Never was there a more stormy discussion. History has penetrated the secrets of these deliberations, in which some of the least bold or least ambitious counselors revolted against the idea of condemning these gentlemen on presumptions which were supported solely by the intelligence transmitted to them by Dubois; but the majority were devoted to Dubois, and the committee came to abuse and quarrels, and almost to blows. At the end of a sitting of eleven hours' duration, the majority declared their decision. The commissioners associated sixteen others of the contumacious gentlemen with the four chiefs, and declared: "That the accused, found guilty of criminal projects, of treason, and of felonious intentions, should be beheaded: those present, in person, those absent, in effigy. That the walls and fortifications of their castles should be demolished, their patents of nobility annuled, and their forests cut down to the height of nine feet." An hour after the delivery of this sentence, an order was given to the usher to announce it to the prisoners. The sentence had been given after the stormy sitting of which we have spoken, and in which the accused had experienced such lively marks of sympathy from the public. And so, having beaten the judges on all the counts of the indictment, never had they been so full of hope. They were seated at supper in their common room, calling to mind all the details of the sitting, when suddenly the door opened, and in the shade appeared the pale and stern form of the usher. The solemn apparition changed, on the instant, into anxious palpitations their pleasant conversation. The usher advanced slowly, while the jailer remained at the door, and the barrels of muskets were seen shining in the gloom of the corridor. "What is your will, sir?" asked Pontcalec, "and what signifies this deadly paraphernalia?" "Gentlemen," said the usher, "I bear the sentence of the tribunal. On your knees and listen." "How?" said Montlouis, "it is only sentences of death that must be heard kneeling." "On your knees, gentlemen," replied the usher. "Let the guilty and the base kneel," said Du Couëdic; "we are gentlemen, and innocent. We will hear our sentences standing." "As you will, gentlemen; but uncover yourselves, for I speak in the king's name." Talhouet, who alone had his hat on, removed it. The four gentlemen stood erect and bare-headed, leaning on each other, with pale faces and a smile upon their lips. The usher read the sentence through, uninterrupted by a murmur, or by a single gesture of surprise. When he had finished-- "Why was I told," asked Pontcalec, "to declare the designs of Spain against France, and that I should be liberated? Spain was an enemy's country. I declared what I believed I knew of her projects; and, lo! I am condemned. Why is this? Is the commission, then, composed of cowards who spread snares for the accused?" The usher made no answer.