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THE WORLD'S WICKED WAYS; OR, T]IS CRIME OF THE MAD KING'S BALL. 4. ROMANCE OF THE DAYS THAT SLEW AN EMPIRE. By JAS. S. BORLASE, AUTHOR OF The Queen of the Harem" Wht Murdered John ,Cameron 4-c. BOOK II!.1 The City of Peril. CHAPTER I. AT THE rALICE OF JUSTICE, THE PRESIDENTS -tJ< 'f' CHARGE. Appearance of Monsieur Renard, who bluntly declares, in the way of a man who wants to «et it all out and over, that he has done -nothing—nothing—nothing snapping out *ne third repetition of the word like the bark ot small dog, who is despairingly attempt- a]3g to defend a dearly cherished' bone from a fcigger one. lie feels just as miserable as that suppoaiti- lioussmall dog also, for the present case is one (Of his very few failures, and he foresees toss off reputatio^ to be the sure result of his nasoo, Yet he h conscious of having done all that aiortal man could do; which, however, doesn't comlort him in the least. Monsieur A veyvon, the advocate, is the first to question him. "Any information as to the revolver P" "No. ''Done ;njthing to discredit tie gambling «ell women ?" "Not a thing." "Bows that? 49COUICILt find or even make the oppor- tunity." The answers were of the curtest, and didn't Doourage further inquiry. Monsieur Avey- thmi however, knew his man, and was sure « could opportunity have been made not have missed it. ;*Vath a shrug of the shoulders, that was by a sigh, he therefore said done that can be done. We must li?« suc'k w<?apons aa Providenoe us* David killed the lion with his ">3,, *nd what has happened once may *n~?TaSain. Let us start for the Palace of notice." sPe-f-b was doubtless meant to be an 0ura»ir.i £ one, but it's efiect was exactly the TeyerEf<) nd Maud Revans, whose depres- I%lor. I)f FIP ii-its bad been so great that she bad t°1re? eoergy to ask a single question, or even is J?n*'c'r a remark, felt that she heard it, o -Ough her ex-lover's doom had been *Ph aniit>uliced, and that by the counsel "Th engaged to defend him. jn.„ .e 8! e-at criminal court of the Palais de | ice already crowded when Maud and 0IiS.en*erec* it, although the judges d not sit for another half hour.. ^nfrVev.ran^er3" Sa^er7 was packed by the lri5 1S p°\ony of the Avenue de I'Empera-1 W'ich, and MacMahon, but the Ckii^er- ce had secured places for table an(^ himself close to the advocates' i fu neavly opposite to the dock, in prisoner would shortly be placed. fiDeri ere 'as nothing at all solemn in the ih&S ^or 'hough there was no laughter ti&tn s^rangeis' gallery, where, and very a ^^rtfelt sympathy for the hand- f>nng attache prevailed, as well as, in inQo breasts out of ten a conviction of his ^Ve CenoeJ the dresses of the ladies were rich, fco »va?; ai1^ *n °ther parts of the court, tires* 1 fair sex were admitted bright es Were supplemented by brighter smiles, ^*Hei^0Ilrie1'mes 'ow T'ppling currents of though a mere youth was on the toij 5^ being tried for his life, and, if doomed |>e i a lovely girl would in all probability a.fJ.ext arraigned and similarly sacrificed; l«ough, also, three hundred thousand v4118 were known to be within a week's a their own armies anni- ^eir Kmperor a prisoner, and their lier j- £ ss (the idol of a month ago) in peril of iQga^er-J and life, and known to be agonis- tsegjf the possibility of a suc- itojii these fair though heartless *rereW.8 ^titia [the old name of Paris] uP°n extracting amusement and life L,efn enjoyment out of the drama in real was about to be represented before f bWe ?? masculine portion of the assem- "with their macassared hair and ^oh n atl^ curly-rimmed hats, very 011e side, sucked the?tops of their !r«wt the while that smoking Wt allowed, and made and booked their litf4 hft a wag,r,, as to the result of the trial, the the prisoner, the summing up of Coi*Dedt*ri an^ ^n<^ee^ uPon every matter the case upon which a bet be mad«- ? r,w,e.. hung on a great black aio above. the Judges' seats a crucified t'hoi%alooked -pityingly down upon this 81dt anlPle of those for whom he had tteo dgt-ve died. The sculptor had done the divine face an expression of 5^1 Cental than bodily agony, for Were constantly presented here LhNnn. sufficient to call it forth. u' lft8t, the advooates in their Yftbes, and caps like ttioaw old by Grand Inquisitors, began to saunter in by twos and threes, discussing politics rather than law, and to seat themselves at the circu- lar table in the centre 9f the court. As soon as the said table was tolerably well surrounded a sndden cry arose of :—" The Court Hats off Stand up and scarcely had the last two orders been obeyed when the judges, in their scarlet, ermine-bordered robes, and also wearing high, square-shaped caps, swept into the court and took their seats on