Year: 1873

windy brain of a frst-class political
economist. He would wear this armor
in the impending war; and the story
spreading far and wide, the enemy's
knees would double up with fear, and no
one would dare to touch the man cased
in that awful suit.


How very clever ! Come, let us
hurry for after hearing all this L would
give all L have, and little more, too, to
see the hanging"


So the father and son logged on, and
half an hour after they reached Gair-
skittery.


There was an immense crowd in the
square. In the center was very fine
gallows, of magnificent rosewood, not
very tall, for the criminal was a low fell
low but still there was ample room for
him to dance between heaven and earth.
and the rope was already twisting about
in the wind like an eel hung up by his
tail.


The criminal would have an uninter-
rupted view of the ocean, if that was
any consolation; and besides, those
who know say that hanging is not I'M
pleasant.


Our two donkey-men pushed into the
crowd and waited with the rest, but with
less fatigue than the rest, as they were
mounted.


They did not have to wait long. At
precisely 2 o'clock the prison gates
swung open, and the procession ap-
peared.


The robber was dressed in the splen-
did armor. He was mounted on an ass,
with his head turned toward its tail. His
hands were tied.behind him. Judging
by his attitude his reflections were not
agreeable.


They rode him in front of the gallows.
It was an unwelcome sight. He was
wishing that he knew nothing about
what was happening to him he envied
little dog that somebody kicked. A
butterfly flew past. He thought it in
sulting to him, which was rather hasty
induction; but he had very little time to
correct errors in reasoning, for the
hangman put up his ladder, and the
priest read the sentence.


The thief never stirred and the
spectators watched the motionless fig
ure, and hoped that he would not be
guilty of the audacious swindle of dying
before he was hung.


They ordered him to get down, but he
remained silent and motionless as the
| Sphinx.
Then the irritated hangman seized
him by the arms and pulled him down,
and stood him on the ground. In one
minute he had gone through the alpha
bet from an upright to a zig-zag q.


&c Is there anything you want ? ?"
growled the hangman.


ss Yes"


"What is it ?-and be quick"
&c My pardon"


The Judge and the lord of the castle
shrugged their shoulders, anu motioned
to the hangman to proceed.


He tried to make the thief go up the
| ladder, but it was no easy matter. 1t is
really absurd, but you have no idea of
the difficulty of persuading some people
to die


| With superhuman effort the hangman
hoisted him up, and nearly exploded
himself in doing it, while the thief kept
praying that Heaven a gift would give
him, which would enable him to evapo-
rate then and there into ammoniaca1 OF
demoniacal gas and condense comfort
ably back again somewhere outside OF
Gairskittery.


But making personal use of gases was
not so common in those days as now
so the moose was slipped around his
neck, and with a vigorous kick the
hangman launched him into space.
The crowd applauded and shuddered,
and little children, with long curls float
ing behind them like golden clouds,
were held up by their mothers, the bet
ter to see the show.


The body twisted and turned, and
then hung down stiff. The q became
again.


The men on the donkeys had watched
breath1ess till it was over. Well.
said the son, "the poor wretch has paid
dear for not stealing the armor."


"But he meant to steal it, and the
will has been made to suffer for the
deed. Javelins it was not very pleas
ant to see."


/ Twenty minutes after, our traveller,
trotted away. They stopped in the ittl,
town, where they had money to re
ceive, and toward nightfall they departed
for home, quite riotous with good lucl
and good spirits !; for they had collected
their money and were also filled witt
wine.


The next day, just before daylight
two soldiers came from the castle t,
take down the body, and to return thu
now invaluable armor to their lord. Blu
they met with an unexpected surprise
The gallows was there, and the rop
twisting in the wind, but the man il
armor was not.


The soldiers rubbed their eyes AM
changed their sabers and brandishet
their poleaxes /; then they stabbed
poked, pricked, scratched, and rippef
up all the bushes far and near, but n
man in armor turned up, any more thai
the one who was to be cut down an
what was strangest of all, the rope wa
neither broken nor severed, but Just a
. it had been before the execution tool
place.


Fast they hurried home to tell tn
: unwelcome news to the lord of the cas-
, tie, who would not believe them, bu
i set. out to look for himself. He wa
! such a high and mighty lord that b
! thought the criminal thought he Nigh
! be there to oblige him, and SO it was
! pity that he saw just what the other
q had described.


: What had become of the dead man
: for dead he was, as all the people knew
e Had some other thief taken advantag
of the night to carry off the armor
' That was plausible but what did b
q want of the body? Had his FRIEND
n and relations been there? That VIZ


not unlikely, only he had no friends {


relations, and if he had, theyi woul
n have taken the body and then left I'll


armor.


d The lord of the castle was in despai


He was "sold," as they say in these d
v generate days, He advertised a gre