The Convulsionists of St. Médard

OF all the mental epidemics that have visited Europe, beyond question the most remarkable, and in some of its features the most inexplicable, is that which prevailed in Paris some hundred and thirty years ago, among what were called the Convulsionists of St. Medard.

The celebrated Jansenius, Bishop of Ypres, during his life the opponent and enemy of the Jesuits, whom he caused to be excluded from the theological schools of Louvain, left behind him, at his death, a treatise, posthumously published in 1640, entitled, ‘Augustinus,” in which he professed to set forth the true opinions of St. Augustine on those century-long disputed questions of Grace, Free-Will, and Predestination. Taking ground against the Molinists, he contended for the doctrine of Predestination antecedent and absolute, a gift purely gratuitous, of God’s free grace, independent of any virtue or merit in the recipient soul. This doctrine, set forth in five propositions, was condemned, in the middle of the seventeenth century, by Popes Innocent X. and Alexander VII.; and against it, when revived by Father Quesnel in the beginning of the eighteenth century, there was fulminated, in 1713, by Pope Clement XI., the famous Bull Unigenitus.

From this Bull, accepted in France after long opposition, the Jansenist party appealed to a future Papal Council, thence deriving their name of Appellants. Among these, one of the most noted and zealous was the Diacre Paris, who refused a curacy, to avoid signing his adhesion to what he regarded as heresy, consumed his fortune in works of charity, and his health in austerities of a character so excessive that they abridged his life. Dying, as his partisans have it. in the odor of sanctity, and protesting with his last breath against the doctrines of the obnoxious Bull, his remains were deposited, on the second of May, 1727, in the small church-yard of St. Medard, situated in the twelfth arrondissement of Paris, on the Rue Mouffetard, not far from the Jardin des Plantes.

To the tomb of one whom they regarded as a martyr to their cause the Jansenist Appellants habitually resorted, in all the fervor of religions zeal, heated to enthusiasm by the persecution of the dominant party. And there, after a time, phenomena presented themselves, which caused for years, throughout the French capital and among the theologians of that age, a fever of excitement; and which, though they have been noticed by medical and other writers of our own century, have not yet, in my judgment, attracted, either from the medical profession or from the pneumatological inquirer, the attention they deserve.

Of these phenomena a portion were physical, and a portion were mental or psychological. The former, first appearing in the early part of the year 1731, consisted (as alleged) partly of extraordinary cures, the apparent result of violent convulsive movements which overtook the patients soon after their bodies touched the marble of the tomb, sometimes even without approaching it, by swallowing, in wine or water, a small portion of the earth gathered from around it, the effect being heightened by strict fasting and prayer, — partly of what were called the “ Grands Secours,” literally “ Great Succors,” consisting of the most desperate, one might say murderous, remedies, applied, at their urgent request, to relieve the sufferings of the Convulsiqnists. These measures, called of relief, and carried to an incredible excess, were of such a character, that, during any normal state of the human system, they would have destroyed, not one, but a hundred lives, if the patient, or victim, bad been endowed with so many. Those who regarded this marvellous immunity from what seemed certain immolation as a miraculous interposition of God were called Succorists; their opponents, ascribing such effects to the interference of the Devil in protection of his own, or (a somewhat rare opinion in those days) to natural agency, went by the name of A nti-Succorists. (Secouristes and Anti-Secouristes.)

Some of these alleged cures, but more especially some of these so-called succors, were of a nature so far passing belief, that one would be tempted to cast them aside as sheer impostures, were not the main facts vouched for by evidence, not from the Jansenists alone, but from their bitterest opponents, so direct, so overwhelmingly multiplied, so minutely circumstantial, that to reject it would amount to a virtual declaration, that, in proof of the extraordinary and the improbable, we will accept no testimony whatever, let its weight or character be what it may. Accordingly, we find dispassionate modern writers, medical and others, while minding us, as well they may, that enlightened observers of these strange phenomena were lacking,¹ and while properly suggesting that we ought to make allowance for exaggeration in some of the details, yet admitting as incontestable realities the substantial facts related by the historians of St. Medard.

Among these historians the chief is Carre de Montgdron, a magistrate of rank and high character, Counsellor of the Parliament of Paris. An enthusiast, and a weak logician, as hot enthusiasts generally are, Montgeron’s honesty is admitted to be beyond question. Converted to Jansenism on the seventh of September, 1731, in the church-yard of St. Medard, by the strange scenes there passing, he expended his fortune, sacrificed his liberty, and devoted years of his life, in the preparation and publication of one of the most extraordinary works that ever issued from the press. ² It consists of three quarto volumes, of some nine hundred closely printed pages each. Crowded with repetitions, and teeming with false reasoning, these volumes nevertheless contain, backed by certificates without number, such an elaborate aggregation of concurrent testimony as I think human industry never before brought together to prove any contested class of phenomena.

