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Article THE DOOMED ONE AND THE EXECUTIONER. ← Page 8 of 9 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Doomed One And The Executioner.
been delayed by the illness and death ofthe resident headsman . At this unexpected intelligence the visage of Florian was blanched with terror ; but the iron features of the old man betrayed not the slightest emotion —regardless of his son-in-law ' s terrors , he viewed this unexpected summons as a fortunate incident , and coolly observed , "that any unskilfulness of decapitation in so small a town , would be of less consequence than in a larger city . "
After anight of wearying vigilance and internal conflict , the miserable Florian entered , at day-break , the vehicle which awaited him and his father-in-law , and proceeded to their place of destination . With a view of preventing his trembling substitute from witnessing all the preparations for the approaching catastrophe , the old man so measured his progress as to enter the burgh only a few moments before the execution , and drove immediately to the scene of action , without pausing
to attend at the church where the criminal was receiving the last consolations of religion . Soon after their arrival the procession commenced , and Florian , unable to face the criminal , turned hastily away , ascended the ladder with unsteady steps , and concealed himself behind the person of his father-in-law . The executioner felt for his shrinking , but kept a stern eye upon him , in hopes of counteracting the visible effects of his rising agon }' . When , however , the decisive moment approached , he whispered him encouragingly , " be a man , Florianbeware of looking at the criminal before you strike . " The wretched
youth fixed on him a vacant stare , but these kindly-meant instructions reached not his inward ear -. the remembrance of the execution which he had witnessed with his friend Bartholdy , and his taunting predictions , flashed upon him . At this moment , his attention , by the admiring comments of the crowd upon the unflinching bearing of the criminal , became distracted , and roused to a sense ofhis own unmanl y timidity , he called his expiring energies into temporary life and action .
The headsman now approached him , and placed within his hands the fatal axe— " courage , " he whispered , " 'tis but a figure ; one blow , and all is over . " With a desperate effort Florian seized the weapon , and fixing his dim gaze upon the white neck of the criminal , he struck the death-stroke . The head fell upon the scaffold with an appalling sound , the old man again approached him— " admirabl y done , " he whispered ; "but remember my warning—look boldly upon your work , orthe mob
will hoot you as a craven headsman from the scaffold ; couragecourage . " Long accustomed to yield unresisting obedience to his stern fatherin-law , Florian slowly raised his eyes at the moment when the executioner ' s assistant , after showing the criminal ' s head to the multitude , turned round and held out to him the bleeding and ghastly object . Gracious Heaven ! what were his feelings when he encountered a
wellknown face ?—when he saw the yellow , pock-marked features of Bartholdy , whose eyes were fixed upon him in the glassy , dim , and vacant stare of death . The executioner fell beside the corpse of his early friend , a hopeless
maniac . By a singular coincidence , the confessor who attended the guilty Bartholdy in his last moments , was one of the Jesuit fathers by whom the friends had been educated ; he recognized Florian on the scaffold , and that recognition led to a judicial investigation of the circumstances under which he had become an executioner . His innocence ofthe murder
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Doomed One And The Executioner.
been delayed by the illness and death ofthe resident headsman . At this unexpected intelligence the visage of Florian was blanched with terror ; but the iron features of the old man betrayed not the slightest emotion —regardless of his son-in-law ' s terrors , he viewed this unexpected summons as a fortunate incident , and coolly observed , "that any unskilfulness of decapitation in so small a town , would be of less consequence than in a larger city . "
After anight of wearying vigilance and internal conflict , the miserable Florian entered , at day-break , the vehicle which awaited him and his father-in-law , and proceeded to their place of destination . With a view of preventing his trembling substitute from witnessing all the preparations for the approaching catastrophe , the old man so measured his progress as to enter the burgh only a few moments before the execution , and drove immediately to the scene of action , without pausing
to attend at the church where the criminal was receiving the last consolations of religion . Soon after their arrival the procession commenced , and Florian , unable to face the criminal , turned hastily away , ascended the ladder with unsteady steps , and concealed himself behind the person of his father-in-law . The executioner felt for his shrinking , but kept a stern eye upon him , in hopes of counteracting the visible effects of his rising agon }' . When , however , the decisive moment approached , he whispered him encouragingly , " be a man , Florianbeware of looking at the criminal before you strike . " The wretched
youth fixed on him a vacant stare , but these kindly-meant instructions reached not his inward ear -. the remembrance of the execution which he had witnessed with his friend Bartholdy , and his taunting predictions , flashed upon him . At this moment , his attention , by the admiring comments of the crowd upon the unflinching bearing of the criminal , became distracted , and roused to a sense ofhis own unmanl y timidity , he called his expiring energies into temporary life and action .
The headsman now approached him , and placed within his hands the fatal axe— " courage , " he whispered , " 'tis but a figure ; one blow , and all is over . " With a desperate effort Florian seized the weapon , and fixing his dim gaze upon the white neck of the criminal , he struck the death-stroke . The head fell upon the scaffold with an appalling sound , the old man again approached him— " admirabl y done , " he whispered ; "but remember my warning—look boldly upon your work , orthe mob
will hoot you as a craven headsman from the scaffold ; couragecourage . " Long accustomed to yield unresisting obedience to his stern fatherin-law , Florian slowly raised his eyes at the moment when the executioner ' s assistant , after showing the criminal ' s head to the multitude , turned round and held out to him the bleeding and ghastly object . Gracious Heaven ! what were his feelings when he encountered a
wellknown face ?—when he saw the yellow , pock-marked features of Bartholdy , whose eyes were fixed upon him in the glassy , dim , and vacant stare of death . The executioner fell beside the corpse of his early friend , a hopeless
maniac . By a singular coincidence , the confessor who attended the guilty Bartholdy in his last moments , was one of the Jesuit fathers by whom the friends had been educated ; he recognized Florian on the scaffold , and that recognition led to a judicial investigation of the circumstances under which he had become an executioner . His innocence ofthe murder