Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-04-06

Lack of EecIks 10 Sever sends
Prushfa's Headsman 20 This COun-
try.
Among the passengers recently ar
rived from Germany was Mr.. William
Francis Charles Sharfenberg, formerly
headsman of His Majesty the King of
Prussia This renowned eX-oiiicial is
now fifty.fve years of age, and during
his career as an executioner in Prussia
he cut off forty-six heads.
To a reporter of The New York Sun
day Mercury, who called upon him the
other day, he said: "Hard times and
ridiculous obloquy, caused me and my
three daughters to leave the old country.
By hard times I.mean the new criminal
code Of Germany. Nothing could be
more i'll advised than that. / aud my
tour colleagues of the head. cutting-o off
fraternity REP thought so as soon as
the German Parliament was foolish
enough to pass it. What have been the
consequences? Why, sir, in the past
twelve months there have been more
murders committed in Berlin alone than
formerly were perpetrated in the whole
monarchy. But, sill" he added sorrow.
fully, "all this is principally the fault Of
his Majesty the Emperor Old William
dslikes to sign death-warrants. He
studies over them long, and worst of all,
be never wants a woman to be beheaded
Two years ago had an old girl, who had
poisoned her husband, just where l
wanted her. / went with my imple-
ments' to Cullen to dispatch her, and
just when / arrived there telegram
arrived from Berlin committing her
sentence to penal servitude for life, and
| had already cut off her hair"
The reporter ventured to question how
many heads Mr.. Scharffenberg had cut
off altogether.
Let me see," said the ex headsman,
counting his victims off on his fingers;
forty-fve-no, fortysix."
How many of them were womenY
asked the reporter.
About dozen, and wish there had
been less of them. They gave me more
trouble than all the men. The first per-
son of that kind | had was an old lady
with her son. They had poisoned the
father. thought the mother ought to
have her head cut off first; but the clerk
of the. court directed me otherwise, and
so l had to cut (schneiden) the young
man first, His mother took it very badly.
| could hardly get her in good shape on
the block"
"What we're your emoluments in
Prussia"
"Three hundred thalers for every
head, and besides, had in my district
all the skinning of fallen cattle. l had,
however money of my own, both my
grandfather and father having been in
the business. Oh, they had a good time
of it; my grandfather alone had two
hundred executions.
1.-TWO hundred execuhOnsl
eyes, and half of them he broke on
the wheel.
Did you ever break anybody on the
wheel?'
mo; the worst | did was cutting with
the sword, and little did l like it, for it is
an uncertain way Of doing it. .Give me
the ak, and the head flies off like moth
ing"
The reporter asked him If his VIC
Tins" were generally afraid of him2
II had but two that died game, and
they were old soldiers. In ls47 cut
nine fellows in the Mafien Werder dis
trict, and we never had a murder since.
They do better in Poland. They whip
fellows there so bad that they do not
know where they are"
But they do not kill them2"
do not kill theml" exclaimed the
old headsman, scornfully; few of them
do survive, indeed The Russian lash
is as good as an ak. But hardly any
body hears of the culprit's death.