Page:Dramas 3.pdf/257

Rh

Has the advocate for the prisoner finished his defence?

Ay, Heaven be thanked! I thought it would never have an end. He has just concluded it.

Return to the court, then, and desire him to come to me here, without loss of time. I have something of importance to communicate to him.

I will, Father. [Exit.

Woe is me that human nature should come to this! The pride and spirits of that creature, now, rise on an occasion like this. The condemnation or execution of a fellow-creature creates no other feeling in him but the enjoyment of increased importance and comparative security! Yet there was some good in him once. (Pauses thoughtfully.) There was good in him once: his first confession consisted of one petty crime, for which he seemed to be most penitent. But the steps of the confessional is a spot which he has long forsaken.