“I was taken to a blacksmith’s shop, and heavy iron bands put around my ankles.” Page 104.
After my manacles were put on, I was taken back to Tupelo by Barnes and another guard. On my arrival, the commander of the post and the Provost Marshal were filled with joy. Barnes gave them the history of the arrest, stating that I had attempted to bribe him; that he listened to my proposition with indignation, and when he had got the money, performed what he regarded his duty. The commander replied that all the property of traitors was theirs, and that he did right in deceiving me, after accepting the bribe. He also recommended Barnes for promotion for his heroic and patriotic act in arresting me. (Perhaps it secured for him a captaincy.) The following colloquy now took place between the commander of the post, the Provost Marshal, and myself:
“Why did you attempt to leave us?”
“Because, sir, your prison was so filthy, and your fare so meagre and unwholesome, that I could not endure it long, and live.”
“Parson, you know the Bible says, the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. You must have been guilty of crime, or you would not have tried to escape.”
“I may have been guilty of the offence charged against me, and yet innocent of realguilt.”
“You shall never be taken back to the prison you left, rest assured of that. Did any of the prisoners know of or aid you in your escape?”
“No, sir; none of them knew anything about it.”
“Are you telling the truth?”
“I am.”
“Where is Malone?”
“I never saw him after I left the building.”
“He cannot escape; the cavalry are after him, and he will be brought in soon, dead or alive.”
“Why did you attempt to bribe Barnes?”
“It was his own offer. I knew that his cupidity was great, and thought it no harm toaccept his offer. If Barnes had his deserts, he would now be hard at work in the penitentiary.”
“Did the jury that tried him, acquit him?”
“No. The secession of Mississippi saved him. I refer you to Colonel Tison, who is in Tupelo, for the particulars. He being marshal of North Mississippi, arrested Barnes, and knows all about it. He found on his person the evidence of his guilt, the money and checks stolen when he robbed the mail.”
“Parson, you will not be immediately executed, but you will, without doubt, hang in a week or two, so that, if you have any word to send your family, you have permission to do so.”
“May I write a letter to my wife?”
“You may, and I will see that it is forwarded to her.”
I sat down and wrote a letter, a very common-place letter, to my wife, inserting, occasionally, a word in phonography, which, taken in connection, read thus: “If possible, inform General Rosecrans or Nelson of myarrest.” While inspecting the letter, Lieutenant Peden noticed the phonography, and asked me to read it. I read it thus: “My dear wife, I hope to be at home soon. Do not grieve.” This letter they never sent. It was merely an act of duplicity on their part, to obtain some concession, which might be used against me. The guard, receiving orders, now conducted me to a hotel, and placed me in a small room, two guards remaining inside, and two at the door outside, with orders to shoot me if I made the least attempt at escape. I remained in this room only a few hours, after which I was taken to my old prison. As I entered, my old friends, the prisoners, crowded around me, and Captain Bruce addressed me in his facetious manner. In prison, his wit had beguiled many a tedious hour. His humour was the pure Attic salt.
“Parson Aughey, you are welcome back to my house, though you have played us rather a scurvy trick in leaving without giving me the least inkling of the matter, or settling your bill.”
I replied: “Captain, it was hardly right; but I did not like your fare, and your beds were filled with vermin.”
“Well, you do not seem to have fared better since you left, for you have returned.”
“Captain, my return is the result of coercion. Some who oppose this principle when applied to themselves, have no scruples in enforcing it upon others.
“No rogue e’er felt the halter draw,With good opinion of the law;”
is an old saw, and the truth of proverbs is seldom affected by time. I am your guest upon compulsion; but remember, I will leave you the first opportunity.”
Upon hearing this, an officer present swore that when I again left that building, it would be to cross the railroad, (the place of execution.)
The prisoners gathered around me, and I related to them my adventures. They then informed me of what had transpired during my absence. Clarke was taken out of prison to guide a cavalry company in search of me.Clarke informed me that they scoured the country, and then went to my father-in-law’s; and after searching the premises, returned, believing that I had gone due north towards Rienzi, in which direction another company had been despatched. On their return, Clarke was remanded to jail. At roll-call—seven o’clock, A. M., we were missed. The cavalry were immediately sent in pursuit. All the guards on duty during the night were put under arrest. Our method of escape was soon discovered, and the guards were released, as they were not at fault. A large number of spikes were hammered in the floor, the guards were doubled, and greater vigilance enjoined. The prisoners were questioned, strictly and individually, to learn whether any of them knew of our intention to escape, or had rendered us any assistance. They all positively denied any knowledge of the matter. They asked me whether I had given the officers any information about their knowledge of our designs, and coöperation in effecting them. I replied that I had positively denied that anyexcept Malone and myself were privy to our plans.
I may state here that it is difficult to justify a falsehood. We ought to utter truth always, without exaggeration or prevarication, leaving consequences with God. We should do right without regard to results, for with consequences we have no business; but in this case the temptation to utter an untruth was great. These wicked men, thirsting for my blood, had no right to make me criminate myself or my coadjutors. It would have been wrong for me to give them the information they desired. Truth is too precious for a secessionist, thirsting for innocent blood. Had I refused to answer, they would have suspected that some of my fellow-prisoners aided us, and would have either forced me to tell who they were, or would have hanged me instantly for my refusal. If I had given information, and criminated those who had befriended us, they would have been severely punished, and I have been guilty of the basest ingratitude; I would have been shunned by the prisoners, andregarded as one of the meanest of men, one of the veriest wretches in existence; I could never again ask nor expect aid in a similar attempt to save myself from a violent death.
LIFE IN A DUNGEON.
Parson Aughey as Chaplain—Description of the Prisoners—Colonel Walter, the Judge Advocate—Charges and Specifications against Parson Aughey—A Citizen of the Confederate States—Execution of two Tennesseeans—Enlistment of Union Prisoners—Colonel Walter’s second visit—Day of Execution specified—Farewell Letter to my Wife—Parson Aughey’s Obituary penned by himself—Address to his Soul—The Soul’s Reply—Farewell Letter to his Parents—The Union Prisoners’ Petition to Hon. W. H. Seward—The two Prisoners and the Oath of Allegiance—Irish Stories.
Parson Aughey as Chaplain—Description of the Prisoners—Colonel Walter, the Judge Advocate—Charges and Specifications against Parson Aughey—A Citizen of the Confederate States—Execution of two Tennesseeans—Enlistment of Union Prisoners—Colonel Walter’s second visit—Day of Execution specified—Farewell Letter to my Wife—Parson Aughey’s Obituary penned by himself—Address to his Soul—The Soul’s Reply—Farewell Letter to his Parents—The Union Prisoners’ Petition to Hon. W. H. Seward—The two Prisoners and the Oath of Allegiance—Irish Stories.
I was remanded to jail on Sabbath, the 6th of July, 1862. On the day of my escape I had been elected chaplain. Captain Bruce asked permission for me to hold divine service, to which no special objection was made. I conducted the services as I would have done were I in my own pulpit. The best order was maintained by the prisoners, and a deep seriousness prevailed. The songs of Zion resounded through the prison-house, and a greatconcourse of soldiers assembled outside the guards in front of the door, causing considerable interruption by their noise and insulting language. Several officers, also, saw fit to come in and interrupt the services by conversing in a loud tone, and asking me how I liked my jewelry, referring to my fetters. The prisoners protested against their rude and ungentlemanly conduct, but with little effect. They sent a remonstrance to the commander of the post, but he treated it with silent contempt.