their seem- ing thrones, the president in the centre, and a lesser judge one on each side of him. Then there came a solemn flourish of trumpets, that ended in a seeming wail, and when it had died away a gorgeously uniformed official sprang up like a Jack-in-the-box from just beneath the judges' rostrum, and declared the court to be sitting, thereupon disappear- ing again from view, and directly he had done so the clank, or rather the ring of chains was heard, and Harry Hastings came up into the dock through the subterranean passage that communicated with the cells of the prefec- ture, immediately followed by two cocked- hatted, epauletted, aiguietted, and blue uni- formed gendarmes, who took up their positions one on each side of him. Of course every eye in the crowded court room was at once fixed upon the prisoner, who, though his face was as white as marble, and, as those who had known him previously remarked to each other, "very thin," looked calm and determined, though at the same time resigned and altogether void of hope. Some said that conscious guilt was printed upon every lineament of it," but the more discerning and less prejudioed read therein a very different expression. He was dressed with scrupulous care, and upon glancing around the court his eyes quickly met those of Maud lievans, on whom he cast a deeply grateful look, accompanied by a bow and a smile, as though it had suddenly struck him that she wanted comfort and encouragement even more than he did himself. n From her his gaze evidently wandered away in search of some one else; anxiously, eagerly, and yet half fearfully, and in a minute or two's time it was equally plain that it hadn't found what it had sought, for it became for the first tim6 anxious and troubled, and, indeed, a perceptible shudder passed through his entire frame, so that the gommeuses and petit-creves [equivalent to our masher and dude], who had made bets as to the accused proving "game," looked even more discon- certed that he did himself, and began to con- template the advisability of "hedging." Meanwhile the jurymen had taken their places in their own special box, and the instant that they had subdued into stillness the president exclaimed in stern tones, Pi-i- soner at the bar, stand forward and plead." H I plead not guilty," answered Harry Hastings, laying both hands on the front ledge of the dock and speaking distinctly and clearly: "It is a foolish plea. You would have done better to have confessed your guilt and then appealed to the mercy of the court. However, we exercise no compulsion, so sit down and listen to the reading of the indict- ment," retorted the senior judge with con- siderable acerbity, and in that manner which 111 so peculiarly French and so especially unfair. Thereupon the olerk of the court arose in turn and in a harab, cracked voice read aloud a summary of the terrible charges against the prisoner, so arranged and drawn up as to make the case seem as black a? possible against him. W hen it was com pie led the president once more ordered Harry to stand up, and for more than a quarter of an hour endeavoured to tempt and bully him by turns into a confes- sion of guilty. This is terrible, this is infamous. It is tyranny and persecution, not justice," Maud Revans at last said almost aloud to Lord Lyons, who continued to sit next to her, and her eyes flashed and delicate nostrils qui- vered the while, so deep and fierce was her indignation. It is tb6 law and custom of the land in which we at present live, and so we may not find fault with it, my dear, answered the Ambassador, soothingly. Yet we have reason to thank God," he added, solemnly. that our own laws are very much more humane and equitable." By this time the president, having failed to prove Harry Hastings guilty out of his own mouth, prepared the deliver his charge d'accll- sation as a preliminary to proving him so by the lips of others, for the president of a French criminal court plays the role of pro- secuting counsel as well, and even examines the accusing witnesses, the public prosecutor merely following suit in the character of "second fiddle," and seeking to clinch the nails that the judge has first driven in, a feat which he generally performs with a much noisier hammer, and a much more energetic manner, the effect of his rhetoric upon the jury being: Give me his head or you are unworthy of the position that you hold," and, except in the case of a good-looking woman, who has shot a false lover or thrown vitriol oil a rival, the head he usually gets, CHAPTER II. For. GOù'S SAKE WARX IIDl! HE IS ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING DESPERATE." "Members of the iury," began the judge in cold, emotionless, yet imperative tones, "it is my duty