"And be hung for it," said Hannah curtly.
"No, my dear, I don't want to be hung for the fellow. Indeed, to tell
the truth, I shouldn't like it at all; I know I shouldn't beforehand;
but at the same time I mustn't shrink from doing of my duty first, and
suffering for it afterwards, if necessary! So now for the rascal's name,
Hannah!"
"Reuben Gray, I couldn't tell you if I would, and I wouldn't tell you if
I could! What! do you think that I, a Christian woman, am going to send
you in your blind, brutal vengeance to commit the greatest crime you
possibly could commit?"
"Crime, Hannah! why, it is a holy duty!"
"Duty, Reuben! Do you live in the middle of the nineteenth century, in a
Christian land, and have you been going to church all your life, and
hearing the gospel of peace preached to this end?"
"Yes! For the Lord himself is a God of vengeance. He destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah by fire, and once He destroyed the whole world by water!"
"'The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose,' Reuben! and I think he
is prompting you now! What! do you, a mortal, take upon yourself the
divine right of punishing sin by death? Reuben, when from the dust of
the earth you can make a man, and breathe into his nostrils the breath
of life, then perhaps you may talk of punishing sin with death. You
cannot even make the smallest gnat or worm live! How then could you dare
to stop the sacred breath of life in a man!" said Hannah.
"I don't consider the life of a wretch who has destroyed an innocent
girl sacred by any means," persisted Reuben.
"The more sinful the man, the more sacred his life!"
"Well, I'm blowed to thunder, Hannah, if that aint the rummest thing as
ever I heard said! the more sinful a man, the more sacred his life! What
will you tell me next!"
"Why, this: that if it is a great crime to kill a good man, it is the
greatest of all crimes to kill a bad one!"
To this startling theory Reuben could not even attempt a reply. He could
only stare at her in blank astonishment. His mental caliber could not be
compared with Hannah's in capacity.
"Have patience, dear Reuben, and I will make it all clear to you! The
more sinful the man, the more sacred his life should be considered,
because in that lies the only chance of his repentance, redemption, and
salvation. And is a greater crime to kill a bad man than to kill a good
one, because if you kill a good man, you kill his body only; but if you
kill a bad man, you kill both his body and his soul! Can't you
understand that now, dear Reuben?"