tches in their
miserable condition may be supposed to have been inspired with: urging,
whoever it was, to set them at liberty, for the love of Heaven; and
protesting, with great fervour, and truly enough, perhaps, for the time,
that if they escaped, they would amend their ways, and would never,
never, never again do wrong before God or man, but would lead penitent
and sober lives, and sorrowfully repent the crimes they had committed.
The terrible energy with which they spoke, would have moved any person,
no matter how good or just (if any good or just person could have
strayed into that sad place that night), to have set them at liberty:
and, while he would have left any other punishment to its free course,
to have saved them from this last dreadful and repulsive penalty; which
never turned a man inclined to evil, and has hardened thousands who were
half inclined to good.

Mr Dennis, who had been bred and nurtured in the good old school, and
had administered the good old laws on the good old plan, always once
and sometimes twice every six weeks, for a long time, bore these appeals
with a deal of philosophy. Being at last, however, rather disturbed in
his pleasant reflection by their repetition, he rapped at one of the
doors with his stick, and cried:

'Hold your noise there, will you?'

At this they all cried together that they were to be hanged on the next
day but one; and again implored his aid.

'Aid! For what!' said Mr Dennis, playfully rapping the knuckles of the
hand nearest him.

'To save us!' they cried.

'Oh, certainly,' said Mr Dennis, winking at the wall in the absence
of any friend with whom he could humour the joke. 'And so you're to be
worked off, are you, brothers?'

'Unless we are released to-night,' one of them cried, 'we are dead men!'

'I tell you what it is,' said the hangman, gravely; 'I'm afraid, my
friend, that you're not in that 'ere state of mind that's suitable to
your condition, then; you're not a-going to be released: don't think
it--Will you leave off that 'ere indecent row? I wonder you an't ashamed
of yourselves, I do.'

He followed up this reproof by rapping every set of knuckles one after
the other, and having done so, resumed his seat again with a cheerful
countenance.

'You've had law,' he said, crossing his legs and elevating his eyebrows:
'laws have been made a' purpose for you; a wery handsome prison's
been made a' purpose for you; a parson's kept a purpose for you;
a