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Hamburgh Tuesday Octr 19th 1779.
1
Here am I still and I begin to think I shall never
get away. No summons yet from Lubec: but
people say the Vessel must sail on Saturday.
We have had fair winds for this week past and
if should turn contrary I must go by land at
last which will be terrible. Am I to be thus
always out of luck in water carriage conveyance?
I sent you a letter last post I believe without a date,
it was Fryday 15th.
2
I gave you a list of some law books in my last,
they were what Norrmann and Dr Matson particularly
recommended. There were 2 or 3 which I omitted.
De singularibus quibusdam & antiquis in Germania
Juribus & observatis.
Der Staadt Hamburg gerichts ordnung und
Statuta. 1603.
Statuta und Stadt recht der stadt Lubeck. 1600.
The last 2 come under the description of the books
which were noted in my "Aquirenda": but as there
were many which I was doubtfull whether you would
wish to have or not I have not (I think) ordered
them for you. The books I shall send you
by the first opportunity will be chiefly such only by
which you may determine what others you would
wish to have.
3
A direction given to the Judge in the Schwaben-
Spiegel is that "he shall sit in his chair with a
countenance like a fierce lion, and his legs across".
4.
I dont know whether I told you in any of my
letters from Amsterdam, how much I admired
the very great parade & ceremony with which the
executions of criminals were said to be conducted.
The different chambers for pronouncing and repeating
the sentence ornamented all of them with sculpture
and designs emblamatical expressive of the use each chamber of them is put
alotted to. The very public & elevated situation
of the Scaffold which is put up before the Stadthouse
and taken down again at each execution. The
obligation which all theose who have had any
part in the Judgement are under to attend at the window
of one of the Chambers to see the execution. In short
the greatest pains appeared to be taken to produce the
greatest effect possible in the way of deterrment.
5
Regulations Ceremonies a good deal similar and perhaps not at
all inferiour to what I heard of at Amsterdam
I have had an opportunity of being an eyewitness of
here myself. I saw a woman executed here
yesterday for the Murder of 2 young Children.
She was beheaded: for hanging here is the Punishment
for theft only. The place of execution is a little
mount seemingly artificially made of the form
of a frustrum of a cone of about 50 feet diamr
at the base, perhaps 30 at the top and about
25 or 30 feet high. it is surrounded by a wooden
pailing about 8 feet high and a broad deep ditch
to over which there is a drawbridge on the side towards
the City. It is situated about a mile out of
the Gates. The Sentence was pronounced last
Fryday in the great chamber of the Senate house,
in the presence of all the Senators in their black
gowns large wigs and Ruffs, but the woman
was so ill of an epilypsy that she could not
come attend to hear it. It was read by one
of the Senators and the Secretary was obliged
to go to the Executioner's house where the woman
was lodged to communicate it to her.
At 12 o'Clock at noon I was told the an officer
for that purpose accompanied by Constables and
4 men on horseback dressed in Yellow went to
the Executioner's house and with 3 knocks at the
door made known their unwelcome summons.
a Company of horse guards and I suppose about
2 or 300 foot attend to make part of the procession at the place of execution
and a few horse make part of the procession.
A Clergyman a Physician a Surgeon the
Executioner an Assistant who carries the Sword
together with 10 or 20 constables are obliged to walk
with the criminal to the place of execution.
I went an hour before to avoid the greatest crowd,
which and by the an indroductory Message from
Mr Hanbury to the Captain of the guard I placed
got within a ring formed by the Soldiers and
stood close to the drawbridge which led to the
mount. One should not conceive that the City
of Hamburg contained so many inhabitants
as were collected on this occasion. All the windows of The Houses
of all in the streets through which the procession
was to pass were crowded as full as possible.
The Ramparts near the gate were compleatly covered.
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Identifier: | JB/538/396/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 538.
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1779-10-19 |
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396 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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