"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.