Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1892-03-18

"Ah, that is all right; is he deadF
stone dead, only"
"On'y what ?"
Did he have on spurs when he was
hanged the first time =
No. OF course not"
''Ah, nv Lord, he has on spurs now.
but no helmet; that is lying at the
foot of the gibbet."
Come quick, NJ. Chaplain. let Us go
and .ee."
The Lord OF Piroche rau 10 the
place. filed with a curious. wonder
ing crowd. Sure enough, there was
the hanged, his neck securely fastened
in the running moose, his body dang
ling from the end OF the rope, dressed
in the FURNISHED armor. 1t was pro-
digiou., wonderful. All cried, "A
miracler'
The Lord Of Piroche did no: mean
to be cheated of his armor this time.
so he ordered the body to be taken
down, stripped and the armor carried
into the chateau. This done, they
rehanged the dead body, and the
crows admired it SO much that int
days it was pecked and mangled In
slashes in eight DAYS IL was in rags
and tatters, in fifteen days there was
nothing left but the clean picked
bones.
Now where had the hanged been in
his month OF absenceH What had he
been doing3 Why had he escaped.
and then returned TO be re-hanged
| will give you the reason as it was
told TO me.
Our two peasants on their return
home that evening passed by the gio'
bet and heard groans, prayers and en-
treaties. They asked. "Whois there'
No one answered. but the prayers aud
groans continued and seem 10 come
from the dead body hanging above
their heads. Then the son took the
ladder left by the executioner and
climbed up TO the height OF the crilu-
inal and said: is that you groaning,
my poor man?' Yes" Are you
aliveg' Yes DO you repent OF your
crimef" "Oh, yes Then we are
going to take you down. The evan
gelist commands us TO help all who
suffer; YOU are suffering, therefore
we are going TO help you live and re-
prnt. For God loves q repentant
soul better than suffering body"
They took him down and discovered
how he had escaped death. The rope
instead of clasping his neck had
caught on the rim Of the helmet and
held him suspended without strang
ling him, and thus he had been able
to breathe until these peasants res
cued him. They carried him home
with them on one Of the asses and
handed him over TO the care OF the
wife and daughter.
He soon recovered; but he who has
stolen once will steal again,
As there was nothing to steal in the
house of the peasant but his ASS and
the daughter, the ex-hanged deter
mined 70 take both; he coveted the
beast and was in love with the daugh-
ter, a fair blonde beauty OF sixteen.
One night he saddled the ass, put on
his armor and pair Of spurs TO aid
his fight, and attempted TO carry oil
the girl in her sleep. She awoke, and
her cries soon brought her father and
brother; the robber tried to escape,
but he was too late. When the young
girl told of his Infamous attempt they
knew he had not repented, and were
sorry they had saved such misera-
ble scoundrel, so they determined 10
execute justice upon him, but far bet
ter than the Lord OF Piroche had
done.
They bound him to the ass he had
saddled, carried him back TO the glib
bet he had escaped fom and there
hanged him until he.was dead, taking
good care to leave off his helmet this
time, placing it at the foot OF the glib
bet. Then they quietly returned
home.
This is the third version. don't
know why. but imagine it is the
most reasonable and that you, like
myself will give it the preference
over the other two.
AS to my Lord OF Piroche, having
such an excellent talisman OF safety,
he joyously departed to the next war
and was the first one killed.