April 13.—In the autumn of 1886 there was a criminal in the district gaol of Liu Chang in Honan under sentence of death by strangulation. In Honan the executioners are generally chosen from the garrison troops in the neighbourhood. One of these, named Sun Chia, was deputed to execute the sentence in the present instance. The rope, post, and other accessories were duly arranged, and the commanding officer of the prison, Lieutenant Wang, was requested the Magistrate to accompany him on a fixed day to witness the proceedings. The executioner, by way of nerving himself for the event, went into a shop on the way and got thoroughly drunk. The eriminal was escorted by two policemen. The Lieutenant rode behind, and the Mastrate, who went in a chair, was delayed the pressure in the streets arising from the celebration of a local festival. Arrived at the scene, the executioner, who was quite stupefied with the wine, forgot that the prisoner was to be strangled and proceeded instead to decapitate him. The Lieutenant and the policemen shouted out to prevent him, but the act was over before they could do anything. When the Magistrate came, he inquired into the matter and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.