Chapter 28 Twenty-six

Though the severe injustice of this swift and severe sentence, which astonished even my most vehement opponents, I took the blow with equanimity.I no longer miss the world.I commit to God the restoration of my soul and my honor after death.I thought, if Edmee dies, I shall find her again in a better world; if she lives and comes to her senses after my death, she will know the truth someday, and then I shall grieve as gracious The memory of her lives in her heart.It amazes me that a irascible character like myself, ready to rage at anything that hinders or offends me, can submit and remain proudly silent at the critical juncture of life, especially on such occasions.

It was two o'clock in the morning.The trial lasted fourteen hours.A deathly silence fell over the court; the audience was as large and engrossed as it was in session, how one loves theater.The drama in the criminal courts at this moment was grim.These men in red robes were as pale, as despotic, as ruthless as the members of the Venetian Council of Ten; these floral women were like ghosts, reflected by the dim candle light, like the reflection of the life floating in the gallery. , the lifeless priests below the gallery; the muskets of the guards gleamed in the shadows of the background; the poor sergeant, heartbroken, fell before me; the morning bell from a nearby monastery began to strike, and its mournful toll broke the silence of the court: these were enough to move the hearts of peasant women, and make the broad chests of the tanners heave in the rear. ① In the 14th century, the Venetian Council of Ten was composed of ten members elected by the nobles, responsible for national security and possessing great power.

Suddenly, just as the court was about to adjourn and the trial was announced, there was a man who looked in every way like a traditional Danube peasant—short, shabby, ragged, with a long beard, shaggy hair, a broad forehead, stern, eyes. Majestic, gloomy——Stand up from the ever-changing reflections of candles faintly illuminating the crowd, and while standing upright in front of the railing, said in a rough voice: ① Refer to the 17th century French writer La Fontaine's In the fable poem "The Peasant of the Danube" (Volume 11, Chapter 7), the farmer is ugly in appearance, but has a sound mind and a great heart, especially eloquent.

"I, John Leuux, nicknamed 'Patience,' I object to this sentence because it is grossly unjust in its content and illegal in its form. I request a new trial so that I can testify. My testimony is necessary, Perhaps extremely important; it should wait." "If you have something to say," cried the prosecutor impulsively, "why didn't you appear at the arraignment? You tried to impose your testimony on the pretext of having important testimony to give." "But you," Patience replied more slowly, with a deeper voice, "you said that I have no important testimony, just to force your opinion on the public. You know that I should have."

"Think about where you are, witness, and whom you are speaking to." "I know too well to say more. I am here to declare that I have something important to say; and I will say it in time, if you do not enforce time to obey you. I will say it, and I will say it Believe me, it would be better for me to speak while the proceedings can be corrected. It would be even more beneficial to the judges than to the prisoner; for while the latter are reborn with honor, others die in disgrace." "Witness," warned the angry magistrate, "your sharp words will do the defendant more harm than good."

"Who told you that I was speaking well for the defendant?" asked Patience in a voice like thunder. "What do you know of me? What would it be if I liked to change an illegal and weak judgment into a strong and irrevocable one?" "How do you reconcile this witness's desire to respect the law with your own violation of the law?" said the magistrate, really shaken by Patience's great influence, "why did you not obey the magistrate's summons? " "I don't want to appear in court." "Anyone whose wishes do not always coincide with the laws of the country will be severely punished."

"possible." "You're here today to surrender, right?" "I came to make you respect the law." "I warn you, if you don't change your tune, I'll send you to jail." "I beseech you, if you love justice and serve God, listen to me and suspend the sentence. He who brings the truth should not bow before those who seek it. You who listen to me, on behalf of People of the people, big men who sure don't want to joke, people who people call 'speaking for God', come to my side, embrace the cause of truth, which may be about to be suffocated by falsehood, or won by bad means Kneel down, men of the people, my brethren, my children; pray, plead, for justice to be done and wrath to be restrained. It is your duty and your right and interest; break the law It is you who are insulted and threatened from time to time."