As the prisoners insisted upon it, I persisted in preaching, notwithstanding the persecutions endured, as long as I remained with them. We were a motley assemblage. Some were dressed in cloth of finest texture; others were clad in filthy rags. There were present the learned and the illiterate, the rowdy and the minister of the gospel, the holy and the profane, the saint and the sinner. All the Southern States, and every prominent religious denomination were represented. The youth in his nonage, and the gray-haired and very aged man were there. The superior and the subordinate werewith us. The descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, were here on the same common level, for in our prison were Afric’s dark-browed sons, the descendants of Pocahontas, and the pure Circassian. Death is said to beTHEgreat leveller; the dungeon at Tupelo wasagreat leveller. A fellow-feeling made us wondrous kind; none shared his morsel alone, and a deep and abiding sympathy for each other’s woes pervaded every bosom. When our fellow-prisoners were called to die, and were led through us with pallid brows, and agony depicted on their countenances, our expressions of sorrow and commiseration were not loud (through fear) but deep.
On Monday morning an officer entered; my name was called, and I arose from the floor on which I had been reclining. I recognised him as my old friend, Colonel H. W. Walter, of Holly Springs, Mississippi. After the ordinary salutations, he informed me that he was Judge Advocate, and that my trial would take place in a few days, and inquired whether I wished to summon any witnesses. I gave him thenames and residences of several witnesses, but he refused to send for them, upon the plea that they were too near the Federal lines, and their cavalry might be in danger of capture were they to proceed thither. I told him that the cavalry which went in pursuit of me had visited that locality. He then wished to know what I desired to prove by those witnesses. I replied that I wished to prove that the specifications in the charge of being a spy were false.
“Your own admissions are sufficient to cause you to lose your life,” said the Colonel, “and I will not send for those witnesses.”
I replied: “I know that I must die, and you need not go through the formality of a trial. If condemned as a spy, I must be hanged. I only wished the witnesses to prove that Woodruff is a man of no moral worth, that his testimony is false; that Barnes is a mail-robber, and that his testimony, therefore, should be rejected. Proving these facts, the other charges which I admit, will cause me to be shot. I hope I am prepared to die, but do not wish to die a dog’s death. Promise me that I shall beshot, and not hanged, and I will cavil no more.”
“Parson Aughey, your chances for living are very slender. The proof against you on both charges will be established; the testimony as to your guilt is positive, and spies are always hanged.”
He then stated the charges and specifications against me as follows:
First charge—Treason.
Specification 1st. That said Aughey stated to a member of Hill’s cavalry, that if McClellan were defeated, the North could raise a much larger army in a very short time; that the North would eventually conquer the South, and that he was a Union man—this for the purpose of giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Specification 2d. That when said Aughey was requested to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States, he refused, giving as a reason, that England, France, and himself, had not yet recognised the Southern Confederacy, stating, also, that he had voluntarily taken theoath of allegiance to the United States Government, which he regarded as binding—this in North Mississippi.
Specification 3d. That said Aughey was acting as a Federal agent in the purchase of cotton, and had received from the United States Government a large amount of gold, to pay for the cotton purchased.
Second charge—Acting as a spy.
Specification 1st. That said Aughey, while a citizen of the Confederate States, repeatedly came into our lines for the purpose of obtaining information for the benefit of the enemy, and that he passed through the lines of the enemy at pleasure, holding an unlimited pass from General Nelson, granting that privilege—this in the vicinity of Corinth, Mississippi.
Witnesses, —— Wallace, Dan Barnes, Ferdinand Woodruff, —— Williams, David Huff.
I demanded a copy of the charges, which Colonel Walter promised to furnish.
About three o’clock in the afternoon, I went to a couple of prisoners who were heavily ironed; they were handcuffed, had a chain ontheir legs similar to mine, and were chained together to a post, or to some fixture at the side of the jail. I inquired for what offence they were incarcerated.
The prisoner whom I addressed was a tall gentleman, with a very intellectual countenance, and of prepossessing manners. He was somewhat pale, and wore a sad countenance. He replied:
“We are charged with desertion.”
“Did you desert?”
“I enlisted in the Confederate service for twelve months. At the expiration of my term of service, I asked permission to return home, stating that my family were suffering for the necessaries of life; that they lived in Tennessee, which is occupied by Federal troops. Confederate bonds are there not worth the paper on which they are printed; provisions are scarce, and my family have not the means of purchasing. I wish to relieve their wants, and as my term of service has expired, I wish a discharge. This they refused, stating that the Confederate Congress had passed a law requiringall troops who had enlisted for any term, however short, to be held to service during the war, and all who left before that time would be considered guilty of desertion, and if arrested, would be shot. I attempted to return to my family, regarding the law a tyrannical enactment. I was arrested and committed to this prison.”
“What will be your fate?”
“I know not, but fear the worst.”
I learned that the other prisoner had about the same statement to make, and was also in dread of capital punishment. I left them and walked to the opposite side of the prison, when I observed a file of soldiers drawn up in front of the building. Two officers entered, and walking up to the two prisoners whom I had just left, unfastened their chains, and ordered them to follow. One of the prisoners asked whether he should bring his blanket. “No,” replied the officer, in a jocular tone; “you have no more need for a blanket in this world.”
On reaching the door, the soldiers separated, received the prisoners in their midst, closed up,and marching them across the railroad, shot them. As the officers passed Captain Bruce, he asked where the prisoners were going. They replied, “Going to be shot!” and showed him the warrant for their execution, having written across it, in red letters, “Condemned to death!”
Thus was perpetrated an act of cruel tyranny, which cries loudly to Heaven for vengeance. Two families, helpless and destitute, were thus each deprived of its head, on whom they were dependent for support, and abandoned to the cold charity of a selfish world. The wages they earned by a year’s faithful service in behalf of the wicked, cruel, and vindictive Confederate States, was an ignominious death and a dishonoured grave. Will not God visit for this? The widow and the fatherless cry to Heaven for vengeance, and their cries have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
On Tuesday morning, six young men, who had been arrested for their Union sentiments, resolved to escape. Their plan was to enlist inthe Confederate service, then to desert on the first opportunity, and make their way to the Federal lines. They consulted me as to the propriety of taking the oath of allegiance under these circumstances. Such a step would give them another chance for life; but were they to profess adherence to their Union principles, they had no hope of living many days. If permitted to enlist, they thought there was little doubt of their escape in a few days; and should a battle take place, no Federal soldiers would be injured by them, and an opportunity to desert might occur during the engagement. I drew up a paper for them, requesting permission to enlist in a company which they specified. Their petition was granted by the authorities, and they were removed from prison to the camp. I feel confident that ere this, they are safe in the Federal lines, for they knew the whole country, so as to be able to travel by night or by day, with little danger of detection. They had all been arrested at their homes by the Rebel cavalry. They were bitter in sentimentagainst the military usurpation, self-styled the Confederate States of America.
