CHAPTER LII. THE TRIAL
"Well, I'll say as you did just now, we'll talk about it when I return,if I do."
"Bless me!" exclaimed Bonaparte, "I'm not afraid; you'll kill him as youhave the others; only this time, I must admit, I shall be sorry to havehim die."
"If you are going to feel so badly about it, general, I can easily bekilled in his stead."
"Don't do anything foolish, ninny!" cried Bonaparte; hastily; "I shouldfeel still worse if I lost you."
"Really, general, you are the hardest man to please that I know of,"said Roland with his harsh laugh.
And this time he took his way to Chivasso without further delay.
Half an hour later, Roland was galloping along the road to Ivrae in apost-chaise. He was to travel thus to Aosta, at Aosta take a mule, crossthe Saint-Bernard to Martigny, thence to Geneva, on to Bourg, and fromBourg to Paris.
While he is galloping along let us see what has happened in France,and clear up the points in the conversation between Bonaparte and hisaide-de-camp which must be obscure to the reader's mind.
The prisoners which Roland had made at the grotto of Ceyzeriat hadremained but one night in the prison at Bourg. They had been immediatelytransferred to that of Besancon, where they were to appear before acouncil of war.
It will be remembered that two of these prisoners were so grievouslywounded that they were carried into Bourg on stretchers. One of themdied that same night, the other, three days after they reached Besancon.The number of prisoners was therefore reduced to four; Morgan, who hadsurrendered himself voluntarily and who was safe and sound, and Montbar,Adler, and d'Assas, who were more or less wounded in the fight, thoughnone of them dangerously. These four aliases hid, as the reader willremember, the real names of the Baron de Sainte-Hermine, the Comte deJayat, the Vicomte de Valensolle, and the Marquis de Ribier.
While the evidence was being taken against the four prisoners beforethe military commission at Besancon, the time expired when under thelaw such cases were tried by courts-martial. The prisoners becameaccountable therefore to the civil tribunals. This made a greatdifference to them, not only as to the penalty if convicted, but in themode of execution. Condemned by a court-martial, they would be shot;condemned by the courts, they would be guillotined. Death by the firstwas not infamous; death by the second was.
As soon as it appeared that their case was to be brought before a jury,it belonged by law to the court of Bourg. Toward the end of March theprisoners were therefore transferred from the prison of Besancon to thatof Bourg, and the first steps toward a trial were taken.
But here the prisoners adopted a line of defence that greatlyembarrassed the prosecuting officers. They declared themselves to be theBaron de Sainte-Hermine, the Comte de Jayat, the Vicomte de Valensolle,and the Marquis de Ribier, and to have no connection with the pillagersof diligences, whose names were Morgan, Montbar, Adler, and d'Assas.They acknowledged having belonged to armed bands; but these forcesbelonged to the army of M. de Teyssonnet and were a ramification of thearmy of Brittany intended to operate in the East and the Midi, while thearmy of Brittany, which had just signed a peace, operated in the North.They had waited only to hear of Cadoudal's surrender to do likewise, andthe despatch of the Breton leader was no doubt on its way to them whenthey were attacked and captured.
It was difficult to disprove this. The diligences had invariably beenpillaged by masked, men, and, apart from Madame de Montrevel and SirJohn Tanlay, no one had ever seen the faces of the assailants.
The reader will recall those circumstances: Sir John, on the night theyhad tried, condemned, and stabbed him; Madame de Montrevel, when thediligence was stopped, and she, in her nervous struggle, had struck offthe mask of the leader.
Both had been summoned before the preliminary court and both had beenconfronted with the prisoners; but neither Sir John nor Madame deMontrevel had recognized any of them. How came they to practice thisdeception? As for Madame de Montrevel, it was comprehensible. She felt adouble gratitude to the man who had come to her assistance, and who hadalso forgiven, and even praised, Edouard's attack upon himself. ButSir John's silence was more difficult to explain, for among the fourprisoners he must have recognized at least two of his assailants.