Not less zealous, if less voluminous, were the writers opposed to what was called “the work of the convulsions.” Of these one of the chief was Dom La Taste, Bishop of Bethleem, author of the “ Lettres Théologiques,” and of the “ Memoire Théologique,” in both of which the extravagances of the Convulsionists are severely handled; a second was the Abbe d’Asfeld, who, in 1738, published his “ Vains Efforts des Discernans,” in the same strain ; and another, M. Ponect, who put forth an elaborate reply to the Succorists, entitled “ Reponse des Anti-Secouristes a la Reclamation.”

The convulsions, commencing in the year 1731, almost immediately assumed an epidemical character, spreading so rapidly that in a few months the affected reached the number of eight hundred. These were to be found not only on the tomb and in the cemetery itself, but in the streets, lanes, and houses adjoining. Many, after returning from the exciting scenes of St. Medard, were seized with convulsions in their own dwellings.

The numbers and the excitement went on increasing, and conversions to Jansenism were counted by thousands; the scenes became daily more extravagant, and the phenomena more extraordinary, until the King, moved either by the representations of physicians or by the remonstrances of Jesuit theologians, caused the cemetery to be closed on the twentyninth of January, 1732.³

Not for such interdiction, however, did the phenomena, once in progress, intermit. For fifteen years, or longer,⁴ the symptoms continued, with more or less violence. Indeed, the number of Convulsionists greatly increased after the cemetery was closed, extending to those who had no ailment or bodily infirmity.⁵

The symptoms, though varying in different individuals, were of one general character, partaking, especially as to the muscular phenomena, of the nature of hysteria, or hystero-catalepsy. The patient, soon after being placed on the revered tomb, or on the ground near it, was commonly attacked by a tumultuous movement of all his members. Contractions exhibited themselves in the neck, shoulders, and principal muscles all over the body. The nervous system became dreadfully excited. The heart beat violently, and the patient, sometimes retaining partial consciousness and suffering extreme pain, could not restrain violent cries. He usually experienced, also, a tingling or pricking sensation in any diseased member. Those who from birth had been afflicted with paralysis, or partial paralysis, of a limb, or one side of the body, felt the convulsions chiefly in that limb or side. The convulsions were often so violent that numerous assistants could scarcely restrain the patient from seriously injuring himself by dashing his body or limbs against the marble.⁶

The Demoiselle Fourcroy, alleged to have been suddenly cured, on the fourteenth of April, 1732, by means of those convulsions, of a confirmed anchylosis, which had deformed her left foot, and which the physicians had pronounced incurable,⁷ thus describes, in her deposition, her sensations: — “ They caused me to take wine in which was some earth from the tomb of M. de Paris, and I immediately engaged in prayer, as the commencement of a neuvaine ” (that is, a ninedays’ act of devotion). “ Almost at the same moment I was seized with a great shuddering, and soon after with a violent agitation of the members, which caused my whole body to jerk into the air, and gave me a force I had never before possessed,— so that the united strength of several persons present could scarcely restrain me. After a time, in the course of these violent convulsive movements, I lost all consciousness. As soon as they passed off, I recovered my senses, and felt a sensation of tranquillity and internal peace, such as I had never experienced before.” ⁸

It was usually at the moment of recovery from these convulsions, as Montgeron alleges and the certificates published by him declare, that the cures deemed by him miraculous were effected. Sometimes, however, these cures were gradual only, extending through several days or weeks.

In Montgeron’s -work fourteen distinct cures are minutely reported, all of persons declared by the attendant physicians to be incurable. Each of these cures, with the documentary evidence in support of it., occupies from fifty to one hundred pages of his book. The greater number are cases of paralysis, usually of one entire, side of the body, in some instances complicated with general dropsy, in others with cancer, in others again with attacks of apoplexy. There are four eases where the eyesight was restored,— one of them of a lachrymal fistula ; one of a young Spanish nobleman, who suddenly recovered the use of his right eye, the left, however, remaining uncured; and there is a case in which a young woman, deaf and dumb from birth, is reported to have been suddenly and completely cured on the tomb of M. de Paris, at the moment the convulsions ceased, immediately repeating, though not understanding, any word that was spoken to her by the bystanders.

