Chapter 27 twenty five

The day of the public trial has come.I appeared in court calmly, but I was deeply saddened by the expressions of the crowd.I couldn't find any support, any sympathy from it.I think that on occasions like these, I should at least see the respect that the unfortunate and the isolated need.But all the faces expressed only a wild curiosity.Commoner girls made a fuss and talked loudly about my beauty and youth.A large number of women belonging to the aristocratic or financial circles displayed their gorgeous costumes in the gallery, as if coming to celebrate the festival.Numerous monks bared their heads among the people, inciting them to oppose me; and from the tightly packed ranks came from time to time shouts of "robbers," "blasphemers," "beasts," and so on.The local dignitaries lounged on their seats of honor and talked about my passion in vulgar language.I heard and saw all this with the serenity of a deep hatred for life; like a traveler at the end of a journey who, exhausted and impassive, watches those who are hastily starting again for a still further destination.

The public trial began with seriousness, which is characteristic of judges in all ages exercising their powers.The transcript of my interrogation is brief, although the questions posed to me about my life are innumerable.My reply unexpectedly dampened the expectations of the curious public and greatly shortened the interrogation.I keep myself within the bounds of the three main replies, the content of which remains the same.First, to all questions concerning my childhood and education, I replied that I was by no means going to the dock to accuse anyone.Secondly, to the question concerning Edmee, the nature of my affection, my relation to her, etc., I replied that Mademoiselle de Mauprat's character and reputation did not permit any question concerning the nature of her relation to any man. Even the simplest doubts; as for my feelings, I have no need to explain them to anyone.Thirdly, to the question aimed at making me confess my alleged crime, I replied that I was not even the unintentional perpetrator.In very brief replies I gave a brief account of certain circumstances which immediately preceded this event; but feeling obliged to conceal for Edmee and myself the disturbed impulses which had troubled me, I explained my fall by falling from a horse. The reason for leaving her was to account for the fact that I was found to be far away from her lying body by what I thought was necessary to run after my horse in order to re-escort her.Unfortunately, none of this is clear, nor possible.My horse ran away in the opposite direction from what I said, and before I knew what was wrong, people saw me in a mess, and the fall of the horse was not enough to explain it.They especially questioned me why I was in the woods with my cousin, instead of following the hunt as we would have shown.They don't want to believe that we have indeed been led astray by fate.They retorted that it was inconceivable that Fate, like a rational being, was waiting for Edmee at Gazzo Tower with a gun, and shot her when I turned and walked away for five minutes.They insisted that I was either tricking or using violence to bring her to that remote place, attempting to rape her, and then, either out of vindictiveness that failed, or fear of being punished if the crime would be discovered, I decided to kill her to silence her.

The court heard all the testimony in my favor and against me, and honestly, only one man, Marcas, could be seen as really speaking for me.Other witnesses in my favour only confirmed that a monk "very much like the Maupra family" had wandered around Varenna during the relevant period, even seemed to have gone into hiding the night of the accident, and has not been seen since.These testimonies were not given at my instigation, and I declare that they were not given at my request, which amazes me, for I have seen among the above-mentioned witnesses some of the most honest men in the land.But these testimonies carry weight only in the eyes of Mr. Ay, who really cares about the truth.The magistrate raised his voice and asked why Mr. Jean de Mauprat had not been ordered to appear before the court to confront these witnesses, since he had done his best to have his alibi confirmed by some certificates.The objection was accepted only by an indignant murmur.Those who do not regard John Mauprat as a saint are not rare, but they are indifferent to me and come here just to watch a show.

The excitement of the Hypocrites reaches its peak when the Penitentiary suddenly emerges from the crowd.As he put down his hood pretentiously, and approached the railing in front of the gallery boldly, he said that he was a shameful sinner who should be despised, but he thought it his duty to set an example of frankness and candor in this place where everyone should seek the truth. Responsibility, he was willing to accept any test that would make the judges come to a clear decision.There were cheers from the audience.The ascetic was led into the witness box and confronted with the witnesses.The witnesses unanimously declared that the monk they had seen was dressed in the same clothes as this man, had a family resemblance, and looked alike from a distance, but was not the same person—they were no longer the same at this point. There is no doubt.