They had recognized him, and a certain quiver had run through theirveins as they did so, but their eyes were none the less resolutely fixedupon him, when, to their great astonishment, Sir John, in spite of thejudge's insistence, had calmly replied: "I have not the honor of knowingthese gentlemen."
Amelie--we have not spoken of her, for there are sorrows no pen candepict--Amelie, pale, feverish, almost expiring since that fatal nightwhen Morgan was arrested, awaited the return of her mother and SirJohn from the preliminary trial with dreadful anxiety. Sir John arrivedfirst. Madame de Montrevel had remained behind to give some orders toMichel. As soon as Amelie saw him she rushed forward, crying out: "Whathappened?"
Sir John looked behind him, to make sure that Madame de Montrevel couldneither see nor hear him, then he said: "Your mother and I recognized noone."
"Ah! how noble you are I how generous! how good, my lord!" cried theyoung girl, trying to kiss his hand.
But he, withdrawing his hand, said hastily: "I have only done as Ipromised you; but hush--here is your mother."
Amelie stepped back. "Ah, mamma!" she said, "so you did not say anythingto compromise those unfortunate men?"
"What!" replied Madame de Montrevel; "would you have me send to thescaffold a man who had helped me, and who, instead of punishing Edouard,kissed him?"
"And yet," said Amelie, trembling, "you recognized him, did you not?"
"Perfectly," replied Madame de Montrevel. "He is the fair man with theblack eyebrows who calls himself the Baron de Sainte-Hermine."
Amelie gave a stifled cry. Then, making an effort to control herself,she said: "Is that the end of it for Sir John and you? Will you becalled to testify again?"
"Probably not," replied Madame de Montrevel.
"In any case," observed Sir John, "as neither your mother nor Irecognized any one, she will persist in that declaration."
"Oh! most certainly," exclaimed Madame de Montrevel. "God keep me fromcausing the death of that unhappy young man. I should never forgivemyself. It is bad enough that Roland should have been the one to capturehim and his companions."
Amelie sighed, but nevertheless her face assumed a calmer expression.She looked gratefully at Sir John, and then went up to her room, whereCharlotte was waiting for her. Charlotte had become more than a maid,she was now Amelie's friend. Every day since the four young men hadreturned to the prison at Bourg she had gone there to see her fatherfor an hour or so. During these visits nothing was talked of but theprisoners, whom the worthy jailer, royalist as he was, pitied withall his heart. Charlotte made him tell her everything, even to theirslightest words, and later reported all to Amelie.
Matters stood thus when Madame de Montrevel and Sir John arrived atNoires-Fontaines. Before leaving Paris, the First Consul had informedMadame de Montrevel, both through Josephine and Roland, that he approvedof her daughter's marriage, and wished it to take place during hisabsence, and as soon as possible. Sir John had declared to her thathis most ardent wishes were for this union, and that he only awaitedAmelie's commands to become the happiest of men. Matters having reachedthis point, Madame de Montrevel, on the morning of the day on whichshe and Sir John were to give their testimony, had arranged a privateinterview between her daughter and Sir John.
The interview lasted over an hour, and Sir John did not leave Amelieuntil the carriage came to the door which was to take Madame deMontrevel and himself to the court. We have seen that his deposition wasall in the prisoners' favor, and we have also seen how Amelie receivedhim on his return.
That evening Madame de Montrevel had a long conversation with herdaughter. To her mother's pressing inquiries, Amelie merely replied thatthe state of her health was such that she desired a postponement of hermarriage, and that she counted on Sir
John's delicacy to grant it.
The next day Madame de Montrevel was obliged to return to Paris,her position in Madame Bonaparte's household not admitting of longerabsence. The morning of her departure she urged Amelie to accompany her;but again the young girl dwelt upon the feebleness of her health. Thesweetest and most reviving months in the year were just opening, and shebegged to be allowed to spend then in the country, for they were sure,she said, to do her good.
Madame de Montrevel, always unable to deny Amelie anything, above allwhere it concerned her health, granted her request.
