MRS. Spooner professed that her match with her Husband was not agreeable to her▪— Domestic dissentions soon took place, and went on from step to step, till she conceived an utter aver­sion to him; at length she meditated his destruc­tion; laid several plans, and never gave over till the fatal act was committed. Her guilt in this manner appeared in most flagrant colours upon her trial as well as since, from the solemn declaration of the poor men whom she employed in the bloody deed, and to whom she promised a large reward, which reward they immediately received.

I soon visited her after her commitment. She was not very free to converse upon the subject. And indeed it was difficult to converse freely upon it till after her trial. After this, opportunity was given in the fullest manner. She did not blame judges or jurors or the Attorney-General, but often declared that the witnesses wronged her. She declared, that though she had planned the matter, yet that she never thought it would be executed; that she relented when she found they were in earnest. She doubtless could have given her husband notice of what was designed, and so have prevented it, but she did not; nor did she make discovery of [Page 2] it as soon as possible but sent the next morning to a neighbour's to enquire after him, when at the same time she knew he was in the well. She could not be brought to acknowledge her guilt or the justness of her sentence till very late in the day, as shall be mentioned. It seems she went upon this mistaken principle that she was not an immediate actor. She was a person of uncommon fortitude of mind, did not for the most part appear to be affected with many circumstances in her case which were wont deeply to affect others. She would indeed sometimes say, that she felt more than she did or could express. Seldom a day passed but I visited her, for which she expressed great gratitude. I was wont to converse with her upon the main point, and to endeavour to impress her mind with a sense of her guilt, hoping to ob­serve upon her the symptoms of true penitence. Appearances of this were from time to time dis­couraging.

Her behaviour to all was very polite and complaisant. From the frequent opportunities I had with her, I was led to conceive of her, as a person naturally of a kind, obliging, generous disposition. But she was unhappy, as above mentioned, in her first setting out in the world, and so left to a fatal capital crime.

It appeared to many that carefully observ [...]d her for many weeks before her execution, that [...]e was in a state of pregnancy. She accordingly petitioned authority for a respite. A jury of ma­trons was appointed to examine her. They did [Page 3] not bring in in her favour; she petitioned again but it was not granted; accordingly execution was ordered; she received the tidings with great calm­ness. At her own desire, that the public might be satisfied, she was opened the evening after the execution, and a perfect male foetus of the growth of five months, or near it, in the judgment of the operators, was taken from her. Having under­gone a second examination a few days before her execution, and being thereby greatly disordered, she was not able to attend the sermon that day.

Soon after it, I went to the goal with a number of my brethren; she appeared very calm, humble and penitent, professed her faith in the great saviour and dependance upon him; upon its being proposed to her, she readily consented to be bap­tized; she was so immediately, as but a few mo­ments remained before she must go forth. The scene was very solemn and affecting; she was not at all daunted when the sheriff presented her with and put on the fatal cord; she told him she esteemed it as much as though he had put on a necklace of gold or diamonds. She presently went forth, I accompanied her in a carriage to the place of execution; she appeared undismayed and unaffrighted at the various striking scenes that opened from one stage to another. At length we came in sight of the gallows, I asked her if the sight of it did not strike her? She answered not at all any more than any other object. Her con­stitutional politeness still remained, and she dis­covered it to numbers that were near her. She [Page 4] presently mounted the scaffold, and while the sheriff was fixing her, she told him, with a serene countenance, that it was the happiest day she ever saw, for she doubted not it would be well with her. She acknowledged that she justly died; that she hoped to see her christian friends she left behind her, in Heaven, but that none of them might go there in the ignominious manner that she did. It was a fixed principle with her, that confession of her faults was proper only to be made to her maker, not to men; she often declared, that she was not neglectful of this and found satisfaction in so doing; but at the last cast, she did this at least implicitly to the sheriff, as just related.

I would be far from presuming to decide upon her future state or that of the rest of them.— I shall only add a short extract from the sermon I deliver'd to my people the Lord's-day following.

"We know what are the infinite compassions of God, and that the blood of Jesus is of infinite value, cleansing from all unrighteousness, We may by no means limit the holy one of Israel. We read of the servant that came in at the eleventh hour, who received the same wages as those who had borne the burden and heat of the day. We know what was done by our Saviour to the penitent thief upon the cross, just before he expired. This shows us what divine power and grace can do and may do. But secret things belong to God, and we ought to leave them with him."