"What a rascal!" exclaimed the Captain's wife. "Just see what he
proposes. To go out and meet him and lay our flags at his feet.
Ah! the son of a dog! He does not know that we have been forty years
in service, and that, thank God, we have seen all sorts of military
life. Is it possible to find a Commandant cowardly enough to obey
this robber?"

"It ought not to be," replied the Captain, "but it is said that the
villain has taken possession of several fortress."

"It appears he is quite strong," said Alexis.

"We shall instantly know his real force," continued the Commandant;
"Basilia, give me the key of the garret. Ignatius, bring the Bashkir
here, and tell Zoulac to bring the rods."

"Wait a little, my dear," said the Commandant's wife, leaving her seat;
"let me take Marie out of the house, or else she will hear the screams
and be frightened. And, to tell the truth, I am, myself, not very
curious about such investigations. Until I see you again, adieu."

Torture was then so rooted in the customs of justice, that the humane
Ukase of Catherine II, who had ordered its abolition, remained long
without effect. It was thought that the confession of the accused was
indispensable to his condemnation, an idea not only unreasonable, but
contrary to the most simple good sense in matters of jurisprudence; for
if the denial of the accused is not accepted as proof of his innocence,
the confession which is torn from him by torture ought to serve still
less as proof of his guilt. Even now I sometimes hear old judges
regret the abolition of this barbarous custom. But in the time of our