This (Tuesday) evening, Colonel Walter called again, to give me a copy of the charges against me. He informed me that my trial had been deferred till Monday, the 15th inst. He also informed me in advance, that I must die, and that, doubtless, on the day after the trial. I asked and obtained permission to send for the Rev. Dr. Lyon, of Columbus, Mississippi, to be present at my execution. Dr. Lyon and I were co-presbyters, both being members of the Tombeckbee Presbytery. Colonel Walter was a renegade Yankee. Coming from Michigan to Mississippi, he married the daughter of a wealthy slave-holder. Obtaining through her the control of a large number of slaves, he became a very ultra advocate of the peculiar institution, and a rabid secessionist.
Soon after Colonel Walter left, Colonel Ware came in, and asked me if I had been President of a Female College in Rienzi. I replied in the affirmative. ’Tis strange, said he, that one who has been so favoured, and one who hasaccumulated property in the South, should prove a traitor to the land of his adoption, and side with his enemies. I replied that I had given a fair equivalent for every dollar I had obtained from the citizens of the South; that for eleven years I had laboured faithfully as a teacher and minister of the gospel to promote the educational and spiritual interests of the Southern people; and that now I was receiving my reward in being chained, starved, and insulted; and that they intended soon to pay the last instalment by putting me to death ignominiously on the scaffold; I also denied being an enemy to the South. I regarded those who imperilled all her best interests, and plunged her into a protracted and desolating war, as the real enemies of the South. If my advice had been followed, the South and the whole country would now be enjoying its wonted peace and prosperity. He only replied with cursing and vituperation.
Believing my end to be near, I sat down upon the floor of my dungeon, and penned the following letter to my wife.
Tupelo Military Dungeon, July 10th, 1862.My Dear Mary—The Confederate authorities announce to me that I have only a few more days to live. When you receive this letter, the hand that penned it will be cold in death. My soul will have passed the solemn test before the bar of God; I have a good hope through grace that I will be then rejoicing amid the sacramental host of God’s elect, singing the new song of redeeming love in the presence of Him who is the Chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. Mary, meet me in heaven, where sorrow, and crying, and sin are not known, and where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. I will request your brother Ramsey, and cousin, Captain Tankersley, to convey my body to you. Bury me in the graveyard at Bethany. Plant an evergreen—a cedar—at my head, and one at my feet, and there let me repose in peace, till the Archangel’s trump shall sound, calling the dead to the judgment of the great day, and vouchsafing to saints the long wished-for “redemption of the body.”As to my property, it has all been confiscated; and after years of incessant toil, I leave you penniless and dependent; but trust in God. To his protecting care I commit you and our dear little Kate, who has promised that he will be the widow’s husband, and the father of the fatherless. Rest assured, the Lord will provide. Only trust in him, and love him with your whole heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. “I know that it shall be well with those that love God.” Be not faithless, but believing, and though clouds and thick darkness surround you at present, a more auspicious day will dawn, and God will bring you safely to your journey’s end, and our reunion in heaven will be sweet.Our dear little daughter, Kate, bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Teach her to walk in wisdom’s ways, for her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Her mind may be compared to wax, in its susceptibility for receiving impressions, and to marble, for its power of retaining those impressions. O that she may be satisfied earlywith the mercy of God, that she may rejoice and be glad all her days! Teach her to remember her Creator in the days of her youth, before the evil days come, in which she shall say, I have no pleasure in thee. Make the Bible her constant study, and let its words be as household words to her. Inspire her mind with a reverence forthe Bookwhich is able to make wise unto salvation. See to it that the words of Christ dwell richly in her soul, that she may be filled with wisdom, and knowledge, and spiritual understanding. Pray for the Holy Spirit to bless your labours and instructions, without which all your efforts would be in vain, and pray that the Third Person of the adorable Trinity may take up his abode in her heart, and dwell with her for ever.As my duties in regard to instructing our child, will devolve solely on you, take for your guidance, in this respect, Deut. vi. 5-9. Let your example be such as you would wish her to follow. Children are much more inclined to follow example than precept. Exercise care inthis respect, for, “as is the mother, so is her daughter.”I regret my family will, from the force of circumstances, be compelled to remain in a land where my death will be considered disgraceful, but it cannot be avoided. The time may come when, even in Mississippi, I may be regarded as a patriot martyr. My conscience is void of offence, as regards the guilt attached to the charges made against me. I am charged with treason against the Confederate States. The charge and the specifications are true, except that I was not a Federal agent in the purchase of cotton. That was a private arrangement altogether. I am also charged with acting as a spy. The specifications under this charge are false. I think that this accusation was made to prevent retaliation by the Federal generals; and in the Rebel army they are not at a loss to prove any charge, however false. Ferdinand Woodruff is their tool to prove me a spy, and he will do it, though he knows his testimony to be as false as that of the subornedwitnesses who bore testimony against the Saviour.How long shall the wicked triumph? How long will God forbear to execute that vengeance which is his, and which he will repay sooner or later! I feel confident that the right cause will prevail, and though I will not live to see it, for my days are numbered, yet I firmly believe that the rebel power will be destroyed utterly.“Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again;The eternal years of God are hers;But error, wounded, writhes in pain,And dies amid her worshippers.”I write this letter amid the din and confusion incident to a large number of men crowded into a narrow compass, and free from all restraint. This letter will be transmitted to you by friends. The names of those friends you will know hereafter. They will present your case to General Rosecrans or Nelson, who may obtain a pension for you. My services heretofore in the Union cause are known to them, and I think they will see that youdo not suffer; all my real estate will be restored to you if the Union cause triumphs, and I think there is no doubt as to its success. Give my love to all my friends. Remember that I have prayed for you unceasingly during my imprisonment, and my last utterances on earth will be prayers for your welfare.Farewell. God bless you, and preserve you and our dear little Kate.Your affectionate husband,John H. Aughey.
Tupelo Military Dungeon, July 10th, 1862.
My Dear Mary—The Confederate authorities announce to me that I have only a few more days to live. When you receive this letter, the hand that penned it will be cold in death. My soul will have passed the solemn test before the bar of God; I have a good hope through grace that I will be then rejoicing amid the sacramental host of God’s elect, singing the new song of redeeming love in the presence of Him who is the Chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. Mary, meet me in heaven, where sorrow, and crying, and sin are not known, and where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. I will request your brother Ramsey, and cousin, Captain Tankersley, to convey my body to you. Bury me in the graveyard at Bethany. Plant an evergreen—a cedar—at my head, and one at my feet, and there let me repose in peace, till the Archangel’s trump shall sound, calling the dead to the judgment of the great day, and vouchsafing to saints the long wished-for “redemption of the body.”
As to my property, it has all been confiscated; and after years of incessant toil, I leave you penniless and dependent; but trust in God. To his protecting care I commit you and our dear little Kate, who has promised that he will be the widow’s husband, and the father of the fatherless. Rest assured, the Lord will provide. Only trust in him, and love him with your whole heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. “I know that it shall be well with those that love God.” Be not faithless, but believing, and though clouds and thick darkness surround you at present, a more auspicious day will dawn, and God will bring you safely to your journey’s end, and our reunion in heaven will be sweet.
