aggravated the disease to which he ultimately fell a victim. He died of consumption, on the 15th February, 1696, at Vevay, in the presence of his father and others, having thus reached the age of thirty-two years.

On the death of her nephew, whom she had intended making her heir, Madame Rolland, who had no children, and who, it is to be remembered, remained in France, made over, for the benefit of the poor of Manosque, the house which had been Monsieur de Caille's family residence, together with property producing seven or eight hundred francs a year, and gave as her reason for making this bequest, the death of Isaac le Brun de Rougon, her nephew.

In the month of March, 1699, a soldier (soldat de marine) appeared before Monsieur de Vauvray, Intendant de la Marine at Toulon, and stated that he was the son of Monsieur de Caille. His history, as he gave it, was as follows: He had always had the misfortune to be on very bad terms with his father, in consequence of his indisposition to study, and the preference he manifested for the Roman Catholic religion. His father had hated him; and at Lausanne, where the family had retreated, the ill-treatment he had received became unbearable. In order to escape from his father's violence, the soldier alleged that he had fled the house several times, and at last he had been placed in close confinement. Through the assistance of a servant, he was enabled, in December, 1690, to effect his escape; and to avoid recapture, and to be enabled to embrace the Catholic faith, he determined to return to Provence. On the road thither, he was captured by some Savoyard troops, who pressed him into the service; but he was subsequently taken prisoner by a portion of a French army under the command of Monsieur de Catinat, to whom he divulged his real name, and by whom he was furnished with a passport to return to France. He then entered the militia of Provence; and one day, whilst on guard at the governor's house, his eyes fell on a silver bowl bearing the arms of the De Caille family, which his father had sold with the rest of his plate, when leaving France for Switzerland. He was so moved by this circumstance, that he at once burst into tears; and on being asked the reason, said: "I have very good reason

indeed to weep;" at the same time showing a seal upon which the same arms were engraved, in order to show that he was nearly related to those to whom the piece of plate had originally belonged.

The militia having been disbanded, our soldier went to Marseilles, where he said he made the acquaintance of one Honorade Venelle, the wife of Pierre Mêge, with whom resided her mother and her two sisters-in-law. The picture he drew of these women was far from complimentary. They were of doubtful character, and had not even the outward appearance of being respectable. With Honorade Venelle he formed a liaison of a criminal nature-in fact, according to his story, it was arranged between them that he should, in the absence of her husband, impersonate him, and on all occasions should assume the character and act the part of Pierre Mêge. He did so. As Pierre Mêge he had received and paid away money; as Pierre Mêge he had settled money upon Honorade Venelle; as Pierre Mêge he had enlisted for service in the galley La Fidèle ; and as Pierre Mêge he had been discharged, on the force to which he belonged being reduced. In 1697, he again joinedalways under the name of Pierre Mêgeand on his enlisting, he added the sobriquet sans-regret, which the mån whose name, the soldier alleged, he merely assumed, had, it was subsequently ascertained, made use of on five similar occasions.

Such was the story which this remarkable soldier gave of his antecedents. The name of the person who first brought him under the notice of Monsieur de Vauvray was La Violette, a carpenter by trade, but who at one time had been a valet in Monsieur de Caille's household; and about this time there appears to have been a marriage arranged between the soldier and La Violette's sister; but this match was broken off, probably as being hardly in keeping with the character of one who claimed to be a scion of an old aristocratic French family. At all events, the proposed union did not take place.

Monsieur de Vauvray, the soldier's superior, who was a devout Catholic, consid-. ered it his duty to pave the way for his subordinate's admission to the true faith. He therefore laid the matter before the Jesuits, and the result was, that a short time afterwards he was enabled to be present at the formal abjuration of his protégé,

made on June 10th, 1699, in the presence of the Vicar-general of Toulon.

On this solemn occasion, the soldier stated that his name was Andrè d'Entrevergues, son of Scipion d'Entrevergues, lord of Caille, and of the late Madame Susanne de Caille. He gave his age as twenty-three, and said he could neither read nor write. This apparently opened Monsieur de Vauvray's eyes; it at least aroused his suspicions, for he expressed himself unable to believe that the son of a wealthy man of rank should never have been taught to read or write, although he might, as he alleged, have quarreled with his father on account of his lazy habits. The report of the abjuration was noised abroad. Monsieur de Caille was communicated with at Lausanne, and in answer he stated, that his son, the Sieur de Rougon, had died on February 15, 1696; and a proper certificate of the death was forwarded to Monsieur de Vauvray. It now transpired that the name of Monsieur de Caille's eldest son was Isaac, and not Andre; that his mother's name was Judith, not Susanne; that his age would have been thirty-five, and not twenty-three, as he was born on November 19, 1664, and finally, that the family name was Le Brun de Castellane, and not D'Entrevergues. Monsieur de Vauvray, interested as he had been in the temporal and spiritual welfare of the soldier, now thought it high time to have him arrested; and after a correspondence with the ministers of the king, he was handed over to the civil authorities, and lodged in Toulon jail. All depositions and documents bearing upon the case were ordered to be given up to the register of the criminal court. The soldier demanded that he should undergo an examination, and it was evident he wished to take advantage of scraps of information which he had only gained since his arrest. He now said that he had never known his right name, but that his father had invariably called him D'Entrevergues de Rougon de Caille; and he altered his age from twenty-three to twenty-five. He denied ever having seen or known his godfather or godmother, and affirmed that he was only six years old when he left Manosque; albeit it was well known to many that Monsieur de Caille's son was twenty-one when the family left their native country. He again declared he could neither read nor write, and alleg

