Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-02-08

PARIS Feb. with the cry of death
to the bourgeose: long live anarchy" Vail
liant, the anarchist, whose name has been on
the lips of Parisians ever since the 9th of
December, when he threw bomb in the
Chamber of Deputies, paid this morning, at
ten minutes past seven, the penalty of his
crime.
The precautions taken by the authorities
to prevent any demonstrations at the guillo-
tine were perfect, and many of the crowd
that had gathered to witness the execution,
| finding that the guards prevented them from
seeing anything of the guillotine, left the vi
cinity of Roquette prison, in which valiant
was awaiting the coming of the headsman,
before the time it was expected that the ex-
cution would take place.
At 6:45 o'clock it was estimated that not
more than 700 or 500 people were waiting
to see the execution, but as it grow later
the crowd slightly increased and at the time
the knife fell about 1900 were present, many
persons standing on the roofs of houses
| from which view of the guillotine could be
had. Everybody was remarkably silent.
There was nothing of the shrieking that
| usually marks an execution here.
AT Z o'clock, % mounted guards advanced
to the front of the guillotine; muskets were
| slung across their backs, and all carried
barred sabres. At O'Clock the officials en-
tered Nallant's cell to inform him that the
time had arrived The condemned man was
sleeping when they arrived He was awak-
ened and told to prepare for death He APP
peared surprised and began to rciterate the
| theories he advanced before the assize court.
He declared that though it was easy to
| To
anarchist ideas.
My body is nothing he added, ''com-
pared with the progress of my principles. |
! shall be revenged"
! Valiant was perfectly calm and displayed
no fear whatever. The warden asked him
| if he would like to see the chaplain
"No," replied Valiant, Il will not see
him. y
evil You have something to drink -
asked the warden
No." Valiant replied II shall have
enough courage without that
| As matter of fact, the courage of the
condemned man was remarkable, as later
| incidents showed. He was shacked by the
executioner's assistant and ordered to follow
! to the guillotine. He obeyed the order read
| lily and as he left the prison, his form was
upright He walked as quick as his shackles
would allow without leaning for support on
the assistants, one of whom walked on each
side of him. As Valiant appeared out
side the prison, wearing only Il shirt
and trousers, everybody barred their
heads and the troops presented arms
The chaplain. whose mnistrations Valiant
! had refused, stood outside the prison in
order to be near should the prisoner change
his mind. His services, however, We're not
called for. Valiant advanced steadily.
| When about 50 yards outside the prison, he
| sprang forward a little to shout, Death to
the Bourgeoise: long live Anarchy" His
| voice resoundcd over the whole square
| valiant placed himself upon the plank
which was Immediately lowered. and his
neck was under the glstcniug knife. The
moment he was in position, the executioner
touched the spring. There was flash and
the heavy blade descended and then the
spectators saw the head and bleeding stump
of the neck drop into the basket.
Between the time of Vailant's arrival at
the guillotinc and the closing of the baskets
containing his remains, scarcely more than
20 seconds elapsed. Executioner Diebler
who has received many letters threatening
| him with death if he executed valiant. and
who at one time wished to resign his posi-
ton rather than to put the anarchist to
death, appeared paler and more nervous
| than Valiant in less than two minutes
after the knife fell, Naillant'S body was
| placed in one of the waiting vans and taken
| TO 1vry cemetery, escorted by mounted
guards
| The route to the cemetery was covered at
n gallop. The remains We're ostensibly in
tered, but it is understood that, in reality,
| they We're delivered to the medical faculty
The silence that prevailed among the people
during Naillant's walk from the prison door
to the gullotne was very remarkable, but
it was probably due to the fact that the
spectators were respectable working people,
and not the riff raft usually assembled to
witness the putting Oft fellow being to
death
Auguste valiant was born at Mazeres,
| department of Ardennes Dec 90, 1851. He
was an illegitimate son, and led rowing
| life. He was married in the United States,
and by this marriage had little girl,
| whose name is Sidonie.
He retired TO Paris in 1887. and entered
| into intimate relations with another
| woman, named Marchal. In the rare in
| tervals during which he worked, he Sc
| cured employment in fancy leather
| mandatory.
| Up to 1856 he called himself socialist
| revolutionist but socialism was too mild
| for his views, so he abandoned it to be
! come an avowed anarchist.
The bomb throwing in the cham Der of
| deputies took place on Dec. at 400 p. M
| Instantly the chamber was filled with
| smoke, Heartrending cries We're heard
| from all sides and Able Lennaire one Of
| tho deputies, fell, hit by piece of the
| bomb.
If the dynamite had struck the fOor be
fore exploding number of people would
undoubtedly have been killed, but woman
| sitting beside Valiant in the gallery
| jostled his arm as he was in the act Of
| throwing the bomb, and this caused it to
strike on the border of the gallery, in
stead of on the floor of the chamber
As a result the persons injured were
| mostly spectators in the galleries, and
| nearly all the deputies escaped unhurt.
| About 80 persons were severely injured