Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-09-14

The Siegneur de Ia Piroche com
tinued to lament his lost armor before
men, gods and demons. He was be-
ginning to take his loss philosophical
Iy, when one morning on waking ne
heard a great noise on the place where
the execution had taken place. He was
just going to ask what it was all about
when his chaplain came into the room.
my lord" said he, "do you know
what has happenedY
mo, but I'm going to find out"
81 can tell YOU"
'What is it? sSal5
"a miracle" FFsfH
"You don't say so?"
"The man who was hanged"-
swell, what of him?" !
He's here" -
where?
AT the gallows."
Hanged"
"Yes, my lord"
"In his armor?"
"In your armOr"
quite right; it's my property. And
he is deadY
quite dead. Only
"Only whatp
"Had he spurs on when he was
hanged%
mo"
"Nel, then. my lord, he has them
on now, and instead Of having his he'll
met on his head 1t is carefully placed
at the foot of the gallows, and he is
hanging bareheaded"
Quick, let us go and sect It,"
The sSigneur de Ia Piroche ran
through the crowded square. The neck
I the culprit had been replaced in the
slip-knot, his body was at the end of
the rope and the armOr was on his
corpse. 1t was wonderful. Everybody
cried out that 1t was a miracle.
He repented," said one, "and came
back to hang himself again."
He was there all the time" said an
other, "only we did not see him."
But why has he got spurs on?"
asked a third
Doubtless because he had long
way to come and was in a hurry"
Il know one thing, that, far or near.
l shouldn't have had any need of
spurs, for / shouldn't have come back"
Everybody laughed and looked at the
horrible face of the corpse. AS for the
lord of Piroche, he only troubled him
self to make sure that the robber was
indeed dead and to take back his
armOr.
They took down the body, stripped it
of the armor and hung it up again.
The crows went to work so vigorously
that at the end Of two days the body
was all torn in pieces. After eight days
IL looked like a scarecrOw, and in
fortnight 1t looked like nothing at all.
But how came 1t that, being hanged,
he had escaped, and that, having es-
capped, he had come back and hanged
himself again.
At last 1t was said that our two
peasants, on their way home passed by
the gibbet and had heard groans and
signs that sounded like a prayer. They
had crossed themselves devoutly and
had asked what was the matter. Nobody
answering, and the groans continuing,
they had fancied that the sounds came
from the corpse, and had taken the
fxecutloner's ladder leaned 1t against
the arm Of the gibbet, and on mount
ing to level with the body, had ask
ed:
rs It you who are groaning, my
poor MANI
The culprit had called up all his
strength and had answered:
Eyes"
'You are still alive, then?'
eyes"
DO you repent Of your crime?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm going to take you down."
The father and son took the man
SaJVn nd ~ {
he still lived The rope, instead OF
selling the neck OF the robber. had
seized the neck Of the helmet, and the
sufferer, who was hung but not hang
ed, had been able to breathe and to
live until the two peasants came along
and rescued him. They took him home
and gave him into the charge of the
mother and daughter of the family.
But thief is always n thief There
wcla only two things to steal in the
peasants eottage-his horse and his
daughter a fair virgin Of sixteen. The
rescued man determined TO steal both.
He wanted the horse and lusted after
the girl. One evening, therefore, he
saddled the horse put on his armor
and added pair of spurs to make the
animal go more quickly, and Selling
the young girl, VINO was asleep, tried
to take her up behind him, but she
awoke and cried out.
The father and the son hurried up.
The robber tried to escape, but it was
too late. The young girl told what the
villain had tried to do, and the father
and the brother, seeing that the fellow
was totally irreclaimable, resolved to
do justice on him better than the lord
OF Piroche had done They took him
back to Piroche and hanged him aga n,
putting his helmet on the ground, so
that he should not escape once more,
and then they quietly went home.
AS for Seigneur de In Piroche, MS he
now had the powerful talisman, he
started ioyfully for the wars, and was
the very first man to be killed