Lamotte, and announced to her benefactress, in a letter which she
left behind, that she was escaping from the slavery in which she had
hitherto lived, and that she left her curse to those who wanted to
hinder her marrying the man of her choice. But in order to
accomplish her marriage, she confessed that she had found it
necessary to rob the casket of Madame de Boulainvillier, and that
out of this money she should defray her expenses. It was a sum of
twenty thousand francs which the fugitive had robbed from her
benefactress."

"I take the liberty of remarking to you, Mr. President, that you are
there making use of a totally false expression," interrupted the
countess. "It cannot be said that I robbed this sum. It was the
dowry which Madame de Boulainvillier had promised to give me in case
of my marriage, and I only took what was my own, as I was upon the
point of marrying. Madame de Boulainvillier herself justified me in
taking this sum, for she never asked me to return it or filed an
accusation against me."

"Because she wanted to prevent the matter becoming town-talk,"
remarked the president, quietly. "Madame de Boulainvillier held her
peace, and relinquished punishment to the righteous Judge who lives
above the stars."

"And who surely has not descended from the stars to assume the
president's chair of this court," cried Lamotte, with a mocking
laugh.

President L'Aigre, without heeding the interruption, continued: