Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1878-04-12

i7es, Charles Henrl Sans0n ssnt tive
carts with the scaAold and Instruments
q torture to Versailles. following later
a the day. To l1is suFprlses TIE eU1s
deHined msa being Of hsmble rank, be
found The town in y ieveFs the Place
~. Louis was 50 thronged that The cat~
pcnters could hardly proceed with their
wprk: the mob fredueutly ieered thems
and rwhen one al them struck Dor who
had pelted hiEn The crowd attacked the
vFurkmeu and was only driven hack ag
. hodf Cf staleaxt men easily feci,gnlxed
as sfnllhss uho acted in uRlscn and ap-
parenslY under epmmand. 80 -
Trouble was clearly hFewing and
those were trpnblous aimes. The pro-
vinees, Normandy, Bearns Bretagne.
had risen, demanding the f'all pFiyilegea
el sfr Rarlislmnnae n namnhinas Ner
serious riots, the sseFs ekals h4d ae<laE-
ed their, provincial independence. but
the King and court did not fear any OUT
break in their Immediate presence ard
only = small guard was stationed at Yer
saiIIes. Samson returned to Paris to re-
count his apprehensions, which were
Fidiculed. "A Fumor spread through the
town that Helen verdier had forced
her way TO the Queen's presence, and
throwing herself at Marie AntOinette's
feet obtained . promise Of the sover-
eign's iniercession, which was sure TO
be successful. The crowd melted away
after dark. and only few young men
were left in the Place st. Louis. TAX
ing advantage Of this circumstance, San
son had stout Paling erected round the
scaGold, and the magistrates took upon
themselves to advance the time OF exc
cution by two hours, that all might be
over ere the townSmen were awake.
At2 A. NJ. Samson went 10 the pris-
on. He saw the same men in the place,
evidently keeping sentry. Louschart,
rising in bis cell, calm, though pale, lis
tened to the reading Of his sentence
without fear, and mUrmured at its close:
"Poor fatherl In two hours | will ex-
plain il all to him ~ "ItIs time 10 90, !"
presently, said the execuiioner. "You
can be in no greater hurry than ] avn,
sir" the condemned man replied. cour-
teously. At $50. in the early dawn OF
the day, the death-cart moved out from
the prison gate.
One glance showed that the pTecsu-
tons against excessive publicity were
IN vain. The streets were crowded and
deafening clamoTs arose the instant the
cart was seen. With difficulty could
the cortege press its way onwards. The
prisoner, who had at his arrest felt the
full weight of popular detestation, ,fancied
that the boots and curses were launched
at him ..
All the coFfssssa- Ffssssa--Ias Ia yc-2ue ~ Satory Q
piercing cry vas heard, and girl vas
seen waving her handkerchief. Jean
Louschart recognized his mistress, and
struggling, 10 his feet in the cart, tried
to smile and cried, "Adieu, Helen ]
Adieu %
''Say GS retoir, Jean-not good by, )"
thundered a gigantic smith who was
walking by the wheel, and he added,
"ShaIl good fellows like this be broken
on the wheel" M --- al
Spurrinx towards the sturdy smith, Q
horse soldier drove him back; but roar
Of applause and the clappIng of hands
followed the appeal to the thrung. and
the pale faces Of the clerk. executiOners
and guards showed that they recognized
their peril and their helpIesshess. Al
the foot Of the scsfOld Jean spoke TO
the priest, in answer evidently TO q
question, and the priest replied, To
save YOU" "No, Eather," said the
doomed man, with some impalience; I'll
l am innocent Of the inteRtion Of com
mitting the crime. my hands are never
theless stained with blood. must die
~ wish 10 die. Be quick. there"
"Sir, " SAID Samson, pointing 10 the in
furiated crowd straining agsinst the
palings, f'if there Is man here likely
TO die IL is not you. Hardly bad be
spoken when q tempest Of grOsns and
yeIls broke forth; the palings were torn
up or trodden down like straws and the
mob sWarmed upon the seafold. beaded
by the brawny smith, who seized the
prisoner and IN an instant cut his bonds
and prepared TO carry him away in tTI-
umpus nm iatAIaotulHdty oOGnS 0O"
took place, the prisoner refusing to es-
cape and pleading with the guards. 10
rescue him and carry out his sentence
But his friends oveFcame bis scrupieu
and at last bore him away.
Samson thought thst his last hour had
arrived, but the tall smith said to him
"Fear nothing, Chariot (the familiar
name for the headsman); We shall only
do mischieftoyourinslruments. Hence
forth you must kill your customers with.
out making them sn8er. Let him pass,
he added 10 the crowd-''let him pass
and do him no HARM" As the baffied
executioner took his way through the
throug be saw the seafOId and the cross
broken mp and cast upon the pile al'
ready prepared for burning the parri'
cide,sl body; the heap was crowned b!
the wheel. FIRE was set 70 II, and men
and women. joining hands. danced
round the aufO-da-fs 0f Versailles.
-zI-t Ieasnu4sE I+ q tf.