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Article THE DOOMED ONE AND THE EXECUTIONER. ← Page 2 of 9 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Doomed One And The Executioner.
announced the approach of the victim ; he reached the scaffold—Florian saw him kneel before the executioner—the broad weapon glittered in the sunbeams—lie could be _ ir no more : an ashy paleness overspread his features , his joints shook with terror , ancl closing his eyes , he saved himself from falling by clinging to the arm of his companion , who , with unshaken nerves , beheld the dreadful scene , and glutted his ferecious curiosity by gazing with intense eagerness upon the appalling
spectacle . In a few moments the severed head fell upon the scaffold ; the headsman ' s assistant grasped the matted locks , and held it aloft to the crowd . " Come along , Florian , " exclaimed Bartholdy , with heartless indifference ; " it is all over , and capitally clone . 1 would bet a louis that you saw nothing , and yet your face looks as white as if your head had left its shoulders . If you are thus daunted at the sight of another ' s executionhow would you face your own if doomed to mount
, the scaffold ?" "Face my own ! " exclaimed Florian , shuddering at the suggestion , " God forbid ! I shall take good care to avoid it . " "Say not so , " rejoined Bartholdy , " no man can avoid his doom , and it may be yours or mine to die upon the scaffold . Avoid it , indeed ! I wish , from my soul , you had not uttered that unlucky phrase .
How often do the very evils we most carefully shun fall upon our devoted heads ? My mind , " he continued , " has long been made up to avoid nothing , and , as soon as I become my own master , I will throw myself on the world and grapple with it boldly . Avoid your destiny , indeed . ' beware of using those words again , for trust me , Florian , they bode no good to you . " The timid Florian felt his blood freeze as he listened to him , but
recollecting himself , he was about to express his perfect reliance upon the integrity ofhis life and principles , when he , shuddering , recollected the judicial murder of Galas , and the complexities of human and circumstantial evidence , and was silent . The lapse of several months gradually weakened the strong hold which the execution and the strange comments of Bartholdy had laid upon the imagination of Florian ; but they tended also to increase the
timid indecision of his character , and induced a disposition to endure , in uncomplaining silence , annoyances and injuries which more energy of character might easily have repelled . An extraordinary incident gave , however , a new turn to his situation . About six months after the execution Bartholdy suddenly disappeared from the seminary , and this unaccountable event was neither explained or alluded to by the directors .
Notwithstanding the silence of the reverend fathers , it was evident to Florian that his friend had not absconded from the seminary , as not only his clothes and books , but even his bed had disappeared with him . One article alone remained which had been left in his custody—it was a large clasp-knife , of exquisite workmanship and finish : the handle was of ivory wrought in curious devices , and the long blade , whicli terminated in a sharp pointwas secured from closing by a powerful
, spring , thus serving the double purpose of a knife and dagger . The owner of this remarkable weapon had told Florian that it was precious to him , as the legacy of a near relative , and requested him to take charge of it , from an apprehension that , if discovered in his own possession , it would be taken from him by the Jesuit fathers . "And , " sighed Florian , as he gazed with painful recollections on the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Doomed One And The Executioner.
announced the approach of the victim ; he reached the scaffold—Florian saw him kneel before the executioner—the broad weapon glittered in the sunbeams—lie could be _ ir no more : an ashy paleness overspread his features , his joints shook with terror , ancl closing his eyes , he saved himself from falling by clinging to the arm of his companion , who , with unshaken nerves , beheld the dreadful scene , and glutted his ferecious curiosity by gazing with intense eagerness upon the appalling
spectacle . In a few moments the severed head fell upon the scaffold ; the headsman ' s assistant grasped the matted locks , and held it aloft to the crowd . " Come along , Florian , " exclaimed Bartholdy , with heartless indifference ; " it is all over , and capitally clone . 1 would bet a louis that you saw nothing , and yet your face looks as white as if your head had left its shoulders . If you are thus daunted at the sight of another ' s executionhow would you face your own if doomed to mount
, the scaffold ?" "Face my own ! " exclaimed Florian , shuddering at the suggestion , " God forbid ! I shall take good care to avoid it . " "Say not so , " rejoined Bartholdy , " no man can avoid his doom , and it may be yours or mine to die upon the scaffold . Avoid it , indeed ! I wish , from my soul , you had not uttered that unlucky phrase .
How often do the very evils we most carefully shun fall upon our devoted heads ? My mind , " he continued , " has long been made up to avoid nothing , and , as soon as I become my own master , I will throw myself on the world and grapple with it boldly . Avoid your destiny , indeed . ' beware of using those words again , for trust me , Florian , they bode no good to you . " The timid Florian felt his blood freeze as he listened to him , but
recollecting himself , he was about to express his perfect reliance upon the integrity ofhis life and principles , when he , shuddering , recollected the judicial murder of Galas , and the complexities of human and circumstantial evidence , and was silent . The lapse of several months gradually weakened the strong hold which the execution and the strange comments of Bartholdy had laid upon the imagination of Florian ; but they tended also to increase the
timid indecision of his character , and induced a disposition to endure , in uncomplaining silence , annoyances and injuries which more energy of character might easily have repelled . An extraordinary incident gave , however , a new turn to his situation . About six months after the execution Bartholdy suddenly disappeared from the seminary , and this unaccountable event was neither explained or alluded to by the directors .
Notwithstanding the silence of the reverend fathers , it was evident to Florian that his friend had not absconded from the seminary , as not only his clothes and books , but even his bed had disappeared with him . One article alone remained which had been left in his custody—it was a large clasp-knife , of exquisite workmanship and finish : the handle was of ivory wrought in curious devices , and the long blade , whicli terminated in a sharp pointwas secured from closing by a powerful
, spring , thus serving the double purpose of a knife and dagger . The owner of this remarkable weapon had told Florian that it was precious to him , as the legacy of a near relative , and requested him to take charge of it , from an apprehension that , if discovered in his own possession , it would be taken from him by the Jesuit fathers . "And , " sighed Florian , as he gazed with painful recollections on the