"Do not try to defend me," he said, calmly; "it would be labor wasted.
I have only a word to say to my judges. Let them remember what the noble
and generous Marshal Moncey wrote to the King: 'The scaffold does not
make friends.'"
This recollection was not of a nature to soften the hearts of the
judges. The marshal, for that saying, had been deprived of his office,
and condemned to three months' imprisonment.
As the advocates made no further attempt to argue the case, the
commission retired to deliberate. This gave M. d'Escorval an opportunity
to speak with his defenders. He shook them warmly by the hand, and
thanked them for their devotion and for their courage.
The good man wept.
Then the baron, turning to the oldest among them, quickly and in a low
voice said:
"I have a last favor to ask of you. When the sentence of death shall
have been pronounced upon me, go at once to my son. You will say to him
that his dying father commands him to live; he will understand you. Tell
him it is my last wish; that he live--live for his mother!"
He said no more; the judges were returning.
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