re; she replied that they were kept at the
house of a certain young girl, whose name she gave, and who was the same
to whom Adam had been forced to apologise. De Laubardemont, Moussant,
Herve, and Meunau hastened at once to the house indicated, searched the
rooms and the presses, opened the chests and the wardrobes and all the
secret places in the house, but in vain. On their return to the church,
they reproached the devil for having deceived them, but he explained
that a niece of the young woman had removed the books. Upon this, they
hurried to the niece's dwelling, but unluckily she was not at home,
having spent the whole day at a certain church making her devotions, and
when they went thither, the priests and attendants averred that she had
not gone out all day; so notwithstanding the desire of the exorcists to
oblige Adam they were forced to let the matter drop.

These two false statements increased the number of unbelievers; but it
was announced that a most interesting performance would take place on
May 4th; indeed, the programme when issued was varied enough to arouse
general curiosity. Asmodeus was to raise the superior two feet from the
ground, and the fiends Eazas and Cerberus, in emulation of their
leader, would do as much for two other nuns; while a fourth devil, named
Beherit, would go farther still, and, greatly daring, would attack M. de
Laubardemont himself, and, having spirited his councillor's cap from his
head, would hold it suspended in the air for the space of a Misereye.
Furthermore, the exorcists announced that six of the strongest men in
the town would try to prevent the contortions of the weakest of the
convulsed nuns, and would fail.

It need hardly be said that the prospect of such an entertainment filled
the church on the appointed day to overflowing. Pere Lactance began by
calling on Asmodeus to fulfil his promise of raising the superior from
the ground. She began, hereupon, to perform various evolutions on her
mattress, and at one moment it seemed as if she were really suspended in
the air; but one of the spectators lifted her dress and showed that she
was only standing on tiptoe, which, though it might be clever, was
not miraculous. Shouts of laughter rent the air, which had such an
intimidating effect on Eazas and Cerberus that not all the adjurations
of the exorcists could extract the slightest response. Beherit was
their last hope, and he replied that he was prepared to lift up M. de
L