The Warwickshire Herald. — 1891-10-15 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

ABOUT CONTINENTAL EXECUTIONERS.  Bavaria is the only German State that has a separate headsman. His name is Mattenheimer, and his methods are very similar to those of the l'russian executioner. As there is not sufficient call f3r his services to occupy his time, he ekes out a living as an assistant at the Munich gaol. In Austria criminals are put to death by strangling or shooting, according to the sentence of the court. The gibbet is used at executions of the former kind, and Professor Sterneck, as he is called, the most noted of Austrian executioners, has been detected in practices very much resembling cruelty. A few years ago he used to put an iron gag in the mouths of prisoners to prevent them from utterance. The praeiice had for a long time passed unobserved, until at leegth it was discovered by the local Press. The "professor" excused himself on the ground of necessity; but he did not do it again. The shooting of criminal., would have been altogether substituted for strangling, but for the objections on the part of the soh:irys to be detailed for any such purpose. This fact, and the reluctance to use the gibbet, have tended to Mind about the virtual abolition of capital punishment in Austria, except in the worst cases. Besides, as the Eusp ror grows older he grows more tender towards his subjects. It may seem incredible, I.ut is true, nevertheless, CAA a retired executioner is living in Belgrade to-day who, as late as 1875, broke criminals on the wheel. The name of the man is Paulo Jovanovitch. and the executions took place on the grassy slopes of the ramparts of Belgrade. The most note'd execution of the kind was in 1872, when two lnun, one a Turk, the other a Hebrew, were put to death for murdering a whole family. The Hebrew was executed first, and 15 minutes elapsed before the executioner gave him the coup de pude,. The Turk made a violent resistance and had to be stunned into subjection, although the stunning was perhaps intentional. This mediieval punishment was abolished about 1878, when Servia asserted complete independence. Strangling in prison is the usual capital penalty.  COOL IiENERALS.  Murat, Napoleon's dashing chief of cavalry, whose splendid enthusiasm won many desperate charges, could be as cool as his master upon occasion. At the taking of Moscow, while the troops sat in the saddle under a murderous fire, Murat received, writes a contemporary, a despatch to which an answer was required. Though his mettlesome horse was trembling, Murat laid the reins upon the horn of the saddle, took his note-book in one hand and a pencil in the other, and began to write a response. Suddenly a shell fell and exploded on the ground close by. The horse leaped into the air and swung wildly around. Murat simply transferred the pencil to the hand that held the notebook, calmed the horse with the other hand, and then went on writing his despatch as if nothing had happened. A shout of admiration went up along the line. Murat saw that the enthusiasm arousedby his trifling act had created a favourable moment for a charge. He gave the order, and his men swept clear through the enemy's line. It is said that General Reynier once saved the French army in Calabria, in 1806, from a complete rout simply by the manner in which he smoked a cigar. The English Infantry fire had compelled the French to retreat. Reynier, fearing a panic, remained to the last anti brought up the rear. Though the English fire was murderous, he had lighted a cigar, and his retreating men noticed that the puffs of smoke went up, as his horse moved slowly on, with absolute regularity. Puff ! A wait. Puff ! Another wait, Puff I The enemy were pouring on, firing vigorously as they advanced ; but nothing could accelerate Reynier's smoking. His soldiers rallied under the inspiration of the queer spectacle, and got off in good order. Perhaps toe most cold-blooded commander who ever lived was the French general Saint-Cyr. Be was a great tactician, but totally neglected the morale of hip ' men. He was never seen on horseback, and never shewed himself before the lines. On one occasion, when he was simply a general of division, the im• petuous Marshal Oudinot, puzzled to know what to do in an emergency, asked Saint-Cyr's advice, frankly telling him that he was"nonplusaed."" You, monseigneur," said Saint-Cyr, "are a marshal of the empire, and lam a general of division. I shall faithfully carry out your orders, but it would not be beioming for me to advise you." Later on Saint-Cyr succeeded to the command of the army, and then adopted a peculiar method of generalship. He formed his plan of battle clearly, precisely, and with admirable foresight. Then he sent his orders to his subordinates and shut himself up in his quarters, absolutely forbidding entrance to a single soul. Then he took out his violin and went to studying a hard piece of music tranquilly as if he had been in the midst of profound peace. The battle which won Saint-Cyr his baton as a marshal of the empire was fought while he was fiddling in hie tent. He had apparently foreseen everything, and the carrying out of his plans completely crushed the enemy.  marshal  M. oreux, the Frencn pilgrim under arrest in connectim with the recent Pantheon incident at Rome, was set at liberty late on Saturday night a nd escolted to the frontier by a detachment of police. E. A. Towne, a victim of the coffee habit, has been found dead in his room at Waterbury (Conn.) with a bullet wound in the left breast. He left as incoherent note stating that he was about to cons ...E. suicide. _ . _  The statistics published by the Spanish Government officials who were sent to the flooded districts sliew that the accounts of the Consuegm disaster in September were much exaggerated. The number of victims did not exceed 500.  bora woiseiey nes mane some progress or late with his "Memoirs of the Duke 01 Marlborough." An idea of the elaborate nature of the work may be gathered from the fact that the first two volumes, which are now pretty well complete, bring the career of Marlborough down only to the date of the death of William 111. in connection with the Folk lore Congreas the Academy mentions that M. Gomme is writing a work on folk-lore and ethnology, which will contain a complete statement of his views as to the functions of folk-lore as a means of ethnological research, and as to the principles to be applied in the scientific analysis of custom and belief.