s.
"His Majesty now rose up, put some gold into the hands of the afflicted
girls, promised them his protection, and bade them look to heaven. He
then wiped the tears from his eyes and mounted his horse. His
attendants, greatly affected, stood in silent admiration. Lord L--- was
now going to speak, when his Majesty, turning to the Gipsies, and
pointing to the breathless corpse, and to the weeping girls, said, with
strong emotion, 'Who, my lord, who, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto
these?'"
"Hark! Don't you hear the rumbling of its wheels?
Nearer it comes and nearer! Oh, what light!
The tent is full; 'tis glory everywhere!
Dear Jesus, I am coming! Then she fell--
As falls a meteor when the skies are clear."
After this solemn but interesting event nothing further seems to have
been done by either Christian or philanthropist towards wiping out this
national disgrace, and the Gipsies were left to follow the bent of their
evil propensities for several years, till Mr. Crabb's reading of Hoyland
and witnessing the sentence of death passed upon a Gipsy at Winchester,
in 1827, for horse-stealing.
Mr. Crabb happened to enter just as the judge was passing sentence of
death on two unhappy men. To one he held out the hope of mercy; but to
the other, a poor Gipsy, who was convicted of horse-stealing, he said, no
hope could be given. The young man, for he was but a youth, immediately
fell on his knees, and with uplifted hands and eyes, apparently
unconscious of any persons being present but the judge and himself,
addressed him as follows: "Oh, my Lord, save my life!" The judge
replied, "No; you can have no mercy in this world: I and my brother
judges have come to the determination to execute horse-stealers,
especially Gipsies, because of the increase of the crime." The
suppliant, still on his knees, entreated--"Do, my Lord Judge, save my
life! do, for God's sake, for my wife's sake, for my baby's sake!" "No,"
replied the judge, "I cannot; you should have thought of your wife and
children before." He then ordered him to be taken away, and the poor
fellow was rudely dragged from his earthly judge. It is hoped, as a
penitent sinner, he obtained the more needful mercy of God, through the
abounding grace of Christ. After this scene Mr. Crabb could not remain
in court. As he returned he found the mournful intelligence had been
communicated to some Gipsies who had been waiting without, anxious to
|