They do things in a strange way of their own
in Ireland. There was a man hanged for murder the other day ; and as nothing is done without soldiers, a detachment of one hundred men was asked for, to he present, (as the French say, assister.) The soldiers were marched home with due military silence and decorum ; but the moment they were dismissed, they all burst into a fit of laughter, and the same uncontrollable tendency to mirth was visible among the officers. On asking the cause, it appeared that the executioner
made h i is appearance with his face covered, because t would be supposed a natural consequence that if he were known he would be shot within a fortnight by some of the relatives. But instead of being covered by a black vizor or crape, it was hid behind a mask, out of the nearest toy shop, with a prodigious nose. And when the executioner went to draw the bolt, he disappeared through a place like a window, and the next thing seen was the prodigious nose popped out of the window and popped in again, to see if all was right. There was no wonder that this was too much for the gravity of a poor soldier.
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