paring to carry him up,
he exhorted and comforted the Protestants, who were all weeping round
him. When he reached the platform he laid himself of his own accord on
the cross; but hearing from the executioner that he must first be
undressed, he raised himself again with a smile, so that the
executioner's assistant could remove his doublet and small-clothes. As
he wore no stockings, his legs being bandaged the man also unwound these
bandages, and rolled up Boeton's shirts-sleeves to the elbow, and then
ordered him to lay himself again on the cross. Boeton did so with
unbroken calm. All his limbs were then bound to the beams with cords at
every joint; this accomplished, the assistant retired, and the
executioner came forward. He held in his hand a square bar of iron, an
inch and a half thick, three feet long, and rounded at one end so as to
form a handle.

When Boeton saw it he began singing a psalm, but almost immediately the
melody was interrupted by a cry: the executioner had broken a bone of
Boeton's right leg; but the singing was at once resumed, and continued
without interruption till each limb had been broken in two places. Then
the executioner unbound the formless but still living body from the
cross, and while from its lips issued words of faith in God he laid it on
the wheel, bending it back on the legs in such a manner that the heels
and head met; and never once during the completion of this atrocious
performance did the voice of the sufferer cease to sound forth the
praises of the Lord.

No execution till then had ever produced such an effect on the crowd, so
that Abbe Massilla, who was present, seeing the general emotion, hastened
to call M. de Baville's attention to the fact that, far from Boeton's
death inspiring the Protestants with terror, they were only encouraged to
hold out, as was proved by their tears, and the praises they lavished on
the dying man.

M, de Baville, recognising the truth of this observation, ordered that
Boeton should be put out of misery. This order being conveyed to the
executioner, he approached the wheel to break in Boeton's chest with one
last blow; but an archer standing on the scaffold threw himself before
the sufferer, saying that the Huguenot had not yet suffered half enough.
At this, Boeton, who had heard the dreadful dispute going on beside him,
interrupted his prayers for an instant, and raising his head, which hung
down over the edge of the wheel, said, "Friend,