Our dear little daughter, Kate, bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Teach her to walk in wisdom’s ways, for her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Her mind may be compared to wax, in its susceptibility for receiving impressions, and to marble, for its power of retaining those impressions. O that she may be satisfied earlywith the mercy of God, that she may rejoice and be glad all her days! Teach her to remember her Creator in the days of her youth, before the evil days come, in which she shall say, I have no pleasure in thee. Make the Bible her constant study, and let its words be as household words to her. Inspire her mind with a reverence forthe Bookwhich is able to make wise unto salvation. See to it that the words of Christ dwell richly in her soul, that she may be filled with wisdom, and knowledge, and spiritual understanding. Pray for the Holy Spirit to bless your labours and instructions, without which all your efforts would be in vain, and pray that the Third Person of the adorable Trinity may take up his abode in her heart, and dwell with her for ever.
As my duties in regard to instructing our child, will devolve solely on you, take for your guidance, in this respect, Deut. vi. 5-9. Let your example be such as you would wish her to follow. Children are much more inclined to follow example than precept. Exercise care inthis respect, for, “as is the mother, so is her daughter.”
I regret my family will, from the force of circumstances, be compelled to remain in a land where my death will be considered disgraceful, but it cannot be avoided. The time may come when, even in Mississippi, I may be regarded as a patriot martyr. My conscience is void of offence, as regards the guilt attached to the charges made against me. I am charged with treason against the Confederate States. The charge and the specifications are true, except that I was not a Federal agent in the purchase of cotton. That was a private arrangement altogether. I am also charged with acting as a spy. The specifications under this charge are false. I think that this accusation was made to prevent retaliation by the Federal generals; and in the Rebel army they are not at a loss to prove any charge, however false. Ferdinand Woodruff is their tool to prove me a spy, and he will do it, though he knows his testimony to be as false as that of the subornedwitnesses who bore testimony against the Saviour.
How long shall the wicked triumph? How long will God forbear to execute that vengeance which is his, and which he will repay sooner or later! I feel confident that the right cause will prevail, and though I will not live to see it, for my days are numbered, yet I firmly believe that the rebel power will be destroyed utterly.
“Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again;The eternal years of God are hers;But error, wounded, writhes in pain,And dies amid her worshippers.”
I write this letter amid the din and confusion incident to a large number of men crowded into a narrow compass, and free from all restraint. This letter will be transmitted to you by friends. The names of those friends you will know hereafter. They will present your case to General Rosecrans or Nelson, who may obtain a pension for you. My services heretofore in the Union cause are known to them, and I think they will see that youdo not suffer; all my real estate will be restored to you if the Union cause triumphs, and I think there is no doubt as to its success. Give my love to all my friends. Remember that I have prayed for you unceasingly during my imprisonment, and my last utterances on earth will be prayers for your welfare.
Farewell. God bless you, and preserve you and our dear little Kate.
Your affectionate husband,
John H. Aughey.
I next wrote my obituary, which I placed in the hands of a Union soldier who expected soon to be exchanged. By him it was to be sent to the editors ofThe Presbyterian, published in Philadelphia, with a request that it should appear in their columns.
OBITUARY.
Died, in Tupelo, Ittawamba county, Mississippi, July —, 1862, the Rev. John H. Aughey. The subject of the above notice was executed on the gallows, by authority of the Confederate States, on the charges of treason and acting as a spy.
John H. Aughey was born in New Hartford, Oneida county, New York, May 8th, 1828; removed with his parents to Steubenville, Ohio, in 1837; is an alumnus of Franklin College, New Athens, Harrison county, Ohio; studied theology in Memphis, Tennessee, under the Rev. John H. Gray, D. D., President of Memphis Synodical College—also under the care of the Rev. S. I. Reid of Holly Springs, Mississippi; was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Chickasaw, October 4th, 1856; was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry by the Presbytery of Tombeckbee, at its session in Winston county, Mississippi, in April, 1861. God blessed his labours by giving him many seals to his ministry. After labouring eleven years in the South as a teacher and minister of the gospel, having never injured a citizen of the South either in person or property, he suffered a felon’s death for attachment to the Federal Union, because he would not turn traitor to the government which had never in a single instance oppressed, but had always afforded him protection. Herests in peace, and in the hope of a blessed immortality.
“Leaves have their time to fall,And flowers to wither in the north wind’s breath,And stars to set; but all—Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death!”
ADDRESS TO MY SOUL.
O my soul! thou art about to appear in the presence of thy Creator, who is infinite, eternal, unchangeable in his being, power, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He cannot look upon sin. He is a sin-avenging God, and thou art stained with sin. Thy transgressions are as numerous as the stars of heaven, and the sand that is upon the sea-shore. Thou art totally debased by sin, and thy iniquities abound. Thou art guilty of sins of omission and of commission. Justice would consign thee to everlasting burnings, to dwell with devouring fire, even to everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. Guilty, helpless, wretched as thou art, what is thy plea why sentence of eternal death should not be pronounced against thee?
THE SOUL’S REPLY.
I plead the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood cleanses fromallsin, even from sins of the deepest dye. I plead the sufferings of Him who bore my sins in his own body, on the tree, and wrought out a perfect righteousness, which I may obtain by simple faith. No money, no price is demanded. This I could not pay, for all my righteousness is as filthy rags, and I must perish, were any part of the price demanded. Nothing in my hand I bring. My salvation must beallof grace, or to me it would be hopeless. I trust that Christ will clothe me in the spotless robes of his own righteousness, and present me faultless before his Father. With this trust, I go to the judgment-seat, assured that the soul which trusts in Christ shall never be put to shame. God is faithful who has promised.
Military Dungeon, Tupelo,Ittawamba Co., Miss., July 11th, 1862.Dear Parents—“Life is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun.” “All thata man hath, will he give for his life.” “Having promise of the life that now is.” “The life is more than meat.” “They hunt for thepreciouslife.” The above quotations from the Word of Life, show the high estimate that is placed upon life. My life is not “precious” in the eyes of the Secessionists, for their authorities declare that “my chances for living long are extremely slender.” “Yet a few days, and me the all-beholding sun shall see no more in all his course.” Mourn not for me, my dear parents, as those who have no hope. “For me to live, is Christ; but to die, is gain.” I fear not those who, when they have killed the body, have no more that they can do. But I fear Him whose fear casteth out every other fear. When these lines are read by you, their author will be an inhabitant of the Celestial City, the New Jerusalem, and will be reposing in Abraham’s bosom, in the midst of the Paradise of God. Next to God, my thanks are due to you, for guiding my infant feet in the paths of wisdom and virtue. In riper years, by precept, I have been warned and instructed. By example Ihave been led, until my habits were fixed, and then, accompanied by your parental blessing, I sought a distant home, to engage in the arduous duties of life. Whatever success I have met with, whatever influence for good I may have exerted, are all due to your pious training. I owe you a debt of gratitude which I can never repay. Though I cannot, God will grant you a reward lasting as eternity. It will add to that exceeding and eternal weight of glory which will be conferred on you in that day when the heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat. I die for my loyalty to the Federal Government. I know that you would not have me turn traitor to save my life. Life is precious, but death, even death on the scaffold, is preferable to dishonour. Remember me kindly to all my friends. Tell sisters Sallie, Mary, and Emma, to meet me in heaven. I know thatmyRedeemer liveth. Dying is but going home. I have taught many how to live, and now I am called to teach them how to die. May God grant that as my day is, so may my strength be, and that, in my lastmoments, I may not bring dishonour upon my Master’s cause, but may glorify him in the fires!My dear parents, farewell till we meet beyond the river.Your affectionate son,John H. Aughey.To David and Elizabeth Aughey,Amsterdam, Jefferson Co., Ohio.
