She was sentenced to be whipped, branded, and imprisoned for life. M. Sanson thus describes how his grandfather performed the duties imposed on him:—
WOMAN-WHIPPING.
Madame de la Motte shuddered; she clenched her hands, looked down, and then raising her head, “Very well,” she said. The two assistants, who had at first tried to secure her, came forward, but she motioned them away, and advanced before them.
When the procession reached the hall, where a parliamentary committee were sitting, the clerk read out the judgment. At the very first which proclaimed her guilt, the strongest emotion appeared on Madame de la Motte’s face.
Her eyes rolled in their sockets; she bit her lips, and the hitherto pretty face now seemed to be the mask of fury.
Charles Henri foresaw a storm and approached her; and it was well that he did so, for as the clerk came to the penalties, the unhappy woman’s rage burst out with extraordinary violence.
She fell backwards so suddenly that her head must have been fractured on the stones had not my grandfather caught her in his arms. Madame de la Motte’s strength increased as the consciousness of her fate flashed through her mind; and a protracted struggle ensued between her and the assistants who attempted to pinion her.
She was at length carried down to the court. The scaffold was erected opposite the gate, which had been left open. But it was six o’clock in the morning, and only a limited number of persons were looking on.
She was stretched on the platform, and received twelve stripes. She never ceased shrieking while the punishment was being inflicted. She invoked vengeance on the head of Cardinal de Rohan; and she added that it was her own fault that she had suffered the disgrace which had been inflicted on her, since, had she said but one word, she would have been hanged instead of having been flogged.
The second part of the sentence had no doubt escaped her, for when she was seated on the platform she remained motionless, as if completely subdued and powerless. Charles Henri Sanson thought the moment was well chosen for the completion of the penalty.