Case LII

There was, at Nantes, an unhappy woman who was tormented with a certain devil full of effrontery; this demon had appeared to her under a very handsome figure. Concealing his vile intentions, and making use of winning language, he had inspired her soul with favorable feelings towards him, and succeeded in subduing her will in entire obedience to his desires.

Her husband was a brave chevalier, who was entirely ignorant of this execrable intercourse, which continued for six years, at the end of which time, she became terrified, by the infamy of so much vilencss, and by the fear of God, dreading at every moment lest his fearful judgments should fall upon her. Having made her way to the feet of a priest, and confessed her sin, she incessantly visited holy places, and asked assistance of the saints; but no confession, no prayer, no almsgiving could bring her relief. Daily, the demon pursued her with his furious passion. At length the crime became notorious. It reached the ears of the husband, -who looked on his wife with horror. In the mean while, St. Bernard and his suite arrived. The unhappy woman rushed to his feet, and amidst torrents of tears confessed her horrible sufferings, the reiterated insults of the demon to whom she was a prey, and the uselessness of all she had done by the priest's order; she added that her oppressor had warned her of the approach of the holy man, and had forbidden her, with the most dreadful menaces, to present herself before him; saying that it would serve no purpose, since the abbe, once gone, he, who had been her greatest friend, would become her most cruel persecutor. At this, the servant of God consoled her by words full of kindness, and promised her the assistance of Heaven; and, as night was then approaching, he desired her to return to him on the following day, and to put her trust in the Lord.

In the morning she returned, and communicated to the man of God the blasphemies and menaces which her incubus had addressed to her. "Have no fear," said St. Bernard, "of his menaces; but take my staff, and lay it in your bed; then let the demon touch you if he can." The woman did as she was desired, lay down in her bed fortified by making the sign of the cross, and placed the staff beside her. The incubus soon arrived, dared not approach the bed, but furiously threatened the poor creature that her punishment should commence so soon as the saint departed. The Sabbath approached; the man of God desired that all the community should be called to the church by the bishop's proclamation. Accordingly, on that day, a vast multitude assembled in the church. St. Bernard, followed by two bishops, Geoffrey of Chartres, and Bricton of Nantes, mounted the gallery, and desired that all the attendants should hold lighted tapers in their hands. Himself, the bishops, and other clergy having so done, he publicly exposed the unheard-of and audacious acts of the demon; then, aided by the prayers of all the faithful present, he publicly anathematized the unclean spirit, and forbade him, by the authority of Christ, ever to approach either that or any other woman. All the sacred tapers being then extinguished, the power of the demon departed with 9 their light. The unhappy woman communed after having confessed, and her enemy never dared reappear. *