ver to uncleanness. This was
the saddest thing of all. In her blind joy at being alive, at escaping
the flames, or else from some cloudy notion that it was her turn now
to act upon her judges, the poor simpleton would sing and dance at
times with a shameful freedom, in a coarse, indecent way. The old
Doctrinal father, Romillion, blushed for his Ursuline. Shocked to
remark the admiration of the men for her long hair, he said that such
a vanity must be taken from her, be cut away.

In her better moments she was gentle and obedient.

They would have liked to make her a second Louisa; but her devils were
vain and amorous; not, like the other's, eloquent and raging. When
they wanted her to preach, she could only utter sorry things.
Michaelis was fain to play out the piece by himself. As chief
inquisitor, and bound greatly to outdo his Flemish underling, he
avowed that he had already drawn out of this small body a host of six
thousand, six hundred, and sixty devils: only a hundred still
remained. By way of convincing the public, he made her throw up the
charm or spell which by his account she had swallowed, and he drew it
from her mouth in some slimy matter. Who could hold out any longer?
Assurance itself stood stupefied and convinced.

Madeline was in a fair way to escape: the only hindrance was herself.
Every moment she would be saying something rash, something to arouse
the misgivings of her judges, and urge them beyond all patience. She
declared that everything to her recalled Gauffridi, that everywhere
she saw him present. Nor would she hide from them her dreams of love.
"To-night," she said, "I was at the Sabbath. To my statue all covered
with gilding the magicians offered their homage. Each of them, in
honour thereof, made oblation of some blood drawn from his hands with
a lancet. _He_ was also there, on his knees, a rope round his neck,
beseeching me to go back and betray him not. I held out. Then said he,
'Is there anyone here who would die for her?' 'I,' said a young man,
and he was sacrificed by the magician."

At another time she saw him, and he asked her only for one of her fine
fair locks. "And when I refused, he said, 'Only the half of one
hair.'"

She swore, however, that she never yielded. But one day, the door
happening to be open, behold our convert running off at the top of her
speed to rejoin Gauffridi!

They took her again, at least her body. But her soul? Michaelis knew
not how to catch that aga