daring
assertions. From such testimony the judge naturally concluded that
Arnauld du Thill was quite capable of carrying on, an imposture, and that
the impudence which he displayed was natural to his character. Moreover,
he noted that the prisoner, who averred that he was born in Biscay, knew
only a few words of the Basque language, and used these quite wrongly.
He heard later another witness who deposed that the original Martin
Guerre was a good wrestler and skilled in the art of fence, whereas the
prisoner, having wished to try what he could do, showed no skill
whatever. Finally, a shoemaker was interrogated, and his evidence was not
the least damning. Martin Guerre, he declared, required twelve holes to
lace his boots, and his surprise had been great when he found those of
the prisoner had only nine. Considering all these points, and the
cumulative evidence, the judge of Rieux set aside the favourable
testimony, which he concluded had been the outcome of general credulity,
imposed on by an extraordinary resemblance. He gave due weight also to
Bertrande's accusation, although she had never confirmed it, and now
maintained an obstinate silence; and he pronounced a judgment by which
Arnauld du Thill was declared "attainted and convicted of imposture, and
was therefore condemned to be beheaded; after which his body should be
divided into four quarters, and exposed at the four corners of the town."

This sentence, as soon as it was known, caused much diversity of opinion
in the town. The prisoner's enemies praised the wisdom of the judge, and
those less prejudiced condemned his decision; as such conflicting
testimony left room for doubt. Besides, it was thought that the
possession of property and the future of the children required much
consideration, also that the most absolute certainty was demanded before
annulling a past of two whole years, untroubled by any counter claim
whatever.

The condemned man appealed from this sentence to the Parliament of
Toulouse. This court decided that the case required more careful
consideration than had yet been given to it, and began by ordering
Arnauld du Thill to be confronted with Pierre Guerre and Bertrande de
Rolls.

Who can say what feelings animate a man who, already once condemned,
finds himself subjected to a second trial? The torture scarcely ended
begins again, and Hope, though reduced to a shadow, regains her sway over
his imagination, which clings to her skirts