Military Dungeon, Tupelo,Ittawamba Co., Miss., July 11th, 1862.
Dear Parents—“Life is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun.” “All thata man hath, will he give for his life.” “Having promise of the life that now is.” “The life is more than meat.” “They hunt for thepreciouslife.” The above quotations from the Word of Life, show the high estimate that is placed upon life. My life is not “precious” in the eyes of the Secessionists, for their authorities declare that “my chances for living long are extremely slender.” “Yet a few days, and me the all-beholding sun shall see no more in all his course.” Mourn not for me, my dear parents, as those who have no hope. “For me to live, is Christ; but to die, is gain.” I fear not those who, when they have killed the body, have no more that they can do. But I fear Him whose fear casteth out every other fear. When these lines are read by you, their author will be an inhabitant of the Celestial City, the New Jerusalem, and will be reposing in Abraham’s bosom, in the midst of the Paradise of God. Next to God, my thanks are due to you, for guiding my infant feet in the paths of wisdom and virtue. In riper years, by precept, I have been warned and instructed. By example Ihave been led, until my habits were fixed, and then, accompanied by your parental blessing, I sought a distant home, to engage in the arduous duties of life. Whatever success I have met with, whatever influence for good I may have exerted, are all due to your pious training. I owe you a debt of gratitude which I can never repay. Though I cannot, God will grant you a reward lasting as eternity. It will add to that exceeding and eternal weight of glory which will be conferred on you in that day when the heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat. I die for my loyalty to the Federal Government. I know that you would not have me turn traitor to save my life. Life is precious, but death, even death on the scaffold, is preferable to dishonour. Remember me kindly to all my friends. Tell sisters Sallie, Mary, and Emma, to meet me in heaven. I know thatmyRedeemer liveth. Dying is but going home. I have taught many how to live, and now I am called to teach them how to die. May God grant that as my day is, so may my strength be, and that, in my lastmoments, I may not bring dishonour upon my Master’s cause, but may glorify him in the fires!
My dear parents, farewell till we meet beyond the river.
Your affectionate son,John H. Aughey.
To David and Elizabeth Aughey,Amsterdam, Jefferson Co., Ohio.
The following letter was written to the Hon. William H. Seward in behalf of the Union men in prison and within the rebel lines.
Central Military Prison, Tupelo,Ittawamba Co., Mississippi, July 11th, 1862.Hon. William H. Seward:Dear Sir—A large number of citizens of Mississippi, holding Union sentiments, and who recognise no such military usurpation as the so-called Confederate States of America, are confined in a filthy prison, swarming with vermin, and are famishing from hunger—a sufficient quantity of food not being furnished us. We are separated from our families, and suffered to hold no communication with them.We are compelled, under a strong guard, to perform the most menial services, and are insulted on every occasion by the officers and guards of the prison. The nights are very cool; we are furnished with no bedding, and are compelled to lie down on the floor of our dungeon, where sleep seldom visits us, until exhausted nature can hold out no longer; then our slumbers are broken, restless, and of short duration. Our property is confiscated, and our families left destitute of the necessaries of life; all that they have, yea, all their living, being seized upon by the Confederates, and converted to their own use. Heavy fetters are placed upon our limbs, and daily some of us are led to the scaffold, or to death by shooting. Many of us are forced into the army, instant death being the penalty in case of refusal; thus constraining us to bear arms against our country, to become the executioners of our friends and brethren, or to fall ourselves by their hands.These evils are intolerable, and we ask protection, through you, from the United States Government. The Federal Government maynot be able to release us, but we ask the protection which the Federal prisoner receives. Were his life taken, swift retribution would be visited upon the rebels by a just retaliation—a rebel prisoner would suffer death for every Federal prisoner whom they destroyed. Let this rule hold good in the case of Union men who are citizens of the South. The loyal Mississippian deserves protection as much as the loyal native of Massachusetts. We ask, also, that our confiscated property be restored to us, or, in case of our death, to our families. If it be destroyed, let reparation be demanded from the rebels, or the property of known and avowed secessionists sequestered to that use.Before this letter reaches its destination, the majority of us will have ceased to be. The writer has been informed by the officers that “his chances for living long are very slender;” that he has confessed enough to cause him to lose his life, and the Judge Advocate has specified Tuesday, the 15th inst., as the day of his execution. We have, therefore, little hope that we, individually, can receive any benefit fromthis petition, though you regard it favourably, and consent to its suggestions; but our families, who have been so cruelly robbed of all their substance, may, in after time, receive remuneration for their great losses. And if citizens of avowed secession proclivities, who are within the Federal lines, are arrested and held as hostages for the safety of Union men who are and may be hereafter incarcerated in the prison in Tupelo and elsewhere, the rebels will not dare put another Union man to death.Hoping that you will deem it proper to take the matters presented in our petition under advisement, we remain, with high considerations of respect and esteem, your oppressed and imprisoned fellow-citizens,John H. Aughey,Benjamin Clarke,John Robinson,and thirty-seven others.
Central Military Prison, Tupelo,Ittawamba Co., Mississippi, July 11th, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward:
Dear Sir—A large number of citizens of Mississippi, holding Union sentiments, and who recognise no such military usurpation as the so-called Confederate States of America, are confined in a filthy prison, swarming with vermin, and are famishing from hunger—a sufficient quantity of food not being furnished us. We are separated from our families, and suffered to hold no communication with them.We are compelled, under a strong guard, to perform the most menial services, and are insulted on every occasion by the officers and guards of the prison. The nights are very cool; we are furnished with no bedding, and are compelled to lie down on the floor of our dungeon, where sleep seldom visits us, until exhausted nature can hold out no longer; then our slumbers are broken, restless, and of short duration. Our property is confiscated, and our families left destitute of the necessaries of life; all that they have, yea, all their living, being seized upon by the Confederates, and converted to their own use. Heavy fetters are placed upon our limbs, and daily some of us are led to the scaffold, or to death by shooting. Many of us are forced into the army, instant death being the penalty in case of refusal; thus constraining us to bear arms against our country, to become the executioners of our friends and brethren, or to fall ourselves by their hands.
These evils are intolerable, and we ask protection, through you, from the United States Government. The Federal Government maynot be able to release us, but we ask the protection which the Federal prisoner receives. Were his life taken, swift retribution would be visited upon the rebels by a just retaliation—a rebel prisoner would suffer death for every Federal prisoner whom they destroyed. Let this rule hold good in the case of Union men who are citizens of the South. The loyal Mississippian deserves protection as much as the loyal native of Massachusetts. We ask, also, that our confiscated property be restored to us, or, in case of our death, to our families. If it be destroyed, let reparation be demanded from the rebels, or the property of known and avowed secessionists sequestered to that use.
