Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-01-06
EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.

In Inc century there is graphic
article on "The Last Days of Louis
XVI and Marie Antoinette. The
author, Miss Anna L. Bicknell, says:
1t was dark, misty, January
morning. The presence of the two
soldiers precluded the possibility of
conversation; the priest therefore
handed his breviary to the king and
pointed out appropriate psalms,
which the king read devoutly and
with perfect calmness, to the evil
dent establishment of the gendarmes.
The shops were shut along the way,
and crowds of armed citizens stood
on the pavement as the coach, pre-
coded and followed by cavalry and
artillery, went slowly through the
streets, where all the windows were
closed. Lines of troops stood on
each side, while drums beat solemn
ly, as if for military funeral.
AS the coach passed along the
boulevards near the Porte st. Denis,
few young men rushed forward,
waving swords and crying loudly,
Come, all who would save the
king!" There was no response, and
they were obliged to flee for their
own lives. They were pursued and
several were arrested, with fatal
consequences. The king, absorbed
in prayer and religious meditation,
had not even perceived the vain at
tempt to effect his deliverance.
The coach had at last reached the
Rue Royale and the Place de la Rev
olution, where the crowd was im-
mense. The scaffold stood little
to the left of the place, where the
obelisk now stands, but nearer the
Champs Elysees, toward which the
guillotine was turned. A mass of
troops formed square around the
fatal spot. The coach stopped at a
distance of few PAGES. The king,
feeling that the motion had ceased,
looked up from his prayer book,
saying quietly, eve have reached
the place, think
One of the executioner S assistants
opened the door. The king earnest
ly commended the priest who ac-
companied him to the care of the
gendarmes, and then stepped from
the coach.
Three men surrounded him and
tried to take off his coat. He calm
ly pushed them back and removed
it himself, opening his shirt collar
and preparing his neck for the ak.
The executioners, who seemed at
first disconnected and almost awed,
then again came around him, hold
ing rope.
The king drew back quickly, ex-
claiming:
"What do you want to doc"
To tie your hands,
The king exclaimed Indignantly:
cite my hands! No, will not sub
nit to this. Do your duty, but do
not attempt to tie me; you shall not
do it!'' The executioners persisted
and spoke loudly. The king looked
toward the Able Edgeworth, who
at once saw the impossibility Of re-
sistance, and said gently, "Sire, this
last insult will only provide a fresh
point of resemblance between your
majesty and the God who will be
your recompense.
The king looked up to heaven.
"Assuredly, his example alone could
induce me to submit to such an in
dignity" Then holding out his
hands: ''Do as you please. I will
drink the cup to the dregs."
His hands were tied, and with the
assistance of his confessor he as
cended the steps of the scaffold,
which were very steep. When he
reached the top, he broke away from
the able, walked firmly across the
scaffold, silenced the drums by a
glance of authority, and then in a
voice SO loud that it was audible on
the opposite side Of the Place de la
Revolution, he uttered these words:
II die innocent of all the crimes
imputed to me. forgive those who
have caused my death, and l pray
God that the blood you are about
to shed may never fall on France. ("
There was shudder that ran
through the crowd like a great wave,
but at the word of command the
drums beat prolonged roll, and
the voice could no longer be heard.
The king, seeing that all further adj
dress to the crowd would be fruit
less, turned to the guillotine and
calmly took his place on the fatal
plank, to which he was fastened.
The apparatus turned over, and the
ak fell. 1t was then quarter past
10 O'Clock a. m. of the 21st of Janu-
airy, 1898. The executioner held up
the severed head, turning as he did
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