The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-12-05
THE FRENCH EXECUTIONER
AN INTERESTING CHAT WITH THE
HEADSMAN OF FRANCE.
Living in Strict Retirement-Tbe
CHASTITY Implements of His Pro
fession-How He Does His Work.

Living in Strict 1Retirement-Tbo
Ghastly Implements of His Pro
fession-How He Does His Work.
Few people have ever seen the public
executioner 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 d 0ry.
The dreaded "Monsicur de Pari he
is called by the lower classes, w.
ever NJ Diebler, and he rents at
No 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 ghastly Office.
After some difficulty the World cor.
respondent secured the address of M.
Deibler and found that the headsman
was not indsposed to tell the details of
his unenviable profession. He could
not, however, lie induced to exhibit even
privately the gullotine, which he re-
ferred to as "the machine He said:
"The machine is ready mounted for
use, and may be summoned of at any
moment. l usually get twenty-four
hours notice in Paris aud more than
double that time for the departments,
but hold myself constantly in readiness
to start off at moments notice. As a
rule | have to spend at La Roquette the
whole night preceding the execution. A
great deal has to be done in a very short
time. Soon as the two black vans arrive
-one containing the woods of justice
and the other destined 10 convey the
body of the culprit to Ivry Cemetery
have to superintend, the installation of
the machine, which takes upward of an
hour The fixingof the knife and of
the apparatus itself is an intricate job.
I There must be no hitch at the last. The
instrument is invariably placed on five
stones Just outside the central door of
the Roquettc Prison.
"While / am fixing the machine"
continued the headsman, "The Able
| Faure arrives. The Abbe Faure enters
J Ia Roquette and gives spiritual comfort
! 20 the doomed man. After being left
/ alone with the chaplain for 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 a 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
| pling over, brings his neck into the half
circular portion of ring that secure be-
fore springing the knife. Soon as touch
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 severcd"
''No, think not" the execution re-
| piled, rehectively. "The great loss of
blood produces syncope. Besides"
Here Nj. Deibler went out of the room
1 dul Drought III u ldlSC DldIA lSdbuOl
box, which he paced 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 AI. Deibler
carefully watches over ard cleans at
home. He took it out q its soft red
lining the other afternoon, stroked it
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 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 blow is, in
my opinion, sufficient to drive out any
ray of memory reflection or real sensi-
bility that may linger, after the decapi-
tatlon, in the brain of the most obdurate,
| ull-headed criminal -