Before this letter reaches its destination, the majority of us will have ceased to be. The writer has been informed by the officers that “his chances for living long are very slender;” that he has confessed enough to cause him to lose his life, and the Judge Advocate has specified Tuesday, the 15th inst., as the day of his execution. We have, therefore, little hope that we, individually, can receive any benefit fromthis petition, though you regard it favourably, and consent to its suggestions; but our families, who have been so cruelly robbed of all their substance, may, in after time, receive remuneration for their great losses. And if citizens of avowed secession proclivities, who are within the Federal lines, are arrested and held as hostages for the safety of Union men who are and may be hereafter incarcerated in the prison in Tupelo and elsewhere, the rebels will not dare put another Union man to death.
Hoping that you will deem it proper to take the matters presented in our petition under advisement, we remain, with high considerations of respect and esteem, your oppressed and imprisoned fellow-citizens,
John H. Aughey,Benjamin Clarke,John Robinson,and thirty-seven others.
Two young men informed me to-day that they had been forced into the rebel service. They had been taken prisoners at Corinth by General Pope, and had taken the oath ofallegiance to the Federal Government, to which their hearts had always been loyal. Recently they had been arrested, and on refusing to rejoin their regiment, were immured in this dungeon. From the threats of the officers, they expected to be shot at any moment. They had used every means to banish the thoughts of death—had forced themselves to engage in pleasantry and mirth to drive away the sadness and gloom which oppressed them when alone, and recalled the pleasures of their happy homes—homes which they would never see again. I counselled them to prepare to meet their God in peace; to wisely improve the short time granted them to make their calling and election sure. They replied that they hoped all would be well. They had long since confessed Christ before men, and hoped for salvation through his merits. Still, they could not help feeling sad in the near prospect of death. They left me to mingle with a group of prisoners, who were endeavouring to dissipate the tedium, and vary the monotonous routine of prison life, by “telling stories.”Captain Bruce led off by telling the following Irish story:
“Once upon a time, an Irishman, who rejoiced in the possession of a fine mare and a colt, wished to cross the Mississippi river at Baton Rouge with them. By some mishap, they were all precipitated from the ferry-boat into the water. The Irishman, being unable to swim, grasped the colt’s tail, hoping thus to be carried to the shore. Some of the passengers called out to him: ‘Halloo, Pat, why don’t you take hold of the mare’s tail; she is much stronger, and much more able to carry you safely to the shore.’ ‘O, be jabers!’ says Pat, ‘this is no time for swapping horses.’” This tale was received with applause.
Baltimore Bill, a real Plug-ugly, told his story next, as follows: “Two Irishmen, immediately after their arrival in America, found a gun. After long inspection, they concluded it was some kind of musical instrument, and wishing to hear the music, it was agreed that Jimmie should blow at the muzzle, while Pat worked with the ‘fixins’ at the breech. At itthey went. Soon the gun went off, and Jimmie fell down, shot dead. ‘Och!’ says Pat, ‘are you charmed at the first note?’” This story was received with loud bursts of laughter. An officer then entered, and ordered us to be quiet, forbidding us to narrate any more tales.
EXECUTION OF UNION PRISONERS.
Resolved to Escape—Mode of Executing Prisoners—Removal of Chain—Addition to our Numbers—Two Prisoners become Insane—Plan of Escape—Proves a Failure—Fetters Inspected—Additional Fetters—Handcuffs—A Spy in the Disguise of a Prisoner—Special Police Guard on Duty—A Prisoner’s Discovery—Divine Services—The General Judgment—The Judge—The Laws—The Witnesses—The Concourse—The Sentence.
Resolved to Escape—Mode of Executing Prisoners—Removal of Chain—Addition to our Numbers—Two Prisoners become Insane—Plan of Escape—Proves a Failure—Fetters Inspected—Additional Fetters—Handcuffs—A Spy in the Disguise of a Prisoner—Special Police Guard on Duty—A Prisoner’s Discovery—Divine Services—The General Judgment—The Judge—The Laws—The Witnesses—The Concourse—The Sentence.
On Friday morning, the twelfth of July, as I lay restless and sore, endeavouring to find some position which would be sufficiently easy to permit me to enjoy, even for a few moments, the benefit of “Tired nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep,” the thought occurred that it would be well to attempt an escape, though it should result in death from the fire of the guards, which would be far preferable to death by strangling at the rope’s end, and in the presence of a large concourse of rebel enemies. Their method of shooting was, to dig a hole,and make the victim sit with his legs hanging in it. The soldiers would fire three balls through the brain, and three through the heart; then the mangled and bleeding body fell into the grave, and was immediately covered with earth. At first, coffins were used, but of late, these had been dispensed with, owing to the increased expense, and the increasing number of executions.
I had not long meditated upon this subject, when I arose, fully resolved on death or liberty. My intentions were communicated to several prisoners, who promised me all the aid in their power. My fetters were examined, and it was concluded, that with proper instruments my bands could be divested of the iron which secured the chain-rings. A long-handled iron spoon, a knife, and an old file, were obtained, and two were detached at a time to work on my fetters. We went to one side of the building, and a sufficient number of prisoners stood in front of us, to prevent the guard from noticing our proceedings. Our locations were changed frequently, to preventdetection; and when an officer entered, labour was suspended till his exit.
We called General Bragg, Robespierre; General Jordan, Marat; and General Hardee, Danton. Several prisoners were led out and shot to-day. The majority of them were Union men. Six Union men were committed to jail to-day. The horrors of our situation were sufficient to render two of these victims insane. A reign of terror had been inaugurated, only equalled, in its appalling enormity, by the memorable French Revolution. Spies and informers, in the pay of the Rebel government, prowl through the country, using every artifice and strategy to lead Union men to criminate themselves, after which they are dragged to prison and to death. The cavalry dash through the country, burning cotton, carrying off the property of loyal citizens, and committing depredations of every kind.
Several prisoners resolved to attempt an escape with me. Our plan was, to bring in the axe with which we split wood for cooking, and raise a plank in the floor, a sufficientnumber to stand around those who lifted it, to prevent observation, and then make our way out among the guards, who were off duty on the north side of the building. At this time there were three guards in front of each door, and two on the south side of the building. On the north side of the building, there were no guards on duty, for, if the other three sides were securely guarded, the prisoners could not escape on the north side. There were, however, several hundred guards, who, when off duty, slept on this side of the prison. When their turn came, they went on duty; and those who were relieved, came there to sleep. They were coming and going all the time, and during the whole night, they kept up an incessant noise.
After the unremitting labour of my friends during the day, I found that I could slip my chain off and on at pleasure. The sun was now setting, but the axe had not been brought in. At this time a guard was stationed in each door; the favourable moment had passed; none dared to bring the axe pastthe guard. While deliberating on the best course to pursue—as raising a plank had proved a failure for the present—General Jordan and Colonel Clare entered. I was standing with others in the middle of the floor. General Jordan came directly to me; either accidentally or intentionally, he held up a light to my face. “Ah! you are here yet,” said he. I gave an affirmative nod. “Well,” said he to Colonel Clare, “I must examine this fellow’s irons.” Putting his hand down, and ascertaining that they had been tampered with, he endeavoured, ineffectually, to pull the bands off; he did not notice that I could slip the chain-rings off. “These irons,” said he, “are very insecure; who helped you to put them in this condition?” I made no reply. After waiting until he found I intended none, he continued: “Colonel Clare, have these irons secured in the morning; also put handcuffs on him, and chain him, so as to confine him to one locality; the gallows shall not be cheated of their due.” Having given these orders, they passed out. As soon as they were gone, the prisoners who had aidedme crowded around, stating that they believed there was a spy in the house, in the guise of a prisoner, and declaring that I must escape that night, or it would be too late. All realized that on to-morrow there would be no hope.
