doned her infant. This unfortunate girl, flying from her father's houfe, is taken in labour, and, without affiftance, is delivered of her burden by the fide of a wood. Shame, which in the fex is a powerful paffion, gave her ftrength to return home, and to conceal her fituation. She left her child expofed; it is found the next morning; the mother is discovered, condemned and executed.

The first fault of this unhappy victim ought to have been concealed by the family, or rather claims the protection of the laws, because it was incumbent on her feducer to repair the injury he had done; because weakness hath a right to indulgence; because concealing her pregnancy may endanger her life; because declaring her condi tion deftroys her reputation, and because the difficulty of providing for her infant is a great additional misfortune.

Her fecond fault is more criminal. She abandons the fruit of her weakness, `and expofes it to perish.

But because a child is dead, is it abfolutely neceffary to kill the mother? She did not kill the child. She flattered herfelf, that fome paffenger would have compaffion on the innocent babe. It is even poffible that she might intend to return and provide for it; a fentiment fo natural

in

in the breaft of a mother, that it ought to be prefumed. The law in the country of which I am fpeaking, is, indeed, pofitively against her. But is it not an unjust, inhuman, and pernicious law? Unjust, because it makes no diftinction between her who murders, and her who abandons her infant; inbuman, because it punishes with death a too great defire of concealing a weakness; pernicious, because it deprives the ftate of a fruitful fubje&t, in a country that wants inhabitants.

Charity hath not yet established, in that nation, houses of reception for expofed infants. Where charity is wanting, the law is always cruel. It were much better to prevent, than to think only of punishing these frequent misfortunes. The proper object of jurisprudence is, to hinder the commiffion of crimes, rather than condemn to death a weak woman, when it is evident that her tranfgreffion was unattended with malice, and that the hath already been feverely punished by the pangs of her own heart.

Infure, as far as poffible, a refource to those who fhall be tempted to do evil, and you will have lefs to punish.

THIS misfortune, and this very hard law, with which I was fo fenfibly affected, prompted me to caft my eyes on the criminal code of nations. The humane author of the Effay On Crimes and Punishments, had but too much cause to complain, that the latter frequently exceed the former, and are sometimes detrimental to the ftate they were intended to ferve.

Thofe ingenious punishments, the ne plus ultra of the human mind, endeavouring to render death horrible, seem rather the inven tions of tyranny than of justice.

The punishment of the wheel was first intro duced in Germany in the times of anarchy, when thofe who ufurped the regal power refolved to terrify, with unheard-of torments, those who fhould difpute their authority. In England they ripped open the belly of a man guilty of hightreafon, tore out his heart, dashed it in his face, and then threw it into the fire. And wherein did this high-treason frequently consist? In having been, during a civil war, faithful to an

unfor

unfortunate king; or, in having spoken freely on the doubtful right of the conqueror. At length, their manners were foftened; they continued to tear out the heart, but not till after the death of the offender. The apparatus is dreadful, but the death is mild, if death can ever be mild.

CHAP. II.

Of Punishments.

THIS misfortune, and this very hard law, with which I was fo fenfibly affected, prompted me to caft my eyes on the criminal code of nations. The humane author of the Effay on Crimes and Punishments, had but too much cause to complain, that the latter frequently exceed the former, and are fometimes detrimental to the ftate they were intended to ferve.

Thofe ingenious punishments, the ne plus ultra of the human mind, endeavouring to render death horrible, feem rather the inven tions of tyranny than of juftice.

The punishment of the wheel was first intro duced in Germany in the times of anarchy, when thofe who ufurped the regal power refolved to terrify, with unheard-of torments, those who fhould difpute their authority. In England they ripped open the belly of a man guilty of hightreafon, tore out his heart, dashed it in his face, and then threw it into the fire. And wherein did this high-treafon frequently consist? In having been, during a civil war, faithful to an

unfor.