The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-09-13 00:00:00

THE CHAIN OF' GA I.4EY-SLAFOS.

iTIIOIII pen PARIS COMM./V*IIDM( IA
The punishment of crimes is managed here in a much
more impressive manner than "in England ; the severity of
the English criminal code seems to aim at the etdtpation
rather than the reform of the tansound members of society;
if public punishments cein ever deter front the com-
mission of crime, they must certainly owe their moral in=
fiuence to some oilier circumstance then flair frequency.
In this country, the treatment of the condenmed is always
calculated to make a deep impression on the attentive For-
non of the community. For several days the departure of
the train (or chain, as it is called) of galleralaves, was
talked of it the Biestre; on Mouthy last the intelligence
was offcial. those who were to compose it were sum-
Inoned, and were all assembled in a court situated in the
building; there liy dm dresses of coarse grey cloth, which
they are obliged to put on, preparatory to the journey ;
each of the criminals dressed himself as he was calks!
forth. According to the rules of the establishment, the hair
of the criminals ought to be cut close, so as to render it
more easy to rm-Ose than in ease of their escape ; bat'
they had all taken care t anticipate this part of 'be preps-
Miss, avoiding thereby the humiliation of submitting their
beads to the hands of a stranger. Shortly after the crimina's
left their tanks, and advanced towards the middle of the
coon, where there is placed an anvil and elm to it a large
wooden cheer, in which is kept those irons, Which from
the. immemorial have served successively to ill who have
been eoadernoed to forced labour. Arriving two by two at
the foot of the anvil, they are married, as they express it ;
lif,tbey are placed
.oretheir knees, and that position
dint aro fitted with brevets (for so they call,ly Way of de-
rbies. *iron triangles with which they erentsached by*
the neap Until the moment when this triangle is fastened,
the wretches laugh and jest, and endeavour tb maintain a
sort of forced merriment; bit dead silence rid a sort of
terror immediately take plaCO when set under the blows of
the hammer which rivets their fetters. The slightest mafiosi
might prove fatal to them ; they are thus admired in
couples to a chain of (rein twenty to thirty men, sod con-
eequently can ho longer move except in a body. This otre..
ration lasted two Pours on Mondsvovhen 76 were equipped
for the march. 'bey were divided into three bands: the
Ent and second consisted of the most tprhulent ; thine who
were more peaceable or feeble composed the third; the
bands then placed themselves .on the benches which sur-
round the court, and the offeers withdivw. As soon as
those wretches were released frail all restraint, 1 witnened
what may truly be called a dismal spectiele; one would
suppose that in the midst of so dreadful a captivity, and
menaced by such a future, the human being would inevi-
tsbly sink tinder the weight of grief; but, albs! those
wretches, whose lives were for the future to be devoted to
servitude and infamy, sppeared as if they had met together
to celebrate a festival Three amongst them, and only three,
seemed aware of the extent of their misery ; these were
the only individuals.among them, as I learned, who had re-
ceived any instruction; the rest maintained a noisy, ntitth,
amusing themselves with coarse jests and pleasantries on
their dress and situation. On a sudden, the first band, at
the suggestion of a criminal named Boucher, who is coo-
-1 d,inn ed to labour for life, prepared for a march: All roses*,
• k.mal given by the chief, and dragged thei chain with
&IA 'tyweight which each supported was 12 lb., with
we ,i',s,tion of Boucher and Girard his companion, who
asei& saded with twenty-four pounds at the least; this
,preeeedoorik: taken with them on account of their Inv-
iic4eret
,effected their escape from prima. An
old Man in the char.'',
moving slowly, " Come," cried a youth
of eighteeen, who was chained by his side, " you are asleep,
yet at our journey's end." The
004sentletnan ;tie are
firm column makes the•ound of the court; it is quickly
followee: by envie), anc,' then by the third, which un-
willingly aie
y, the orders the other tao. Immediately
they sit down; Lr the .ordos of Boucher, round the
after
totriaord in ctn. middle of t:k:
(cAadurt,and prepare to
soldier, arriving in
them all' rise. plain
syte'.
flourishes
sthhees iiis-mecarn,'e', wandliennisankes,..
on of it. The old
Sur-
prised at this measure. asked the seek .
more
Da-o-al to be
geibinstlsoremtaonf rreapb:biedle,;"lThiwro: atnodn-iituebirtedty ylesolths„. iis.n.se watched
than thirty thblirithy
eithrountliendus.ofTthemheki,w.ierendacomilmectidueli;sbo:o for the
.purpotre of earrying off the awe Viref MVOs-leo" 711
.
the chest, with which, during the night, AO
n 7 Id Slit
their irons ;- but if they stir, this he cried Ohm iink his
cane), will soon bring them to order." The criminals seet:l-
- at length to grow tired of their forced gaiety; they tit.
down on the benches, and many of them fell asleep. About
five o'clock a priest arrived, accompanied by two young
men. They brought some assistance to those who had
been abandoned by their families. The venerable eccle-
siastic, who was listened to by all with attention, conversed
a long time with Dutree : this was a young man of two-
and-twenty ; his mother was in a state of utter destitution,
and he bad robbed, as I learned, to procure her some food.
The unfortunate young man was in tears; his frequent
sobs scarcely allowed hint to articulate - the following
words—" I was in the Infirmary; would that I bad never
Wt it! Tome it is nothing; but my poor mother, alas !
'she will inevitably die in consequence: The priest re-
marked to me, " This young man has undoubtedly been
guilty, but is it not melancholy to consider that he must
soon 'become as corrupt as the wretches in the ionise of
whom he is placed ?' I supposed that Boucher and Girard
would reply with sarcasms only to the exhortations of the
clergyman, but I was surprised to find that they assumed
a respectful demeanour on his approach. The former,
after listening with great attention to some words of con-
solation, muttered even some broken sentences expressive
of contrition and penitence. After this we all with-
drew.

