The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-10-23
A Dark BIT of History.

Dark BIT OF History.
When that tempest Of madness | was
speaking Of just now first swept through
the streets Of Paris in the reign OF Louis
XVII. it drove the crazed people III
herds to glut their vengeance upon those
who were keeping captiye' IN chains
within the great prison Of the bast'.Ie'
I, was indeed a grim and d!smal-looklng
building upon the borders OF faEis, WIN
sT,,g,,6 water around it, and its door
MAS entered BY draw-bridge. Toward
,bo frowrinr walls Of this prison there
j only tai! bronze column upon the
spot now the populace Of the city rushed
head,oug, with whatever weapons they
could lay hands upon. Butchers took
/ their cleavers, stable men their forks,
carriers their heavy oaken stakes, carpen-
tiers their axes; and there were thousand:
with guns and cutlasses, and there were
brawLv women with heavy pistols. The
soldiers who guarded the prison were so
frightened by the sights and sounds OF
this tempest Of the peoples fury, that
they could hardly make any opposing
fight at all. The governor Of the prison.
seeing what mad rage he must encounter,
would have blown up the huge building
altogether. and had actually laid the
match TO do so, but the soldiers rebel!cd
snd forced him TO surrender. Then the
raging mob flowed in, and those who
( wore the uniform OF the king were smlt-
ten TO death, and dungeon. gates were IN
/ locked. and prisoners staggered out VINO
had lot seen the day Tor dozens and
scores Of years.
A beautiful girl was caught sight Of
living down one Of the great stalr-ways,
and she was straightway seized upon by
/ those who believed her 10 be q daughter
/ of the governor. and would have been
burned in the courtyard had not a few
generous soldiers stole her away and So
cre.ed her until the sack was over. As
for the governor, who was q marquis and
the k,ngs friend, they cut of his head
and bore it bleeding from the top Of u
pl ke-,,a.l all down the street; and al
down the street poured the mad. rejoicing
rsun.e. s.aying many others a. they went,
and carrying the trophies with them
gery heads on pixies, or CORY heads on
chatting dishes carried 10y women.
A. il was tina: day SO it was on many a
dav thereafter and for many a week and
month: and Tor wears whoever was no.
be or friend ofthe hat.d rich,-hved, Il
he lived at all in that lily OF revolution,
in great dread and danger
There was not much feeling At III" first
srain., Louis NNl, for he WAS far bet
,,r king than those who had gone before
him. lie Was kindly at heart, and VIVA!
We might call NOWADAYS GeEtiewaniy
smiab.e man, with not much force Of char
ac.c, and disposed tc yield 10 the opini
,rs o.. those who had been his old acTls-
ers. These by their obstinacr, brough;
him very soon to grief. The people
! forced him TO trial, and there was Tor
red condemnation. His head, too fell
sc:ore the fury ofthe enraged people, and
Was held up by the execuitioner upon the
,caffold for the thronging mob 10 look
upon. ,,,,,.: :.
the prison q son, whom he had taught, Al
bc be., could in those dreary prison
hours. arithmetic and geography. DO
YOU think the boy ever forgot those les
sons or ever forgot the sorrow and the
loud wailings of his mother, the queen,
when the king went out 10 his bloody
death?
\ little after this those crazy ones,
who were governing France SO matly in
this time, gave over this prince boy 10
the care Of u shoemaker and his vile, 10
whom they furrisheda a. lodgment III
the prison for this purpose; and they
did this in order, as they said, that the
bringing up Of the boy might be as 10"
~ thai of the lowest OF the people
Poor boy poor prince! -
4 little later. Marie Anton cite, the
queen. was taken out of her dungeon 70
90 to trial They called 1t trial, for the
sake of accency; but | think they Rne"
how II would end before they called on
her to appear. If the judges before
whom lie stood had said she was inn"'
cent ana must 90 tree, | Am sure thai
the wives %. the winesellers, and the
l.hwym,n ana the hays OF Paris Wou.o
r4y- anstchcd her away and carried heF
OF 70 execution. II they had not slam
her with their own tread knives IN the
street 49,.
These mad people had such a thirst
for blood.
!. W.. better. perhaps, that the judges
should say the q Ircn must be beheadrd
fas they did,. than that these Wild women
should cut her in pieces. -.
She certainly died an easier death by
the gui.lotine. .,..:.o
Won don't know what the guilIotine Is :
l. : simply great knife sliding IN
,-''v.. tctween two upright posts,
which hy t.. fall sewers the mead from
The budv in All instant; and 1t IS the most
humane way Of executing capita PUNISH
r.,r,-.f.lo-e be any humanity about IT,
The machine WAS called G"tyotIHe,
ats-a Dr. GliIlatln, who IN the french
y, cmt,y 80 l7@l, proposed ort'e'
WAY Il cutting 1T peoples headS Ln"H
ne old way Of doing il by an axe; "niIA
he SAID was clumsy way, and clumsy
hesG,men sometimes made Dad work ~
l.. Bl: D.. Gl.i'otjn WAS not the ~
ye..,.r. 81, some books vii. tell you; nor
aid b, la-. BIZ own head by il, as other
books wi. tell YOU.
In l7g.. the question Of fading some
now way OF execution was referred to
Dr. Antoine l. us, the secretary Of the
C,,'cre ~ Surgeons and h advised such
-,..bo5 a. had been limited At by DR..
Ggil'o,in the wear before. So. then
thew had q machine made for trial by
ne schmidt. who was knife maker.
Anl they tri,d il on 4 body or two and
found il worked SO well that they adopt
ed it; and the people called it at first
"Louise;,e. But Or. Louis SAID he
didn't invent it or make It, Webster
UnaJri gei Dictionary, which is SO rarely
wrong, makes a mistake in saying lie
did invent It.