e out for a week, and so on. When he was wide awake
and realized the truth, he became very silent and argued no more--so
they say; but after a bit he said: 'It comes very hard on one so
suddenly' and then he was silent again and said nothing.

"The three or four hours went by, of course, in necessary
preparations--the priest, breakfast, (coffee, meat, and some wine they
gave him; doesn't it seem ridiculous?) And yet I believe these people
give them a good breakfast out of pure kindness of heart, and believe
that they are doing a good action. Then he is dressed, and then begins
the procession through the town to the scaffold. I think he, too,
must feel that he has an age to live still while they cart him along.
Probably he thought, on the way, 'Oh, I have a long, long time yet.
Three streets of life yet! When we've passed this street there'll be
that other one; and then that one where the baker's shop is on the
right; and when shall we get there? It's ages, ages!' Around him are
crowds shouting, yelling--ten thousand faces, twenty thousand eyes.
All this has to be endured, and especially the thought: 'Here are ten
thousand men, and not one of them is going to be executed, and yet I am
to die.' Well, all that is preparatory.

"At the scaffold there is a ladder, and just there he burst into
tears--and this was a strong man, and a terribly wicked one, they say!
There was a priest with him the whole time, talking; even in the cart
as they drove along, he talked and talked. Probably the other heard
nothing; he would begin to listen now and then, and at the third word or
so he had forgotten all about it.

"At last he began to mount the steps; his legs were tied, so that he had
to take very small steps. The priest, who seemed to be a wise man, had
stopped talking now, and only held the cross for the wretched fellow to
kiss. At the foot of the ladder he had been pale enough; but when he set
foot on the scaffold at the top, his face suddenly became the colour
of paper, positively like white notepaper. His legs must have become
suddenly feeble and helpless, and he felt a choking in his throat--you
know the sudden feeling one has in moments of terrible fear, when one
does not lose one's wits, but is absolutely powerless to move? If some
dreadful thing were suddenly to happen; if a house were just about to
fall on one;--don't you know how one would long to sit down and shut
one's eyes and wait, and wait? Well, when this terrible f