Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1888-11-23
THE FRENCH XECUTTONER
AN INTERESTING CHAT WITH THE
HEADSMAN OF FRANCE.
Living in Strict ELECTROMAGNETIC
CHASTITY Implements of His Pro
fession-How He Does His Work.

fession-How He Does His Work.
Few people have ever seen the public
eXecuIioner of France, says a Paris let
ter to the New York World. and it is no
easy matter to find him, for the police
refuse to give his address, and his name
is carefully omitted from the directory.
The dreaded Monsieur de Paris, 3" as he
is called by the lower classes, is, how
ever, N. Diebler. and he rents a fat at
No. 3 Rue Vic d'Azur, a squalid little
street half an hours walk away from
Roquette Prison This man, who con-
ducts the ceremonies in which the
gullOtine plays the most prominent part,
is a very quiet person of a retiring dis
position, who breads notoriety and avoids
contact with his neighbors as much as
possible. There is nothing in the
headsman's appearance nor in his home
to denote his CHASTITY office.
After some difficulty the World cor
respondent secured the address of NJ.
Deibler and found that the headsman
was not indisposed to tell the details of
his unenviable profession. He could
not, however, lie induced to exhibit even
privately the guillotine, which he re-
ferred to as "the machine" He said:
''The machine is ready mounted for
use, and l may be summoned off at any
moment. l usually get twentyfour
hours notice in Paris and more than
double that time for the departments,
but [ hold myself constantly in readiness
to start off at moments notice. AS
rule | have to spend at La Roquette the
whole night preceding the execution. A
great deal has to be done in very short
time. Soon as the two black vans arrive
one containing the woods of Justice
and the other destined to convey the
body of the culprit to Ivry Cemetery
l have to superintend the installation of
the machine, which takes upward Of an
hour. The fixing of the knife and of
the apparatus itself is an intricate job.
There must be no hitch at the last. The
instrument is invariably placed on five
stones just outside the central door of
the ROQuette Prison.
"While l am fixing the machine"
continued the headsman, "The Able
Faure arrives. The Able Faure enters
La Roquette and gives spiritual comfort
to the doomed man. After being left
alone with the chaplain for a short time
the culprit is handed over to my assist
ant, who brings him from his cell down
the stone stairway which leads to the
Depot-the prisoners last station on
earth before reaching the machine
where he is seated on wooden stool,
and his toilet begins. This doesn't take
much time, for his nair and beard were
clipped on entering the prison. The
man is pinioned, his SHIRT stripped of its
collar and he then goes forth to his
death by the central door, when he is
strapped to the fatal plank which, top
ping over, brings his neck into the half
circular portion of ring that secure be-
fore springing the knife. Soon as l touch
a button in one of the upright posts the
knife falls and the head is received in tin
vessel containing sawdust. The body is
unstrapped, put into a coffin, with the
culprit's head between his legs, and the
remains are then driven off to Ivry Gene
terry, where they are buried"
''DOes life endure any time after the
head is severed!"
"No, I think not" the execution re-
piled, effectively. ''The great loss of
blood produces syncope. Besides"
Here NJ. Deibler went out of the room
and brought in a large black leather
box, which he placed on the table, On
raising the lid there appeared the bright
steel knife of oblique shape which is
fixed to the cross beam of the guillotine
at each execution, and which NJ. Deibler
carefully watches over and cleans at
home. He took it out of its soft red
lining the other afternoon, stroked 1t
with his hand as if to brush the dust off
its highly-polished surface, and, turning
it over said:
There; look at the back of this
knife 1t is heavily weighted, you see,
to make it fall swiftly and with tremen-
dous force when l touch the spring.
Now, this is the reason why l think that
all consciousness departs from the brain
of man after the fall Of the head. At
the same instant that the neck is severed
by the blade, the weighty portion strikes
so fearful blow on the occiput that the
cheek is often bruised from the fall of
the head into the tin vessel containing
the sawdust. Yet the head is only
raised a few inches above the tin vessel
which receives it. Such a blow is, in
my opinion, sufficient to drive out any
ray of memory, reflection or real sensi-
bility that may lnger, after the decapi-
tat1on, in the brain of the most obdurate,
bull headed criminal"