Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Fiction
The twelve honest Englishmen had hardly left the jail an hour, crying
“manslaughter!” and crying “shame!” when all in a moment “TOMB!” fell
a single heavy stroke of the great prison bell. The heart of the prison
leaped, and then grew cold--a long chill pause, then “TOMB!” again. The
jurymen had told most of his fellow-sufferers how Josephs was driven
into his grave--and now--
“TOMB!” the remorseless iron tongue crashed out one by one the last sad,
stern monosyllables of this sorrowfulest of human tales.
They put him in his coffin (“TOMB!”) a boy of sixteen, who would be
alive now but that caitiffs, whom God confound on earth, made life an
_impossibility_ to him (“TOMB!”), and that Shallows and Woodcocks, whom
God confound on earth, and unconscientious non-inspecting inspectors,
flunkeys, humbugs, hirelings, whom God confound on earth (“TOMB!”), left
these scoundrels month after month and year after year unwatched, though
largely paid by the queen and the people to watch them (“TOMB!”). Look
on your work, hirelings, and listen to that bell, which would not be
tolling now if you had been men of brains and scruples instead of sordid
hirelings. The priest was on his knees, praying for help from heaven
to go through the last sad office with composure, for he feared his own
heart when he should come to say “ashes to ashes” and “dust to dust”
over this hapless boy, that ought to be in life still. And still the
great bell tolled, and many of the prisoners were invited kindly in a
whisper to come into the chapel; but Fry could not be spared and Hodges
fiercely refused. And now the bell stopped, and as it stopped, the voice
of the priest arose, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
A deep and sad gloom was upon all as the last sad offices were done for
this poor young creature cut short by foul play in the midst of them.
And for all he could do the priest's voice trembled often, and a heavy
sigh mingled more than once with the holy words.
What is that? “THIS OUR BROTHER!”--a thief our brother?--ay! the
priest made no mistake, those were the words; pause on them. Two great
characters contradicted each other to the face over dead Josephs. Unholy
State said, “Here is the carcass of a thief whom I and society honestly
believe to be of no more importance than a dog--so it has unfortunately
got killed between us, no matter how; take this carcass and bury
it,” said unholy State. Holy Church took the poor abused remains with
reverence, prayed over them as she prays over the just, and laid them
in the earth, calling them “this our brother.” Judge now which is all in
the wrong, unholy State or holy Church--for both cannot be right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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