[Ads-l] Anecdote Origin: I Hope Your Honor Will Have Mercy on a Poor Orphan

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Back in 2018 a tale with the punchline displayed in the subject line
was discussed on this mailing list in a thread initiated by JL. "The
New Yale Book of Quotations" lists the anecdote under the name Artemus
Ward (Charles Farrar Browne) and presents an 1867 citation.

Now, I have posted an article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/03/23/mercy-orphan/

The earliest match I found appeared in 1856 within "The Knickerbocker
or New-York Monthly Magazine". The anecdote appeared in a section
called "Editor's Table", and it was submitted by a person who was only
identified as "Bob":

[Begin excerpt]
A Frenchman was tried for murdering his father and mother under very
revolting circumstances; was found guilty; and finally brought up for
sentence. The judge put the usual question, preliminary to sentence:
'Have you any thing to say?' etc. 'No, your honor' was the reply; 'but
I hope your honor will have mercy on a poor Orphan!' Isn't that
slightly cool, considering what it was that made him a 'poor orphan?'
Good for (and from) 'Bob!' Let us hear from him again.
[End excerpt]

Thus, the participants in the anecdote and the creator of the yarn
remain anonymous.

In 1858 a version of the tale with an Arkansas setting was presented
in the "Cleveland Daily Plain Dealer" of Ohio. The tale was titled "A
Hard Case". Here are a few paragraphs:

[Begin excerpt]
. . . the hardest case we ever heard of lived in Arkansas. He was only
fourteen years old. One night he deliberately murdered his father and
mother in cold blood, with a meat axe. He was tried and found guilty.

. . . even the Jury who had found it to be their stern duty to declare
him guilty of the appalling crime--even the Jury now wept aloud at
this awful moment.

"Have you anything to say?" repeated the deeply moved Judge. “Why,
no,” replied the prisoner, "I think I haven’t, though I hope yer Honor
will show some consideration FOR THE FEELINS OF A POOR ORPHAN!" The
Judge sentenced the perfect young wretch without delay.
[End excerpt]

The author of the tale above was not specified in the newspaper;
however, a closely matching text appeared in a collection of writings
by Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne) published in 1867. Hence, I
believe Artemus Ward deserves credit for this 1858 citation. However,
the tale was already in circulation.

Garson O'Toole

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