Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-02-06
A JOURNALIST BEHEADED.

! A JOURNALIST BEHEADED.
The Execa1ton'of Do Mile At Limoges
-AbJcct Fear Of the Dying Grim nal
55lntcrcstlng Particular Of the
It was abont MONDAY on the 21st of
November last that the ancient city Of
Limoges, in France, was the scene of
the execution of young man of good
descent and endowed with erent abili-
ty. The headsman performed his dread
full task in a very bungling manner,
and what added to the horrors of the
occasion was the weakness of the
doomed man, who tainted when he
came in sight of the guillotiue, md
who, after he had returned to con-
seriousness by tho administration of IL
strong cordial, by turns begged pite-
ously for mercy, uttering piercing
screams, and made feeble attempts ut
resistance, until he had at last been
fastened to the fatal plank and his
head rolled into the basket.
I Pradler do Mile was only Is years
old when he met his doom. He was
born near Limoges in lS47. and had
been carefully educated in Paris at tho
Charlemagne College In 1S47 he
'raduated with distinguished honors,
a. I'd, as he was an elegant and forcible
VI tier, he obtained at once good
position on the Steele newspaper.
Sol "a satirical articles which he had
writ ten for the Courier de Dimanche
inv0l we'd him in duel with the notori-
OPS P.eul de Cassagnac, who inflicted a
very d. ngerous wound on him. During
his sick. ness M. de Mile was devotedly
nursed b. Y one Byzante Crenier, o wo.
man of Mad character, but endowed
with extra ordinary beauty. She was
considerably, older than NJ. de Mile,
but from the very first exercised the
most irresisti. BILE influence over him.
Her lover and A'he showed themselves
repeatedly together in public, and the
scandal to which this gave rise caused
De Miles dischaf ge from the Steele.
He went with his inamorata to Linn
oges, where his only surviving relative,
a wealthy old uncle nSmed Perrin De-
sanity, resided. Old NJ. Desanty had
always taken the liveliest interest in
the welfare of his gifted but hayward
nephew, and he had even publicly de-
clared that he hsd made D will by which
he left his whole property to De Mile
When the latter came to Limoges
with Mile Cren1ar, old Desanty re-
monstrated, De Mile empathically
refused to dismiss the woman, and the
uncle, in a fit Of fury, tore the will in
his nepeew's presence to pieces, and
told him he would make another, and
in it leave every SO a Of his property to
the charitable institutions Of Limoges.
DeMille turned livid with rage and
drawing large pocket kn life, plunged
it four or five times into the breast Of
the old man. While the latter sank
to the ground covered with blood and
in dying condition, the nun derer ran
to the house where he and Byzante
Crenier were stopping, and il, few
breathless words acquainted her with
the dreadful deed he had comn'itte
With wonderful presence of nina she
urged him at once to cut off his VIII isk
err, to put on q pair of green spectac.' les
and cap which partly conceale d
his face, and take the first train foc
Paris, whittier she would follow him.
Scarcely forty minutes had elapsed
after old Desanty had been stabbed
when his murderer was on his way to
Paris. No one molested him at the
depot, and, finding that the alarm had
evidently not yet been given, he felt
somewhat reassured, but three hours
afterwards, when the train reached
I}uvilliers. two officers, one of whom
had q telegram in his hand, entered
the cars and began to inspect the faces
of the passengers very closely. De
Mile was unable to conceal his terro
and alarm. A tremor passed through
his whole frame when the officers ap-
preached him, with scrutinizing
glance. 'Are you NJ. Pradier de Millel"
The Disguised murderer, overcome by
his feelings, simply answered "Yes!"
Two officers were dispatched to the
house where DeMille and his mistress
had their rooms. When the woman
was told she must 20 to the prison to
be confronted with her lover, she rung
her hands in despair, ard exclaimed,
80, he has not escaped, then When
he appeared in the midst of his cap
tors at Limoges, a vast concourse of
people had assembled, and there were
the strongest manifestations of indig.
nation toward him. The prisoner
looked deadly pale as he arrived at the
warden of the Jail, and cried bitterly
dungeon.
His trial took place On the Sd of
September, and was rich in startling
episodes. When the President of the
court asked the prisoner to stand up.
his mistress, who had not seen him
since he tried to effect his escape, tried
to rush toward him, uttering piercing
shrieks. The scene appeared to have
. completely unnamed De Mile. He
F wept like child, and in answer to the
/ question of the President, repeated
, again and again, 81 wanted to marry
!. Byzante, aud had not the means TO dc
. sol" His fierce protestations of his
, love for the woman excited much svm
, pathy among the listeners; but he was
/ found guilty and sentenced to be be-
headed.
In prison he lay mostly on his low
E couch. On the morning of his execu.
ton the headsman visited him and
q made his "toilet that is to say, he
cut off his hair and put him in thu
straight-jacket. De Mile asked hin
repeatedly if the knife of the gullotin.
= was sufficiently sharp, and if the strok,
= would cause him any pain.
!, About three thousand people wit
messed the execution. Many tainted
: with horror upon seeing the sickenin.
!. episode on the scaffold, Byzante Gre
. nier was ordered to return to Paris
: and was placed under the surveillane,
of the police. She seems to have be
= come q changed woman, and espresso
> the livellest grief at the untimely end o
= her lover.
u Public improvements in New York.
The New York Tribune publishes
: detailed list of the public improve
~ ments undertaken Nv the c;tv a.