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Show x-:-i:-m-:X':-Xv3:ox-zox-x-:-x-x-x-zxxm-z-:-x-xz-m-m-mxx Mercy Cut No Figure in Old-Tirie Justice these places. Sometimes he finished his work by striking the criminal two or three blows on the chest or stomach, stom-ach, which usually put an end to the sufferer's life, and therefore were called blows of mercy. The punishment punish-ment of the wheel was abolished in France at the revolution. In Germany It was occasionally Inflicted early In the last century for the crimes of treason trea-son and parricide. The torturing of criminals on "the wheel" Is a very ancient form of punishment. pun-ishment. In nn "improved" form It was revived In Germany in the Fourteenth Four-teenth century. The unfortunate victim vic-tim was laid upon a very large cart wheel, his legs and arms extended and fastened to the spokes, and in that position, po-sition, as the wheel was turned around, his limbs were broken by successive suc-cessive blovs with an iron bar. In Fiance, where the wheel was used only to punish criminals of the most atrocious sort, the victim was first bound to a frame of wood In the form of a St. Andrew's cross that Is, two bars of equal length laid crosswise like an X. Grooves were cut transversely trans-versely in these burs, above and below the knees and elbows, and the executioner execu-tioner struck the limbs of the victim eight blows so as to break them in |