hority to take him, and carried him
away home.

If Gauffridi had fallen very low, his adversaries had not risen much.
Even the two inquisitors, Michaelis and the Fleming, were in shameful
variance with each other. The partiality of the former for Madeline,
of the latter for Louisa, went beyond mere words, leading them into
opposite lines of action. That chaos of accusations, sermons,
revelations, which the Devil had dictated by the mouth of Louisa, the
Fleming who wrote it down maintained to be the very word of God, and
expressed his fear that somebody might tamper with the same. He owned
to a great mistrust of his chief, Michaelis, who, he was sore afraid,
would so amend the papers in behalf of Madeline, as to ensure the ruin
of Louisa. To guard them to the best of his power, he shut himself up
in his room and underwent a regular siege. Michaelis, with the
Parliament-men on his side, could only get at the manuscript by using
the King's name and breaking the door open.

Louisa, afraid of nothing, sought to array the Pope against the King.
The Fleming carried an appeal to the legate at Avignon, against his
chief, Michaelis. But the Papal Court had a prudent fear of causing
scandal by letting one inquisitor accuse another. Lacking its support,
the Fleming had no resource but to submit. To keep him quiet Michaelis
gave him back his papers.

Those of Michaelis, forming a second report, dull and nowise
comparable with the former, are full of nought but Madeline. They
played music to try and soothe her: care was taken to note down when
she ate, and when she did not eat. Too much time indeed was taken up
about her, often in a way but little edifying. Strange questions are
put to her touching the Magician, and what parts of his body might
bear the mark of the Devil. She herself was examined. This would have
to be done at Aix by surgeons and doctors; but meanwhile, in the
height of his zeal, Michaelis examined her at Sainte-Baume, and put
down the issue of his researches. No matron was called to see her. The
judges, lay and monkish, agreeing in this one matter, and having no
fear of each other's overlooking, seem to have quietly passed over
this contempt of outward forms.

In Louisa, however, they found a judge. The bold woman branded the
indecency as with hot iron. "They who were swallowed up by the Flood
never behaved so ill!... Even of thee, O Sodom, the like was never
said!"

She also averred that Madeline was given o