, 1876-06-18

her servant, were OF the number. Tho latte
was only IS years old, and she was so thin AMI
delicate that she did not appear to b
out her hands to Larivierc, be turned to Des
morets, my head assistant, and said Surely
this is q joke!' Desmorets shrugged his shoul
ders, and it WIS the little one, who, smiling
through her tears, answered, No, Sit, it Is Sc
rions;' whercupon Laririere threw down BIZ
cords and said, Let some one else bind her. i
It is not my profession to execute children!
There was some delay In starting, and little
Nicole Bouchard sat down by her mistress feet
and tried to console her. She asked leave to bt
With her In the same cart. really beltcVe that
II she had begged for life, more than one would
What ne felt the people felt also. The CROWD
was very large, owing to the proportions OF the
execution. Five or sir young and pretty women
were In the first cart, and their fate excited pity;
but when poor little Nicole Bouchard IVES seen
there was an explosion OF indignation. Cries Of
mo CH1LDRES!'
rose numerous and loud In the Faubourg St.
Antoine could see the women weeping. 7 was
at Nicole Bouchard in the Conciergerie, and her
eyes to my thinking seemed to saY, You will
not kill meg And yet she is dead now. She
was the ninth. When she passed before me I
had to struggle with m inspiration that wh1s-
do not allow this child to die aIy assistants
pushed her on toward the knife. turned away,
my legs trcmbled, and I turned sick It was
Martin who had charge of the execution. He
trust to me for the rest' I did not answer, and
left the scaffold. Twas in fever, and SO scared
| that at the corner OF the Rue Santonge1 when
woman stopped me- and begged, thought the
little girl was before me. This evening thought
was sitting down to dinner" Sanson's consti-
tuition was giving way, and his spirits also.
Martin, his brother, who usually took bis place
whenever there was occasion for doing SO, per-
ceived that the old cKccutioner
WAS BREAKING DOWN.
The slightest noise made him shudder, and he
avoided his relatives His usual state Of mind
was that Of the darkest moodiness, which be IT,
tanned to his last day. In 1906 the aged heads
man died. Calling bis son to Ills bedside half an
eHenri, believe me, let US abide by the station
which fate awarded to US. It IS OF no use to
hope that the world will ever receive you your
origin can neither be forgotten nor forgiven.
for your son. 1t would be desertion from
your duty. There has not been single instance
in your family of such desertion. Our family is
certainly the most ancient and important In the
profession but others have done as We have
done. For o long time sincerely believed We
were useful to society, and that in no profession
were se1fdenial and devotion shown more !
than in ours, but I have seen such sin |
CFeuL5 kiI4L OpslllOIl6 are El1EQLlE
altered now. Some day ne may be suppressed,
Just as many other things have been suppressed. |
Until then be certain that no one has q right to
blame you or insult you. You are not respon-
sble for the blood you she'd Do not forget that
the Judge who passes sentence Is more respo1-
sible than you are-"
The fortune that descended to Henri Samson
amounted to Loo liTres- In his youth he joined
The artillery. This occurred in 1888, when the |
social laws of France had been SO overturned BY
The Revolution that e1ecutioners were no longer |
outcasts. He was elected Captain BY a unani- I
nous vote. Like others Of the family Henri ac~
,epted his fate, and upon the death Of his faith
II, whom he had long assisted, succeeded to the
>ttice Of eIecutioner and the title Of
MONSIEUR DE PARIS,
soubr1quet that had attached itself to each Of
be Sansons Of the capital to distinguish them
rom other members OF the family who exercised
heir functions in the provinces.
A son was born to Henri Samson in 1899. It (
cas not his intention that the boy should follow I
be profession OF his ancestors, and the ample /
ortune he must in time inherit, being an only ,
'ut the dying words Of the grandfather were :
My too true; the stigma attached to the race
'as ine1faceable. Young Henri was sent to !.
chool and would have remained ignorant of his
ither's ;t1 % Calling had not PLAYMATE written to
gui11ottne- ~ had never, writes Henri Samson,
seen the instrument Of death, but the words | {
kplained the whole thing to me. I knew what ]
zr7ateE meant. I ran out Of school, and did T
OF stop until was before our door. I rang I
olentlY, rushed toward my mother, who had | I
itnessed my entrance, and fell fainting at her
et- The whole house was in an uproar. My
ther was out, and when be returned he asked ! h
e the cause OF my agitation told him OF !.
hat had occurred, and produced T.'s drawing.
C doubtless thought that the time had come q
r an explanation, for be asked my mother and y
:andmother to leave us alone He then told n
Tne q. sofy o am tR 9hs fss5ns
at had induced fathers and sons to follow the
me repulsire profession. He also told me Of | Il
&c Of what had occurred at school to show =,
ut WAS bound to follow in his steps and those =,
my ancestors. Ipasscd with him one Of the -
ost painful hours OF my life But was
t and forcible; had no alternative but to ~
bmit, and "
Yet it appears that the elder Samson had no tn
sh to constrain his sons inclination, for he III Ok
sed him perfect liberty during his youth, even
using to appear with him in public, SO that
y should not be associated in the minds OF |
1se who were yet ignorant of the young mans | ST
ationship to the abhorred e1ecutioner. Henri it
Teled some time, visiting all parts Of Europe St
formed an attachment to young lady whom
met at Paris after his return, and on solicit /
his fathers appreciation Of his choice, an T.
1nced at the same time that he he had de- -,
ed to remain true to the traditions Of his an e u,
ID he was his fathers assistant Upon the ST.
aston Of his first execution he describes his
sation thus: ~ looked stupidity at the
ody scene. I saw the assistants pushing the | mu
dless trunk into basket, while another was | the
Dging the blood that had spurted upon the | Of
fold. was seized with Irresistible terror "a,
ran away IS fast as my legs would carry ''
I wandered through the town, hardly
wing what was about. thought people
C following and hooting me. It was only ma
n found myself at Neully that recov- vii
!, and even then my conscience smote me pas
erIy."
ut the thirst for blood WIS to great extent
d in France: In the year 1881 no executions ia d
( place in Paris Between that date and =
the sword OF the Law, with few exceptions,
It only with commonplace criminals On the ~
Of July, in the latter year, occurred the in Il
Gus attempt Of Fieschi to | ton
MURDER THE CITIZEN KING, -
9 invented m Internal machine, which he
harged as Louis Philippe and his family were ~
Ing. None Of the Royal personages were 7as
nded, but forty persons fell under Fieschi's a.
cts. Here WIS work for the guillotine. In car
same year another regicide was executed, r
aud. He was Is years OF age, had been IN Rev
army, and was known as an honorable man. and
stationed himself at the corner Of the Car Il
forf