On her return to Paris, Madame de Montrevel travelled as before, withSir John. Much to her surprise, during the two days' journey he did notsay anything to her about his marriage to Amelie. But Madame Bonaparte,as soon as she saw her friend, asked the usual question: "Well, whenshall we marry Amelie and Sir John? You know how much the First Consuldesires it."
To which Madame de Montrevel replied: "It all depends on Sir John."
This response furnished Madame Bonaparte with much food for reflection.Why should a man who had been so eager suddenly grow cold? Time alonecould explain the mystery.
Time went by, and the trial of the prisoners began. They were confrontedwith all the travellers who had signed the various depositions, which,as we have seen, were in the possession of the minister of police. Noone had recognized them, for no one had seen their faces uncovered.Moreover, the travellers asserted that none of their property, eithermoney or jewels, had been taken. Jean Picot testified that the twohundred louis which had been taken from him by accident had beenreturned.
These preliminary inquiries lasted over two months. At the end of thattime the accused, against whom there was no evidence connecting themwith the pillage of the coaches, were under no accusation but thatof their own admissions; that is to say, of being affiliated with theBreton and Vendean insurrection. They were simply one of the armed bandsroaming the Jura under the orders of M. de Teyssonnet.
The judges delayed the final trial as long as possible, hoping that somemore direct testimony might be discovered. This hope was balked. No onehad really suffered from the deeds imputed to these young men, exceptthe Treasury, whose misfortunes concerned no one. The trial could not bedelayed any longer.
The prisoners, on their side, had made the best of their time. By means,as we have seen, of an exchange of passports, Morgan had travelledsometimes as Ribier, and Ribier as Sainte-Hermine, and so with theothers. The result was a confusion in the testimony of the innkeepers,which the entries in their books only served to increase. The arrivalof travellers, noted on the registers an hour too early or an hour toolate, furnished the prisoners with irrefutable alibis. The judges weremorally convinced of their guilt; but their conviction was impossibleagainst such testimony.
On the other hand, it must be said that public sympathy was wholly withthe prisoners.
The trial began. The prison at Bourg adjoins the courtroom. Theprisoners could be brought there through the interior passages. Large asthe hall was, it was crowded on the opening day. The whole populationof Bourg thronged about the doors, and persons came from Macon,Sons-le-Saulnier, Besancon, and Nantua, so great was the excitementcaused by the stoppages, and so popular were the exploits of theCompanions of Jehu.
The entrance of the four prisoners was greeted by a murmur in whichthere was nothing offensive. Public sentiment seemed equally dividedbetween curiosity and sympathy. Their presence, it must be admitted, waswell calculated to inspire both. Very handsome, dressed in the latestfashion of the day, self-possessed without insolence, smiling toward theaudience, courteous to their judges, though at times a little sarcastic,their personal appearance was their best defence.
The oldest of the four was barely thirty. Questioned as to their names,Christian and family, their age, and places of birth, they answered asfollows:
"Charles de Sainte-Hermine, born at Tours, department of theIndre-et-Loire, aged twenty-four."
"Louis-Andre de Jayat, born at Bage-le-Chateau, department of the Ain,aged twenty-nine."
"Raoul-Frederic-Auguste de Valensolle, born at Sainte-Colombe,department of the Rhone, aged twenty-seven."
"Pierre-Hector de Ribier, born at Bollene, department of Vaucluse, agedtwenty-six."
Questioned as to their social condition and state, all four said theywere of noble rank and royalists.
These fine young men, defending themselves against death on thescaffold, not against a soldier's death before the guns--who asked thedeath they claimed to have merited as insurrectionists, but a deathof honor--formed a splendid spectacle of youth, courage, and gallantbearing.
The judges saw plainly that on the accusation of being insurrectionists,the Vendee having submitted and Brittany being pacificated, they wouldhave to be acquitted. That was not a result to satisfy the minister ofpolice. Death awarded by a council of war would not have satisfied him;he had determined that these men should die the death of malefactors, adeath of infamy.
