Causes of Oppression are an Aspect of This 1731 Play About a Shocking Trial of An Age When Holiness Was Exalted

Included in this article is the complete text of this play about the scandalous trial of Catherine Cadière and Father Jean-Baptiste Girard.

 

 

Here Are Some Quotations of the Two Litigants Who Inspired This Nonfiction 'Ballad Opera'

 

(The art seen above are depictions of the first quoted passage of Catherine Cadière's memoirs as rendered by AI models Copilot, ChatGPT, Grok 3 and Gemini.)

 

(After God told Catherine to go to her bed chamber:) ". . . I was at once deprived of all my senses, and discovered the Three adorable Persons of the Trinity, especially the Father, who revealed to me, without reserve, his greatest Secrets.  I then comprehended that God the Father had existed from all Eternity, and before all Time; that by the Knowledge of himself he begot his Son, and that the mutual Love of these two produced the Holy Ghost, who is the undissoluble tie and bond of the two other Persons.  I likewise comprehended, that the Son was the object of his Father's Condescension, and the spotless Mirror of his adorable Perfections; that the Father is unproduced, and always producing, and that he is equally uncreated, incomprehensible, and free; and that they are all Three infinite, immutable, incomprehensible, uncreated, and free. The Power is the Father's, the Wisdom the Son's, and the Holy Love the Holy Ghost's."  (passage from Catherine's Lent journal, 11th day)

 

"He who has placed us together in his Bosom, will keep us inseparably united there, in time, and to all Eternity . . . So many, and so signal Graces, so often multiplied, require absolutely of you a boundless Fidelity and Resignation, without Reflections, and without Hesitation; add not so much Trouble as I have otherwise, and to that which your Pains in particular give me, the cutting Affliction of seeing you fail in your Duty to God, in any Point whatsoever."  (Letters from Father Girard to Catherine dated June 7 and June 15, 1730)

 

(After experiencing a vision of Jesus crucified for around 24 hours:) ". . . God the Father appeared to me and gave me to understand that he had united me to himself for all Eternity, to associate me in the particular Designs which he had upon his Son, for the Redemption of Mankind, the increase of his Glory, and to be the Object of his Condescension . . . Then, having perceived the Three adorable Persons of the Holy Trinity, they declared to me that except Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ, they had never honored or heaped upon any earthly Creature so many Favors and Graces as upon Mary-Catherine.  At the same Moment I perceived that the Father and the Son held in their Hands a Crown whose Beauty and Splendor I cannot express to you, because it is beyond all human Expression; and finding myself raised to such a Degree of Glory, I heard these Words; Daughter, receive this Crown of immortality and Glory, which I have designed you from all Eternity."  (Letter from Catherine to Father Girard dated July 22, 1730)

  

 

This article presents introductory information along with the 1731 text of an English translation of the 'new ballad opera' (play incorporating songs) performed in London entitled "The Wanton Jesuit: or Innocence Seduced."  This play is quoted in the entirety in this article with current spelling used for some words while brackets have been replaced with parentheses.  Having many years ago acquired photocopies of English translations of court records and other accounts of this case, this ballad opera is impressive to me as being amazingly similar to modern narrative visual entertainment (movies, TV shows, novels, stage plays and musicals).  I was surprised to find the character Father Girard using as common expressions for his day in 1731:  "Credit . . . Charitable Corporation . . . Extortion . . . Interest . . . defraud the poor Borrowers . . . embezzle the Company's Stock."  There are many moments of sexual innuendo with the dialogue, showing another aspect of entertainment that correlates with contemporary entertainment content nearly eight centuries later; with the added availability of pornography now being easily accessible online.

 

Considering how people have been oriented to engage in entertainment experiences for hundreds of years, a primary reason for this diversion replacing intellectual and emotional self-development is that so many people haven't the slightest idea about how to find the justifiable data that would make possible expansion of consciousness and understanding about metaphysical, spiritual and cosmological aspects of life — a cultural indoctrination of devastating limitation accorded to intellectual and spiritual self-realization.

 

One especially dismaying comparison between the 18th century and today in regard to this 'ballad-opera' and currently popular 'computer games' is that the latter are to even a further extent devoid of any thoughtful value beyond the individual engaging in an interlude of reflexive maneuvering as a form of novelty experience — or illusion of experience — the desire for experience being the person's true objective.

 

The Preface by the translator begins with an affirmation: "The following ballad-opera is a faithful translation of the French original: nor is there one word added to the title, or any character omitted in the Dramatis Personae; and I have been so very careful (as it is mentioned in the Introductory Scene between Poet and Player) in the preservation of the idiom, as the allowance, usually made in translations would admit."

 

Today recent widespread social orientations and movements that are expressed with such terms as 'Me Too,' 'Cancel Culture' and 'Wokism' show conceivable parallels with some of the situations chronicled in this astonishing play.  This blogger is providing introductory paragraphs presenting important background information about the people involved in the case who are the characters named in this play.

 

As previously mentioned, during my younger years extensive research was conducted and I wrote a first draft of a play (or potential musical) entitled "Nostalgia for Demons" about the case of Mary Catherine Cadière and Jean-Baptiste Girard during the Ancien Régime in France.  I completed the first draft of my play in 1981 and literary agents submitted the play to top New York producers yet no option contract resulted.  I still have the photocopies of many case testimonials that were collected; however, precisely what occurred between the two passionate friends beyond a few direct attestations concerning Catherine's supernatural experiences remain in some ways subject to speculation.  What may be read in the written records with precise 'memorials' according to the two litigants conceivably may have been influenced by others involved in the trial.  The Justification of M. C. Cadiere is sometimes vague about specifying the aspects of rape beyond a few specific details, one being "he would uncover me, and rove with his Hands all over my Body."  An account is offered regarding her having once been coerced into retracting her Complaint against Girard and stating that he was innocent.  These circumstances involving a potion given to her by Sister Guiol evince an aspect of known interaction within that age of society although in 2025  this rationale may be assumed as having been a contrivance.

 

The predicament between an immature devotee and her spiritual director continuously raises the question of whom in this relationship—with a succession of a priest's sexual predilections indicted—is being most sincere and forthcoming in relation to each particular incident and to the events in the entirety as can be learned according to testimonials.  In comparison, all that this blogger has written throughout my case study book Testament and in my autobiographical articles offer precise and unexaggerated reporting to document my personal experiences.  Another mystical figure of the ancien regime is Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772).

 

A recounting of the varied explicit sexual and supernatural circumstances that became known during court proceedings may be read in The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology (1959) by Rossell Hope Robbins.  This metaphysical author and blogger isn't one to seek easy answers to the entire quandary that may involve a young woman's infatuation with an esteemed priest (around the age of 50) to whom she once confided that God had recommended her to become his protégé.  Individual intentions of people about potential assumptions about what data has been in the past and what today is accepted as socially 'relevant' for consideration regarding any specific subject provide a basis for careful reflection when one studies in detail any documented court proceeding, now or from a past epoch. 

