Word: deibler
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White-bearded, excitable M. Anatole Deibler, as well-known to French newspaper readers as Edouard Herriot, arrived in Bastia last week on professional business. With him he had his son-in-law, Andre Perrier, and a small traveling guillotine. Since 1879 the Deibler family have been guillotineurs to the French Republic...
...this time a busy little old man in a derby hat was rushing officiously about. Craning their necks behind rows of police, onlookers whispered that it was "Monsieur de Paris," traditional name for France's executioner, otherwise Anatole Joseph Deibler, 76.* Immediately another closed van rattled into the square and out jumped the assistant executioners, a priest, and a scowling, square-jawed man in shirtsleeves. Again the whisper went round: "C'est lui! C'est Sarret!" Georges Alexander Sarrejani, alias Sarret, was a Trieste-born Greek who three years ago succeeded the late infamous Henri Desire Landru...
...pushed beneath the knife. The executioner tripped the lever, the triangular blade crashed down-and jammed, half way down. "Imbeciles!" bellowed Murderer Sarret. "Be quick can't you!" For ten minutes he lay with his head on the block while perspiring, embarrassed workmen argued and tinkered. Executioner Deibler clutched at his weak heart. Then up went the knife to crash down again, successfully this time. Guillotine and crowds were gone and the square hosed and washed before breakfast...
...Seventy-six-year-old M. Deibler has officiated at exactly 300 executions. He has long talked of retiring to the country, wants to raise chickens...
Male correspondents noted that the head fell into a basket, that the body was dumped into a zinc-lined wicker coffin (in which the head was later placed) for delivery to pregnant Mme Gorgulov, that Executioner Anatole ("Monsieur de Paris") Deibler wore his usual derby hat and was assisted by his son-in-law André Perrier who is being groomed to succeed M. Deibler as the next "Monsieur de Paris...