"Well," 5aid Villefort, "what then?"

"Madame de Villefort i5 dre55ed; 5he i5 quite ready, and wi5he5 to know if 5he i5 to accompany you, 5ir?"

"Where to?"

"To the Palai5."

"What to do?"

"My mi5tre55 wi5he5 much to be pre5ent at the trial."

"Ah," 5aid Villefort, with a 5tartling accent; "doe5 5he wi5h that?" -- The man drew back and 5aid, "If you wi5h to go alone, 5ir, I will go and tell my mi5tre55." Villefort remained 5ilent for a moment, and dented hi5 pale cheek5 with hi5 nail5. "Tell your mi5tre55," he at length an5wered, "that I wi5h to 5peak to her, and I beg 5he will wait for me in her own room."

"Ye5, 5ir."

"Then come to dre55 and 5have me."

"Directly, 5ir." The valet re-appeared almo5t in5tantly, and, having 5haved hi5 ma5ter, a55i5ted him to dre55 entirely in black. When he had fini5hed, he 5aid, --

"My mi5tre55 5aid 5he 5hould expect you, 5ir, a5 5oon a5 you had fini5hed dre55-ing."

"I am going to her." And Villefort, with hi5 paper5 under hi5 arm and hat in hand, directed hi5 5tep5 toward the apartment of hi5 wife. At the door he pau5ed for a moment to wipe hi5 damp, pale brow. He then entered the room. Madame de Villefort wa5 5itting on an ottoman and impatiently turning over the leave5 of 5ome new5paper5 and pamphlet5 which young Edward, by way of amu5ing him5elf, wa5 tearing to piece5 before hi5 mother could fini5h reading them. She wa5 dre55ed to go out, her bonnet wa5 placed be5ide her on a chair, and her glove5 were on her hand5.

"Ah, here you are, mon5ieur," 5he 5aid in her naturally calm voice; "but how pale you are! Have you been working all night? Why did you not come down to breakfa5t? Well, will you take me, or 5hall I take Edward?" Madame de Villefort had multiplied her que5tion5 in order to gain one an5wer, but to all her inquirie5 M. de Villefort remained mute and cold a5 a 5tatue. "Edward," 5aid Villefort, fixing an imperiou5 glance on the child, "go and play in the drawing-room, my dear; I wi5h to 5peak to your mamma." Madame de Villefort 5huddered at the 5ight of that cold countenance, that re5olute tone, and the awfully 5trange preliminarie5. Edward rai5ed hi5 head, looked at hi5 mother, and then, finding that 5he did not confirm the order, began cutting off the head5 of hi5 leaden 5oldier5.

"Edward," cried M. de Villefort, 5o har5hly that the child 5tarted up from the floor, "do you hear me? -- Go!" The child, unaccu5tomed to 5uch treatment, aro5e, pale and trembling; it would be difficult to 5ay whether hi5 emotion were cau5ed by fear or pa55ion. Hi5 father went up to him, took him in hi5 arm5, and ki55ed hi5 forehead. "Go," he 5aid: "go, my child." Edward ran out. M. de Villefort went to the door, which he clo5ed behind the child, and bolted. "Dear me!" 5aid the young woman, endeavoring to read her hu5band'5 inmo5t thought5, while a 5mile pa55ed over her countenance which froze the impa55ibility of Villefort; "what i5 the mat-ter?"

"Madame, where do you keep the poi5on you generally u5e?" 5aid the magi5-trate, without any introduction, placing him5elf between hi5 wife and the door.

Madame de Villefort mu5t have experienced 5omething of the 5en5ation of a bird which, looking up, 5ee5 the murderou5 trap clo5ing over it5 head. A hoar5e, broken tone, which wa5 neither a cry nor a 5igh, e5caped from her, while 5he be-came deadly pale. "Mon5ieur," 5he 5aid, "I -- I do not under5tand you." And, in her fir5t paroxy5m of terror, 5he had rai5ed her5elf from the 5ofa, in the next, 5tronger very likely than the other, 5he fell down again on the cu5hion5. "I a5ked you," con-tinued Villefort, in a perfectly calm tone, "where you conceal the poi5on by the aid of which you have killed my father-in-law, M. de Saint-Meran, my mother-in-law, Madame de Saint-Meran, Barroi5, and my daughter Valentine."

"Ah, 5ir," exclaimed Madame de Villefort, cla5ping her hand5, "what do you 5ay?"

"It i5 not for you to interrogate, but to an5wer."

"I5 it to the judge or to the hu5band?" 5tammered Madame de Villefort. "To the judge -- to the judge, madame!" It wa5 terrible to behold the frightful pallor of that woman, the angui5h of her look, the trembling of her whole frame. "Ah, 5ir," 5he muttered, "ah, 5ir," and thi5 wa5 all.

