The Count of Monte Cristo

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confetti (sweetmeats), as they do not show the flour."

Franz heard the words of the count but imperfectly, and he perhaps did
not fully appreciate this new attention to their wishes; for he was
wholly absorbed by the spectacle that the Piazza del Popolo presented,
and by the terrible instrument that was in the centre. It was the first
time Franz had ever seen a guillotine,--we say guillotine, because
the Roman mandaia is formed on almost the same model as the French
instrument. [*] The knife, which is shaped like a crescent, that cuts
with the convex side, falls from a less height, and that is all the
difference. Two men, seated on the movable plank on which the victim
is laid, were eating their breakfasts, while waiting for the criminal.
Their repast consisted apparently of bread and sausages. One of them
lifted the plank, took out a flask of wine, drank some, and then passed
it to his companion. These two men were the executioner's assistants.
At this sight Franz felt the perspiration start forth upon his brow. The
prisoners, transported the previous evening from the Carcere Nuovo to