heat to jump
down from the pile, being indeed almost overcome; and seeing this,
Grandier stretched forth a hand into the flames, and said--

"Pere Lactance, God in heaven will judge between thee and me; I summon
thee to appear before Him in thirty days."

Grandier was then seen to make attempts to strangle himself, but either
because it was impossible, or because he felt it would be wrong to end
his life by his own hands, he desisted, and clasping his hands, prayed
aloud--

"Deus meus, ad te vigilo, miserere me."

A Capuchin fearing that he would have time to say more, approached the
pile from the side which had not yet caught fire, and dashed the
remainder of the holy water in his face. This caused such smoke that
Grandier was hidden for a moment from the eyes of the spectators; when it
cleared away, it was seen that his clothes were now alight; his voice
could still be heard from the midst of the flames raised in prayer; then
three times, each time in a weaker voice, he pronounced the name of
Jesus, and giving one cry, his head fell forward on his breast.

At that moment the pigeons which had till then never ceased to circle
round the stake, flew away, and were lost in the clouds.

Urbain Grandier had given up the ghost.

CHAPTER XII

This time it was not the man who was executed who was guilty, but the
executioners; consequently we feel sure that our readers will be anxious
to learn something of their fate.

Pere Lactance died in the most terrible agony on September 18th, 1634,
exactly a month from the date of Grandier's death. His brother-monks
considered that this was due to the vengeance of Satan; but others were
not wanting who said, remembering the summons uttered by Grandier, that
it was rather due to the justice of God. Several attendant circumstances
seemed to favour the latter opinion. The author of the History of the
Devils of Loudzin gives an account of one of these circumstances, for the
authenticity of which he vouches, and from which we extract the
following:

"Some days after the execution of Grandier, Pere Lactance fell ill of the
disease of which he died. Feeling that it was of supernatural origin, he
determined to take a pilgrimage to Notre Dame des Andilliers de Saumur,
where many miracles were wrought, and which was held in high estimation
in the neighbourhood. A place in the carriage of the Sieur de Canaye was
offered him for the journey; for this gentleman, accompanied b