New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-04-18

| oe!II litn not Acltt!
Is years pas by and he becomes man
| GUIDED, ii may be. By ?oai own wise plan.
! he4s words nay s'tet GU al life coinnhott 2pa
| ',lca've sa led a soul"
Emret's Execution.
The Dublin Nation ia publishing .ketche.
| Of the his'or.cai localities OF that city. ans
| from the last paper tha following is taken
| Far-al. how FAR remote from Heaven
| from grace. from mercy were the thoughts
| stirred up in our minds when, passing west
ward a quarter Of a mile along the line o.
etreet, We stand opposite the old ehurci, OF
| St. Catherine. 4 sleepy looking place. The
! stones of it are black with age.
| The square paned windows are almost
| level With the front of the wall. The rails
| before It are tail and quaint, looking, alrGost
| one might fancy. as il they had been taken
! from the earth in that condition, and needed
| DO stroke of hammer, no skill OF art to put
| them into serviceable shape. The one stone
| step is frayed with the tread of generations.
To the right grim belfry tower-only
| middle aged to all appearance in compar-
ison to the church-boasts drowsy clock
on the side exposed to view, and an old
fashioned wooden lattice on the top. inside
the fancy strikes one: there are cobwebs in
odd corners. and high, dim-lighted pews,
wherein apoplectic Christians might find
repose from the burden of a heavy sermon.
Such a place, to look at it as we are doing
now, prompts the mind to thoughts Of
nothing save good will and gentle peace:
bnt the memory it fills us with is, in truth,
of deed of blood never to be forgotten in
this land. Here in front of the church, two
and seventy years ago, in the flush of a
September day, when the Irish sky was
tender and the Irish air was soft and sweet,
the sentence of British law upon the life OF
Robert Emmett was carried into full effect.
One of his depo.s for munitions of war
the house now in possession of Hampton.
Leedom & Co. and the yard in the rear of
it-stOod opposite to this church on the
other side Of the street and hence the spot
was fixed on for sensational effect by the
instruments of power. Rude was the glb-
bet that took the life of Ireland's gallant
son. some barrels were placed together in
the middle OF the street. and on these few
pIanks laid side by side formed a platform,
lasting enough for the bloody work in hand.
From this platform rose two uprights, and
a beam from one to the other upheld the
hangman' s rope. under which single plank.
supported at the ends on lodges, supplied
the final foothold Of the victim.
When Emmett stepped out of the carriage
tina: lad brought him to Kiimainham al,
he mounted the ladder almost without assis-
lance, though his arms were tightly bound
tellGw-students not a few, who had wit
messed his brilliant triumpns as an orator in
Trinity College. were brief. and calmly
spoken. my friends" said he. Il die in
peace, and with sentiments Of universal!
lcye and kindness to all men" Then he
shook hands with some men about him.
gave his watch to the executioner, took OF
his necktie, and helped to adjust the rope
around his neck. He was placed upon the
'I,nn Il L., f,nn
a moment after be was seen to lift up his
manac!ed hands. raise the cap as far as he
could, bend down toward the executioner
and whisper. 4 thought had struck him.
S andDg erect, he held a handkerchief in
his hand He wished to dictate the instant
of his death BIZ letting the handkerchief
fall. There was pause Then the hang
man spoke to him:
care you ready, sir g
'N0t YET From under the iideCus cap |
the sound Of the WORDS came mu!!ied.
Another pause. Dead silence all around. |
No signal from the manacled hand.
Again; Are you ready, sir 2
Not yet
Alas, it was too hard to give the sign.
A third time came the terrible question: |
Are you ready, sin"
The great spirit lowered HutteringIy On |
the verge of the unknown lite.
''kot'-
Ere another word could be said. the |
plank was tilted off. and presently all was
over.
All was over with gallant Emmett but |
lot yet with his sentence. The dead body |
was taken down and beheaded; the head, |
,rasped by the hair. was carried around |
the platform by the executiOner. who
,ried out to the horrIiied people. This is
he head of RUber. Emmett q traitor Ay
fn tia ufia,, with hic Of hyibac
md torrents, but leal to the cause of
native landi Tie hero's blood. streaming
Town from his headless body, was Tapped
Up by the dogs Of the street, but men aud
women also came to the scene of that
brutal spectacle. and, coming, they
Tipped their handkerchief in that martyrs
flood for reverertial memory of his name.
lis body, taken back to kilmainbam Jail,
ay waiting tor his friends to claim it.
Friends! What friends! His father had
,eeD dead for months His mother, by the
mercy of God, passed out from life Of
REF a day or two before himself. His
rother was beyond the ocean. The brave
zen whose hearts were with bin we're safe
n British iails. and those outside who would
ave done honor to his clay were too fearful
0 speak or move, 80 fall of dismay and
error was the time He was buried in
'ulIy'e Acre, graveyard used for criminals
nd paupers.
1t is thought that his remains were in
ccTet and by night removed to st. Michan's
burchvard, and that a very large slab,
With no inscription upon il, which is laid
long a grave, about midway on the left
and eide of the walk from the church to
he wall al the extremity OF the graveyard.
marks the spot where lie the ashes of him
Wy said: Let my tomb remain unjn-
crlbed. until other times and other men
ali do Justice to my character.