He, poor fellow, shrank from death; and he agreed with
Morin to escape, if he could, by the means Morin had suggested, and to
bring him word if Mademoiselle de Crequy relented. (Jacques had no
expectation that she would; but I fancy he did not think it necessary to
tell Morn of this conviction of his.) This bargaining with so base a man
for so slight a thing as life, was the only flaw that I heard of in the
old gardener's behaviour. Of course, the mere reopening of the subject
was enough to stir Virginie to displeasure. Clement urged her, it is
true; but the light he had gained upon Morin's motions, made him rather
try to set the case before her in as fair a manner as possible than use
any persuasive arguments. And, even as it was, what he said on the
subject made Virginie shed tears--the first that had fallen from her
since she entered the prison. So, they were summoned and went together,
at the fatal call of the muster-roll of victims the next morning. He,
feeble from his wounds and his injured health; she, calm and serene, only
petitioning to be allowed to walk next to him, in order that she might
hold him up when he turned faint and giddy from his extreme suffering.

"Together they stood at the bar; together they were condemned. As the
words of judgment were pronounced, Virginie tuned to Clement, and
embraced him with passionate fondness. Then, making him lean on her,
they marched out towards the Place de la Greve.

"Jacques was free now. He had told Morin how fruitless his efforts at
persuasion had been; and scarcely caring to note the effect of his
information upon the man, he had devoted himself to watching Monsieur and
Mademoiselle de Crequy. And now he followed them to the Place de la
Greve. He saw them mount the platform; saw them kneel down together till
plucked up by the impatient officials; could see that she was urging some
request to the executioner; the end of which seemed to be, that Clement
advanced first to the guillotine, was executed (and just at this moment
there was a stir among the crowd, as of a man pressing forward towards
the scaffold). Then she, standing with her face to the guillotine,
slowly made the sign of the cross, and knelt down.

"Jacques covered his eyes, blinded with tears. The report of a pistol
made him look up. She was gone--another victim in her place--and where
there had been a little stir in the crowd not five minutes before, some
men were carrying off a dead b