Something more liquid was then brought, but even of that she could
swallow very little, as she fell into convulsions every few minutes.
Upon this the two officials, seeing there was nothing more to be got out
of the superior, withdrew to one of the window recesses and began to
converse in a low tone; whereupon Mignon, who feared that they had not
been sufficiently impressed, followed them, and drew their attention to
the fact that there was much in what they had just seen to recall the
case of Gaufredi, who had been put to death a few years before in
consequence of a decree of the Parliament of Aix, in Provence. This
ill-judged remark of Mignon showed so clearly what his aim was that the
magistrates made no reply. The civil lieutenant remarked that he had
been surprised that Mignon had not made any attempt to find out the
cause of the enmity of which the superior had spoken, and which it was
so important to find out; but Mignon excused himself by saying that he
had no right to put questions merely to gratify curiosity. The civil
lieutenant was about to insist on the matter being investigated, when
the lay sister in her turn went into a fit, thus extricating Mignon from
his embarrassment. The magistrates approached the lay sister’s bed at
once, and directed Mignon to put the same questions to her as to the
superior: he did so, but all in vain; all she would reply was, “To the
other! To the other!”
Mignon explained this refusal to answer by saying that the evil spirit
which was in her was of an inferior order, and referred all questioners
to Ashtaroth, who was his superior. As this was the only explanation,
good or bad, offered them by Mignon, the magistrates went away, and drew
up a report of all they had seen and heard without comment, merely
appending their signatures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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