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Stephen Merrill
Which took place on W inter Island, Salem, on
May 10, 1821.
FOR THE CRIME OF ARSON.
“ Be warn’d, ye youth, who see my sad despair:
Avoid LEWD WOMEN, false as they are fair.
By my example team to shun my fate :
How wretched is the man who’s wise too late i
Ere innocence, and fame and life be lost,
Here purchase wisdom cheaply, at my cost.”
The following account of this &laifcholy ad¬
ministration of the law, as applied to a dan¬
gerous and dreadful crime, was published in
the Salem Gazerre the day after it took place
Yesterday, May
Ю,
the sen¬
tence of DEATH was executed upon
STEPHEN MERRILL CLARK,
in Salem, for the crime of arfon com¬
mitted at Newbtlryport the l?th of Au-
guft lad, by fetting fire in the night
lime to a Sable of Mrs. Fhebe Crofs,
from which the fire was communicated
to and continued the dwelling houfe of
Andrew Frothingham, Efq. His trial,
convillioo and condemnation took place
at the Supreme Court, in February lad,
in Salem, and the time oi his execution
was at firft appointed to be on the 26th of
April, but he afterwards had a refpite
till the toih day of May. During bis
confinement he had been moil tenderly
treated by that humane and excellent of¬
ficer, Mr. Brown, and condantly vifited,
counfelled and inftro&ed by the Rev.
Clergy. From the time of his abortive
attempt at efcape, when all earthly hope
failed him, his heart became foftened,
and he appeared to throw -himfelf -wholly
upon the divine mercy. He felefted the
Rev. Mr. Carlile and Rev. Mr. Cornelius
for his fpiritual confeiTors, who continued
to the
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their benevolent and picas en
deavours to give him a juft view ef his
deplorable condition— to excite him to
repentance for his fins — and to impart to
ГХш,
by exhortation and by prayer,- all
the hopes and confolations which can be
drawn from our holy religion for the
fincerely penitent; and they had: the fat-
isfaclion to hear his confident declara¬
tion of his hope in the mercy of God
through Jefus Chrid. Thefe gentlemen
were feme time in the prifon with him
on the morning of his death, and
found him in a devout and religious
frame of mind becoming bis awful condi¬
tion. At i ■ 2 pad 1 2 o’clock he was bro’t
out of prifon, when they met him at the
door, and accompanied him in the car¬
riage, with the proper officer, to the place
of execution on Winter I (land. His
deportment on the way *was compo-
fed and prayerful : care was taken to
prevent his mind from being didra&ed,
and fiis firmnefs, fhakeo, by any ebferva-
tion of external circumdances ; a'od he
• difeovered no unmanly terrors on his
rearer approach to the fatal fpot. Arriv¬
ed at the gallows, he afeended the fcaffold
betw eeri the two Rev. Gentlemen, when
an addrefa to the affeiiibled fpeftators,
written with his own hand, was read by
Mr. Cornelius. Mr. Carlile then read from
the church fervice, with approprjgte al¬
terations, the Commendatory Prayer for
thofe who are departing out
ои|до;
at the conclufion of which, they •
bout taking their eve rlafting ietwe jbgSre
• w’.ien .he requefletffi^IgwMr.
Cornelius would alfo pray with him, be¬
fore taking his final leave; which he ac¬
cordingly did, in mod appropriate and af-
efling terms. After this, little delay rook
place, and the feene foon clofed forever !
тяштшат
T\\e Tiding oi
i\Y
С\ат\с.
The following exhortation of poor
Clark, was composed entirely by him¬
self, the day before his execution, and
at his request read from the scaffold by
one the clergymen who attended
hint. 'Let it be heard by ail who are
exposed to the temptations which proved
his ruin ; as a warning voice from the
eternal world . Such advjre it should
be remembered is purchased at too dear
a rate to be allowed to sink into forget-
fulness. It is due to the unhappy youth
who composed it to say, that in his last
moments, and on all bis way from the
prison to the gallows, he behaved with
great propriety, and showed mu'dh com
posure and resignation in view lof his
fate. He took but litllo notice of sur¬
rounding objects and spent most of his
time in devotion and conversation about
the only subject which was of moment
to him. He repeatedly expressed to the
clergymen who attended him a.strong
hope in the mercy of God, through the
Lord Jesus Christ, and said it was all the
support, on which he felt that he could
now lean : — And although it was suffi¬
ciently obvious from the paleness of his
countenance and the languor of his
whole body, that Death was regarded
with overpowering and unutterable feel¬
ings — yet the firmness with which he
contemplated its approach and finally
met it, was much greater than those
who attended him during bis last mo¬
ments had dared to anticipate. Heaven
grant that the overwhelming and heart¬
rending scene, may never be .witnessed
again !
The Address.
** May the youth who are pres¬
ent take warning by my sad fate,
not to forsake the wholesome
discipline of a Parent’s house.
