{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_41145/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_41145","id":"gutenberg_41145","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41145","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery","Category: History - Other","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Jolin, Philippe, -1829","Trials (Murder) -- Jersey"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1830 Hatchard and Son edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                                AN ACCOUNT\n                                    OF\n                                THE DEATH\n                                    OF\n                              PHILIP JOLIN,\n                             WHO WAS EXECUTED\n                                 FOR THE\n              MURDER OF HIS FATHER, IN THE ISLAND OF JERSEY,\n                             OCTOBER 3, 1829.\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                    BY\n                        FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM, A. M.\n                           RECTOR OF PAKEFIELD.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                  LONDON: HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY;\n              SEELEY AND SONS, FLEET STREET; AND J. NESBITT,\n                             BERNERS STREET.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  1830.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 LONDON:\n           IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.\n\n\n\n\nADVERTISEMENT.\n\n\nTo determine the real state of mind in a criminal manifesting, for the\nfirst time, when under sentence of death, signs of repentance, is plainly\na work of much difficulty.  If ever dissimulation may be expected, it\nmust be in the case of a person probably long habituated, and, in his\npresent circumstances, additionally excited to it by the fear of death:\nand the experience of every minister of religion conversant in such\ncases, must teach him that professions of religion, under such\ncircumstances, are far oftener the language of alarm, than of real\nconversion.  Every one, therefore, would earnestly covet, with Mr.\nNewton, to know rather how the man lived, than how he had died.  But here\nthe life and the death may offer the most conflicting evidence.  How\ndifficult it is then so to decide as not, on the one hand, to make \u201cthe\nheart of the righteous sad, whom God has not made sad;\u201d upon the other,\nto say \u201cpeace\u201d to the soul, \u201cwhen there is no peace.\u201d\n\nMost of the cases of religious communication with dying criminals,\nrecorded in the public prints, are in the highest degree painful.  The\nchaplain goes through the forms of instruction, the sermon is preached,\nand then, without one proof being assigned of the fitness of the criminal\nfor that solemn ordinance of religion, the sacrament is administered.\nAll the requisitions of our church, as to \u201cthose who come to the Lord\u2019s\nsupper,\u201d are passed by.  The deep workings of repentance, and longing for\namendment, the exercise of a lively faith in Christ, the thankful\nremembrance of his death, the feeling of universal charity so difficult\nin such circumstances; in short, every evidence of an awakened and\nconverted heart is neglected, and the man forced upon a hypocritical\navowal of truth, to which he is in reality utterly a stranger.  He dies,\nin fact, with \u201ca lie in his right hand\u201d\u2014a lie, the guilt of which is\nsurely divided between himself and the minister who urges him to the rash\nreception of the sacrament.\n\nIt is under the deepest conviction of the difficulty of such cases, that\nthe present tract, recording the events of the last eleven days in the\nlife of a criminal is presented to the public.  His crimes had been\ngreat, but hypocrisy was not amongst their number.  His faculties were\nnot such as to give him any peculiar facility in adopting the truths\npresented to him.  He had received no previous religious instruction.  He\nhad no uncommon power of utterance.  Let the reader judge whether the\nwords and conduct, both before and after conviction, as recorded in these\npages, do not supply an evidence of the power of God to reclaim the\nwanderer even in the eleventh hour; and are not calculated, in the\nhighest degree, to encourage the often disconsolate visitor of the sick,\nthe dying, and the criminal.  The facts here recorded have been collected\npartly by personal communication, partly from letters to the writer from\nthe Rev. W. C. Hall, and partly from a printed account of the Rev. E.\nDurell.  The substance of the statement was first inserted in the\nChristian Observer, and it is now submitted, with some alteration, to the\npublic, and with an earnest desire that its perusal may, through the\nDivine blessing, tend to the glory of that compassionate Saviour, to\nwhose service it is dedicated.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\nLAST DAYS OF PHILIP JOLIN,\nLATELY EXECUTED AT ST. HELENS,\nFOR\nTHE MURDER OF HIS FATHER.\n\n\nTHE particulars of the crime of this unfortunate young man may be stated\nin a few words.  He had long been known in the neighbourhood where he\nlived, as an object of disgrace, and the cause of perpetual disturbance.\nNot indeed that he was more profligate in character than those with whom\nhe was immediately connected.  His father, as well as his mother-in-law,\nlived in habits of drunkenness.  She died eight months before the son\ncommitted the crime for which he suffered.  Jolin was, with his father,\nby trade a blacksmith.  His business brought with it some temptation to\ndrinking; and, in Jersey, where spirits are cheaper even than in England,\nthis disposition was most easily gratified.  So that, with the example of\nhis parents, and his own circumstances, it is not a matter of\nastonishment that he fell into the course of sin which led to his ruin.\nThe progress of vice was, it is to be presumed, in his case, like that of\nother drunkards.  The liquor, at first taken as a bodily relief,\nunguarded by any restraint, was soon resorted to as an indulgence; till\nat last he was enlisted in the number of those of whom the prophet\nspeaks, \u201cwho rise up in the morning that they may follow their drink, and\ncontinue till night, till wine inflames them.\u201d  But the abominable\ntendency of this particular sin is illustrated almost equally by the\nconduct of the father and son.\n\nIt appeared on the trial of Jolin, that he had been exposed to the\ngreatest cruelties on the part of his father.  One person deposed, that\nhe had often seen him beat his son with a hammer, or any thing else,\nwhich might happen to come under his hand, and almost always about the\nhead; and the scars from these wounds were seen on his head when he was\ncommitted to prison.  Another, that she had once heard the prisoner\u2019s\nmother cry out for help.  She went in, and saw the son down, and the\nfather striking him with an iron bar, saying at the same time, that he\nwas going to kill him.  Very often he would not give him any food.\nAnother witness testified, that, going into the house of the father, he\nsaw him put down a flat iron bar, with which he had just been striking\nhis son on the head, and his head was covered with blood.  He was laid on\nhis bed, but his father refused to allow any assistance to be tendered to\nhim.  This witness had seen the father kick his son about several parts\nof the body.  What a contrast is all this to that scene which the\npsalmist describes of a household where the Spirit of God dwells\u2014\u201cBehold,\nhow good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity,\nfor there the Lord commandeth his blessing.\u201d  These facts are introduced,\nnot only in explanation of the subject, but that some light may be thrown\non the appeal which Jolin afterwards made to his judge on his own behalf.\n\nOn the morning on which the last crime was committed, as Jolin confessed\nto one who attended upon him in prison, he had drank to excess, and\nbecome completely intoxicated.  In this state he returned to his own\nhome\u2014a home of which, he added, \u201cno one knew the wretchedness.\u201d  It was\ndinner time, but he found no food prepared, and from his father he met\nwith only that reception which he might expect from such a parent; more\nespecially when he himself was overcome with drunkenness.  He went into\nthe garden to gather a pear, and about this the fatal quarrel ensued.\nThe father had come behind, and caught him by the cape of the jacket, and\nkicked him about the back and legs.  He tore himself from his father, and\nwas soon seen running out of the house crying, and the father in the act\nof pursuing, as if with the intention of striking him.  The father said\nthat he would \u201csettle him when he returned.\u201d  The son replied, that he\nwould \u201csettle him (the father) also.\u201d  The son then ran to a heap of\nbricks which lay in the street, and taking one which he appears to have\nbroken in two pieces, he returned to be revenged on his father.  He was\nremonstrated with by a neighbour, but in vain.  In his rage he threw the\nbrickbats at his father.  One of the pieces struck him on the head, and\nhe immediately fell to the ground.  The wretched sufferer swooned from\nthe violence of the blow and the loss of blood.  In this state he appears\nto have remained, with very little change, for about an hour, when he\ndied.  It is not stated whether he was enabled to cry for mercy to that\nGod, into whose presence he was thus awfully hurried; or whether he had\ntime to reflect upon the state of his son, and his probable punishment.\nHow awful must have been the change to this wretched man, when he found\nhimself in a moment lifting up his eyes before the Judge of quick and\ndead!\n\nMeanwhile, the son, utterly unconscious of what he had done, or feeling\nonly satisfaction at what he thought was the suitable punishment for his\nfather, went out again, and finding his way into a neighbour\u2019s shop, told\nthe keeper of it that his father had beaten him, and that he had knocked\nhim down.  Here he fell asleep, and slept probably till his fit of\nintoxication had passed away.  On rising he was about quietly and\nunsuspectingly to return to the scene of his crime, when he was arrested\nand brought to prison.  When, on the way to the prison, he was told that\nhis conduct might possibly bring him to the gallows, he showed his first\nsymptom of alarm.  He remained in prison till Thursday, September 24,\nwhen he was submitted to his first public examination.  The trial,\naccording to the laws of that country, was repeated on Monday the 28th.\nThe judges, and two juries, in number together thirty-seven, after the\nfullest investigation of the facts, and after hearing the able defence of\nhis advocate, Mr. Hammond, pronounced his crime to be murder, and\ncondemned him to death.  The court refused even to make application for\nthe mitigation of punishment, whereupon he was delivered to the execution\nof his sentence, which he underwent on Saturday, Oct. 3d.\n\nThere were many particulars in this case, in addition to the remarkable\nnature of the crime, and indeed the rareness of any crime of such\nmagnitude in the small district in which it occurred, that made it a\nsubject of very general notice.  One leading circumstance was the\nmanifest alteration which took place in Jolin\u2019s mind during the period of\nhis imprisonment.  Upon this point there was an entire agreement of\nopinion amongst all persons who had any acquaintance with the real state\nof the case.  Not only ministers, both of the church and the Dissenters,\nbut persons of other classes, bore testimony to the reality of _a_\nchange; the _nature_ of which, however, not so many persons could detect,\nas its very striking effects.  The newspaper spoke of an \u201calteration\u201d\nwhich took place in him, of his \u201cconfession, in the most humble terms, of\nhis own sinfulness;\u201d of \u201chis forcible admonitions to others to abstain\nfrom evil, and to practise the duties of religion and morality;\u201d but of\nthe change of heart which this case exhibited, the editor of the paper\nseems to have had no real understanding.  The case of Jolin, convinced of\nhis sin, however, is that of a man, not merely convinced of his guilt in\none instance, and anxious to warn others not converted by the Holy Ghost,\nacknowledging his total alienation of heart from God, and persuaded that\nall his repentance, all his good resolutions, could never expiate his\npast sins; but that, as he himself said, \u201cChrist was his only hope; for\nHE had paid his ransom, and He would receive him into glory.\u201d\n\nThe greater part of persons who have had much experience in visiting the\ndying sick, or condemned criminals, have, in general, little confidence\nin a repentance which only springs up under the apprehension of immediate\ndeath, whatever flights of sentiment may be exhibited.  