The trial had now lasted three days without proceeding in the directionof the minister's wishes. Charlotte, who could reach the courtroomthrough the prison, was there each day, and returned each night toAmelie with some fresh word of hope. On the fourth day, Amelie couldbear the suspense no longer. She dressed herself in a costume similarto the one that Charlotte wore, except that the black lace of thehead-dress was longer and thicker than is usual with the Bressan peasantwoman. It formed a veil and completely hid her features.
Charlotte presented Amelie to her father as one of her friends who wasanxious to see the trial. The good man did not recognize Mademoiselle deMontrevel, and in order to enable the young girls to see the prisonerswell he placed them in the doorway of the porter's room, which openedupon the passage leading to the courtroom. This passage was so narrowat this particular point that the four gendarmes who accompanied theprisoners changed the line of march. First came two officers, then theprisoners one by one, then the other two officers. The girls stood inthe doorway.
When Amelie heard the doors open she was obliged to lean uponCharlotte's shoulder for support, the earth seemed to give way underher feet and the wall at her back. She heard the sound of feet and therattle of the gendarmes' sabres, then the door of the prison opened.
First one gendarme appeared, then another, then Sainte-Hermine, walkingfirst, as though he were still Morgan, the captain of the Companions ofJehu.
As he passed Amelie murmured: "Charles!"
The prisoner recognized the beloved voice, gave a faint cry, and felta paper slip into his hand. He pressed that precious hand, murmured hername, and passed on.
The others who followed did not, or pretended not to, notice the twogirls. As for the gendarmes, they had seen and heard nothing.
As soon as the party stepped into the light, Morgan unfolded the noteand read as follows:
Do not be anxious, my beloved Charles; I am and ever will be your faithful Amelie, in life or death. I have told all to Lord Tanlay. He is the most generous man on earth; he has promised me to break off the marriage and to take the whole responsibility on himself. I love you.
Morgan kissed the note and put it in his breast. Then he glanced downthe corridor and saw the two Bressan women leaning against the door.Amelie had risked all to see him once more. It is true, however, that atthis last session of the court no additional witnesses were expected whocould injure the accused, and in the absence of proof it was impossibleto convict them.
The best lawyers in the department, those of Lyons and Besancon, hadbeen retained by the prisoners for their defence. Each had spoken inturn, destroying bit by bit the indictment, as, in the tournaments ofthe Middle Ages, a strong and dexterous knight was wont to knock off,piece by piece, his adversary's armor. Flattering applause had followedthe more remarkable points of their arguments, in spite of the usher'swarnings and the admonitions of the judge.
Amelie, with clasped hands, was thanking God, who had so visiblymanifested Himself in the prisoners' favor. A dreadful weight was lifte
dfrom her tortured breast. She breathed with joy, and looked throughtears of gratitude at the Christ which hung above the judge's head.
The arguments were all made, and the case about to be closed. Suddenlyan usher entered the courtroom, approached the judge, and whisperedsomething in his ear.
"Gentlemen," said the judge, "the court is adjourned for a time. Let theprisoners be taken out."
There was a movement of feverish anxiety among the audience. What couldhave happened? What unexpected event was about to take place? Everyone looked anxiously at his neighbor. Amelie's heart was wrung by apresentiment. She pressed her hand to her breast; it was as though anice-cold iron had pierced it to the springs of life.
The gendarmes rose. The prisoners did likewise, and were then marchedback to their cells. One after the other they passed Amelie. The handsof the lovers touched each other; those of Amelie were as cold as death.
"Whatever happens, thank you," said Charles, as he passed.
Amelie tried to answer, but the words died on her lips.
During this time the judge had risen and passed into thecouncil-chamber. There he found a veiled woman, who had just descendedfrom a carriage at the door of the courthouse, and had not spoken to anyone on her way in.
"Madame," said the judge, "I offer you many excuses for the way in whichI have brought you from Paris; but the life of a man depends upon it,and before that consideration everything must yield."
