ort to
me to think she would wear it after my death, and that the sight of it
would remind her to pray for me; but after what has passed, the rosary
could hardly fail to revive an odious recollection. My God, my God! I
am desperately wicked; can it be that you will pardon me?"

"Madame," replied the doctor, "I think you are mistaken about Mlle,
d'Aubray. You may see by her letter what are her feelings towards you,
and you must pray with this rosary up to the very end. Let not your
prayers be interrupted or distracted, for no guilty penitent must cease
from prayer; and I, madame, will engage to deliver the rosary where it
will be gladly received."

And the marquise, who had been constantly distracted since the morning,
was now, thanks to the patient goodness of the doctor, able to return
with her former fervour to her prayers. She prayed till seven o'clock.
As the clock struck, the executioner without a word came and stood before
her; she saw that her moment had come, and said to the doctor, grasping
his arm, "A little longer; just a few moments, I entreat."

"Madame," said the doctor, rising, "we will now adore the divine blood of
the Sacrament, praying that you may be thus cleansed from all soil and
sin that may be still in your heart. Thus shall you gain the respite you
desire."

The executioner then tied tight the cords round her hands that he had let
loose before, and she advanced pretty firmly and knelt before the altar,
between the doctor and the chaplain. The latter was in his surplice, and
chanted a 'Veni Creator, Salve Regina, and Tantum ergo'. These prayers
over, he pronounced the blessing of the Holy Sacrament, while the
marquise knelt with her face upon the ground. The executioner then went
forward to get ready a shirt, and she made her exit from the chapel,
supported on the left by the doctor's arm, on the right by the
executioner's assistant. Thus proceeding, she first felt embarrassment
and confusion. Ten or twelve people were waiting outside, and as she
suddenly confronted them, she made a step backward, and with her hands,
bound though they were, pulled the headdress down to cover half her face.
She passed through a small door, which was closed behind her, and then
found herself between the two doors alone, with the doctor and the
executioner's man. Here the rosary, in consequence of her violent
movement to cover her face, came undone, and several beads fell on the
floor. She went on, ho