efence of Dreyfus) appeared for Gaudry.
The case had aroused considerable interest. Among those present at the
trial were Halevy, the dramatist, and Mounet-Sully and Coquelin, from
the Comedie Francaise. Fernand Rodays thus described the widow in the
Figaro: "She looks more than her age, of moderate height, well made,
neither blatant nor ill at ease, with nothing of the air of a woman of
the town. Her hands are small. Her bust is flat, and her back round, her
hair quite white. Beneath her brows glitter two jet-black eyes--the eyes
of a tigress, that seem to breathe hatred and revenge."

Gaudry was interrogated first. Asked by the President the motive of
his crime, he answered, "I was mad for Madame Gras; I would have done
anything she told me. I had known her as a child, I had been brought
up with her. Then I saw her again. I loved her, I was mad for her, I
couldn't resist it. Her wish was law to me."

Asked if Gaudry had spoken the truth, the widow said that he lied. The
President asked what could be his motive for accusing her unjustly.
The widow was silent. Lachaud begged her to answer. "I cannot," she
faltered. The President invited her to sit down. After a pause the widow
seemed to recover her nerve.

President: Was Gaudry at your house while you were at the ball?

Widow: No, no! He daren't look me in the face and say so.

President: But he is looking at you now.

Widow: No, he daren't! (She fixes her eyes on Gaudry, who lowers his
head.)

President: I, whose duty it is to interrogate you, look you in the face
and repeat my question: Was Gaudry at your house at half-past ten that
night?

Widow: No.

President: You hear her, Gaudry?

Gaudry: Yes, Monsieur, but I was there.

Widow: It is absolutely impossible! Can anyone believe me guilty of such
a thing.

President: Woman Gras, you prefer to feign indignation and deny
everything. You have the right. I will read your examination before the
examining magistrate. I see M. Lachaud makes a gesture, but I must beg
the counsel for the defence not to impart unnecessary passion into these
proceedings.

Lachaud: My gesture was merely meant to express that the woman Gras
is on her trial, and that under the circumstances her indignation is
natural.

President: Very good.

The appearance in the witness box of the widow's unhappy victim
evoked sympathy. He gave his evidence quietly, without resentment or
indignation. As he told his story the widow, whose eyes