ad been spent by him in attending upon the wounded of
the Commune. Finally the judge, Senator Louis Bonjean, was called.
"In a moment," he replied; "I am putting my coat on." At this,
one of the leaders seized him. "You will want no coat where you
are going," he cried; "come as you are."

The only one of the party who seemed to tremble was the aged _cure_
of the Madeleine; but his nervous tremor soon passed off, and he
was calm like the others. As they went down the winding stairs, the
archbishop (being first) stepped rapidly before the rest, and turning
at the bottom, raised his hand and pronounced the absolution. After
this there was silence among the prisoners. "The chaplain Allard
alone," said one of the Commune, "kept on muttering something." He
was reciting, half aloud, the service for the dying.

Pere Ducoudray had his breviary in his hand. He gave it, as he
passed, to the concierge of the prison. The captain of the firing
party snatched it, and flung it on the fire.

When the spot was reached where the shooting was to take place,
the archbishop addressed some words of pity and forgiveness to
the murderers. Two of the firing party knelt at his feet; but he
had not time to bless them before, with threats and blows, they
were forced to rise, and the archbishop was ordered to go and place
himself against the wall.

But here, when the bitterness of death was almost passed, occurred
a difficulty. Two of the leaders wanted to have the execution in a
little inner courtyard, shut in by blank walls. So the procession
was again formed, marched through long passages and up stairways,
and halted while keys were searched for, before it came to the spot.
On the way, a man crept up to the archbishop, uttering blasphemies
into his ear. The good man's mild look of reproof and pain so moved
one of the sub-officers that he drove the man off, saying: "We
are here to shoot these men, not to insult them."

The six victims were at last placed in a line, with their backs
to the wall. As Ferre was giving the order to fire, the archbishop
raised his right hand in order to give, as his last act, his episcopal
blessing. As he did so, Lolive exclaimed: "That's your benediction
is it?--now take mine!" and shot the old man through the body with
a revolver. All were shot dead at once, save M. Bonjean.

There is now a marble slab in the little court inscribed with their
names, and headed: "Respect this place, which witnessed the death
of