Note 7
Chapter 35. La Mazzolata
Dr. Guillotin got the idea of his famous machine from witnessing an execution in Italy.
It was the first time Franz had ever seen a guillotine,—we say guillotine, because the Roman mandaïa is formed on almost the same model as the French instrument.[7] 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.
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