hem as vanquished enemies. The
family held a council. The advice of Bonnoeil and Timoleon, as well as
of the Marquise, was to sacrifice everything to save Mme. Acquet. They
knew that her husband's denunciations made her the chief culprit, and
that the accusation would rest almost entirely on her. They determined
to appeal to Chauveau-Lagarde, whom the perilous honour of defending
Marie-Antoinette before the Revolutionary tribunal had rendered
illustrious. The great advocate undertook the defence of Mme. Acquet and
sent a young secretary named Ducolombier, who usually lived with him, to
Rouen to study the case--"an intriguer calling himself doctor," wrote
Licquet scornfully. Ducolombier stayed in Rouen and set himself to
examine the condition of the Combrays' fortune. Mme. de Combray had
consented some years back to the sale of a part of her property, and
Timoleon, in the hope of averting financial disaster and being of use to
his mother by diminishing her responsibility, had succeeded in having a
trustee appointed for her.

The matter was brought to Rouen and it was there that, "for the safety
of the State," the trial took place that excited all Normandy in
advance. Curiosity was greatly aroused by the crime committed by "ladies
of the chateau," and surprising revelations were expected, the
examination having lasted more than a year and having brought together
an army of witnesses from around Falaise and Tournebut. Mme. de
Combray's house in the Rue des Carmelites had become the headquarters
of the defence. Mlle. Querey had come out of prison after several weeks'
detention, and was there looking after the little Acquets, who had been
kept at the pension Du Saussay in ignorance of what was going on around
them: the three children still suffered from the ill-treatment they had
received in infancy. Timoleon also lived in the Rue des Carmelites when
the interests of his family did not require his presence in Falaise or
Paris. There, also, lived Ducolombier, who had organised a sort of
central office in the house where the lawyers of the other prisoners
could come and consult. Mme. de Combray had chosen Maitre Gady de la
Vigne of Rouen to defend her; Maitre Denise had charge of Flierle's
case, and Maitre le Bouvier was to speak for Lefebre and Placene.

Chauveau-Lagarde arrived in Rouen on December 1, 1808. He had scarcely
done so when he received a long epistle from Acquet de Ferolles, in
which the unworthy husband tried t