They have seen in\nthe backsliding of men who promised every thing in the time of sickness,\nhow vain, generally speaking, are the convictions of their sincerity.  In\nthe greater part of these cases, there is a want of completeness in the\nwork of repentance and faith, which the experienced pastoral visitor is\noften able to detect; too little of real contrition, or too much of\nprofession and confidence.  But in the case in question, those who\nvisited Jolin confess themselves to have been impressed, as they might\nconceive the spectators to be affected by the case of the thief on the\ncross.  One and all were led to say, \u201cthis is the finger of God.\u201d  Under\nsuch circumstances, it cannot surely be wrong to gather together a few\nparticulars of this history, which will be interesting to those, at\nleast, who have experienced the power of divine grace in their own change\nof heart, and who rejoice in every display of it in the sinner that\nrepenteth.\n\nJolin appears in early life to have been sent to school, although he\nsaid, that such had been the irregularity of his father\u2019s house, and such\nthe hindrances thrown in his way, that he had been more impeded than\nencouraged by his parents, in any attempt to attend upon the public means\nof religious instruction.  How tremendous is the responsibility of such a\nfather and mother; culpable in their neglect, but awfully so in their\nexample!  And what a case is here presented of the retributive justice of\nGod!  The father trained his child in habits of intoxication, and treated\nhim with cruel violence; and the son, in a fit of intoxication, by an act\nof violence, hurried his father headlong to the bar of God\u2019s judgment.\nWe are not able, often, so clearly to trace the workings of Almighty\nwrath; nor is it to be expected, that, placed as we are in a state in\nwhich we must look for our rewards or punishments beyond the grave, we\nshould here see any proportionate recompense of crime.  Still we know,\nthat \u201cas a man sows so he shall also reap,\u201d if not in this world, to\nbring him to repentance, yet certainly, and how much more awfully! in\nthat world where a place for repentance is no where found.\n\nThis young man, on some occasions previous to his committal to prison,\nhad read the Bible; for he remarked to one of his attendants, that when\nat sea, during his watch, he had done so; but he added, \u201cI then read it\nas a sealed book.  I had neither eyes given me to see, nor ears to hear,\nand this was a just judgment upon me for my sins.\u201d  His mode of life had,\nindeed, been one of complete dissoluteness.  He went to sea, because he\nwas too bad to remain on land; and he returned to shore, probably because\nhe was wearied of the restraints at sea.  The relations of the family,\ndisgusted at the scenes of vice in his father\u2019s house, abandoned them.\nSo that it is not easy to conceive a state of lower degradation than this\nyoung man had reached.  No one, as he himself said, could describe the\nmisery of this state as he had experienced it.  What situation could\nindeed more completely tend to brutalize the mind, to deaden every\nfeeling of conscience, to leave the man long habituated to it \u201cwithout\nhope,\u201d and indeed \u201cwithout God in the world?\u201d  The nature of the crime\nfor which Jolin was committed to prison, was such as to increase the\ngeneral horror against him.  This was exhibited by the crowd, in the\nstreets, on the occasion of his trial; so that his various crimes had\nmade him an outcast from the pity and compassion of his fellow-creatures.\nIt is true, there were particular circumstances in his case, which, if\ngenerally known, would have lessened the public indignation, and which\nmight have been a source of secret satisfaction to himself.  These were\nthe exceeding badness of his education, the brutality of his father, the\ncontinual discord of his family, the state of intoxication in which he\nwas when he unintentionally committed the crime; but these points,\nalthough once alluded to in his appeal to his judges, were scarcely\nmentioned by him in his private conversations, so completely was the\nconviction established in his mind, that he had fallen into sin by the\nwilfulness of his own heart, that he had destroyed himself; and that to a\ngreater depth of transgression he could scarcely have reached.\n\nAfter Jolin had been lodged in gaol, he was visited by a very respectable\nrelative, Mr. Pinel, a member of the Methodist church.  He made this\nvisit, as he himself testified, without the hope of any spiritual\nbenefit.  He, however, desired to relieve his temporal necessities, and\nto afford him all the comfort in his power.  He found the poor culprit in\na most pitiable state.  Overwhelmed and stunned by his situation, he was\nlying on a heap of straw, and appeared like one who had no hope to look\nto in this world, or the next.  Mr. Pinel said to him, \u201cYoung man, I\nthink both your body and your soul are in great danger.\u201d  Jolin did not\nanswer, but sobbed excessively.  He then procured for him a bed, and some\ncomfortable clothing, and put into his hands a French Testament.  Soon\nafter, as there was at that time no chaplain regularly appointed to the\ngaol, Jolin was visited by the curate of the parish, M. Falle.  After\nsome days, M. Falle\u2019s great occupation in his ministry led him to\ntransfer this important and interesting charge to the Rev. W. C. Hall, a\nyoung clergyman residing in the island, who took the more immediate care\nof him, watched over, instructed, and finally attended him through the\ndark valley of the shadow of death, till he reached, as I doubt not, the\nportal of the heavenly abode.  Meanwhile the Testament was not neglected\nby Jolin.  He read it nearly through; but, in the first instance, it\nwould seem, without understanding the nature of the message which it was\ndesigned to convey.  His mind, however, was no doubt gradually preparing\nby the Holy Spirit to receive the instruction about to be more fully\nimparted.  On the 22d of September, about ten days before his execution,\nJolin was visited by Mr. Hall and another clergyman.  He was then sitting\nin his bed, and looking as wretched as might be expected under the\ncircumstances in which he was placed; as Mr. Pinel had stated, \u201cwithout\nhope for this world, or the next.\u201d  They immediately entered upon the\nobject of their visit, and spoke to him of the nature of his offence; of\nthe sin of murder, as condemned by the law of God, and aggravated in his\ncase, because committed against a parent; of its sentence in the judgment\nof men, and its heinousness in the sight of God.  They pointed out to\nhim, that, awful as is man\u2019s sentence against this crime, little\nconsideration was due to this in comparison with the condemnation which\nthe law of God pronounced; and that this condemnation had passed upon\nhim, and that the execution of its sentence of eternal death would be\ninflicted if he did not repent, and seek help and pardon through Jesus\nChrist.  All this was manifest, for it was written in the word of God,\nthat murderers should have their part in the lake which burneth with fire\nand brimstone (Rev. xxi. 8;) that drunkards should not inherit the\nkingdom of God, (1 Cor. vi. 10:) and this condemnation, it was also\npointed out, extended not only to these crimes, but to that of the\ngeneral sin of the heart, and was the necessary consequence of its\nseparation and alienation from God.  That this condemnation would come\nupon all sinners was evident, for it is written, \u201cThe wages of sin is\ndeath,\u201d (Rom. vi. 23.)  One point appeared particularly to produce the\ndeepest sensation of pain in this young man\u2019s mind; this was the\nrepresentation of the conduct of God towards him in reference to his\nfather; that whilst that unhappy man had been cut off, and sent almost\nwithout warning, with all his sins upon him, before the Judge who will\ndeal with every man according to his works, he, the murderer, had been\nspared, and brought into a prison, where he had opportunity given him to\nreflect upon his state, to seek for pardon, and where salvation was\noffered to him, if he would turn and seek it.  The cry of, \u201cOh my father,\nmy poor father!\u201d mingled with his sobs on that occasion.\n\nAlthough Jolin\u2019s crime was so palpable, and was confessed by him in the\nfullest, yet as it was committed unconsciously, and he had seen no traces\nof it, except in what others told him, the whole seemed like a dream; and\nthe deed itself, with its appalling circumstances, were not likely to\nfasten themselves on his mind as if it had been premeditated, or as if he\nhad been in full possession of his understanding, or as if he, which he\nhimself wished, had seen his father\u2019s murdered corpse.  However, this\ncircumstance afterwards appeared to turn out to his advantage.  It\nprevented him from fixing his thoughts exclusively on a particular sin;\nand he was thus less hindered in discovering the sinfulness of his nature\nand of his general habits, and learning the lesson it is often so\ndifficult to comprehend, that we are not less condemned by the law of God\nfor our general alienation from him, than for any one or more scandalous\noffences which we may have committed.  Not that this state of mind in\nJolin prevented him from coming to the deepest sense of his own\nparticular offence; for as he learned more thoroughly to understand the\nnature of sin in general, his feeling for his peculiar crime more deeply\npenetrated his soul.  One other subject seemed to produce in him the same\nintense state of feeling which the mention of his father had done; this\nwas the sin of intemperance, which had, as I have before remarked, been\nthe immediate cause of his crime.  Mr. Hall, thinking that he might be\nsuffering from the cold, confined as he was in a large stone-chamber, of\nwhich the window was usually open, guarded him against seeking a refuge\nfrom his sufferings from drinking.  At the mention of this, he went off\nagain into expressions of horror at the supposed possibility of such an\noffence in his tremendous circumstances, and declared that nothing should\nagain tempt him thus to transgress.  Yet, as Mr. Hall observes, were his\nresolutions expressed rather as if smarting under the penalty of his\ncrime, than as if conscious of his own inability to keep the engagement\nwhich he was entering into.  He spoke as a man strong in his own\nstrength, and as yet unacquainted with the perfect weakness of resolution\nnot formed in dependence upon the power of God.\n\nOn the point of again falling into the sins of which he seemed to have\nrepented, three distinct states were noticed in Jolin\u2019s case before his\nexecution.  At first, as at this visit, he was fully confident that, if\nhe were once more to be set at liberty, he should never again become\nintoxicated.  Afterwards, when he came to discover the exceeding weakness\nof his nature, he even dreaded the possibility of his life being accorded\nto him, lest he should again fall into temptation.  And, lastly, he\nlearned to believe, that having cast himself entirely upon Divine grace,\nand, therefore, using those means of watchfulness and prayer which the\nword of God prescribes, he needed not fear, if he were called again to\nlife, the temptation even to those vices to which he had been most\nhabituated.  On the occasion of this visit, the fifty-first Psalm was\npointed out to him.  It was in the Prayer-book version, as there was no\nBible at hand.  This Psalm, so remarkably calculated to meet the\nexperience of a man feeling deeply his sins, and more particularly of one\nimplicated as he was in such a variety of vice, struck his attention very\ndeeply; and the more so when, the next day, it was read to him in the\nBible translation, and its chief points expounded to him.  He learned a\ngreat part of this Psalm by heart; it was nearly the last portion of\nScripture that he repeated; and it became one of the subjects of his\nmeditation during the long nights in which he was shut up alone.\n\nThe next day, the 23d, two or three passages of Scripture were introduced\nto his notice; besides which a fuller view was presented to him of the\nnature and consequences of sin.  On this occasion he was taught in what\nmanner sin is the defilement of the whole heart; that even the sins of\nhis youth brought him just as much into condemnation before a holy God as\nhis one great crime; that eternal death was the wages of every\ntransgression of the Divine law; and that repentance unto life required\nnot only a feeling of sorrow for one sin, but for every sin, yea, for sin\nitself, as an offence against the Almighty.  The promises of God to the\nchief of sinners were then pointed out him from Isa. i. 18, that \u201cthough\nhis sins were as scarlet, they might be made white as snow;\u201d and from\nIsa. lv. 6, 7, that \u201cif the wicked forsook his way, and returned unto the\nLord, he would have mercy, and abundantly pardon.