week. His pretext was a pretence, and he was
evidently anxious to be out of the way. In two
days he returned, and immediately communicated
with the police on the subject of the missing
girl. Before any one accused him, he exclaimed,
"Anyhow, I am innocent!" He was arrested
on suspicion, on the day of his reappearance, and
at first said that Cécile had probably been enticed
into some improper house. It was not until the
following day that he made a statement which
implicated Brother Léotade. It is not unlikely
that the popular rumour which reached him in
the interval, suggested the statement. This was
to the effect that on his arrival at the door of the
"Noviciat," with his books, he had seen in the
lobby two of the inmates—Frères Jubrien and
Léotade. He showed considerable ingenuity in
selecting these two, if he did not really see
them. They held a kind of bursar's office in the
monastery, and had free access to all parts of
the building. Conte not only swore positively
to their having been in the vestibule, but
volunteered a theory how the crime was
perpetrated. Jubrien might have enticed Cécile into
a room where unbound books were kept.
Léotade might have induced her to go and see
rabbits in the stable. A "frère" named Luc
had promised to make Cécile a present, and
Frère Luc slept in a room on the ground floor,
away from the common dormitory. It was on
the 23rd of April, eight days after the murder,
that Conte made these depositions. Up to this
point the crime was merely localised in the
monastery. Several of its inmates were
suspected, but no individual specially. On the
26th, Conte said that he had seen Léotade
disgrace himself by obscene gestures, and had
heard him use accordant words. Léotade was
arrested, and with him Jubrien, and Marion
Roumagnac, the old woman who had accompanied
Conte and Cécile when they carried the
books. She was treated in her prison with
much severity; and, by losing her support, her
fatherless children became utterly destitute.
The sole pretext for this woman's arrest was the
fact of her testimony being contrary to that of
Conte. She persisted in stating that she had
not seen Jubrien and Léotade in the lobby of
the monastery.

One or two circumstances appeared indeed
specially to criminate Léotade. In the folds of
the dress of the deceased were found some
scraps of fodder, and a wheat straw stained with
blood. The clothes and one of the shoes of
Cécile were clotted with white mud, and
adhering to this mud was a tiny piece of straw.
The scraps of fodder appeared to be clover.
Now, in a room over the stable of the "frères"
was stored both wheat and clover. But,
admitting that a body covered with moist
mud and hidden among dry grain, would have
carried away traces of the place of its concealment,
it would appear probable that more than
one or two snips of fodder would adhere to the
mud. Moreover, according to this theory, the
mud is left altogether unaccounted for.

After so fierce a struggle as the lacerated
state of the corpse indicated, it might be
supposed that the person of the murderer would
show some marks of violence. After an
examination to which the whole of the "frères,"
from the venerable superior to the youngest in
the "Noviciat," submitted, nothing of the kind
was discovered. The only little circumstance
which seemed to confine the crime to Léotade
was, that on some of his clothes there were
found seeds of the common fig; and similar
seeds had been found on the body of Cécile.
There was a question whether Léotade had
or had not taken pains to conceal the garments
on which these seeds were found. According
to the prosecution, Cécile was induced
to leave the lobby immediately after the
disappearance of Conte with the books. Léotade
knew well that on that day of all others it
would be easy for him to carry out his hideous
design. It was Thursday; and on Thursday the
"frères" were not permitted to leave their class-
rooms until eleven o'clock. Léotade, in his
capacity of house-steward, had access to all those
parts of the building which were most favourable
to his attempt. He might have enticed
Cécile, it was urged, into the loft over the
stable, have there committed the cruel murder,
and have concealed the corpse. When night
fell—so said the prosecution—he conveyed the
body to the wall, and deposited it in the
cemetery.

Further preliminary inquiries resulted in the
liberation of Frère Jubrien and Marion
Roumagnac. From the day of his arrest to that of
the trial, Léotade was kept in close confinement,
and was not permitted to communicate with
his counsel. In the mean time he was subjected
to repeated examinations. The trial did not
take place until February 7, 1848: nearly a
year after the discovery of the crime.

To understand the judicial proceedings, it is
necessary to remember that our neighbours deem
an accused person guilty until proved innocent.
The judge is counsel for the crown rather than
for the accused. In England, so far from a
prisoner being tempted to criminate himself, he is
scarcely permitted to do so even if he desire it.
The English law is, in some cases, more jealous
of the character of a prisoner than he is himself.
In France, one of the most important parts of
the trial is the examination of the prisoner, and
the prisoner is examined by the judge.

When Léotade appeared at the bar, his
demeanour was calm and dignified. His
countenance was remarkable. It would have been
singularly bluff and good humoured, had it not
been marked by thick black eyebrows. His eyes
were bright and intelligent. He appeared to be
naturally a strong man; but confinement and
anxiety had sorely weakened him. He was
defended by Messieurs Gasc and Saint-Gresse.
The "président," or judge, M. de Labaume,
may almost be said to have led, on the other
side; and to have taken a more active part
against the prisoner than even the procureur-
général.

"Rise!" said the president, as Léotade