to lay before you the facts of the case that you are to try, and which are so simple that a child's intellect would be almost equal to the task of considering and deciding on them. "Nevertheless, I beseech you to give me your most careful attention, so that you may not neglect to gather up and carefully test every link in the chain of crushing evidence that has been marshalled against the prisoner at the bar and his female accomplice, who, when he has been disposed of, will assuredly" occupy his vacated place, but whom the tech- nicalities and niceties of our laws have ren- dered it inexpedient for us to place at his side. Well, gentlemen, about a year ago the prisoner now before you, with great intre- pidity, for which I ll1 ready to give him due credit, saved the life of a young lady from water and from flame in that terrible con- flagration of shipping in Bordeaux Harbour which you must all very well remember. They were on board a pleasure yacht, and through water that was actually ablaze with floating pretroleum he, after the little vessel had caught afire, swam with her, making a tortuous passage through what I may call drifting islands of fiercely burning gases, until he at last landed her safety. And what then ? Why, one was beauti- ful and both were young, so that it hardly requires a conjurer to answer the question, though it would certainly have needed a most able magician to have foretold the result. H Love happened then, gentlemen, a love that was at that time natural and innocent enough; but the fruit which it bore at its maturity was murder, for the young girl whose life the prisoner at the bar so heroi- cally preserved became in a few months after the Countess de Beauvais, and now the Count j de Beauvais is dead and buried—assassinated by his wife's lover, and that wife owning to and almost glorifying in the fact that she was his accomplice." "Tis false! 'tis false!" broke out Harry Hastings at this junoture the Countess de he could give utter- ance to another word one of the gendarmes caught hold of his fettered wrists, whilst the other passed a hand over his mouth, whisper- ing in his ear the while: Silence, or you will be removed whilst the President addresses the court! Besides, you'll only be hammer- ing a nail into your coffin, and another into her's as well, by such interruptions." The advice was kindly meant, and, though still trembling with agitation and indigna- tion combined, our hero managed to restrain himself. U Members of the jury," the judge mean- while continued sternly, there will be abun- dant proof of all that I affirm. I do not step an inch outside the sworn testimony of cre- ditable witnesses; and now to dwell briefly upon that testimony. On her recovery from a swoon, into which she seems to have fallen on finding herself in safety, the prisoner asked for some souvenir of the occurrence, and the young lady gave him a water-drenched yellow rose that she had worn, remarking that it was not in her power to give him more; nor was it, for ere this the Count de Beauvais, smitten by her great beauty, had asked her in marriage of her parents, who were rich vignerons and nothing more, and consequently jumped at so advantageous a match for their child, [and were not at all likely to let a well-born but impecunious young man, as the prisoner was then, inter- fere with such advantageous arrangements. However, the yellow rose was given and accepted, and I will beg you to bear that well in mind, for the simple love-gauge runs through the whole of the tragic episodes that we shall now pass on to consider. Well, gentlemen, Mademoiselle de Clisson married the Count de Beauvais, who brings her to Paris and instals her in his mansion in the Avenue Matignon, Tn a little while the lover comes also to Paris, risen to be an Attache at the British Embassy, and addicted, like the Countess de Beauvais, to the wearing of a yellow rose. Two ladies will be called to prove thit one afternoon in the early summer of the present year she surreptitiously kissed a rose of this kind to him, wafting the kiss to him on the flower, as it were, when she was driving with her husband in the Bois, he, the pri- soner, wearing at the time a rose of the same kind in his buttonhole. This may or may not have been a method of making an assignation; anyhow, a few mornings later as the Countess descended from her carriage at the well-known shop of Soerth the coutourier, in the Rue St. ITonore, he, apparently by accident, ran np against her and, as it was quite natural for old friends to' do, the two stood and conversed a little while on the pavement. But, gentlemen, clut ing that conversation such expressions as the following were made use of The prisoner was heard to say, Old husbands are always