\u201d  The former of these\npassages remained fixed in his memory, and was a continual source of\nconsolation to his mind.  He now began to feel that his sins were as\nscarlet, and to desire earnestly to be pardoned.  Two other passages were\nalso at that time referred to, and enlarged upon.  The first of these was\nJohn iii. 14, 15.  \u201cAs Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,\neven so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him\nshould not perish, but have everlasting life.\u201d  This type presenting so\nremarkable an image of the Lord Jesus Christ lifted up to bear the sins\nof his people, and affording a remedy to those who really believe in Him,\nwas peculiarly calculated to meet his case: and he was further taught\nfrom it, that as this people, if they had rather chosen to trust to other\nremedies, or had refused to look at the brazen serpent, or had spent\ntheir time in mourning over their maladies, instead of doing as they were\ncommanded, would never have been healed; so if the sinner does not look\nto Christ, there is no hope for him.  One other important lesson was also\ngathered from this subject; namely, that \u201cif a serpent had bitten any\nman, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived;\u201d and in like manner,\n\u201cWhosoever believeth on Jesus Christ shall not perish, but have eternal\nlife.\u201d  Jolin was thus instructed in the mode of pardon before God,\nthrough the merits of Jesus Christ; and in the efficacy of this remedy,\nthe universality of it to all that believe, and the nature of faith, the\nmeans by which it can alone be appropriated.\n\nThe last passage referred to was the history of the Scape goat, contained\nin Lev. xvi.  In this history we find that Aaron, whilst the people\nafflicted their souls, (ver. 29,) laid both his hands on the head of the\nlive goat, and confessed on him all the iniquities of the children of\nIsrael, and all their transgressions, putting them upon the head of the\ngoat, and that the goat bore away with him all their iniquities into a\nland not inhabited.  The illustration of this subject, and its\napplication to Jolin\u2019s own case, were very obvious.  The people\n\u201cafflicting their soul,\u201d denoted the state in which every sinner must\npresent himself before God\u2014for it is the broken and the contrite heart\nwhich God will not despise; the \u201cconfession of sin\u201d on the head of the\ngoat pointed out the first and necessary duty of the returning\npenitent\u2014for \u201cif we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the\ntruth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just\nto forgive us our sins:\u201d the laying the sins upon the head of the goat\nexhibited the act of faith, by which the condemnation of the sinner is\ntransferred to his atoning sacrifice; and the leading away the goat into\nthe wilderness, the full, perfect, and eternal pardon promised in the\nGospel, of every sin to every repenting sinner.\n\nAlthough Jolin was not a person of uncommon capacity, and although these\npassages of Scripture seemed to be new to him, yet he apprehended them in\na manner which gave just indication that his heart was under the Divine\nteaching.  It is said, Isa. liv. 13, \u201cAll thy children shall be taught of\nthe Lord.\u201d  This state of teachableness now seemed to have been produced\nin this poor young man.  The power of God had made his heart _willing_,\nPs. cx. 3; and he came very soon to understand the truths by which he\nmight be saved.  When the will of man is not disposed to submit to God,\nevery doctrine of the Gospel presents difficulties; one point is\nunreasonable, another impossible, a third useless; but when the mind is\ntaught of God, it is astonishing how soon all these difficulties vanish.\nThe doctrines of the Gospel, which seem the most hard to understand and\nto receive, are at once comprehended.  It is like a change from darkness\nto light.  The passages of Scripture which teach the sinfulness of our\nown nature, the worth of a Saviour, the nature of faith, the pleasantness\nof religion, the delight attendant upon dwelling with God, are at once\nreceived and adopted; and the whole system of Christianity is discovered\nto be one exactly suited to the sinner\u2019s own state.  But the willingness\nof heart which is necessary to a right reception of religion, we are\nevery where in Scripture taught, is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It\ncometh \u201cnot of blood,\u201d that is, from our parents; \u201cnor of the will of the\nflesh,\u201d that is, by our own natural inclination; \u201cnor of the will of\nman,\u201d that is, by the teaching of others; \u201cbut of God.\u201d  \u201cThe wind\nbloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst\nnot tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every one that is\nborn of the Spirit.\u201d  We see then how necessary it is that, if any man\n\u201clack wisdom,\u201d he should \u201cask it of God;\u201d and so much the more, as our\nLord himself declares, Luke xi. 13, his desire to give his Holy Spirit to\nthem that ask him.\n\nThe 24th was the day of Jolin\u2019s first trial, at the close of which he was\nfound guilty.  Some of his friends, whom he had asked to go to him, went\nafter the trial.  They expected to find him, on this occasion, in some\ndegree disturbed and agitated in mind; but it was altogether otherwise.\nThe irons to which he was sentenced were put on him in their presence.\nTo this, as the natural consequence of his condemnation, he submitted\nalmost without notice.  Indeed, the trial and the condemnation itself\nseem to have made little or no impression upon him; for it was only by\nminute and repeated inquiry as to the proceedings of the day, that\nvisitors could obtain from him any account of them.  His mind seemed\nabsorbed in something else; and what this was, afterwards appeared.  His\nconduct, during his trial, had been remarked by many of his judges, as\nentirely suitable to his awful situation.  Indeed, his whole frame of\nmind was now beginning to discover the influence of a new principle, and\nto show that the great work of regeneration was taking place.  In the\nearly part of his confinement, and indeed very recently, he had wished,\nas he might naturally, for his escape; and his cry to his advocate had\nbeen, \u201cSave me from the gallows;\u201d but at this period, the desire that his\nlife might be spared, seemed to be taken away from him in a most\nastonishing degree.  It was not so with the very zealous and able\nadvocate to whom his cause had been committed, and who very properly\ncontinued to the end, to urge every plea, and to encourage his client to\nevery effort, by which his punishment might be remitted, or even delayed.\nHis friends too were most kindly anxious on this point; and they even\nattempted to prove him insane, that they might effect their purpose.  For\na time he was influenced by the same desire.  But to those who visited\nhim about this period, he never once alluded to a desire to escape; but\non the contrary, seemed almost always to refer to his sentence without\napparent emotion; and towards the end, he appeared to long for, and to be\nearnest for its completion.  This state of mind was no doubt to be\nattributed to two causes; in part, to a complete acquaintance with the\nstate of his own case, and to its final settlement by his judges; but\nprobably much more to his new state of religious feeling; a sense of his\nown spiritual condition had begun to swallow up every other\nconsideration.\n\nA friend had given him the second chapter of the Ephesians for his\nconsideration, that he might gain still further views of his state of\nguilt and defilement, and that he might more clearly trace both the power\nof Divine grace, by which the sinner is quickened, and the bright\nprospect placed before those who seek for pardon by the blood of Christ.\nThe conversation of this day led to the subjects contained in this\nchapter; and more particularly to the impossibility of man\u2019s pardon, but\nby the grace of God, through Christ Jesus.  In the midst of a statement\nof the hindrances in the way of salvation, from the evil of our heart,\nthe weakness of our best endeavours, and the defilement of our services,\nJolin remarked, \u201cI must put off my sins.\u201d  It was asked, what he meant by\nputting off his sins.  His answer manifested at once the simple, but\nclear, manner in which he had received the Scripture illustration pointed\nout to him the day before, and it was truly gladdening to the feelings of\nhis visitors: \u201cDid you not tell me yesterday about the live goat on whose\nhead the sins were laid?\u201d  The application of the type of the scape goat\nhad thus been made by him to his own state; and he had arrived at the\nconviction, that, whatever might have been his sins, and whatever were\nhis hindrances, he was permitted to \u201cput them all off,\u201d upon that\nall-sufficient atonement, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of\nthe world.  He had thus been enabled to feel his burden, to bring it to\nthe cross of Christ; and at once it seemed to have fallen from him at the\nfeet of his Redeemer.\n\nThe nature of faith is illustrated in a very interesting manner, by the\ncase of Jolin.  The sinfulness of his own state he knew, and felt deeply.\nHe did not, however, seek to excuse himself, or to palliate his offences:\nhe did not think that past services would be any compensation to God;\nthat any circumstance of his life or character would skreen him from\nAlmighty wrath; or that by repentance he might be pardoned through the\nmere mercy of his Heavenly Father.  In himself, therefore, he had no\nground of hope whatsoever: he was as a debtor who had nothing to pay; as\na sick man whose case was desperate: but he felt an assurance that Christ\nwas able to pay his debt, and to cure his disease, and that in his own\nparticular case, he would do it; and he himself did in heart, what the\nhigh priest did with his hands, transfer all his sins to the atonement.\nThus he came to feel, not indeed presumptuously, but with confidence,\nthat all his sins were laid upon the sacrifice; and he was able to\ncontemplate the Saviour\u2019s mercies instead of his own merited doom as a\nsinner.  The ground of this assurance in his mind was an acceptance of\nthe simple testimony of God, that he would blot out his transgressions.\nHe believed in this word of promise, and joy in believing was at once\nimparted to him.  The simplicity with which Jolin received the testimony\nof God in this instance characterized his religious experience during the\nwhole of his remaining course.  The Scriptures were as a message of God\nto his soul.  He received them as feeling there could be no doubt but\nevery word of them was true.  I often, said Mr. Hall, in the after part\nof his history, tried to persuade him that it was, naturally speaking, an\nincredible thing that God should have come in the flesh and atone for\nsin.  But he always said that he believed it, because it was so written\nin the book which is the truth.\n\nI have before noticed the indifference which Jolin appeared to feel to\noutward circumstances.  I have yet to observe another point connected\nwith it, in this day\u2019s visit, which was the brightness and almost\ncheerfulness of aspect that his manner and countenance gradually assumed.\nIn the period before his condemnation, his downcast look and general air\nof wretchedness were not unsuited to a state of despair; but now he\nlifted up his head, and even his voice seemed to have changed its tone.\nThis surprising change was observed by others.  Mr. Hammond, Jolin\u2019s\nadvocate, told M. Durell, as he himself has recorded it, that when he saw\nthe prisoner on the twenty-third of September, he found him \u201cin really a\ndistracted state, torn by every conflicting passion, and all his\nfaculties hurried by the unutterable anguish of remorse.  The dread of\ndeath was uppermost in his thoughts; and there was nothing to which he\nwould not have submitted to avoid capital punishment: but when he saw him\nagain on the evening of the twenty-sixth, he was astonished at the sudden\nchange which had taken place in him: he was calm, placid, and resigned,\nand he had not one wish to live.  I then,\u201d continues Mr. Durell,\n\u201cmentioned to Mr. Hammond, that I had found him exactly in that state on\nmy first visit, the twenty-sixth, which had preceded his own only by a\nfew hours.\u201d  He adds, \u201cthe opinion of an impartial and enlightened man,\nlike Mr. Hammond, was certainly very important: but M. de Quetteville,\nthe mayor of the town, and other laymen of the highest respectability,\nwho had formerly known the prisoner, had been equally struck with that\ngreat and salutary change.  From a comparison of dates,\u201d adds Mr. Durell,\n\u201cI am inclined to believe, that his change must not only have been rapid,\nbut that his heart must have been almost as instantaneously touched as\nthat of the penitent malefactor in the gospel.