A platform was erected in the great hall of tribunal,and all the officers of the crown and great state dignitaries,and all the chief barons,had a place behind the enclosure where the magistrates sat.
Three days after Clement VI's bull had been published in the capital,the chief-justice was ready for a public examination of two accused persons.The two culprits who had first fallen into the hands of justice were,as one may easily suppose,those whose condition was least exalted,whose lives were least valuable,Tommaso Pace and Nicholas of Melazzo.They were led before the tribunal to be first of all tortured,as the custom was.As they approached the judges,the notary passing by Charles in the street had time to say in a low voice--"My lord,the time has come to give my life for you:I will do my duty;I commend my wife and children to you."Encouraged by a nod from his patron,he walked on firmly and deliberately.The chief-justice,after establishing the identity of the accused,gave them over to the executioner and his men to be tortured in the public square,so that their sufferings might serve as a show and an example to the crowd.But no sooner was Tommaso Pace tied to the rope,when to the great disappointment of all he declared that he would confess everything,and asked accordingly to be taken back before his judges.At these words,the Count of Terlizzi,who was following every movement of the two men with mortal anxiety,thought it was all over now with him and his accomplices;and so,when Tommaso Pace was turning his steps towards the great hall,led by two guards,his hands tied behind his back,and followed by the notary,he contrived to take him into a secluded house,and squeezing his throat with great force,made him thus put his tongue out,whereupon he cut it off with a sharp razor.
The yells of the poor wretch so cruelly mutilated fell on the ears of the Duke of Durazzo :he found his way into the room where the barbarous act had been committed just as the Count of Terlizzi was coming out,and approached the notary,who had been present at the dreadful spectacle and had not given the least sign of fear or emotion.Master Nicholas,thinking the same fate was in store for him,turned calmly to the duke,saying with a sad smile--"My lord,the precaution is useless;there is no need for you to cut out my tongue,as the noble count has done to my poor companion.The last scrap of my flesh may be torn off without one word being dragged from my mouth.I have promised,my lord,and you have the life of my wife and the future of my children as guarantee for my word.""I do not ask for silence,"said the duke solemnly;"you can free me from all my enemies at once,and I order you to denounce them at the tribunal."The notary bowed his head with mournful resignation;then raising it in affright,made one step up to the duke and murmured in a choking voice--"And the queen?"
"No one would believe you if you ventured to denounce her;but when the Catanese and her son,the Count of Terlizzi and his wife and her most intimate friends,have been accused by you,when they fail to endure the torture,and when they denounce her unanimously--""I see,my lord.You do not only want my life;you would have my soul too.Very well;once more I commend to you my children."With a deep sigh he walked up to the tribunal.The chief-justice asked Tommaso Pace the usual questions,and a shudder of horror passed through the assembly when they saw the poor wretch in desperation opening his mouth,which streamed with blood.But surprise and terror reached their height when Nicholas of Melazzo slowly and firmly gave a list of Andre's murderers,all except the queen and the princes of the blood,and went on to give all details of the assassination.
Proceedings were at once taken for the arrest of the grand seneschal,Robert of Cabane,and the Counts of Terlizzi and Morcone,who were present and had not ventured to make any movement in self-defence.
An hour later,Philippa,her two daughters,and Dona Cancha joined them in prison,after vainly imploring the queen's protection.
Charles and Bertrand of Artois,shut up in their fortress of Saint Agatha,bade defiance to justice,and several others,among them the Counts of Meleto and Catanzaro,escaped by flight.
As soon as Master Nicholas said he had nothing further to confess,and that he had spoken the whole truth and nothing but the truth,the chief-justice pronounced sentence amid a profound silence;and 1897without delay Tommaso Pace and the notary were tied to the tails of two horses,dragged through the chief streets of the town,and hanged in the market place.
The other prisoners were thrown into a subterranean vault,to be questioned and put to the torture on the following day.In the evening,finding themselves in the same dungeon,they reproached one another,each pretending he had been dragged into the crime by someone else.Then Dona Cancha,whose strange character knew no inconsistencies,even face to face with death and torture,drowned with a great burst of laughter the lamentations of her companions,and joyously exclaimed--"Look here,friends,why these bitter recriminations--this ill--mannered raving?We have no excuses to make,and we are all equally guilty.I am the youngest of all,and not the ugliest,by your leave,ladies,but if I am condemned,at least I will die cheerfully.