Verger, interrupting him : " Ah ! it is not
that ; those are not the circulars. Gentlemen
of the jury, you are my judges — you answer
for me before God, before society, and before
my father ; have the circulars read ! "

The President continued reading the
letters, but not in the order of their dates.

Verger: "You are not doing your duty!"

The President: "What is my duty?"'

Verger: "To read everything."

The President continues to read.

Verger: "I ask — "

The President: "Sit down."

Verger: "Gentlemen of the jury, protest
for me."

The President: "Hold your tongue."

The President goes on reading the letters.

Verger exclaims all the while, " Gentlemen
of the jury, don't let him leave out the
circulars; demand the circulars. Oh! Justice,
the wretches; Justice is greater than the
magistrate!"

Murmurs beginning to make themselves
heard in the audience, the President silences
them, and says:

"Here are the circulars asked for by the
accused. We shall read them."

Verger bounding upon his seat: " Ah, yes,
listen; listen! Gentlemen of the jury, listen
well!"

The following is the circular:

Monsieur, — I have the honour of submitting the
following letter, which I have addressed to M. the
Curé of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois:

"Monsieur le Curé, — Ever since I have been one
of the priests of your parish I have often had occasion to
complain of your conduct towards me:

*****

I prefer to isolate myself and to abstain from every
sacred function.

"I have the grief to be, M. le Curé, one of your
unfortunate priests,

"L'ABBÉ VERGER.

"Advantage will not be taken, I hope, of the letters
which I have recently addressed, whether to M. le
Curé or to different influential personages, all breathing
the love of peace, which I delusively hoped to obtain.

"The measure is full: I have made enough of
enormous sacrifices of all sorts."

During the reading of this letter, the
accused, speaking of M. le Curé Legrand,
never ceased crying

"O, le misérable!"

The President: " Accused! if you continue
such unbecoming conduct I shall order you
to be put out. Gensdarmes, hold the
accused."

Verger: "So be it. Take me to the
guillotine. I shall not be afraid."

President: "You fear nothing!"

Verger: "I fear God only."

President: "Hold your tongue, or I will
have you turned out."

Verger: " I am not afraid to die. I shall
face death as I face this tribunal."

President: "Once more, hold your tongue."

Verger, bursting out again : " Go and see
the room where he put me. It is in his
manse ; it has a secret door. Go there, you
will see it."

President, covering: "The audience is
suspended. Gensdarmes, take away the
accused."

Verger, struggling: " I will struggle with
you all."

The four gensdarmes drag him away. When
crossing the threshold, he drew himself up
to his full height, saying:

"People, defend me; they are using
violence. People, defend me!"

The sitting remained suspended for a
quarter of an hour in the midst of the
greatest tumult and agitation.

Suddenly, in the beginning of August,
eighteen hundred and fifty-five, an excellent
young man, the good Verger, the priest of
the Tuileries, and very tenacious of his
position, an ecclesiastic of the highest promise
and prospects, removed his furniture from
the manse of the parish of Saint Germain
l'Auxerrois, and threw himself upon the
wide world without a profession and without
resources. He published his reasons openly
in lithographed circulars, which he signed with
his name, and addressed to the parishioners.
The curé did not vindicate his reputation. He
did not put the affair into legal hands for the
punishment of his calumniator. He did not
go to the police and cover the calumniator
with infamy before the tribunals. He tried
to obtain his incarceration in a madhouse.
Moreover, he said from the pulpit:

"My Dear Brethren, — I am very sorry to
tell you of the loss of one of our ecclesiastics.
He is not dead, but he is gone mad. My very
dear brethren, pray for him."

This strange calumniator demanded justice
of the police. He told his tale to the
magistracy. He learned from one of the chief
functionaries of police, that the police do not
mingle in the affairs of the sacristy.

Verger says:

"M. le procureur-général was warned of
my complaints; M. le préfet of police was
warned ; the chief of the cabinet of the préfet
de police was warned. And remark that,
when I wrote that terrible word, I said to
him myself, while brandishing my two hands
upon his desk, ' It is not a man of thirty
years of age who can remain dumb and
inactive when every tribunal has refused to
hear him. If it is necessary to finish with
M. the Archbishop of Paris, I will finish
with him ; if it is necessary to arm myself, I
will arm myself; if it is necessary to attack
his head and bring it down, I will bring it
down. . . .'

"Then this gentleman answered me what
you say: ' It is serious, very serious! '  Yes,
it is very serious. They did not believe
me."

The design of causing him to be condemned
as a madman was defeated by the medical