\u201d  Now how was this\nwonderful change to be accounted for?  We read in Acts xvi. 34, that when\nthe keeper of the prison in Philippi had received St. Paul\u2019s message,\n\u201cBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;\u201d that he\n\u201ctook\u201d the apostles \u201c_the same hour of the night_, and washed their\nstripes;\u201d and was \u201cbaptized,\u201d and rejoiced believing in God.  It was\nperhaps this very feeling of joy which Jolin now experienced; a joy which\narose from a clear, full, well-grounded belief in the doctrine of\njustification by faith.  This doctrine, which gives peace with God, is,\nwhen rightly apprehended, attended with an experience of the love of God\nshed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost, Rev. i. v., and this\nnecessarily brings joy with it.  Thus, the man who has been taught to\nlook to him that justifieth the ungodly, is able to walk in the light of\nGod\u2019s countenance, and is \u201cfilled with all joy and peace in believing.\u201d\n\nOn the 25th, Jolin narrated to his visitor the whole history of his\nmelancholy life; his difficulties and discomforts, arising, not so much\nfrom others, as from his own sinful, wilful heart.  Like many other young\npersons, he had chosen the way of dissipation and folly, instead of that\nwhich many circumstances had led him to think was a happier and a safer\ncourse.  It is indeed true, that his parents were not in a state to check\nhim in his proceedings; but he seems to have had at many intervals those\nconvictions of conscience which were sufficient to have guarded him from\nthe transgressions into which he fell, and even to have guided him to\nseek the paths of religion.  His wretched education, however, came in aid\nof his natural self-will, and soon confirmed him in those vices which led\nto his ruin.\n\nHis state had been, as he himself described it, at times truly miserable;\nbut drinking had quickly expelled every conviction of his own guilt, and\nhe soon returned again to his mad career.  He observed to Mr. Durell,\nthat since 1823, he had not seen one happy week.\u2014There are two things to\nobserve on these transient convictions of guilt in a state of\nunconversion.  Until the Spirit of God has enlightened the heart, sin\ndoes not by any means, in all cases, appear as it had appeared to Jolin,\nand as it invariably does to the renewed heart, a grievous burden.  The\nlife of many wretched sinners is one unbroken course of\nself-satisfaction.  They are described in the seventy-third Psalm, as\noften passing from their cradles to their graves without a feeling of\nsorrow, or an apprehension of death.  The Bible, however, teaches, that\nsuch a state of unmixed prosperity is the most dangerous in which a man\ncan be placed; that the sinner, when thus left alone of God, is lifted to\nthat very slippery pinnacle from which he will fall to his eternal ruin.\nMinisters cannot, therefore, press upon their ungodly hearers the\nuniversal conviction of the misery attending upon sin as an evidence of\ntheir unconverted state, because sin does not in this life uniformly\nbring along with it any such conviction.  Their state of self-complacency\nis, indeed, a state which comes as short of the real spiritual happiness\nof the true Christian, as darkness does of light; but it often affords a\nfalse peace, which perhaps does not leave the sinner till his punishment\nbegins, and the door of hope is shut against him for ever.  Another\nobservation arising from Jolin\u2019s feeling of wretchedness in his former\nstate, is, that the pain sometimes connected either with the practice of\nsin, or a view of its consequences, will not, unassisted by the Spirit of\nGod, produce the real repentance which the Gospel requires.  It is true,\nthe compunctions of conscience, like the afflictions of life, are means\noften used to prepare the sinner for the doctrines of the Gospel.  Yet,\nin how many cases do we find men wounded, but not contrite; stunned, but\nnot really affected by the deepest distresses of life.  Thus we learn,\nthat it is not any mere dispensation of Providence which necessarily\nbrings men to that knowledge and faith which are needful for salvation.\nIt is true, that God does bless the endeavours of the willing mind\nwhenever he sees them; but the mind is not necessarily made willing\nbecause it suffers, any more than a child is necessarily made more\ncompliant by the punishment which is inflicted.  Some substances harden\nwhilst others melt under the fire.  Thus some souls are only confirmed in\nsin by the events which are instrumental in recovering others from it.\nFor this he must be quickened by the power of God, he must have an\nentirely different sense imparted to him from the mere feeling of the\nmisery of an evil course, or the afflictions of life; he must be\nconvinced of his own desperate state in the sight of God, and of the need\nof that sacrifice which the Saviour has wrought out, before that good\nwork is really begun, which, it is promised, shall be carried on till the\nday of Jesus Christ.  So far, then, from the common notion, that the\nsufferings of our life will atone for its offences, those sufferings have\nno connexion whatever with our state hereafter, except as they may have\nbeen a means of bringing us to seek that sacrifice by whom alone any of\nour sins can be pardoned.\n\nBut to return to Jolin\u2019s history.  In the visit of the 25th, he was again\nled to a consideration of the only sacrifice for man\u2019s transgression,\nparticularly as it is exhibited in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.  In\nthis portion of Scripture he learnt more exactly the cause for which\nJesus Christ came on the earth, and became a man of sorrows, and\nacquainted with grief:\u2014\u201cSurely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our\nsorrows.\u201d  \u201cHe was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our\niniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his\nstripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray: we have\nturned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the\niniquity of us all.\u201d  Other passages of Scripture, connected with this\nsubject, and pointing out the love of God as the first cause of man\u2019s\nsalvation, were also explained to him, as, Rom. v. 8, \u201cWhile we were yet\nsinners, Christ died for us.\u201d  And in connexion with this, Ephes. ii. 4,\n5, \u201cGod, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us\neven when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ.\u201d\nAnd, Rom. viii. 1, \u201cThere is no condemnation to them that are in Christ\nJesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.\u201d  The being in\nChrist Jesus, and the nature of faith, by which alone he could apply the\nmerits and sufferings of the Saviour, were now, as they were continually,\ndwelt upon.\n\nThe faith of the Gospel, he was more particularly taught, was such a\nreception of the truths of Scripture, and more especially of the\nengagement of God to pardon every sinner who came to him in Christ Jesus,\nas led not only to an entire dependence upon Christ, but to a complete\nsubmission to his will, and a consequent change in our own nature.  It\nwas not merely a reception of the doctrine of faith, which was to be\nregarded as faith in the soul, but the creation in the heart of a new and\nanimated feeling of trust in the Redeemer.  The influence of faith in the\nsoul was like that of food to the body; it imparts a new feeling and\ncharacter; gives new nourishment and vigour, and works by love, not only\nto the Saviour himself, but to all around us.  Faith, therefore, to be a\nliving principle, must be felt by ourselves, and must be seen by others:\nand of both these points the faith of this young man gave ample proof.\nIt gave confidence to his own mind, and even gladdened his heart; it made\nthe Bible a new book to him; it cheered the solitude of his prison; it\ndirected him to be mindful of every practical duty; it gave a new\ndirection to all his hopes and fears, and enabled him to go onwards in a\nspirit of filial dependence to meet the last conflict.  It was at this\ntime, I think, that he made a confession, which served to explain his\nprevious state of mind, and to show how remarkably his attention was\nfixed on one point.  \u201cHow extraordinary, sir,\u201d said he, \u201cit is, that for\nthese last two days I have been able to give my mind only to _one_\nsubject; the thought of my crime and of my death have been taken from me,\nand I have scarcely been able to give my attention to either.\u201d  The one\nsubject which occupied all his attention, and shut out every other, was\nthe love of his Saviour, who had given himself for his sins.  This, as he\nsaid, \u201cfilled his heart.\u201d  His state of mind served to show the absorbing\nnature of this Divine principle when it is fully implanted in the soul.\nWhen the mind has suddenly gained a view of its former state of\nalienation, and has been brought nigh again to God, it is impossible that\nthe sense of this vast change should not swallow up every other feeling.\nIt is difficult at all times to think much of God, and to think of any\nthing else; but how much more, when the first conviction of the Divine\npresence overwhelms the soul.  And, as David, in the fifty-first Psalm,\nappears to have comparatively lost sight of his sin against his country,\nthe family of Uriah, and of all the consequences of it, in the depth of\nthe feeling which he had of his sin against God; so the love of Christ\ntook possession of Jolin\u2019s mind; and in its length, and breadth, and\ndepth, and height, so filled his thoughts, and so absorbed his soul, that\nevery other subject sank into nothing.\n\nIt will be manifest, that, in the explanation of all these subjects,\nthere was a constant repetition of points before explained, and reference\nto many texts which are not noticed.  Jolin did not talk much; and indeed\nit was chiefly in answer to a question, that he made any observation at\nall.  When a passage of Scripture was read to him, he would often take\nthe Bible and read it over slowly to himself, then observe carefully\nwhether a paper to mark it was so placed, that he might find the place\nagain, and return the book with some slight expression of his feelings.\nIn this way did he seem to lay up portions of the Divine word, upon which\nhe might reflect in his solitary hours.  His manner was always calm and\nself-possessed; and his answers to questions were such as showed that he\nclearly understood the grounds upon which the answer was to be made.  He\nwas never beside the mark in a reply.  But it was quite evident that all\nthe lessons which were taught him, and which had the warrant of\nscriptural authority, sank into his heart, and that he found in them that\nwhich corresponded with his own experience.\n\nThe next day, the 26th, he was visited by Mr. Dallas, one of the\nchaplains of the Bishop of Winchester, and by Mr. Durell, the rector of\nSt. Saviour\u2019s parish.  These two clergymen have each given public and\nrepeated testimony to the state of mind in which they found Jolin.  The\nvisit of Mr. Dallas was chiefly occupied in an endeavour to search out\nthe reality of the foundation upon which the hope of the penitent rested,\nand he viewed it as most satisfactory.  Mr. Durell visited Jolin at the\nrequest of the Dean of Jersey, in whose parish the prison is situated.\nMr. Durell says in his little work, \u201cI came to perform a difficult and\nunpleasant duty, which, indeed, I could not refuse.  I mention this\nindifference,\u201d he adds, \u201cto show, that when I first repaired to this poor\nman\u2019s dungeon, there must have been something very powerful to have\naffected me to such a degree.\u201d  He at first brought Dodd\u2019s Prison\nThoughts with him to read to Jolin; but, on the suggestion of a friend,\nhe changed this book for the Bible.  Mr. Durell visited Jolin many times:\nand he has published an account of each visit.  His remarks are candid,\nkind, and very clear as to his belief of the real change of Jolin\u2019s\ncharacter.  The facts which he narrates are some of them in the highest\ndegree interesting.  \u201cI have sympathised,\u201d he says, \u201cin Jolin\u2019s cell, in\nall the horrors of his situation.  I have shuddered at his nefarious\nparricide; I have rejoiced in his unfeigned repentance; and I have been\nsoothed by his delightful anticipations of a blessed immortality.\u201d  He\nadds, on one occasion, \u201cI never saw a man more free from enthusiasm.  All\nhis religion centred in the atonement of Christ.\u201d  On another, \u201cI never\nheard him complain of the evidence against him, nor of his sentence;\nnever did an expression of murmur or of invective escape from him.\u201d  He\nsays again, \u201cThis visit lasted three hours; than which none ever made a\ndeeper impression on me, or will perhaps be more conducive to my own\nspiritual improvement.