There were eleven guards on duty—three in front of each door, one in each door, two on the south side of the building, and at night one passing back and forth through the centre of the prison, which was lighted during the whole night. There was also a special police guard on duty that night, as five Federal prisoners, who remained in our prison until some formalities were gone through with, would be sent in the morning to the prison at Columbus, Mississippi, and it was feared they might attempt to escape ere they were sent further south.
At this juncture, a young man ran up and informed me that he had made a discovery which might result in my escape; I must go alone, however, and though they would aid me, they would run great risk in doing so.Only four could assist, and he would volunteer to be one of them. Several others immediately volunteered, of whom three were selected by M——, and the plan then communicated. At this moment, Captain Bruce announced that the hour for divine worship had arrived. I asked my friends whether I should plead indisposition, and dispense with the services for that time. They replied that it might lead to suspicion, and advised me to give them a short sermon. I went to my usual place of standing, clanking my chains as heretofore. I give a synopsis of the sermon.
The text was 2 Cor. v. 10: “We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
The doctrine of a general judgment was revealed to mankind at a very early period of the world’s history. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince allthat are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Job declares: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Daniel also speaks of a general judgment: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” The New Testament is also explicit in its declarations that God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. The text declares that we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.
The scenes which will usher in the judgmentof the great day will be of the most magnificent character. “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.” This does not indicate annihilation. God will never annihilate any of his creatures, animate or inanimate.
The inquiry is often made, what becomes of the soul after death, and where does it await the general judgment? A sect called the Soul-sleepers, take the position that the soul, after death, goes into a torpid state, like bears in winter, and thus remains till the sounding of the Archangel’s trump. There is no Scripture to sustain this view, and it is only assumed, to avoid the objection that God would not judge a soul, and send it to reward or punishment, and then bring it back, to be again judged. That the soul, at death, passes immediately into glory or torment, is proved by many scriptures. Paul “desired to depart, and be with Christ, which was far better,” than remaining on earth. He declares that to be present with the body, is to be absent fromthe Lord. The dying Stephen calls upon the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit. These holy men would not thus have spoken, if they supposed that ages must elapse ere they entered heaven. God is not the God of the dead or torpid, but of the living. Moses and Elias appeared on the mount of transfiguration in a state far from torpidity. The dying thief received the promise, “This day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” No mention is made of Purgatory or torpidity. The objector urges that paradise is not heaven. We are told that the river of life flows from the throne of God, that the tree of life grows on both sides of the river, and that the tree of life grows in the midst of the paradise of God. The paradise of God is where he is seated on his throne, which is heaven. Paradise is where Christ is. The thief would be with Christ in paradise. He who regards the Lord Jesus as the Chief among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely, will deem his presence heaven indeed. As to the wicked, it is said of the rich man, that in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. If,after being judged, the souls of believers, do pass immediately into glory, and the wicked into torment, what use is there of another or general judgment. I reply, We are responsible not only for our acts, but for the influence which those acts exert through all time. Gibbon, Hume, Rosseau, Paine, and other infidel writers, wrote works which, during the life of the authors, did great evil. If those wicked men passed away from earth impenitent, they are now suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. But the influence for evil, of those wicked works, did not cease with the death of their authors. Thousands of young men every year are led into pernicious and hurtful errors by their perusal. At the general judgment, the accumulated guilt, for the baleful influence exerted through their writings in all time, will sink them deeper in the flames of perdition. The sainted Alexander, and other pious men who are now in heaven, wrote many works whose influence for good was great while their authors lived; and since their death they are, and will continue to be, instrumental in thehand of God in turning many to righteousness. All the good accomplished by their writings, through all time, will, at the judgment, add to their exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
In this life, we often see the righteous man contending with life’s unnumbered woes; all the dealings of Providence seem to be adverse. While the wicked are in great power, they flourish in life, like the green bay-tree, and have no bands in their death. These things are strange and mysterious. We understand them not now; but we shall learn, in that great day, when all mysteries are made plain, that God’s dealings were just, both with the righteous and the wicked.
The text declares thatwemust all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. Thisweincludes all who are now within the sound of my voice, and not only us, but all who live upon the face of the earth; and the Archangel’s trump will wake the pale nations of the dead, and summon them to judgment. The dark domain of hell will be vacated, and theangels that kept not their first estate, and are now reserved in chains of darkness, will appear in the presence of the Judge. Heaven’s holy inhabitants will be present. Thus heaven, earth, and hell, will be represented in that august assemblage. The scene will bear some resemblance to that which takes place in our earthly courts. The Lord Jesus Christ will be the Judge, and the angels and saints will be the jurors, who will consent to and approve of the acts of the Judge. The angels will be the officers who will summon, from the prison-house of hell, the devils, to the trial, and also those wicked men who will call upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, and hide them from the face of the Lamb. Nor, as is so often the case with earthly officers, will any be able to elude the vigilance of these. They will be clothed with ample power to compel the attendance of all; none will escape. Wemust allappear before the judgment-seat. As in earthly courts, law is the basis of judgment, so we shall be judged according to law in that day. The heathen will be judged by the law ofnature—the law written in their hearts, and on their consciences. The light of nature teaches the being, wisdom, power, and goodness of God. For a violation of this law, they will be beaten with few stripes. The Jews will be judged by both the law of nature, which they have, in common with the heathen and the Mosaic law. But we who live in the nineteenth century, in the full blaze of gospel light, will be judged not only by the light of nature and the Mosaic law, which we possess in common with the heathen and the Jew, but also by the glorious gospel of the Son of God, which brought life and immortality to light; and if condemned, how fearful our doom, who are so highly favoured! In earthly courts, we are judged for our overt acts alone; but in the court of heaven, the commandment is exceeding broad; it reaches every thought. Our words, too, are taken into account. We must give an account for every idle word. By our words, we shall be justified, and by our words we shall be condemned. Our thoughts, our words, our deeds, will all be taken into account.
As in our courts there are witnesses, so also there will be at the bar of God. Our pious relatives and friends will bear this testimony, that they have prayed with us and for us; that they had a deep concern for our souls, and that we who are found on the left hand of the Judge, refused all their counsel, and despised their admonitions. Ministers of the gospel will testify that they came as ambassadors from the King of kings, and beseeching you, in Christ’s stead, to be reconciled to God, pointing to the coming wrath, and warning you from that wrath to flee; and yet their labour of love ye despised, and scorned the message from on high. The Bible will be a witness against you. Its teachings are able to make wise unto salvation. It is the chart which is given to guide us through this wilderness-world, to fairer worlds on high. It tells of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. It is truth without any mixture of error, and yet you have despised this necessary revelation, and chosen to perish, with the Word of Life open before you. God, theFather, will be a swift witness against you. In the greatness of his love for you, in the counsels of eternity, he devised the plan of salvation, and sent his only begotten Son to suffer and die, that you might live, and yet you have despised that love, and rejected that Saviour. God, the Son, will bear this testimony, that he came from the shining abodes of glory, where seraphim and cherubim fell prostrate at his feet, in humble adoration, and emptying himself of his glory, bore all the ills of life—the persecutions of wicked men, and the accursed death of the cross, that salvation might be yours, and yet ye refused it, and trod the blood of the Son of God under foot, and put him to an open shame. The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the adorable Trinity, will bear witness that he often knocked at the door of your hearts for admittance; that he wooed you to embrace his love, offering to abide with you for ever, and yet you rejected the offer, and did despite to the Spirit of grace, till, in sorrow, he took his everlasting flight.
