[206] From Charlotte Du Port.
The Seigneur of St. George and the Désorcelleur.
It is related that towards the end of the eighteenth century a number of country people were assembled in a farm-house in the parish of Ste. Marie-du-Castel, for the purpose of putting into practice the counter-spell described in the preceding paragraph, or one of a similar nature; for it is believed that the same end may be attained by setting a cauldron on the hearth, and boiling the heart with certain herbs, gathered with some peculiar precautions, and known only to the “désorcelleurs,” as the white-witches who generally conduct these ceremonies are called in the local dialect. The doors of the house, as is required in these cases, had been carefully closed and fastened, and the charm was, to all appearance, progressing favourably, when a knock was heard at the door. No one answered, for fear of breaking the spell, but all remained in breathless and awe-stricken silence, believing firmly that their incantation was working favourably and in accordance with their wishes. The visitor on the outside, who could plainly see that the house was not untenanted, grew impatient at not being admitted, and called out with a loud and authoritative voice, to know why an entrance was refused him. The voice was that of a gentleman residing in the neighbourhood, the Seigneur de St. George, a magistrate universally respected for his integrity, and beloved for his benevolence. The inmates of the dwelling durst no longer keep him out; the door was at last unbolted, but, as the common belief is that the first person who applies for admission after the spell has begun is the sorcerer, the assembled peasants were at their wits’ end to account for his presence.
The gentleman was not long in perceiving how matters stood. He lectured the assembly soundly on their folly and superstition, and, recognising among them the “désorcelleur,” whom he well knew to be a designing knave, making his profit out of the credulity of his neighbours, he drove him out of the house with some well-applied stripes from a dog-whip he chanced to have in his hand.
It is not known whether the Seigneur de St. George succeeded in convincing any of his neighbours of the folly of believing in witchcraft; it is rather thought, on the contrary, that from that day forward they considered him wiser than need be![207]
[207] From W. P. Métivier, Esq.
Love Spells.
“A love-potion works more by the strength of charm than nature.”—Collier, On Popularity.