"I call upon the court before it adjourns to order the arrest of the man Fox for highway robbery."
At this, Fox, who was standing within the inclosure, turned to the judge and said:
"May it please your honor, I admit all this man may say, not denying anything, and beg that I may be tried here and now, and by the present jury."
To this Judge Douglas demurred, but after reflecting upon it for a while and conferring with the jury, he turned to Moth and said:
"You hear his admission, Mr. Moth? Are you ready to go on with the case, as he suggests? If so, I can see no legal objection."
"It is what I desire above all things, your honor," Moth, answered, in a sober way. "The man should be in the penitentiary, and the sooner he is sent there the better for the community."
"Then the trial may proceed. Bailiff, conduct the prisoner to the bar," Judge Douglas ordered.
When this had been done and the jury again sworn, Judge Douglas motioned Moth to proceed. This he did, after taking the oath, recounting at length and with great particularity, the attempt to rob him, and Fox's mishap and final discomfiture and imprisonment. When he had finished, Fox, standing up and declining counsel, turned to the judge, and said:
"What this man says, your honor, is true, save, perhaps, a propensity natural to him to exaggerate. I, however, did not seek to injure him, and at the time he speaks of he was himself striving to unlawfully kidnap this friendless youth, except for whom Rathe would now be at liberty and Mr. Throckmorton a convicted criminal," saying which, Fox stepped back and put his arm about my neck. "This does, not excuse my crime, I know. I only claim Moth was not harmed at my hands, either in body or purse. My former lawless way of life I have abandoned, as I can prove, though it was more foolish than harmful. Folly, your honor, comes natural to me, crime does not. I played robber, and thought I was one, when in fact I was only an ass. No one here or elsewhere has ever been harmed by me. I am no one's enemy but my own. Against my manhood and knowledge of right I sinned, and sinning have paid the penalty by outlawry. Moth's complaint against me is at best a moral one only. I regret it, however, and would undo it if I could, but cannot, though I repent in sackcloth and ashes. Such are the facts, your honor and gentlemen. I do not claim I am what I should be. Nor was this man, a self-confessed kidnaper, and that against the weak and unfriended. Among my sins, your honor, I have not such a one to answer for. I ask you, gentlemen, to judge between us. Look in his face and mine, and say if in your hearts you think him the more honest. If so, then convict me; if not, be lenient. My life is harassed by him beyond endurance, and I cannot mend until I shake him off. The worst I can suffer will be better than the present. He was not robbed by me, nor did I seek to cripple or kill him, either of which things I might have done had I wished. That is all I have to say, your honor, and concluding, I put myself in your hands, craving forgiveness and mercy of all men"; saying which, Fox sat down and buried his face in his hands, overcome by his agitation and shame.