Moiron
As we were still talking about Pranzini, M. Maloureau, who had beenattorney general under the Empire, said: "Oh! I formerly knew a verycurious affair, curious for several reasons, as you will see."I was at that time imperial attorney in one of the provinces. I had totake up the case which has remained famous under the name of the Moironcase."Monsieur Moiron, who was a teacher in the north of France, enjoyed anexcellent reputation throughout the whole country. He was a person ofintelligence, quiet, very religious, a little taciturn; he had married inthe district of Boislinot, where he exercised his profession. He had hadthree children, who had died of consumption, one after the other. Fromthis time he seemed to bestow upon the youngsters confided to his careall the tenderness of his heart. With his own money he bought toys forhis best scholars and for the good boys; he gave them little dinners andstuffed them with delicacies, candy and cakes: Everybody loved this goodman with his big heart, when suddenly five of his pupils died, in astrange manner, one after the other. It was supposed that there was anepidemic due to the condition of the water, resulting from drought; theylooked for the causes without being able to discover them, the more sothat the symptoms were so peculiar. The children seemed to be attackedby a feeling of lassitude; they would not eat, they complained of painsin their stomachs, dragged along for a short time, and died in frightfulsuffering."A post-mortem examination was held over the last one, but nothing wasdiscovered. The vitals were sent to Paris and analyzed, and theyrevealed the presence of no toxic substance."For a year nothing new developed; then two little boys, the bestscholars in the class, Moiron's favorites, died within four days of eachother. An examination of the bodies was again ordered, and in both ofthem were discovered tiny fragments of crushed glass. The conclusionarrived at was that the two youngsters must imprudently have eaten fromsome carelessly cleaned receptacle. A glass broken over a pail of milkcould have produced this frightful accident, and the affair would havebeen pushed no further if Moiron's servant had not been taken sick atthis time. The physician who was called in noticed the same symptoms hehad seen in the children. He questioned her and obtained the admissionthat she had stolen and eaten some candies that had been bought by theteacher for his scholars."On an order from the court the schoolhouse was searched, and a closetwas found which was full of toys and dainties destined for the children.Almost all these delicacies contained bits of crushed glass or pieces ofbroken needles!"Moiron was immediately arrested; but he seemed so astonished andindignant at the suspicion hanging over him that he was almost released.How ever, indications of his guilt kept appearing, and baffled in my mindmy first conviction, based on his excellent reputation, on his wholelife, on the complete absence of any motive for such a crime."Why should this good, simple, religious man have killed little children,and the very children whom he seemed to love the most, whom he spoiledand stuffed with sweet things, for whom he spent half his salary inbuying toys and bonbons?"One must consider him insane to believe him guilty of this act. Now,Moiron seemed so normal, so quiet, so rational and sensible that itseemed impossible to adjudge him insane."However, the proofs kept growing! In none of the candies that werebought at the places where the schoolmaster secured his provisions couldthe slightest trace of anything suspicious be found."He then insisted that an unknown enemy must have opened his cupboardwith a false key in order to introduce the glass and the needles into theeatables. And he made up a whole story of an inheritance dependent onthe death of a child, determined on and sought by some peasant, andpromoted thus by casting suspicions on the schoolmaster. This brute, heclaimed, did not care about the other children who were forced to die aswell."The story was possible. The man appeared to be so sure of himself andin such despair that we should undoubtedly have acquitted him,notwithstanding the charges against him, if two crushing discoveries hadnot been made, one after the other."The first one was a snuffbox full of crushed glass; his own snuffbox,hidden in the desk where he kept his money!"He explained this new find in an acceptable manner, as the ruse of thereal unknown criminal. But a mercer from Saint-Marlouf came to thepresiding judge and said that a gentleman had several times come to hisstore to buy some needles; and he always asked for the thinnest needleshe could find, and would break them to see whether they pleased him. Theman was brought forward in the presence of a dozen or more persons, andimmediately recognized Moiron. The inquest revealed that theschoolmaster had indeed gone into Saint-Marlouf on the days mentioned bythe tradesman."I will pass over the terrible testimony of children on the choice ofdainties and the care which he took to have them eat the things in hispresence, and to remove the slightest traces."Public indignation demanded capital punishment, and it became more andmore insistent, overturning all objections."Moiron was condemned to death, and his appeal was rejected. Nothing wasleft for him but the imperial pardon. I knew through my father that theemperor would not grant it."One morning, as I was working in my study, the visit of the prisonalmoner was announced. He was an old priest who knew men well andunderstood the habits of criminals. He seemed troubled, ill at ease,nervous. After talking for a few minutes about one thing and another, hearose and said suddenly: 'If Moiron is executed, monsieur, you will haveput an innocent man to death.'"Then he left without bowing, leaving me behind with the deep impressionmade by his words. He had pronounced them in such a sincere and solemnmanner, opening those lips, closed and sealed by the secret ofconfession, in order to save a life."An hour later I left for Paris, and my father immediately