The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-07-25

three armed men drew closer. The
marquis saw that his hour had come.
He had been known as q man Of cour-
age. but in this extremity he was a
picture of abject terror. He seized
the queens gown and entreated mercy.
He walled and wept and howled. And
she looked down at him with unfro-
giving eyes n dashed him on with
her riding whip.
Father lie BEL" she said, "you are
witness that I treat this dog fairly. I
give him all the time he needs to JUS
tify himself. II he can"
Hearing these words. the marquis
began a long plea, trying to explain,
trying to apologize. trying to convince
the queen that his repentance was
sincere. She stood like a statue and
listened to it all. When he had said
all he could think of, the queen turn
ed again to the priest, as calm and
inexorable as ever.
Father" she cried, do what you
can for the good Of his soul. He has
failed to Justify himself. and he must
de-
The good priest dropped on his
knees before her and prayed that she
would have mercy.
Il have said the words" answered
the queen, "and no power under
heaven can make me unsay them"
Their she let the room, and Monal-
deschi was left with The priest and
the three executioners. He groveled
on his knees in a sickening way. like
Monmouth at the feet of King James,
and implored the priest to make one
more effort. So the priest went to
Christina and begged for the wretched
mans life, but she was adamant.
LIE Bel returned to the gallery and
announced that his errand had been
useless.
Prepare yourself to die!" cried the
chief of the executioners, and the
marquis and the priest prayed togeth-
er. Then the butchery began. The
marquis wore a suit a mail under his
clothes and this turned the swords Of
the executioners, SO they hacked him
over the head and neck. and he drag
ged himself owe the floor like a
wounded snake, and called on God for
mercy. But there was no mercy for
him IN heaven or on earth. One of
the butchers finally stabbed him in
the throat n ended his misery.
At that period murders were not re-
garded seriously, but even calloused
France was indignant over this bar
barous crime. The Cardinal Mazarin,
whose conscience wasn't at all sensi-
tive. wrote officially to Christina say
Ing, "a crime so atrocious must be
considered sufficient excuse for Danish
ing your majesty from the court and
dominions of the king, who, with ev-
cry honest man, felt Mortified at the
lawless outrage Just committed on the
soil Of France"
The reply of Queen Christina is one
OF the finest examples of pure inso-
!ence in all the archives of history. 1t
is too long to be reproduced here. but
the following paragraph indicates its
sentiments:
"Understand.. all Of you, servants
and masters, little people and great,
that 1t was my sovereign pleasure to
act as l did. I neither owe or render
an account Of my actions to n one
least OF all to q. bully like you. !"
But HI left France in a hurry inst
the same. Three years later the cons
IN IN whose favor she had abdtcated
died, and h returned to Sweden with
the intention of wearing the crown
again. But the brave and honest peo-
pie of Sweden refused to be governed
by a murderess, and she was told that
she, would be deprived of her revenues
It she remained in Sweden. So she be
came a wanderer on the face Of the
earth, n died at Rome, a bitter and
lonely old woman. She wrote her own
epitaph, which il unsurpassed for
stern brevity:
Christina lived ~ years."