The following day, st half-past five in the morning, I
found the criminals nearly as I bad left them, only they
appeared somewhat less gay, when suddenly they learned
a piece of intelligence which seemed to give them great
joy.. This was, that several of the condemned were about
to be brought from the Infirmary to join the chain. The
two first of these soon made their appearance ; the one was
a man without education, and the other was Jacques Mig-
non, who, originally a solicitor at. Corbeil, was named
a Judge of the Peace in 181 6, and was condemned for for•
gery in 1821. His visage was furrowed by deep wrinkles,
traced by sorrow. It may be remembered that, after his
condemnation, 1:e addressed a memoir to his son, in which
were the following passages:—" I have, been deceived, I
have made a false step, but I have wronged nobody. I
confess the forgery (here followed an explanation of his
embarrassed circumstancev); and how many evils has that
act, perhaps excusable, brought down upon my head !
Brought to justice for a forgery committed without any
intention to do an injury, I have been condemned to
be branded—a punishment worse than death. How
cruel was the night which followed that condemnation 1
'the love of life, friendship, nature, religion, all had dis-
appeared, and death was my only resource." Mignon and
ins comrade were then ironed in the midst of unanimous

applauses. " This is not all," cried Boucher, " where is
the Advocate?" "He thought, with his spectacles' " says
another, "to pass for a sick man." All cried out for the
Advocate. At the same moment I saw the person who
was the cause of so much vociferation. His name was

Rey ;he was about thirty.five years of age. He practised
his profession at Coulommiers, and was, like Mignon, con-
demned for forgery. He moved forward with difficulty,
supported by the turnkeys; death was in all his features;
he could hardly raise his eves. "Come forward, and don't
be ashamed; the cravat will look well on the neck of an
Advocate," cried the criminals who surrounded him, and
who had no comprehension of the sentiments which filled
the soul of the unfortunate Rey. inen some words of
consolation were offered to him, he only expressed his hope
that God would dispose of him before his arrival at Brest.
It was now seven o'clock ; the prisoners were ranged in
three columns, and their irons were examined; then, by
the help of a large ladder, they mounted on long carts, in
which they were placed back to back, their legs hanging
down outside; in this way they have to make a journey of
a hundred and twenty leagues, passim; the nights oa straw
in barns or public establishments. From the hour of five
in the morning, an immense crowd was assembled at the
barrier Fontainbleau, and along the road side, to watch the
procession, for the departure of The Chain is among the
solemnities of that quarter; nor was it a vain curbsity for
all the crowd—l saw some mothers there, who seised the
opportunity to preach morality to their sons.