jealous of young wives,' and the countess to rejoin, 'Alas, he 18 jealous!' A little later a remark of his that 'My sole happiness is to be near you,' wa) distinctly caught, and then the countess told him that she was going to a bal masqu6 at the Theatre du Palais Royal, and promised him that she would wear a diamond and tur- quois ring which he was acquainted with, in order that he should be enabled to penetrate her incognito thereby. All this will be de- posed to by the late count's confidential and much trusted valet, Jules Charrout, who, for reasons that will be explained in his evidence, was enacting the role of footnian, on the occasion. '•'The result of this tete-a-tete outside Soerth's shop was that the countess and the prisoner went to the masked ball in question in the respective characters of Undine and Hildebrand, and whoever has read Fouque's charming tale- aud for that matter who has not ?—will be able to per- ceive a deal of hidden meaning in the assump- tion of such characters by these two, and we are at the same time forced to the conclusion that the diamond and turquoise ring was only worn in case there should be several Undines present, as often happens upon such occasions, the character being a popular one with sylph- like young girls who possess an abundance and a conspicuous length of golden hair, H Now, it was not natural that so old a man as the deceased count should dance for long. He, therefore, resigned his young wife into the charge of a discreet matron, his own cousin, and retired to the card room. But it seems as though the countess soon after gave her chaperone the slip. Anyhow, we suddenly find her in the middle of the floor alone, and the butt of compliments more numerous, perhaps, than refined, a score of young men endeavouring to win her good graces, in the midst of whom the prisoner at the bar suddenly appears, with the very per tinent remark, Ilildebrand is the most fitting partner for U ndine/ and almost immediately he leads her out into the illuminated gardens, wherein they select the darkest avenue and the most secluded seat for the conversation that ensued between them, and wherein it will be our task to prove that the old count's murder was deliberately planned." Upon hearing this cool and confident asser- tion Harry Hastings started like a man who receives an unexpected and, agonising wound, and Maud Revans, his true, staunch friend, was hardly leas affected. The judge, however, went on as remorseless as fate witb: Yes, with their infernal yellow roses in their hands, which they had purposely selected from the basket of a Cupid at the gate, who seemed to be the janitor of the gardens, they sat side by side in that deserted, because almost unlighted avenue, and when two devoted friends of the over-confiding husband brought him to the spot, in order that his own eyes might be the judges of his wife's conduct, they and he clearly hear the prisoner at the bar say, as he bends over her, Good God then I cannot make you happy in any other way, for I'd sooner be bound even to your painted portrait than to any other flesh and blood woman,' and then she made answer, 1 To know that you were happy would make me so.' When you have listened to the evidence of the two ladies who will depose to all this, and have heard read the dying count's testi- mony to the same effect, as taken down by the commissary of police, who passed the entire night in his room, during a lucid interval, you will have no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that those two most expres- sive. utterances of the prisoner and the false wife were made after the plan of assassi- nation had been arranged and perfected between them." Here the president came to a full stop, as though to allow a thrill of horror to pervade the crowded court, as it undoubtedly did. But," he quickly resumed, the late count was a fond and credulous old man, slow to believe ill of anyone, and least of all of a beautiful and most innocent-looking young wife, of whom he was naturally both fond and proud; and as he was well aware of the great service which the young Englishman had rendered her, they soon managed to persuade him that the cool gardens had been sought because his wife had felt faint in the hot theatre, and that they had been conversing there about the most trivial things in the world; and so well did they succeed that the count, afllioted with a sudden attack of gout, aooepted the assistance of both, in order the easier to pass through the crowded theatre and gain his carriage. "And now, gentlemen, we come to the con- summation of the tragedy. A brief while after the count and countess had arrived home the prisoner, taking adwtQ* Jtage of the knowledge, doubtless acquired from his