I personally don't have any conclusions to offer in regard to honesty or dishonesty of the two trial litigants concerning particular developments throughout the legal proceedings or events in the entirety when considering the numerous accusations that arose.

 

Mentioned as "a note on the play" at the beginning of the draft of my own adaptation that was circulated to stage producers is the following — The events in this play are based on authentic memorials, court records and other sources documenting the trial of Father John Baptiste Girard on an accusation of Quietism, Sorcery, Incest, Abortion and Subornation before the great chamber of Parliament at Aix, at the insistence of Mary Catherine Cadière in 1732.  Records of this trial published in England that year include The Case of Mrs. Mary Catherine Cadiere . . ., The Tryal of Father John-Baptist Gerard . . ., A Compleat Translation of the Memorial of the Jesuit Father John Baptist Girard, Rector of the Royal Seminary of the Chaplains of the Navy . . ., A Compleat Translation of the Sequel of the Proceedings of Mary Catherine Cadiere (including her Justification account) . . . and The Defence of F. John Baptist Girard . . . .

 

In Girard's Memorial are included translations of letters of Catherine, Girard and others involved with the case.  Many pages consist of A Memorial of the Favours, which, by the Lord's great mercy, I enjoy'd throughout Lent, in the Year 1730.  Catherine's brother, the Abbe, who transcribed his sister's letters to Girard.  Because Catherine's descriptions of her visionary experiences relating to God are so extraordinary is no reason to assume pretense or imagination due to being extraordinary.  This blogger has experienced some extraordinary dreamstate experiences on some occasions and have rarely devoted myself to writing them down although I have on some occasions.  Contemporary people may not realize how much time and effort was devoted to the writing of correspondence between people such as this fascinating couple who are the focus of the scandal.

(Copilot art)  

On the 13th day of Lent, Catherine described an experience when she "perceived the Throne of God, and at the same time nine Heavens, wherein every Saint is placed according to the degree of Glory which he had merited . . ."  This instance correlates with various cultures and religious traditions along with data shared in a previous blog article (as shown below).

 

This blogger also had worked on a screenplay version of the play and had begun work on a nonfiction novelization of this scandal at the time when all aspects of my life completely changed in 1995, setting me on an entirely new path in life.

 

Toulon circa the 18th Century (similar to art by Claude Vernet)

  

 

Here are some introductory excerpts from my nonfiction novelization.

Toulon, France.  Summer, 1728.

 

Marie-Catherine Cadiere was eighteen years old when she decided that it would be to the advantage of her soul to have as her confessor and advisor Jean Baptiste-Girard.

 

As her father had died when she was an infant, leaving her mother a widow with four children, of whom Catherine was the youngest, this Jesuit priest, forty-six years old, somber and kind, showed some of the ideal characteristics of the man whose loss Catherine had felt so profoundly.

 

Girard was handsome for his age.  He was tall and lithe; his features swarthy.  Renowned for his intelligence and charisma, he was known to be a man of considerable influence; not only as a favored instrument of God but one who was admired by the king, Louis the 15th.

 

She was lovely in an ethereal way, her inconsistent health having heightened a state of being in which her first consideration was always her quest for inner perfection — a natural predilection of the epoch, embodying the essential aspiration to strive for virtue and seek redemption. 

Born during a catastrophic famine, Catherine and her contemporaries had witnessed the appalling ravages of the plague.  While growing up, she had been ill often  and perpetually surrounded by death's harbingers.  The society's preoccupation with the afterlife and spiritual well-being had been heightened by severe declines in agriculture, trade and industry.  Amidst the growing hopelessness in Europe, the Christian virtues offered a compelling distraction in the ritualized rendezvous with the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

 

The most revered mean and women were those who had been distinguished, after their deaths, as saints.  The passion they aroused in individuals like Catherine can only be compared in contemporary society to that sometimes incited by popular recording artists, famous athletes or film stars.  But none of the professional exhibitions or the details of the private lives of these celebrities comes close to the height of debacle that Catherine's life reached when it seemed within her grasp to someday be regarded as a saint.

 

While the first year of Catherine and Girard's association passed without anything extraordinary happening, in June 1729 Catherine began speaking of intimate communications with God: inward lights, consolations and signal favors.  She was enjoying the final days of her impressionable teen years—she would be twenty on November 12—when, as quoted from her Justification—"I fell sick, and twas on account of this Illness, that Father Girard began to come visit me, when he used to lock himself up alone with me in my chamber . . ."

 

Catherine, along with the other members of the Third Order of St. Thersa, were impressed by what Father Girard had achieved.  He had been born in the city of Dole and began his career as a teacher.  Then, after moving to Aix, he had been a confessor in nunneries and acquired a large number of penitents, including Sister Remusat who was reputed to show all the characteristics of a saint.  Girard had acquired a distinguished reputation for his virtue as well as his uncommon talent as a preacher prior to being sent to Toulon as rector of the Seminary of the Chaplains of the Navy.  The seminary had been entrusted to the Jesuits to wean the young priests there from the control of the Lazarist Fathers.  However, the previously-appointed Jesuits had proved themselves incompetent for the task.  One was regarded a fool and the other, the elderly Father Sabatier, was unpopular for his harsh temper and had been blamed for openly consorting with a mistress who was a married woman, therefore being in part responsible for her husband's subsequent suicide.

 

The rivals of the Jesuits were causing even greater scandals.  The Observatine Fathers, who served as spiritual directors to the nuns of Saint Claire of Ollioules, were perceived by some as living in open concubinage with their penitents and Father Superintendent Aubany had gone as far as raping a thirteen-year-old girl who was a pupil at the nunnery.  He had escaped the vengeance of the child's family by fleeing to Marseilles.

 

Even before his arrival at Toulon on April 8, 1728, Girard had one devoted ally who lived there, Mrs. Guiol, whose father had been a cabinet-maker.  She had met Girard in Marseilles, where her daughters lived in a Carmelite convent after having been a schoolmate of Marie-Catherine Cadiere.  Another daughter was a lay sister with the Ursulines of Toulon, a society of teaching nuns, whose parlor, frequented by their pupils' mothers, formed a half-way house between the cloister and the outside world.  It was here that Father Girard came in contact with the ladies of the town, including Miss Gravier, an unmarried lady of forty who was the daughter of a former contractors of government works in the Royal Arsenal, and Gravier's close friend and cousin Miss Reboul, the daughter of a ship's captain.  Those two were part of a growing circle of Girard's followers who has chosen him as their confessor.  In addition to Catherine, this coterie also included Miss Laugier, a seamstress; and Miss Batarelle, the daughter of a port waterman.

 

Catherine and Laugier were neighbors with Catherine being the younger by two years.  Laugier had lost her father and was living in poverty with her widowed mother when Catherine befriended her by regularly bringing her food and clothes.  They saw each other often and Catherine would sometimes let Laugier sleep with her.

