Causes Cetebres.
39
An officer of justice, named Desgrais, was case were too strong to be got over, and the despatched from Paris to arrest her, and hav court found the prisoner guilty, and pro ing arrived at Liege and communicated the nounced against her the following fearful purpose of his journey to the authorities of sentence : — the town, he received from them permission "The court condemns the said D'Aubray to carry her away, if he could. Fearing that de Brinvilliers to make the amende honorable if he attempted force she might destroy her before the principal door of the church of self, he resorted to ruse. Disguising himself Notre-Dame, where she shall be placed on a as an Abbe, he made several visits to the con cart, with her feet bare, and a rope around vent, and finally succeeded in making her be her neck, holding in her hands a lighted lieve that he was passionately in love with torch of the weight of two pounds; and her. She, yielding to his entreaties, agreed there, being upon her knees, she shall say to meet him outside the town at an appointed and declare, that wickedly, out of vengeance hour. On repairing to the place of ren and to obtain their property, she poisoned dezvous she was immediately seized by the her father, her two brothers, and attempted guard whom Desgrais had in attendance, and the life of her deceased sister, of which hurried off to France. During the journey crimes she repents and asks pardon of God, she attempted to commit suicide, but was the King, and Justice; this done, she shall prevented, and she was at last safely lodged be taken and conducted in said cart to the within the walls of the Conciergerie. Before Place de Greve in this city, there to have leaving Liege, Desgrais obtained from the her head struck off on a scaffold, which shall Council of Liege permission to search the be erected for said purpose in said Place, chamber occupied by the Marchioness. He her body burnt and her ashes scattered to the wind; but she is first to undergo the tor found underneath her bed a box which con tained a paper written by her, which pur ture ordinary and extraordinary, that she ported to be a confession, and in which she may reveal the names of her accomplices." admitted to the fullest extent all her guilt. On being taken to the torture-chamber, in Once in France, feeling herself lost, the conformity with this sentence, Madame de Marchioness abandoned herself to despair. Brinvilliers, before being subjected to the She sought to kill herself. She attempted torture, said : " Gentlemen, it is useless; I to eat glass, and she swallowed pins, but all will tell all voluntarily. I do not do this be her efforts at self-destruction were in vain. cause I expect to avoid the torture; my sen The trial excited the most intense interest. tence imposes that, and I do not believe that Dark as was the cloud of suspicion which it can be dispensed with; but I will declare hung over her, it was not improbable that the all first. I have denied everything up to this time, because I thought it to be for my inter evidence would prove insufficient for a con viction if the fatal confession could be kept est to do so." She then commenced her confessions, ac back. This was the damning fact which, if admitted in evidence, rendered defence knowledging the crimes imputed to her. She hopeless; and to the point of its inadmissi did not name a single accomplice; and the bility, her advocate, M. Nivelle, addressed torture, afterwards applied, extorted nothing all his energies. But supposing this line of more from her. "I have told all," she kept repeating. " I argument to be successful, it was still neces sary to do away with the presumptions of have no living accomplice. I do not know of guilt afforded by the other facts of the case, what the poison was composed, and I am igno and Nivelle performed his difficult task with rant as to what the antidote for it may be." Being unable to obtain anything more sat admirable tact and ability. His eloquence was, however, all in vain. The facts of the isfactory from her, the authorities removed
