HOW THE RING WAS FOUND.
The road to the castle towards which the Countess now led Mary, lay
through a long and dark walk of tall old linden trees. For a while they
walked in silence together, each wrapped in her own thoughts, but at
last the Countess said to Mary--
"Oh, I must now tell you how the ring was found. My father's affairs
requiring his presence at Eichbourg, we left Court earlier than usual
this year--in the beginning of March. When we arrived at the Castle,
the weather was very boisterous, and one night in particular we had a
tremendous storm. You remember the great pear tree we had in our garden
at Eichbourg? It was very old, and bore scarcely any fruit. That night
the wind, which blew with great violence, had shaken it so much that it
threatened every moment to fall, and my father ordered it to be cut
down.
"My father, and mother, the children, and servants, and indeed all of
the people in the Castle, came into the garden to see it fall. As soon
as it was cut down, my two little brothers ran immediately towards a
magpie's nest in the tree, which had for a long time been a coveted
object, but had hitherto been out of their reach. Now they seized upon
the 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 uttered
a 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 it
in 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 and
Mary, I would gladly sacrifice the ring to repair the wrong which we
have done them.'
"I was curious to know by what chance the ring was carried into the
magpie'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 the
ring in this place, that is very clear,' said he. 'The tree was too
high, and it would have been impossible to climb up so far. Besides
which, they had not time to do so. Mary had scarcely returned to the
house when she and her father were both arrested. Magpies are greatly
attracted by anything that shines, and if they can find anything
sparkling, they carry it off immediately to their nests. One of these
birds must have stolen the ring, and carried it to the tree. That is
all the mystery. The only thing that astonishes me is that an old
hunter, as I am, should not have thought sooner of this explanation.'
"The old man spoke with deep feeling and with tears in his eyes, but
they were tears of joy at seeing your innocence proved.
"'Anthony,' said my mother, 'I believe you are perfectly right, and now
I remember quite distinctly that very often these birds came from the
top of this tree to my window, that the sash was open when the ring
disappeared, that the table on which I put the ring was close to the
window, and that, after having shut the door and bolted it, I went into
the next room, where I stayed for some time. No doubt one of these
mischievous birds saw the ring from his nest, and, while I was in the
other room, he must have darted in and carried it off.'
"My father was deeply troubled at the conviction, which he could not
resist, that you and your father had been unjustly condemned.
"'My heart is almost broken,' said he, 'for having done these good
people so much injury. My only consolation is that it was not done from
ill-will, but in ignorance and error.'
"My father now turned to Juliette, who in the universal rejoicing at
the discovery of the ring remained silent and pale.
"'False woman,' said he, 'deceitful servant! How could you have the
hardihood to lie to me and to the judge, and to compel us to commit an
action unwillingly, the iniquity of which now calls for vengeance? What
tempted you to plunge into suffering an old and honest man, and his
poor and virtuous daughter?'
"'Officers, do your duty,' he said to two constables, who had assisted
in cutting down the tree, and who now approached the unhappy Juliette
to 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 be
thrown into the same prison in which she caused Mary to languish. She
must suffer all that Mary suffered, only that, unlike Mary, she has
deserved it. What she has been able to hoard of money or clothes shall
be taken from her, to compensate, if it be possible, the unhappy old
man and his daughter who have had to suffer an unjust sentence. The
officer who conducted Mary out of my dominions shall also conduct
Juliette, just as she is, to the same place.'
"No one had ever seen my father so exasperated, never had any one heard
him speak in such passionate tones. For a while every one was silent,
but at last the officers and servants gave voice to their sentiments
and thoughts.
"'It is well done,' said one of the officers, seizing Juliette by the
arm; 'when one digs another's grave he must fill it himself.'
"'That is what is gained by telling falsehoods,' said the other
officer. 'It is true that no thread is so fine that it cannot be seen
in the sunshine.'
"'It was a pretty dress which the young Countess gave to Mary,' said
the cook in her turn, 'that made Juliette angry. In her rage, and not
knowing well what she was about, she began to tell lies, and then it
was impossible to retract without acknowledging her guilt. The proverb
is true which says that, once the devil has us by the hair, he will
hold fast to us afterwards.'
"'It is well, it is well,' said the coachman, who had just finished
cutting the tree, and who still had the axe over his shoulder. 'Let us
hope she will mend her ways, if she does not wish to be worse off in
the next world. The tree that bears not good fruit,' said he, shaking
his axe, 'shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.'
"The news of the finding of the ring spread through Eichbourg in a very
short time, and every one ran to the place, so that in a little while a
great crowd had gathered. The judge who condemned you came also, and
every witness of the discovery was as eager as possible to tell him all
about it.
"You cannot imagine, my dear Mary," the Countess proceeded, "the effect
that the story produced on the good man. Notwithstanding his severity
respecting you, he is a man of great probity, and one who has all his
life tried to administer justice with strict fidelity.
"'I would give half of my goods,' said he, in a tone that went to the
heart of every one who heard him--'yes, I would willingly have given
everything I possess if this misfortune had not happened. To have
condemned innocence is a frightful thought.' Then, looking round him at
the people, he said, in a solemn voice, 'God is the only infallible
judge, the only one that cannot be deceived. He knows everything. He
alone 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. It
is rare here below that innocence suffers and vice triumphs. The
invisible Judge, who will recompense one day all good actions and
punish all bad ones, has decreed that even here innocence shall not
always suffer from suspicion, nor hidden crime remain always
concealed.'"
While Amelia had been relating this interesting narrative, Mary had
been lifting up her heart in silent thanksgiving to God for clearing
her character from every stain of suspicion and establishing her
innocence in the minds of her friends. By the time Amelia had finished
her story, they had arrived at the door of the castle.