asked that Ibe granted an audience with the emperor."The following day I was received. His majesty was working in a littlereception room when we were introduced. I described the whole case, andI was just telling about the priest's visit when a door opened behind thesovereign's chair and the empress, who supposed he was alone, appeared.His majesty, Napoleon, consulted her. As soon as she had heard thematter, she exclaimed: 'This man must be pardoned. He must, since he isinnocent.'"Why did this sudden conviction of a religious woman cast a terribledoubt in my mind?"Until then I had ardently desired a change of sentence. And now Isuddenly felt myself the toy, the dupe of a cunning criminal who hademployed the priest and confession as a last means of defence."I explained my hesitancy to their majesties. The emperor remainedundecided, urged on one side by his natural kindness and held back on theother by the fear of being deceived by a criminal; but the empress, whowas convinced that the priest had obeyed a divine inspiration, keptrepeating: 'Never mind! It is better to spare a criminal than to kill aninnocent man!' Her advice was taken. The death sentence was commuted toone of hard labor."A few years later I heard that Moiron had again been called to theemperor's attention on account of his exemplary conduct in the prison atToulon and was now employed as a servant by the director of thepenitentiary."For a long time I heard nothing more of this man. "But about two yearsago, while I was spending a summer near Lille with my cousin, DeLarielle, I was informed one evening, just as we were sitting down todinner, 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 desiredabsolutely to see me. This had often happened to me in my long career asa magistrate, and, although I had been set aside by the Republic, I wasstill often called upon in similar circumstances. I therefore followedthe priest, who led me to a miserable little room in a large tenementhouse."There I found a strange-looking man on a bed of straw, sitting with hisback against the wall, in order to get his breath. He was a sort ofskeleton, with dark, gleaming eyes."As soon as he saw me, he murmured: 'Don't you recognize me?'"'No.'"'I am Moiron.'"I felt a shiver run through me, and I asked 'The schoolmaster?'"'Yes.'"'How do you happen to be here?'"'The story is too long. I haven't time to tell it. I was going to die--and that priest was brought to me--and as I knew that you were here Isent for you. It is to you that I wish to confess--since you were theone who once saved my life.'"His hands clutched the straw of his bed through the sheet and hecontinued in a hoarse, forcible and low tone: 'You see--I owe you thetruth--I owe it to you--for it must be told to some one before I leavethis earth."'It is I who killed the children--all of them. I did it--for revenge!"'Listen. I was an honest, straightforward, pure man--adoring God--thisgood Father--this Master who teaches us to love, and not the false God,the executioner, the robber, the murderer who governs the earth. I hadnever done any harm; I had never committed an evil act. I was as good asit is possible to be, monsieur."'I married and had children, and I loved them as no father or motherever loved their children. I lived only for them. I was wild aboutthem. All three of them died! Why? why? What had I done? I wasrebellious, furious; and suddenly my eyes were opened as if I were wakingup out of a sleep. I understood that God is bad. Why had He killed mychildren? I opened my eyes and saw that He loves to kill. He loves onlythat, monsieur. He gives life but to destroy it! God, monsieur, is amurderer! He needs death every day. And He makes it of every variety,in order the better to be amused. He has invented sickness and accidentsin order to give Him diversion all through the months and the years; andwhen He grows tired of this, He has epidemics, the plague, cholera,diphtheria, smallpox, everything possible! But this does not satisfyHim; all these things are too similar; and so from time to time He haswars, in order to see two hundred thousand soldiers killed at once,crushed in blood and in the mud, blown apart, their arms and legs tornoff, their heads smashed by bullets, like eggs that fall on the ground."'But this is not all. He has made men who eat each other. And then, asmen become better than He, He has made beasts, in order to see men huntthem, kill them and eat them. That is not all. He has made tiny littleanimals which live one day, flies who die by the millions in one hour,ants which we are continually crushing under our feet, and so many, manyothers that we cannot even imagine. And all these things are continuallykilling each other and dying. And the good Lord looks on and is amused,for He sees everything, the big ones as well as the little ones, thosewho are in the drops of water and those in the other firmaments. Hewatches them and is amused. Wretch!"'Then, monsieur, I began to kill children played a trick on Him. He didnot get those. It was not He, but I! And I would have killed manyothers, but you caught me. There!"'I was to be executed. I! How He would have laughed! Then I asked fora priest, and I lied. I confessed to him. I lied and I lived."'Now, all is over. I can no longer escape from Him. I no longer fearHim, monsieur; I despise Him too much.'"This poor wretch was frightful to see as he lay there gasping, openingan enormous mouth in order to utter words which could scarcely be heard,his breath rattling, picking at his bed and moving his thin legs under agrimy sheet as though trying to escape."Oh! The mere remembrance of it is frightful!"'You have nothing more to say?' I asked."'No, monsieur.'"'Then, farewell.'"'Farewell, monsieur, till some day----'"I turned to the ashen-faced priest, whose dark outline stood out againstthe wall, and asked: 'Are you going to stay here, Monsieur l'Abbe?'"'Yes.'"Then the dying man sneered: 'Yes, yes, He sends His vultures to thecorpses.'"I had had enough of this. I opened the door and ran away."
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