Sanson's Memoirs, Vol. 2 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Sanson's Memoirs, Vol. 2

The death of Louis XVI. profoundly disturbed Charles Henri Sanson. I do not know whether I have shown this extraordinary man in sufficient relief. Charles Henri was a true descendant of his stoical grandmother. He had been imbued with her ideas and principles, and believed in the legitimacy of his profession and social mission. He regarded himself as invested with stern and painful, yet withal necessary, functions. This conviction had given him enough strength and courage to discharge duties which, I have every reason to believe, clashed with his natural disposition. His sense of duty had, however, been confirmed by forty years' experience. At times the cruelty of certain punishments, as in the case of Damiens, had slightly shaken his strong faith; but a sentiment of obedience prevailed in the end, and his scruples vanished before the certainty that the judges were responsible for the sentences which he, as their blind instrument, carried out.

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