wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire...
and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be delivered."

In 1696 reports began to circulate that men had had visions; being able
to see what was going on in the most distant parts, and that the heavens
themselves opened to their eyes. While in this ecstatic state they were
insensible to pain when pricked with either pin or blade; and when,
on recovering consciousness, they were questioned they could remember
nothing.

The first of these was a woman from Vivarais, whose origin was unknown.
She went about from town to town, shedding tears of blood. M. de
Baville, intendant of Languedoc, had her arrested and brought to
Montpellier. There she was condemned to death and burnt at the stake,
her tears of blood being dried by fire.

After her came a second fanatic, for so these popular prophets were
called. He was born at Mazillon, his name was Laquoite, and he was
twenty years of age. The gift of prophecy had come to him in a strange
manner. This is the story told about him:--"One day, returning from
Languedoc, where he had been engaged in the cultivation of silkworms, on
reaching the bottom of the hill of St. Jean he found a man lying on the
ground trembling in every limb. Moved by pity, he stopped and asked what
ailed him. The man replied, 'Throw yourself on your knees, my son, and
trouble not yourself about me, but learn how to attain salvation and
save your brethren. This can only be done by the communion of the Holy
Ghost, who is in me, and whom by the grace of God I can bestow on you.
Approach and receive this gift in a kiss.' At these words the unknown
kissed the young man on the mouth, pressed his hand and disappeared,
leaving the other trembling in his turn; for the spirit of God was in
him, and being inspired he spread the word abroad."

A third fanatic, a prophetess, raved about the parishes of St. Andeol
de Clerguemont and St. Frazal de Vantalon, but she addressed herself
principally to recent converts, to whom she preached concerning the
Eucharist that in swallowing the consecrated wafer they had swallowed a
poison as venomous as the head of the basilisk, that they had bent the
knee to Baal, and that no penitence on their part could be great enough
to save them. These doctrines inspired such profound terror that the
Rev. Father Louvreloeil himself tells us that Satan by his efforts
succeeded in nearly emptying t