The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-09-12

TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF
CHARLOTTE CORDAY.
From Lamartine's History Ofthe Girondis,s.

) | iCplACd INA liCuu IA uuuCTIdkCu lLlS OuuCt
E but not seeing him, she supposed his courage fail
/, ed him. The President then assigned her tn
young Chauveau Lagarde, afterward i~llusriou
by his defence of the Queen, and already famou
for his eloquence and couragein causes and time
when the advocate shared the peril of his client
Chaveau Lagarde placed himself at the bar
Charlotte gazed on him, as though she feared lest
to save her life, her defender would abandon som,
5 part of her honor.
The widow of Marat wept while giving he
evidence. Charlotte, moved by her grief, ex
claimed
Yes, yes-'twas I that killed him.
She then related the generalization of the &c
for three months her project of stabbing him il
the Convention; and the Tuse she had employed
to obtain access TO him.
Il confess said she, with humility, that thi;
means was unworthy of me; but it was necessa,
nv TO appear TO esteem this man in order to OBJ
tain access to him.
Who inspired you with this hatred of Marat ?
She was asked.
Il did not need the hatred of any one else,' she
replied. My own was sufficient; besides, you al
ways execute badly that which you have not de-
viSed Yourself
What did you hate in himP
His crimes
what did you hope to effect by killing him4'
Restore peace TO my country
DO you, then, think that you have assassinat-
Gu all the hlaratS
Since he is dead, perhaps the others will trem.
ble.'
The knife was shown her that she might recog-
nize 1t. She pushed i: from her with a gesture OF
disgust.
Yes replied she 4 recognize IL
What persons did you visit at Caen|
Very few, l saw Larue, a municipal Off
Ger, and the Cure of Saint JEAN
Did you confess to a conforming or nonju-
ring priest?'
Neither one nor the other
aSince when had you formed this design?
Since the 3lst of May, when the deputies
of the people were arrested. | have killed
one man to save a hundred thousand. l was
ii republican long before the Revolution
Fauchet was confronted with her.
Il only know Fauchet by sight said sheds
painfully. Il look on him as a man devoid OF
principles; and | despise him.
The accuser reproached her with having
dealt the fatal stroke downward, in order 10
render it more certain, and observed she must
be well exercised in crime. At this sugges
ton, which destroyed all her ideas, by ass:mi
lating her 10 profe ssed murderers, she uttered
a cry Of horror.
'Oh, the monsterr exclaimed she, 'he take:
me for an assassin y
1OuIuiCI ' llillC up, dlQ uClndnu
ed that sentence ofdeath should be passed.
Her defender rose. The accused, said he
c~onfesSes her crime, she avows its long pre-
meditation, and gives the most overwhelming
details. Citizens, this is her whole defence
This impcrturbable calm and entire forgetful-
ness of self, which reveals no remorse in the
presence Of death--this calm and this forget
t%ulness, sublime in one point of view, is mo-
natural; they can only be explained by the
exeitementof political anatlcism, which placed
the poignard in her hand. 1t is for you to de-
eide what weight SO stern a fanaticism shoulC
have in the balance of Justice. | leave all Il
Your c~onscienccs.'
The jury unanimously sentenced bert die
She heard their verdict unmoved; and thu
president having asked her if she had anythin!
to say relative to the punishment inflicted oil
: her. she made no reply but, turning to he
, defender, Monsieur said she, you have de
I Tended me as | wish to be defended /; | thanl
t you l owe you a proof of my gratitude ant
esteem, and l offer you one worthy of you
. These gentlemen (pointing to the judges
: have just declared my property confscated
u | owe something in the prison, and l bequeatl
l to you the payment Of this debt
j During her examination, she observed
] painter engaged in taking her likeness; with
} out interrupting the examination, she smiling
: ly turned toward the artist, in order that HI
might the better see her features. She though
of immortality, and already sat for her portrai
l to Immortality.
e Behind the painter stood a Young man
S whose fair hair, blue eyes, and pale complex
Z ion, marked him for a native of the North
His eyes were riveted on the prisoner and a
! each reply, he shuddered and changed color
He seemed to drink in her words, and associ
| ate himself BY gesture, attitude, and enthusi
: asm, with the sentiments she expressed. Tn
y able frequently to represS his emotion, b
e drew to himself, by involuntary EXPLANATIONS
the attention of the audience and of Charlotte
Corday. AT the moment when the Presiden
4 passed sentence of death, the young man ros
from his seat, with the gesture of a man VIII
protests from the bottom of his beart, and thel
sunk back, as though his strength had faile'
him. Charlotte, insensible to her own fate
e perceived this movement, and comprehend
= ed that, at the moment when all on earth hat
: abandoned her, a kindred spirit attached itsel
t to hers, and that, amidst this hostile or indiffer
r ent throng, she possessed an unknown friend
n and she thanked him with a look.
0 This stranger was Adam Lux, a German
republican, sent TO Paris by the reyolutionist
of Mayence, to concert the movements o
s Germany with those of france, in the comuo
d cause of human reason and the liberty of thu
people. His eyes followed Charlotte, until sh,
= disappeared amidst the gems d arms beneath
v the arch of the stairs. His thoughts neve,
quilted her.
On her return to the Conciergerie, which
was so soon to yield her UP to the scaffold
: Charlc tie Corday smiled on her companions il
& prison, who had ranged themselves in the cor
I. ridors and courts to see her pass. She saldt
g the concierge:
had hoped that we should breakfast togeth
- er once more, but the judges detained me 81
> long that You must forgive me for having bro
ken my word
n The executioner arrived; she requested
i him to allow her time to finish her letter, which
was neither the outpouring of weakness no
: regret, but the last act of wounded friendship
: addressing an eternal reproach to the cow
: ardlv spirit which had abandoned her.
1t was addressed to Doulcet de Pentecoul
o ant whom che had seen at her aunt's. and OF