Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-11-06
THE rxRANr OF Erm1NI.

{
the I2th of May, 1901. All pedestrians
He'd as if dismayed at his approach, and
weil they might, for he was no other
ehan Pandolfo-NaIatesta, the
autoerat of Rimini, and one OF the worst
tyrants of his terrible period.
Malatesta was followed by ad escort of
archers, and as he turned around a cor
ner and directed his steps toward the
court house, an arrow, shot by an un- I
known hand, fell at his feet Aalatesta /
picked it up with scornfuI smile. A /
parchment slip was fastened to the point
Of the arrow. On this slip the following
terrible words were inscribed:
6 Accused Malatesta, thy end is draw
ing nigh. 1t will be both horrible and
ignOminious."
As Malatesta read these words he turned
slightly pale. But he quickly recovered
his equanimity. Casting a sidelong
glance at the house from which the arrow
seemed to have come, he muttered, with
terrible smile:
a." That house shall be torn down to-day,
and on its site l will construct a gallery
Of paintings and statuary. 1t shall be a
noble edifee, and it will add to my fame
as one of the best patrons of the fine arts.
As for the inmates of the house, why,
they shall be attended to this very morn
ing.''
The procession entered the court house,
where Malatesta Immediately descended
to the basement of the building. In this
basement were located the dungeons
where the prisoners of state were con-
fined; also the torture chamber with all
its dread paraphernalia
During the infamous reign Of MaIatesta
these dungeons were always filled with
the victims Of the tyrant's vindictiveness,
and the torture chamber resounded day
after day with the heart-rendiDg screams
and profound groans of the unfortunate
persons whom Malatesta's hangman aud
his assistants tormented.
On the morning of the 18th of May,
1901, the torture chamber was to be the
scene of truly revolving spectacle.
When Malatesta entered the apartment,
over which two torches cast their lurid
light, he took his seat upon n stone es-
trade. A secretary took his seat at his
feet.
Have the prisoners brought in, . or
dered MaIatesCa.
Fhe secretary rang bell. A minute
later a side door opened. The sound of
clanking chains was heard. At last
mOurnful procession, headed by the hang
man and his assistants, entered. There
were ten heavily-ironed prisoners. They
were only half clad in the coarsest
henrpen garments. They looked pale
and emaciated. Their eyes were hardly
able to bear the glare of the torchlights.
fCall their names, - said Malatesta.
The secretary read off the following
names: PalYicinO Aesiello, Enrico Aesi
clio, Michael Aesiello, Guglielmo Pal
layieini. Alfonso Stravera, Manfred;
Biffonini, Andrea Borania, Carlo Borania
Marco Tristany, Antonio Montani.
AS soon as the name of prisoner wa
read he was rudely pushed one side b,
the executioner. When the reading 0
the names had been completed the secre
tary said
5" They are all here, Principe"
Malatesta rose to his feet and said, in
terrible voice:
g You are all accused of being traitor
to the State of Rimini!'
z ulo iOJ3 ufully I6plltu LilS pii
oners. ''We have tried to save the r,
public of Rimini from your traitorot
Vaccinations, PandoIfo Malatesta.'
"Hal ha hal'' laughed the tyrant.
Who elected you Prince of Rimini :
cried the elder AesieIIo, a venerable ma
of seventy.
No one - said another prisoner. ''F
Is a usurper and a tyrantv'
Malatesta fairly foamed with rage.
"Maledetti !" he roared.
You are accused by every one in tn
city, except by your minions and henc
men,
Z" You will speedily die the death of
dog p, gravely said old Aesiello.
" But first you shall die, and the rave
and hawks shall eat your rotting carcal
while I, after my death, shall be reme1
bered as the benefactor of Rimini-as
who adorned his city with the most bea
tiful edifiees and monuments -
d" History does not lie,'' said old Ae
clio, solemnly.
A truce to all this nonsense!" shout
Malatesta. Executioner, perform yo
duty
The scene that ensued beggars desert
ton. For three solid hours the unfort
nate prisoners were tormented with
the devilish ingenuity characteristic
the cruel italian tortures of the midC
ages. The object of this tOrturing w
to wrest from the sufferers the conf,
sion that they were traitors to the Sts
of Rimini. Eight of the prisoners
mained firm. Two of them, unable
bear the dreadful agony, said all IL
Malatesta wanted. He was delighted.
"Carlo BOrania and Antonio Montani
he said, are shrewd. They will get
with simple decapitation. AS for
rest of you, this fate is in store for yo
You shall be knocked down with a stOr
hammer, and then your hearts shall
cut out by the execudoner. You sh
meet your death at noon to-day on t
market place."
He rose from his seat and hurried ba
to his pal. zee. There several dist
guished artists from Rome awaited hin
artists, painters, sculptors. The arti
OF Italy at that period, as a general thir
were wTetched, time-serving fellow
What did Ghey care whether the ha
that patronized them was stained W
blood p? Malatesta's infamies were no
rlous. Still such noble architects
Guglielmo da Visto and Andrea V
cOurted his favor. When he re-ente,
his palace he Immediately granted n
vate audiences to the artists
large concourse surrounded
wagons conveying the prisoners. Z
latter harangued the vast crowd of n
,,To 81