accomplice, that, owing to sunstroke received whilst campaigning in Algeria, the count was subject to occasional affections of the brain, always accompanied by a strange- ness of manner, amounting sometimes to an aberration of reason, arrived at the mansion asserting that he was a medical man and a friend of the deceaaed, and that seeing him attacked by illness, with his old malady in short, at the bal masque, he had hurried after him to tender his services, not daring even to stay to change his fancy dress. "To make good his story, he even tendered his visiting card with a doctor's name and degrees engraved thereon, which in itself shows how carefully arranged and deeply planned was the whole diabolical scheme; and, naturally convinced by this of the bona fides of the caller, and his master's early return home and perturbed expression of countenance seeming to confirm the tale, the Suisse at the lodge suffered him to pass in, and a female servant called Jeannett Maconne became his conductress. To this woman he let out some of his real nature and intentions, doubtless deeming her to be a stupid creature, as, indeed, she looks, who would not be able to read them aright. Otherwise he would surely never have tried to persuade her that the count's mania would take the form of attempting to kill his wife, and to conceal him in some cupboard or other hiding-place from whence he would be able to emerge just in time to prevent the act. That petition for concealment seems to me a very ugly feature in the case—as against himself— yet that it was really made the woman will presently depose on oath. Even if she had consented to this precious scheme there would have been neither time nor opportunity to have carried it into prac- tice, for the instant they had entered the great hall of the mansion by one door the count came into it through another, when, perceiving that he was seen and, doubtless, recognised, the young Engli.-hnian drew an English-made revolver (as the name and address of the maker engraved thereon will prove), from under his cloak and fired it point blank at his victim: but missing him, he next kicked his feet inside the straps of a couple of floor polishing brushes that happened to be lying handy, and skated down upon him with the fleetness of the wind and the dexterity in such ways of progression that I believe most of his countrymen possess, with the result that he fired three more charges almost against his victim's body. Strange to say, however, only one of the balls penetrated it, but that, alas inflicted his death wound. "Before half of this had happened the woman Maconne had fallen to the floor in a swoon, but not before she had made an effort to clutch hold of the assassin's murderously raised arm. Now, however, the noise of the shots caused almost the entire household to rush into the hall, and what they beheld was their beloved master weltering in his blood, the prisoner at the bar towering over him, his revolver still grasped in his hand, and the expression of a demon in his face, though such expression changed to one of horror and despair when the man whom he doubtless believed to be already ù,ad exclaimed in a voice that was heard by all, My murderer, and my wife's lover And now, gentlemen, where was this model wife all the while f" "She was doubtless too much behind the scenes to feel any of the surprise that caused the servants to rush to the spot. Her husband's agonised groans never even tempted her forth. But, mark you, as soon as ever she heard, and perhaps also saw, that her lover was arrested, that the gendarmes had entered an appearance, that a commissary of police was present, and that all regarded the prisoner at the bar as the guilty party, she rushed forth into their midst—not, as I will beg you to note well, to cast herself, grief stricken, upon the body of a hus- band who, as we shall show in evi- dence, had always treated her with a love that amounted almost to idolatry, but to throw herself upon the breast of his assassiu, who had by that time been formally apprehended, with the apparently involun- tary, and in any case deeply crinnnatory remark, Why are you taking only one of us, when I am as guilty as what he is; aye, the most guilty, as but for me it would never have happened "Such members of the jury as are unac- quainted with the practice of the oourts may wonder, in the face of this outspoken confes- sion of guilt, why it is that the girl-widow of the murdered war-worn veteran is not standing in the dock beside his assassin, charged as his accomplice in the crime; but, bad such a course been adopted, a special proviso of the Code Napoleon would have prevented our interrogating and cross-examining her as a witness against him, as, in the interests