hered the parsons, the representatives of the law, and the soldiery.
There was no house on the bank of the river at that time, and the
thousands of spectators were massed in the natural amphitheatre which
rises, and then rose uninterrupted, toward the east, from the shore of
the Susquehanna.

An interested observer who looked down upon the assemblage from the high
western bank of the river has recorded a vivid impression of the beauty
of the scene and the picturesque and emotional qualities of the
occasion.[93] Looking back toward the village, and then sweeping with a
glance the north and east, his eye caught the roofs of buildings covered
with spectators, windows crowded with faces, every surrounding point of
view occupied. The natural amphitheatre across the river was "filled
with all classes and gradations of citizens, from the opulent landlord
to the humble laborer. Blooming nymphs were there and jolly swains,
delicate ladies and spruce gentlemen, fond mothers and affectionate
sisters, prattling children and hoary sages, servile slaves and
imperious masters." In the elevated background of the landscape
carriages appeared filled with people. It was a warm July day, brilliant
with sunshine, and splendid in the greenery of summer foliage. The
throngs of spectators, tier upon tier, as it were, presented a
kaleidoscopic effect of movement and color, in the undulating appearance
of silks and muslins of different hues, as the eye traversed the
multitude; in the swaying and bobbing of hundreds of umbrellas and
parasols of various colors; in the vibration of thousands of fans in
playful mediation, while the death-struggle of a man upon the gallows
was eagerly awaited. In the foreground, on the bank of the Susquehanna,
the gibbet, with the solemn group about it, relieved only by flashes of
color in the military uniforms, and by the gleam of swords and bayonets,
fascinated every eye.

A great silence fell upon the multitude when the preliminaries to the
execution began with a prayer offered by the Rev. Mr. Williams of
Worcester. The Rev. Isaac Lewis, pastor of the Presbyterian church in
Cooperstown, then stood forth to deliver the sermon. Few preachers, even
in the largest centres of life, have occasion to address congregations
numbered by thousands. What an opportunity was here given to an obscure
country parson, when he faced an audience of some eight thousand people!
Mr. Lewis preached upon the subject of the Penitent Thie