ms to have been sufficient to convince him of anything at all, no
matter how preposterous. Four years previously he had been so
unfortunate as to lose by death his eldest child:

"A year after his death, I had met a woman of great renown for piety,
and who was even regarded as a receiver of celestial communications. I
had commended my poor Joseph to her. Some time after she assured me that
my son was saved, and that he was in paradise. She declared that in a
vision she had seen him near our Lord; he was happy. Various
circumstances, which it is useless to mention here, had caused me to
believe in the truth of this asserted revelation. Being in Oria, I
wished to have as much certainty as possible in regard to the matter,
and as I knew that Palma was in spiritual communication with many pious
souls scattered over the earth, I said to her in the course of our
conversation, 'tell me, Palma, do you know M. ---- de X----,' giving her
the baptismal name of the woman in question. 'No sir,' she answered. I
then related to her my history in detail, taking care not to ask her
opinion in advance, although I felt sure that she would explain the
thing to me. She listened with the utmost attention to the superioress
who translated my words, and when Mother Becaud came to say that the
woman had had a vision of my son, and that he was in paradise, Palma
stretched out her arm in a solemn manner as a sign of negative, and said
to me, 'He is saved, but he is still in purgatory.'

"'Is it possible? Palma,' I cried, profoundly moved: 'Since you tell me
this, you are in conscience bound to get him out of that place of
expiation as soon as possible, and I commend him immediately to your
prayers.'

"'Yes, sir,' she said, 'I will pray for him, and when I am sure of his
deliverance, I will send you word by Father de Pace.'

"The following morning at my visit I again commended my poor child to
Palma, and on the following Friday evening on taking leave of her, I
asked if she had prayed that morning for my son, 'No sir,' she answered.
'I will only do so on the day of All Saints.' 'Then,' said I to Palma,
'will you allow madame the superioress to take the answer?' 'Very
willingly,' said the seeress. On the 7th of November, I received at Nice
the following letter:

"'SIR,

"'I have fulfilled the promise which I made to you in accordance
with your wish to go to Palma on All Saints Day, in order to
ascertain whether or not your wi