ee years in apparent peace and happiness,
and during this period two children were born to them. But suddenly
the wife Bertrande appeared before the magistrates of Rieux, and
lodged a complaint against her husband, praying "that he might be
condemned to make satisfaction to the king for a breach of his laws;
to demand pardon of God, the king, and herself, in his shirt, with a
lighted torch in his hand; declaring that he had falsely, rashly, and
traitorously imposed upon her in assuming the name and passing himself
upon her for Martin Guerre."

The affair created no small stir in the neighbourhood, and the gossips
were driven to their wits' end to explain it. Some asserted that,
either through an old grudge or a recent quarrel, she had adopted this
method of getting quit of her husband, while others maintained that
she was naturally a woman of undecided character and opinions, and
that, as at first she had been easily persuaded that this man was her
husband, she had acted latterly on the suggestions and advice of Peter
Guerre, her husband's uncle, who pretended to have discovered that he
was an impostor, and had recommended her to apply to the authorities.
The accused himself staunchly maintained that the charge was the
result of a conspiracy between his wife and his uncle, and that the
latter had contrived the plot with a view to possess himself of his
effects. That no doubt might remain as to his identity he gave an
outline of his personal history from the time of his flight from home
to the time of his arrest, stating the reasons which induced him to
leave his wife in the first instance, and his adventures during his
absence. He said that for seven or eight years he had served the king
in the wars; that he had then enlisted in the Spanish army; and that,
having returned home, longing to see his wife and children, he had
been welcomed without hesitation by his relations and acquaintances,
and even by Peter Guerre, notwithstanding the alteration which time
and camp-life had made in his appearance. He declared, moreover, that
his uncle had persistently quarrelled with him since his return, that
blows had frequently been exchanged between them, and that thus an
evil _animus_ had been created against him.

In answer to the interrogatories of the judge, he unhesitatingly told
the leading circumstances of his earlier life, mentioning trivial
details, giving prominent dates glibly, and showing the utmost
familiarity with pe