ed as a reason for never having learned that his eyesight had been too bad to admit of it. He neither knew the names of the streets of Manosque nor the position of his father's house in that town, and he could describe none of the rooms in it. He said his father had three instead of five children. He could not describe the appearance of his sister. He knew neither the color of her hair nor her height. He said his father's hair and beard were black, and his complexion dark, and that in stature he was short and corpulent. Now, the Sieur had in reality brown hair, a red beard, and a pale face. The claimant could give no description of his aunt, Madame Lignon, yet she had lived with Isaac le Brun at Lausanne. He could neither describe the stature, features, or hair of his grandmother, who had taken refuge at Lausanne, nor could he remember whether there were other residents in the house, where his father lodged at Lausanne, besides his family; and finally, he knew nothing whatever about the friends and relatives of the family at Geneva.

The judge of the criminal court before whom this examination took place ordered that the depositions should be forwarded to Monsieur de Caille and the nearest relations. The soldier had them sent to Madame Rolland and Monsieur Tardivi, and even to many persons who neither held the estates nor knew any thing of the family. Madame Rolland answered by indorsing the statements made by Monsieur de Caille in reference to her nephew's residence in Switzerland and his death on February 15, 1696.

The criminal court now issued an order that the soldier should be taken to Manosque and other places, and confronted with those who could speak positively to his identity one way or the other; but at this juncture Monsieur Rolland, who had come to Toulon on behalf of his wife, obtained permission to proceed against the soldier as Pierre Mêge, and accordingly this was done. Twenty witnesses swore that he was Pierre Mêge, the son of a convict in the galleys, and some of them said they had possessed an acquaintance with him extending over twenty years. Others with as great certainty swore that he was not Isaac, the eldest son of Monsieur de Caille, with whom they had been fellow-students.

It might have been supposed that this evidence would have utterly disconcerted

any impostor.

But the countenance of the soldier expressed little besides firmness and courage, and many saw only in his calm and self-collected manner a determination to win back his own in spite of every thing, and notwithstanding the fact that appearances were, for the time, greatly against him. He demanded that he should be confronted with Monsieur Rolland in the presence of his judges. He charged that gentleman with having attempted to poison him whilst in jail, and he succeeded in thus exciting the sympathies of the public in his favor. Finally, he demanded that the order of the court, that he should visit the places where Isaac le Brun was known, should be carried out. After much delay, he was taken to Aix, and on the road, an attack, instigated, the prisoner alleged, by Monsieur Rolland, was made upon him by three men, who put a pistol to his head, and tried to compel him to escape; and his keeper swore to the truth of this statement, and said that he had to come to his

rescue.

This part of the story was never thoroughly cleared up, but at the time it certainly strengthened the soldier's case.

Monsieur de Caille, who, it must be remembered, was all this time in Switzerland, and unable to attend the trials personally, on account of the laws against Calvinists in France, signed a deposition on January 6, 1700. He simply affirmed that his son Isaac died on February 15, 1696, and that, being neither bereft of the common feelings of humanity nor of those of a father, he should have requested his relations to inquire into the matter, had he any cause whatever to doubt the fact of the occurrence; but as he had seen his son die, such a doubt did not exist. Monsieur de Caille at the same time gave full power to an attorney to prosecute the impostor for a criminal offence before the Supreme Court of Provence.

By an order of the court, the prisoner was then removed to Toulon to be tried, and to receive a final sentence. This decision did not appear to disconcert him in the least. He always expressed himself with certainty as to the ultimate result of the trial, and said he was sure that if his father, the Sieur de Caille, could see him, he would recognize him, and that parental tenderness would lead him to own him. Those around him saw no signs of wavering, no hesitation, no nervousness, nor any mark of imposture.

At his trial, however, which was proceeded with at Toulon, he maintained a most rigid silence, and his cause had to be read out, as for one who was in reality dumb. This behavior was no doubt greatly against the prisoner, but apparently did not affect the issue of the case. He was charged with impersonating a man who was dead-in itself a capital offence; but he appealed from the whole criminal proceedings, and demanded that he should be allowed to prove before the parliament of Provence who he was. After further delay, this was allowed. Both sides set vigorously to work to collect evidence. The soldier was taken to Manosque, to Caille, and to Rougon. Many persons recognized him as Isaac de Castellane; and after these journeys, which were almost triumphal in character, the soldier had found upwards of one hundred witnesses who were prepared to swear to his desired identity.