 

Catherine's prayer group enjoyed small suppers together, but nothing gave them more pleasure than reading about and then discussing with tears and sighs a collection of letters concerning the miracles of Sister Remusat.  How fortunate they considered themselves that the good Father Girard who'd led the famous nun so near to heaven was now leading them too.  In August 1729, Mrs. Cadiere gave her daughter permission to travel to Marseilles with Mrs. Guiol to meet the illustrious sister.  Catherine knew the sad condition of the nun's health but was startled to discover the true proportions to which her physical condition had deteriorated as her prestige had flourished.  Upon being introduced to Sister Remusat, Catherine saw that her appearance was little different than that of a withered corpse.  Catherine's response was to be lost in admiration for her high perfection.

 

Catherine found Guiol to be an enlightening comrade, one with much knowledge to share about Father Girard, for whom Guiol had also been a major source in his becoming acquainted with the details of Catherine's life.  Catherine heard the woman relate how her own life had been touched by the miraculous: once, upon finding a cask of wine gone sour, Guiol said a prayer and then discovered the wine was good again.  On another occasion, she claimed to have felt the pain of a crown of thorns as God let her share one of the sensations of Jesus's great sacrifice before being comforted by angels, who gifted her with a magnificent dinner upon which she feasted with Father Girard.

 

While Catherine's eldest brother married, the other two would become priests: the middle brother, Etienne, a Jacobin friar and the youngest a parish priest.  At this time in Catherine's life, Etienne was enrolled at the Preachers' College and would prove himself not to share his sister's and younger brother's veneration for Girard.  Etienne showed the great dislike for the Jesuits that was shared by so many in the Dominican Order and had even circulated through the town a satiric essay about Jesuit immorality.  

 

The year of Catherine's birth was especially harsh for France with the combined adversities of plague, a severe winter and famine.  At this time, only the eldest of Elizabeth Cadiere's three boys was living at home and helping his father in the shop.  Catherine's home was poorly ventilated and the family's diet barely adequate.  Along with her brothers, Catherine suffered during her childhood from glandular swellings that sometimes broke out into open sores, and she also had the small-pox.  She grew tall without growing robust and even as she became a teenager her youthful expectations were tempered by the uncertainty of mere survival.  He main solace were the lengthy church services that she attended daily.

 

The size of the town was comparatively small in relation to the 26,000 inhabitants living there, allowing the disease to rage after refugees from the stricken city of Marseilles had been accepted into Toulon.  It would be the last horrendous appearance of the scourge in Western Europe, killing half the population Marseilles and filling the city's streets with decomposing corpses that would be devoured by marauding dogs.

 

The popular culture of the epoch seems to have been dominated by spiritual contemplation and the miracles and wonder associated with the lives of the saints, such as Saint Theresa and Catherine's patron saint, Saint Catherine of Genoa.  Catherine at twelve endured the closing of the churches and the suppressing of the celebrations for all feasts and holy days, including Christmas.  Toulon would become less deserted as time progressed, but for Catherine the city would always seem a place of ruin and mourning with the surviving desperate men always outnumbered by widows and orphans.

 

Longtime readers may recall that when I experimented with a session of hypnotic regression with hypnotherapist David Botsford (with tape recording transcripts included in TESTAMENT), I found that personally there would be no deep trance experience for myself; therefore, when asked to remember back to specific time periods from past epochs of civilization, the two people with whom I most identified were the two women whom I'd involved myself in a lengthy period of research in relation to each — one of these being Catherine.  As previously commented about testimonials comprising the annals of 'reincarnation' — When one considers the subject of reincarnation, there are two distinct orientations.  First, an individual might be the physical and spiritual reincarnation of someone from a previous time period — expressing the same 'soul' yet with each 'incarnation' acquiring individual life experiences and memories.  Secondly, when a transcendental communicator compares a contemporary person with a famous person who achieved some manner of renown during a past epoch, the basis may be to express similar symbolic or metaphorical characteristics of some sort.

 

detail images from depictions of the Tribunal of Aix that include a representation of Catherine

 

 

Three chapters of 83 pages in Jules Michelet's Satanism and Witchcraft (subtitled A Study in Medieval Superstition 1862) relate his perspectives of this scandal, considering Catherine the obvious victim and divulging that when three of five trial magistrates resolved that Catherine should be hanged by the neck and strangled, the public became unified that corruption of the justice system was now made  blatant by such a drastic intended penalty.  Finally, 12 counselors declared Girard innocent while 12 others condemned him to the stake as a sorcerer.  The court President gave the decisive vote and acquitted Girard of the charge of sorcery and handed him over to the ecclesiastical authorities while Catherine at age 21 was accordingly "branded as a slanderer . . . What became of her?  To this day no one has been able to discover."

 

While describing circumstances leading to the trial, Michelet had previously commented: "Was Girard a wizard, as was alleged at a later stage?  Really the hypothesis would seem almost credible when we see how easily the man, without being either young or handsome, had fascinated so many female hearts . . . For the time being he seemed to have bewitched the whole town."

 

Beyond the ample mane seen in this evidently hyperbolic drawing, there are depictions of Father Girard that caricature him as having the most vile and scheming nature conceivable while the countenance of Catherine is lovingly rendered as if embodying the  quintessence of youthful purity and erring devotion. 

 

THE

WANTON JESUIT:

OR,

INNOCENCE SEDUCED.

 

 

Dramatis Personae.

 

M E N.

Father Girard                          Mr. Pullen.

Father Sabatier                         Mr. Giles.

Father Cadiere                          Mr. Jones.

Abbe Cadiere                            Mr. Cross.

Father Aubany                      Mr. Warwall.

Monsieur Chaudon                     Mr. Cole.

Robin                                      Mr. Radnor.

 

 WOMEN.

Miss Cadiere                           Mrs. Pullen.

Lady d'Aubert                             Mrs. Ray.

Lady Beaussiere                      Mrs. Clarke.

La Guiol                                  Mrs. Morse.

L'Almande                             Miss Dancer.

La Batterelle                           Mrs. Bignal.

La Graviere                            Mrs. Radnor.

La Rebould                               Mrs. Dove.

La Laguiere                              Mrs. Jones.

Mob, Servants, attendants, etc.

SCENE TOULON.

 

 INTRODUCTION.

 

Enter Poet and Player.

PLAYER.

Well, Sir, I wish you good Success; but to be ingenuous, give me leave to tell you, that, in my Opinion, the Town will not relish your French Opera: And for my own Part, I hate every Thing that comes from France, except their Wine and Brandy.

 

Po.  Truly, Sir, you have produced one of the strongest Arguments in the World to induce me to believe that the Town will approve it; for our Quality are zealous Biggots to every thing that comes from the Gallic Shore.  And as our Gentry follow the Example of the Nobility, so People of inferior Rank imitate the Gentry.  Witness French Fashions, and — something else that will be nameless.

 

Pla.  I agree with you in these Particulars; but French Comedies at the best cannot stand in Competition with English farce, and if it be so, then, consequently, a French Opera must needs be as insipid as a Droll in Bartholomew-Fair.

