all but his priestly brethren ; but the sovereign au-
thority with which the commissary was invested im-
posed awe upon the people, and a dreadful silence
sealed up their lips.
" In the mean time the vulgar were cajoled by a
thousand conjuring tricks, which passed for the agen-
cy of the devils. Father Lactance promised them
that the demon should take the commissary's cap
from his head during the service, and suspend it
while they chanted a Miserere. This was done by an
easy contrivance, when the glare of the chandeliers
favoured the deception. An order was now publish-
ed, declaring the possession by devils of the nuns of
Loudun to be a true representation, and enjoining a
general belief, because the king, the cardinal, and the
bishop believed it. Such as refused assent were de-
clared to be infidels and heretics.
" Grandier was now brought for the first time into
the presence of the nuns who had acted the parts of
the possessed ; immediately strange transports and
convulsions ensued, succeeded by horrible outcries
and yellings, and all pretended to put him in mind
of the times and places in which he had communi-
cated with them. Grandier was no way dismayed
by this sudden attack, but answered with a smile of
indignation, ' that he renounced Satan and all his de-
vils, that he gloried in the name of Jesus Christ, and
that he disclaimed all knowledge of and intercourse
with such miserable impostors.'
" This execrable scene, however, produced consi-
derable effect upon the people, who could not be-
lieve it possible for women that had devoted them-
selves to their God, to be capable of such monstrous
iniquity. The nuns would now have torn him to
jS'o 72. LOOKER-ON. 213
pieces, if they had not been withheld ; they threw,
however, their slippers at his head, distorting at the
same time their countenances into the most terrible
grimaces. About two months before the condemna-
tion of Grandier, a sudden remorse seized upon the
sister Clara and the sister Agnes : they publicly con-
fessed the part they had taken in this infamous plot.
One of the seculars, La Nogeret, made the same
avowal ; but the principals of the conspiracy laughed
at their declarations, which they insisted were only
the artifices of the devils to foster incredulity.
" The judges were now appointed for the trial of
Grandier, the issue of which was easily foreseen,
when it was observed that the choice fell entirely
upon his avowed and inveterate enemies. Such an
outrage against all the principles of justice drew to-
gether the sound part of the inhabitants of the town :
at the ringing of the bell, they assembled in the
town-house, and there composed a letter to the king,
in which the proceedings of the cabal were spirit-
edly and justly exposed. This measure, however,
proved entirely ineffectual, and contributed only to
exasperate the commissary, who, with the other com-
missioned judges, annulled the act of the assembly,
and forbade any persons in future to deliberate on
matters which came within the power of the com-
mission.
" Grandier began now to consider his condemna-
tion as the certain consequence of these outrageous
proceedings ; he neglected, however, no arguments
which might tend to open men's eyes to the unexam-
pled perversion of justice and violation of human
rights, by which his ruin was to be accomplished.
One last solemn appeal he addressed to his judges,
full of force and full of dignity, reminding them
y 2
244 LOOKER-ON. N72.
* that the Judge of judges would sit in the midst of
them, and take account of their motives and decisions
on that day in which they would sacrifice an inno-
cent man to the implacable fury of an unrighteous
cabal ; that, as mortals, but a little time would bring
them before that mighty tribunal, where the tempo-
rary judgements, which they shall have authorised
in this world, will form the grounds on which that
last immortal judgement shall be pronounced upon
them, which shall extend through endless ages.'
" About, this time an occurrence took place which
affected all minds with the deepest horror : as M.
de Laubardemont was entering the convent, he was
surprised with the figure of a woman in the outer
court, with only a linen covering on her body, and
her head naked ; a torch was in her hand, a cord
about her neck, and her eyes were swelled with
weeping. On approaching, it was found to be the
superior of the convent, the chief actress in these in-
fernal scenes.
" As soon as she perceived the commissary, she
threw herself on her knees, and declared herself the
wickedest of God's creatures for her conduct in this
iniquitous affair. Immediately after this confession,
she attached the cord to a tree in the garden, and
would have strangled herself outright, had it not
been for the interference of some nuns who were
near her. Not even this spectacle could touch
the heart of Laubardemont : these recantations were
represented as fresh proofs of the friendship that
subsisted between Grandier and the demons, who
made use of these expedients to save him. To the
prejudiced every thing serves as a proof; it feeds
upon that which should naturally destroy it. At
length, on the 18th of August, 1634, after amultitude
N 72. LOOKER-ON. 245
of depositions the most absurd that it ever entered
into the human heart to invent, Urbain Grandier was
condemned to be tortured, and burned alive before
the porch of his own church of Sainte Croix.
" Grandier heard the sentence of his judges with-
out undergoing the smallest change of countenance,
or betraying the slightest symptom of mental trepi-
dation. Erect and dauntless, his eyes cast upwards
to heaven, he walked by the side of the executioner,
to the prison assigned him. Mamouri, the surgeon,
followed him, to execute such indignities upon his
body as Laubardemont should direct. Fourneau,
another surgeon of the town was confined to the
same prison with Grandier, for manifesting human
feelings on an occasion on which he was ordered to
exercise some cruelties upon his person. ' Alas,'
says the poor ecclesiastic, ' you are the only being
under heaven that has pity on the wretched Gran-
dier.' ' Sir, you know but a small part of the world,'
was the reply of Fourneau.
