state
"in which the soul, carried away by a superior force, and, as it were,
out of itself, becomes unconscious of surrounding objects, and occupies
itself with those which imagination presents"; and he adds,--"It is
marked by alienation of the senses, proceeding, however, from some cause
other than sleep. This alienation of the senses is sometimes complete,
sometimes incomplete."[17]

Montgeron, commenting on the above, says,--"This last phase, during
which the alienation of the senses is imperfect, is precisely the
condition of most of the convulsionists, when in the state of ecstasy.
They usually see the persons present; they speak to them; sometimes they
hear what is said to them; but as to the rest, their souls seem absorbed
in the contemplation of objects which a superior power discloses to
their vision."[18]

And a little farther on he adds,--"In these ecstasies the convulsionists
are struck all of a sudden with the unexpected aspect of some object,
the sight of which enchants them with joy. Their eyes beam; their heads
are raised toward heaven; they appear as if they would fly thither. To
see them afterwards absorbed in profound contemplation, with an air of
inexpressible satisfaction, one would say that they are admiring the
divine beauty. Their countenances are animated with a lively and
brilliant fire; and their eyes, which cannot be made to close during the
entire duration of the ecstasy, remain completely motionless, open, and
fixed, as on the object which seems to interest them. They are in some
sort transfigured; they appear quite changed. Even those who, out of
this state, have in their physiognomy something mean or repulsive, alter
so that they can scarcely be recognized.... It is during these ecstasies
that many of the convulsionists deliver their finest discourses and
their chief predictions,--that they speak in unknown tongues,--that they
read the secret thoughts of others,--and even sometimes that they give
their representations."[19]

A provincial ecclesiastic, quoted by Montgeron, and who, it should be
remarked, found fault with many of the doings of the convulsionists,
admits the exalted character of these declamations. He says,--"Their
discourses on religion are spirited, touching, profound,--delivered with
an eloquence and a dignity which our greatest masters cannot approach,
and with a grace and appropriateness of gesture rivalling that of our
best actors.... One of the girls who pronounced