ure you of your bad
humour. Admit that I am awfully good-natured not to have got angry at
you."

"Got angry? What about?"

"Because it is not very flattering to a woman to be able to entertain a
man only by telling him about another one."

"Oh, no, it isn't that way at all," he said, kissing her eyes tenderly.

"Let me go now," she said, very low, "this enervates me, and I must get
home. It's late."

She sighed and fled, leaving him amazed and wondering in what weird
activities the life of that woman had been passed.

CHAPTER XVIII

The day after that on which he had spewed such furious vituperation over
the Tribunal, Gilles de Rais appeared again before his judges. He
presented himself with bowed head and clasped hands. He had once more
jumped from one extreme to the other. A few hours had sufficed to break
the spirit of the energumen, who now declared that he recognized the
authority of the magistrates and begged forgiveness for having insulted
them.

They affirmed that for the love of Our Lord they forgot his
imprecations, and, at his prayer, the Bishop and the Inquisitor revoked
the sentence of excommunication which they had passed on him the day
before.

This hearing was, in addition, taken up with the arraignment of Prelati
and his accomplices. Then, authorized by the ecclesiastical text which
says that a confession cannot be regarded as sufficient if it is "dubia,
vaga, generalis illativa, jocosa," the Prosecutor asserted that to
certify the sincerity of his confessions Gilles must be subjected to the
"canonic question," that is, to torture.

The Marshal besought the Bishop to wait until the next day, and claiming
the right of confessing immediately to such judges as the Tribunal were
pleased to designate, he swore that he would thereafter repeat his
confession before the public and the court.

Jean de Malestroit granted this request, and the Bishop of Saint Brieuc
and Pierre de l'Hospital were appointed to hear Gilles in his cell. When
he had finished the recital of his debauches and murders they ordered
Prelati to be brought to them.

At sight of him Gilles burst into tears and when, after the
interrogatory, preparations were made to conduct the Italian back to his
dungeon, Gilles embraced him, saying, "Farewell, Francis my friend, we
shall never see each other again in this world. I pray God to give you
good patience and I hope in Him that we may meet again in great joy in
Paradise. Pr