Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-09-22
tFrom the Cincinnati Enquirer.)

ttrom the Cincinnati Enquirer.)
Paris, Aug. 30.-I have just seen a
man escape the guiliotine. 1t was ten
minutes after the news came to him
that the death penalty had been COM
muted to transportation, and the in
effably joy. peace and satisfaction that,
yelling UP from this criminals black
heart to transfgure his ugly counte-
nance into something almost beautiful,
left no doubt in our minds as to the
superior terrors of capital punishment.
This French murderer was simply de-
lighted to go to the penal settlement
of Cayenne for life. He knew hard
work and brutal treatment waited for
him there. Still he was joyful. He
had escaped the guilIotine!
1t was by accident that we saw him
at the moment when the prison barber
was clipping his hair and mustache
into conformity With the regulation
bareness of the other prisoners. We
were being shown through the Sante
prison and had come to the hospital
like section of 1.-THE old men,. where
the discipline is not strict. Hoary old
Williams there pass uneventful days en-
gagged In swapping tales of fraud,
thievery and violence. AS we stood
there new man was brought ina
= -,
who paid singular attention to him.
Then they FASTENED in the prison gov
ernor, attended by the barber, and
Immediately the whisper went around
that this was Sale, the notorious as
sassin, in whose favor President Lou
bet had exercised his clemency. The
barber started to work expeditiously.
we sent up our request to the COVER
nor for permission to stay a moment
longer. Sale. a burly, good-natured
hill Inc .coo aetv, l. II
to get over the excitement of his re-
prieve He talked incessantly, in a
hnlf-whisper. boasting of his plans for
a new life in n new land.
NEWS ovERCAME HIM.
when Monsieur lie Directeur entered
his cell this morning." one of the
guards Whispered to us. Sale was
playing cards with us, nervous, petu-
liant. without interest. When he saw
the Directeur he rose, tottering. Sale,
said the latter, your sentence is com
muted At these words the prisoner
seemed to be taken ILL., His face be-
came congested with blood and his
words choked in his throat He broke
into sobs. Then he tainted He is
laxative now, but you ought to have
seen him at the first moment He must
have been terribly afraid of the big
knife" 10
The prison guardian, recently trans
ferred from the Grand Rouquette, had
been on the death watch of many n
condemned criminal "They are all
alike" he told US afterward. The
moment they enter the condemned cell
after sentence they are prey to a pro
FOUND prostration which lasts several
days, sometimes a week. Little by lit
tie. however. their energy wakens, and
the hope of commutation-which we
try to raise In their breasts-begin to
dull the effects OF the death sentence"
1t seems that 1t is particularly the
DUTY OF the priest TO jolly the unfor-
tunate. :" How does he persuade
them they are going to be reprieved?"
we asked.
"Oh, he talks about the possibility
of the sentence being Quashed by the
Court OF Cessation" was the answer;
eases of the same kind he has known
where the culprit got off on a techni-
cality. Then he goes on to the sec
ond chance of Presidential clemency.
the great proportion of pardons OF
late years, and the well-known hu-
manity of NJ. Loubet. But chiefly he
takes 1t for granted that the worst to
be expected IS transportation for life,
and paints glowing picture OF a new
career in CAYENNE. where one may
become an independent farmer in
time with good behavior. The miser-
able fellows are only too wIning to