Patience spoke passionately, and his sincerity was so evident that it struck a chord with all the listeners.Philosophy was popular among the aristocratic youth at that time, and they did not fail to take the lead in responding to calls not addressed to them.With chivalrous zeal they arose and turned to the crowd; and the crowd, inspired by this noble example, followed suit.Voices are heard; each aware of his own dignity and strength, forgetting personal prejudices in order to unite for common rights.Thus sometimes a noble impulse and a single truthful word are all that is needed to bring back the masses who have been led astray by sophistry.

The reprieve was granted; I was escorted back to prison to applause.Marcus was with me.Patience walked away without giving me a chance to thank him. Amendments to my judgment can only be made by order of the High Court.As for me, I had decided before the verdict not to appeal to the Supreme Court, which applied the old principles of law; yet Patience's words and deeds worked on my mind as well as on the minds of the audience.The spirit of struggle and the sense of human dignity seemed to be paralyzed in my heart due to grief, but now I suddenly wake up; at this moment, I feel that people are not born for this kind of selfish despondency—or it is called tolerance, or it is called indifference. of.No one can relinquish concern for his own honor without at the same time renouncing respect for the principle of honor.If it is fine to sacrifice one's honor and one's life to mystical judgments of conscience, it is cowardly to sacrifice one's honor and one's life to such atrocities as unjust persecution.I felt a different opinion of myself; I spent the rest of the fateful night trying to rehabilitate myself with the same indomitable resignation I had once had.With the realization of my own power, I felt a renewed sense of hope.Edmee was probably neither mad nor mortally wounded.She might exonerate me; she might be cured.

"Who knows?" I thought to myself, "perhaps she has judged me rightly; perhaps it was she who sent Patience to my aid; Doing it will undoubtedly do what she wants." But how to get this order from the High Court?There had to be a king's decree; who was going to apply for it?For the same case, the courts used to act blindly and hastily, but now they can procrastinate arbitrarily, so slowly, who will urge it?Who can stop my enemies from framing me and making me utterly powerless?After all, who will fight for me?Only a priest can do that, and he's in jail because of me.His acts of generosity in the proceedings had proved to me that he was still my friend, but his enthusiasm was in check.With his humble status and his inscrutable language, what could Marcus do?When night came, I fell asleep in the hope of my own help, for I had prayed devoutly to God.A few hours of sleep cleared my mind; someone rattled the latch outside my door, and I opened my eyes.Oh merciful God!How thrilled I was to see my comrade in arms, Arthur, my alter ego from whom I had not kept a secret for six years, into my arms!I cried like a child as I received this love gesture from God.Arthur doesn't believe I'm guilty!He went to Paris to collect scientific material for the library of Philadelphia, and there learned of the unfortunate case in which I was implicated.He argued with all those who slandered me, and he rushed to rescue me and comfort me without delay.