My limits do not permit me to follow Montgeron through the details and the documentary proof of these cures. That the patient, in each case, previously examined by some physician of reputation, was pronounced incurable, does not prove that he was so. Yet, unless Montgeron lie, some of the cures are inexplicable, upon any received principles of medical science. One man, (Philippe Sergent,) whose right knee had shrunk to such a degree that the right leg was, and had been for more than a year, three fingerbreadths shorter than the left, was, according to the certificates, cured on the spot, threw away his crutches, and walked home, unaided, followed by a wondering crowd. Another patient, (Marguerite Tliibault,) affected by general dropsy, and whose feet and legs were swollen to three times their natural size, is reported to have been cured so suddenly that before she left the tomb her servant could put on her feet the same slippers she had worn previously to her malady. This woman had also been afflicted, for three years, with paralysis of the left side, so complete as to deprive it of all power of motion. Yet she is stated to have raised herself, unaided, on the tomb, to have walked,from the spot, and even to have ascended the stairs of her house on her return. The symptom immediately preceding her cure is said to have been “ a beneficent beat, which diffused itself over the entire left side, so long deadly cold.” This was followed by a consciousness of power to move it; and her first effort was to stretch out her paralytic arm.⁹

But these cures, wonderful as they appear, are far less marvellous than another class of phenomena already referred to.

The convulsions were often accompanied by an urgent instinctive desire for certain extreme remedies, sometimes of a frightful character, — as stretching the limbs with a violence similar to that of the rack, —administering on the breast, stomach, or other parts of the body, hundreds of terrible blows with heavy weapons of wood, iron, or stone, — pressing with main force against various parts of the body with sharp-pointed swords, — pressure under enormous weights,— exposure to excessive heat, etc. Montgérou, viewing the whole as miraculous, says, — “God frequently causes the couvulsionists the most acute pains, and at the same time intimates to them, by a supernatural instinct, that the formidable succors which He desires that they should demand will cause all their sufferings to cease; and these sufferings usually have a sort of relation to the succors which are to prove a remedy for them. For instance, an oppression on the breast indicates the necessity for blows of extreme violence on that part; an excessive cold, or a devouring heat, when it suddenly seizes a convulsionist, requires that he should be pushed into the midst of flames; a sharp pang, similar to that caused by an iron point piercing the flesh, demands a thrust of a rapier,¹⁰ given in the spot where the pain is felt, be it in the throat, in the mouth, or in the eyes, of which there are numerous examples; and let the rapier be pushed as it may, the point, no matter how sharp, cannot pierce the most tender flesh, not even the eye of the patient: of this, in my third proposition, I shall adduce proof the most incontestable.”¹¹

To some extent, it would seem, the symptoms themselves, attending the convulsions, appeared, to the observant physician, to warrant, the propriety of the remedy desired. Montgeron copies a report of a case made to him, and attested by a gentleman of his acquaintance, a Jansenist, who had persuaded his cousin, Dr. M—, at that time a distin-

guished physician of Paris, and much prejudiced against the Jansenist movement, to accompany him to a house where there was a young girl subject to the reigning epidemic. They found her in a room with twenty or thirty persons, and at the moment in convulsions. The assistants agreed to place the case in the hands of the physician, and he carefully noted the movements of the patient.

“ After a time,” proceeds the reporter, “ he was greatly astonished to observe a sudden convulsive retraction of all the members. Examining the patient closely, touching her breast and limbs, he became aware of a contraction of the nerves, which gradually reached such a degree of violence that the whole body was disfigured in a frightful manner. His surprise was extreme, and it was soon changed to alarm, which induced him to forget his prejudices, and to resort to the very means he had previously condemned as useless or dangerous. He caused us to place ourselves, one at the head and one at each hand and foot, and bade us pull moderately. We did so.

“ ‘ Not enough,’ he said, with his hand on the patient’s breast; ‘ stronger ! ’

“ We obeyed.

“ ‘ Stronger yet! ’ be exclaimed.

“ We told him we were exerting our entire strength.

“ ' Two, then, to each limb,’ he said.

“It was done, (by the aid of long and very strong pieces of cloth-listing,) but proved insufficient.

“ ‘ Three to each! ’ he cried ; ' the child will die; pull with all your force ! Stronger still! ’

“‘We cannot.’

“ ' Then four to each ! ’

“ He was obeyed.

“ ‘ Ah, that relieves,’ he said; ‘ the nerves resume their tone ; the symptoms improve. But do not relax the tension.’

“ Then again, after a pause, —

“ ‘ Strong ! stronger ! The contractions increase. Put all your strength to it.’ ”

Ultimately five persons were assigned to each band; and the nearest aided themselves by bracing their feet against the bed. They continued their efforts during half an hour, sometimes pulling with all their strength, sometimes less strongly, as the physician observed the contraction of the nerves to increase or relax. Finally he ordered the tension to be gradually diminished, in proportion as the convulsion passed off.

After a time this convulsion was succeeded by another, causing a sudden and alarming swelling of the chest. “ The girl stood leaning against a wall, and in that position he caused us, as had been our wont, to press with force on her chest. This we did, interposing a small cushion composed of listing. At first, I alone assisted.” Then Dr. Mordered three, four, five, ultimately even a greater number of persons, to aid them. “ The convulsion ceased gradually, and in the same proportion he caused us to diminish the pressure.”

