of the wife and son of the said
Sieur de Saint-Faust de Lamotte, of which an act shall be inserted in
the decree of intervention, and a copy of this act or decree shall be
inscribed upon a stone which shall be set in the wall of the said church
of Saint Nicholas de Villeneuve-le-Roy, in such place as is expedient.
And the deed of contract for private sale, made between the late spouse
of the said Sieur de Saint-Faust de Lamotte and the above-named Derues
and his wife, is hereby declared null and void, as having had no value
in absence of any payment or realisation of contract before a notary;
and the pretended agreement of the twelfth day of February last, as also
all other deeds fabricated by the said Derues or others, named in the
above action, as also any which may hereafter be presented, are hereby
declared to be null and void.

"The Court declares the judgment pronounced by the magistrates of the
Chatelet against the above named Derues to be good and right, and his
appeal against the same to be bad and ill-founded.

"It is decreed that the sentence shall lose its full and entire effect
with regard to Marie-Louise Nicolais, who is condemned to the ordinary
fine of twelve livres. The necessary relief granted on the petition of
Pierre-Etienne de Saint-Faust de Lamotte, the second day of May this
present month, and delay accorded until after the suspended judgment
pronounced with regard to the said Marie-Louise Nicolais.

"(Signed) De Gourgues, President.

"OUTREMONT, Councillor."

Derues' assurance and calmness never deserted him for one moment. For
three-quarters of an hour he harangued the Parliament, and his defence
was remarkable both for its presence of mind and the art with which
he made the most of any circumstances likely to suggest doubts to the
magistrates and soften the severity of the first sentence. Found guilty
on every point, he yet protested that he was innocent of poisoning.
Remorse, which often merely means fear of punishment, had no place in
his soul, and torture he seemed not to dread. As strong in will as he
was weak in body, he desired to die like a martyr in the faith of
his religion, which was hypocrisy, and the God whom he gloried on the
scaffold was the god of lies.

On May 6th, at seven in the morning, the sentence of execution was read
to him. He listened calmly, and when it was finished, remarked:

"I had not anticipated