The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-11-16
A Dark Bit of History.


A Dark Bit of History.
When that tenp, ST Of madness | was
-peskng Of just uow fiat swept Though
the 'trtela ol Paris ('u the reign OF Louis
XVI il drove the cfhzed people in herds
10 glut their vengeance upon those who
were keeping caprlves iu chains within
the gieat piI-Un Ut the Il .s;iIlr. IL was
lid, ed grim aud di,mal locking build
my upou the borders oi Paris, with slug
gi,h water around it, and its door was
uttered by a drsw.hridge. Toward the
iro~ hing walls Of this rr'sou here is
obly tall bronzs column upon The spot
nov J The porulsce OF the city rushed
hesoloug, With whatever weapons they
could luy bahdS upon. Butchers took
their cleaver-, etable-mtn their forks.
carriers their heavy oakcu stakes, carpen
ters their axes; aud there we're thou
>audS with gus aud cutlasses. uud there
were hrawny women With heavy pistols
The soldiers hu guarded The prison were
20 frightened by the sights aud sourd- Of
this tempest ot the peoples fury, that
they could hardly make any opporing
fight at all, The governor OF the pri,uu
reeiug what mad tsge he must encounter,
would have blown up the huge building
altogether, aud had actually laid the
match to do 10, but the soluiers rebelled
aud forced MIN to surrender. Tneu the
raging mcb q wed ia. aud those who
wore the uuiiorm Of The ny we're snit
ten to death, aud dungeon gutcs were
uuu, ked. aud prisoners staggered our
who bad uoi seeu the day for d,s.us aud
scur,s ui years.
A beautiful gill was caugb. sight Of
flying down one OF the great stair ways,
aud ehe was stI aiphtwsy seiz-d upon b,
those who believed her to he d-ughtee
0i the governor, sud would have hrru
burned Ia the courtyard had not few
generous soldiers sto!,u her away aud %
crcted her until the rack was over. A.
for the governor. who was ms,oui- aud
The kings 'rieud, they cut If his head
aud bore it bleeding from the top of d
pike.sthf all down the street; and sll
down the street CURED the mat, =, inicing
rahtle, staying u.auy another az the,
went, aud carrying tue truphies wuh
tbrm- -Rory heads Oh pixies, or CORY head,
ou cha6ng dishes carried by women.
As il was that day 70 it was GU m.ny
n day thereafter and for many we, 1
aud mouth aud Tor Years whoever was d
noble, or friend of the hated uobles-or
rich, or friend Of ehe hated rich lived
it he lived at oil 10 that city Of revoIu.
tiur, in great dread aud 1anger.
There WAS not much feeling at t
first against Louis XVI. for be was far
hettor king than thu-e who had gone be
fore him. lie was kindly at heart and
what We ght call nowadays a gentle.
mauly, smiahls mau, with not much force
ot character. aud disposed 10 Yield to the
opinions OF rhosc who had been his old
advisers. These, by their ohstioacv.
nr, ught him very soun 10 grief. The
peopIe for ,ed him to trial. aud there wa.
a forced Condemnation. II ) head, tol,
el beinre the fnry OF the euraued peo
fdd aS$e I'd W: ahi ~ eSs fFrGaaSggGg fHHcr
to lock upon.
This pour king had left hehind him in
the rrisun n son. whom he had taught. a.
he hest coLl in those or,sry rri,uu hours
arithmetic aud ography Do You thirk
hs hoy ever iugut those lesrnn-. or eve:
forgot the sorroS aud the loud wailings o'
his mother, the que' u. when the king
-'en' out To his bloody death a?
A litle after this, those crazy ones,
woo we're governing Fcauce so ms1ly 10
thia time, gave over this prince hoy To-
the care Of shoemaker and his wife, to
Shom they furnished Judgment in the
,'ri,on FIR This rurIo'e; aud they did
his 10 oIdrr, a. they >ald, tina, the bring.
ing up OF The hoy might he as low as III,
lowest of the peol le. Poor boy 4! pOO
prince
A little later, Marie Antoiuette. the
queen. was taken out Of her dungeon 10
~ 10 trial. They called il nil, for the
lake OF deceucy hut | think they knew
now il would end heiure they called Oh
her to appear, { the judges hefor
whom Sne stood said rho was innocent aud
must 20 fr' c, | an sure that the wives oi
rhe wine sellers. and the f-h wom' n. aud
The hsgs Of Paris would have tnarched
her away and carried her off 10 ex, culior,
if they hsd not slain her with their owl
bread knives 10 the street.
These mad people had such Thirst foI
blood
Il was hetter, perhaps, that the Judges
should -sy the queen must he hrtcaded
t's they did), than that these wild Womeu
should cut her in pieces.
She certainly died 40 easier death By
the Ruillutine.
You don't know what the euilloiine is
IL is simply a great kniie sliding /,
grooves hctween two upright posis. which
hy its fall sewers the head iiom the Rod,
ia an instant shi il il the mo-
hunl way Of execuiiug capital Tuni,h
men'---if there be any humanity about u
The machine was called GRniotine
after DR.. Gnillnrin. win. in the French
, Assembly in 1901. proposed better wa'
? OF cutting q p"ople'i heads than the ol'
T way OF doing il by sn axe; which he saic
was clumsy way, and clumsy hsudsmer
-ometimes made had work Of it. Bu
, Dr.. Gullotin was not The inventor. q
= some hooks will tell you; nor did he lost
! his own head by it, as other books vii
: tell ,ou.
} Iu 1902. the question of fodins son'
0 new way Of execution was referred TO DR.
D Antoine Louis, the s. cretary Of the Col