"You have no need to excuse yourself, sir," replied the veiled lady, "Iknow the prerogatives of the law, and I am here at your orders."
"Madame," said the judge, "the court and myself recognize the feeling ofdelicacy which prompted you, when first confronted with the prisoners,to decline to recognize the one who assisted you when fainting. Atthat time the prisoners denied their identity with the pillagers of thediligences. Since then they have confessed all; but it is our wish toknow the one who showed you that consideration, in order that we mayrecommend him to the First Consul's clemency."
"What!" exclaimed the lady, "have they really confessed?"
"Yes, madame, but they will not say which of their number helped you,fearing, no doubt, to contradict your testimony, and thus cause youembarrassment."
"What is it you request of me, sir?"
"That you will save the gentleman who assisted you."
"Oh! willingly," said the lady, rising; "what am I to do?"
"Answer a question which I shall ask you."
"I am ready, sir."
"Wait here a moment. You will be sent for presently."
The judge went back into the courtroom. A gendarme was placed at eachdoor to prevent any one from approaching the lady. The judge resumed hisseat.
"Gentlemen," said he, "the session is reopened."
General excitement prevailed. The ushers called for silence, and silencewas restored.
"Bring in the witness," said the judge.
An usher opened the door of the council-chamber, and the lady, stillveiled, was brought into court. All eyes turned upon her. Who was she?Why was she there? What had she come for? Amelie's eyes fastened uponher at once.
"O my God!" she murmured, "grant that I be mistaken."
"Madame," said the judge, "the prisoners are about to be brought in.Have the goodness to point out the one who, when the Geneva diligencewas stopped, paid you those attentions."
A shudder ran through the audience. They felt that some fatal trap hadbeen laid for the prisoners.
A dozen voices began to shout: "Say nothing!" but the ushers, at a signfrom the judge, cried out imperatively: "Silence!"
Amelie's heart turned deadly cold. A cold sweat poured from herforehead. Her knees gave way and trembled under her.
"Bring in the prisoners," said the judge, imposing silence by a lookas the usher had with his voice. "And you, madame, have the goodness toadvance and raise your veil."
The veiled lady obeyed.
"My mother!" cried Amelie, but in a voice so choked that only those nearher heard the words.
"Madame de Montrevel!" murmured the audience.
At that moment the first gendarme appeared at the door, then the second.After him came the prisoners, but not in the same order as before.Morgan had placed himself third, so that, separated as he was from thegendarmes by Montbar and Adler in front and d'Assas behind, he might bebetter able to clasp Amelie's hand.
Montbar entered first.
Madame de Montrevel shook her head.
Then came Adler.
Madame de Montrevel made the same negative sign.
Just then Morgan passed before Amelie.
"We are lost!" she said.
He looked at her in astonishment as she pressed his hand convulsively.Then he entered.
"That is he," said Madame de Montrevel, as soon as she saw Morgan--or,if the reader prefers it, Baron Charles de Sainte-Hermine--who wasnow proved one and the same man by means of Madame de Montrevel'sidentification.
A long cry of distress burst from the audience. Montbar burst into alaugh.
"Ha! by my faith!" he cried, "that will teach you, dear friend, to playthe gallant with fainting women." Then, turning to Madame de Montrevel,he added: "With three short words, madame, you have decapitated fourheads."
A terrible silence fell, in the midst of which a groan was heard.
"Usher," said the judge, "have you warned the public that all marks ofapprobation or disapproval are forbidden?"
The usher inquired who had disobeyed the order of the court. It was awoman wearing the dress of a Bressan peasant, who was being carried intothe jailer's room.
From that moment the accused made no further attempt at denial; but,just as Morgan had united with them when arrested, they now joined withhim. Their four heads should be saved, or fall together.
That same day, at ten in the evening, the jury rendered a verdict ofguilty, and the court pronounced the sentence of death.
Three days later, by force of entreaties, the lawyers obtainedpermission for the accused to appeal their case; but they were notadmitted to bail.