 

Po.  My sentiments differ very widely from yours in that Respect, for their Dramatic Writings are so far from being flat, that they carry with them too much Levity, which is the Genius of the Country; and I will be so bold to say, without a Breach of Modesty, that in my Translation I have preserved the French Idiom to a nicety. — Have you any other Objection?

 

Pla.  Yes, Sir.  The Story, methinks, of Father Girard and Miss Cadiere is worn Threadbare; the World is surfeited with it, and I do not apprehend that anything new can be spoke upon the same Subject.

 

Po.  By the same Parity of Reason, if there be any of what you allege, you may condemn all the Writings of the most learned Men in the world from henceforwards; for you leave no Room for a Man to display his Talent, even though he may be so Happy as to be endowed with the brightest Parts, both natural and acquired.  Does not the Alphabet consist of Four and twenty Letters?

 

Pla.  I allow it, Sir; but, methinks, this is a very odd Question.

 

Po.  It may appear to be so at the first View, but upon Examination it will prove otherwise.  How many Myriads of Words are raised from those Letters?  And how many millions of Sentences do those Words produce when they are ranged in a due and proper Order?  Now, according to your Rule, these words, being daily repeated, ought to be nauseous to everybody, and therefore laid aside, and in this Case, new Languages must be framed, or the World be deprived of the Means whereby they open their Minds, and convey their Thoughts to each other.

 

Pla.  Pardon me, Sir, I do not conceive how such an Inference can be drawn from what I spake.

 

Po.  In my humble Judgement, it is a natural Deduction from the Premises laid down by you.  But you will grant, I suppose, that Wit, good Sense, and the Beauty of Fiction, consist in a regular Distribution of Words; and let them be ever so old and common, yet when they are marshaled according to Art, they will captivate the Mind by something that is new and entertaining.  If twenty Men undertook to write upon the same Subject, the Sentiments of each of them would be different.

 

Pla.  Sir, I consider with you in what you say.

 

Po.  Then, good Sir, what do you think of Father Girard and Miss Cadiere.  Is it impossible to dress that Story in such a Manner, as to make it acceptable to the World?

 

Pla.  I acquiesce; and I wish that you may give as much Satisfaction to the Audience as you have to me.

 

Po.  I make no doubt of it: For I have gained one Point, which you will say is very material: I am in the Ladies' good Graces, they have promised to support me; and, as the English are the politest Gentlemen in the Universe, I persuade myself they will be so complaisant as to countenance what the fair Sex approve.

 

Pla.  I must own, Sir, that you have played the Politician, and if the Head of every Minister of State were as well furnished as yours, the People would have no Cause to murmur and complain — (a Bell rings,)  But I perceive the Actors are dressed, and it is time to entertain the Audience.

ACT I.  SCENE I.

SCENE  A Chamber.

Father Girard alone.

AIR I.   A Lovely Lass to a Friar came, etc.

 

A Jesuit is a clever Man;

     When a Maid comes to Confession,

He first does absolve, then next trepan,

     And brings her to Oppression:

          Then he Kisses,

          And does all he can

To multiply Transgression.

 

What Libertine Lives do Priests and Friars lead!  They have the Privilege of Access to their Penitents at all Times in private, and under a Notion of infusing good Principles into them, they revel in forbidden Pleasures without Suspicion.  But our Society has Advantages which all the others cannot pretend to; if a criminal Prosecution be commenced against one of us, so great is our Interest among the People, that though the Fact be fully proved; they look upon it to be malicious and unjust; and as we are the wealthiest of all Fraternities, we spare no Cost to get a Brother Jesuit acquitted, by suborning false Witnesses, and bribing the Judges. — Corruption is absolutely necessary sometimes, and the Corrupter finds his Account in it. — But here comes one whom I shall corrupt; I dote upon her, and find no Satisfaction but in her Company.

 

SCENE II.

Father Girard, Miss Cadiere.

AIR II.     Tweed Side.

 

  Cad.    How happy am I in my Choice!

       My Father Confessor is one

  Whose Piety makes me rejoice,

       And shortly I shall be a Nun.

  What, though I'm unskillful and young,

       His Doctrine my Soul does inspire;

  The words that proceed from his Tongue,

       Have filled me with rapturous Fire.

 

Gir.  My dear Angel, you are welcome; how fares my pretty Child?  Methinks it is an Age since I have seen you.

Cad.  O Father, I have been brought to the very Verge of Death by an intermitting Fever, which continued for the Space of fourteen Days; I had abandoned all Thoughts of this World, expecting every Minute to have launched into the next.

Gir.  Why did you not send for me?  You know, my dear Child, I am willing to attend you at all Hours.  It was unkindly done not to acquaint me with your Indisposition.

Cad.  I often wished to see you, but was unwilling to give you so much Trouble.

Gir.  My charming Devotee, what you are pleased to call a Trouble, would have been a Pleasure to me, and I should esteem it a Happiness if I could contribute to ease your Pain, and mitigate your Grief.

Cad.  You are the only Person who can best perform that task, and as a Preparative to my future Peace and Tranquility, I supplicate you to hear my Confession.

Gir.  As by Virtue of my Function I am obliged to discharge my duty therein even to a Stranger, much more I am bound to hear you confess, who are under my immediate Care and Direction, and for whom I have the tenderest Affection.  Tell me, my dear Child, will you not once give yourself up to me.  (He Stoops and Kisses her.)

Cad.  What strange Emotion do I find within me! What have you done, good Father?  My Heart goes Pit a Pat, my fluttering Spirits dance a nimble round, and a glowing Warmth has seized every Part about me.  O Father, through every Vein a thrilling Joy does pass, with unutterable Pleasures I gaze upon you, and I could this Moment — O spare my Tongue the rest — (She looks wishfully upon him.)  This Moment I give myself up to you.

Gir.  So, I have spread my Net and covered the Partridge.  (aside) — Thus in my Arms encircled, let me embrace and hold thee nearest to my Heart.

AIR III.     Moggy Lawder.

 

Gir.  O take a Woman in the Mind,  

             If you design to win her.

Cad.  I hope, good Sir, you will be kind,

             But make me not a Sinner.

Gir.  Can I forbear when your bright Charms,

             Like Angels, do befriend me.

Cad.  O now from thy bewitching Arms,

             The Saints above defend me.

(Exit.)

SCENE III.

Mrs. Guiol.

I think the Devil is in Father Girard; he's a mere Parson Bellswagger, and by his good Will would kiss every pretty Woman in the Parish: Not a Maid can escape him.  He is so dexterous in tipping the Velvet, that from that Instant he sets every Heart on a Flame.  If the English Ladies and Merchants' Wives, who want Heirs to their Estates, were but half so well acquainted with him as I am, they would come hither in Swarms, and not labor in vain in their own Country.  He would quickly give them their Bellies full, and send them home so well pleased, that at the Expiration of ten Months they would return with joyful Hearts, and dance a Jig to the same Tune.

