against the Bonapartists,
which in our day are repeated against the republicans and the
legitimists by the Younger Branch, flourished in the speech. These trite
commonplaces, which might have some meaning under a fixed government,
seem farcical in the mouth of administrators of all epochs and opinions.
A saying of the troublous times of yore is still applicable: "The label
is changed, but the wine is the same as ever." The public prosecutor,
one of the most distinguished legal men under the Empire, attributed
the crime to a fixed determination on the part of returned _emigres_ to
protest against the sale of their estates. He made the audience shudder
at the probable condition of the senator; then he massed together
proofs, half-proofs, and probabilities with a cleverness stimulated by
a sense that his zeal was certain of its reward, and sat down tranquilly
to await the fire of his opponents.

Monsieur de Grandville never argued but this one criminal case; and it
made his reputation. In the first place, he spoke with the same glowing
eloquence which to-day we admire in Berryer. He was profoundly convinced
of the innocence of his clients, and that in itself is a most powerful
auxiliary of speech. The following are the chief points of his defence,
which was reported in full by all the leading newspapers of the period.
In the first place he exhibited the character and life of Michu in its
true light. He made it a noble tale, ringing with lofty sentiments, and
it awakened the sympathies of many. When Michu heard himself vindicated
by that eloquent voice, tears sprang from his yellow eyes and rolled
down his terrible face. He appeared then for what he really was,--a man
as simple and as wily as a child; a being whose whole existence had
but one thought, one aim. He was suddenly explained to the minds of all
present, more especially by his tears, which produced a great effect
upon the jury. His able defender seized that moment of strong interest
to enter upon a discussion of the charges:--

"Where is the body of the person abducted? Where is the senator?" he
asked. "You accuse us of walling him up with stones and plaster. If so,
we alone know where he is; you have kept us twenty-three days in prison,
and the senator must be dead by this time for want of food. We are
therefore murderers, but you have not accused us of murder. On the other
hand, if he still lives, we must have accomplices. If we have them, and
if the senator is