Par quelqu'un qui en a fait l'expériene...
L'auteur des lignes qui suivent,
membre d'une sorte de "club du suicide", s'est fait semi-pendre (on
l'a pendu dans les règles, mais libéré très vite de la corde) en
présence de plusieurs amis. Il a envoyé un bref compte-rendu de ses sensations à la PMG.
— A good stout rope had been obtained. This was securely fastened to the rafters of the barn roof. I pulled at the rope with my hands to make sure that it would not break. Then I permitted myself to be blindfolded and mounted on a chair.
— A good stout rope had been obtained. This was securely fastened to the rafters of the barn roof. I pulled at the rope with my hands to make sure that it would not break. Then I permitted myself to be blindfolded and mounted on a chair.
For a moment, I admit, 1 was weak enough to turn pale and tremble. I soon, however, recovered my presence of mind. Putting my head through the noose I gave the signal.
I felt the chair dawn from under me. There was a great jerk, and [ felt a violent pain in my neck, as though my scarf had all of a sudden become too tight. Now. comes the most curious part of my experience. After the first feeling of torture, which I admit was decidedly severe, I lost consciousness.
I seemed to be transported to a new world, more beautiful than anything imagined by the poets. I was swimming, methought, in a sea of oil. The feeling was exquisitely delicious. As I swam easily and without effort through the liquid mass I noticed afar off an island of the most glorious emerald green in colour. This it was my wish to reach. I swam lazily and contentedly on. The sea kept every instant changing its hue, though it remained of the same subseance throughout. At one instant it was a mass of gold, as though the sun were shining brilliantly on it. The next moment it was a vivid blood-red ; but there was nothing terrible or disgusting in this new colour. It kept changing, in fact, to all the hues of the rainbow, yellow and red being the predominant tints. I got nearer and nearer to the isle.
As I approached it there sprung out suddenly from the ground a number of people strangely transfigured, whose faces seemed to be known to me. lat last reached the land. A magnificent chorus of voices, human and thoBS of birds, burst forth. I closed my eyes in ecstasy. I floated calmly on to the shore, and lay as a child in its cradle, slightly weakened from, as I suppose, the enervating effect of the oil matter in which I had been swimming. At last I opened my eyes. The magic charm waß at once dispelled. The divine harmony ceased.
The faces were still peering at me with an expression of eager curiosity, but I perceived that they belonged to the members of our society. The pain in cay neck was great. I was now in entire possession of my senses. My friends fortunately cut me down in time. I was still weak — too weak to at once relieve my friends' curiosity. When I was able to speak I told them my experiences. Though I drew a charming picture of the bliss which I had felt, not one of them would consent to try my experiment. They all considered my | conduct heroic, but absolutely refused to emulate me. They said I looked so ghastly!
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| Tarot - Le Pendu |
L'article fut repris par le New York Times du 5 novembre 1885 sous le titre "The Pleasures of Hanging"
Le NYT l'introduit ainsi
Dans l'argumentation à propos de la peine capitale, les sociologues ont toujours regretté que personne, après avoir été pendu, n'ait décrit complètement les sensations éprouvées et on a toujours considéré que le témoignage d'une telle personne serait d'un poids précieux pour déterminer de manière définitive les mérites de cette méthode d'exécution. Mais aucun être humain pendu pour un crime n'a consenti à enregistrer ses émotions.
Maintenant, toutefois, en voilà un qui est revenu de la corde et détaille son expérience minutieusement. Le résultat devrait faire cesser immédiatement cette méthode d'exécution privilégiée dans ce pays (les USQ) et en Grande-Bretagne. Le gentleman qui a fait l'expérience trouve que la pendaison, au lieu d'être, comme l'imagination populaire se la figure, relativement douloureuse, est réellement une relaxation agréable. Cette expérience calcule donc non de rendre la peine capitale odieuse, mais d'augmenter le crime en stimulant une passion pour ce mode de sortie des choses mondaines.
Et le NYT conclut :
Cependant, il ne faut pas s'attendre à ce que la vanité personnelle retienne les criminels du désir d'expérimenter les sensations décrites avec tant de vivacité par le gentleman pendu et il est évident que récompenser nos meurtriers avec une envolée aussi extatique ne fera qu'encourager le crime.
