"'Silence!' ejaculated the Juge de paix, 'and wait till you are interrogated. Write down, Bontems,' addressing the clerk, 'that the accuser swears to the identity of the criminal;' and then turning to Valentine, he inquired his name and address.
"'My name is Valentine Clerk, and I am employed in the office of Monsieur Le Moine, who resides in the Rue de Mousseline,' replied the prisoner.
"'That is true,' said the surgeon, 'I recognise the young man's face.'
"'The Juge de paix then turning to Valentine, urged him, according to the then custom of French criminal jurisprudence, to make a confession, since the circumstantial evidence against him was so clear, that there could be no doubt of his guilt.
"'If by a confession you mean a relation of the events of the past night,' replied Valentine, and of the circumstances that have placed me in a situation I am quite at a loss to comprehend, I will willingly give you all the information I am able; and I trust, strange as it may appear, that you will listen without prejudice to my story. And you, Sir,' he added, turning to the sick man, 'I beseech you to pause before
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