\u201d  He adds again, \u201cIt may, perhaps, be supposed,\nthat it was the dread of death which had excited his religious fervour;\non the contrary, those apprehensions ceased from the moment that holy\nprinciple originated in his heart: neither was it that instinctive fear\nof dying that drove him into religious inquiries and self-examination.\nThat fear may, indeed, have caused a wicked man to be sorry for his sin;\nbut the growth in knowledge, in grace, and in so many gifts of the\nSpirit, was so extraordinary and so unprecedented, that I cannot account\nfor it as having been the result of natural causes operating on an ardent\nand distracted mind.  I am not only impartial, but am conscious that I am\nas free from superstition and enthusiasm as any man; yet I feel inwardly\nconvinced, that Jolin\u2019s conversation had something in it more than human;\nand that Providence assisted him with an imperceptible, though equally\nmiraculous, working of the Holy Spirit; to the end that his edifying\nrepentance might operate like a distinguished example to open the bosom\nof many an infidel to an examination of the sacred truths of\nChristianity, and to persuade the thoughtless and profligate, that,\nunless they abandon their dangerous course, they will be doomed to\ncertain destruction.\u201d\n\nBut it may be interesting to lay before your readers the last\ncommunication of this kind friend, when Jolin was about to be executed.\nIt was in a letter to one of the ministers then with him in the prison.\n\n                    St. Saviour\u2019s, Oct. 3, 1829, 9 o\u2019clock in the morning.\n\n    \u201cSir,\u2014The deep, the Christian interest, which I feel for our\n    departing brother, induces me to write you a short note.  Tell him\n    that I pray that the strength which is imparted from on high may not\n    fail him in his last hour, and that the sufferings of the Saviour may\n    inspire him with religious courage to bear his sufferings.  Tell him\n    also, that since we are not to meet again on earth, he departs with\n    my blessing and my prayers; and that, I trust, we shall meet again\n    where every tear shall be dried from every eye.  The sixteenth\n    chapter of St. John is most particularly adapted to his awful\n    situation.  The thirty-third verse is a glorious precept and example\n    for him: \u2018These things have I spoken to you, that in me ye might have\n    peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but, be of good\n    cheer, I have overcome the world.\u2019\n\n                                                  \u201cI am, sir, yours truly,\n                                                              \u201cE. DURELL.\u201d\n\nOn the last Sunday of his life, Jolin had many visitors.  His mind seemed\ngradually to ripen for eternity.  He gained every day clearer views of\nhis sinful nature, of the power of Divine grace, of the nature of faith,\nof the immensity of the love of Christ, and of the offer of a free\nsalvation made to himself.  He could now trace very distinctly, in the\nvarious events of his life, the manifestations of the great mercy of God\nin his favour.  The returning prodigal (Luke xv.) he felt more and more\nto represent himself and his own case.  He saw his heavenly Father\nwaiting to be gracious to him.  He had scarcely time to offer up his\nsupplications, when he found, that before he called, God had answered,\nand while he was yet speaking, He had heard.  There was one circumstance\nconnected with the visit of this day which is, in itself, striking.  The\nlast trial was to take place on the morrow.  He had, under the direction\nof his legal adviser, prepared a paper, which was to be read to the jury.\nThere was still, therefore, a possibility of his escape from the\npunishment of death.  This latter circumstance became a subject of\nconversation, and an earnest hope was expressed on the part of his\nvisitor, that, if he was set at liberty, he would be supported by Divine\ngrace, and that he would be enabled to live to the glory of God.  His\nanswer to this observation clearly showed how well he understood the\npower of the grace of God, and how entirely his heart was stayed upon\nthat as his only support in every emergency of his life, whether he were\nto escape from prison, or be led to the scaffold.  He observed, \u201cSir, the\nman that is fit to _die_, is fit to _live_.  I have known what it is to\nhave a heart as hard as a diamond; but I now feel I have a heart of\nflesh.\u201d  His persuasion was thus very clearly expressed, that the same\npower which had changed his heart from stone to flesh, could and would\nkeep him on his way; and that, depending upon Divine grace, he need not\nfear whether life or death were presented to him.  In this calm and\nconfiding posture of mind, he seemed continually to rest.  All his hope\nand trust were grounded on his Saviour.  He had come to the full\nexperience of the psalmist\u2014\u201cIt is good for me to draw near to God.\u201d\n\nA hymn of Cowper\u2019s, which had been given to him, seemed very much to have\narrested his attention this day.  It is on the subject of the fountain\nopened for sin, and for uncleanness. (Zech. xiii. 1.)\n\n    \u201cThere is a fountain filled with blood,\n       Drawn from Immanuel\u2019s veins;\n    And sinners plunged beneath that flood\n       Lose all their guilty stains.\n\n    The dying thief rejoiced to see\n       That fountain in his day;\n    And there have I, though vile as he,\n       Wash\u2019d all my sins away.\n\n    E\u2019er since, by faith, I saw the stream\n       Thy flowing wounds supply,\n    Redeeming love has been my theme,\n       And shall be till I die.\n\n    Then, in a nobler, sweeter song,\n       I\u2019ll sing thy power to save,\n    When this poor lisping, stammering tongue\n       Lies silent in the grave.\n\n    Lord, I believe thou hast prepared\n       (Unworthy though I be)\n    For me a blood-bought free reward,\n       A golden harp for me.\n\n    \u2019Tis strung and tuned for endless years,\n       And formed by power divine,\n    To sound in God the Father\u2019s ears,\n       No other name but thine.\u201d\n\nThis hymn he was very fond of, and he repeated it on his way to the\nscaffold.  It had been an object to store the mind of Jolin with subjects\nwhich might, by the Divine blessing, be sources of encouragement and of\ncomfort to him when left alone with his Bible, or in the silent hours of\nthe night.  The following points, in addition to those already\nenumerated, had been dwelt upon; and now, as the opportunities for\nvisiting his prison by the individual who proposed them, had drawn to a\nclose, some of them were at this time again earnestly pressed upon his\nattention.  These were, the \u201ctender mercy\u201d of God, (Luke i. 78,) by which\nalone the Day-spring from on high visits the soul, and by which it is\nbrought out of its state of natural darkness; the view of Christ touched\nwith the feeling of our infirmities, (Heb. iv. 15, 16,) and encouraging\nus to go with boldness to the Throne of grace; the invitation to ask with\nimportunity for the Holy Spirit (Luke xi. 1\u201311); the intercession of\nJesus for his people (Rom. viii. 34); the promise, that God who had not\nspared his own Son would with him freely give us all things (Rom. viii.\n32); the remedy against all trouble to be found in faith in the Lord\nJesus Christ (John xiv. 1); the parting address and prayer of Christ\n(John xiv. xv. xvi. xvii.); and the engagement that nothing shall\nseparate the believer from the love of Christ (Rom. viii. 35\u201339).  To\nthis was added, as much examination as to the working of these doctrines\non his heart, the degree in which they were felt, and their practical\nbearing, as the time and circumstances would admit.  All these subjects\nJolin appeared to understand and to receive; and if he could not\nenumerate them as distinct articles of his religious creed, yet he seemed\nfully to comprehend and to receive them as the testimony of God.\n\nMonday, the 28th, was the day fixed for his second trial; and here he\nexhibited the character of a real Christian.  His defence he had written\nbefore, and it was as follows:\u2014\u201cGentlemen, whatever may be my fate, I\nshall not die without having to reproach myself for not having quitted my\nfather\u2019s house.  By so doing, I should have avoided being the victim in\ndifferent unhappy affairs that often took place between my father and\nmother, in which I was generally the object upon which the weight of\ntheir discontent fell.  I was often obliged to submit to being beaten\nmost severely, and to hear language unworthy of being uttered by either\nfather or mother.  Now, left to myself in the solitude of a dungeon, I\nreflect on times gone by, remembering that I was the only child,\nabandoned to the most deplorable fate.  Yet I ought to have been wiser,\nand not followed the example of my nearer relations, the source of my\nmisfortune.  But now that respectable ministers of the Gospel have taken\nthe trouble to visit me, and point out my duty towards God and towards\nman, I rest contented.  I pray to God to pardon the horrible, but never\npremeditated crime of which I am guilty.  If I ever had an intention of\nkilling my poor father, I had a very favourable opportunity of doing so,\nwhen he was stretched upon a bed of sickness, unable to help himself.  I\nwas then the only person who took care of him, and administered to his\nwants, as there was no other person besides myself in the house.  I beg\npardon of all those whom I may have willingly or unwillingly offended.\nGentlemen, after this declaration, I submit myself entirely to your\nwisdom.  It is you who are going to decide my fate.  I am ready to meet\nit, and I will submit to your judgment without a murmur.\u2014PH. G. JOLIN.\u201d\n\nThis paper is a translation from the French, in which language it was\noriginally written.  Whether it is accurately translated, or whether it\nwas written by Jolin himself, or by his advocate, it is impossible to\njudge.  The passage in it which relates to his parents, if his own, is\nliable to objection.  The faults of a parent, especially faults so\nawfully punished, ought not to have made a part of his defence.  If the\nlanguage is that of his advocate, it is only the language of legal\njustification, and the facts are both true and of much weight for the\nextenuation of his crime.\n\nIt is said, that during his trial, his calmness was remarkable.  His lips\napparently were employed in prayer, and this he afterwards confessed was\nthe case.  He prayed for himself, that he might be strengthened to go\nthrough his trial, and also for his judges and his jury.  There was no\neffrontery in his look; but, on the contrary, the appearance of deep\nhumiliation.  For four hours, during which time his trial lasted, he\nnever lifted his eyes from the ground.  On his return from the trial, he\nhad to encounter the indignation of the populace against his crime.  On\nthe former occasion, a woman had cried, \u201cAh, le scelerat!\u201d which had a\ngood deal affected him.  This time he addressed the people from the\nprison gates, and when they observed that he was half dead from fatigue,\nhe said, amongst other things, \u201cI have a strength within me ye know not.\nThis supports me.  Weep not for me, weep for yourselves.\u201d\n\nDuring the following days of his life, he received continual visits from\na variety of persons.  On the 28th, the Rev. P. Filluel; on the 29th,\nfrom both the chaplains of the Bishop of Winchester; Mr. Dallas was\nindeed as assiduous in his attendance at the gaol, as his many other\nduties at that time would permit; and all these gentlemen expressed the\nstrongest conviction of the reality of Jolin\u2019s conversion.  Many\nministers, and others beside, very kindly came, desiring to impart to him\nsome spiritual gift.  He received all gladly; but more especially those\nwhose conversation led him to believe that they came to him in the\nfulness of Christian love.  His discernment on this point was a striking\nevidence of the clear views of doctrine which he had attained.  He\nperceived and felt the inadequacy of those religious systems which were\nnot connected with deep and experimental views of personal corruption;\nand with exclusive dependence for salvation upon the atonement of Jesus\nChrist.  With a sense of gratitude for the instruments made use of in\nawakening his mind, Jolin appeared remarkably independent of any outward\nhelp.  He was by no means like a man who hung upon another\u2019s teaching,\nbut upon that of God.  It was on this account that he was, perhaps, able\nto bear without injury the multifarious instruction which he received.\nHis own language was most satisfactory; he always spoke of the salvation\nprocured for him as a free and unmerited gift of God; and dwelt upon the\npeculiar manifestation of God\u2019s grace to himself, inasmuch as he had\ntwice saved him from shipwreck when he was in an entirely unprepared\nstate to meet death, and now he had been brought to that prison that he\nmight learn the way of salvation.  