ssuet, happening to be at madame de Maintenon's, the conversation
turned upon magic and sorcery, necromancy and their horrible
profanations; and he expressed himself with so much force and energy,
that the king and madame de Maintenon looked at each other without
knowing what to say, and began, for the first time, to feel compunction
for what they had done, and to regret their imprudence. They talked of
it much together, and at length resolved to reveal their crime to their
confessors. The punishment imposed on the king by his spiritual adviser
was, that he should evince his contempt for the talismanic properties of
the parchment packet, by immediately opening it.

"Louis XIV did not by any means admire this method of expiating his
fault; and a sort of involuntary dread took possession of him, as, in
obedience to the command of his confessor, he went to procure the magic
parcel, which he tore open in the presence of madame de Maintenon and
father la Chaise. The packet contained nothing but a consecrated wafer,
pierced thro' with as many pins as there had been saints' days since
the king had received it. At the sight of this horrible sacrilege my
grandfather was filled with deep remorse and consternation, from
which it was a long time ere he recovered; and it was not until he had
undergone many severe penances, fastings, and caused numberless masses
to be said, that he felt himself at all relieved from the weight of his
crime.

"But all this was only the commencement of the divine vengeance: and
those in the secret of this unfortunate affair remarked, that this great
monarch lost from that time as many male descendants in a direct line as
he had stuck pins into the holy wafer."

Louis XV here terminated his singular history, which struck my mind
with a sort of religious terror. I strove by every possible effort
to dissimulate, concealing from the king the emotions to which his
narration had given rise. I contented myself with observing, "that after
hearing his marvelous recital, I should only be more confirmed in my
determination to leave my young prophet to the tranquillity he desired."

"It will be far best so," added Louis; "I know so many fatal results
which have followed any indiscreet curiosity, that I am persuaded
you had much better leave such mysterious affairs to work their own
solution."

I promised to follow his advice, and we then conversed upon other
subjects. Since then this anecdote has recurred to m