of justice, it is our intention to do. She will be forced to answer such questions as we see fit to put to her, and, in seeking to exculpate her lover, as it is most likely that she will do, judging from her action in the past, it is more than probable that she will still more deeply criminate herself." "Warn him! Monsieur Avevron, fo; j God's sake, warn him lie is about to do something desperate! whispered Maud Revans at this juncture, as she bent over and touched the advocate nervously on the arm, for she had known Ilarry Hastings for too long a while not to be able to read his face like a printed book, and to accurately inter- pret its almost every expression, and she was terribly agitated and alarmed by the one which had just come into it. CHAPTER III, "I WITHDRAW MY PLEA, I AM SfYTTY OF THIS CRDIE, I ALONE!" But the president had noticed the prisoner's excitement and agitation also. Perhaps, in- deed, he had spoken in the way he had done for the express purpose of creating such emotions. Anyhow, having perceived them, be came to a dead stop, and regarded him fixedly, so deep a silence and stillness falling upon the crowded court the while that a pin might have been almost heard to fall. It was broken before Monsieur Aveyron could, in response to Maud's almost agonised appeal, do aught to prevent it, by Harry Has- tings lifting up his lightly-shackled hands, as though to attract the judge's attention thereby, and instantly exolaiming in clear, ringing tones: I withdraw my pica. I am guilty of this crime. I alone Bat I swear unto you, with the solemnity of a death-doomed man—for such I may surely now regard myself—that the Countess de Beauvais had no knowledge, no suspicion even of my intention, and that in the conversation we had in the garden, of which so much has been attempted to be made, she told me that she loved and venerated her husband and tried her hardest to persuade me to transfer my affections to one whom I had loved and esteemed from my earliest childhood, but, alas.1 only as a brother might love a twin or only sister. It was this confession that the Countess de Beauvais really loved her hus- band which stirred up my mad jealousy against him, and oaused me to commit the orime whereof I am guilty, and it was in order to ensure its successful consummation that I concealed my feelings from her, and pretended friendship towards the count, whilst I felt hate, or she would assuredly have warned him, and my murderous inten- tion! would h^poilr have baep frustrated, I I repeat that I am guilty of this crime. I—I alone!" His speech, commenced in stern, evon exultant tones, ended in an almost agonised wail, whilst he shook with an anxiety and fear that were called forth not by apprehensions of the doom which he himself had courted, but by the dread that his act of self immola- tion might Dot after all suffice to save Naomie. He was destined to be kept in a cruel stats of suspense upon that, to him, all important point; for, first of all, Maud Revans' heroio nature and indomitable spirit were so over- come by his conduct that she fainted away, and had to be carried out of court, to tha accompanying noise of many footsteps, and, when this had been done, the president seemed to be lost in deep thought for a few minutes, ere, turning to Harry, he bade him sit down, and then addressed the jury with :— The prisoner at the bar has placed tha case directly in your hands, and, at the same time, made your task an easy one. Is there any need that he should be withdrawn, according to usual custom, whilst you consider your verdict Thereupon there was a quick putting of heads together, and after the lapse of about half a minute the foreman rose and said: We find the prisoner guilty, on his own confession, of the premeditated murder of the Count de Beauvais," and then they all sat down with the perhaps not unwelcome con- sciousness that their work was done. Without more ado the president turned towards the prisoner, and asked of him if he had anything to urge why the judgment of the court should not be passed upon him, whereunto he replied in almost thankful tones, (i Nothing, sir, whatever." But thereupon Monsieur Aveyron, the advocate, who had been positively stupefied by his client's wholly unanticipated tactics, and who by signs, whispers, and even muttered entreaties had been endeavouring to turn him aside from his suicidal course, but in vain, could control himself no longer, and exclaimed: On the contrary, sir, he has a hundred things to say, to urge, to prove even, in his defence. Aye, and they can be proven as well. I am ready to stake my professional reputation as an advocate and my honour as a gentleman that, notwithstanding his confes- sion of the crime, he is as innocent of