il lieutenant, were sent off at once by a trusty
messenger to His Grace of Escoubleau de Sourdis. As soon as he received
the despatches, the worthy prelate seeing how grave was the crisis, and
that the slightest delay might be fatal to Grandier, set out at once for
his abbey of Saint-Jouinles-Marmes, the place in which he had already
vindicated in so striking a manner the upright character of the poor
persecuted priest by a fearless act of justice.

It is not difficult to realise what a blow his arrival was to those who
held a brief for the evil spirits in possession; hardly had he reached
Saint-Jouin than he sent his own physician to the convent with orders to
see the afflicted nuns and to test their condition, in order to judge
if the convulsions were real or simulated. The physician arrived, armed
with a letter from the archbishop, ordering Mignon to permit the bearer
to make a thorough examination into the position of affairs. Mignon
received the physician with all the respect due to him who sent him, but
expressed great regret that he had not come a little sooner, as, thanks
to his (Mignon's) exertions and those of Barre, the devils had been
exorcised the preceding day. He nevertheless introduced the archbishop's
envoy to the presence of the superior and Sister Claire, whose demeanour
was as calm as if they had never been disturbed by any agitating'
experiences. Mignon's statement being thus confirmed, the doctor
returned to Saint-Jouin, the only thing to which he could bear testimony
being the tranquillity which reigned at the moment in the convent.

The imposture being now laid so completely bare, the archbishop was
convinced that the infamous persecutions to which it had led would cease
at once and for ever; but Grandier, better acquainted with the character
of his adversaries, arrived on the 27th of December at the abbey and
laid a petition at the archbishop's feet. In this document he set
forth that his enemies having formerly brought false and slanderous
accusations, against him of which, through the justice of the
archbishop, he had been able to clear himself, had employed themselves
during the last three months in inventing and publishing as a fact that
the petitioner had sent evil spirits into the bodies of nuns in the
Ursuline convent of Loudun, although he had never spoken to any of
the sisterhood there; that the guardianship of the sisters who, it was
alleged, were possessed, and the task of exorcism, h