After having married quite young, M. Magloire had lost his wife after a few months, and had never recovered from the loss.  Although thirty years old, the wound had never healed; and regularly, on certain days, he was seen wending his way to the cemetery, to place flowers on a modest grave there.  Any other man would have been laughed at for such a thing at Sauveterre; but with him they dared not do so, for they all respected him highly.  Young and old knew and reverenced the tall man with the calm, serene face, the clear, bright eyes, and the eloquent lips, which, in their well-cut, delicate lines, by turns glowed with scorn, with tenderness, or with disdain.

Like Dr. Seignebos, M. Magloire also was a Republican; and, at the last Imperial elections, the Bonapartists had had the greatest trouble, aided though they were by the whole influence of the government, and shrinking from no unfair means, to keep him out of the Chamber.  Nor would they have been successful after all, but for the influence of Count Claudieuse, who had prevailed upon a number of electors to abstain from voting.

This was the man, who, towards nine o’clock, presented himself, upon the invitation of M. de Chandore, at his house, where he was anxiously expected by all the inmates.  His greeting was affectionate, but at the same time so sad, that it touched Dionysia’s heart most painfully.  She thought she saw that M. Magloire was not far from believing Jacques guilty.

And she was not mistaken; for M. Magloire let them see it clearly, in the most delicate manner, to be sure, but still so as to leave no doubt.  He had spent the day in court, and there had heard the opinions of the members of the court, which was by no means favorable to the accused.  Under such circumstances, it would have evidently been a grave blunder to yield to Jacques’s wishes, and to apply for a change of venue from M. Galpin to some other magistrate.

“The investigation will last a year,” cried Dionysia, “since M. Galpin is determined to obtain from Jacques the confession of a crime which he has not committed.”

M. Magloire shook his head, and replied,—­

“I believe, on the contrary, madam, that the investigation will be very soon concluded.”

“But if Jacques keeps silent?”

“Neither the silence of an accused, nor any other caprice or obstinacy of his, can interfere with the regular process.  Called upon to produce his justification, if he refuses to do so, the law proceeds without him.”

“Still, sir, if an accused person has reasons”—­

“There are no reasons which can force a man to let himself be accused unjustly.  But even that case has been foreseen.  The accused is at liberty not to answer a question which may inculpate him. Nemo tenetur prodere se ipsum.  But you must admit that such a refusal to answer justifies a judge in believing that the charges are true which the accused does not refute.”