, 1888-02-09
DEATH ON THE GARROTE.
4 DREADFUL PICTURE OF CAPITAL
PUNIStiM IN SPAIN.

with which ~ Criminal Met Ills
Doom.
Suddenly the crowd halts and great
silence falls. A close carriage, with
blinds down, escorted by picket Of civil
guards, slowly passes through the press.
We can follow it without hurrying our
selves.
In little while the place Of execution
appears before me, thronged with u null
tit,itlc swoying like tide, and mp from
the sea Of heads emerges the white mast
of the scalTold.
I approach.
Lying upon n stool, covered with snow
white cloth, Is the gnrrote itsclf-shm-
merng like u crown of steel. In u little
while the cxccutioncr will attach it to u
post against which the criminal Is to be
fastened, The final preparations con-
sumcd considerable tlmc so that | was
well able to make leisurcly examination
of the sinister locality whittier curiosity
had drawn mo for the purpose Of studying
tho physoynomy of the great pushing or
squeezing crowd. AS always, and In all
places, the women were the most numcr-
ous
Nov ,hcrc is " great movement around
the scnffud Tho soldiers close their
ranks and three men approach the scaf-
fold One of them asccnds It, IL ~ tho
I cNpCullOnCE. llC ~ tulu, low SlZVN Utlti
,ooks about 40 years old While waiting
.or his victim he keeps walking ncrvously
80 and fro with his hands behind his back
s-nd his head down. From time to time
sle stops and looks Mt tho argolla tho
"gnrrote'o with u suspicious expression
of countcnapCc. Perhaps he Ia afraid OF
the power Of resistance possessed by the
cervicnl vcrtcbrp of Alvarez and is there-
fore afraid of losing his bounty.
THE DISMAL scAFFoLD.
Noisy as It was little while ago, the
crowd now Suddenly becomes silent.
Some women are turning pale; and one
can feel that nervous excitement weighs
upon the crowd. A low rumbling Is
heard. 1t Ia the black carriage that bears
| tho condemned man. 1t stops at the foot
! of the scaffold; and the criminal is soon
! painfully climbing the twelve high steps
! of the dismal scaffold, leaning on the arm
| VI priest. Another priest prccedes him,
| sitting very high an immense cruciflx,
coward which the condemned man strives
To turn his terror stricken face. Alvarez
Olivia Is not yet 25 years old; and 1t was
believed that the savage energy he had
displayed i'm committing his crime, to-
gethcr with his vigorous youth would
give him strength to face death. But
nothing of the kind is now shown by him;
and really 1t was too much to expect Of u
| man VINO knew MS Iule IOTty-cllgllU HOURS
ago, and who, while listening to the ftl-
neral chants in the prison chapel, must
have beheld oil kinds Of hidcouy visions
passing before him.
This rule Of obliging tho condemned to
! listen during the two nights preceding his
! execution to an intcrminnblc series Of
| prayers, requiems, De Profundis chants,
| altered fer the rcposc Of his soul by lis
I .tllow criminals, seems to me something
/ I I...N
! icstigc OF tho fcroclous medieval nysti-
cism Of Spain, with all its unconscious
! cruelty. As stood on an elevation over
| looking the scaffold, was able to observe
/ all the details of tho last scene of the
tragedy. The condemned man mechan-
icaty yielded himself up to the cxecut,oner.
! The latter sat down Mt the foot of the
post, with his back to it and then tied his
hands and feet hard and fast. He did ell
this without hurrying himself in tho least,
and with all the digniiied indifference
which charucterizes the Spanish function
ary in the discharge of his duty. IL the
| preparations had lasted oven n few seconds
! longer | believe l should have lost my
own self control could hear my heart
! humping in my breast, and every mo-
iucnt or two something like q veil came
osioce my eyes
TlrE IRON COLLAR.
| 1ou could not eccn hear whisper in
the crowd. While one of tho priest.
pressed cruciiiX to the Colorlcss lips O;
the sufferer, another WIS murmurins
words of consolation nnd hope into his
ear. ljut the wrctchcl man was not
iiatcnma. His cXpressiOnless face had 1t
saxcn pallor. and his cycs, as they wan
dcred over the ocean of faces bofo;c him.
already seemed dim with the dul!ncss OF
death.
=. 4 4 -
! cutioncr placed the iron collar about his
neck, and observed his mouth CONTRACT.
Then, however, n white covering thrown
over his features hid them from further
observation. The cXecutioner then gave
Two or three turns of the screws connect
ed with the instrument of death. The
bones uf the neck cracked, IL long tren-
bling ran through tho whole body, the
arms twisted outward, the legs inward
Alvarez Olivia was dead.
The priests took oil their square caps, rs
If to salute tic soul passing by, and the
eXccutioncr concealed the covering that
concealed the dead mans face. That face
| which had been SO pallid II moment before,
was now purple. The tumified tongue
protruded from the month and the bloody
eyes had spurted out Of their sockets The
| head had fallen slightly toward the right
shoulder, and the black mter, with white
! cross, that had been placed upon 1t, seemed
about to fall OIL.
The crowd ebbed away silently evil
IDENTIFY much affected, while two gen.
darmcs with rifles mounted guard at the
foot OF the scaifold, where the corpse was
to remain until evening, when the corEo-
ration of female mourners would escort IL
to the ccmctery of executed criminals,
with long piercing cries Of lamentation,
like the Yu! yu! yu! of Arab womcn.--
New York Star.
SOt tn Isc Trusted,