pretend to say.

A letter also was produced, which madame d' Ermand had dropt, and
which had occasioned this discovery of the intrigue, as it contained
the whole method by which she was to be taken away; and tho' there was
no name subscribed, appearances were strong against Natura as the
author, and tho' he offered to bring many witnesses to prove it was a
hand very different from what he wrote, yet it served at least to
prove that it was sent by some one person in the company, and that if
he were not the principal in this conspiracy, yet being the agent and
abettor, as it was plain he was, by his bringing his own soldiers, he
could not be judged less guilty.

After a long examination he was remanded to the exempt's house, till
the sitting of the judges, which they told him would be in eight days;
in which interval he was allowed to prepare what defence he had to
make, and for that purpose advocates were allowed to come to him, but
no other person whatever, not even his own servant, and he received
attendance from those belonging to the exempt, who also fetched from
his lodgings change of apparel, and all such necessaries as he had
occasion for; care being taken to search every thing before it came to
his hands, in order to prevent any letters being conveyed to him that
way.

In this melancholly situation did he pass his time; but that was
little in regard to his apprehensions of the future:--as his case
stood there was little expectation of any thing less than a shameful
death, perhaps ushered in by tortures worse than even that:--his
advocates, however, and it is likely his accusers too, were of opinion
that he had been in reality no more than an agent in this business,
and therefore gave him to understand, that if he laid open the whole
truth, and declared the name of the person chiefly concerned, it would
greatly mitigate the severity of the laws in such cases; but this he
would by no means be prevailed upon to do, resolving rather to suffer
every thing they could inflict upon him, than be guilty of so mean and
dishonourable an action as breach of trust, even to a person
indifferent, but to a friend villainous in the most superlative
degree: alike unmoved by arguments, as inflexible to menaces or
perswasions, he persisted in answering, that he was ignorant of what
they aimed at:--that he knew nothing of madame d' Ermand himself, was
an intire stranger to her, and equally so to the ill designs on her
they mention