Had I took the advice of my,
parents I never should have come
to this untimely end ; and 1 nope
my end will be a warning to you
all that aie now present. May
you all pray to God to give you
timely repentance, open your
eyes, enlighten your understand¬
ings,* that you may shun the
paths of vice and follow God’s
Commandments all the rest of
your days : And may God have
mercy on you all. To the world
at large I bid Farewell !”
The following i» the “ Commendatory Prayer’’
(as appointed (0 the church service) whfth
was offered to the God of all mercy by the
Rev. Mr. Carlile, at the place of execution ’•
О
Almighty God, with whom do live
the spirits of just men made perfect, af
ter they are delivered from their earth¬
ly prisons, we humbly commend the soul
of this thy servant, our dear brother, in¬
to thy hands, as into the hands of a faith¬
ful Creator, and most merciful Saviour ;
most humbly beseeching Thee, that it
may be precious in Thy sight. Wash it,
we pray thee, in the blood of that imma¬
culate Lamb that was slain to take away
the sins of the world ; that whatsoever
defilements it may have contracted in
the midst of this miserable and naughty
world, through the lusts of the flesh, o;
the wiles of -Satan, being- purged aw?
done away, it may he presented pure and
without spot before Thee. And teach
us who survive in this and other daily
spectacles of mortality to- see how frail
and uncertain our own condition is ; and
so to number our days, that we may se¬
riously apply our hearts to that holy and
heavenly wisdom whilst we . live here,
which may in the end bring us to life
everlasting, through the merits of Jesus
Christ, thine only Son, our Lord.
AMEN.
I wealth. It is impossible tb give adequate expres-
: $ipn to the deep and awful feelings to which the
rbemoi able transactions of that day gave birth.
| At an early hour the place of execution was
jiterally surrounded by anxious multitudes, wait
jng i he arrival of the fatal moment that was to
consign one of their fellow mortals to an untimely
grave ; their eyes now fixed on the instrument of
death before them, and now turned in that direc¬
tion where the funeral escort of the unhappy cri
minal was expected to appear in sight. Soon the
mournful procession met their view, and was seen
slowly winding its way to the fatal spot, preceded
and accompanied by additional multitudes of spec¬
tators, and at about half past one, it halted just
without the area on which the gallows stood. In-
a few moments the Peace officers commanded an
opening to he made through die crowd, and the
young and interesting object of universal attention
and commiseration was led into the space— -but O,
how changed from that sturdy, robust and appa¬
rently unconcerned youth who, but a few weeks
Before, was tried, convicted and sentence^ to
suffer death. Then, his countenance was flushed
and ruddy with the glow of health, his eye
was quick and animated,' his nerves un¬
shaken by the array and circumstance of
of judicial proceedings, and his whole frame was
firm and strong — Now, a ghastly paleness covered
his face, his eye was languid and declined to
earth, his aspect bespoke an inward grief and ago¬
ny that could not be uttered, and as the Rev.
Clergymen supported his feeble steps toward the
scaffold, his very soul appeared to quake at the
terrors of the law that surrounded him.
He was conducted up the first flight of steps, to
the principal floor ; and here the agony of his spirit
almost overpowered his strength, and lie was
near faulting, But was in some measure revived by
the kind and assiduous attentions of those about
him, and lib leaned upon his Spiritual Guides
while the High Sheriff read the warrant fot his
execution., A pryfiiund and solemn silence reign¬
ed throiignoiif'flie 'yast multitude of spectators,
whose countenances were marked by feelings of
the deepest interest, and who remained uncovered
during the residue of the tragic scene. The Rev.
sir. . Cornelius then read the dying words of the
hapRssfouth, and the Rev. Mr. Carlile addressed
the throne of Heavenly mercy in his behalf; after
which the attendants joined in prayer with the
prisoner alone. This service being ended, the
Rev. Clergymen took their last, affectionate leave
of their charge, and left him in the hands of
the Executive Officers The tender solici
tude manifested toward the unhappy suffer¬
er by the humane and worthy Sheriff, of
the County,! was scarcely less than that which
marked the conduct of his Clerical friends, and
when he ascended the second flight of steps, and
took Ins stand upon his last support, the sympa¬
thies and p.ty of the beholders were raised to tin
highest pitch, and when bis bosom and his neck
та
bared arid he meekly inclined his held to
enable :Vlr. Brown to adjust the fatal cord, and
submissively placed himself in the position most
convenient tor the dreadful purpose tor which he
was brought there, the feelings of the multitude
could no lunger be suppressed, and mingled sighs
and groans were heard in every direction. These
preparations were soon finished, & at a signal from
the HighSheriff, the spring was touched, and Clark
was, in a moment, launched into eternity ! — Thus
died Stephen Merrill Clark, aged 1 7 years— cA
off in the morning of hjs life, for a heinous offence,
and made a public example of the terrible retribu¬
tions of the present world, and held up as an awful
wanting to all survivors, and especially to young
persons, to shun the paths of vice. May the warn
mg not be lust.
