第394页 / 共896页

"Again; on the other hand, they whisper at the fountain," resumed

the countryman, "that he is brought down into our country to be

executed on the spot, and that he will very certainly be

executed. They even whisper that because he has slain

Monseigneur, and because Monseigneur was the father of his

tenants--serfs--what you will--he will be executed as a

parricide. One old man says at the fountain, that his right hand,

armed with the knife, will be burnt off before his face; that,

into wounds which will be made in his arms, his breast, and his

legs, there will be poured boiling oil, melted lead, hot resin,

wax, and sulphur; finally, that he will be torn limb from limb by

four strong horses. That old man says, all this was actually done

to a prisoner who made an attempt on the life of the late King,

Louis Fifteen. But how do I know if he lies? I am not a scholar."