'She had known her for fourteen years. They were very good friends together, and she knew all her affairs during that time. She had for some time had the intention of declaring to us that Du Parc must have been poisoned, and that Jean Racine was suspected. The rumour was strong. What more especially gave rise to the presumption was that Racine had always prevented her, who was the good friend of Du Parc, from seeing her during the whole course of the illness of which she died, although Du Parc constantly asked for her; but although she went to see her, they had never been willing to let her in, and this was by order of Racine, as she learnt from the stepmother of Du Parc, whose name was Mademoiselle de Gorla, and from Du Parc's daughters, who are at the Hôtel de Soissons, and informed her that Racine was the cause of their misfortune. 'Asked if he had ever proposed to her to do away with Du Parc by poison. 'The proposal would have been well received. 'Asked if she was not aware that application had been made to Delagrange for the same purpose. 'She knew nothing about that. 'Asked if she did not know a lame actor. 'Yes, Béjart, whom she had only seen twice. 'Asked if Béjart had not some spite against Du Parc. 'No; and what she knew about Racine she obtained first from Mademoiselle de Gorla. 'Asked what De Gorla said to her, and strictly cross-examined. 'De Gorla told her that Racine, having secretly espoused Du Parc [here follows a repetition of the statement already made]; that she (Du Parc) had not even been allowed to speak to Manon, her maid, who is a midwife, though she asked for Manon and got some one to write asking her to come to Paris to see her, as well as La Voisin herself. 'Asked if De Gorla told her the manner in which the poisoning had been carried out, and who had been made use of in the matter. 'No.' Such were the declarations of La Voisin before the commissioners of the Chambre Ardente. She repeated them exactly in her final examination before the judges: 'She had known Mademoiselle Du Parc, the actress; had been a friend of hers for fourteen years; her stepmother, named De Gorla, had told her that Racine had poisoned her, and she only knew of Du Parc's death when she saw the body at the door on the way to burial.' Finally, in the anguish of torture, La Voisin maintained her declarations. 'Asked if she knew nothing more concerning what she had said at the trial about the poisoning of Du Parc. 'She had told the truth in all that she had said on the subject.'