wyer's office. This second attempt at
identification succeeded no better than the first. The lawyer hesitated;
then, understanding all the importance of his deposition, he refused to
swear to anything, and finally declared that this was not the person who
had come to him at Lyons.

"I am sorry, sir," said Derues, as they removed him, "that you should
have been troubled by having to witness this absurd comedy. Do not blame
me for it; but ask Heaven to enlighten those who do not fear to accuse
me. As for me, knowing that my innocence will shortly be made clear, I
pardon them henceforth."

Although justice at this period was generally expeditious, and the lives
of accused persons were by no means safe-guarded as they now are, it was
impossible to condemn Derues in the absence of any positive proofs of
guilt. He knew this, and waited patiently in his prison for the moment
when he should triumph over the capital accusation which weighed against
him. The storm no longer thundered over his head, the most terrible
trials were passed, the examinations became less frequent, and there
were no more surprises to dread. The lamentations of Monsieur de Lamotte
went to the hearts of the magistrates, but his certainty could not
establish theirs, and they pitied, but could not avenge him. In certain
minds a sort of reaction favourable to the prisoner began to set in.
Among the dupes of Derues' seeming piety, many who at first held their
peace under these crushing accusations returned to their former opinion.
The bigots and devotees, all who made a profession of kneeling in the
churches, of publicly crossing themselves and dipping their fingers
in the holy water, and who lived on cant and repetitions of "Amen" and
"Alleluia" talked of persecution, of martyrdom, until Derues nearly
became a saint destined by the Almighty to find canonisation in a
dungeon. Hence arose quarrels and arguments; and this abortive trial,
this unproved accusation, kept the public imagination in a constant
ferment.

To the greater part of those who talk of the "Supreme Being," and who
expect His intervention in human affairs, "Providence" is only a word,
solemn and sonorous, a sort of theatrical machine which sets all right
in the end, and which they glorify with a few banalities proceeding
from the lips, but not from the heart. It is true that this unknown
and mysterious Cause which we call "God" or "Chance" often appears so
exceedingly blind and deaf that one