Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-08-27

them. As the artist made ont one ancient
engraver's mark after another he fairly
glowed with enthusiasm, and when he
came home he had concluded terms with
the Flemish family, and the box Of cngrav-
ings came with him.
They made thor way to Mr.. Walsh's
place, and there the art lovers have reveled
in them, and indeed have mapped up
many. Among those remaining, however,
are series Of ten plates illustrating the
martyrt!um of the apostles, of which Julius
Goitzuis Is the engraycr and Martin de
Vos the inventor or designer.
In the crude drawing, with the curious
ideas regarding composition and the
strange method of expression of the period
the artist shows the traditional taking off
of ten of the apostles. 1t is with only
two of these prints, however, that this
story has any business.
One of these, The Martyrdom of st.
Matthias" shows the familiar instrument
of death We call the GuillOtinc doing its
work in the familiar way and cutting off
st. Matthias head, while from the hose
like stump OF the neck blood spurts as it
never spurtcd from human being except
in the conception of Martin de Nos, in
ventor,' and indeed he is an inventor in
this instance.
The other print, "Thc Martyrdom Of st.
.JacobUS," shows modified form of the
instrument, or rather an elementary form
rs II it were early stage in the develop
msHt of the aftorward improved and com
rlated Instrument But in The Martyr
dom OF st. Matthias" we have a ''guillo-
tine almost as il exists in France today,
except that in the modern Instrument
there are some minor improvements about
the method of raising tine knife and loosen
ing it and in other similar details.
and what docs all this prove. Simply
that tine instrument we call the guillotine
was known thoroughly tn Julius Goltzuis
and Martin tic Nos. artists, vino lived 200
years before the French revolution, and
DR.. GuillotiEe
There can be no dOubt about the au-
thcntiCity of these prints. They have been
traced 20 Antwerp ana back three genera
lions. On the plates are the names and
the marks of the engraver and Of the de-
siCacr.
Michael I3ryan's Dictionary OF Painters
and EnEravcrs'' says regarding Julius
Goitzuis:
This cngrayer was probably of the
same family n Henry GoItzuis, the great
cs! cngravcr of his period. the latter part
Of tho sixteenth century (l55S-l6l9) and
luJrishcd about 1850 From the style of
his plates il i thought he was a pupil of
the Gales. His drawing is incorrect, and
his execution Is tastclCss and poor.
According 10 this authority, Goltzuis
continued working until 1904, so il is fair
T. placo the plates showing pictures of a
machine for docapitating precisely similar
IL that now called the Ruillotine ut the
close of the sixteenth century, while DIR.
Guillotinc and the death dealing instru-
mcnt of the French revolution did not oc-
CIR until the close of the eighteenth cen
fury.
1t is clear. then, that when DR.. Guillo-
tine suggested TO the constituent assembly
his instrument for decapitating tho con-
dculned he got his ideas and plans from
the prints described or from others of q
like character
Ia fact, there is some reason for believ-
ing that the Instrument we call the guillo-
tine was used 10y the Persians and early in
the history OF England and Scotland
There is at the Antiquarian museum of
Edinburgh IN instrument that is nothing
but a crude guillOtine on which the Regent
Morton was deoapItated in 1881. The Mar
4uis of Argyll in 1861 and the Earl of
Argyll In 1855 were the last As recorded
Ia die on the Scotch instrument, which
after that date apparently went out of use
until DR. Guillotine redirccted attention to
il on Dec. l, 1873.