ed writing a letter as though she were sure, for by doing so she was
not prejudicing her own case; for either Penautier was an accomplice
of Sainte-Croix or he was not. If he was, he would suppose the marquise
knew enough to accuse him, and would accordingly do his best to save
her; if he was not, the letter was a letter wasted, and that was all.

"The water was again given; she turned and twisted much, but said
that on this subject she had said all she possibly could; if she said
anything else, it would be untrue."

The ordinary question was at an end. The marquise had now taken half the
quantity of water she had thought enough to drown her. The executioner
paused before he proceeded to the extraordinary question. Instead of the
trestle two feet and a half high on which she lay, they passed under her
body a trestle of three and a half feet, which gave the body a greater
arch, and as this was done without lengthening the ropes, her limbs were
still further stretched, and the bonds, tightly straining at wrists and
ankles, penetrated the flesh and made the blood run. The question began
once more, interrupted by the demands of the registrar and the answers
of the sufferer. Her cries seemed not even to be heard.

"On the large trestle, during the stretching, she said several times, 'O
God, you tear me to, pieces! Lord, pardon me! Lord, have mercy upon me!'

"Asked if she had nothing more to tell regarding her accomplices,
she said they might kill her, but she would not tell a lie that would
destroy her soul.

"The water was given, she moved about a little, but would not speak.

"Admonished that she should tell the composition of the poisons and
their antidotes, she said that she did not know what was in them; the
only thing she could recall was toads; that Sainte-Croix never revealed
his secret to her; that she did not believe he made them himself, but
had them prepared by Glazer; she seemed to remember that some of them
contained nothing but rarefied arsenic; that as to an antidote, she knew
of no other than milk; and Sainte-Croix had told her that if one had
taken milk in the morning, and on the first onset of the poison took
another glassful, one would have nothing to fear.

"Admonished to say if she could add anything further, she said she had
now told everything; and if they killed her, they could not extract
anything more.

"More water was given; she writhed a little, and said she was dead, but
nothing more.