Note 12 — REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS, &c.

Marshal Villars, who was employed in appeasing the troubles of the Cevennes, says: “I saw things in this kind, which I should not have believed, if they had not passed before my eyes; I saw a considerable town, of which the whole female part without exception appeared to be possessed by the devil. They trembled and prophesied publicly in the streets. One had the rashness to tremble and prophesy for an hour together in my presence. But of all these absurdities the most surprising was that, which was related to me by the bishop of Alais, and which I wrote to M. de Chamillard in the following terms.

“‘A M. de Mandagors, lord of the manor of that name, mayor of Alais, possessing the first appointments in the town and county, and having even been for some time subdelegate to M. de Bàville, was the subject of this relation. He was sixty years of age, temperate in his manners, possessed of a fine understanding, and had written and published many performances. Some of them I have read, and, before I knew what I have just learned respecting him, I considered them as distinguished by a very vigorous imagination.

“‘A prophetess, aged twenty seven or twenty eight years, was taken up about eighteen months ago and carried before the bishop of Alais. He interrogated her before several ecclesiastics. The creature, after having heard what he said, replied with a modest air, exhorted him no longer to torment the true children of God, and then addressed him for an entire hour in an uncouth language of which he could not understand a word: just as we have formerly seen the duke de la Ferté, when he had drank a few glasses, talk English before the inhabitants of that country. I have heard them say, I understand very well that he speaks English, but I cannot comprehend a word that he says. It would have been somewhat difficult that they should have done so, for he never knew a word of English in his life. This girl talked Greek and Hebrew in the style of the duke de la Ferté.

“‘You will take it for granted that M. d’Alais sent the girl to prison. After several months, the girl appearing to be entirely ridded of her absurdities by the attention and advice of the sieur de Mandagors, who frequently visited her in her confinement, she was set at liberty, and the consequence of that liberty, and of the liberties that the sieur Mandagors had taken with her, was an immediate pregnancy.

“‘But the fact which I was about to relate is the resignation made by the sieur Mandagors of all his employments in favour of his son, at the same time saying to several individuals, and among others to the bishop, that it was by express commission from God that he had had carnal knowledge of the prophetess, and that the child which should be born would be the true saviour of the world. The consequence of all this in any other country than France, would have been merely the sending M. the mayor and his fair patroness to bedlam. The bishop suggested to me to have him arrested. I proposed previously to confer with M. de Bàville, intendant of the province, ordering in the mean time that he and the prophetess should be closely watched, so that they might not be able to escape. My opinion was, that, in the midst of a country of madmen, what relates to a madman of such importance ought to make as little noise as possible; and that it was therefore necessary to endeavour to get him out of the country by gentle means, and then to take him into custody. Your lordship will easily conceive that to declare publicly for a prophet a mayor of Alais, the lord of an extensive manor, an ancient subdelegate of the intendant, an author, and a man hitherto esteemed for his penetration and sagacity, in the midst of a country accustomed to venerate and respect him, was a measure better calculated to revolt the minds of the inhabitants than to correct them. It would the rather have had this tendency, that, except the folly of believing that God had commanded him to have carnal knowledge of this young woman, his conversation is as full of reason and good sense, as was that of Don Quixote upon all other subjects but that of knight-errantry. M. de Bàville was of my opinion. The children of M. Mandagors conducted him without noise to one of his châteaux, where he was confined, and the prophetess taken from him and sent to prison.’” Vie du Maréchal Duc de Villars, tome I., pages 325 and following.