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Article STORY OF URBAIN GRANDIER. ← Page 3 of 7 →
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Story Of Urbain Grandier.
ever , one of bis friends , who had previously concerted this measure with him , took the accusation to himself , and turning to the woman , " What , " cried he , " have you the audacity to say that I am your seducer ? " " The same , " cried she , pointing to him with her finger , and adducing the circumstances of time and place . The council hurst into one peal of laughterand the maid was covered with
con-, fusion at the discovery of her mistake . As it was well known that the nuns for the most part were in the same ignorance of his person , the friends of Grandier conceived that the same innocent stratagem might expose the falsehood of his accusers ; but a discovery of this nature suited not the views of M . de Laubardemont . Two fresh exorcists were now appointed by the bishop of Poitiers
, one of whom was afterwards among the judges of Grandier ; the other was Father Lact-mce , a bigot of the first order , and one who had adopted in all its virulence the hate of the cruel fraternity , The exorcisms were now recommenced with all their fury ; and the cabal , covered with a protection which set them above fear , gave vent tq their malice in such shocking absurdities as staggered the credulity
of the blindest of their votaries . The superior had affirmed , that on the body of Grandier there were five marks of the devil , and that in these places he had no sensibility tp pain . He was accordingly vj _ sited in the prison h } ' the surgeon and a great number of curious people . Mamouii , which was the surgeon ' s name , brought with hiiri a probe to put the assertion of the superior to the proof . This probe
, however , had a blunt and a sharp end , so that he could make him appear alive or dead to pain , as it suited his purpose . At the end of the operation , however , the body of Grandier , which was stripped naked for the purpose , was covered with Wood . A variety of expe-: riments of this nature were tried upon the unhappy ecclesiastic , whose courage increased with their cruelty , and whose erect composure
under his sufferings drew tears of pity from all but his priestly brethren ; but the sovereign authority with which the commissary was invested , imposed 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 agency 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 published , declaring the possession by devils of the nuns of Loudun to
"be a true representation , and enjoining a general belief , because the Icing , the cardinal , and the bishop believed it , Such as refused assent were declared to be infidels and heretics , Grandier was now brought for the first time into the presence of the . nuns who had actetl the parts pf the possessed ; immediately strange transports and convulsions ensued , succeeded by horrible outcries and yellirigs , and a ] l pretended to put him jn mind of the times and places in which lie Jiad coijiii . \ . nicate 4 with , _ h ? rn , Graiulier
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Story Of Urbain Grandier.
ever , one of bis friends , who had previously concerted this measure with him , took the accusation to himself , and turning to the woman , " What , " cried he , " have you the audacity to say that I am your seducer ? " " The same , " cried she , pointing to him with her finger , and adducing the circumstances of time and place . The council hurst into one peal of laughterand the maid was covered with
con-, fusion at the discovery of her mistake . As it was well known that the nuns for the most part were in the same ignorance of his person , the friends of Grandier conceived that the same innocent stratagem might expose the falsehood of his accusers ; but a discovery of this nature suited not the views of M . de Laubardemont . Two fresh exorcists were now appointed by the bishop of Poitiers
, one of whom was afterwards among the judges of Grandier ; the other was Father Lact-mce , a bigot of the first order , and one who had adopted in all its virulence the hate of the cruel fraternity , The exorcisms were now recommenced with all their fury ; and the cabal , covered with a protection which set them above fear , gave vent tq their malice in such shocking absurdities as staggered the credulity
of the blindest of their votaries . The superior had affirmed , that on the body of Grandier there were five marks of the devil , and that in these places he had no sensibility tp pain . He was accordingly vj _ sited in the prison h } ' the surgeon and a great number of curious people . Mamouii , which was the surgeon ' s name , brought with hiiri a probe to put the assertion of the superior to the proof . This probe
, however , had a blunt and a sharp end , so that he could make him appear alive or dead to pain , as it suited his purpose . At the end of the operation , however , the body of Grandier , which was stripped naked for the purpose , was covered with Wood . A variety of expe-: riments of this nature were tried upon the unhappy ecclesiastic , whose courage increased with their cruelty , and whose erect composure
under his sufferings drew tears of pity from all but his priestly brethren ; but the sovereign authority with which the commissary was invested , imposed 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 agency 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 published , declaring the possession by devils of the nuns of Loudun to
"be a true representation , and enjoining a general belief , because the Icing , the cardinal , and the bishop believed it , Such as refused assent were declared to be infidels and heretics , Grandier was now brought for the first time into the presence of the . nuns who had actetl the parts pf the possessed ; immediately strange transports and convulsions ensued , succeeded by horrible outcries and yellirigs , and a ] l pretended to put him jn mind of the times and places in which lie Jiad coijiii . \ . nicate 4 with , _ h ? rn , Graiulier