The body, of Clark was, at the request
of his triends, given by Mr. Sheri fi
Bartlett to Mr. Samuel Sweetser, of this
town, who saw it decently deposited in
the Strangers Burying Ground.
Description of the awlul scene, as published in
the Essex ffegislcr, Saturday, May 12.
The public execution of Stembx Meiuuli.
Cr.utK took place in this town onThursday last
and surely a scene more solemn, impressive and
affecting never was exhibited in this Common:
Clark, we learn^was but sixteen years of n|g
when he
сопи"'1-.
-C the ratal crime which lie h;i&
So dreadfully expiated, and at the time of his exe|
cution was three months short of seventeen. If, as
is generally supposed, his fate i*to sbe attributed
to those abandoned females with whom he had
associated, the Millwoods of the present day, who
after having ensnared him into the paths of vice,
and instigated him to commit the crime, became
his accusers, and by the imperfection of ‘human
laws are themselves permitted to go unpunished,
his agonized parents may well exclaim,
“
О
'Woman ! Woman ! choicest blessing given,
If pure — the highest gift of highest heaven !
If lax, oorrupt, deceitful — worse than hell!
Worse than the worst of demons dare to tell !
it was thy lot, ill-fated son, to find
Thy doom pour’d on thee by the faithless kind ;
.Fraudful, and false,
they spread,
And whelm’d destruction on thy thoughtless
head.’’
Clark’s Confession.
On the authority of the Reverend Gentlemen
who attended Clark in his last moments, the
following statement was published in the Sa¬
lem Gazette on the Tuesday previous to bis
execution :
* In this sentence some of the writing was
worn through, arid it was necessary to supply
some words to make his supposed meaning
complete.
STEPHEN MERRILL CLARK.
In the present state of public excite¬
ment respecting the fate of the wretch¬
ed young man above named, it may be
proper to state, that he has made a free
confession to some of the Clergy of his
guilt of the crime for which he is to suf¬
fer next Thursday. He has also declar¬
ed, that he caused the fire the night pre¬
vious to that of which he is convicted,
and that in both instances he acted with¬
out an accomplice, This informally
they have his authority for communicq-’
ting to the public, and do it in the hopfe
that it may remove the doubts of many
respecting his guilt ; trusting that the
awful event that awaits him may deter
other youth from associating with bad
company, and following bad advice.
In the Register of Wednesday, it was
added, that the criminal had declared,
that he was urged to the commission of
the crime, for which he was to suffer by
a female associate ; and that he wholly
disavowed having originated the plan of
setting fire to the town, and protested
that he had no malice against any indi¬
vidual, and that he did not consider at
the time, what might, be the consequen¬
ces to himself and others of the act he
was committing.
Before
Ьй
death, Clark asked, and ob¬
tained, the forgiveness of. those he had
injured ; which acts of charity affected
him very tenderly.
Tetter from Clark to the Turn-Key.
The foil- wing letter was written by the unhap¬
py Clark, while
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prison, to Mr. Peter Babb,
the turn-key, in the hope through him of ef¬
fecting his escape. It bears marks of a
mind capable of reflection, and not destitute
of religious instruction : and of a nature not so
insensible to his melancholy condition as the
style of his manners might seem to indicate.
He for a considerable time flattened himself,
no doubt, with hopes of some way or other
escaping the dreadful sentence of the law ;
and at the period this letter was Written it
was his policy to affect innbeence of the
crime of which he afterwards confessed bis
guilt. -
THE
LETTER.
, Salem, MAtacn 19.
Dear Sir,
1 take the liberty to write a few lines
to you. 1 cannot describe my feelings
to you. You are a strangei to me, and
1 'Hri to you ; but you are the «only one
that can save my life ; and I do not think
justice done by taking a youth’i i life for
a crime that he is innocent oi When
you see me going to the place ; >f execu-
,.tion, do not think that public 'justice is
Ыопе.
I beg earnestly for lift'. T-A-vt
jgatural horror of a violea t death,
доа Ш
universal dread of untie aely dis-
ioration, being but a boy, I wo uld wish
to 'die more composed and with calmer
preparation than the gloom of ;> prison
and the anxiety of a trial would p ermit.*
Let not a little time be denied .me, in
which I may by meditation and i contri¬
tion be prepared to stand at the tribunal
of Omnipotence, and support the pres¬
ence of that Judge who shall distf ibnle
to all according to their works—» who
will receive to pardon the repenting sin¬
ner, and from whom the merciful siball
obtain mercy. Do think ol this before
you give me an answer. 1 am vpur
humble servant. [This letter was mot
signed, but superscribed “Mr. Peter
Babb, Salem and enclosed another
their treacherous snares slBa|| scrap, on which was written these
words : — “ I will give you the sum of
one hundred dollars cash, some time
next week” — meaning, no doubt, if he
would let him escape.]
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