AIR IV.          O Jenny, Jenny where hast, etc.

O Ladies, what is it you mean to do?

Remember you are now in your Prime;

Fear no Denial,

Make but a Tryal,

Do not lose your Teeming-Time.

SCENE IV.

Mrs. Guiol. L'Allemande.

Allem.  A good Morning to you, Mrs. Guiol, have you seen the Father Rector?

 

Gui.  No, Madame, I suppose he is gone to visit his Penitents.

 

Allem.  I wish I had never seen his face, or at least not have listened to his deluding Tongue.  O Mrs. Guiol, he has ruined me, I am undone forever: Frightful Visions perplex my Mind, and I can find no Rest by Day or Night.  While I am thus agitated, like some bold Ravisher, the lustful Jesuit laid hold on the Opportunity to gratify his beastial Appetite.

 

Gui.  This is the common Method with all his Devotees; but Custom will make a Thing light, which at first seemed a Burden.

 

Allem.  I thought I had been the only Person whom he made unhappy.

 

Gui.  Alas, Allemande, he is so complete a Rover as any Nobleman; as always in Pursuit of fresh Game, and never tired.

 

Allem.  At this Rate he will soon have a Seraglio, and outdo the Great Turk in Variety of Women.

 

Gui.  I believe he is upon a Par with him already, and I do not see how he can avoid it; for he lives in Ease, is absorbed in Voluptuousness, but as nice in his Choice as a Courtier, and pampering his Body like a Chaplain to a Prime Minister of State; puts his Blood into a Ferment, and Nature (as Physicians say) will at such a Crisis require Evacuation.

AIR V.     The Lass of Patie's Mill.    

 

In vain is all your Grief,

          Your care now lay aside;

In vain you seek Relief,

              Then follow still your Guide,

By him directed be,        

             And let your Sorrow cease;

       From Doubt he'll set you free,

               And to your Mind give Peace.

 

Allem.  Are you a Prophetess, Guiol?

 

Gui.  No truly, Allemande; however, without pretending to be Second-sighted, I can foretell that I have declared will come to pass; and though your Spirits are now sunk down to your Heels, your Heart will soon be as light as a Feather.  

 

Allem.  I shall rejoice when I see that happy Day.  But oh!

AIR VI.     I am a poor Shepherd undone.

 

How wretched a Woman am I!

     Betrayed, for ever undone;

My folly too late I decry,            

   No Help is under the Sun.

In a Trance I lay all alone,         

   Then like a subtle old Fox,

Came Girard (to Venery prone,)

            And opened my Conjuring-Box.

And alas poor Creature!            

 My Heart is filled with Fear;        

  I wish — but all in vain,               

    A Virgin I wish I were.       

 

Gui.  Come, come, Allemande, you will be of another Opinion in a little Time; let me tell you, that as your whining and pining will not avail you, you had better give over, and never think of what is past.  Bless me, my dear!  There would be a thin Appearance of young Ladies at some Courts, if every one of them showed half as much Remorse for their Backslidings, as you do.  Cheer up, and display the Gaiety of a French Lady, or the Vivacity of an English one: a Belle Femmé in Great Britain makes no more of a Slip, provided she be not taken in the Trap, than a Coqueté does of being seen in an Hackney Coach with a raking young Lord.

 

Allem.   Have the Court Ladies no Conscience?

 

Gui.  Conscience! the bare Mention of such a Bug-bear Word would fling them into the Vapors.  Conscience, quoth'a! no, no, Allemande, Conscience and Religion are as much out of fashion, as Honesty and Plain-dealing.  Ballet and Quadrille are their Paternoster; Gold is the Goddess they adore; and you shall see a young Lady, who can scarce write her own Name, flip the Cards, or set them with as much Dexterity, as if she had served an Apprenticeship to the greatest Sharper in Town.

 

Allem.  Does Play run deep among them?

 

Gui.  Very frequently.

 

Allem.  I suppose they always make a Deposit.

 

Gui.  No truly, when they happen to be stripped, they play upon Honor, and Debts of that Kind are generally paid with the Money that should discharge their Tradesmen's Bills; but if they are not punctual to the Day appointed, they set so great a Value upon their Honor (as they call it) and have so little Regard for their Persons, that they pledge the one to redeem the other.

 

Allem.  That is in other Words, they Shipwreck their Virtue and Reputation to gratify the Itch of Gaming — Well, Guiol, I would not lead such a Life, if I could thereby obtain the Wealth of India.

 

Gui.  Ah! my Dear, when we go to Rome we must live as the Romans do.  Gaming is reckoned an essential Qualification amongst the Ladies; and she who does not venture forty or fifty pistols every Night, must expect the Lash of malicious Tongues, and be censured as much, when her Back is turned, as a Prude who quits her Cards when the Bell Tolls, under a Pretense of repairing to her Devotion.

 

Allem.  Mrs. Guiol, if you can spare an Hour or two, I shall be proud of your company.

 

Gui.  I accept the Favor, on Condition that you dispel those Clouds that hang about you; and I assure you, that fretting is as great a Foe to a pretty Lady as Jealousy, and will furrow a handsome Face before the Autumn of Life draws near.

 

Allem.  I will endeavor to conform myself to every Thing you desire.

AIR VII.     Would you have a young virgin.

 

I plainly perceive 'tis a Folly to grieve,                          

And therefore from Sorrow my Mind I'll reprieve,          

Then Music harmonious shall sweetly, sweetly             

Charm my  Ears, and my Heart relieve.                        

Blushes no more shall be seen in my Face,                 

But, like the Court Ladies, I'll laugh at disgrace,           

     Cooing                                   

     And Wooing,                          

     With Dancing                         

     And Prancing                         

My Fancy shall please, and by Turnstake place.  (Exit.)

 

SCENE V.

 

A Room, Father Girard rising out of the Chair of Confession, raises up Miss Cadiere, who kneeled down, and kisses her.

 

Gir.  I now have given you Absolution, my dear Child — Concerning the visionary Scenes, with which you are affected, though some of them may be frightful, yet consider that those which represent to you the Beatitudes above, make a double Recompence for the others that produce Horror; and the latter are nothing more than touchstones to try your Constancy and Perseverance.

 

Cad.  But, Father, you have not eased my anxious Mind by solving the other Scruple.

 

Gir.  'Tis true, my Angel, (He strokes her face) I now come to it.  As to what relates to your inability of offering your Petitions to the Saints, be not concerned about it; it is indeed a necessary Step to lead People to Perfection, but when they have carried that Point, there is no further Occasion for it — Remember my last Instruction, Forget yourself, and be entirely passive; have no Will of your own, neither listen to any Scruples: You must obey me in every Thing as my little Child, who thinks nothing difficult that her Father requires.

 

Cad.  I will submit myself entirely to you, and implicitly follow your Directions.  

 

Gir.  Go to your Chamber, my dear Charmer; I will be with you instantly, and see the great Miracle performed.