“ Afterwards the physician, having retired to another room, said to us, before going away, ' You would be homicides, gentlemen, if you did not render these succors; for the symptoms require them; and the girl would die, if you refused them. There is nothing but what is natural in the relation between her state and these succors.’ ” ¹²

Another example, occurring in 1740, and still more striking, because the case was that of a girl only three years of age, is given by Montgeron on the authority (among other witnesses) of Count de Novion, a near relative of the Duke de Gosvres, Governor of Paris. The Count, having been present throughout this case, testifies from personal observation.

The child’s limbs, as in the previous example, were drawn up by violent convulsive movements, and the muscles became as it were knotted, causing extreme pain. The little creature urgently begged that they would draw tier legs and arms. Moderate tension caused no diminution of the pain ; violent tension, administered with fear and trembling, relieved her immediately. She complained also of acute pain in the breast, which swelled to an alarming extent. To remove this, nothing proved effectual but excessive pressure with the knee on the part affected.

After a time, however, some of the An ti-Succorist theologians persuaded the mother that the succors ought not to be administered,— and even raised doubts in her mind and in that of the Count, as to whether the Devil had not some agency in the affair. “ Who knows,” said the latter, “ if the Arch-Enemy has no part in this ? ” So they intermitted the succors for some weeks. During this time the infant gradually sank from day to day, would scarcely eat or drink, seldom slept, and death seemed imminent.

The physician, being called in, declared that the only hope was in resuming the succors, terrible as they appeared, and that, too, promptly. To the father he said, “ If you delay, it will be too late. While you are trying all your fine experiments with her, your child will die.” They resumed the same violent remedies as before ; and the child was gradually restored to perfect health.¹³

But these examples, whatever we may think of them, are but some of the most moderate, which Montgeron himself admits to be explicable on natural principles. He says: “ During the first months that the succors commenced, the power of resistance offered by the convulsionists did not appear so surprising, and seemed, indeed, to be the effect of an excessive swelling which was observed in the muscles upon which the convulsionists requested the blows to be given, and of the violent agitation of the animal spirits; so that the succors demanded by the sufferers appeared, in a measure, the natural remedy for the state in which God bad placed them. But when, every day, the violence of the blows increased, it became evident that the natural force of the muscles could not equal that of the tremendous strokes which the convulsionists demanded, in obedience, as they said, to the will of God. And here was manifested the miracle.” ¹⁴

I proceed to give, as an example of one of the more violent succors here spoken of as miraculous, a narrative, not only vouched for by Montgeron himself as a witness present, but put forth, in the first instance, by one of the most violent AntiSuceorists, the Abbe d’Agfeld, in his work already referred to, — and put forth by him in order to be condemned as a wicked tempting of Providence, ¹⁵ or, worse, an accepting of aid from the Prince of Darkness himself. It occurred in 1734.

“ Here,” says the Abbe, “is an example, all the more worthy of attention, inasmuch as persons of every station and condition, ecclesiastics, magistrates, ladies of rank, were among the spectators.

Jeanne Moler, a young girl of twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, standing up with her hack resting against a stone wall, an extremely robust man took an andiron,¹⁶ weighing, as was said, from twenty-five to thirty pounds, and therewith gave her, with his whole force, numerous blows on the stomach. They counted upwards of a hundred at a time. One day a certain friar, after having given her sixty such blows, tried the same weapon against a wall; and it is said that at the twenty - fifth blow he broke an opening through it.” ¹⁷

Dom La Taste, the great opponent of Jansenism, alluding to the same circumstance, says, “ I do not dispute the fact, that the andiron sunk so deeply that it appeared to penetrate to the very backbone.” ¹⁸

Montgéron, after quoting the above, adds his own testimony, as to this same occurrence, in these words: —

“ As I am not ashamed to confess that I am one of those who have followed up most closely the work of the convulsions, I freely admit that I am the person to whom the author alludes, when he speaks of a certain friar who tried against a wall the effect of blows similar to those he had given the convulsionist. As this is an occurrence personal to myself, I trust the reader will perceive the propriety of my presenting to him the narrative in a more exact and detailed form than that in which it is given by the author of the ‘Vains Efforts.’

“ I had begun, as I usually do, by giving the convulsionist very moderate blows. But after a time, excited by her constant complaints, which left me no room to doubt that the oppression in the pit of the stomach of which she complained could be relieved only by violent blows, I gradually increased the force of mine, employing at last my whole strength ; but in vain. The convulsionist continued to complain that the blows I gave her were so feeble that they procured her no relief; and she caused me to put the andiron into the hands of a large and stout man who happened to be one of the spectators. He kept within no bounds. Instructed by the trial he had seen me make that nothing could be too severe, he discharged such terrible blows, always on the pit of the stomach, as to shake the wall against which the convulsionist was leaning.

