he presence
of the regent, and prayed him to save their house the shame of a public
execution. They hinted that the Princes d'Horn were allied to the
illustrious family of Orleans; and added, that the regent himself would be
disgraced if a kinsman of his should die by the hands of a common
executioner. The regent, to his credit, was proof against all their
solicitations, and replied to their last argument in the words of
Corneille:

"Le crime fait la honte, et non pas l'echafaud:"

adding, that whatever shame there might be in the punishment he would very
willingly share with the other relatives. Day after day they renewed their
entreaties, but always with the same result. At last they thought, that if
they could interest the Duke de St. Simon in their favour--a man, for whom
the regent felt sincere esteem--they might succeed in their object. The
duke, a thorough aristocrat, was as shocked as they were that a noble
assassin should die by the same death as a plebeian felon, and represented
to the regent the impolicy of making enemies of so numerous, wealthy, and
powerful a family. He urged, too, that in Germany, where the family of
D'Aremberg had large possessions, it was the law, that no relative of a
person broken on the wheel could succeed to any public office or employ
until a whole generation had passed away. For this reason, he thought the
punishment of the guilty count might be transmuted into beheading, which
was considered all over Europe as much less infamous. The regent was moved
by this argument, and was about to consent, when Law, who felt peculiarly
interested in the fate of the murdered man, confirmed him in his former
resolution to let the law take its course.

The relatives of D'Horn were now reduced to the last extremity. The Prince
de Robec Montmorency, despairing of other methods, found means to
penetrate into the dungeon of the criminal, and offering him a cup of
poison, implored him to save them from disgrace. The Count d'Horn turned
away his head, and refused to take it. Montmorency pressed him once more;
and losing all patience at his continued refusal, turned on his heel, and
exclaiming, "Die, then, as thou wilt, mean-spirited wretch! thou art fit
only to perish by the hands of the hangman!" left him to his fate.

D'Horn himself petitioned the regent that he might be beheaded; but Law,
who exercised more influence over his mind than any other person, with the
exception of the notorious Abbe