The devil is now going about as a roaringlion, seeking whom he may devour, and sometimes transforming himself into an angel of light. He is tempting you to sin, by presenting before your minds the superior charms of the riches and pleasures of earth, to things that are unseen and eternal. He has no power to compel you to sin. His evil suggestions are whispered in your oft too willing ears, and then it remains with you to accept or reject. He has no power of compulsion. Your sin must be an act of your own will, or it is not sin. When you consent to the wiles of this arch enemy, and sin against God, remember that with eager desire and base ingratitude he will fiercely accuse in the great day of God Almighty, and urge these very sins of his suggestion as a reason why he should have you to torment you for ever in the bottomless pit.
That internal monitor, that light which enlightens every man that cometh into the world—the moral sense, or conscience—will be a swift witness against you. By it you have been enlightened and warned; and in the case ofmany who have denied a future state of punishment, the goadings of remorse have convinced them that there is a hell, the kindlings of whose fires they have felt in their own bosoms. Conscience will compel you to confess that your doom is just, though for ever debarred from the joys and happiness of heaven. O! my fellow-prisoners and travellers to the bar of God, listen to her warning voice to-day, before it be too late, and you are compelled mournfully to exclaim, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved!” The conscience of the sinner will be compelled to admit the truth of the testimony. In earthly courts, oftentimes witnesses are suborned, and their testimony false. Not so at the grand assize. Not a scrap of false testimony will be admitted. The evidence will be in truth, and the judgment in righteousness.
After all these scenes have occurred, the Judge will render a verdict, and pronounce the sentence, which will be irreversible and eternal. With regard to the righteous, though they have been guilty of many sins, both ofomission and commission, and have no merits of their own to plead, and consider themselves justly obnoxious to eternal banishment, their Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom, while in the flesh, they exercised a true and living faith, will now present them, clad in the white robes of his perfect righteousness, faultless before his Father, and they will now hear the welcome plaudit, “Come ye blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” But those on the left hand, who all their life rejected the mercy offered—the great salvation proffered without money and without price—will now hear the dread sentence, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!”
O my dear, impenitent fellow-prisoners! how can ye take up your abode, your eternal abode, in everlasting burnings? How can ye dwell with devouring fire? How can ye endure everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power, shut up for ever in the fearful pit out of which there is no egress except for the vision of the damned,and the smoke of its torment? Be wise to-day, ’tis madness to defer. Procrastination is the thief of time. Delay is fraught with awful danger. Trust not in promises of future amendment. The way to hell is paved with good resolutions, which are never kept. The future convenient season never arrives. Like Felix, we may tremble when the minister reasons of a judgment to come; and like Agrippa, we may be almost persuaded to be a Christian, and yet come short of the glory of God through procrastination. Procrastination has populated hell. All the doomed and damned from Christian lands are victims of this pernicious and destructive wile of the devil. It is foolish to procrastinate. Though the Bible teems with rich and glorious promises of a hundred-fold blessings in this life, and eternal glory in the world to come, to those who break off their sins by righteousness, and their transgressions by turning unto the Lord, yet all these promises are limited to the present tense. There is not a single blessing promised the future penitent. He procrastinates at the risk of losingall. Behold,nowis the accepted time, and now is the day of salvation.To-dayif ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. “Ho, every one that thirsteth,comeye to the waters; and he that hath no money,comeye,buyandeat; yea,come buywine and milk without money and without price.” “Seek yefirstthe kingdom of God and his righteousness.” “And the Spirit and the Bride say,come; let him that heareth say,come; and let him that is athirstcome: and whosoever will, let himtakethe water of life freely.”
Choose yethis daywhom ye will serve. There is no warrant for deferring till to-morrow the momentous and eternal interests of the immortal soul. The shortness and uncertainty of life furnish a strong reason why we should not procrastinate. In the Bible, life is compared to everything that is swift, transient, and fleeting in its nature. It is compared to the swoop of the eagle hasting to the prey; to the swift post, to the bubble on the river. Life is compared in its duration to a year, a day, and to nothing, yea, less than nothing, and vanity.All these comparisons indicate that it is very brief and evanescent. We have no lease of life; we hold it by a very slight tenure; and this is especially true of us in our present condition. Confined in prison, some of us led to death every day without a moment’s warning, every evening I address some who, before the next evening, are in eternity. Myself in chains, my life declared forfeited, ought we not all to be deeply impressed with the necessity of immediate preparation to meet our God? I feel that I am preaching as a dying man to dying men, and I beseech you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved. Trust in him for salvation, for he is faithful who has promised. God has never said to any, seek ye my face in vain. By the love and mercy of God, by the terrors of the judgment, by the sympathy and compassion of Jesus, I entreat you, my fellow-prisoners, to seek an interest, a present interest, in the great salvation!
I close for the present. We shall never all engage in divine service together again onearth. We separate—some to go to a distant prison, and some to death. May God grant that when we are done with earthly scenes, we may all meet in the realms of bliss, where there is in God’s presence fulness of joy, and at his right hand pleasures for evermore! And may the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us, and all the Israel of God, now, henceforth, and for ever, Amen!
The following hymn was then sung:
In the sun, and moon, and stars,Signs and wonders there shall be;Earth shall quake with inward wars,Nations with perplexity.Soon shall ocean’s hoary deep,Tossed with stronger tempests, rise;Wilder storms the mountains sweep,Louder thunders rock the skies.Dread alarms shall shake the proud,Pale amazement, restless fear;And, amid the thunder-cloud,Shall the Judge of men appear.But though from his awful face,Heaven shall fade, and earth shall fly,Fear not ye, his chosen race,Your redemption draweth nigh.
I preached longer than I had intended, having become so fully engrossed with the subject as to forget my chains and my frustrated plans. My fellow-prisoners were listening apparently with interest; great solemnity prevailed, and penitential tears were flowing. It was evident that the Spirit of the living God was in our midst; and though danger and death were before our eyes, the consolations of the glorious gospel of the blessed God caused our peace to flow like a river. The precious seed was sown in tears. May we not entertain a good hope that he who cast the seed into this soil, prepared by affliction, shall come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. By my side stood two in chains, who appeared deeply moved. During the day I had conversed with them about their souls. They expressed regret that they had not heretofore given this matter the attention its importancedemanded. Since their imprisonment, however, they had been led to feel that they were great sinners, and had, as they hoped, put their trust in Christ alone for salvation. I have since learned that on the morrow they were shot.