y free from him. From whence I conclude, added he, that
the Bishop will persecute you without intermission.

I had an intimate friend, wife of that governor of whom I have made
some mention. As she saw I had quitted everything for God, she had a
warm desire to follow me. With diligence did she dispose of all her
effects and settle her affairs in order to come to me; but when she
heard of the persecution, she was discouraged from coming to a place,
from whence she thought I should be obliged to retire. Soon after she
died.

CHAPTER 7

After Father La Combe was gone, the persecution raised against me
became more violent. But the Bishop of Geneva still showed me some
civilities, as well to try whether he could prevail on me to do what he
desired, as to sound out how matters passed in France, and to prejudice
the minds of the people there against me, preventing me from receiving
the letters sent me. The ecclesiastic and his family had twenty-two
intercepted letters, opened, on their table. There was one wherein was
sent me a power of attorney to sign, of immediate consequence. They
were obliged to put it under another cover, and send it to me. The
bishop wrote to Father La Mothe, and had no difficulty to draw him into
his party. He was displeased with me on two accounts. First, that I had
not settled on him a pension, as he expected, and as he told me very
roughly several times. Second, I did not take his advice in everything.
He at once declared against me. The bishop made him his confidant. It
was he who uttered and spread abroad the news about me. They imagined,
as was supposed, that I would annul the donation I had made, if I
returned; that, having the support of friends in France, I would find
the means of breaking it; but in that they were much mistaken. I had no
thought of loving anything but the poverty of Jesus Christ. For some
time yet, the Father acted with caution toward me. He wrote me some
letters, which he addressed to the Bishop of Geneva, and they agreed so
together, that he was the only person from whom I received any letters,
to which I returned very moving answers. He, instead of being touched
with them, became only more irritated against me.

The bishop continued to treat me with a show of respect; yet at the
same time he wrote to many persons in Paris, as did also the sisters of
the house, to all those persons of piety who had written letters to me,
to bias them as much as possible against