Huntsville gazette., 1886-07-24
A LITTLE PROGRAMME.
Equanimity and Goodness Of Car0tlnan
Sentenced to BE Hanged.

bH0 uLLie OOuGl CaIOlluA IOWu We W0us
over to the Jail to see murderer who
was to be hanged one week from that
day. He was white man about forty
years of age, and he had killed his
wife with an ak because they differed
in opinion. If wife will insist upon
differing with her husband she must b
prepared for the worst. Husbands
will suffer long and give no sign. but
there is such thing as driving them
to desperation.
When we entered the corridor the
sheriff was engaged in soaping the
hangman's rope. 1t was a new one,
and he was in hurry to render it
smooth and pliable and have the job
off his hands. He took the rope along
in his hand as we entered the cell of
the condemned, and after a formal in
PRODUCTION the gentleman who was SO
soon to 60 on an excursion reached for
the rope, carefully inspected it, and
observed: ''Bill, you are doing slick
job ON that
swell, I'm trying hard"
eff | can help you in any way just
call out. l might as well be soaping
the rope as sitting here doing nothing"
We sat down for smoke and talk.
Some chaps in his situation would have
been so stuck up that you would have
felt your littleness in their presence,
but this one made an earnest effort to
put us at our ease. He exhibited con-
siderable interest in the project to get
him out of the way, and his converse
ton proved that he had given the mat
ter considerable thought.
ever see a man hangedf" he in
quired of me, in kindly voice.
"Yes."
"How did he take itp''
"He seemed discouraged from the
very start"
Eyes, some go that way. / have
mapped out a little programme to be
followed, and I'd like to ask your
opinion of it. Here it is:
"Rise at 6 o'clock m. on the event
full morning.
"Put on clean shirt and my Sunday
suit, so as to appear respectable.
breakfast at o'clock.
Receive friends from 7:30 to $3.50.
''From $50 to 10 indulge in final
preparations and take leave of Bill and
the boys.
''At 10 o'clock proceed to the gal
lows, giving Bill as little trouble as
possible.
''Make speech about half an hour
in length, warning all young men to
abstain from marriage and all wives to
obey their husbands.
Probably some singing.
'Take my place on the trap and Bill
swings me Off
Curtain"
l told him that I had seldom seen a
more carefully prepared programme,
and that if he stuck to it he could not
fail to come out with flying colors.
His photography was defective in GER
tain instances. He realized this and
asked me to amend it, and when we
had gone over the programme with a
pencil he returned his heartfelt thanks.
There were one or two little things
that annoyed him. For instance, he
had never made study of oratory, and
there was danger of him breaking
down in the middle of his speech.
Then, too, his voice was not in good
trim, and the spectators on the back
seats might feel put out because they
could not catch his words. He would
be thankful for suggestions from
newspaper man.
l told him not to try to make hit
on oratory, but to tell plain story and
prop in the gestures where he thought
they would count. The crowd would
excuse his voice, knowing that he had
been shut up for the last six months.
His countenance cleared up at once,
and he insisted that he was my debtor.
There was another thing. He had two
brothers and one sister. They had
thrown out hints that they would be on
hand to see him swung off. Within a
day or two he had began to doubt the
propriety of such action. He didn't
want to disappoint them, but would 1t
be just the proper caper for them TO
show up on such an occasionP L re-
plied that he had better leave the mat
ter for them to decide. Some people
enjoy seeing brother hanged; others
wouldn't 90 a rod to witness such
spectacle. 1t really made no difference
to the condemned, anyhow, as he would
be hanged all the same.
''lnaJ 8 SO, LDat SOf muSCu oiio
prisoner. II guess I'll leave 'em to
follow their own bent Say, how soon
do you leavep"
Tomorrow.
.No! And then you won't be here at
the hanging?"
II can't be, though I regret it."
"Now, that's too bad! Can't you
stop over to oblige me? I'd like to
have YOU see the affair come off,
excused myself on various grounds,
and as we rose to 60 he held out his
hand and said:
swell, if you can't you can't, OF
course, though L m real sorry. I'm glad
YOU called, and if you should con-
clude to change your mind and take
in the hanging just telegraph me. =
NJ. Quad, in Detroit Free Press.