| Explanation |
| |
| . . . on awaiting the execution of |
| Nicolas Jacques Pelletier, highwayman, |
| at the Place de Grève, |
| by means of a machine, 1792 |
| |
| It was the good Doctor who urged the assembly |
| to reintroduce the use of |
| this wonderful machine. |
| Certainly, |
| as he has already explained, |
| it is the most painless and uniform |
| method |
| ever devised |
| for executing criminals. |
| |
| Watch now, how the blade— |
| and it has already been satisfactorily |
| demonstrated |
| on the cadavers |
| of Bicêtre— |
| watch how in one swift travel |
| that weighty blade cleanly |
| severs the brain |
| from the body. |
| |
| No longer—after today—can any |
| of our noble ones |
| lay claim |
| to the exclusive privilege of execution |
| by decapitation. |
| |
| Indeed, by far |
| La Petite Louison |
| is the most humane and advanced |
| method |
| ever devised |
| for disposing of all those |
| we consider |
| unnecessary. |
| |
 |
| (Copyright © 2000) |
Originally published in
Half Tones to Jubilee, Summer 1988 |
