyond the grave, and involving in its consequences the utter ruin of many a virtuous widow and innocent children, who had looked up alone to it for support. Yet we may be thankful for laws, the dread of which affords us such ample security for our lives and property, and which we find administered with rigorous impartiality, awarding the same punishment for the same offence, whether the culprit be rich or poor, humblé in life or exalted in rank. In proof of this we need only refer our readers to the cases of Laurence Earl Ferrers, Doctor Dodd, the Perreaus, Ryland, and many others, whose lives are recorded in these pages. It is the opinion of an able commentator on our criminal laws that punishment should succeed the crime as immediately as possible, if we intend that, in the rude minds of the multitude, the picture of the crime shall instantly awaken the attendant idea of punishment: delaying which, serves only to separate these two ideas; and thus affects the minds of the spectators rather as a terrible sight than the necessary consequences of a crime. The horror should contribute to heighten the idea of the punishment. Next to the necessary example of punishment to offenders is to record examples, in order that such as are unhappily moved with the sordid passion of acquiring wealth by violence, or stimulated by the heinous sin of revenge to shed the blood of a fellow-creature, may have before them a picture of the torment of mind and bodily sufferings of such offenders. In this light THE NEWGATE CALENDAR must prove highly acceptable to all ranks and conditions of men; for we shall find, in the course of these volumes, that crime has always been followed by punishment; and that, in many instances, the most artful secrecy could not screen the offenders from detection, nor the utmost ingenuity shield them from the strong arm of impartial justice. THE REV. THOMAS HUNTER, EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF TWO CHILDREN, SONS OF MR. GORDON. THE criminal recorder has too often to detail the atrocity of ambition, the malignity of revenge, and the desperation of jealousy; but the perpetrators are generally confined to the abandoned and irreligious-the illiterate and intemperate. Their follies or former crimes account in some measure for their delinquency, and we lament their want of virtue and education; but, when we meet in the criminal catalogue with a culprit like the present a man of education and a minister of the Gospel-guilty of a premeditated murder!-the murder VOL. I. of his own pupils, the sons of his benefactor!-the soul recoils with horror, and we shudder at the want of religious principle evinced in the deed; for this criminal subsequently avowed himself an Atheist. The Rev. Thomas Hunter was born in the county of Fife, in Scotland, and was the son of a rich farmer, who sent him to the University of St. Andrew for education. When he had acquired a sufficient share of classical learning he was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts, and began to prosecute his studies in divinity with no small de B gree of success. Several of the younger clergymen act as tutors to wealthy and distinguished families till a proper period arrives for their entering into orders, which they never do till they obtain a bencfice. While in this rank of life they bear the name of chaplains; and in this station Hunter lived about two years in the house of Mr. Gordon, a very eminent merchant, and one of the bailies of Edinburgh, which is a rank equal to that of alderman of London. Mr. Gordon's family consisted of himself, his lady, two sons, and a daughter, and a young woman who attended Mrs. Gordon and her daughter; the malefactor in question, some clerks, and menial servants. To the care of Hunter was committed the education of the two sons; and, for a considerable time, he discharged his duty in a manner highly satisfactory to the parents, who considered him as a youth of superior genius and great goodness of heart. Unfortunately, a connexion took place between Hunter and the young woman, which soon increased to a criminal degree, and was maintained, for a considerable time, without the knowledge of the family. One day, however, when Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were on a visit, Hunter and this girl met in their chamber, as usual; but, having been so incautious as not to make their door fast, the children went into the room, and found them in such a situation as could not admit of any doubt of the nature of their intercourse. No suspicion was entertained that these children would mention to their parents what had happened, the eldest boy being not quite ten years of age; but, when the children were at supper with their parents, they disclosed so much as left no room to doubt of what had passed. Hercupon the female ser vant was directed to quit the house on the following day; but Hunter was continued in the family, after making a proper apology for the crime of which he had been guilty, attributing it to the thoughtlessness of youth, and promising never to offend in the same way again. At From this period he entertained the most inveterate hatred to all the children, on whom he determined, in his own mind, to wreak the most diabolical vengeance. Nothing less than murder was his intention; but it was a considerable time after he had formed this horrid plan before he had an opportunity of carrying it into execution. Whenever it was a fine day he was accustomed to walk in the fields, with his pupils, for an hour before dinner; and, in these excursions, the young lady generally attended her brothers. the period immediately preceding the commission of the fatal act, Mr. Gordon and his family were at their country retreat, very near Edinburgh; and, having received an invitation to dine in that city, he and his lady proposed to go thither about the time that Hunter usually took his noon-tide walk with the children. Mrs. Gordon was very anxious for all the children to accompany them on this visit; but this was strenuously opposed by her husband, who would consent that only the little girl should attend them. By this circumstance Hunter's intention of murdering all the three children was frustrated; but he held the resolution of destroying the boys, while they were yet in his power. With this view he took them into the fields, and sat down. as if to repose himself on the grass, and was preparing his knife to put a period to the lives of the children at the very moment they were bu sied in catching butterflies, and ga |