Memoirs of the Sansons, from Private Notes and Documents (1688-
1847). Edited by Henry Samson, late Executioner to the Court of Justice in Paris. 2 vols. (Chatto and Windus.)—This book was pub- lished, it seems, some years ago in Paris. Of course, the first question that occurs is, "Are these records genuine ?" But this question, after all, does not affect any great portion of these two volumes. We are bound, indeed, to say that the fragment of autobiography with which the work commences, and which relates how the first Sanson became an execu- tioner, has an extremely improbable air. After that, there is little that might not have been obtained from other sources, and nothing, as far as we have observed, that passes the bounds of credibility. The details about the behaviour of criminals at their last hour, or about the emotion of tho executioner, may or may not be true, but they have at least nothing about them that is not probable. When the story happens to be of some well-known event,—as, for in- stance, the execution of Charlotte Corday—wo see nothing that con- tradicts, and indeed, little that supplements the commonly accepted accounts. The second question concerns the value of the book. "These Memoirs," says the translator, in his preface, " are chiefly conspicuous for their historical interest." That they have an interest may be at once allowed, but this interest is " historical " only as they concern historical personages. Those personages had played out their part when they came into the hands of the Sansons, and it is interesting from an ethical -rather than an historical point to read how they demeaned themselves. The chapter which relates the experiences of Charles Henri Sanson, who officiated at the executions of Louis XVI., of Marie Antoinette, of the Girondists, and of Robespierre and his associates of the Reign of Terror, are the most important. One correction may be noticed of a popular belief about the death of Robespierre that has been adopted by M. Louis Blanc. It has been said that the handkerchief with which Robespierre's jaw was bound up was brutally torn away by the executioner, whom M. Louis Blanc oddly enough describes as a "rabid royalist." The grandson of the executioner explains that it was necessary to remove the bandages, which would have hindered the action of the guillotine and prolonged the sufferings of the victim. A table of the executions in Paris between July 14, 1789, and October 21, 1796, gives a total of 2,548 men and 370 women. There were 325 bishops and priests and 275 journalists. It is only right to say that these volumes do not offend ns by unneces- sary horrors, yet horrible they are, and we doubt whether the world is one whit the better for possessing them.
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