St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-04
Last Act in the Dark French
Tragedy of Criminal Hyp-
notism.
The Condemned Goes to the
Guillotine With Forti-
tude.
Twice He Heroically Puts
Aside a Glass Of Stimulat-
ing Cognac.

1920 O'Clock this morning, on the Place
de la Roquette. Eyraud met his fate
with fortitude and resignation. So early
as o'clock this morning the customary
barriers were erected upon Place de la
Roquette. Shortly afterwards two divi-
sions of police, detachment of about
fifty of the Garde Republicaine on horse
back and detachment of about 100
Gardes Republicaines on foot took pos
session of the place, and, the night
being most bitterly cold, the police and
troops passed the rest of the night doing
their utmost to keep themselves warm.
The appearance of the WOrkmen sent to
erect the barriers, to say nothing OF the
arrival of the police and troops on the
Place de la Roquette, spread to the clubs
and hotels during the night and early
morning SO that there was a moderate
assemblage OH the usual hooks OF the
Fin de Steele Viellesse and Jeunesse
Doree of Paris when the hour Tor
The Execution
drew near. In addition to these jaded
earth birds there was a small assem-
plage of honest WOrkmen and dlSreputa-
BILE voyous attracted to the scene, the
former on their way to work, the latter
because they always attend Sucn events.
TO make the scene more gloomy than
usual, damp, cold fog hung over the
| city, and seemed to encircle the prison
building, more particularly in its dense
| mantle. The cafes near the Place Gle la
| ROquette were full OF carOuSerS, male
and female, the latter singing in fiercely
Il TO- II i1fr
song, having for its refrain "C' Est
| Eyraud Quill Hous Faut," Gt is Eyraud
we must have;'O ''C' Est sa Tete Quill
Nous Fault" lit is his head which we
must have.) The scenes in some OF the
cafes can better be imagined than de-
scribed. but they gave the stranger
good idea of the nature of Paris mob
when blood is in the air." At exactly
4 80 a. NJ the eXecutioner'S wagon ar
rived upon the Place and took position
opposite the prison. The barriers had
been so arranged as TO protect
Deiber, the eXecutiOner, from the en-
| terpriSe and curiosity or the newspaper
correspondents and reporters, whom he
| seems to dread more than ever before.
By 8 O'Clock, in spite of drlZZlng rain,
fog and cold, the number of spectators
gathered about the place had considera-
|
| justice' wood of justice), or timber pOr
ton of the guillotine. arrived and was
| soon hOsted into place. The mounted
| Gardes Republicaines then took up a
! position in front of
The GuiIlotine.
| which was erected on the spot marked
| by five stone slabs. which ParSianS and
visitors to Paris know so well. At AS
- A A L.. nf
| La ROquette, entered the prison.
Deibler, the executioner. seemed
nervous and excited as he directed his
assistants working by the light of a
| number of lanterns, which cast cruel,
| lurid reflections upon the red-paJnted
uprightS of the gUillotine. By 5:45 all
| was ready for the execution of Eyraud.
| Deibler tested the knife and found that
| it was moving easily in the grooves.
| The eXecutioner sent the knife Skim
ming up and down three times. He
! seemed satisfied that its work would be
| done we'll, for he left it alone. Outside
| the place, in the direction of the Boule-
ward Voltairs, there were about 500
| spectators, who could hardly see any
thing of the proceeding, but who were
attracted to the spot and remained there
out of sheer morbid curiosity and desire
| knife as it sewers criminals head from
the body. In the main the crowd par
ticularly referred to was composed of
| those scoundrels who prey upon fallen
women, conyicts, gambling club Group
| iers of the lowest class and girls who
| form the dregS of society. Shortly be-
fore a. m. NJ. Goran, the chief of de-
tectives, the conmiSaire de police, the
| chief of the municipal police and del
egate from the office of the Procureur
de la Republique and the Recorder ell
tered the prison gates, and at As a. m.
this party of officials. in company with
the governor OF La Roquette,
Entered the Cell
occupied by Eyraud. The found Ely
| raud sitting crouching OIL his bed, and
when informed that his petition for a
pardon had been rejected Eyraud re-
piled, Every WELL" The condemned
man few minutes afterward removed
the sprison uniform which he had been
wearing, changed his trousers and
socks. refusing all assistance while pre-
| pairing for death. The representative
of the Procureur de la Repubique
| asked Eyraud if he had any statement
to make before being escorted on his
way to the guiIlotine, but the murderer
replied in the negative. Liable Faure
then approached the guilty man and Of
fered to receive and convey to Eyraud's
wife and daughter any messages
which he might wish taken to
them. To this kind offer Ey-
raud replied: "Tell them that l
bid them adieu and hope that they may
be happy" Liable Faure then again
offered Eyraud glass of cognac, but
he pushed it to one side, saying: No;
that will do me no good" Eyraud
then walked with the chief warden and
his jailer into the dressing room. He
look attentively at the gentlemen there
present and did not utter a word. He
then sat down while Deibler pinioned
him, and during this part of the prepar-
alton for the guillotine Eyraud turned
to the governor and said: might | re-
quest that my body should not he given
to the surgeons?' To this request
Liable Faure replied; "Your body
will be given to your family Eyraud
thanked the able, whereupon the lat
ter offered to embrace the murderer's
wife and child for him. Eyraud. gazing
at the faces around him, exclaimed:
"Constans, minister of the interior,
was right. He had won his case, now
his prize. He will be tonight with
Gabrielle. What grand parsonage is
| gong TO decorate GaDrlelle BOmparQ =!
Suddenly. as Deibler was completing
the task of piniOning him, Eyraud
cried: ''You are hurting my finger"
and, turning to an assistant who was
tying the bandages, he said, impatiently,
"Don't pinch me so tightly" Previous
to commencing the march to the scat
fold Eyraud again refused to drink a
glass of cognac which was offered to
| him. and was afterwards rigidly silent
until he arrived at the guillotine. Pass
ing from his cell to the scaffold EYraud
scanned everything. right and left, and
then fixed his eyes upon the guillotine.
Arrived at the foot of the guillotine,
and within few feet of the block, Ey-
raud eluded the executioners for mo-
ment, and loudly and angrily shouted to
the assembled crowd:
''Constans is murderer; he is more
of murderer than l am. Constans
| is -"