Evening star., 1932-07-10

FURTHERMORE, Monsieur de Paris had
sense of the fitness of things. He never
gave an interview nor told just how he worked,
a rare virtue nowadays. The only remarks for
which he is quoted are things he had said to
officials.
"I divide all my clients into three classes"
he explained once. THE first are the brave,
or the braggarts who pretend to be brave. It
is more or less the same thing. The second
class are the poor wrecks who must be carried
out to the Lady. The third, who are a more
curious type. are what call the nonchalants.
They are never ready. At the last moment
they suddenly ask to smoke another cigarette
or to shake the keepers hand or to embrace
their lawyer or to tell the clergyman secret
or to write long. letter to some one. All. 7
suppose the whole world is made up of peo-
pie like that. The ones who go ahead, the
ones who refuse to go and the others who
can never make up their minds to do either"
family tragedy also helped to break down,
some years ago. the barrier society had built
against him, and to make people feel pity.
Deibler finally found wife, taking as his
dowry, so the newspapers related, 5000 francs
and the family guillotine." A son was born.
but few days later, owing to horrible mis-
take on the part of the doctor, the child was
given a dose Of poison in treatment for some
triding malady and passed away instantly.
The father was crushed with grief Instead Of
bringing q cnarge against the QOcLOr, as ne
could have done, he suffered in silence. There
was great wave of commiseration for him.
incidentally, the child's death ended a .dy-,,
nasty of three generations Of headmen, for
Anatole Deibler never had another son, and
the job is now going to a nephew, who has
been his valet
The original Deibler a Bayarian farmer,
who came to France during the Napoleonic era
and married a French woman. former dy-
cru of he's he fa0n a.
the profession in France from 1850 to 1850.
Joseph de Maistre, French writer summed up
the public feeling toward headsmen when he
said: For such type Of man to exist in the
human family, divinity must have made a
special decree" In 20 years Anatole Deibler
overthrew prejudice that had piled up against
his profession for years, and for that reason
the French newspapers hail his passing with
regret and remark that he is an unusual man.
A MONG the victims Vino come to the guilli-
n tine is a strange fauna peculiar to France.
It was common for M. Deibler to open the
shirts of some of his victims and find tattooed
on their breasts a guillotine that was yeri-,
table work Of art, with pretty blue frame, nice
red blade and gadgets in soft pastel shades.
Besides it stands Monsieur de Paris" himself
Underneath are the words, ''The Last Step"
On the right, crowded in sidewise. is Promised
to Deibler." On the left, "Betrothed to the
Widow" It is strikingly true to life, for as a
border to all this decoration stand rows of Re
publican Guards holding back the mob. In
argot, the gallery is full, the artist would
probably have added few other little realistic
touches
The explanation of this phenomenon is that
the Red Lady is the favorite theme of one of
the BAT d'Af' art schools.
All the bad boys of the French Army and
Navy, particularly those with prison records,
do their military service in disciplinary ofgani-
cations called the Battalions d'Afrique, which
are kept among the hellishly hot sands at the
edge of the Sahara A Bat DAT" as they are
called individually, is the last word in tough
ness, and they are generally more incorrigibie
when they leave than when they enter These
BATS DAT" have only one diversion-tattooing.
They have about IL different groups of de-
signs, called schools. Every man becomes
skilled operator with the needle, and they not
only work on themselves, but when they reached
the front during the World War they tattooeds
every foolish boy they could lay their hands on.
4 .,,t in,A so., fcepyrshs. iss2)