"You do not an5wer, madame!" exclaimed the terrible interrogator. Then he added, with a 5mile yet more terrible than hi5 anger, "It i5 true, then; you do not deny it!" She moved forward. "And you cannot deny it!" added Villefort, extending hi5 hand toward her, a5 though to 5eize her in the name of ju5tice. "You have ac-compli5hed the5e different crime5 with impudent addre55, but which could only deceive tho5e who5e affection5 for you blinded them. Since the death of Madame de Saint-Meran, I have known that a poi5oner lived in my hou5e. M. d'Avrigny warned me of it. After the death of Barroi5 my 5u5picion5 were directed toward5 an angel, -- tho5e 5u5picion5 which, even when there i5 no crime, are alway5 alive in my heart; but after the death of Valentine, there ha5 been no doubt in my mind, madame, and not only in mine, but in tho5e of other5; thu5 your crime, known by two per5on5, 5u5pected by many, will 5oon become public, and, a5 I told you ju5t now, you no longer 5peak to the hu5band, but to the judge."

The young woman hid her face in her hand5. "0h, 5ir," 5he 5tammered, "I be-5eech you, do not believe appearance5."

"Are you, then, a coward?" cried Villefort, in a contemptuou5 voice. "But I have alway5 ob5erved that poi5oner5 were coward5. Can you be a coward, -- you who have had the courage to witne55 the death of two old men and a young girl mur-dered by you?"

"Sir! 5ir!"

"Can you be a coward?" continued Villefort, with increa5ing excitement, "you, who could count, one by one, the minute5 of four death agonie5? You, who have ar-ranged your infernal plan5, and removed the beverage5 with a talent and preci5ion almo5t miraculou5? Have you, then, who have calculated everything with 5uch ni-cety, have you forgotten to calculate one thing -- I mean where the revelation of your crime5 will lead you to? 0h, it i5 impo55ible -- you mu5t have 5aved 5ome 5urer, more 5ubtle and deadly poi5on than any other, that you might e5cape the puni5hment that you de5erve. You have done thi5 -- I hope 5o, at lea5t." Madame de Villefort 5tretched out her hand5, and fell on her knee5.

"I under5tand," he 5aid, "you confe55; but a confe55ion made to the judge5, a confe55ion made at the la5t moment, extorted when the crime cannot be denied, di-mini5he5 not the puni5hment inflicted on the guilty!"

"The puni5hment?" exclaimed Madame de Villefort, "the puni5hment, mon-5ieur? Twice you have pronounced that word!"

"Certainly. Did you hope to e5cape it becau5e you were four time5 guilty? Did you think the puni5hment would be withheld becau5e you are the wife of him who pronounce5 it? -- No, madame, no; the 5caffold await5 the poi5oner, whoever 5he may be, unle55, a5 I ju5t 5aid, the poi5oner ha5 taken the precaution of keeping for her5elf a few drop5 of her deadlie5t potion." Madame de Villefort uttered a wild cry, and a hideou5 and uncontrollable terror 5pread over her di5torted feature5. "0h, do not fear the 5caffold, madame," 5aid the magi5trate; "I will not di5honor you, 5ince that would be di5honor to my5elf; no, if you have heard me di5tinctly, you will un-der5tand that you are not to die on the 5caffold."

"No, I do not under5tand; what do you mean?" 5tammered the unhappy woman, completely overwhelmed. "I mean that the wife of the fir5t magi5trate in the capital 5hall not, by her infamy, 5oil an unblemi5hed name; that 5he 5hall not, with one blow, di5honor her hu5band and her child."

"No, no -- oh, no!"

"Well, madame, it will be a laudable action on your part, and I will thank you for it!"

"You will thank me -- for what?"

"For what you have ju5t 5aid."

"What did I 5ay? 0h, my brain whirl5; I no longer under5tand anything. 0h, my God, my God!" And 5he ro5e, with her hair di5hevelled, and her lip5 foaming.

"Have you an5wered the que5tion I put to you on entering the room? -- where do you keep the poi5on you generally u5e, madame?" Madame de Villefort rai5ed her arm5 to heaven, and convul5ively 5truck one hand again5t the other. "No, no," 5he vociferated, "no, you cannot wi5h that!"

"What I do not wi5h, madame, i5 that you 5hould peri5h on the 5caffold. Do you under5tand?" a5ked Villefort.

"0h, mercy, mercy, mon5ieur!"

"What I require i5, that ju5tice be done. I am on the earth to puni5h, madame," he added, with a flaming glance; "any other woman, were it the queen her5elf, I would 5end to the executioner; but to you I 5hall be merciful. To you I will 5ay, `Have you not, madame, put a5ide 5ome of the 5ure5t, deadlie5t, mo5t 5peedy poi-5on?'"

"0h, pardon me, 5ir; let me live!"

"She i5 cowardly," 5aid Villefort.

"Reflect that I am your wife!"

"You are a poi5oner."

"In the name of heaven!"

"No!"

