Excerpt from The Young Emancipator, Vol. 1: October, 1878 The audacity of its sentences can only be compared with the inhumanity with which they were executed. For while it united the ridiculous with the horrible, by the strangeness of its processions it amused people's eyes, weakening the sympathies by rousing Opposition, and in mocking and contempt it drowned all pity The criminal was led to the place of execution with proud pompousness, a blood-red flag waving at the head of the procession, which was accompanied with the tolling of the church bells, then followed priests clad in mass garments si 1ging psalms. After them followed the condemned wretch, clothed m a yellow robe, on which were painted images of black devils. On his head he wore a paper cap, which ended in a human figure, about which played flames of fire, and horrible demons flying about. Turned away from the (supposed) eternally damned wretch the crucifix was borne, salvation was worth nothing to him. To the fire belonged his mortal body, as to the flames of hell did his immortal soul. A gag stopped his mouth, preventing him from expressing his pains by cries, so thatno pity for him could be awakened in the bystanders, and in order that he could not tell any of the secrets of the holy court of judgment. After hirn followed the clergy in their festal robes, the authorities and the nobility the fathers (monks) who had tried him closed the pompous train. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.