" Fourneau was now ordered to shave him all
over, which he was preparing to do, after entreating
the pardon of the unhappy sufferer, when one of the
judges commanded him also to pluck out his eye-lids
and his nails. Grandier desired him to proceed, as-
suring him that he was prepared, by the gracious
support of a good God, to suffer all things. But
Fourneau peremptorily refused to execute this last
order for any power on earth. As soon as the first
part of the operation had been performed, Grandier
was clothed in the dress of the vilest criminals, and
led to the town-hall, where M. de Laubardemont and
a vast concourse of people were waiting to receive
him. The judges, on this occasion, gave up their
seats to the ladies, as if gallantry could with decency
y3
24G LOOKER-ON. N 72.
mix in so woful a scene. Before he entered the
audience chamber, father Lactance exorcised the air,
the earth, and the prisoner himself.
" As soon as he was admitted, he fell upon his
knees, and looked around with a serene countenance ;
whereupon the secretary told him, with a stern voice,
' to turn and adore the crucifix,' which he did with
ineffable devotion ; and lifting up his eyes to heaven,
remained for some time wrapt in silent adoration.
As soon as he recovered from his reverie, he turned
to the judges, and thus addressed them : ' My lords,
I am no magician ; to which truth I call to witness
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost. The only magic that I know is that of the
Gospel, which I have always preached. I have ne-
ver entertained any other faith than that which our
holy mother the Catholic Church has prescribed
to me. I recognise Jesus Christ for my Saviour ; and
I pray that his blood, which was spilled upon the
cross, may blot out my transgressions, which indeed
are manifold. My lords,' continued he (here the
tears trickled down his face), ' I beseech you, mode-
rate the rigour of my punishment, not for my body's
sake, but lest my soul be reduced to forget its God
in despair.'
" He was now put to the question, ordinary and
extraordinary. His legs were placed between two
pieces of wood, round which several strong cords
were tied together with the extremest force : between
the legs and the boards, wedges were beat in with a
mallet, four for the question ordinary, and eight for
the extraordinary. During this process, the priests
exorcised the boards, the wedges, and the mallet.
Many of them, indeed, assisted at the torture, and
took the mallet out of the executioner's hand. Gran-
N 72. LOOKER-ON. 247
dier uttered neither groans nor complaints, but re-
garded this horrible testimony of their hate with su-
pernatural serenity, while the marrow of his bones
was seen to drop on the pavement. In this extre-
mity, he pronounced distinctly a strain of fervent
adoration, which was copied from his mouth by one
of the attending magistrates, but which he was not
permitted to preserve. After this terrible scene, he
was stretched before the fire, and recovered from fre-
quent faintings by some strong liquor, which was
poured into his mouth. Here he named two confes-
sors, to whom he wished to consecrate his last mo-
ments, but they were both refused. This instance of
unrelenting malice forced some tears down his cheek ;
and when other confessors were offered him, he de-
sired that no one might interpose between God and
himself.
" In his way to the place of execution, he cast a
look of pity and complacency on those that accom-
panied him ; and often kissed a lighted torch which
he held in his hand. Father Grillau, whom he had
demanded for his confessor, approached him with
these consoling words : ' Remember that your Sa-
viour Christ ascended to heaven by the way -of suf-
ferings. Your poor mother blesses you. I implore
for you the divine mercy ; and I believe firmly that
God will receive you in heaven.' At these words, a.
placid joy overspread the countenance of G randier,
which never forsook him from that moment till the
flames devoured him. The executioner would feign
have strangled him before he had set fire to the pile ;
but the exorcists had done all in their power to pre-
vent this miserable charity, by filling the cord so
full of knots that it could not be effected. At this
moment, father Lactance seized a torch, and thrust*
6
24-8 LOOKKR-ON. N Tl.
ing it into Grandier's face, ' Wretch,' cried he, ' re-
nounce the devil ; you have but a moment longer
confess ! ' Without waiting for the order, this im-
placable friar applied his torch to the pile, and pub-
licly performed the office of executioner. ' Ah !
where is thy charity, Lactance ?' cried the poor ec-
clesiastic. ' There is a God that will judge both you
and me. I cite you to appear before him within the
month.'
" There was a vast concourse of people in the
square, among whom this devilish conduct of a mi-
nister of God excited a murmur of abhorrence. They
cried out with one voice to the executioner, ' Strangle
him ! strangle him ! ' but the flames had already
seized his body, and prevented this last sad act of
dreadful compassion. Thus miserably perished the
body of Urbain Grandier, sacrificed to the most dia-
bolical hate that ever possessed human bosoms, and
condemned by the most iniquitous tribunal that ever
mocked with a show of justice."
END OF VOL. XMlf.
C. Baldwin, Pnnler,
i-a Briiiee-ttrcet, London.
This book is DUE on the last
date stamped below
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
AA 000 069 824 1