On the other hand, Monsieur de Caille's side undertook to prove: First, that his eldest son died on February 15, 1696; secondly, that the soldier was not his son; thirdly, that he was Pierre Mêge. Monsieur Rolland tried hard to induce the parliament to delegate the powers of a magistrate in partibus to some one resident in Switzerland, who should take the depositions of witnesses in reference to the residence and death of Isaac le Brun, at Vevay, as it was owing to this weighty evidence not having been given before a judge of the French courts that it had not been deemed fully admissible; but this course was violently opposed by the soldier's counsel, and the case was brought to a conclusion without Monsieur Rolland having gained his point. The soldier renewed his attacks upon Monsieur Rolland; accused him of tampering with the depositions, and brought experts who swore that the alterations were in his handwriting; charged him with erasing other portions with corrosives; accused all his witnesses of perjury; and, by the aid of his own band of followers, he was, after fifteen sittings, and another examination, declared to be the son of Monsieur de Caille.

The public joy at this decision was immense. Merchants and shopkeepers, farmers and laborers, alike left their work, and added to the dense throng that had assembled round the court and choked up its approaches since the early morning.

son, and had weaned him. Her account of what he was like tallied exactly with what the soldier then was. She detailed the scars which Isaac le Brun had upon his body, and similar marks were found upon the soldier. She swore positively that they were one and the same per

son.

Catherine Regnière also swore to having nursed Isaac, and said she recognized him the very moment she set eyes upon him, upon which occasion she had been unable to restrain her tears. She gave a clear description of the various cicatrices which Isaac le Brun had on his body, and concluded by swearing that the soldier was the same being she had nursed.

Catherine Pierron, another nurse, recognized him by his eyes, his thin legs, his matted hair, and she swore in an equally unhesitating manner to his identity as Isaac le Brun de Castellane.

Louise Maudette, in whose care Isaac had been placed after he was weaned, also gave an account of the scars which the soldier bore, and declared she recognized him as Isaac by his cheek-bones, which were "just like those of the boy she had once had charge of."

Monsieur de Mongastin, among many others, declared that, after putting a great number of searching questions to the soldier, his answers satisfied him that he was the man he claimed to be.

Twenty-four servants swore to his identity, and a host of other witnesses, without saying positively that he was the son of Monsieur de Caille, testified to the remarkable resemblance he bore to that person. According to these witnesses, Isaac le Brun de Castellane had always promised to be tall. He had a slouching figure, with large, bony, and prominent shoulders. He was pot-bellied. His skin was white; his hands were long and clammy. His legs were the same size all the way down, and in addition he was knock-kneed. He was very thin, and had a sickly and delicate complexion, but want and toil had served to harden him. He was ugly, and very disagreeable; his head was buried between his shoulders. His hair was coarse, black, and lank. His face was long; his forehead projecting and irregular. His eyes were small, deep set, and watery. His temples and cheek-bones were large, and his cheeks were hollow. His nose was flat, his chin sharp; his mouth large, and

filled with black and ugly teeth. Naturally, his complexion was pale, and he rouged his face, to avoid looking like a corpse. His voice was like a woman's. His appearance contemptible. The general expression of his face was idiotic. He had the manners of a clown, and the gait of a fool. He had a scar on the left eyebrow, caused by a stone thrown at him; scars beneath both eyes, produced by the incision of a lancet. At his birth, his ears were attached to his head at the outer edges in such a manner as to make it necessary to separate them with a razor. He had marks of scrofula on his neck and legs, and a tumour beneath the knee, which had been punctured thrice. As a child, his great toe was lanced for inflammation caused by the nail growing into the quick. His nurse had cauterized his left leg. At the back of his head there was a large pointed bone, which protruded in a very remarkable manner. His father, grandfather, and uncle had each a similar peculiarity, which, indeed, was hereditary in his family. Finally, the son of Monsieur de Caille resembled his mother chiefly in his nose and the lower part of his face. He resembled Mademoiselles le Gouche and St. Etienne, his cousins; but above all, he was like Madame de Lignon, his aunt, and Mdlle. la Coulette, his cousin. Such was the description of his person. As to his mind, he was, it was alleged, stupid, and rarely spoke without making some silly remark. It was found impossible to teach him either to read or to write. He was brutal, passionate, quarrelsome, without feeling, and always ill-treated children of his own age. He had a cringing aspect, and the manners of a groom, and fled from the society of respectable people to enjoy that of scoundrels.

This description was flatly contradicted by Monsieur Rolland's witnesses; and the soldier's counsel urged that, as Monsieur Isaac de Castellane could not have two noses, two mouths, in short two faces and two bodies, his was the right portrait. Witnesses were brought who stated that Monsieur de Caille was never at his son's death-bed at all. Others swore that Isaac never could read or write; and to show that this was nothing extraordinary, several instances were cited of persons of good position who were then in the flesh whose education had been left in the same deplorable condition. Other instances of