“No doubt the judge and all of his officers imagined that they had done for me a very great favor in releasing me, for which it was my duty to feel grateful. Now, I am in favor of a faithful enforcement of the laws; but the law is often used by unworthy men as a means of oppression. Judicial murder has been committed in the State where I was so unjustly punished by imprisonment. The case of young Boynton, mentioned by Mr. Wharton in his treatise on criminal law, might be cited in proof of this. That poor boy was hung by the neck until he was dead for a crime he did not commit. He was a mere lad, only eighteen. He was charged with the murder of Mr. Ellis; and when he was led out by the sheriff to be executed, he began to scream and beg the spectators to save him, declaring before God that he was innocent. He leaped from the scaffold into the arms of the assembled multitude, imploring them to protect him. Poor boy! he was put to death, and before his body had mingled, with the dust the real murderer died, and on his death-bed confessed that he had murdered Mr. Ellis, and that young Boynton was innocent. This scene was enacted in a county adjoining the one where I had been so unjustly held as a prisoner. Who shall be able to repair the injury so wrongfully inflicted on me? Who will ever know the extent of the wrong? “Three minutes had scarcely elapsed after my release, when Harry and I were mounted on our high-mettled steeds, and dashing down the road at a rapid speed. I knew that if we got to the station in time to meet the north-bound train, we would have to press our horses to their utmost powers. Our steeds were young, vigorous and full of good mettle, and needed no whip or spur to urge them on. “‘Let them go as fast as you like,’ said the owner of the noble animals, as he handed me the reins; ‘they have excellent bottom, and will carry you as swift as the wind.’ “We had much uneven ground to pass over, many tall hills to climb and innumerable gullies to leap, but we never halted--on, on we dashed. “We had placed ten miles of ground between us and the village of P---- when I saw the courier coming at a gallop to meet me; his horse was foaming with perspiration, convincing me that he had been hard pressed. The lad dashed up, and handed me a dispatch. “‘I had to wait two hours at the office before the answer came,’ said the boy, as he placed the envelope in my hand. “This time I was prepared for the awful news; hence I did not feel such a shock as I had felt when the other dispatch was handed to me, though the news was worse than that contained in the first telegram. But you would probably understand matters better by hearing the telegram read; it is from Doctor Dodson, who remained with Lottie all the time: