The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-02-25
MYSTERIOUS
UNTIL DEATH
"Bluebeard' Landru Main
tanned Calm Attitude
to Last
MERELY SHRUGGED
AT GUILLOTINE
Execution Was Over in 20
Seconds at YER
sailles

| Versailles, Feb. 25. tBy the Associ
ated Press Henri Desire Landru
"Bluebeard of Gambais," convicted o
the murder of ten women and on
youth gave. his life this morning il
/ exchange for the eleven he had taken
The triangular knife of the guillotin'
fell at 6:o5 o'clock, 25 minutes aftei
the time originally set for the execu-
tion, the delay causing many to ex'
! press the opinion that Landru was
making confession.
Mysterious until death, Landru re-
sented Father Loiselles' query a. TO
whether he had any confession 70
make.
1T is an insult to a man like me,
was his reply. Had ! any comics
sion 10 make, would have made it
long ago But never did he utter the
word innocent" as he had failed 10
utter it during his "a months of inn
prisonment and the ~ days Of his
trial
The slayer refused the sacrament,
but conversed few moments with the
Opriest. Il shall be brave, never fear Z
he told him.
Although the plans for the execu-
ton had been kept in the utmost Sc
crecy, crowds gathered about the old
Versailles jail little after midnight.
The clatter of cavalry along George
Clemenceau street, in which the ex-
ecation took place. was plainly audi
BILE in I4andru's cell and when he awoke
he heard the sound of hammers as the
workmen erected the "timbers of jus
tice'' by the Pickering light Of two
SQUIRE old d-fashioned candle lanterns.
The guillotine was erected only a.
few feet from the main entrance Of the
Jail. At 6 o'clock the doors of the pris-
on opened slowly revealing in the court
yard the procurator general, the war
den Of the prison and Iandru's two
lawyers, NJ. Noro-Gifferi and NJ. Du-
truil.
Then Landru appeared, clad, in dark
trousers and white shirt. His beard,
which was one of his most striking
and which had become
familiar to thousands through publi-
cation OF his portrait during the trial,
had been trimmed; his head was
shaved and his neck and face were
dcathly pale.
He walked exactly fYe steps be-
fore the executors assistants caught |
him around the waist and leveled him
on the table which was Immediately |
up-ended; the heavily weighted knife |
slid down and the whole affair was
over in less than twenty seconds. |
Landru never faltered from the time |
he appeared in the door; he gave the |
guillotine one look, squared shoulders |
and walked erect, uttering not a word. !
The crowd, which had been kept at l
such distance that IL saw nothing of
the details, uttered no cry, and the ST.
Ience was only broken by the bugles
reveille in the nearby bar
racks, and the Angelus bells.
The platoon of cavalry with sabrcs
Dared saluted as the mystery man"
vent TO his death.
Then the hundred or so newspaper
and the few officials
who had witnessed the eeecution left
he scene, while outside the lines Of
,ayalry the citizens of Versailles and
many from Paris were asking, at it
III overf"
There seemed 10 be more pity than
bitterness, and never a word of in
'ective against the man who had just
,aid the penalty for series of the
oulest murders in the criminal his
ory of France.