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Headsman, The
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Headsman, by James Fenimore Cooper This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Headsman The Abbaye des Vignerons
Author: James Fenimore Cooper
Release Date: February 4, 2004 [EBook #10938]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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The Headsman:
or, The Abbaye des Vignerons.
A Tale
By J. Fenimore Cooper.
"How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds Makes deeds ill done."
Complete in One Volume.
1860.
Introduction.
Early in October 1832, a travelling-carriage stopped on the summit of that long descent where the road pitches from the elevated plain of Moudon in Switzerland to the level of the lake of Geneva, immediately above the little city of Vévey. The postilion had dismounted to chain a wheel, and the halt enabled those he conducted to catch a glimpse of the lovely scenery of that remarkable view.
The travellers were an American family, which had long been wandering about Europe, and which was now destined it knew not whither, having just traversed a thousand miles of Germany in its devious course. Four years before, the same family had halted on the same spot, nearly on the same day of the month of October, and for precisely the same object. It was then journeying to Italy, and as it