Little Falls transcript., 1885-11-06
a Double Exc ocuti o. in pAris. .Ss

tNASgS3V SCA VA&S0 iG A&oSA G14g0X0&Ay5 5ts<COIMsf
Ing to his Gust on1, for the p,1rpose of
lplund Ter were gull otined shortly after
lay break this morning. It was ex-
1 pected that the wretches would be re-:
Iprieved, as Gaspard had had an ac-.
I:omplice, and Marchand on, q friends
mad made energetic efforts to save him
rom theguillo otine. Their appeals, bow
,ver, were rejected, and both the crimi-
aals were handed over this morning to
the common executi tioner, N. .Greyy hav-.
ing signed their sentences before his
departure for the country on Satur-
lay. y. .... .ss35 ..#|
At / o'clock this morning the Place
de Ia Roquette, outside the prison of
The condemned, was full Of people, who,
1s is customary on such occasions,
had remained up all night to witness
what, in the annals of recent sensation,
was an exceptional sight, namely, O
double execution. n. h. 4.. i !. y = III
/ At L o'clock a moving light was seen
app1 oaching. 1t preceded large dark
mass scarcely discernible through the
snveloping darkness. This was the
ear conveying the terrible bonis de
Justice, or guillotine, which had once
more been removed from its resting
place in the vicinity Of the prison. It.
was followed by Deibler and his assis-
tants, and was we'll guarded by police
men. Turning the corner of the Rue
Folie Regunault, the chastity caravan
numbered heavily into the Palace de
Ia, Roquette, and stopped before the
| door of the Jail.
The guillotine was promptly dis
mounted, and by 2 o'clock everything
was ready. Deibler, having superin-
tended the preparatory measures,
went into the jail with two of his men,
and there was then a long spell of
waiting and expectation, during which
the day dawned on the impatient
and chattering crowd that filled the
Place de Ia Roquette. At A o'clock
the numbers were increased by work
men and others who were obliged to
be up early, and barricades were put
up by the police to prevent the people
from filling up the approaches to the
place of execution.
A long, narrow basket was now
placed near the block of the gulllotine,
| and at ten minutes to 5 the huge,
heavy, and gloomy doors of the prison
swung open amid q deadly silence,
only broken by the sharp rattling Of
the gendarmes' swords as they were
drawn from their scabbards. Jas.
pard was the first of the felons led to
death. Tall and muscular, he walked
firmly between two priests, :. whose
ministrations he had rejected until the
approach OF his term. - .:
His face was pale and his features
contracted convulsively as he neared
the guillotine. Here he stopped to-
ward the prison chaplain, the Able
Faure, and embraced first the priest
and then g. crucifix held by the latter
| in his hand. He wasnow seized by the
executioners, his head was placed in
the lunette, and, after an awkward
pause, during which Deibler seemed to
have lost momentary control OF his
instrument, the knife descended, and
the headless trunk OF the criminal fell
away from the bascule. Thehead was
then put into the basket.
/: The guillotine was now washed, and
Everything set in order for the next
execution. After an interval of seven
teen minutes, duringwhich the clamor-
Gus crowd seemed to have lost it's
grotesque gayety, the doors OF the
prison again opened, and Marchandon,
looking like a pale boy of II, tottered
feebly out, supported by the Able
,, Faure and the other priest who had
assisted Gaspard.
The criminal was evidently more
dead than alive. He still wore the
patent leather boots with pointed toe
| caps which he had ON when arrested
in his country house at CompLegne.
After having convulsively embraced
the priests he was caught sharply by
Diehler and thrust into the lunette
The knife again refused to work, and
nearly four seconds elapsed before it
fell on the criminals neck. When it
did so q double jet of blood spurted
out for nearly two yards, and sprink-
; led the adjacent ground. The bodies
, were then taken, escorted by mounted
gendarmes. to the Ivry Cemetery for
mock burial, after which they: were
handed over to the School of Medicine
for the usual experimental purposes.