 

AIR VIII.     O Bessy Bell

 

Cad.  Into the Air, can Flesh and Blood  

               Be carried by the Spirit?             

Gir.  This Thing, by you not understood,

               The Fruit is of your Merit.            

Cad.  How can that be? for we are prone

               To Frailty by our Nature;              

Gir.  Your scruples banish, and be gone,

               My charming, lovely Creature.    

(Exit Cadiere)

 
Gir.  The Doctrine of Quietism is an infallible Bait to catch an overzealous Gudgeon; the Credulous pin their faith upon Priest's Sleeve, and I will undertake to prove, that by an outward Shew of Sanctity and Mortification their weak Minds, like softened Wax, receive a deep Impression.  He that carries his Beads in his Hands, and numbers them with a Grace, will make more Proselytes to his Opinion, then all the Missionaries in China.  (Exit.)

 

The End of the First Act.

 

 

ACT II.  SCENE I. 

 

Enter Father Girard with a Scourge in his Hand.

 

GIRARD

 

Heretics may condemn the Use of Flogging, but we Catholics have passed a Decree in its Favor, and esteem it to be a necessary Discipline; 'tis as great a Provocative as Cantharides or Viper Broth, for it irritates the Blood, and gives new Vigor to our flagging Spirits.  With what Patience and Resignation did my dear Cadiere endure the lash! at last, her Virgin Modesty gained the Ascendant, and reflecting on her having exposed herself naked to my eager Eyes, she blushed and fainted in my Arms.  I gently laid her down, and viewed each tempting Part about her. — Such breasts!  Such a Neck! and such a — Skin!

 

AIR IX.     Jockey hath gotten a Wife.

 

I got to her Garden by Stealth,                 

     A Garden abounding with Pleasure; 

A Rose I snatched from the Bush,             

     More precious than Mexico Treasure.

  

SCENE II.

 

Father Girard, Guiol leering on him.

 

Gui.  Well, Father, I need not ask any Questions. — If I have any Skill in Physiognomy, I may venture to affirm, that the Work is done — Poor Polly Cadiere! — She was a Maid when you went to her, but if you did not make her a Woman before you left her, I am very much mistaken in my Man. — Is she not one of  Us, Father?

 

Gir.  Truly, Guiol, it is even as you say. — It would be unreasonable in me to conceal anything from you, whom I have made my Confidant.

 

Gui.  Have you made me nothing else, good Father?

 

Gir.  I know not anybody so capable of resolving that Question as yourself.  I must own I used my Endeavor.

 

Gui.  Yes, kind Father, with a Recitative — You are a true Cock of the Game, and must have a Stroke at everyone that comes near you. — If I guess right, the Example of Jupiter is more agreeable to your Inclination and Genius, than the Precepts of St. Peter.  Jove was reckoned a God among the Heathens, but if he were now upon Earth, we might pronounce him a Jesuit, or rather a Student under the Direction of a Father Rector.

 

Gir. What can induce you to be of that Opinion, Guiol?

 

Gui.  Why truly, though he loved a pretty Girl with as much Ardor as any of your Society, yet he was obliged to have Recourse to Stratagems before he could accomplish his Designs.  Your Society, commands the Liberty of Ingress and Regress to all your Penitents, but Jupiter could not arrive at the Vale of Bliss, till he (Proteus-like) had metamorphosed himself into various Shapes.  He was a Swan with Leda; a Bull with Europa; and when he could not bribe the Guards of Acrisius, he changed himself into a Shower of Gold, and by that crafty Wile found a Reception in Danae's Lap.

 

Gir.  I thank you, Guiol, for this kind Memento.  I profess in verbum Sacerdotis, that the Promise I made you had elapsed my Memory, but I will perform it. — Here, my careful Harbinger, I give you this (Kisses her) and with it many Thanks for your good Officies.

 

Gui.  I should be better pleased, if you would give me something else.  But I forgot that you made a large Payment today, and if I make a Demand, I might sweep all the Cash in your Shop.  I will therefore allow you time to recruit, and when you have filled your empty Bags, you may be able to answer my Draught.

 

Gir.  Believe me, Guiol, I am so far from being a Bankrupt, that I can pay your Bill upon Sight.  But if your Suspicion takes Air, it may blast my Credit.

 

Gui.  An unguarded Expression of that Nature would certainly be detrimental to you, who have Correspondents in all the Towns and Cities in France;  especially with our Sex, to whom you are very beneficial, whether they are married or single women.

 

Gir.  Ours is a Charitable Corporation; we relieve the Necessirous, and are so far from following the common Method of Extortion, that we take no Interest, nor do we defraud the poor Borrowers, or embezzle the Company's Stock.

 

Gui.  I acknowledge it; but, methinks, Charity among the rich Clergy is as great a Miracle, as any that is performed at the Grave of the Abbe Paris.  As for your part, Father, you cheerfully distribute your Alms among all that are in Distress.

 

AIR X.     Black Joke

 

The cock, that in the Morning crows,       

With his cackling Mates to the Barn Door goes

     His Breakfast to seek, and Hunger appease

But when a Grain of Wheat he does find, 

To his favorite Hen he first proves kind,

     The Morsel he drops which he hopes will please,

She takes it with a careless Air,                  

To scrape for more he does repair,             

          Then to his Mate                  

          He gives the Wheat,             

And fluttering Wings displaying his Pride,  

Something more pleasing gives her beside.      

 

Gir.  This is very apropos, Guiol. — But how fare my Devotees of your Acquaintance?

 

Gui.  As you left them, good Father, except Allemande, who has relapsed, and curses you by Bell, Book, and Candle.

 

Gir.  Oh that I were a Bishop!  I would excommunicate that Wayward Creature, fulminate Anathemas upon her, and interdict every Parish in Toulon.  I have brought twenty Girls to my Lure in less Time that I could prevail with that conscientious Fool to embrace my Tenets.  What Business has she with Remorse and Scruples? they manifestly make it appear that she was not bred at Court.  But 'tis no Matter.

 

AIR XI.    Is she gone, is she gone. 

 

Let her go, let her go,

     It shall not grieve me;

I have more at my Beck

     That will relieve me:  

Since she's so forward

     I care not a Farthing,

Let some Fool take her,

             And curse his bad bargain.

(Exit.)

 

SCENE III

 

SCENE     A Room.

 

Enter Father Cadiere.

 

To be turned out of my sister's Chamber by a Goatish Jesuit, whose external Show of Piety has corrupted innumerable Families; and that he, in Violation of the Rules and Orders of his Society, to which he is obliged by Oath strictly to adhere should lock himself up with her, is what I could not bear, if my good Patron, St. Dominick, did not endow me with Patience: The Girl is young and handsome, but so very zealous that she may be easily induced to imbibe the worst Principles, when gilded over with a Notion of Religion; the Father Rector is a reputed Quietist, and if he can pervert her to the same Opinion, I can easily forsee the Consequence, the Thought of which shudders my very Soul.

