=THE PROVOST AND THE MONKS.=
When the ceremony was over, the provost proceeded to the convent of the Franciscans, in whose cemetery the burial had taken place. He was a liberal man, and, though despising the monks, did not wish to do them wrong, even in appearance. The friars, already much irritated, did not understand what the magistrate wanted with them, and received him very coldly. 'As you were not called upon to do duty,' he told them, 'here are six gold crowns by way of compensation.' The monks, who had reckoned on the death of this lady as a great windfall, were by no means satisfied with the six gold pieces; and, even while taking them, looked sulkily at the widower, and swore to be revenged.
Not long after this, the provost having determined upon cutting down a wood he possessed near Orleans, was giving directions to his workmen, when two monks, following the narrow lanes running through the forest, arrived at the spot where the owner and the woodmen were at work, boldly addressed the former, and demanded in the name of the convent permission to send their waggon once a day during the felling to lay up their store. 'What!' answered the provost, whom the avarice of the monks had always disgusted, 'a waggon a day! Send thirty, my reverend fathers, but (of course) with ready money. All that I want, I assure you, is good speed and good money.'[650]
The two cordeliers returned abashed and vexed, and carried the answer to their superiors. This was too much: two affronts one after the other! The monks consulted together; they desired to be revenged by any means; such heresies, if they were tolerated, would be the ruin of the convents. They deliberated on the best manner of giving a striking lesson to the provost and to all who might be tempted to follow the example of his wife. 'These gentlemen, to be revenged, proceeded to devise a fraud,' says Calvin. Two monks particularly distinguished themselves among the speakers: brother Coliman, provincial and exorcist of great reputation among the grey friars, and brother Stephen of Arras, 'esteemed a great preacher.' These two doctors, wishing to teach the city that monks are not to be offended with impunity, invented a 'tragedy,' which, they thought, would everywhere excite a horror of Lutheranism.
Brother Stephen undertook to begin the drama: he shut himself up in his cell and composed, in a style of the most vulgar eloquence, a sermon which he fancied would terrify everybody. The news of a homily from the great preacher circulated through the city, and when the day arrived, he went up into the pulpit and delivered before a large congregation (for the church was crammed) a 'very touching' discourse, in which he pathetically described the sufferings of the souls in purgatory.... 'You know it,' he exclaimed, 'you know it. The unhappy spirits, tormented by the fire, escape; they return after death, sometimes with great tumult, and pray that some consolation may be given them. Luther, indeed, asserts that there is no purgatory.... What horror! what abominable impiety!' 'The friar forgot nothing,' says Beza, 'to convince his audience that spirits return from purgatory.' The congregation dispersed in great excitement; and after that the least noise at night frightened the devout. The way being thus prepared, the impudent monks arranged among themselves the horrible drama which was to avenge them on the provost and his wife.
=THE APPARITION IN THE CONVENT.=
On the following night the monks rose at the usual hour and entered the church, carrying their antiphonaires or anthem-books in their hands. They began to chant; their hoarse voices were intoning matins ... when suddenly a frightful tumult was heard, coming from heaven as it seemed, or at least from the ceiling of the church. On hearing this 'great uproar,' the chanting ceased, the monks appeared horrified, and Coliman, the bravest, moved forward, armed with all the weapons of an exorcist, and conjured the evil spirit; but the spirit said not a word. 'What wantest thou?' asked Coliman. There was no answer. 'If thou art dumb,' resumed the exorcist, 'show it us by some sign.' Upon this the spirit made another uproar. The hearers, not in the secret, were terror-stricken. 'All is going on well,' said Coliman, Stephen, and their accomplices; 'now let us circulate the news through Orleans.' The next day the friars visited some of the most considerable personages of the city who were among the number of their devotees. 'A misfortune has happened to us,' they said, without mentioning what it was; 'will you come to our help and be present at our matins?'
These worthy citizens, anxious to know what was the matter, did not go to bed, and went to the convent at midnight. The monks had already assembled in the church to chant their collects, anthems, and litanies; they provided good places for the devout laymen, and with trembling voices began to intone:
Domine! labia...
The words had hardly been uttered, when a frightful noise interrupted the chanting. 'The ghost! the ghost!' exclaimed the terrified monks. Then Coliman, who had 'the usual equipment when he wished to speak to the devil,' came forward, and, playing his part admirably, said, 'Who art thou?'—Silence.—'What dost thou want?'—Silence.—'Art thou dumb?'—Silence.—'If thou art not permitted to speak,' said Coliman, 'answer my questions by signs.... For Yes, give two knocks; and three for No. Now, tell me ... art thou not the ghost of a person buried here?' The ghost began to knock Yes. Then resumed Coliman: 'Art thou the ghost of such a one, or such a one?' naming in succession many of those who were buried in the church; but to each question the ghost answered No. After a long circuit, the exorcist came at last to the point he desired: 'Art thou the ghost of the provostess?' The spirit replied with a loud Yes. The mystery seemed about to be cleared up: a new act of the comedy began. 'Spirit, for what sin hast thou been condemned?' asked the exorcist: 'Is it for pride?'—No! 'Is it for unchastity?'—No! Coliman, after running through all the sins enumerated in Scripture, bethought himself at last, and said: 'Art thou condemned for having been a Lutheran?' Two knocks answered Yes, and all the monks crossed themselves in alarm. 'Now tell us,' continued the exorcist, 'why thou makest such an uproar in the middle of the night? Is it for thy body to be exhumed?'—Yes! There could no longer be any doubt about it: the provostess was suffering for her Lutheranism. The report had been prepared beforehand, but a few witnesses refused to sign it, suspecting some trick. The provincial concealed his vexation, and wishing to excite their imaginations still more strongly, he exclaimed: 'The place is profaned; let us leave it ... as the papal canons command.' Forthwith one of the monks caught up the pyx containing the corpus Domini; another seized the chalice; others took the relics of the saints and 'the rest of their tools;'[651] and all fled into the chapter-room, where divine service was thenceforward celebrated.