“ She caused him to give her one hundred such blows, not reckoning as anything the sixty I had just administered. She warmly thanked the man who had procured her such relief, and reproached me for my weakness and my lack of faith.

“ When the hundred blows were completed, I took the andiron, desirous of trying against the wall itself whether my blows, which she thought so feeble and complained of so bitterly, really did produce no effect. At the twenty-fifth stroke the stone against which I struck, and which had been shaken by the previous blows, was shattered, and the pieces fell out on the opposite side, leaving an opening of more than six inches square.

“ Now let us observe what were the portions of the body of the convulsionist on' which these fearful blows were dealt. It is true that they first came in contact with the skin, but they sank immediately to the back of the patient; their force was not arrested at the surface.

“ I insist unnecessarily, perhaps, upon this fact, since all, even our greatest enemies, admit its truth. But, however incontestable it is, I conceive that I cannot too strongly prove it to those who have not themselves witnessed what happened ; inasmuch as the principal objection made by the author of the ‘ Memoire Théologique ’ consists in supposing that the violence of the most tremendous blows given to convulsionists is suspended by the Devil, who thus nullifies the effect they would naturally produce.” ¹⁹

Montgéron further says, that the greatest enemies of these miraculous succors admitted the fact that such terrible blows, far from producing the slightest wound, or causing the eonvulsionist the least suffering, actually cured the pains of which she complained.” ²⁰

The convulsionist sometimes demanded enormous pressure instead of violent blows. To this also the Abbe d’Asfeld testifies. I translate from his ‘‘Vains Efforts.”

“ Next came the exercise of the platform. It consisted in placing on the convulsionist, who was stretched on the ground, a board of sufficient size to cover her entirely; and as many men as could stand upon it mounted on the board. The convulsionist sustained them all.”²¹

Montgéron adds, —“ This relation is tolerably exact, and it only remains for me to observe, that, as they gave each other the hand, for reciprocal support, most of those who were on the board rested the whole weight of the body on a single foot. Thus, twenty men at a time often stood upon the board, and were supported on the body of a young convulsionist. Now, as most men weigh a hundred and fifty pounds, and many weigh more, the body of the girl must have sustained a weight of three thousand pounds, if not sometimes nearly four thousand,—a load sufficient to crush an ox. Yet, not only was the convulsionist not oppressed by it, but she often lound the pressure insufficient to correct the swelling which distended her muscles. With what three must not God have endowed the body of this girl ! Since the days of Samson, was ever seen such a prodigy ?”²²

It these incidents, attested as they are by friend and foe, seem to us incredible, what shall we say of another, not Jess strongly attested ?

Let us first, as before, take the statement of an adversary. I translate from the “ Memoire Theologique.”

“ A convulsionist laid herself on the floor, flat, on her back ; and a man, kneeling beside her, and raising a flint stone, weighing upwards of twenty pounds, as high as he could, after several preliminary trials, dashed it, with all his force, against the breast of the convulsionist, giving her one hundred such blows in succession.” ²³

To this Montgeron subjoins, — “But the author ought to have added, that, at each blow, the whole room shook, the floor trembled, and the spectators could not repress a shudder at the frightful noise which was heard, as each blow fell on the convulsionist’s breast.” We need not be surprised that he adds, — “ Not only ought such strokes naturally to rupture the minute vessels, the delicate glands, the veins and the arteries of which the breast is composed, — not only ought they, in the course of Nature, to have crushed and reduced the whole to a bloody mass, — but they ought to have shattered to pieces the bones and cartilages by which the breast is inclosed.” ²⁴

This was the view of the ease taken by a celebrated physician of the day. Montgeron tells us : — “ This philosopher maintained that the facts alleged could not be true, because they were physically impossible. He raised, among other objections, this, — that the flexible, delicate nature of the skin, of the flesh, and of the viscera, is incompatible with a force and a consistency so extraordinary as the alleged facts presuppose ; and, consequently, that it was impossible, without ceasing to be what they are,—without a radical change in their qualities,—that they should acquire a force superior to that of the hardest and most solid bodies. They let him quietly complete his anatomical argument, and set forth all his proofs, and merely answered, ' Como and see ; test the truth of the facts for yourself.’ He went. At first sight, he is seized with astonishment; he doubts the evidence of his eyes ; lie asks to be allowed himself to administer the succors. They immediately place in his hands iron bars of a crushing weight. lie does not spare his blows; he exerts his utmost strength. The weapon sinks into the flesh, seems to penetrate to the entrails. But the convulsionist only laughs at his idle efforts. His blows but. procure her relief, without leaving the least impression, the slightest trace, even on the epidermis.” ²⁵

Space fails me to furnish more than a very few additional specimens of the endless incidents of which the details are scattered by Montgéron over hundreds of pages, — incidents occurring in various parts of Paris, daily, for many years. Three or four more of these may suffice for my present purpose.

