St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1870-03-18
THE CALEDONIAN.
The GUifiOtine.


ton of Tropman, the murderer, at Pari
writes in the Boston Journal:
One must drift about all night in thu
crowd TO see an execution of this kind
Frankly | may say that | did it NOR
for your sake than my own, since | an
no disciple of capital punishment advo
Gates and perhaps you will even nov
revolt at the horrors | am about to dis
close. You all know how horrible tn
guieotine has proved to criminals how
sometimes poor human has battlcd witt
the eXecutioner for his life until the knli'
has had to fall twice and thrice on IT,,
neck which writhed in desperate agony
Orsini went up the fatal steps with :;
firm foot. and bowed with real Italian
grace under the knit. Ncr9cr, who as
sassinated an archbishop OF Paris, fought
with the executicner when he was
brought TO the fatal toilette of the con-
dcmned. He struggled and cried. Til,
exccutioner clasped him roughly, AM
cried out, Gallons, il you have the
courage TO kill, you must have coura9,
to die - and nearly choked him into
submission. Lemaire, the young French
man who was guilotined here III 1867,
fairly ran up the steps and threw him
self into the embrace Of death. lh,
preliminarics are deadtul beyond dc-crip-
ton. Everything, in this country OF
police and clock work law. goes by RUE.
q. 4,
a recognized form. The fact Of hi APP.
preaching execution Is generally KEEP
from him until four O'Clock on the int;,
morning. Suddenly there Is "a knock Il,
his cell door He is awakened from hi
dreams of pardon ny the chief of III
police Of surety of the city. who -ly-.
quietly: Criminal, your end is at hand.
BE COURAGEOUS, and prepare 10 undtrgu
the toilette" \ priest then enters III,
cell, and gives consolation to the con-
drmned. A curious fact is related con-
corning the manner i'll which all CON
dcmned receive the horrible fiulin@- |;
i >aid that they at once feel OF Their
neck, as if TO assure themselves that ii
were still intact. All, courageous AMI
cowardly. have done this. The prisoner
Is then taken to another room, where tor
the first time he encounters the cxecu-
toner and his aids He is bound by
them. his hands behind his back, an,i
strong ligatures connecting his legs, and
forcing him to stand perfectly erect. II
is then seated and the eXecutioncr, with
a huge pair of shears cuts away such of
the hair or beard as is likely to cncum-
Der the passage OF the knife. The thirn
collar Is also cut away, and the body l.
left nearly bare to the waist. The mel
ancholy proces>ion-''plticnt," cxecu
TONERS, the few privileged spectators.
and the jail oflicers-then proceed to the
chapel of the condemned, where the mis-
cradle man has to undergo the agony OF
a long mass. That over, lie steps out Of
the prison doors just as the gloomy hush
of morning ovcrspreads and makes most
sombre, earth and sky. He hears loud
roar, rs of wild beasts, and trembir,.
but the priest supports him, and cNhor,-
him to kiss the cross. He marches M-
rectly to the scatfold. There are thr-
teen steps to 90 up; and arrived at the
top, he is at once seized by the exocu-
tioner, who has preceded him He i,
forced toward an upright plank, which j.
high enough only to lean his head aboy.
it. L pom this he is bound firmly, thu
plank turns upon pivot, and hI~ head
is upon the block, confined in two semi
circles, which admit of not even move
ment of muscle of the neck. The cx-
ecutioner turns spring, and the knife
falls instantly, with a dull thui. The
head drops into Il basket in front. and The
body under the scatfold, into Il rcccrt,-
Gle for it. Three minutes after, Il wagon
bearing the remains, and escorted by
mounted soldlcry, rattles out at a furiuu
rate for the cemetery, where til. body l.
inferred, with the head placed between
the legs. The body is often still warm
when buried, and the head still show
signs Of life. The French have given I,
the baskets which contain the heal az,
body ut once after the execution. tie
horribly fantastic name Of salad bl--
kets."