The outcome of this incident was a new victory for the Penitents.It didn't occur to anyone that, with people being so upright, it was hard to believe they hadn't actually met another Penitent.At this moment, I recall that when the abbe and John de Mauprat met for the first time at the fountain of Fouges, the latter mentioned to him in a few words that he had a "brother" who was traveling with him in Goulet. Overnight at the farm.I think I should tell my lawyer about this.He went to consult in whispers with the priest who was sitting in the witness box; the priest remembered the situation well, but could not add any further details.

When it was the priest's turn to speak, he turned to me with an anxious expression, his eyes filled with tears.He answered stylized questions frantically, his voice so weak that he could hardly hear him.With great effort he controlled himself, and at last he testified on the substance by saying the following: "While I was in the woods, Monsieur Cavalier begged me to get out of the carriage, and see where his daughter had gone; Edmee had been away from the hunting party for a long time, to cause his uneasiness. I ran enough Far away, thirty paces from the Tower of Gazzo, Monsieur Bernard de Maupra was found in a panic. I had just heard a shot and noticed that his carbine was gone; he had thrown it away ( fired, as confirmed), a few paces away. Together we ran to Mademoiselle de Mauprat and found her lying on the ground with two bullets in her body. Another man arrived before us, He was with her at this time; only he can tell us what he heard from her mouth. When I saw her, she was unconscious."

"But you have heard those words verbatim from this man," said the presiding judge; "it is said that there was a bond of friendship between you and this cultivated peasant called Paccience. " The priest hesitated, and asked whether the law of conscience here contradicted the law of procedure; whether the judges had the right to require a man to reveal a secret entrusted to him, and to make him break his oath. "You have sworn here in the name of Christ to tell the truth, the whole truth," answered the other; "it is for you to judge whether this oath is no more solemn than any you may have sworn before."

"However, if I accept the secret on the condition that I promise not to divulge the confession," said the priest, "you will certainly not persuade me to divulge it." "It has been a long time," said the president, "that you have heard no confession from anyone, Monsieur the Abbe." John de Mauprat beamed with joy at this reminder of his indecency—a diabolical joy that reminded me of the man I had known before, joyful at the sight of pain and tears. The abbe found the courage he lacked in the exasperation caused by this little personal attack.He dropped his eyes for a moment.They thought him insulted; but when he looked up again, they saw a priestly gleam of slyness and obstinacy in his eyes.

"After all consideration," he said, in a very mild tone, "I think my conscience orders me to keep the secret; and I will do so." "Aubert," said the Royal Attorney furiously, "it seems that you do not know what the law imposes on a witness who behaves like you." "It's not that I don't know." The priest's tone became more gentle. "You don't want to try it, do you?" "I will serve my sentence if necessary," replied the priest, imperceptibly.All the women present were deeply moved by the reserved smile and an extremely perfect and solemn gesture.

Women have always been excellent connoisseurs of the noble and fine. "Excellent," said the prosecutor again. "Do you insist on this silent way?" "Perhaps," answered the priest. "In the days after Miss de Maupra was shot, if you could hear what she said, conscious or delirium, would you tell us?" "I don't want to tell you anything about that," answered the priest. "Repeating these words is against my sensibilities, and even seems to me entirely inappropriate, because what is said in the delirium state proves absolutely nothing, and what is said in the conscious state is only sincere and friendly words to the elders. "

