The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-10-25
A WEIRD TRADE.
TUE WORK OF THE FRENCH
PUBLIC EXECCTIONEH.
NJ Djeblcr, Who Handles the Ma
tionai GuillOtine. Talks About
His CHASTITY Business.

,oon said about the public eyecutioner ot
r,,nce but still more remains to be told.
DE- was always an interesting parsonage
n the eyes OF the Pa.i,ians, and perhaps
his is why his post is 50 eagerly sought
,rer The last time i became vacant 40
iswer than 5000 aspirants applied Tor it,
md when VI. Diebler rctires from the
.rofession the number will no dOu6. be
XIII greater. That there is a weird 1t
.ract;6n.ab i is proved by the comics
Mons Of ali those who have flied it, and
no attraction is furthermore incrca ed by
.be official title Of the berth, rEXccuteur
Ios Hautcs Euyrcs. which is high-sound-
mo enough to iiatter anybody's vanity.
lei it be recorded at once. however, thai
he nrescnt holder of il bears his honorS
with commendable modeSty, and is not
,boye being interviewed like any COM
non mortal. Hence | was able TO APP
nroach him after the last execution.
Mr.. Deiblcr never courts popularity by
narading himself in public. No sooner
has he done his duty than, leaving his
assistant to take down and clean the
uillotinc. he withdraws from the prison
~ back door, and repairs, unperceiyed,
% a small wine shop In the Rue Folie
Regnault, where he takes plate OF soup
nefore going home to his family. His
two aids. having carefully packed up les
bois dc Justice and deposited them in
,hed set apart for the purpose, also repair
10 the same wine shop, and the three to-
yether compare notes as to the way IN
which the condemned prisoner underwent
his punishment and was put out of the
world. NJ. Deibler then calls for cup
If coffee and petit verre, and, rolling up
. cigarette, proceeds to chat with the
customers, who are anxious to learn ali
about the last moments of the departed
criminal.
This is the moment to observe him.
He is a man who looks much younger
han he is-a fact which shows that his
moubrious calling does not weigh heavi-
~ on his mind. He is on the road to so,
but nobody would think him to be more
than 40 He is of rather small stature.
thick set and muscular in spite of an in
trinity from which he suffers. He dres-
ns in black with immaculate linen, and
mis- whole get up would be most appro-
pirate but for heavy gold chain and big
breast pin. At first sight his face has Il
nyage air about it. but when you exam
inc him closely he improves, and he then
appears to you in the light Of typical
bon homme. His eyes are soft and at
times roguish. He is fond of his joke,
but his laugh has strange ring about 1t,
and gives kind of unnatural expression
10 his countenance.
One odd feature is small rough tuft
Of beard or barbiche. into which few
white hairs have crept and which clashes
with his otherwise gentle mien. His
voice. too, is peculiar. Sometimes 1t is
harsh. at Others caressing. He talks
slowly, and timidly as if he were afraid
of compromising himself. To sum up he
Is curious character. mixture OF the
tender hearted father of q family and the
memorable messenger of death, mar
who has two lives-his home and the
guillotine. =,
$50 YOU wish to know how Nodable
behaved HIMSELF" began NJ. Deibler
swell. very we'll indeed. / should like
10 have such men always. He was one
of the pluckiest ever had to operate on.
He bore up to the last second in the mos
heroic style. Pity his courage was spent
IN crime"
"What about Pranzini? He was the
very reverse. The papers said ne died
bravely. but that was not true. He trem
bled all the time, and when he reached
the guillotine he nearly tainted away
Altogether he was sorry fellow Evi
IDENTIFY NJ. Deibler admires criminals whit
10 not show the white feather; this to
him is their crowning sin. Questioned
to female convict on whom he will
,hortlv have to exercise his skill in tn
provinces. he said: II am fond OF trav
.ling; it relieves my mind and strength
ems me to work: but don't like to hav
sny thing to do with women. 1t is
disagreeable task. They cry so much
kick up such noise and give themsclve
mch airs By the way, don't like yo'
journalists; you are not always reason
able.
"For example, where you say l am to-
long about my job, whereas. in reality,
do all can to get through it speedily
But l cannot risk losing my place t
please you Surprising | failed, AM
made a mess of the execution, it woul'
create scandal ut once. | am not al
ways sure of my assistants. lam oblige'
10 watch them. When they have lat
the condemned man on the sliding boart
arrange his position in my turn, and
is not till see that he is all right that
let the knife drop 1t is a serious affair
rou know, and am bound to take pre-
sautions to avoid mishaps. / hope yo
will remember this in future and do IN
lustice." Having delivered himself @
Ibis mild rebuke, he returned to the III
Mediate subject of the interview. IL d
not, as some people imagine, see the pr;
,ner when he is woke up for the last tim