A certain Marie Sonnet had made herself so remarkable by the incredible succors she demanded, that a physician of Paris, Dr. A—, published, in regard to her case, a satirical letter addressed to M. de Montgéron, in which, after attacking the girl’s moral character, he assumed this strange position : “ It is a sentiment universally established, that it is in the power of the Devil, when God permits, to communicate to man forces above those of Nature. Nor must it be said that God never permits this ; the case of the girl Sonnet is unanswerable proof to the contrary.” ²⁶

Among the incidents which appear to have led to this opinion one is thus stated by him: — “They let fall upon her stomach, from the height of the ceiling, a stone weighing fifty pounds, while her body, bent back like a bow, was supported on the point of a sharpened stake, placed just under the spine; yet, far from being crushed by the stone, or pierced by the stake, it was a relief to her.” ²⁷

Montgéron supplies further particulars of this case. He says: — “It was not once, it was a hundred times in succession, and that daily repeated, that, this flint stone was raised by main force, by the aid of a pulley, to the ceiling of the room, and thence suddenly let fall on the stomach of the patient. This stone weighed, it is true, fifty pounds only; but, descending from a great height, its effect was immensely increased by the momentum it acquired in falling, as soon as the cord was detached by which it was suspended in the air. And, in truth, the ribs of the eonvulsionist bent under the terrible shock, sinking under the weight till her stomach and bowels were so completely flattened that the stone seemed wholly to displace them. Yet she received no injury whatever, but was relieved, as Dr. A-himself admits. He confesses, also, that the body of the convulsionist was bent back so that the head and feet touched the floor, and was supported only on the sharp point of a stake right under her reins, and placed perpendicularly beneath the spot where the stone was to fall. The weight of the stone in falling was, therefore, arrested only by the point of this stake, the body of the convulsionist being between them, so that the entire force of the blow was concentrated opposite that point. The stake appeared to peuetrate to a certain depth into the body, yet neither the skin nor the flesh received the slightest injury, nor did the eonvulsionist experience any pain whatever.”²⁸

This same Marie Sonnet exposed herself to terrible tests by fire. A certificate in regard to this matter, signed by eleven persons, of whom one was an English lord, one a Doctor of Theology in the Sorbonne, and another the brother of Voltaire, Armafid Arouet, Treasurer of the Chamber of Accounts, is given by Montgéron, and I here translate it: —

“ We, the undersigned, certify, that this day, between eight and ten o'clock, p. M., Marie Sonnet, being in convulsion, was placed, her head resting on one stool and her feet on another, these stools being entirely within a large chimney and under the opening of the same, so that her body was suspended in the air above the fire, which was of extreme violence, and that she remained in that position for the space of thirty-six minutes, at four different times ; yet the cloth [drap] in which she was wrapped (she having no other dress) was not burned, though the flames sometimes passed above it: all which appears to us entirely supernatural. In testimony whereof, we have signed our names, this twelfth of’ May, 1736.”

To this certificate, which “was afterwards legally recorded, a postscript is appended, stating, that, while they were writing out the certificate, Marie placed herself a fifth time over the fire, as before, remaining there nine minutes; that she appeared to sleep, though the fire was excessively hot; fifteen logs of wood, besides fagots, having been consumed in the two hours and a quarter during which the witnesses remained.

Montgéron adds, that this exhibition has been witnessed at least a hundred times, and by a multitude of persons. And he expressly states, that the stools, which consisted of iron frames, with a board upon each, were placed entirely within the fireplace, and one on each side of the fire; so that, as Marie Sonnet rested her head on one stool and her feet on the other, her body remained suspended immediately above the fire ; and further, that, “ no matter how intense the heat, not only did she suffer no inconvenience, but the cloth in which she was wrapped was never injured, nor even singed, though it was sometimes actually in the flames.”²⁹

He declares, also, that Marie, on other occasions, remained over the fire much longer than is above certified. The author of the “ Vains Efforts” admits that “ she remained exposed to the fire long enough to roast a piece of mutton or veal.”

Montgéron informs us, in addition, that Marie. Sonnet sometimes varied the form of this experiment, with a somewhat varying result. He says, — “I have seen her five or six times, and in the presence of a multitude of persons, thrust both her feet, with shoes and stockings on, into the midst of a burning brazier; but in this case the fire did not respect the shoes, as, in the other, it had respected the cloth that enwrapped her. The shoes caught fire, and the soles were reduced to ashes, but without the convulsionist experiencing pain in her feet, which she continued to keep for a considerable time in the fire. Once I had the curiosity to examine the soles of her stockings, in order to ascertain if they, too, were burnt. As soon as I touched them they crumbled to powder, so that the sole of the foot remained bare.” ³⁰

