The Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1864-09-24 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

LAST HOURS OF A MURDERER.  A private letter from Foix contains the mod Clltiollll details regarding Jacques Latour, who was recently guillotined ill France for murder:— It appear+ that on the Sunday I .atoo eired the gaol chaplain with respect. and listened to his prayers and exhortations with app.rrent attention, even accepting a crucifix AIKI some books he had previously refused. This improved state of mind lasted till the gaoler entered his cell at five o clock to hendmitthiro. Latour seemed surprised; but the gaoler, who has shown the utmost forbearance towards him, explained with great caution that his last hour was approrching, as the execution was to take place at seven the following morning. For a moment Latour seemed to be stunned, then becoming perfectly furious, he broke out in the most fearful language, cursing the judgea, jury and society in general—" The demons, the anthropophag, and that chaplain, an aide-de-camp of Satan, perhaps Lucifer incarnate." His bowls and shoats of rage seemed to exits him the more, and, catching the crmafix with his manacled hands, he broke it into bite with his teeth, spitting oat the fragmeots with a coa-1 centrated rage that was awful to witness. Suddenly his made a dash at tho hooks, and, throwing them on ' the ground, saeeringly cal,!, "Aft, the old ohaplain will he deighted when he comes, bolt he need not show hiluself—gare Thee, bearing a ring at the door of ho [l,ll, •• Ha, here is the fellow, Satan—Lucifer! I shall inform him that to-morrow I phial sing • De la Dargoutlle' (a most obecene :eoug). That will be fun I"  The aged chaplain, whose patience and devotion to the miserable wretch had been beyond praise, then asked for a final interview. "See him? Not I; 'I only want to see the exscutioners." At six on Monday morning the chaplain was, however, in attendance, determined to do his duty to the last. "Old sinner, what do you waLt ?" was Latour's greeting. " Lucifer, avaunt! Go and see your friend Satan. At, how glad I shall be to see him! Jacques Latour ma not the man to fear him. It will be the other way —Satan will be afraid of him His breakfast was brought to him, which he had ordered the night before. " This is firet.rate beef," said he; "but I should have preferred • slice of my own leg, and if au one had fried a bit for me I should have been obliged !" At • quarter to seven the gendarmes came to convey him to the carriage. As he walked along the corridors he heard one of the horses neigh. At, I hear Rosinante, Don Quixote de la Mancha steed." Then, 'seeing the young daughter of the gaoler, he called out, " there is Dulcines Toboso, the lady of my thoughts. Good morning Dulcinea." He wished to walk to the place of execution, but as it rained be got into the pap riage, the aged chaplain follosing on foot evidently absorbed in prayer, and looking deeply distressed. A picket of soldiers surrounded the scaffold and several brigades of gendarmes. The crowd was tremendous but perfectly silent, even when the carriage was in iduht, Latour standing in it and singing in a loud voice "La Mere Gaspard," a song very popular among the people, He smashed one of the glasses with his head before getting out of the carriage : as he reached the foot of the scaffold the chaplain again attempted to speak to him. latour turned to the executioner and wends(' the steps of the scaffold, singing in so stentorian a voice that every word was beard over the olace, the parody he himself composed on the Marsellaise :  Allons, natl..° victim., Ton Jour dement est arrive ; Contre tot de la tyrannie Le couteau sanglant rut love !  He continued to sing on the platform and while he was being tied to the bascule, and literally the sound of his voice only ceased when his head fell into the basket beneath the guillotine. There was not the slightest expression of sympathy among the crowd, who seemed utterly disgueted.