The Count of Monte Cristo

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his fallen fortunes seemed suddenly to crush him; he could not
foresee the consequences; he could not contemplate the future with the
indifference of the hardened criminal who merely faces a contingency
already familiar. God was still in his heart. "God," he murmured, not
knowing what he said,--"God--God!" Behind the event that had overwhelmed
him he saw the hand of God. The carriage rolled rapidly onward.
Villefort, while turning restlessly on the cushions, felt something
press against him. He put out his hand to remove the object; it was
a fan which Madame de Villefort had left in the carriage; this fan
awakened a recollection which darted through his mind like lightning. He
thought of his wife.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, as though a redhot iron were piercing his heart.
During the last hour his own crime had alone been presented to his mind;
now another object, not less terrible, suddenly presented itself. His
wife! He had just acted the inexorable judge with her, he had condemned
her to death, and she, crushed by remorse, struck with terror,