New-York daily tribune., 1858-04-01
FRANCE
TIE FxECCrION OF PIERRI AND oRsNE

Saturday morning You will hnd the account OF
thsu last moments in the prison and On the scaoSd,
gwen in the Gazette de, TriJEnduI lie troteiuL
ness, so far as it goes s confirmed BY two pe7tons
of ny acquaintance, one Frenchmin, the other
coult tr, map who, by virtue Of the oficisl position
Of the former were 80 placed as 10 see and bear all
that was said and done by aud 70 the condemned
from the time they out Of the prison I'll their
heads fell uDder the guIi0tne. The circumstances
att ndpg the execution were IN some respects uDu-
,ual, ard in 80 many respects interesting that
shall make Of them, vel as the execution Itself,
the main topic Of this letter. Beside my own eyes
and ears, ard those Of the two persons
above mentioned, ] have used tbOee oi
several other acquaint0ncts who were stationed
that morning at different poiDts in tie immense
crowd that was gathered up from all parts Of Paris,
on. about and toward the Plsce dc Ia Roaquet.e.
] left my room, with friend who came TO wake
me, te 90 in that direction at about O'Clock. 1t
was still daik, the sky clouded, the air raw and
cold the streets deserted and s.l except here a1d
there a rare passenger going our way, or changing
milk cart or market wagon Such passengers were
seen more frequently az we went on, no longer EN-
gle, but in companies OF two and three, aud ban
dozens and We came TO open vine shops and cafes,
10 policemen 10 soldiers, then TO the opening OF the
Place, which was already occupied by great DARK
maes Of men and women, above whose heads We
could dnly discern by the light Of the lamps long
lines Of bay yOnets aid the casques OF the mounted
guard.
IL wss near five O'CLOCK. The scafold was alresdy
surrounded ny an impcnet-'lble guard OF sodiery.
We pushed Our way to point az near aS P0sslDle
70 their line. y matter what my motives or ieel-
ings Were-yOur readers may believe that L
covered them all under the cloak OF reporter Tor
TIE TRIBu NJ; and only propose now 10 faithfully
report what saW AID heard, leaving to therr reiec-
tOns on political assassinalOns the state OF French
society, Louis NdpoleOns position, aid the moral
effects of legal assassination. movement OF the
mounted guard 10 clear the csrrlageway where we
stood at first forced us all back before the horses
hoofs toward the wall. For a moment the pressure
was alarming. eve ere packed together Ike
sardines," gasped q woman. | only noticed the
aptness and not the drollery of the comparison at
the time. But very force from the direction
of the Place combined with the latter pressure and
We were squeezed, steadily and pretty rapidly, in
one solid mass through the narrow channel formed
by the horses On side and the house walls on the
other d few rods down the street which we were
then permitted TO cross. Here parallel with and
much broader than the street is awalk planted with
trees, leading up TO the Place, and whence the
scaffold vas visible. Here We stopped Wenotlced
very soon that although countless thousands, as we
knew were rushing toward one awful center OF At
traction that morning and although wherever we
looked every space except the lane JUS. opened by
the guard and now lined on either eide by troops OF
the line was occupied by human bcings-yet there
was no increase ia the numbers of the crowd lm-
medidtely about us. We presently discovered that
We were in rectangular lot Of say one hundred aud
fifty by three hundred and fifty feet, which was
fenced sround on all sides by a close hedge OF
soldiers. On either aide 0f us was another mass
packed in BY the same sort of live hedge SO far
as We could see through the gray light down the
uciphboring street there were formidable masses
of this fencing material, bristEng with bayonet
thOrns and budding ont in brass c8squcs and grena-
der capa Beside large bodies of stationary troops,
t0uadrGne, battah0ns, companies, regiments, single
Cfcers Of rank, cstaiettcs policemen and gendarnes
were moving to and frO-say 10 attract attention.
The armed force was not all concentered III this
nCighbOrhOo1, but presented IN imposing
appearance oi numbers on all the approaches to the
place; thus regiment or so was stationed about
The entrance of the Pere Ia Chaise, and smaller
bands were distributed at brief intervals down the
mile.long street that leads from the Place de la
RCQuette, through the FSubourg 81. Antoine to the
Place de- Ia Bastile. Ny French official inormsnt,
above alluded TO- told there were lO OuO men undcr
aims, and gave me the personal assurance OF
Marshal Maenan as bis authority.
lou max We'll believe, then, the statement OF the
authorized accounts published in the Ga.cfc dcS
Tri5nnan1 and Jopraaida DrOjt, that the Immense
d" crowd who assisted at the execution constantly
remained calm" The following adjective,
silent" is moi 90 accurately descriptive OF their
behavior. | heard much the usual sort Of phrases
that strike the ear i'll any large assemblags OF the
Partisan peoulc. There was certainly something
less of laughing and testing than is customary on
1nN on the Hon ards af
barrier fair. The air was cold and harsh, the SKY
dull, and people had not breakfasted. Then there
was the long waiting, and, though the Parlsnns are
the most patient of waters az n spectacle, the In-
tcIest excited by anticipatOns OF this one was not
so provocative OF gaycty though II had been fire.
works or . circus performance. BIT any signs OF
deep feeling, whether moved in sympathy with Ors!nl
ard his cOmrade or by Indignation against their
cIilne--anV indication OF a more than ordinarily
aIousd sense Of any thing but iosity, could not
d >c0yer, though carefully watched for such in the
manner and ccuntcnances oi those about me. Oi
course nothing Of the sort was 10 be looked for III
words. A chock on French vyscty Of speech more
effective than the soemny of the occasion. or than
The osentation nt bs, unets and poccmens cooked
hats was the believed omnipresceDce of diSggiscd
agents of the prefecture. ndcT this blouse the
rieht, uIder that cap on the lett, may be spy;
that inc bourgeois IN front of YOU hasa Siis-
piciOusly unsuspectmG air: that shrewd-Ooking
porter lust behind you has a suspiciOusiy shteWd
air. This neghbor saws: II is cold"-why should
he tSlh to You That neighbOr has not said word
Ia vou in the ten minutes he has stood by your side
why should he be 50 silent So conversation,
such as il was, did not become general, and was
mainly confined toyeII cafe topics, far as heard;
there WAS now and then brutal Jest about the prS
Oners Il wish that one eoIld see better, question
of what was the time: one man told a iItnd how
long he had been on the ground; Let's 90 take