“Moiron was condemned to death, and his appeal was rejected.  Nothing was left for him but the imperial pardon.  I knew through my father that the emperor would not grant it.

“One morning, as I was working in my study, the visit of the prison almoner was announced.  He was an old priest who knew men well and understood the habits of criminals.  He seemed troubled, ill at ease, nervous.  After talking for a few minutes about one thing and another, he arose and said suddenly:  ’If Moiron is executed, monsieur, you will have put an innocent man to death.’

“Then he left without bowing, leaving me behind with the deep impression made by his words.  He had pronounced them in such a sincere and solemn manner, opening those lips, closed and sealed by the secret of confession, in order to save a life.

“An hour later I left for Paris, and my father immediately asked that I be granted an audience with the emperor.

“The following day I was received.  His majesty was working in a little reception room when we were introduced.  I described the whole case, and I was just telling about the priest’s visit when a door opened behind the sovereign’s chair and the empress, who supposed he was alone, appeared.  His majesty, Napoleon, consulted her.  As soon as she had heard the matter, she exclaimed:  ’This man must be pardoned.  He must, since he is innocent.’

“Why did this sudden conviction of a religious woman cast a terrible doubt in my mind?

“Until then I had ardently desired a change of sentence.  And now I suddenly felt myself the toy, the dupe of a cunning criminal who had employed the priest and confession as a last means of defence.

“I explained my hesitancy to their majesties.  The emperor remained undecided, urged on one side by his natural kindness and held back on the other by the fear of being deceived by a criminal; but the empress, who was convinced that the priest had obeyed a divine inspiration, kept repeating:  ’Never mind!  It is better to spare a criminal than to kill an innocent man!’ Her advice was taken.  The death sentence was commuted to one of hard labor.

“A few years later I heard that Moiron had again been called to the emperor’s attention on account of his exemplary conduct in the prison at Toulon and was now employed as a servant by the director of the penitentiary.

“For a long time I heard nothing more of this man.  But about two years ago, while I was spending a summer near Lille with my cousin, De Larielle, I was informed one evening, just as we were sitting down to dinner, that a young priest wished to speak to me.

“I had him shown in and he begged me to come to a dying man who desired absolutely to see me.  This had often happened to me in my long career as a magistrate, and, although I had been set aside by the Republic, I was still often called upon in similar circumstances.  I therefore followed the priest, who led me to a miserable little room in a large tenement house.