The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-11-24
WALKING IN IRE VALLEY
OF the shadow of Dfsgraceful Death
Last Hours of Henry Clay
Beattie, Jr.

Richmond, Va, Nov. 24.-Henry Clay
Beattie. Jr,. the youthful wife muir
derer. yesterday received the sacra-
ment Of the Lords supper. He profess
ed religion and told his spiritual ad-
visers that he faced the unknown with
| equanImity. Although Beattie is sub
dued in demeanor, the wonderful nerve
| that thus far has sustained the con-
| demned man. has not deserted him.
The sacrament was administered in
| the death cell in the state penitentiary.
Rev. John J. Fix, the Presbyterian min
| lister who has labored with Beattie
since his condemnation, offciated. as
sisted by the Rev. Benjamin Dennis of
South Richmond. The only other per-
son present was the prisoners aged
and broken hearted father. The Wig
| ilance of the death watch was not re-
Taxed during the ceremony, although
| the guards Withdrew to the corridor.
| Invitations have been sent to the
| twelve witnesses who will compose the
| jury in the death chamber today. Tn
| der the law the witnesses must present
| themselves at the prison before /
| O'Clock Shortly thereafter Beattie
| Will be led from his cell to the chair
| The preparations will be extremely
/ brief and within ten minutes, at the
most, the jury will be trooping from
the chamber of death.
Beattie spent the day in reading.
While much of his reading is of a re-
| 1fgiOus nature. he maintains still his
keen interest in the daily newspapers,
| He pays especial attent on to the sport
| ing pages and reads them avidly. His
appetite is excellent and he displays
T,x,1 a;t fn11 or
physically. Unless there is a sudden
| break down, Beattie will walk to his
doom una dashed and unafrafd.
| He sits now in ghostly solitude. His
cell is No /. There are on his side
five other cells; on the other side six
other cells. In none of these other
| cells is a tenant. No other murderer
awaits with him the fate that he is
destined to meet today. 1t has been
that way since he entered the death
comfort of the companiorship of a ne
gro.
| He is only twenty feet removed from
the death chair When the sheriff calls
| on him to read the death warrant and
| he to follow him to the chair where
he is to be killed, he will not have to
| take more than forty steps before he
will find himself seated in the modern
Iron Maiden" the all-embracing arms
and straps and metal cap of the twen-
| tieth century death dealing apparatus.
! He will come in on a chamber totally
in darkness save a single light
shines above each arm of the death
chair Directly behind the chair will
stand the electrician with his hand on
the switch. But owing to the arrange
iment of lighting, Beattfe, even If he
should turn deliberately or sharpely
would not be able to place his glance
on his executioner The execution
chamber being twenty-five feet by
twelve in dimensions, the twelve wit
nesses cali that are permitted by the
laws of Nirginia) will be practically
hidden from the condemned man. They
will sit in a far corner of the room. on
camp stools. four abreast.
After the court of appeals had re-
fused to grant him a stay and had de-
cisively announced its firm helief in
his guilt and after the governor had
lalso declined to halt the march to the
electric chair. Beattie suddenly found
himself robbed of all privileges. Every
article of clothing he possessed was
stripped from him. The state furn-
ished the clothing that he Is to wear
henceforth until the hour of his death
even to the most intimate articles OF
iappare1. He now wears an lll-fittne
suit of dark gray. Its ugliness is
frankly irksome to him. A spars.
sandy beard is showing on his erst
while boyish chin.
Characteristieally, only his cigarette:
remain TO indicate the jaunty youth
who laughed at the authorities wheI
he was first imprisoned on the charg,
OF numbering his young wife.