It was then I turned away.
I heard the captain's horrible "Present arms"; I heard some one
praying "Our Father"--perhaps it was Peer himself--then a blow
that sounded exactly as if it went into a great cabbage. At once I
looked round again, and saw one leg kicking out, and a yard or two
beyond the body lay the head, the mouth gasping and gasping as if
for air.
The executioner's assistant sprang forward and took hold of it by
the ends of the handkerchief that had bandaged the eyes, and threw
it into the coffin beside the body, where it fell with a dull
sound. The boards were laid over the coffined remains, and the
whole hastily lifted up and lowered into the grave.
Then my father got up on the platform. Every one could understand
what HE said, and his powerful voice was heard to such a distance
that even now it is remembered in the district. Following up the
thunderous admonition of the execution itself, he warned the young
against the vices which prevailed in the parish--against
drunkenness, fighting, unchastity, and other misconduct. They must
have liked the discourse very much, for it was stolen out of the
pocket of his gown on the way home.
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