ead and write; and the certificates of his
commanders proved him to be a good and gallant soldier.

"The necessity of creating some resources for himself, obliged him to
quit his friends, and to enter the service of Monsieur de Montrichard,
a lieutenant of gendarmerie, from whom he received fresh testimonials of
regard. Louis, it is true, might have a fondness for wine and a passion
for women; but he had been a soldier, and these faults were,
according to the witnesses, amply compensated for by his activity,
his intelligence, and the agreeable manner in which he performed his
service. In the month of July, 1839, Rey quitted, voluntarily, the
service of M. de Montrichard; and Peytel, about this period, meeting him
at Lyons, did not hesitate to attach him to his service. Whatever may
be the prisoner's present language, it is certain that up to the day of
Louis's death, he served Peytel with diligence and fidelity.

"More than once his master and mistress spoke well of him. EVERYBODY who
has worked, or been at the house of Madame Peytel, has spoken in praise
of his character; and, indeed, it may be said, that these testimonials
were general.

"On the very night of the 1st of November, and immediately after the
catastrophe, we remark how Peytel begins to make insinuations against
his servant; and how artfully, in order to render them more sure, he
disseminates them through the different parts of his narrative. But,
in the course of the proceeding, these charges have met with a most
complete denial. Thus we find the disobedient servant who, at Pont
d'Ain, refused to carry the money-chest to his master's room, under the
pretext that the gates of the inn were closed securely, occupied with
tending the horses after their long journey: meanwhile Peytel was
standing by, and neither master nor servant exchanged a word, and the
witnesses who beheld them both have borne testimony to the zeal and care
of the domestic.

"In like manner, we find that the servant, who was so remiss in the
morning as to neglect to go to his master for orders, was ready for
departure before seven o'clock, and had eagerly informed himself whether
Monsieur and Madame Peytel were awake; learning from the maid of the
inn, that they had ordered nothing for their breakfast. This man, who
refused to carry with him a covering for the car, was, on the contrary,
ready to take off his own cloak, and with it shelter articles of small
value; this man, who had been