"Excellent," Wang's lawyer stood up as he said, "Your refusal to testify is an incident related to this case, and we will request the court to review it in accordance with the law." "As for me," said the President, "by virtue of the expediency I have now, I order Auberre to be arrested and sent to prison." The priest was taken away calmly.The audience couldn't help being in awe, and although the monks and priests were annoyed and whispered abuse at the heretic, there was still silence in the hall. All the witnesses were called (it should be said that those who had been bought played little part in public), and finally Miss LeBlanc came to court to bring the trial to a successful conclusion.I was amazed to see this old maid attack me so violently, and focus her hatred on me.Besides, she does have some very powerful weapons that can hurt me.With the stolen right of the servants to eavesdrop at the door and pry into all the secrets of the house, combined with her knack for twisting and lying, she arranged most of the facts she could quote at will to kill me.She related how, seven years ago, I had rescued Mademoiselle de Mauprat from my rough and fierce uncles, and followed her to the Château Saint-Several. "So," she turned to John de Maupra and nodded politely, "I didn't mean to insinuate the saint in the court. He had already changed from a great sinner to a great saint. But in what at what cost," she went on, turning back to the bench, "that vile brigand saved my dear mistress? He defiled her, gentlemen. Raped and incapable of masturbation, poor lady." Afterwards, she spent every day in shame and tears. She was too proud to reveal her misfortune to anyone, and too honest to deceive anyone. She was in love with her and also received M. de La Marche, whom she loved, broke off. For seven years, she refused all proposals made to her, all because of honor. She hated M. Bernard. At first, she wanted to kill herself; She sharpened one of her father's hunting knives (Mr. Marcus is here to testify, if he will remember); and she would have killed herself, had I not thrown the knife into one of the wells in the house. She also wanted to defend herself against the night attacks of her pursuers; whenever she had the knife she always kept it under her pillow; Bloody, almost fainting, out of breath, as if just being chased, terrified. As the gentleman was gradually educated and refined in manners, the lady saw that she could have no other husband—since he kept saying he would kill everything Daredevil - wish he would get rid of his savagery and be extra tender and considerate to him. She even nursed him during his sickness, not out of love for him, or as Mr. Malcus said in his sermon I respect him, but I am afraid that he will reveal the secret that he has raped her in front of the servants or her father in his ravings, which she has been careful to hide out of shame and pride. This is what the women present today I must be able to understand. In 1977, when the whole family went to Paris for the winter, Mr. Bernard became jealous and bossy again, and threatened to kill Mr. de La Marche many times. The lady had to send the latter away. After that , she had several violent quarrels with Bernard, declaring to him that she did not love him and would never love him. Out of anger and grief—it cannot be denied that he was in love with her like a wolf—he set off for America; during the six years he spent there, his letters showed that he had made great progress. When he returned, Mademoiselle had made up her mind to be an old maid, and her mind was very peaceful again. M. Bernard, too, seemed to have Has grown into a pretty good lad. But seeing her every day, leaning back in her chair constantly, or talking to her in a low voice while her father knits her knitting, ends up falling back into him. Net, lost his mind. I don't want to blame him too much, poor man! I believe the right direction for him is to go to the asylum and not hang. Laughing as I read it, then pocketed the letter without answering. Well, here's one of those, which I found on her when I was undressing her after the unfortunate incident; the letter had been pierced by a bullet ,Bloodstained, but still readable, it can be seen that the husband often tries to kill the young lady. " As she spoke, she set a half-burnt, half-bloodstained piece of paper on the table, causing a shudder in the audience—sincere in some, affectation in many others. Before reading the letter, she finished her statement, concluding with statements that baffled me; I could no longer draw the line between fact and slander.she says: "Since the accident, Missy has been in limbo. She will certainly not recover, whatever the doctors may say. I dare say these gentlemen only see the patient at certain moments, unlike me, who knew all about her condition, and I didn't They never left her either. They thought her wounds were healed, but her mind was deranged. I would say that her wounds were healed, but her mind was much better than what they said. The young lady seldom talks nonsense, and even if