I happily poured out my heart to him and told him what he could do for me.He wanted to go back to Paris that night by coach; but I begged him first to go to Saint-Severn to inquire about Edmee for me; and four deadly days passed without news of her, and besides, Marcus never Provided the correct details, did not meet my requirements. "Don't worry," said Arthur, "you'll find out through me. I'm a pretty good surgeon, and I'll see right. I'll be able to tell you exactly what to worry about or what to hope for. From St. Sever, I can go straight to Paris." Two days later I received a long and detailed letter from him. Edmee was in a very peculiar state.As long as nothing unexpected excited her nerves, she neither spoke nor appeared distressed; however, when she heard words that awakened painful memories in her, she would go into convulsions.Mental isolation formed the greatest obstacle to her recovery.There was nothing lacking medically; she had two brilliant doctors and a devoted nurse.Miss Leblanc, too, seemed to be taking good care of her; but this dangerous maid often wounded her by her unseemly remarks and inappropriate questions.Besides, Arthur assured me that if Edmee had ever thought me guilty, and had expressed opinion in the matter, it must have been at some stage before her onset; for for at least fifteen days she had been in the A state of total numbness.She naps often, but doesn't really fall asleep; she can eat liquids and semi-liquids, and never moans.When the doctor asked her if she was in pain, she shook her head listlessly or waved her hands, and the answer was always no; she never expressed recollection of the emotions that had filled her life.But her love for her father, this feeling so deep and so strong in her heart, did not disappear.Often she burst into tears, but just then she seemed deaf to any sound; in vain they tried to make her understand that her father had not died as she thought.It was not the sound (which did not seem to vibrate her eardrums) but the commotion around her which she rejected with a beseeching gesture; The hopelessness of comfort.She could no longer suppress this silent agony, nor would she want to; and her mighty will, which might have appeased the fiercest storm, was now drifting with the dead sea in a calm state--which, according to Arthur, It was the most painful sight he had ever seen.Edmee seemed to want to renounce the world, and Miss Leblanc, in order to test and excite her, took it upon herself to say that her father was dead; she nodded knowingly.Hours later, when the doctor tried to convince her that her father was alive, she again signaled her disbelief.They pushed the knight's movable chair into her bedroom, and the father and daughter faced each other without recognizing each other.Unexpectedly, after a while, Edmee took her father as a ghost, uttered a terrible scream, convulsed, and fell to the ground, causing a wound to open, and people feared for her life.From then on, they took care to separate the father and daughter, and never said anything about knights in front of Edmee.She mistook Arthur for the local doctor, and received him with the same kindness and the same indifference as anyone else.He dared not try to tell her about me; but he advised me not to be disappointed.There was nothing in Edmee's symptoms that time and rest could not overcome; her fever was not high, and no vital faculties were really affected;The enfeebled state of this organ, and the prostration of all others, could not, according to Arthur, long stand against the vigor of youth and the resilience of a strong constitution.Finally, he advised me to think of myself; I could help Edmee recover, and find happiness again in her love and respect. Fifteen days later Arthur returned from Paris with the king's order authorizing a review of my case.A number of new witnesses made statements.Patience did not appear in court; but I received from him a note scrawled with the words: "You are not guilty, you should be confident." Ask without danger, but her replies will be meaningless.Her health is much better.She had recognized her father, and was now inseparable; but she could not understand anything that had nothing to do with him.She seemed to take great pleasure in tending him as a child; on his part the knight sometimes recognized his beloved daughter; but his physical strength was markedly weakened.They questioned him during one of his conscious moments.He replied that his daughter had indeed fallen from her horse while hunting and stabbed herself in the chest on a tree stump, but that no one had ever shot her, even if it was inadvertent, and only a madman would believe that her cousin could have commit such a crime.That was all they could find out from him.They asked him what he thought about his nephew's disappearance, and he replied that his nephew was still at home and he saw it every day.He has always valued the reputation of the family, alas, if this reputation is affected, perhaps he would rather use childish lies to refuse judicial investigation?This is something I can never figure out.As for Edmee, it was not yet possible to question her.When questions were asked of her, she shrugged, indicating that she did not wish to be disturbed.If the prefect insisted, and became more explicit, she looked at him intently, as if trying to understand him.As soon as he mentioned my name, she let out a cry and fainted.He had to give up the idea of ​​listening to her statement.Yet Arthur was not discouraged.On the contrary, the report of the above scene suggested to him that a favorable sudden change in Edmee's intelligence was likely to take place.He returned at once to Saint-Severn, where he remained for some days without writing to me, and left me in a state of disquiet. The priest was summoned again, and he remained calm and flatly refused to testify. My judges, seeing that what Patience had promised to deliver, hastened the review of the case; and proved their hostility to me once more by another haste.The appointed day has come.I am devastated.Arthur had written me not to be discouraged, and the writing was as terse as Patience's.My lawyers have been unable to obtain any new evidence in my favor.I could see that he was beginning to believe that I was guilty.He had no hope but to push for a delay.