The Sun.
London, England, 1870-01-20 00:00:00

EXECUTION OF TROPPMANN.

We have done with Troppman at last. He was
guillotined at seven o'clock on Wednesday morning. There
was a dense fog at the time, and a crowd of some 10,00()
persons, but no demonstrations of feeling were
indulged in. Troppmann wrote a letter to
his family during the night. Though the time of a pri
soner's execution is not announced to him in
France, the cries of the crowd early in the morning
informed the culprit that his hour was come. When told
by the officials that the time had arrived, he replied, " T
am ready." Only twice did he exhibit any signs o:
weakness, first, when he felt the cold edge of
the scissors used to cut away his hair, an,
the second time when he saw the guillotine.
However, he quickly recovered his firmness, and
ascended the steps of the scaffold alone. From the time
of his leaving the prison he never uttered a word. For
two or three nights the Place de la Roquette had been
occupiod by a dense crowd, who waited anxiously in
the hope that the morning would afford them the
spectacle they desired. They were however, dis
appointed, and it appears from the Paris paper,
that all sorts of rumours have been circulating in
consequence of the delay. It was more or less generally
believed that the Emperor had been induced by the pri-
soner's reiterated protests that it was his accomplices
who had committed the crime for which ho had been
condemned, to order a respite for further investiga-
tion. It is certain, the Gaulois says, that his
Majesty received on Tuesday an anonymous letter
on the subject, which he deemed of sufficient
importance to send to M. 011ivier. The same
paper has the following :—The landlady of the cafe in the
Rue Grange Bateliere, where Troppmann was in the habit
of going on different occasions with unknown persons
about the time of the murder (Mdme. Brack), having
received a great number of anonymous letters begging her
to do so, made a last effort to induce the condemned man
to name his accomplices. She was conducted to the
prison at two o'clock by M. Claude. The director of
the prison was present at the interview. Madame Brack
sought in vain to soften Troppmann. She threw her-
self at his feet without any success; his invariable answer
was, " I have given instructions that my accomplices
should be found. I shall not name them; let them look
for them. The two men you have seen with me were
my accomplices, but there was a third." Then he
added, " You will receive, madame, to-morrow, a letter
from me, which will tell you all that I have to say to
you."

RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA AND IN
ENGLAND.—The Empress of Russia has presented a dia-
mond ring to M. Buchan, who has recently invented a
mode of warming railway carriages without expense by
utilising the heat of the locomotive. The details of
this most valuable invention have not yet reached us—
but perhaps that is not of very much consequence, as it
would be absurd to suppose that directors of English rail-
way companies would consult the convenience of the
public in such a matter. Directors, of course, always
travel in first.class carriages, and find obsequious porters.
Besides, there must necessarily be some preliminary
outlay. It is rather a curious fact that in such an
out-of-the-way country as Russia, whose railways
are but things of yesterday, railway travelling should be
so much better understood than in England—the parent
country of all railways. In Russia all are cheap fares, four
*lasses of carriages, all well warmed, and comfortable in
every way. In the first class, beds, lavatories, and every
luxury ; and above all, punctuality on the longest journeys.
—Once a Week.

THE FLOWER G ARDEN.—This (says the Gar..
dener's Magazine) is a capital time to make fresh roserias
and renovate old ones. If the ground was deeply trenched
highly manured, and thrown up roughly into ridges in
October, it will be in first-rate working order, and the
roses will go into their new quarters under favourable
circumstances. Where it is desirable to re-arrange
the beds, the plants must be taken up carefully and
laid in by their heels, whilst the trenching and preparations
are going on, and not be allowed to lie about with their
roots exposed to the cold winds. Trench the ground as
deeply as the nature of the soil will allow, and incorporate
s. liberal proportion of good fat manure. If first-rate
flowers are wanted, and a moderate amount of expense
is not objected to, give the beds a dressing of about six
inches of good maiden loam and in many instances the
loam will do as much good as the manure Standards
and half standards should be staged immediately they are
planted, to prevent the wind loosening them, for if
they once get loose and blow about, it is of little
use to expect them to do much good. This is a very good
time to make new and re-form existing edges of box. The
ground is made ready for the reception of the plants
by being made level, and then trod or well beaten down
to a level with the existing walk, or the intended height
of the one to be made. A trench about six inches deep
must be neatly taken out, the soil brought out into the
walk, and the back of the trench made perfectly straight
for the pieces of box to lie against. The side of the trench
should be made rather sloping, and in laying in the box
keep it in its place with the left hand, and fill in a portion
of the soil with the other ; when a tolerable length is done,
fill a further portion of the soil in with a spade, give
it a good treading, and then fill the remaining part in
and when made firm the operation is complete; and
nothing remains but to put the gravel in its place. In pre-
paring the box for planting, strip off the moderate sized
sprigs with a portion of the roots adhering, and trim so as
to form a miniature fan. The tips of the sbootS should be
cat off level, and a part of the old hard wood at the bottom,
when it is too long and would prevent the piece lying
nicely in its place. Each spray should be as near in size
as possible, to krevent any
unnecessary trouble when
laying it in,

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