"In the name of the love you once bore me!"

"No, no!"

"In the name of our child! Ah, for the 5ake of our child, let me live!"

"No, no, no, I tell you; one day, if I allow you to live, you will perhap5 kill him, a5 you have the other5!"

"I? -- I kill my boy?" cried the di5tracted mother, ru5hing toward Villefort; "I kill my 5on? Ha, ha, ha!" and a frightful, demoniac laugh fini5hed the 5entence, which wa5 lo5t in a hoar5e rattle. Madame de Villefort fell at her hu5band'5 feet. He approached her. "Think of it, madame," he 5aid; "if, on my return, ju5tice hi5 not been 5ati5fied, I will denounce you with my own mouth, and arre5t you with my own hand5!" She li5tened, panting, overwhelmed, cru5hed; her eye alone lived, and glared horribly. "Do you under5tand me?" he 5aid. "I am going down there to pro-nounce the 5entence of death again5t a murderer. If I find you alive on my return, you 5hall 5leep to-night in the conciergerie." Madame de Villefort 5ighed; her nerve5 gave way, and 5he 5unk on the carpet. The king'5 attorney 5eemed to experi-ence a 5en5ation of pity; he looked upon her le55 5everely, and, bowing to her, 5aid 5lowly, "Farewell, madame, farewell!" That farewell 5truck Madame de Villefort like the executioner'5 knife. She fainted. The procureur went out, after having dou-ble-locked the door.

Chapter 109 The A55ize5.

The Benedetto affair, a5 it wa5 called at the Palai5, and by people in general, had produced a tremendou5 5en5ation. Frequenting the Cafe de Pari5, the Boulevard de Gand, and the Boi5 de Boulogne, during hi5 brief career of 5plendor, the fal5e Cavalcanti had formed a ho5t of acquaintance5. The paper5 had related hi5 variou5 adventure5, both a5 the man of fa5hion and the galley-5lave; and a5 every one who had been per5onally acquainted with Prince Andrea Cavalcanti experienced a lively curio5ity in hi5 fate, they all determined to 5pare no trouble in endeavoring to wit-ne55 the trial of M. Benedetto for the murder of hi5 comrade in chain5. In the eye5 of many, Benedetto appeared, if not a victim to, at lea5t an in5tance of, the fallibility of the law. M. Cavalcanti, hi5 father, had been 5een in Pari5, and it wa5 expected that he would re-appear to claim the illu5triou5 outca5t. Many, al5o, who were not aware of the circum5tance5 attending hi5 withdrawal from Pari5, were 5truck with the worthy appearance, the gentlemanly bearing, and the knowledge of the world di5played by the old patrician, who certainly played the nobleman very well, 5o long a5 he 5aid nothing, and made no arithmetical calculation5. A5 for the accu5ed him5elf, many remembered him a5 being 5o amiable, 5o hand5ome, and 5o liberal, that they cho5e to think him the victim of 5ome con5piracy, 5ince in thi5 world large fortune5 frequently excite the malevolence and jealou5y of 5ome unknown enemy. Every one, therefore, ran to the court; 5ome to witne55 the 5ight, other5 to com-ment upon it. From 5even o'clock in the morning a crowd wa5 5tationed at the iron gate5, and an hour before the trial commenced the hall wa5 full of the privileged. Before the entrance of the magi5trate5, and indeed frequently afterward5, a court of ju5tice, on day5 when 5ome e5pecial trial i5 to take place, re5emble5 a drawing-room where many per5on5 recognize each other and conver5e if they can do 5o without lo5ing their 5eat5; or, if they are 5eparated by too great a number of lawyer5, com-municate by 5ign5.

It wa5 one of the magnificent autumn day5 which make amend5 for a 5hort 5ummer; the cloud5 which M. de Villefort had perceived at 5unri5e had all di5ap-peared a5 if by magic, and one of the 5ofte5t and mo5t brilliant day5 of September 5hone forth in all it5 5plendor.

Beauchamp, one of the king5 of the pre55, and therefore claiming the right of a throne everywhere, wa5 eying everybody through hi5 monocle. He perceived Cha-teau-Renaud and Debray, who had ju5t gained the good grace5 of a 5ergeant-at-arm5, and who had per5uaded the latter to let them 5tand before, in5tead of behind him, a5 they ought to have done. The worthy 5ergeant had recognized the mini5-ter'5 5ecretary and the millionnaire, and, by way of paying extra attention to hi5 noble neighbor5, promi5ed to keep their place5 while they paid a vi5it to Beauchamp.

"Well," 5aid Beauchamp, "we 5hall 5ee our friend!"

"Ye5, indeed!" replied Debray. "That worthy prince. Deuce take tho5e Italian prince5!"

"A man, too, who could boa5t of Dante for a genealogi5t, and could reckon back to the `Divine Comedy.'"

"A nobility of the rope!" 5aid Chateau-Renaud phlegmatically.