His expressions of the sense of his\nown unworthiness were clear and strong.  He told one of his friends that\nhe had nothing to offer to God, but his heart; that all his repentance,\nall his resolutions, all his short conflict with the carnal heart, could\nnever expiate his sin.  On another occasion he said, that he was not\nworthy to pick up the crumbs under his Master\u2019s table; and on another,\nthat Christ was his only hope; that He had paid his ransom, and that He\nwould receive him into glory.  With another class of visitors, those of\nhis family and friends, he was equally decided in declaring what great\nthings God had done for his soul, and what necessity there was that they\nshould turn and repent if they would be saved.  Indeed, a discourse of\nthis kind had made some of them think him insane.  He had told his\nrelations who had come to him, that he was formerly unclean and unholy;\nthat they were so at that moment.  He therefore entreated them to apply\nto _Him_ who had cast out the unclean devils into the swine, to cleanse\ntheir souls.  On all occasions, when he could, he manifested the same\ndesire to instruct others, and lead them to that refuge which he had\nfound so precious to his own soul.\n\nOn Thursday, October 1, Mr. Durell records a very interesting visit which\nhe paid the prisoner: interesting, as it showed the state of mind in\nwhich he found him.  \u201cAs we approached the passage,\u201d says Mr. Durell, \u201cwe\ncould hear the loud ejaculations of the prisoner\u2019s prayers.\u201d  The gaoler\nobserved, that he always found him thus employed when he was left alone\nin the cell.  Mr. Durell read to him the account of our Saviour\u2019s death,\nfrom Matthew xxvii., and concluded with a prayer, at the end of which\nJolin was much affected.  He exhibited, on this occasion, the deepest\nsense of gratitude to all about him; and Mr. Hammond, his advocate, who\nwas also present, bore witness to the calmness and the change of Jolin\u2019s\nstate of mind.  To the latter gentleman, he, on that occasion, expressed\nhis sense of the great services rendered to him on his trial.  He sat up\non his bed, and clasping both his hands together, said most earnestly,\n\u201cMr. Hammond, I thank you over and over again for the pains you have\ntaken for me.  I regret that I have nothing to give to reward you as you\ndeserve.\u201d  This same sense of gratitude led him constantly to express his\nthanks to his gaoler, whose kindness and attention, those who were so\noften going out and in the prison can fully testify.  But it was not on\nthis occasion alone, for the evidence afforded to his state of mind was\nvery remarkable.  The acting lieutenant-governor, the dean, the mayor, a\nleading medical man who came to inquire into his insanity, clergymen,\ndissenting ministers, his advocate, his relations, his attendants, all\nappear to have come away from the prison with a common conviction, that\nthe power of God had been at work in producing the wonderful change which\nthey witnessed.\n\nOn the day previous to his execution, the event to which I have referred\nwith regard to his relations occurred.  They, not understanding the\nnature of the change which had taken place in him, and, judging from\nreports of blows which he had received, and other circumstances,\nendeavoured to establish the plea of insanity; and they brought a very\neminent medical practitioner to examine into his state.  But this\ninterference was followed by the best consequences; for, whilst on the\none hand it was clearly ascertained that Jolin was in no state of\nderangement, or delusion, or enthusiastic fervour; on the other, the\nclearest and most satisfactory evidence was given of his real state of\nmind.  After this, the Dean of Jersey kindly attended to administer the\nsacrament to him.  Before he received the holy communion, he underwent an\nexamination; and to the dean, and three other clergymen, he gave, in\nanswer to their questions, a reason of the hope that was in him.  He\nexplained with such clearness the object and the nature of his faith,\ntestified so deep a sense of his own unworthiness, and showed so good a\nfeeling towards all his fellow-creatures, that they had not, any of them,\na doubt of his fitness to partake of the feast prepared for the penitent\nsinner.  This examination, which was peculiarly solemn and affecting to\nJolin, looking, as most of the people of that island do, with deep\nveneration on the high and sacred office of the dean, was remarkably\ncalculated to detect any thing which might be suspicious in his views, or\nin his real state.  Throughout this day, Mr. Hall reports, that Jolin was\nlonging to depart, and to be with Christ, saying, \u201cThe hours pass\nslowly.\u201d  It was remarked that he must wait God\u2019s time, who had yet work\nfor him to do in his vineyard.  And most faithfully was every hour\ndevoted to the duties of his immediate calling.  He warned, rebuked,\nexhorted, with all long-suffering and patience.  He said he thought it\nwould be better for him to die on the scaffold, than quietly in his cell,\nas he might thereby glorify God by his patience, and be an example to all\nof the fatal consequences of indulgence in sin.\n\nMr. Durell has given an account of his last visit to Jolin on the evening\nof this day.  He chose the same subject to read to him as on the day\nbefore, but from another Evangelist.  It was Luke xxiii., the account of\nour Saviour\u2019s crucifixion.  During the reading, Jolin\u2019s sensibility was\ngreatly excited, and his half-broken sobs were heard.  Mr. Durell,\nthinking it proper to check this state of mind, pointed out the\nsufferings of Christ as a matter of holy joy, and threatened to lay down\nthe book, and read no more, if Jolin continued to feel so much.  Mr.\nDurell, wishing to avoid any thing which might discompose Jolin,\ncarefully omitted making any comment on the most affecting part of our\nSaviour\u2019s sufferings.  He, on the other hand, sought to comfort him by an\napplication of the promise, that \u201cthey who sow in tears, shall reap in\njoy;\u201d and by the prospect of paradise held out to the penitent thief.  He\nadds, in conclusion, \u201cIn the course of my profession, I have seen many\nindividuals on the brink of the grave; but never before did I witness\nsuch coolness and such self-command\u2014a scene so holy, so edifying, so\nsublime.  Had he been in the full bloom of human prosperity, and with the\nprospect of adding half a century longer to his existence, he could not\nhave been more collected.  I was myself almost falling into a delusion\ncontrary to the evidence of my own senses.  I could not believe that one\nso near his end could retain so much courage, or such contempt of\nignominy and death.  I could not believe that one so gentle, and now so\nwell instructed in religious duties, could have been ever capable of\ncommitting a crime for which he deserved to die\u2014that he could have been a\nmurderer.\u201d\n\nOn the night previous to his execution, the kind relation who had first\nvisited him in the prison, and brought him the first message of\nsalvation, in bringing him the New Testament, and Mr. Gallachin, an\nexcellent minister of the church, sat up with him.  They endeavoured to\nsing a hymn, and, feeling the imperfection of the service, he said,\n\u201cTo-morrow I shall join in very different singing from this.\u201d  At\nhalf-past one in the morning, he fell into a kind of dozing stupor for an\nhour, but did not sleep.  During that time he was heard repeating the\nfifty-first Psalm, and also repeatedly exclaiming, \u201cGlory to the Lamb!\nglory to our Lord Jesus Christ!\u201d and when he awoke, he said that he had\nseen glorious things in a dream.  He also said, between sleeping and\nwaking, as it appeared, \u201cThere is now, therefore, no condemnation for\nthem that are in Christ Jesus.\u201d  At waking he requested that a hymn might\nbe sung.  The next morning Mr. Hall went to him at half-past six o\u2019clock.\nWhen he entered his cell, Jolin said, \u201cOh, Mr. Hall, I am so glad to see\nyou; I am so happy.  I have slept four hours, and the rest of the night\nwe have spent in such delightful conversation.  I feel so strong, but I\nwill wait patiently the Lord\u2019s time.\u201d  The day before, I have observed,\nhe thought the hours passed slowly, he was so anxious to depart and to be\nwith Christ.  Mr. Hall took occasion to warn him, that he had still a\nwork to do.  He must not only glorify his Saviour by his conduct, and by\nhis patient resignation, but he must again speak a word of warning to\nthose about him.  And he assured him that he might be able to do more for\nthe praise and honour of his Master in his death upon the scaffold, by\nbearing testimony to his own exceeding wickedness, and to the\nunsearchable mercy and love of Christ, than if he had died in a more\nprivate manner.  To this he assented, and took the resolution of doing\nall in his power.  \u201cGreat, indeed,\u201d says Mr. Hall, \u201cwere the grace and\nsupport which he enjoyed.  He felt sick at breakfast time, and could not\neat; but, to oblige me, he said he would try.  About nine o\u2019clock his\nirons were taken off; and I could not help thinking of this as symbolical\nof that liberty which soon, when passed beyond this life, he would enjoy\nfor ever in the presence of his Saviour.  Jolin immediately proposed to\nme to kneel down and thank God for what he had done for him; saying, \u2018I\nhave always before prayed in bed; now I can go on my knees in the proper\nposture for a sinner.\u2019  Oh, at this time, how deep were his confessions\nof sin, committed both in thought, word, and deed; his acknowledgment of\nmercy through Jesus Christ; his expressions of dependence upon Him for\ngrace, to keep him in his fiery trial, and to open for him the kingdom of\nheaven!  When he drank his milk, he said, \u2018Oh! God, I thank thee that\nthou hast been so merciful and good to me, who have been so great a\nsinner!\u2019  His hand was never cold, and his pulse was always regular to\nthe end.  I never witnessed one to whom the Lord was pleased to give a\nstronger faith, which was proved by his conduct to the last.  He sat\ncalmly speaking and listening till about half-past twelve; when he left\nthe prison, leaning on me and Mr. Gallachin.  An immense concourse of\npeople presented itself at the prison gates, and their rush and noise\nwere greater than we expected.  The newspaper account says\u2014\u2018He was calm\nand collected, walked with steadiness, and evinced throughout the most\ndecorous firmness.  We could not perceive that he trembled.  His mind\nseemed quite absorbed in religious exercises; and, from all we can learn,\nthere was good and satisfactory evidence that he was a true penitent, and\nrelied on the Divine mercy.\u2019\u201d\n\nAs he was leaving the gaol he was heard to repeat the fourth verse of the\ntwenty-third Psalm, \u201cYea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow\nof death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy\nstaff they comfort me.\u201d  Mr. Hall continues: \u201cThe noise of the people\nprevented my being heard by Jolin, who walked as firmly as myself: I\ntherefore opened my hymn-book, and pointed out to him the sufficiency of\nthe Redeemer, in one of those hymns which I had previously chosen for his\nperusal.  The hymn chosen was one beginning\u2014\n\n    \u2018He lives, the great Redeemer lives!\n    What joy the blest assurance gives!\n    And now, before his Father, God,\n    Pleads the full merit of his blood.\n\n    In every dark, distressful hour,\n    When sin and Satan join their power,\n    Let this dear hope repel the dart,\n    That Jesus bears us on his heart.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe told me, that he did not mind the people, that they were poor worms;\nthat he would endeavour to warn them from the scaffold, for they were\nstanding on the brink of the pit.  We mounted the steepest part of the\ngallows hill.  He said, his Saviour had toiled up Calvary with a cross,\nwhich he ought to be thankful that he had not to bear; and that Jesus\nChrist had done this for _his_ sake, whereas, he was receiving the due\nreward of his transgression.  This reflection seemed to give new wings to\nhis exertions in pressing up the rock.  I think that a worse place of\nascent could not have been chosen.  When we arrived at the summit, the\nGreffier read his sentence aloud, and Mr. Gallachin prayed most fervently\nwith him in French.  After the prayer, he ascended the platform with Mr.\nGallachin and myself, and addressed the people in French, as you will see\nby the account in the newspaper.  But the account is deficient in one\nmost essential point.  He urged the people by the _love_ of _Christ_,\nwhom he had crucified, and whom they were crucifying by their sins.\u201d  The\nsubstance of his warning was on the subject of intemperance,\nSabbath-breaking, the neglect of God and of religion; and it was\naddressed principally to parents and to the young.  