me (July 1832) there lived in the village of Gallardon, at the
extremity of Beauce, a peasant named Martin, who had the reputation
of receiving revelations from above, which he acquired so far back as
1818, when Mathew Burneau and other spurious princes made their
appearance. One Sunday in that year, during mass, Martin saw a vision
in which he said an angel commanded him to get an interview with
Louis XVIII., the purport of which should be afterwards revealed to
him. Immediately after his return from church, Martin having taken
leave of his wife and family, commenced his journey on foot to Paris.
On the fifth day he arrived there, went straight to the palace of the
Tuileries, and demanded to be admitted to the king. In the simplicity
of his heart, he told the guards that his mission was of a celestial
nature; but they, not finding messengers from above among the list of
visitors set down in the orders of the day, handed poor Martin over
to the municipal authorities, who transferred him to the Bicetre
lunatic asylum. Here he remained for some time, during which his
exemplary piety and touching resignation attracted the attention and
respect of the principal physician, who often made him the subject of
general conversation. At the end of two months Louis heard of the
circumstance, and actually consented to see the harmless man. At the
interview, he imparted to the king the substance of a second
revelation; which was, that his majesty's nephew, Louis XVII., was
still alive, and would return at no very distant period; and that if
the king he addressed attempted to undergo the ceremony of
coronation, the direst calamities would follow; amongst others the
dome of the cathedral (of Rheims) would fall in, and crush every soul
taking part in the rites. Whether the majesty of France took any
serious heed of this enthusiast's warning, it is impossible to say;
but one thing is certain--Louis XVIII. never _was_ formally crowned.
When Martin returned to his village, he found that the king had
bought the house which he rented, and presented it to him to live in
for the rest of his days. This, together with his interview with
royalty--of which he of course made no secret--elevated the poor
visionary to the character of a prophet amongst the population of
that part of the country; many of whom indeed formed themselves into
a sect called Martinists, and devoutly expected the re-appearance of
the son of Louis XVI.

As these facts were n