the murder of the Count de Beauvais as is the widowed wife, or as you, sir, or myself either," and here the councillor came to a full stop for want of breath rather than for want of words, for he was much agitated and excited. His fervour, however, provoked a murmur of applause throughout the court, which the President of the Tribunal broke savagely in upon with: Advocate Aveyron, this is most unseemly and most improper. My charge to the jury, even before I get to the blackest and most irrefutable portion of it, is interrupted by the prisoner at the bar pleading guilty; the jury return a verdict endorsing that confession, and then, even after the pri- soner avers that he has nothing to say why the sentence of the court should not be passed upon him, you begin to plead for an already convicted criminal, knowing that to deny your assertions the Court must be guilty of as grave a breach of decorum, of rule, and of precedent as yourself. Unltss you wish to be debarred from practising in this court again I advise you to forthwith apologise to the bench, and to keep your mis-placed eloquence for the benefit of the Countess de Beauvais on the morrow," To-morrow—the countess—Naomie de Beauvais—to-morrow r" gasped Harry Has- tings, stunned and bewildered by the con- cluding words of the president's speech. Why," he continued, in almost a shriek, as he suddenly began to understand it all, "1 have exonerated the Countess de Beauvais. I have declared that no one was guilty, even in thought, of the count's death but myself. I have proved her to be as innocent as any angel in heaven." Stop that man's ravings. Don't you know your simplest duties, gendarmes?" raved the president, his face red as a turkey cook's with indignation and anger the while. Thia honourable court is being turned into a per- fect bear-garden," he continued, and then, when he had to a certain extent smoothed down his rumed plumage, he turned towards the prisoner with: 11 What you have stated in your confession has been taken down by the clerk of the court and will be offered to the jury to-morrow on the countess's behalf. It may have some weight with them or it may not; that is their business and not mine, and now I must beg of you to assume a proper demeanour whilst I pass sentence of death upon you, as it become* my solemn duty to do." To this remark Harry Hastings bowed in silence, and, drawing himself proudly up, stood with his arms crossed upon his breast, resolved that, at all events, he would exhibit no trace of fear, in which he perfectly suc- ceeded, a flush of gratification even rising to his cheeks as the conviction seized hold of him that his confession must, despite an angry judge's doubts, serve the woman he loved materially at her trial, more especially con- sidering the iinpresrlol, able character of most French juries, Ilowsweet was the afterthoughtthatNaomie would owe her life to him. It enabled him even to smile when the president informed him that he would be guillotined at six o'clock on the morning of the third day from the present," and that smile, coupled with his general demeanour, caused the winning and the losing of many a wager that bad been made upon him, so that here and there, at the close of the judge's speech, above the low, compassionating murmur that broke forth, and the subdued sobbing of women upon whom the youth and good looks of the prisoner had made a considerable impression, a muttered oath might have been heard, accompanied by the jingling of money as it changed hands. Sentence passed, the two gendarmes who had him in their charge laid their hands all Harry's shoulders to lead him away. They did not, however, prevent his leaning for a moment over the dock, and saying in an agitated whisper to his advocate, her For God's sake, save ltu 1" "God helping me, I surely will!" was Mon- sieur Aveyron's answer, at the same time shaking hands with the convicted felon, for such Harry Hastings'now was; an almost un- precedented proceeding that drew down upon the brave advocate the frowns of the bench, and was, perhaps, calculated to injure rather than to benefit Naomie de Beauvais' case on the morrow. Meanwhile the condemned, at a hint from the gendarmes, bowed to the benoh, and was then led by them down out of the dock and through the little black door which opens on to the road to the scaffold. Hardly had he gone when Monsieur Renard came bustling into court (he had been called out of it by hia clerk an hour previously), and making his way over to Monsieur Aveyron he whispered in his car: The Rotterdam jewel merohant will reach Paris to-morrow, aud I've a clue at last as to the revolver." Too late, at all events for one, for he is already condemned and lost to us," the reply, (To it continued.)