sk by the forms of exorcism prescribed by the Church to
its ministers; then addressing Grandier, he said that he having been
anointed as a priest belonged to this number, and that he ought to help
with all his power and with all his energy, if the bishop were pleased
to allow him to do so, and to remit his suspension from authority. The
bishop having granted permission, the Franciscan friar offered a stole
to Grandier, who, turning towards the prelate, asked him if he might
take it. On receiving a reply in the affirmative, he passed it round his
neck, and on being offered a copy of the ritual, he asked permission
to accept it as before, and received the bishop's blessing, prostrating
himself at his feet to kiss them; whereupon the Veni Creator Spiritus
having been sung, he rose, and addressing the bishop, asked--

"'My lord, whom am I to exorcise?'"

The said bishop having replied--

"'These maidens.'

"Grandier again asked--

"'What maidens?'

"'The possessed maidens,' was the answer.

"'That is to say, my lord,' said he; 'that I am obliged to believe
in the fact of possession. The Church believes in it, therefore I too
believe; but I cannot believe that a sorcerer can cause a Christian to
be possessed unless the Christian consent.'

"Upon this, some of those present exclaimed that it was heretical to
profess such a belief; that the contrary was indubitable, believed by
the whole Church and approved by the Sorbonne. To which he replied that
his mind on that point was not yet irrevocably made up, that what he had
said was simply his own idea, and that in any case he submitted to the
opinion of the whole body of which he was only a member; that nobody was
declared a heretic for having doubts, but only for persisting in them,
and that what he had advanced was only for the purpose of drawing an
assurance from the bishop that in doing what he was about to do he would
not be abusing the authority of the Church. Sister Catherine having been
brought to him by the Franciscan as the most ignorant of all the nuns,
and the least open to the suspicion of being acquainted with Latin, he
began the exorcism in the form prescribed by the ritual. But as soon as
he began to question her he was interrupted, for all the other nuns were
attacked by devils, and uttered strange and terrible noises. Amongst the
rest, Sister Claire came near, and reproached him for his blindness
and obstinacy, so that he was forced to leave the nun wit