bridge running close by was occupied by a detachment of infantry, and
from the parapet of the frowning walls the muzzle of cannon, trained
on the space below, might be dimly discerned in the darkness. But
the crowd paid little attention to these extraordinary appearances;
their eyes were riveted on the black projection which jutted from the
prison wall, and which, shrouded in dark drapery, loomed with ghastly
significance through the haze. Rising above the scaffold, which
replaced a portion of the prison wall, the outlines of a gibbet were
descried; and from the cross-beam there hung three ropes, terminating
in nooses, just perceptible above the upper edge of the curtain which
extended thence to the ground. The grim excrescence seemed to possess
a horrible fascination for the multitude. Those in position to see it
best stirred not from their post, but faced the fatal cross-tree, the
motionless ropes, the empty platform, with an untiring, insatiable
gaze, that seemed pregnant with some terrible meaning, while the mob
behind them struggled, and pushed, and raved, and fought; and the
haggard hundreds of gaunt, diseased, stricken wretches, that vainly
contested with the stronger types of ruffianism for a place, loaded
the air with their blasphemies and imprecations. The day broke slowly
and doubtfully upon the scene; a dense yellow, murky fog floated round
the spot, wrapping in its opaque folds the hideous gallows and the
frowning mass of masonry behind. An hour passed, and then a hoarse
murmur swelled upwards from the glistening rows of upturned faces.
The platform was no longer empty; three pinioned men, with white caps
drawn closely over their faces, were standing upon the drop. For a
moment the crowd was awed into stillness; for a moment the responses,
"Christ, have mercy on us," "Christ, have mercy on us," were heard
from the lips of the doomed men, towards whom the sea of faces were
turned. Then came a dull crash, and the mob swayed backwards for an
instant. The drop had fallen, and the victims were struggling in