Huntsville gazette., 1886-05-08

upon MIN. be was a cODDIer In a
small street off the New North
road. He was very fond Of fish
ing on the river Lea in its higher
reaches, about the New Forest, and
the old fellows chief anxiety seemed
to be ever to shun recognition. It is
told of him, whether truly or not, that
the infamous Mrs. Manning was dis
tant connection of his, and that when
he was drawing the white cap down
over her face on the scaffold, she bit
him on the ball of the thumb. Of the
wretched Binns, who was Calcraft' s
temporary successor, nothing need be
said. At once clumsy and intemper-
ate, his career as hangman was short
lived
James Berry, the present execution
er, is man of quite another stamp
from either Calcraft or Binns. A
Bradford man, by trade shoemaker,
lice force, from which he was invalided
because of severe injuries he received
in the execution of his duty, having
been wounded on the forehead and
elsewhere with knife by man whom
he was engaged in apprehending. His
hurts confined him to bed for sixteen
weeks, and enforced his discharge
from the police with gratuity of
twenty-eight pounds as compensation
for his wounds. Mr.. Berry regards it
as matter for legitimate pride that
he should have been the selected can
didate out of host of two thousand
one hundred applicants for the Office.
On one occasion, while pinion-
ing the ankles of a criminal, he was
kicked by him so severely as to have
been rendered senseless for several
minutes, to the horror of the high
sheriff in attendance, who foresaw for
himself ghastly prospect, but that
the executioner ''came to- in time to
fulfil his duty. Berry is a square
shouldered, compactly-b man Of
middle height, with rather strongly
marked features, dark hair brushed
high, and fringe of dark beard round
his face. There is nothing of Calcraft' s
habits of self-effacement about him; he
seems to have genuine pride in what
he styles his profession" and has no
hesitation in avowing himself. When
he reached Carlisle for the execution of
the Netherby burglar-murderers, he
walked from the railway station to the
Jail, followed by quite a crowd. Be-
tween his arrival and the execution on
Monday morning he was freely en- eUi-
dence about the town and gave no heed
to the cautions given him to the effect
that Ridges brother was in the town
and had given hints OF ominous inten-
tions.. A person who may have the fe-
licity of an ihterview-an unofficial in
terview-with Mr. Berry may enjoy
the additional qualification of having
the honor to be presented with that
gentleman's visiting card. This
weapon is of more than ordinary di-
mensions and substantially. A deep
gilt edging surrounds considerable
expanse of highly-glazed surface,
colored delicate light
mauve. Across the face Of this trails
gracefully spray of maindenhair fern
in gold, under the foliage of which is
blazoned the legend in gold (Roman)
MR.. JAMES BERRY,
ErecutiOner,
with his Bradford address in the corner.
A somewhat curious and embarrass-
ing incident occurred during Mr..
Berry's late residence on professional
duty in Carlisle. The triple execution
occurred at eight o'clock on Monday
morning, the bodies, according to law,
hung for an hour, when it devolved on
the hangman to cut them down, and
the time arrived for him to give his at
tention to the acquisition of his CHASTITY
perquisites. At ten o clock, while ladies
and gentlemen resident in the princi-
pal hotel of the city were at breakfast,
Mr.. Berry entered the apartment and
attacked with fine appetite the meal
set before him. This world is a world
of compromises, but the lady and gen.
tleman breakfasting in the coffee-room
of the County were not endowed
with sufficient philosophy to recognize
that truth in the conditions which con-
fronted them. There is a popular, if
captious. prejudice against the hang
man at close quarters; there was now
an irrepressible revulsion against the
hangman, reeking from his ''profes-
sional functions" troubling this gen
tleman for the mustard and handing
that lady the salt-cellar. The occu-
pants of the coffee-room, rose and pre-
cipitately left it to the sole occupancy
of Jack Ketch. The hotel officials pro-
fessed their inability to interfere
towards an alteration of the situation
supineness against which some re-
monstrances were made with a certain
emphasis. Mr.. Berry leisurely finished
his meal, sauntered out into the hall,
where an old gentleman was acting as
spokesman of the exiled breakfasters,
proclaimed himself public officer of
credit and responsibility, denounced
the old gentleman violently as
''blackguard" for objecting to his So
ciety, expressed burning anxiety to
kick him out of the house, and wound
up with a fervent hope that he might
some day experience his professional
attentions. Sir Bernard Burke does
not allot the hangman place in his
table of precedence, which is an Obvi-
Gus omission. London NeaOs.
A SERIOUS TASK.