CHAPTER XVI.
HOW THE RING WAS FOUND.
The road to the castle towards which the Countess now led Mary, laythrough a long and dark walk of tall old linden trees. For a while theywalked in silence together, each wrapped in her own thoughts, but atlast the Countess said to Mary--
"Oh, I must now tell you how the ring was found. My father's affairsrequiring his presence at Eichbourg, we left Court earlier than usualthis year--in the beginning of March. When we arrived at the Castle,the weather was very boisterous, and one night in particular we had atremendous storm. You remember the great pear tree we had in our gardenat Eichbourg? It was very old, and bore scarcely any fruit. That nightthe wind, which blew with great violence, had shaken it so much that itthreatened every moment to fall, and my father ordered it to be cutdown.
"My father, and mother, the children, and servants, and indeed all ofthe people in the Castle, came into the garden to see it fall. As soonas it was cut down, my two little brothers ran immediately towards amagpie's nest in the tree, which had for a long time been a covetedobject, but had hitherto been out of their reach. Now they seized uponthe nest and busied themselves examining its contents.
"'Look, Albert!' said Augustus, 'what is that shining among the twigs?How bright it is!'
"'It sparkles like gold,' said Albert.
"My maid, Juliette, ran forward to look at it, and immediately uttereda scream.
"'Oh,' she cried, 'it is the ring!' and became as pale as death.
"The children extricated the ring from among the twigs, and carried itin great glee to my mother.
"'Yes, indeed it is my ring,' said my mother, with deep emotion. 'Oh,good and honest James! oh, poor Mary, what injustice we have done you!I am glad enough to find my ring again, but if I could find James andMary, I would gladly sacrifice the ring to repair the wrong which wehave done them.'
"I was curious to know by what chance the ring was carried into themagpie's nest at the top of the tree, and the old huntsman, Anthony,gave a ready explanation.
"'Neither the gardener James nor his daughter could have hidden thering in this place, that is very clear,' said he. 'The tree was toohigh, and it would have been impossible to climb up so far. Besideswhich, they had not time to do so. Mary had scarcely returned to thehouse when she and her father were both arrested. Magpies are greatlyattracted by anything that shines, and if they can find anythingsparkling, they carry it off immediately to their nests. One of thesebirds must have stolen the ring, and carried it to the tree. That isall the mystery. The only thing that astonishes me is that an oldhunter, as I am, should not have thought sooner of this explanation.'
"The old man spoke with deep feeling and with tears in his eyes, butthey were tears of joy at seeing your innocence proved.
"'Anthony,' said my mother, 'I believe you are perfectly right, and nowI remember quite distinctly that very often these birds came from thetop of this tree to my window, that the sash was open when the ringdisappeared, that the table on which I put the ring was close to thewindow, and that, after having shut the door and bolted it, I went intothe next room, where I stayed for some time. No doubt one of thesemischievous birds saw the ring from his nest, and, while I was in theother room, he must have darted in and carried it off.'
"My father was deeply troubled at the conviction, which he could notresist, that you and your father had been unjustly condemned.
"'My heart is almost broken,' said he, 'for having done these goodpeople so much injury. My only consolation is that it was not done fromill-will, but in ignorance and error.'
"My father now turned to Juliette, who in the universal rejoicing atthe discovery of the ring remained silent and pale.
"'False woman,' said he, 'deceitful servant! How could you have thehardihood to lie to me and to the judge, and to compel us to commit anaction unwillingly, the iniquity of which now calls for vengeance? Whattempted you to plunge into suffering an old and honest man, and hispoor and virtuous daughter?'
"'Officers, do your duty,' he said to two constables, who had assistedin cutting down the tree, and who now approached the unhappy Julietteto carry out my father's orders. 'Let her be put in chains,' he added,in a grave tone,--'the same chains that Mary wore,--and let her bethrown into the same prison in which she caused Mary to languish. Shemust suffer all that Mary suffered, only that, unlike Mary, she hasdeserved it. What she has been able to hoard of money or clothes shallbe taken from her, to compensate, if it be possible, the unhappy oldman and his daughter who have had to suffer an unjust sentence. Theofficer who conducted Mary out of my dominions shall also conductJuliette, just as she is, to the same place.'
"No one had ever seen my father so exasperated, never had any one heardhim speak in such passionate tones. For a while every one was silent,but at last the officers and servants gave voice to their sentimentsand thoughts.
"'It is well done,' said one of the officers, seizing Juliette by thearm; 'when one digs another's grave he must fill it himself.'
"'That is what is gained by telling falsehoods,' said the otherofficer. 'It is true that no thread is so fine that it cannot be seenin the sunshine.'
"'It was a pretty dress which the young Countess gave to Mary,' saidthe cook in her turn, 'that made Juliette angry. In her rage, and notknowing well what she was about, she began to tell lies, and then itwas impossible to retract without acknowledging her guilt. The proverbis true which says that, once the devil has us by the hair, he willhold fast to us afterwards.'
"'It is well, it is well,' said the coachman, who had just finishedcutting the tree, and who still had the axe over his shoulder. 'Let ushope she will mend her ways, if she does not wish to be worse off inthe next world. The tree that bears not good fruit,' said he, shakinghis axe, 'shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.'
"The news of the finding of the ring spread through Eichbourg in a veryshort time, and every one ran to the place, so that in a little while agreat crowd had gathered. The judge who condemned you came also, andevery witness of the discovery was as eager as possible to tell him allabout it.
"You cannot imagine, my dear Mary," the Countess proceeded, "the effectthat the story produced on the good man. Notwithstanding his severityrespecting you, he is a man of great probity, and one who has all hislife tried to administer justice with strict fidelity.
"'I would give half of my goods,' said he, in a tone that went to theheart of every one who heard him--'yes, I would willingly have giveneverything I possess if this misfortune had not happened. To havecondemned innocence is a frightful thought.' Then, looking round him atthe people, he said, in a solemn voice, 'God is the only infalliblejudge, the only one that cannot be deceived. He knows everything. Healone knew the hiding-place in which the ring had remained until now.The judges of the earth are near-sighted and prone to be deceived. Itis rare here below that innocence suffers and vice triumphs. Theinvisible Judge, who will recompense one day all good actions andpunish all bad ones, has decreed that even here innocence shall notalways suffer from suspicion, nor hidden crime remain alwaysconcealed.'"
While Amelia had been relating this interesting narrative, Mary hadbeen lifting up her heart in silent thanksgiving to God for clearingher character from every stain of suspicion and establishing herinnocence in the minds of her friends. By the time Amelia had finishedher story, they had arrived at the door of the castle.
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