Carmelite
friars who were good enough to assist him against their common enemies,
the devils had been temporarily driven out, but on the previous Sunday
night, the 10th of October, the mother superior, Jeanne de Belfield,
whose conventual name was Jeanne des Anges, and a lay sister called
Jeanne Dumagnoux, had again been entered into by the same spirits. It
had, however, been discovered by means of exorcisms that a new compact,
of which the symbol and token was a bunch of roses, had been concluded,
the symbol and token of the first having been three black thorns. He
added that during the time of the first possession the demons had refused
to give their names, but by the power of his exorcisms this reluctance
had been overcome, the spirit which had resumed possession of the mother
superior having at length revealed that its name was Ashtaroth, one of
the greatest enemies of God, while the devil which had entered into the
lay sister was of a lower order, and was called Sabulon. Unfortunately,
continued Mignon, just now the two afflicted nuns were resting, and he
requested the bailiff and the civil lieutenant to put off their
inspection till a little later. The two magistrates were just about to
go away, when a nun appeared, saying that the devils were again doing
their worst with the two into whom they had entered. Consequently, they
accompanied Mignon and the priest from Venier to an upper room, in which
were seven narrow beds, of which two only were occupied, one by the
mother superior and the other by the lay sister. The superior, who was
the more thoroughly possessed of the two, was surrounded by the Carmelite
monks, the sisters belonging to the convent, Mathurin Rousseau, priest
and canon of Sainte-Croix, and Mannouri, a surgeon from the town.

No sooner did the two magistrates join the others than the superior was
seized with violent convulsions, writhing and uttering squeals in exact
imitation of a sucking pig. The two magistrates looked on in profound
astonishment, which was greatly increased when they saw the patient now
bury herself in her bed, now spring right out of it, the whole
performance being accompanied by such diabolical gestures and grimaces
that, if they were not quite convinced that the possession was genuine,
they were at least filled with admiration of the manner in which it was
simulated. Mignon next informed the bailiff and the civil lieutenant,
that although the superior had never learned