These warnings he\ntwice delivered; once before, and once after the rope was fastened round\nhis neck.  \u201cAlthough I do not accurately remember,\u201d Mr. Hall continues,\n\u201cthe words of any of his speeches, I can safely say, that he expressed\nhis conviction that the work which had taken place in his heart had been\neffected by no power or will of his own, but by a sovereign act of Divine\ngrace.  Jolin then read aloud some verses from the Testament, which\nsufficiently indicate the view which he took both of the nature of his\nchange, and of the source from whence it sprang.  They are taken from 1\nPet. i. 3\u20135: \u2018Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nwhich according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a\nlively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an\ninheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,\nreserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through\nfaith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.\u2019  To these\nverses he was particularly partial.  He then spoke to me, and told me\nthat he had full confidence in the sufficiency of the blood of Christ to\nblot out all his sins; and that He who had loved him so much as to shed\nhis blood for him, and had kept him to that hour stedfast and immoveable,\nwould receive him into glory.  When the cap was drawn over his face, I\ntold him not to dread the momentary pain, for soon he would be in the\npresence of his Saviour.  He pressed my hand, and said he was not afraid;\nfor he knew that He would take him unto himself.  I told him that I would\npray that his sufferings might be short, and went down.\u201d  Mr. Gallachin\nthen read a part of the Burial Service, until the fatal moment.  His\nsufferings appeared not to be great, and were of brief duration.  \u201cWhilst\nI was in prayer,\u201d Mr. Hall adds, \u201cthe drop fell, and our poor brother I\nknew had entered into the presence of his Redeemer.  The women around me\nscreamed out, \u2018The Lord have mercy upon his poor soul!\u2019  I could not but\npray that their souls might find the same mercy.  He died without a\nstruggle.  I never saw him after I pressed his hand when alive, as I\nascended the hill through the crowd, and was spared seeing his mortal\nremains.\u201d\n\nThus ended the course of a young man, whose history is a solemn memorial,\nnot only of the awful effects of a bad education, and of the wretchedness\nof sin, but also of the wonderful compassion of God.  Much of what has\nbeen narrated may appear almost incredible to some readers; and many of\nthose, especially, who are justly suspicions of death-bed repentances,\nmay be led to doubt how far the work of this young man\u2019s conversion was\ncomplete, and whether, if he had been permitted to live, he would have\nlived as he has died.  If, however, he was really converted in heart to\nGod, the observation which he himself made must be applied to his own\ncase: \u201cThe man that is fit to die is fit to live.\u201d  The same grace which\nbrought him into the fold of Christ would have kept him in all his way;\nso that the enemy of his soul should not have overpowered him.  And there\nis, as before mentioned, the most remarkable concurrence of testimony as\nto Jolin\u2019s state at the time of his death.  Not only Mr. Hall, Mr.\nGallachin, and many others, bear witness to the facts; but the public\nvoice has acknowledged the wonderful change which took place in him.  One\nperson, _not_ a believer in revelation, but who stood by Jolin on the\ngallows hill, and witnessed his conduct, came to a minister, and\nacknowledged, that \u201cthere must be something in religion to support a man\nin such a manner; and that he had therefore determined to attend a place\nof worship, and to bring up his children in the fear of God.\u201d  Mr. Hall\nsays, \u201cI have never had a doubt on my mind as to the reality of the\nchange.  His conduct in the court; his complete deadness to the things of\ntime and sense, and this even when his friends seemed so anxious to save\nhim from an ignominious death, were so many pleasing testimonies that he\nwas really risen with Christ, and that his affections were set upon\nthings above.  God did indeed work mightily in him: though last, he was\none of the first.  He seemed so convinced of sin, and to have such simple\ndependence upon the truth and firm foundation of Christ\u2019s promises, and\nhe showed so abundantly that these feelings were not merely talked into\nhis head, that I always returned delighted with my visit to him.  I used\nto pray instantly with him that he might not be deceiving himself, nor be\ndeceived by Satan, or any of us; and I can say, as far as I was capable\nof judging, that his was a real work of Divine grace.\u201d  The testimony of\nthe editor of the Jersey newspaper, also, while it is beyond all\nsuspicion of enthusiasm, and does not even exhibit the proof of a\ntolerably distinct view of the real foundation on which Jolin stood, is a\nmost satisfactory testimony of the reality of this change.  He says, \u201cWe\nare not amongst those who would hastily give credence to the genuineness\nof conversion in the cases of great criminals, or who approve of\nreligious ecstasies in the short interval between the commission of\ndreadful enormities, and the violent death awarded by law; we do not\nthink it desirable that, while so many good men, after a long life of\nexemplary piety, approach their last hour with solemn apprehensions, such\nas have lived in a course of profligate vice should boast of triumphant\nfeelings and peculiar joy on their way to the scaffold, where they are to\nbe suddenly compelled into the presence of their Creator and Divine\nJudge;\u2014but, in the instance before us, we have much satisfaction in\nbelieving that a real change of heart had taken place, before a change of\nworlds was experienced.  In his last days, Jolin evinced much solidity of\nmind on the subject most important to him: his conduct was marked by the\nmost becoming propriety; and if he expressed a confident hope of\nacceptance before God, it was accompanied with humility, and, as far as\nman can judge, with sincere sorrow for his offences.\u201d  The rapid\nattainment of Divine knowledge, the simple belief of the truths of the\nBible, the consistent walk in that which he believed to be the will of\nGod, are fruits which can be ascribed only to the grace and Spirit of\nGod.  Where the Lord of all power and might is pleased to exercise his\nsovereignty, who shall say that the work of many years may not be\nproduced in a few weeks; or, as in the case of the thief upon the cross,\nin a much shorter time?  The case of the thief on the cross is one in\nwhich the probabilities, before-hand, of repentance, were not so great;\nand the evidences of his real conversion are scarcely more complete,\nexcept the incidental circumstance of the testimony of our Lord.  Both of\nthese criminals felt sorrow for their sins, confessed them to men,\nacknowledged them to God, and owned the justice of their condemnation;\nboth testified the sincerity of their faith: but, if the thief did this\nunder circumstances more trying to his sincerity than those of Jolin, it\nis also to be remembered, that he saw the Lord of life; and that to Jolin\nalone, therefore, the language applied, \u201cBlessed are they that have not\nseen, and yet have believed.\u201d  I know of no mark of true conversion which\nwas absent from the case of Jolin.  His faith was clear and strong.  It\nlifted him above the world, and, wrought by love, it gave him courage,\nand zeal, and love.  He went forward in implicit dependence upon Divine\ngrace, and pursued, as was permitted him after his change, a holy,\nhumble, consistent course; and, with the cap upon his head, and the rope\nround his neck, he could say with calmness, that \u201che was not afraid, for\nhe knew that his Saviour would take him to himself.\u201d\n\nBut it may still be said, How do we know that Jolin was sincere in all\nthat he said, or that he was not under delusion in what he felt?  To this\nquestion the reply has been, I think, already offered in these pages\u2014by\npointing to the workings of his mind, and the consistency of his conduct.\nAnd here we must leave the case till the last great day.\n\nIn the meanwhile, let us learn from this history, some of the lessons\nwhich it is calculated to teach.\n\nThe first of these is, the _misery and danger of a state of sin_.  St.\nPaul, in describing the consequences of a state of sin, says, in an\nappeal to the Roman converts, (vi. 21,) \u201cWhat part had ye then in those\nthings whereof ye are now ashamed; for the end of those things is death.\u201d\nThat is, sin yields no real _fruit_; it produces shame; and the end of it\nwill be _death_.  Every Christian feels the truth of this statement, as\nrespects himself; and it is the case with all other men, although they\nknow it not.  What, for instance, is the usual fruit of drunkenness?\ndisease, quarrelling, and loss of one kind or another.  The drunkard is\nusually a blasphemer, hard-hearted, and cruel, as he proves himself to\nhis wife and children, starving or ill-treating them to gratify his own\nlust.  His habits of drunkenness make him a bad child, a bad neighbour, a\ndisgrace in himself, and a plague to others.  So it is more or less with\nthe followers of every sin.  Sin, then, brings no real fruit, and the end\nof it will be eternal death; for it is written, \u201cThe wicked shall be\nturned into hell, and all the people that forget God.\u201d  \u201cAs surely,\ntherefore, as a man sows, so shall he also reap; he that soweth to the\nflesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption.\u201d  How awful is the history of\nJolin\u2019s father!  His life how disgraceful, his death how dreadful!  Would\nthe sinner who reads this be content to come to such an end?  But to\nthis, in his present state, he is every moment liable.  Let the sinner\nremember, that he who called this poor wretch to judgment at a moment\u2019s\nwarning, may say to himself, \u201cThis night thy soul is required of thee.\u201d\nThe probability of thus dying is commonly passed over; and it is the hope\nof a sinner that he shall still live to repent, as Jolin did.  Yet how\ngreat are the chances against this!  Many a man has been deluded by such\na hope, and perished in his transgression.  He has looked to some case\nlike this, or like that of the thief on the cross, and delayed his\nrepentance, till, in an hour when he has not looked for it, he has been\n\u201cdriven away in his wickedness.\u201d  But in this, as it is said by an old\nwriter, \u201cThe perverseness of our nature may be seen, in that this one\ncase, that of the penitent thief, serveth us to looseness of life, in\nhope of the like: whereas, we might better reason, that is _but_ one, and\nthat extraordinary; and besides this one, there is not one more in all\nthe Bible; and that for this one that sped, a thousand thousands have\nmissed.  And what folly it is to put ourselves in a way in which so many\nhave miscarried; to put ourselves in the hands of a physician, that hath\nmurdered so many, going clean against our own sense and reason!  Whereas,\nin other cases we always lean to that which is most ordinary, and\nconclude not the spring from _one_ swallow.  It is as if a man should\nspur his ass till he speak, because Balaam\u2019s ass did once speak; so\ngrossly hath the devil bewitched us!\u201d  Let sinners, then, meditate upon\ntheir own state, and remember, at the same time, the appeal of the\nAlmighty to them to turn again and repent.  \u201cHave I any pleasure at all\nthat the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should\nreturn from his ways and live?  Repent and turn yourselves from all your\ntransgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.  Cast away from you\nall your transgressions, and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for\nwhy will ye die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death\nof him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and\nlive ye.\u201d (Ezek. xviii.)  That text which first appeared to move Jolin to\nrepentance, may speak to every other sinner\u2014\u201cCome now, and let us reason\ntogether, saith the Lord.  Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be\nwhite as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.\u201d\n(Isa. i. 18.)  The same words of encouragement may also speak to us, in\nthe language of a merciful Saviour, \u201cI am not come to call the righteous,\nbut sinners to repentance.\u201d  (Matt. ix. 13.)  The same promises, \u201cGod so\nloved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever\nbelieveth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life:\u201d and\nagain, \u201cThere is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner\nthat repenteth,\u201d (Luke xv. 10.)  