st was a remarkable gift of prayer. He saw that there was readily
given him what he could never have before, whatever pains he took for
it. This enlivening gift was the principle which made him act, gave him
grace for his employments, and an inward fruition of the grace of God,
which brought all good with it. He gradually brought me all the
novices, all of whom partook of the effects of grace, though
differently, according to their different temperaments. Never was there
a more flourishing noviciate.

The master and superior could not forbear admiring so great a change in
their novices, though they did not know the cause of it. One day, as
they were speaking of it to the collector, for they esteemed him highly
on account of his virtue, he said, "My fathers, if you will permit me,
I will tell you the reason of it. It is the lady against whom you have
exclaimed so much without knowing her, whom God has made use of for all
of this." They were very surprised; and both the master, though
advanced in age, and his superior then submitted humbly to practice
prayer, after the manner taught by a little book, which the Lord
inspired me to write, and of which I shall say more hereafter. They
reaped such benefit from it, that the superior said to me, "I am become
quite a new man. I could not practice prayer before, because my
reasoning faculty was grown dull and exhausted; but now I do it as
often as I will, with ease, with much fruit, and a quite different
sensation of the presence of God." And the master said, "I have been a
friar these forty years, and can truly say that I never knew how to
pray; nor have I ever known or tasted of God, as I have done since I
read that little book."

Many others were gained to God, whom I looked on to be my children. He
gave me three famous friars, of an order by which I have been, and
still am, very much persecuted. He made me also of service to a great
number of nuns, of virtuous young women, and even men of the world;
among the rest a young man of quality, who had quitted the order of the
knights of Malta, to take that of the priesthood. He was the relation
of a bishop near him, who had other designs of preferment for him. He
has been much favored of the Lord, and is constant in prayer. I could
not describe the great number of souls which were then given me, as
well maids, as wives, priests and friars. But there were three curates,
one canon, and one grand-vicar, who were more particularly giv