Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1850-10-15
va TUESDAY, OCTOBER -, 1880.

IL was evidently out of their power to
take away his life; and it was equally
out OF his power to survive them, die by
the sentence of the law, or how or when
they might; 1t became clear--so argued
this intermeddler--that the same moment
which saw the termination of their lives
would inevitably be the last Of his own
| TO iortlfy his arguments, the letter writer
referred to the certain mystic symbols in
the heavens. Now, though the poor
man could understand nothing Of trumpe-
ry diagrams which where set forth as it,
lustrating the truth Of The fatal warning
thus conveyed to him, and thought his
friends universally laughed at the trick as
barefaced attempt of some anonymous
imposter, TO rob justice of her due, it nev-
erlheless made a deep impression upon
his mind. Ignorant of everything but
what related Immediately to his own mon
ey-gelting profession, he had blind and
underlined awe Of what he termed the
supernatural sciences, and he inwsrdly
thanked the kind monitor, who had given
him at least a chance Of redeeming his
DAYS.
He Immediately set about making ap-
plication 10 the Judges, in order to get the
decree of death changedinto the sentence
to the galleys for life. He was equally
surprised and distressed 10 find that they
treated his petition with contempt, and
ridiculed his fears. So far from granting
his request, after repeated solicitations,
they commanded him in peremPtory
manner TO appear no more before them.
Driven almost to despair, he resolved up
on petitioning the king; and after much
expense and toll, he succeed in obtaining
an audience of Charles X. All was in
vain. A crime so enormous, committed
with such cool deliberatlon, left no open
ing for the plea of mercy; every ef-
fort he made only served to slregthen
the resolution Of the authorities to exc
cute judgment. Finding all his efforts
in vain, he appeared TO resign himself
despairingly 10 his fate. Deprived OF
all relish even for gain, he took to his
bed, and langushed in hopeless misery.
and as the time for the execution of the
criminals approached, lapsed more and
more into terror and dismay.
Itwas on i sulry afternoon in the be-
ginning of June, 1926, that the writer OF
this brefnarralive--the a not too though
full lad, in search of employ ymcnt il Paris
hurried, together with party OF sight
seeing English workmen, to the Place de
Greve 10 witness to the execution OF the
TWO assassins of the money-changer. Tn
der the ravs of an almost insupportabIe
sun. an immense crowd had congrcgated
around the guillotiuC and II was not
without considerable eXertlOn, and brlbe
of some small amount, that standing pIa'
res were at length obtained within few
PAGES of the dealhful instrument, upon the
flat top of the low wall which divides the
simnle area of the Place de Greve from
the river Seine.
Precisely at four o'clock the sombre
cavalcade approached. Seated upon
bench in a long cart, between Two priests,
sat the wreiched victims OF retrIbute JUS
lice. The cruclfx was necessarily ex,
bibited to their view, and presented to
their lips 10 he Kissed, by their ghostly
attendants. After few minu:es OF silent
and horrible preparation, the elder adj
yaEced upon the platform of the gullIoIne'
With livid aspect and quiyerlng lips, he
oazpd around in unutterablc agony upon
lbe sea of human faces then lifting his
baggard eyes to heaven, he demanded par
don of God and the people for the viola
ton of the great prcrOgatlve OF the former
and the social igh;s of Il latter, and be-
sough, most earnestly the mercy of the
Judge into whose presence he wac about
10 enter. In less than two minutes, bo'h
he and his companion were headless corp
ses, and in quarter OF an hour no Ves-
,;oe save few remains of sawdust, was
left of the terrible drama that had been
enacted. Soon, however, confused muir
mur pervaded the crowd--a report that
the victim of cruelty and avarice had real
ized the dreadful pIesentment OF his own
mind and justified the prediction contained
in The anonymous letter he had received
On inquiry, this was found TO be true
As the signal rung out for execution, the
unhappv man. whom twenty-five staos OF
the dagger had failed TO Kill, expired in
noroyvsm of ierror-adding one more to
The many examples already upon record
oc the fatal force Of fear upon an excited
imagination.
vanderlyn, the Painter.
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