 

SCENE IV.

 

Father Cadiere, Abbe Cadiere;

 

Abbe.  I am glad to see you, Brother; I hope my Sister is in good Health.

 

F. Cad. Ask Father Girard, for he can give you the best information.

 

Abbe.  You are always carping at that good Man; what has he done to provoke you to Anger; You are as peevish, methinks, as an old Maid, or a disappointed Courtier.

 

F. Cad.  If I were, I have Reason enough to justify me in it; but you are mistaken, Brother, for what you call Anger and Peevishness are nothing else than the Perplexity of my Mind, which I now endure.  I tell you that the Rector of your Seminary is a Wolf in Sheep's clothing.

 

Abbe.  I am persuaded that there is not a more pious Father belonging to the whole Society: He is constantly at his Devotion when at Home, except when he repairs with a Penitent to the Confessional.

 

F. Cad.   Ah!  I am afraid that too many of his Penitents have more Occasion for Absolution after they return from your Convent, then when they go thither. — I wish our Family may not have Occasion to lament the Day that our Sister chose him for her Confessor.

 

Abbe.  Banish such idle Surmises; she has a large Share of Virtue and Religion.

 

F. Cad.  I hope so; but own I am much in Pain for her. — The Doctrine of Quietism is a most abominable Heresy, the infernal Mother of a monstrous Brood: It makes it Votaries place the highest Perfection in a passive and indolent Contemplation, and considers the Exercise of Virtue not only as useless, but an Imperfection; it takes away all Will in the Creature, and allows all Instances of Debauchery as indifferent Actions. — These are some of the Principles of Quietism; and now, Brother, with what Facility (think you) may Father Girard seduce our Sister, who is a most religious Biggot?  I'll leave you to reflect upon these Articles.  (Exit.)

 

Abbe.  I hate Reflections, and yet cannot avoid them sometimes. — Let me see — My sister is beautiful, and I am obliged to use my utmost Endeavors to prevent her from being corrupted; but if she were not my Sister, I would sooner lay Siege to her than to any Girl in France.  So much for Reflections, good Brother. — For my Part, I have imbibed so much of the Jesuit's Principles, that I would venture myself with a pretty Maid at any Time; and if Fornication be a mortal Sin, what will become of our society?

 

AIR XII.     At Winchester there was, etc.

 

What should we do with a Woman,

     When all our Blood's on Fire?

In Nature nothing's more common  

    Than to indulge our Desire.    

  The Nymph, whose Face does allure,

            With Pleasure we take in our Arms;

 From Scandal a Priest is secure,      

              And safely may rifle her Charms.      

(Exit.)

 

    SCENE V.

 

SCENE, A Room in the Convent.

 

Father Girard, and Robin with a Basket of Nosegays.

 

 [nosegays depicted by Joris Hoefnagel 1542 – 1601]

 

Gir.  Be punctual and diligent in the Execution of my Commands; let the Nosegays be distributed according to my Directions, the largest to Miss Cadiere, to whom deliver this Pacquet, and with it my kind Service; the smallest is a Present to Allemande.

 

Rob. Reverend Father, your Orders shall be faithfully obeyed. — Well, I have lost my Aim, if my Master's Intent of sending these Nosegays is not to cover his Design of planting Lillies in the Garden of Venus.  (Aside and Exit.)

 

Gir. (Taking a Toll of Paper out of his Pocket.)  Allemande, that Retrograde Creature, gives me some Uneasiness; I will strike her Name out of my List, and endeavor to forget her. — So, 'tis done. — I think I have made a pretty Progress on my Amours; Thirty Devotees in less than two Years, and Forty Penitents, who ripen so fast that they must be plucked in a little time.  But my Number falls short of the Abbe de Rue's, who is imprisoned for Life in the Bastille, Proof being made of his having seduced One hundred and thirty young ladies. — Sure he must be a poor Man, or a rich Fool.  (Exit.)

 

SCENE VI.

 

SCENE, A Room.

 

Allemande and Guiol at a Tea-Table.  To them Batterelle.

 

Bat.  Though I am under great Affliction, yet it is some Comfort to me to find you together.

 

Allem.  Bless us!  Batterelle, what is the Matter?

 

Bat.  The beautiful Cadiere is at the Point of Death,  Your Company is desired immediately.

 

Allem.  Poor Creature!  O my Soul, I pity her.

 

Gui.  Pish! my Life on it she'll recover. — You know, Ladies, that each of us have been in her Condition; I warrant ye, she is now in an Agitation, but it will soon leave her. 

 

Bat.  If you have any Compassion, let us hasten to assist her.

 

Allem.  Madam, we wait upon you; she is my next Door Neighbor.

(Exit.)  

 

SCENE VII.

 

SCENE  A Dining-Room.

 

Miss Cadiere in one of her Fits, La Laugiere, La Graviere, and La Reboul holding her in a Two-arm Chair.

 

Laug.  Her Convulsions are very violent.

 

Grav.  So strong that my Arms are tired with holding her.

 

Reb.  I fear I shall not recover the Use of mine in a Month.

 

SCENE VIII.

 

Miss Cadiere, La Laugiere, La Graviere, La Reboul, Allemande, Batterelle, and Guiol. 

Laug.  For Heaven's sake help us, Ladies, to hold this beautiful Creature.

 

Allem.  Our endeavors shall not be wanting.

 

Cad.  Send for that Sorcerer, the Father Rector; that Seducer of Virgin-Innocence has possessed me.  He has made a Compact with the Devil near forty Years ago to make him a great Genius, on Condition to secure him as many Souls as he could.  He is Satan's prime Minister on Earth; Go, fetch him, fetch Girard, that Devil incarnate, that he may deliver me out of this Condition, since he has put me into it.

 

Allem.  What think you of this, Guiol.

 

Gui.  Poor Soul, she knows not what she says; you will find her in another Opinion presently.

 

AIR XIII.     Irish Howl.

 

Cad. The Maid that would not be undone,          

 The crafty Wiles of Priests must shun,

For by a false deluding Tongue         

    They soon deceive both Old and Young.

      Oh, oh ray, oh Amborah, oh, oh, etc.

 

My kind Companions, I am glad to find ye here, and thank you for your Assistance. — I have a Secret to communicate to ye, hark ye —

 

Gui.  Pish! is that all?  What Harm can there be in it?  Father Girard has served every one of us alike.

 

Bat.  All have had the same Sauce.

 

AIR XIV.  The old Woman sent to the Miller her Daughter.

 

A Virgin that chooses a Priest to direct her,    

    To hear her confess, and her Scruples to ease,

The Saints should invoke to assist and protect her,

     To comfort her Mind, and her Conscience appease;

'Tis twenty to ten but a Woman she's made,    

Ever one Paternoster by her can be said.        

We know it,

We show it,

Yet cannot refrain,

For when we meet next

We stick to our Text,

Oh! we stick to our Text, and we do it again.