I would say then, again, in the language\nof Peter, \u201cRepent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be\nblotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of\nthe Lord.\u201d\n\nA second point of consideration in this history is _the conversion of\nJolin\u2019s mind to a sense of religion_, _and the nature of his conversion_.\nJolin\u2019s early education, as far as reading and writing, had not been\naltogether neglected; and the daily misery his sins brought with them was\nnot without its effect on his mind.  But it is evident the work of\nregeneration, the first step in his after conversion, had not taken place\nbefore he came into prison.  But when the Holy Spirit brought home the\nword of God to his heart, the change was rapidly effected.  A conviction\nof the sinfulness of his nature and habits was at once deeply impressed\nupon his conscience; he waited to see the way of pardon by a crucified\nRedeemer, and the influence of the Holy Ghost immediately produced that\nchange in his will and affections which always attends real conversion.\nHis whole state of mind seemed almost miraculously changed: so that\nbetween the twenty-third and the twenty-sixth of the same month, in the\njudgment of his legal adviser and others, a complete renovation had taken\nplace.  In the former state he is described as in a distracted condition\nof mind, suffering unutterable anguish; the dread of death being\nuppermost in his thoughts: in the latter, he was calm, placid, resigned,\nand he had not one wish to live. {45}\n\nAlthough it would be contrary to the facts and spirit of Scripture to\nsay, that no conversions of this kind were real and complete, every one\nmust acknowledge, that as conversion is ordinarily a gradual work, too\nmuch caution cannot be exercised as to a change accomplished as rapidly\nas this may appear to have been.  It may, however, be truly said, that\nthere was a remarkable absence of any thing like enthusiasm in his state.\nA dream which occurred in the commencement of his religious course will\nnot be conceived to indicate a disordered imagination.  For some nights\nhe had been dreadfully agitated, and could not rest.  \u201cI dreamed,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cthat I was dragged over frightful precipices, till at last I was\nbrought, as it were, into the presence of our Saviour, and there obtained\nmercy.\u201d  This dream so harmonized with the spirit of many passages of\nScripture pointed out to him, that it was not unlikely to occur.  In his\ncase, as in every other, the first touch of religion on the soul was\nimmediate; but the after stages of conversion were gradual\u2014far more so\nthan many others recorded in Scripture; and there was time to perceive\nthe regular progress of growth in grace.  This case, therefore, should\nnot be confounded with what are commonly called instantaneous\nconversions, because although compressed into a short period every step\nof scriptural conversion may be traced in it.  From first to last, Jolin\nwas able to give a reason for the hope which was in him, and these\nreasons corresponded with the feelings and convictions described in the\nword of God.  He felt those convictions of sin on which Scripture\ninsists.  He found, agreeably also to Scripture, nothing in his own state\nupon which he could depend for salvation; and, relying entirely on the\nmerits of the Lord Jesus Christ, he found peace and joy in believing.  In\nthis manner, if his conversion proceeded rapidly, it was not wanting in\nany of those evidences which are the unquestioned fruits of the teaching\nof God.  His conduct is the best, and indeed the only satisfactory\ncommentary on the whole work.\n\nA third point worthy of consideration in the history of Jolin, is, _the\nmeans_ by which it pleased God _to open this young man\u2019s mind_; and this,\nI may venture to affirm, was _the Holy Scriptures_.  It was the simple\nexhibition of the fifty-first Psalm, which at first seemed to expose his\nreal state to him.  It was the promises of the New Testament, and the\ntypes of the Old, which gave him his first clear notion of faith, and\nwhich conveyed to his mind a hope of pardon.  The Scripture then became\nthe subject of his meditation day and night.  It was as a \u201clamp unto his\nfeet, and a light unto his path; a treasure more to be desired than gold,\nyea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.\u201d\nThe value of Scripture arising from its clearness, authority, and its\npeculiar power, under God, to fasten truth on the soul, are remarkably\nconspicuous in the case of this guilty person.  He heard, marked,\nlearned, and inwardly digested its all-important truths, and they made\nhim wise unto salvation.  But in connexion with this, and every other\nmeans employed, is to be noticed the _influence of Divine grace_.  The\nAlmighty power and sovereignty with which this was exercised, was\nfrequently acknowledged, and continually felt by Jolin.  He perceived it\nin all the remarkable circumstances of his life\u2014in his various escapes\nfrom death\u2014in his final allotment\u2014in the events which occurred in the\nprison.  And whilst all this distinguishing mercy was shown towards him,\nhe could discover nothing in himself which deserved any such remembrance\nat God\u2019s hand.  Why was he called, and not his father, was one of the\npoints which first struck his attention on the visit of his friends.  But\nto those around him some other circumstances, illustrating this\ninfluence, were perhaps more obvious than even to himself.  The manner in\nwhich he was enabled to receive the truths of the gospel; the gift of\nspiritual understanding; the willing heart; the subdued spirit, and\nsanctified heart, were all circumstances to be referred only to the\nsovereign grace of Him who worketh in his people to will and to do of his\ngood pleasure.  \u201cO, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and\nknowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past\nfinding out!\u201d\n\nA fifth lesson to be learned from this history, is the _benefit of\neducation_.  Here was a young man most unlikely to profit from the early\ninstruction he had received; and to what account did it turn?  In his\nworst times he was enabled to read the word of God, and this he was led\nto do in the tediousness of his sea watches.  In his imprisonment, the\nblessings of his previous learning was incalculable.  In his last\nexhortations on the scaffold, he pressed upon his youthful auditors the\nadvantages of attendance upon a Sunday school, and the public means of\ninstruction.  It is impossible to say how much, or if any of the\npreparatory work of religion, had, by means of education, been going on\nin Jolin\u2019s mind.  But information had been given\u2014a desire for instruction\nhad been implanted\u2014the wretchedness of a sinful course had been\ntaught\u2014the Scriptures had been read\u2014the scaffolding, in fact, had been\nput together, by which the future edifice might be erected.  How striking\nis the lesson of encouragement derived from this history, to those who\nare labouring in the school or in the prison.  Who could have thought\nthat in either case, as it concerned Jolin, the event would have been\nwhat it was?  But who knows what the most untractable child may yet\nbecome, or how far the seed which is sown, may, even a long time hence,\nproduce the desired fruit.  \u201cIn the morning sow thy seed, and in the\nevening withhold not thine hand, for thou knowest not whether shall\nprosper either this or that, or whether they shall both be alike good.\u201d\nWe may, in our efforts to instruct, meet with many disappointments, but\nit is plainly our duty to proceed, with becoming care indeed, but in the\nremembrance both of God\u2019s almighty power to teach the heart, and of\ninstances, such as this, in which that power has been so remarkably\nexerted.  The state of prisoners is one which invites, as it has in\ngeneral received the peculiar commiseration of our countrymen: men are\noften to be found there in Jolin\u2019s state of mind.  The prison is,\nperhaps, their first resting-place in a career of ignorance, and sin, and\nmisery.  The visitor may too often, in his researches, discover the man,\nas Mr. Pinel did Jolin, \u201cwithout hope for this world or the next,\u201d and\nmay lead him to discoveries of what, perhaps, never entered his\nimagination.  At all events, the circumstances of trial and affliction\nare those most favourable to seriousness of reflection; and this is the\ncourse by which the sinner is most often led, by the grace of God, to\nturn from the error of his ways, and to seek the hope offered in the\nGospel.  The event is always in the hand of Him who directs the heart.\nBut, under all circumstances, we work with the blessing of the Almighty,\nand with his promise, that our labour shall not be in vain.\n\nA sixth lesson to be learned from this history, is the _happy effects\nproduced by the possession of true religion_.  In the case of Jolin, how\nspeedily did it tranquillize and cheer his mind.  It was like the word of\nits holy author, when he said, \u201cPeace, be still, and there was a great\ncalm.\u201d  Those who visited the chamber of death, where he dwelt, could not\nbut feel a degree of surprise at their own feelings, when they remembered\nthat they were with one who had been a drunkard and a murderer.  But\nreligion had softened his character, and created in him those genuine\nfruits which, as we are taught, spring from the work of the Holy Spirit.\n\u201cThe wilderness had become like Eden, and the desert like the garden of\nthe Lord.  Instead of the thorn had come up the fir-tree, and instead of\nthe briar had come up the myrtle-tree; to be for a name, and for an\neverlasting sign that should not be cut off.\u201d\n\nLastly, there _is a lesson of application to our own souls_.  It may be\nasked, What is the intimate acquaintance which we have had with the\nexperience which this poor dying criminal passed through?  He, being\ndead, may speak to many of his own age, who have, perhaps, had far\ngreater advantages of education and example; or he may speak to those who\nhave seen more years, and yet have not attained to that ripeness of\nfaith, and that full assurance of hope, which made Jolin climb with such\neagerness the gallows hill, and long for the time when he should be with\nChrist.\n\nThis history applies most emphatically to the case of _young men_;\nteaching them to avoid sin, even when it may have the sanction of\nparental example.  The Bible, they must remember, and not men, especially\nungodly men, should be their direction.  By this law we shall all be\njudged, and must stand or fall.  In Jolin\u2019s last address, he said, \u201cAvoid\nbad company, drinking spirits, vicious habits.\u201d  \u201cI exhort young people\nnot to violate the Sabbath, but to frequent church, and attend to their\nreligious duties.  Would that this tremendous example of punishment might\nlead every young person who hears it to inquire into his own state, and\nto remember how soon one act of sin may bring judgment upon him; and how\ntremendous will be his judgment, if, after this warning, he is found\nunprepared.\u201d\n\nThis history also speaks most loudly and awfully _to parents_.  \u201cYou see\nin me,\u201d Jolin said from the scaffold, \u201cthe effect of bad education and\nexample.  From early youth I have been addicted to intemperance.  My duty\nto God was never pointed out to me.  Those who have children committed to\ntheir care, I beseech to send them regularly to church, and to the\nSunday-school, and teach them their duty to God and man.\u201d  Let those,\nthen, who are teaching Sabbath-breaking, swearing, passion, habits of\ndrinking and vice, to their children, by their own example, look at the\nhorrible instance of sin and its consequences, which this case presents\u2014a\nparent, murdered, and a son hanged! from the _effects of a father\u2019s\nexample_!  The case speaks for itself: and may the Holy Spirit enable us\nto learn the lesson which it teaches.\n\nMay we all who read or hear this account, apply its lessons to ourselves.\nLet us adore the astonishing love of God in the case of this poor outcast\nsinner; His sovereign power, His boundless mercy, His all-sufficient\ngrace.  May we seek to lay all the burden of our transgressions upon that\nSacrifice in whom Jolin trusted.  May we, with him, find the Holy Spirit\nmaking us as fit to live, as, we trust, he was fit to die: so that when\nwe have fought the good fight, we shall receive the crown of glory,\nwhich, we may trust, this believing penitent has been called to wear in\nthe presence of Him who gave him the victory, through his own blood.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 LONDON:\n           IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes\n\n\n{45} Durell\u2019s account.","title":"An account of the Death of Philip Jolin: who was executed for the murder of his father, in the Island of Jersey, October 3, 1829","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":17977}