Dr. A—, in the letter already alluded to, which he published against this girl, admits, that, “ while in the midst of flames, or stretched over a burning brazier, she received no injury whatever.” ³¹

M. Poncet, whom I have elsewhere mentioned as one of the chief writers against the Succorists, admits the following : —

“This convulsionist [Gabrielle Moler] placed herself on her knees before a large fire full of burning coals all in flame. Then, a person being seated behind her, and holding her by a baud, she plunged her head into the flames, which closed over it; then, being drawn back, she repeated the same, continuing it with a regular alternate movement. .She has been seen thus to throw herself on the fire six hundred times in succession. Usually she wore a bonnet, but sometimes not; and when she did wear one, the top of the bonnet was occasionally burned.”³² Montgeron adds, “but her hair never.” ³³

Gabrielle was the first who (in 1736) demanded what was called the succor of the swords. Montgéron says, — “ She was prompted by the supernatural instinct which guided her to select the strongest and sharpest sword she could find among those worn by the spectators. Then setting herself with her back against a wall, she placed the point of the sword just above her stomach, and called upon him who seemed the strongest man to push it with all his force ; and though the sword bent into the form of a bow from the violence with which it was pushed, so that they had to press against the middle of the blade to keep it straight, still the convulsionist cried out, ' Stronger ! stronger ! ’ After a time she applied the point, of the sword to her throat, and required it to be pushed with the same violence as before. The point caused the skin to sink into the throat to the depth of four finger-breadths, but it never pierced the flesh, let them push as violently as they would. Nevertheless, the point of the sword seemed to attach itself to the skin ; for, when drawn back, it drew the. skin with it, and left, a trifling redness, such as would be caused by the prick of a pin. For the. rest, the convulsionist suffered no pain whatever.” ³⁴

Similar is the testimony of an Advocate of the Parliament of Paris, extracts from whose certificate in regard to the succors rendered to the Sister Madeleine are given by Montgeron. Here is one of these : —

“ One day, extended on the ground, she caused a spit to be placed upright, with the point on her bare throat. Then a stout man mounted on a chair, and suspended his whole body from the head of the spit, pressing with all his force, as if to transfix the throat and pierce the flora beneath. But the flesh merely sank in with the point of the spit, without being in the least injured.

“ Another day, she placed the point of a very sharp sword against the hollow of the throat, just, below the epiglottis, and, standing with her back against the wall, called on them to push the sword. A vigorous man did so, till the blade bent, though not so much as to form a complete are. The point sank into the flesh about an inch. I was curious to measure the exact depth, and found that the flesh rose so far around the swordpoint that I could sink a finger in hi - yond the first joint. She received this succor twice. The sword was one of the sharpest I have ever seen. We tried it against a portfolio containing the paper intended for the minutes which on such occasions I always make out. It. perforated the pasteboard and a considerable part of the papers within.” ³⁵

The Sister Madeleine carried her temerity in this matter still farther. Here is a portion of the certificate of an ecclesiastic, for whose uprightness and truthfulness Montgeron vouches in strong terms, and who relates what he alleges he saw on the thirty-first of May, 1744.

“ Madeleine caused them to hold two swords in the air horizontally. She herself placed the point of one in the inner corner of the right eye, and of the other in the inner corner of the left, and then called out to those who held the swords, ‘ In the name of the Father, push ! They did so with all their force; and I confess that I shuddered from head to foot.A second time Madeleine caused them to set two swords against the pupils of her eyes, and to press them strongly, as before. This time I took especial notice of the part of the sword that was on a level with the surface of the eye when the pressure was the strongest, and I perceived that the point had penetrated a good inch into the pupil.” ³⁶

The Chaplain in Ordinary of the King, under date of the fourth of October, 1744, testifies to confirmatory facts. He says, — “ I have seen them push sword-points against the eyes of Sisters Madeleine and Felicite, sometimes on the pupil, sometimes in the corner of the eye, sometimes on the eyelid, - with such force as to cause the eyeball to project, till the spectators shuddered.” ³⁷

Another officer of the royal household gives a certificate of succors administered to this same Madeleine, of a character scarcely less wonderful, with pointed spits, of which two were broken against her body.

