Year: 1872




IT has sometimes happened that when
q man has been hanged he has, either
through the carelessness or unskillfulness
OF the hangman, or from some other un-
foreseen cause, escaped death. Some
people may imagine that in such case
there is not SO much disgrace in being
hanged. Let them not indulge in this be-
lief any longer, for /, who speak from
my own personal experience, have found
the situation very unpleasant one.


Those whose fate has led them to the
scaffold, and who have had the misfortune
to be cut down too soon, have my sincere
pity. There are many persons who, ON
such an occasion, would be very happy
to be cut down before life was extinct,
and they will think that l have very
strange opinions. But l have reason from
experience. ErpertO creder Roberto. That
is to say, have been hanged, although
my name is not Robert. You shall know
why, and what was the result of it. AS
for those capricious minds who think it
strange that | should write my history in
my last will and testament, would simply
ask them where they expect me to write
it. Do they imagine that one who has
been hanged ought to write book about
it?


1t is now twenty years since the event
of which write took place, but the stig-
ma OF having been hanged, which follows
me in spite of myself. is none the less
bad Recommendation among scrupulous
peOTie.


was an honest grocer of Lausanne,
my birthplace. I had flourishing bust
ness, and every day added something to
my fortune. 1t was my custom, in COM
mon with my brother grocers, to add
mutton tallow to- the salted butter, flour
to the powdered sugar, sage leaves to the
tea, cider to the cognac, water to the to-
bacco, sawdust to the ground pepper, and
roasted beans to the coffee. These little
auxiliaries were not noticed, from the fact
that their consumption was more or less
general.


! had clerk who was an excellent
hand at that business and he mixed the
different articles so skillfully together
that no one found any fault with my mer-
chandise. Proud of his success, he wish
ed to do better. He imagined that with
jalap, flour, the juice of white prunes,
and do not know what other drug be-
sides, but something less innocent, per-
hapss he could make the honey go further;
but his composition produced an effect he
certainly did not foresee About a dozen
of our customers who used that honey
were taken i'll, and some of them died. I
was the first to suspect the truth. placed
a jar of pure honey in the shop, and car
ried the adulterated honey into my wife's
room, for [ was married I gave as a
reason that could notsell any more of it,
as it had an unpleasant taste. My wife
was very economical and, not wishing to
waste the honey, she determined to have
it for her supper. Happily, she had no
children, or she would have feasted them
likewise. During the night she was
taken so i'll that l was obliged to send for
a physician. He Immediately recognized
symptoms of poisoning. He asked her
what she had eaten, and very naturally
she answered that she had supped on some
honey that I had taken out of the shop,
because my customers did not like it. The
physician appeared struck by this circum-
stance, and, giving some prescriptions, he
retired, saying that he would returN in an
hour. | awoke MY clerk to send him to
the apothecary with the prescriptions,
and when he learned what had passed he
became pale and trembling He went out
Immediately on my errand, but he did not
return, and it was the apothecary himself
who brought the medicine


This incident increased my trouble. At
the end of an hour the physician re-
turned, bringing a nurse with him, and,
telling me that the patient must be kept
quiet, he advised me to go into the shop.
there found two Sheriffs from the city,
who had come with two bailiffs to arrest
me as prisoner. What shall tell you?
They accused me of having poisoned
four persons in the city, besides my wife
among them being the sister of the
Judge, who was stern Lutheran. They
searched my shop, and from the many
adulterated articles there they drew bad
lnferences against me. The disappear
ance of my clerk, who did not return,
was taken as another proof of my guilt.
In short, was condemned to be hanged.
and the sentence was quickly carried into
execution. By privilege which is not
rare, had default of confirmation of
which had never boasted, and you may
call it fortunate or unfortunate as you
choose. My throat was ossifed, and the
rope did not entirely stop respiration;
and that evening, when they had de-
livered me to young surgeon who had
bought me, instead of a dead man he
found on his table only an insensible
man. Being alone, he gave me his best
care, and on the following night he as
sisted me to escape, wishing me better
luck.


You see that hurry over this recital.
The recollections that it awakes are not of
such nature that I care to dwell long
upon them. l was very grateful and full
OF joy at finding myself alive and free.
With only twelve f1orins, which the young
doctor had given me, I was not rich; but /
was only thirty-six years old. reached
the Rhine and obtained passage on coal
boat, in return for which I was to do
some light work. I went to Holland,
where every German is well received,
and, presenting myself to grocer in
Amsterdam, | obtained employment in
his shop, where, by zeal and activity,
soon won his good opinion. He also
adulterated his merchandise, but he was
prudent and did not trust so delicate a
business to clerk, as 1 had done.


However, at the end of year had
gained his confidence to such an extent
that he proposed to initiate me into its
mysteries. But 1 had so many reasons
for regarding such custom with horror
that honestly declined, at the same time
showing deep repugnance to fraud of any
kind. Wonderful to relate, probity,
which is too often neglected in this world,
proved for me, as it always is, an element
of success. And, by the way, let me as
sure you that this element is not yet worn
out My master, seeing that l was an
honest man, said to me:


Herman this was the name had as
suned], now appreciate you fully we
shall never part''


He confided his cash box to my care,
and at the end of his second year he made
me marry his daughter She was a very
quiet girl, twenty eight years of age, and
endowed with all those qualities which
olstingulsh the woman of Holland. Her
name was Trudje.


was happy, when toward the end of
the third year my patron, who was now
my father-in-law, and of whom had he.
come the partner, gave dinner in homo,
of his son, Captain Thomas Cromme. who
had just returned from Batavia. 1 haG