The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-04-15

We passed through the Place de
Louis Quinze, in the middle of which
stood great, strengthening wooden
erection which was fresh to my eyes
Many of the people stopped to inspect
it curiously, and the Able informed me
that it was the new instrument of ex-
ecution invented not long ago by a
certain DR.. Guillotin. I shuddered a
little, and should have shuddered more
no doubt, could I have foreseen that
in five months the poor King would be
mounting those steps to his death.
We turned up some side streets, and
came to quarter where there were
fewer people about. At last we came in
sight of the Church of the Carmes, and
my uncle pointed across the road to a
large gate guarded by sentry.
THAT is the garden gate," he said.
1--WE will go in there; it is about the
hour when the prisoners take their ex-
ercise"
The sentry was not a National
Guard, but rough-looking Sanscul-
otte, reeking of brandy.
"You can not enter" he called out
as we approached him. ''No visitors al
lowed today"
The Able produced his pass-and
franc or two. ooh, we'll! said the
guard as he took the money, lone sees
that you are good citizens. You can go
in if you like don't suppose it mat
tiers much by this time"
AS he took a key from his pocket, a
burst of laughter came over the wall
from somewhere in the garden.
''They are merry in there today" he
went on. you can go in if you like
All the same" (and holding the key
in the lock he turned to us with a
drunken leer) st advise you to stop
out"
eve will go in,'' said my uncle; and
our Sansculotte pushed open the gate
a little way, laughing all the time soft
ly to himself as if at some joke which
nobody else knew. Then, with a final
drunken chuckle he showed us through
the gate, and we heard it close behind
us with a crash.
am not good at descriptions, mon
sieur, and I can not hope to make you
comprehend the horror of the scene
that met our gaze. We found ourselves
in the corner of large, well-kept gar
den, full of trees and bushes; on our
right was the wall of the church. At
our feet-we almost stumbled over it
as we entered-was the headless body
of priest lying in a pool of blood;
and another one few yards to our left.
But those we hardly noticed, for our
eyes were instantly fixed by the CEN
trail scene Straight in front of us,
about thirty yards away, was short
flight of wide stone steps leading up
to door in the wall of the church;
and standing on these steps, at each
side and at the bottom, were fifteen or
twenty rufians the most ferocious,
armed with swords and pixies, laugh
ing and talking and singing snatches
of songs. One or two of the pixies were
topped by heads. Men and steps we're
alike despatched with blood; and at
the foot lay heaps of corpses, all in
cassocks there must have been over
fifty. AS long as live I shall feel the
first shock of that CHASTITY spectacle
in the midst of the peaceful garden!
Even as we stood there transixed
with horror, the door at the top of the
steps opened, and two priests were
thrust out-a little, stout old man with
white hair and tall, young one. The
assassins received them with LOUD
cries of give la nation!" brandishing
their weapons and making the most
extravagant signs of fiendish delight.
For a moment the two priests stood at
the head of the steps, pale and dazed; ;
and then they were flung down onto
the pixies of those below, and their
bodies covered with wounds, were
thrown on to one of the heaps of dead.
The Able moved forward, and fol-
lowed him like a machine; my brain
had stopped working, one of the MUIR
derers saw us.
"You can not come in by this door,
citizen!" he shouted. Don't you see
we are busy?"
what is this dreadful outrage that
you are committing?" asked the Able
| in an unsteady voice.
His question was received with a
burst of hideous laughter. ut is the
people executing justice on conspira-
TORS" said one. Long live the nation"
Long live the nation!" they all
shrieked; and the faces that were
turned toward us, monsieur, were as OF
so many devils out of hell. My uncle
turned to me with despairing glance.
They are, clearly, hired rufians, .
he said hurriedly "It will be useless to
speak with them. Come; there is an
other door into the church little
farther on; it may be that we can still
rescue Jacques!"
Dragging me with him, he went past
the fatal steps, making little detour
round the corpses. We reached the
other door, which was unguarded, and
entered just as another shout behind
i SO tho fof Of r,oaco viz g