nt was the selected patient; and it was extracted from
the demon in possession that he had been sent by Urbain Grandier,
priest of the church of St. Peter. This was well so far; but the
civil authorities generally, as it appears, were not disposed to
accept even the irrefragable testimony of a demoniac; and the
ecclesiastics, with the leading inhabitants, were in conflict
with the civil power. Opportunely, however, for the plan of the
conspirators, who were almost in despair, an all-powerful ally
was enlisted on their side. A severe satire upon some acts of the
minister of France, Cardinal Richelieu, or of some of his
subordinates, had made its appearance. Urbain was suspected to be
the author; his enemies were careful to improve the occasion; and
the Cardinal-minister's cooperation was secured. A royal
commission was ordered to inquire into the now notorious
circumstances of the Loudun diabolism. Laubardemont, the head of
the commission, arrived in December 1633, and no time was lost in
bringing the matter to a crisis. The house of the suspected was
searched for books of magic; he himself being thrown into a
dungeon, where the surgeons examined him for the 'marks.' Five
insensible spots were found--a certain proof. Meanwhile the nuns
become more hysterical than ever; strong suspicion not being
wanting that the priestly confessors to the convent availed
themselves of their situation to abuse the bodies as well as the
minds of the reputed demoniacs. To such an extent went the
audacity of the exorcists, and the credulity of the people, that
the _enceinte_ condition of one of the sisters, which at the end
of five or six months disappeared, was explained by the malicious
slander of the devil, who had caused that scandalous illusion.
Crowds of persons of all ranks flocked from Paris and from the
most distant parts to see and hear the wild ravings of these
hysterical or drugged women, whose excitement was such that they
spared not their own reputations; and some scandalous exposures
were submitted to the amusement or curiosity of the surrounding
spectators. Some few of them, aroused from the horrible delusion,
or ashamed of their complicity, admitted that all their previous
revelations were simple fiction. Means were found to effectually
silence such dangerous announcements. The accusers pressed on the
prosecution; the influence of his friends was overborne, and
Grandier was finally sentenced to the stake. Fearing the result