Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-07

HIS Personal APPEARANCE.

The Man VINE Wefks the 0uifleune - ~
Fwnch Capital -ssms Hisssrscai Esscs-
liens.
A few years ago, writes CORE
spondent Of the brooklyn Eagle, :
wealthy old bachelor in Paris invited
me to breakfast at his handsome resi-
depce near the Place de ID Concorde.
The guests whom II met 1t his table
were gentlemen Of culture and distinc-
ton, authors, artists. and lawyers;
the conversation, therefore, never Tag
ged for q moment, and the generous
wines, of which our Amphyctyon was
Justly proud. contributed not little
toward enlivcning it, and called forth
many piquant and spirited sally.
When we rose rose from the table we
repaired to the smoking-room. where
we slipped the most fragrant Mocha and
smoked the choicest Havsnas. Inc
windows of this room opened upon the
Champs Elysees, and as the sun was
shining brightly in the cloudless sky
and fresh, bracing breeze was blow
ing through the green tops Of the elms'
countless equipages rolled toward the
Bots de Bologne, and the broad
sidewalks were crowded with pc
destrians, and many celebrities Of
art and literature, of science and di-
plomacy, were elbowing their way
through the throng without being no.
ticed by anybody. We gazed, chatting
gayly, upon the motley scene before us,
when one of the guests, nj. Dufaure,
a lawyer of considerable distinction,
called our attention to very tall gen.
tleman in black, who approached with
a dignified step from the Place de 10
Concorde, and then stood still under
our window in order to allow some
young girls, who were approaching with
their parents from the opposite direc-
ton, to pass by. They bowed their
thanks to him and went on their way.
"Do yoa know this gentleman in
black, who treated those young ladies
so politely just nowa" asked M.
Dufaure. We replied in the negative.
at is NJ. de Paris" he said. 1.-THE
executioner The headsman! p" we
exclaimed, with one accord. 1.-The
executioner of Paris" replied M. Du-
faure, who, being celebrated priest
Of the goddess Themis, was well &C
quainted with the terrible ayenger
of Justice. "Doeg he not look like
. well-to-do retired merchant" he
added. Fortunately, his business
requires attention, but rarely; so that
he can live very quietly and comfort
ably on his salary, which, together
with his fees, amounts to handsome
sum. At this moment he no doubt
came from his large house on the
Boulevard du Temple, and is now
going to Courcelles, where he
owns a villa, situated in q beautiful
garden, and which many persons envy
him when they visit that beautiful su-
burb of the capital /; for, notwith-
standing the terrible character Of his
Office, upward of thirty persons sp-
piled for it when his predecessor re-
tired from business and among the
applicants were even several physi-
clans. Men are intent on earning liv-
ing, and a salary at 81, 200, with an
additional S1,200 for travelling ex-
penses and number of other fees,
always will be quite an attraction"
One of us inquired for what purpose
travelling expenses were paid to the
executioner. "There are twenty-eight
high tribunals in France replied NJ.
Dufaure. EVERY tribunal has its
guillotine and its executioner. When
an execution is to take place outside
the capital of . judicial district, the
executioner, accompanied by the terri
BILE machine, must, Of course, repair to
the place of execution. The ma
chine, which, previous to the journey,
has been taken asunder and packed
in box, is then unpacked, erected at
midnight, packed up again as soon as
the execution is over, and taken back
to the capital Of the district. The head
quarters of the guillotine at Paris are
at AZ Rue Folie- Regnault, where it pays
an actual rent Of sl20. AS for the ex-
ecutioner of Paris, he is a gentle and
quiet man. He is native OF Southern
France and is descended from Dutch
family"
There was a pause, which was finally
broken by the remark of one of the
guests that it must be horrible for any
man to kill person who never wronged
him, nay, whom he never saw before.
II am very far from gainsaying that,
said NJ. Dufaure, nevertheless, people
generally entertain entirely erroneous
ideas in regard to the functions Of the
public executioner. He sees his victim
only for a few moments and never touches
him. The execution always takes
place at break Of day. Before dawn
already the e1ecutioner repairs to the
prison and signs at the Office the certi-
ficate by which he vouches for the de-
livery Of the person whom he is
to behead. He then enters the So
called toilet-room-a narrow, dark
chamber-whither the poor sinner,
accompanied by the priest, is soon
after taken. The executioner is
dressed in black and wears black
gloves. The twenty steps separating
the prison from the scafiold, whittier
his assistant had FASTENED already, are
performed in few minutes. AS soon
as the procession arrives there the
criminal is fastened to the board, which
is then lowered, the executioner touches
knob on the side of the guillotine,
the axe descends, and the terrible drama
is over.
"You must not suppose, however, y
he continued, that the performance
of his duty makes no impression what
ever upon the mind Of the executioner
! Monsieur de Paris always is as pale as
q sheet when he is to carry death
warrant into execution, and as sooa a.
all is over he calls for a glass Of water
in order to calm his nervous agitation
This excitement may arise from thu
fact that he was once bitten in the hant
by criminal whose head had not beer
placed in the right position undel
the axe"
ats a wonder that he could eve
make up his mind to take such an oflic'
upon himself"
alt is not always an involuntary &C