she occasionally speaks nonsense, it should be to these gentlemen, for they flustered her and frightened her. She tried not to look mad, and she became so; but as soon as they left her alone with me, or with St. John, or with Monsieur the Abbey. , she became as quiet, gentle, and sensible as ever (Monsieur the Abbe, if he wished, could explain it to you). She said that she was in mortal pain, though she told the doctors that she was hardly in pain. She Speaking of her murderer with the generosity befitting a Christian woman, repeating many times a day: "'May God forgive him in the next life, as I have forgiven him in this one! After all, a man must love a woman so much to kill her! I shouldn't marry him, maybe he will make me happy; I He cornered him, and he avenged me. Dear LeBlanc, take care never to reveal the secret I told you! One careless word would have sent him to the guillotine, and my father would have died!  …' "The poor lady never imagined that things would get to this point where I was compelled by law and religion to speak a secret I wanted to keep; I came not here to find a shower for her, but to confess the truth Yes. I take comfort in the fact that it is not difficult to hide all this from Monsieur Chevalier, whose mind is no clearer than that of a newborn baby. As for me, I have done my duty; may God judge me!" Miss Leblanc, having delivered these speeches with confidence and eloquence, sat down amidst a hum of admiration; and they proceeded to read the letter found in Edmee. This is indeed the letter I wrote her a few days before the accident.They showed it to me; I could not help kissing Edmee's blood; then, glancing at the handwriting, I calmly admitted that it was mine, as I returned the letter. Reading this letter was a fatal blow to me.Fate seems to be skilled at hurting its victims, and willfully (perhaps a vile hand has helped it to make this censorship) destroy passages that testify to my obedience and respect.Certain poetic lingoes, which might have explained and excused my frenzied nonsense, are now illegible.And it is the passages which, at a glance, convince everyone that they remain intact, testify to the fury of my passion, the madness of my rage.Something like this: "I sometimes want to get up in the middle of the night and kill you! If I had any chance of not loving you after you died, I'd probably have done so many times over. Be careful with me, bah; because I There are two in the body, and sometimes the former robber dominates the new," and so on.A triumphant smile flitted across the lips of my enemies.My defenders were discouraged, and even the poor sergeant looked at me with disappointment.The public has condemned me. After this incident, the prosecutor prevailed, reading a stern indictment, describing me as an incorrigible villain, a damned descendant of a damned ancestor, the warning that an evil instinct must provide; After trying to reduce me to a pity, a terrible person, in order to show justice.With a magnanimous gesture, he tried to arouse the sympathy of the judges; he wanted to prove that I had no self-control. Under such circumstances, no matter how my emotions developed, it was never possible to recover.Finally, after a philosophic and pompous rhetoric, to the great delight of his audience, he demanded that I be sentenced to life imprisonment and disenfranchised for life. Although my lawyer is a man of spirit and brains, the letter took him by surprise, the audience was so disgusted with me, and the judges listened to him with open suspicion and impatience (this is the local bench. immoral habits inherited from the world), so that his defense seems weak.Wherever there appeared to be strong grounds for making a strong claim, it became a supplementary question.He complained that not all the proceedings had been completed, that certain points of doubt in the case had not been sufficiently clarified, and that a lawsuit had been decided too hastily in a case still shrouded in mystery in many cases.He asked the doctors to be called to give their opinion on the possibility of hearing Ms. de Mauprat's testimony.He pointed out that the most important.The only statement that matters is that of Patience, who may appear in court any day to exonerate me.Finally, he requested a search for the dervish whose resemblance to the Maupra family had long been identified by trusted witnesses, but no explanation had yet been found.According to his opinion, it is necessary to know where Antoine de Mauprat has gone, and the ascetic monks should be sent to explain this.He complained aloud that their refusal of any adjournment deprived him of all means of defence; order; the prosecutor retorted that everything was done, that the court had enough information, that the search for the dervishes was an unseemly and childish request, and that John de Mauprat had long since proved that his youngest brother had died in the Died a few years ago, these rebuttals were successful.All the judges withdrew to deliberate; returned half an hour later, and pronounced the sentence of death on me.