Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-15
THE TWO HEADSNIEN.
Sketches of MarwOOd, the English, and
DefbIer. the French Executioner.

DGlDlEEs lne A2AStuNlonGE-
Boston Courier.
Marwood. the English hangman. who
has lust died, had held his Office for some
thing like twelve years, his first ''engage-
/ ment" being at Lincoln in 1871. His spare
time was occupied as a cObbler i'm a little
/ shop close TO the parish church He took
/ much pride IN the manner in which he
/ performed his executions. and was never
/ weary of speaking of the great improve
mcnt of the long drop over all other svs-
/ TENS previously adopted in this country
] or elsewhere. He had amassed a fair
| amount Of property, having several cot
1 tages Of his own. besides other invest
/ ments. Prior to his appointment as exc
/ cutioner, II is said, he was i'm poor
I circumstances. He leaves a widow. but
/ no son. In his passage across II.
I Georges channel Marwood was al
ways accompanied By two detectives.
J He was Of a very chatty dispC-
/ sitiOn. and frequently entered into con
/ versatiOn with his fellow passengers, who
! were generally unaware Of his identity.
/ man of middle height. with broad COM
/ pactly set shoulders, dressed i'm such "A
/ coat as Lincolnshire farmer would wear.
| with high black stock and low felt hat.
/ he looked the very persOniticatiOn of a
/ good humOred old cOuntryman. His place
/ Of business was a little One-stOricd build
! ing, close TO Horncastle churchyard, with
/ the words 'MarwOOd, Crown Office" in
4 large letters over the door. very short
/ conversation with him was sufficient to
| show that he looked upon himself as a
/ heneiactor of the human race. In his shop
/ were several ropes, including one with
which he had hanged Charles Peace. Le-
/ IrOy, DIR. LamsOn and Kate Webster Until
I he was eNecutiOner he had never seen an
/ execution, but for many years he had
! thought over the subject, and he objected
/ TO the way in which Calcraft. as he called
/ II, ''choked his prisoner to DEATH" BY
\ carefully ascertaining the weight of the
I criminal he thought he produced by his
I long drop Just the necessary force to dis
I locate the VertebrT and cause instant
| death. 1t is said that at an important in
/ ternatiOnal conference one OF his cards
was quietly slipped among the list of
/ speakers, TO the utter discontinue of the
gentleman who received it. 1t was not
\ an unusual thing for MarwOOd to receive
/ an nUimatiOn that prisoners who were
/ committed 10 his hands had declared that
! they would be dragged from the cells to
/ the scaii0ld, and he was often advised
] To have an assistant. But" said he,
when | tap them on the shoulder they
{ always come with me. | give many
/ prisoners confidence by whispering that !
/ viii not hurt them. that it VIII soon be
I over. He never referred 10 the cXecu-
I ton Of DR.. LamsOn without making the
remark that the culprit died ''like gen
/ tlemau.' Before every execution he had
supplied to HIM very exact information
/ as 10 the age, size, weight and occupation
/ OF the prisoner with whom he had to deal,
| and probably he has taken to his grave
/ the principle upon which ne calculated
4, the length OF the drop, for this he would
never tell anybody. On one occasion at
/ Glasgow, while he was preparing the
| prisoners on the scattOld, the governor of
| the jail received a letter, which might
1 have been a respite. The governor sig
/ nailed TO MarWOOd to stop, and it was
/ characteristic of the eXecutiOner that he
was careful not 10 allow the prisoners by
/ any cessation of his grim labOrs to feel
/ that any delay was taking place The
/ letter proved to be on other business, and
the execution proceeded.
VI. DEGBLEE, TIE FRENCH ENECUTIONER.
is a man of Is years, with an en-
/ ergetic face. a moustachc and thick
I beard. lie looks like peasant i'm a great
{ coat. VI. Deibler succeeded his father-in-
/ law. the celebrated ROch, who died a few
/ years ago. He began his work i'm Alge-
/ ria. when he married; then he was exc
cutOner in Brittany, but now, since he
succeeded VI. ROch, he attends To all the
/ work i'm France. Fortunately for HIM
and for the criminals, he has very little
+ 10 40. for President CREW is opposed to
/ capital punishment, and during the past
+ five years he has signed only eight death
/ warrants. In lSIl-'12 and - his prede-
I cessor operated" l3 times. Formerly the
/ French eNecutlOner was paid 81 800 a
+ year, but the pay has now been reduced to
I $1,000. When, by chance. NJ. Deibler Ope-
rates he Is allowed 50 much mile for tray.
f. eiinS expenses, and a perQusite of $40
( lie has two aids and a third laborer.
I who Is specially charged To see that the
gulllotne Is kept clean. He is called
THE washer Another perquisite for the
! headsman Is that his eldest son is exempt
from military duty. NJ. Deibler lives in
/ one Of the populOus quarters of Paris.
near the Saint Louis Hospital. This house.
| IN the Rue Nlcq-d Air. adiOins the police
headquarters of the Tenth ArrOndisse-
ment. Monsieur de Paris" as he is
called, lives on the second floor in Il small
and modestly furnished apartment. The
! servant, Who opens the door with timid
air, is the sister of one of the headsman's
aids. At the corner of the chimney place
f sits the mOther-in-laW. Il small and shriV-
. eled old lady of 81 years. Then comes
Nine Delbler, buXOm woman Of 80. with
an open and attractive cOuntenance, and
/ VINO must nave been very pretty in her
younger days. We have said that she
was NJ. Roch's daughter, all the
headsmen belonging to the same
/ family by succession or alliance fathers
/ and sons always marrying inside the
family so as not to allow the family in
herltance to escape from their hands. If
I we are to believe the facetiOus reporter
! who called upon NJ. Deibler we should
say that he was Il melancholy man and a
+ discouraged one, owing to NJ. Crews
( clemencY; but the fact is the reporter
/ found him a difficult man to interview.
NJ. Roch once had the misfortune to have
/ a biography written by some enterprising
I journalist, and as his superiurs suspected
/ the eNecutiOner of having furnished some
. Of the details he came near losing his
I place by this publicity. NJ. Deibler evil
IDENTIFY does not intend to give himself
away and for this reason he appeared
melancholy and silent to the reporter.
The real truth is that ~Monseur de
I Paris is a quiet, Unassuming man who
attends to his private affairs-and to his
I public duties when the occasion presents
/ itself-like any other mortal. on his fete
I day his aids call upon him to wish HIM
long life and prosperity-and perhaps
] more activity.