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Excerpt from A Sketch Book: Comprising Historical Incidents, Traditional Tales and Translations
In time the butchers themselves began to come under the killing machine; Robespierre made his last speech before the Convention in July and two days later (the 9th' Thermidor) his head was removed and the reign of terror was past, lasting since the Bastille was demolished, during which France experienced horrors enough for a century.
A singular feature of the gruesome performance was a complete disregard for those who were butchered; the living seemed indifferent whether on a certain day one score or one hundred were sent to the block. Hawkers went round selling lists for that day, humorously shouting Here are the names of those who drew prizes in the guillotine lottery. Human nature seems to have become callous; even the gentler sex watched daily the falling heads with evident pleasure. During the killing time all places of amusement were filled with gay, thoughtless crowds and the close of the butchery was celebrated by a grand entertainment ball of the none being invited except those who had lost relatives by the guillotine. At this brilliant assembly, ladies fastened their hair as was customary with women when about laying their heads on the block. The guillotine was pleasantly spoken of as the coining machine and the victims to it as corn to a factory.
During the butchery at Lyons a young girl threw herself at feet of the judges crying - Mother, father, sisters, uncles, you have put out of the way; let me share their fate. Her appeal being refused, she cast herself into the Rhone and perished. At the same place a woman wasexecuted because she wept over the death of her husband.
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