This officer certifies, also, that, on one occasion, when pushing a sharp sword against Madeleine, not being able to push strongly enough to satisfy her, he placed a book bound in parchment on his own breast, placed the hilt of his sword against it, and pressed with so much force that the cover of the book was quite spoiled by the deep indentation made by the sword-hilt, He adds,—“ The instinct of her convulsion caused her sometimes to demand as many as twenty-two swords at a time. These were placed, some in front, some against her back, some against her sides, in every' direction. I myself never saw quite so many employed ; but I was present, and was myself assisting, when eighteen swords were pushed at once against various parts of her body. Although the force with which this prodigious succor was administered caused deep indentations in the flesh, she never received the slightest wound. It often happened that her convulsions caused the flesh to react under the pressure of the sword-points, so as forcibly to push back the assistants.” ³⁸

The Advocate of the Parliament of Paris, already mentioned, certifies to the same phenomenon, His words are, — “ One can feel, under the sword-point, a movement of the flesh, which, from time to time, thrusts back the sword. This occurs the most strongly when the succor is nearly at an end. The convulsionist calls out, ‘ Enough ! ’ as soon as the pains are relieved.” ³⁹

The same Advocate states, that sometimes the convulsionist threw the weight of her body on the swords, the hilts resting on the floor, and being secured from slipping, He speaks of one ease in which, “ while she was balancing herself on the points of several swords upon which she had thrown herself with all her weight, [où elle se jettoit a corps perdu,'] one of them broke.” ⁴⁰

The officer of the king’s household already spoken of testilies to a similar fact. A certain Sister Dina, he says, caused six swords thus to break against her body. He adds, that he himself broke the blade of a sword while thrusting against her; and that he saw two others broken in the same way.⁴¹

In regard to what Montgeron considers the exacting instinct, the same officer says, — “ I had the curiosity to ask Sister Madeleine, in her natural state, what was the sort of suffering which caused her to have recourse to such astonishing succors. She replied, that the pain she suffered was the same as if swords were actually piercing her; that she felt relieved of this pain as soon as the swordpoints penetrated to her skin, and quite cured when the assistants put their whole force to it. She laughed when the swords pierced her dress, saying, ‘ I feel the points on my skin. That relieves. That does me good.’ ” ⁴²

Both the Advocate of Parliament and the ecclesiastic from whose certificates I have quoted testify that the convulsionists were repeatedly undressed and examined by a committee of their own sex, consisting in part of incredulous ladies of fashion, to ascertain that they had nothing concealed under their clothes to resist the sword - points. But in every case it was ascertained that they wore but the ordinary articles of under-clothing. The Sister Dina was examined in this way ; and it was ascertained that she had nothing under her gown except a chemise and a simple linen stomacher. Her clothing was found pierced in many places, but the flesh wholly uninjured. ⁴³

Although throughout the writings of the Anti-Succorists there are constant denunciations of these succors as flagrant and wicked temptings of Providence, yet I do not find therein any allegation that serious injury was ever sustained by any of the patients. Montgeron himself, however, admits, that, on one occasion, a wound was received. He tells us that a certain convulsionist long resisted the instinct which bade her demand the succor of a triangular-bladed sword against the left breast, fearing the result. At last, however, the pain became so intense that she was fain to consent. For, the first seven or eight minutes the swordpoint only indented the flesh, ns usual. But then, says Montgeron, “ her faith suddenly failing her, she cried out, ' Ah! you will kill me! ’ No sooner had she pronounced the words than the sword pierced the flesh, making a wound two inches in depth.” He alleges, further, that the instinct of the convulsionist informed her that the wound would have no bad consequences, and could be cured by severe blows of a club on the same spot; which, he declares, happened accordingly.⁴⁴

Besides the incidents above related, and a hundred others of similar character, which, if time and the reader’s patience permitted, I might cull from Montgeron’s pages, the restless enthusiasm of the convulsioilists ultimately betrayed them into extravagances, in which it is often hard to decide whether the grotesque or the horrible more predominated. One convulsionist descended the long stairs of an infirmary head-foremost, lying on her back ; another caused herself to be attached, by a rope round her neck, to a hook in the wall. A third repeated her prayers while turning somersets. A fourth, suspended by the feet, with the head hanging down, remained in that position three-quarters of an hour. A fifth, lying down on a tomb, caused herself to be covered to the neck with baked earth mixed with sand and saturated with vinegar. A sixth made her bed, in winter, on billets of wood; a seventh on bars of iron. The Sister Felicite was in the habit of causing herself to be nailed to the cross, and of remaining there half an hour at a time, gayly conversing with the pious who surrounded her.⁴⁵ Another sister, named Scholastique, after long hesitation between different modes of mortification, having one day remarked the manner in which they constructed the pavement of the streets, had her dress tightly fastened below the knee, and then ordered one of the assistants to take her by the legs, and, with her head downward, to clash it repeatedly against the tiled floor, after the fashion of paviors, when using a rammer.

“If,” says Cahneil, “the idea had chanced to suggest itself to one of those theomaniacs, that disembowelling alive would be a sacrifice pleasing to the Supreme Being, she would undoubtedly have insisted upon being subjected to such a martyrdom.” ⁴⁶

The mental and physiological phenomena connected with this epidemic remain to be noticed, together with the theories and suggestions put forth by medical and other contemporary writers, in explanation of what has here been sketched, the substance, of which is usually admitted by these commentators, however incredible, when related at this distance of time, it may appear. Next month the subject will be continued.