from Mazas to La Grande Roquette, where the Governor gave a receipt for their bodies worded as follows: “Received forty priests and magistrates.” By this time the troops stationed at La Roquette had been strongly reinforced, and on the evening of the twenty-fifth of May another detachment arrived. It was frankly admitted that they were the “platoon of execution.” A list was handed to François, a low creature who had been a carpenter, containing the names of all his prisoners. These names were called out one by one, Darboy, the Archbishop, first. “Let me get my coat,” said Monseigneur, but some one called out, “You will not want it,” and taking him by the arm they led him down to the garden that runs round the interior of the prison. This was the first _chemin de ronde_. The second was reached by turning to the left, and again to the left, and was well out of sight of the ordinary prison and the hospital. The hostages then appear to have been arranged according to rank from right to left. The Archbishop first, then M. le President Bonjean, and then the rest of the priests. Just before the final act, the Archbishop raised his hand to bless and absolve his companions, six in all, who faced the firing party at thirty paces distant. At the word of command the execution was completed. In those days of massacre the guillotine was deemed too slow, and the bullet took its place. At daylight next morning the same process was repeated with the fifteen remaining hostages, who were led out one by one and formed up under the same wall. Nowadays the many sympathisers with the victims of this dastardly act, who come from all parts of the world to visit the scene of the murder, will find a marble tablet fixed in the wall over the exact spot where they fell. It bears the inscription: “Respect this place which witnessed the death of the sainted and noble victims of the 24th of May, 1871.” An iron balustrade keeps off irreverent feet, and is constantly adorned with wreaths of immortelles. A large number of hostages remained, many of whom were gensdarmes. They were removed from prison and massacred in a body at Belleville. After many essays at improvement the prisons of Paris have entered upon a stage of approximate perfection, and the capital is now possessed of a penal establishment that compares with any in the civilised world. The great prison of Fresnes, after four years in building at immense outlay, was completed and occupied in July, 1898. It is situated on the very outskirts of Paris, replacing a number of old-fashioned prisons. It covers a wide extent of ground. The entrance is on the Versailles road (on the left of the visitor coming from Berny station), where the great edifice with its imposing, but not too florid, architecture, presents a view of many lofty parallel blocks, flanked by smaller buildings appropriated to the service of the prison.