The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-06-28
iior. a. Iteacl n,rrsgo,.ie1e, ofas Al,los All,.
AN EXECUTION BY THE GGILi,O.
TINE.


not yea day, and the place was very badly |
lighted. Yetby the faint, hicaeriag light Of
The ianis1H whiuh swayed 10 aud ~ Ia the
wind, as ifthey were playing at swinging on
their stout ropes, eould see some bAyo1ets
glenn, and vaaae Uniformed ms standing
In the middle of the square. ] bsa mover seen
giillotine, but my heart told me that was IL
] went near it---it Is horrible 30 look upon
j need not describe ia form, for every one
knows it--by the dim light Il looked like a
pile-driving machine. Il is placed upright
up0p a platform, ladder without rouDds,
with wooden collar at ia base, and triAngu.
lar knife above. By the aide Of ,hsToundIess
ladder is a coffin where the body IL thrown,
below IL is the pahier where the head falls,
and from the upper cud Of tho ladder TO the
haiustrade which surrounds the platform, the
rope dAnglos, which tho executioner has hut
to pail and--ah, II Is horribly rimplei The
guillotine, In all ia parts, even 10 the rope,
was painted rcd. leave you to conceive how
this looked, viewed by the crcpuscular light,
in which Saw IL, But the poudcrous triAn-
gular axe was unpainted, It CLEANED with a
horribly sinister expression, high over the
pdnier and the coffin.
Aa there wcre, Rs yet, few persons on the
ground, except the soldiers, every one was
allowed to move around the fatal Instrument,
and examine IL in NIL its parts. But the crowd
soon began TO arrive. The instrument had
been planted the previous night, and Il at
trNctcd crowds from large radius. A pal
ish day began to break, and against the cast
ern horizon the lines OF the machine became
nore precisely visible. Now and then rolled
over the square,tho heavy cart of some butch
or, with its bleeding load lighted by a rcd
lamp, or the humber carts OF countrymen on
their way TO the HAllcs, gazing with awe and
curiosity at the novel scene before them. In
tho conntrymen's carts, you could sec the
ehildE''S' elisrl, otft-iti, their fingers N their
mouth, and tinid, silly, halfenquiring smile
play around their mouth, as if they felt they
were hoiag wrong 10 gaze upon. iho iustru-
mcnt of death. The bright streak 10 The east
bccAnic -largcf aud more brilliaut,a and slight
portion Of the heavy clouds was iiRged with
golden hucs the rest Of the sky preserved its
deep black. As daylight increased, groups
began to form, and I could hear the hdbiiues
tes44A4ssae THAR -tLaaahts: You -dsn,t Stny 2,
cried one which was disappearing in the
thick night which still 6nvelopcd ali sides Of
the place but the eastern. mo, not TO-DAY,
am busy" Now the soldiers formed limos the
people were ordered back from the instru-
ment; n troop Of dragons galloped up, who
FIRST formed in front Of the guillotine, then
guarded II. Between the horses werc the
gen d1nss,and behind them the public.
IL was now broad day-there were no lon
ger solitary spectators, who came with their
: large piece OF bread in their hand and their
! pipe in their mouth, but groups offve or six
at time, who came up in haste from all the
neiRhboring streets, as If they were dreadful
y afraid Of being late. l had been hooking
at the machine so long that was become
completely habitnated to it, Shall confess
/ re? even began to await the 6enoucmeni
with great impaticncc-why don't they come
What was the unhappy actor in the sad scene
: Then doing flow he rtuug to cat-h shir',te
, which we were wishing sped Two boys pass
ed close by me, one stoppcd--"Wheroa are
you going said the eldest TO the other-npdr-
bleti, am going on the side OF the head" He
, went over to the side where the head would
! fall he was not Sixteenl ! The windows be-
, gan to open and gil. with people. AT one of
! them / saw n mother sucking her child
| Mother must not miss this, said a boy abou,
$ fifteen years old, as he threw stone against
the window shutters Of still closed window,
/ TO awake his dear mother in time; the boy had
been we'll trainedl a brat of boy by my
side was crying bitterly because he was cold.
'If you cry you will see nothing, said his
\ mother. The child instantly ceased. On
D all sides OF me jokes were cracked upon the
, instrument, and Upoa the eEeenaioa.s baaL ]
/, did not believe they were hearty. 1 think
/ they were only evidences of courage i'll at
, ease which has need of leaning on something
, or ofattempting to convince itself it is bold
by exaggeration. Men passed rapidly by the
/ place on their way TO Paris, urged on by
Z business or disgust. There were few women
in the asscmblage-a great rarity, and among
the great mass of blottses and caps, I was the
only hat and coat In the crowd. j saw a good
many ofthose noble ces-calm, quiet, serious
and digniied that one sees in all French
mobs, and who form a striking contrast with
their Informed, savage asd cruel ncighbors.
The former knew why they came to this
place they came alone, they returned alone.
/, heard great rumbling, and saw all the
people look anxiously in the direction from
which the sound came. trenbled--T thought
\ il the hurdle upon which the victim comes
: It was hearse. ] saw q boy Of shout four
years of ago. climb up. a Stone post to sec the
Jete, 90 he must have thought it--bnt Afsor
gianGing =hnr1iedlY over the sccne he slid
j Iquiqkly down from her perch, and ran away,
psle and weeping, to his mother---he was as
yet at his debut. Another rumbImgi the car
riaRe stors az the 'oiaisra open for mar.