 

SCENE IX.

 

Miss Cadiere, La Laugiere, La Graviere, La Reboul, Allemande, Batterelle, Guiol and Robin.

 

Rob. Ladies, this being the Festival of St. Catherine, my Master, the good Father Rector, has sent ye a small Present.  (To Cadiere.)  This Nosegay, young Lady, and this Packet, with his tenderest Affection, in his Name, and by his Command, I am to put into your Hands: (She opens the Packet and reads while Robin distributes the other Nosegays.)  This Father Girard has ordered me to deliver to you.  (Gives Allemande the small Nosegay.)

 

Allem.  Carry back the Thyme and the Rue, and tell him, the Day draws near when he will have Cause to lament his Criminal Conversation with his Penitents.

 

Cad.  Come. Ladies, all Malice apart: Father Girard has done one good Thing, for I have received a Recommendation from him to the Lady Marianne d'Aubert, Abbess of the Monastery of St. Clare, at Ollioules, and as I shall bid Adieu to all terrestrial Pleasures, by making myself a Recluse there Tomorrow; I must therefore entreat you to be my Guests this Afternoon.

 

Allem.  I heartily wish, Cadiere, that you may find that Peace and Happiness which you expect, but remember my Words.

 

AIR XV.     At Noon one sultry Summer's Day.

 

Not Bolts and Bars, or strongest Walls,          

When Lust excites, and Beauty calls,             

When Charms, like yours, his Heart enthrals,

     Can keep a Friar out.                           

A Sportsman he, so keen and true,                

Will everywhere his game pursue;                  

We know a Chair or Stool will do,                   

         Though he be never so stout.  (Exit.)         

 

The End of the Second Act.

 

 

ACT III.  SCENE I. 

SCENE  A Room in a Monastery.

 

Father Girard alone.

 

Something extraordinary surely has happened since my last Visit, or why should I be denied Admittance to my lovely Penitent?  Oh!  My foreboding Heart informs me all is not right.

 

SCENE II.

 

Father Girard, Lady D'Aubert, the Abbess.

 

D'Aub.  Father Girard, from henceforwards you are prohibited from entering into this Monastery; I have had so many Proofs of your unwarranted Familiarity with Miss Cadiere, that I was obliged to discover it to our Bishop, who has not only appointed her another Confessor, to whom she has related every thing that has passed between ye, as also to his Lordship, who has done her the Honor to visit her twice, but a Criminal Prosecution is commenced against you, and I am sorry that a Priest of your Order, or indeed any other, should give so much Cause to believe you guilty of what is laid to your Charge.

 

Gir.  What! must I be excluded from the Sight of my dear Child?

 

D'Aub.  Even so: And I am very much surprised that you have made my Interest with Father Camelin, on whom this Monastery of St. Clare depends, and by which you obtained Leave to confess Miss Cadiere, a Stalking Horse to — the very Thought of it strikes my soul with Horror.

 

AIR XVI.     An old Woman clothed in Grey.

 

Thus oft to the Fields does repair      

     Old Reynard to find out his Prey; 

Nor Lambkin, nor Kid does he spare.

         Or Goose, that he meets by the Way.

At last in a Trap when secured,         

No Hopes of Escape being left,

Comes Towzer, to Slaughter enured,

     And Reynard of Life is bereft.        

 

Gir.  Perdition seize thee for thy ill-timed Allegories. — If the Saints refuse to aid me, I will ransack Hell, and Help shall come from thence.  (Exit in a Passion.)

 

D'Aub.  (Crossing herself.)  Maria! 'tis Time to drive such a ravenous Wolf from the Fold.

 

AIR XVII.     Of a noble Race was Shinkin. 

 

May Justice reach the Villain,       

     Who has profaned our Altar;

O, may his Fate, ever 'tis too late, 

             Be Gibbet, Rack, or Halter.  (Exit.)

 

Scene III

 

 SCENE, A Room in the Monastery.

 

Guiol meeting Father D'Aubany.

 

Gui.  Father Aubany! in a happy Hour are you met. — I congratulate you, upon your safe return to your native Country. — Have you seen Father Sabatier? 

 

Aub.  Yes; and he has given me an Account of all the Proceedings against Father Girard, but we shall spring their own Mine upon them.  Not a Hair of his Head shall be touched, if you will be diligent, and take Care to act your Part as well as I shall perform what I have undertaken.

 

Gui.  I will stick at nothing that will contribute to acquit him; I have had the good Success of prevailing with Cadiere to return the Letters, which he requested.

 

Aub.  Very well: You will find Sabatier and Girard together, they have Occasion to employ you on another Errand: I have some Affairs to transact at the Monastery of St. Clare. 

 

Gui.  Prosperity attend you.  (Exit.) 

 

Aub.  Had it not been for this Prosecution against the Father Rector, I might have remained in Exile forever: But the Society knew how Serviceable I could be to him, and if I had committed Murder they would have obtained a Pardon for me.  How great is the Interest of the Jesuits at Court?

 

AIR XVIII.     Give Ear to a frolicsome Ditty.

 

I fled from the Rape I committed,  

     My Pardon I soon did obtain;

The Lawyers I thus have outwitted,

     Outwitted they shall be again; 

      And tol de rol, etc.

 

As one Horse will carry another,     

       And then for a while does adjourn;

So I, a Delinquent, a Brother —        

   Delinquent will serve in his Turn;

          And tol de rol, etc.  (Exit.)

 

SCENE IV. 

 

Scene  A Prison with a Straw Bed, and a Lamp burning; Cadiere sitting on a Stool.

 

CADIERE. 

 

How insatiable is the Rage and Malice of a Jesuit!  Is it not enough to corrupt my innocence, and blast my Reputation forever, but must I be imprisoned contrary to Law and Justice, and my Life become a Victim to his Malice?  Shall I be deprived of Liberty, who am the Accuser, and the Person accused be indulged so far as not to give Bail for his Appearance?  Barbarous Treatment!

 

AIR XIX.  As cold as Death in Depth of, etc.

 

Here close confined within my Cell,      

     Like some poor Criminal I wait;     

What Tongue can all my Hardships tell?

     How wretched am I made by Fate! 

 

A glimmering Lamp is all my Light,        

     And Bread and Water are my Food;

My Bed is Straw, and Priestly Spite         

     Must now be glutted with my Blood. 

 

SCENE V.

 

Miss Cadiere, Monsieur Chaudon.

 

Chau. Madam, it grieves me to see you in such a loathsome Place, but you shall quickly be enlarged.  Bear your Affliction with Patience, and through you impolitically sent back most of Father Girard's Letters to him, yet those that I now have in my Custody, and the Depositions on Oath of the Witnesses on your Behalf, are sufficient to convict him in any Court in France.

 

Cad.  I doubt it much; for Money and Interest will turn Guilt into Innocence, and make the latter appear in the odious Colors of the former.

 

Chau.  I acknowledge that he has many Friends to support him, and no Cost or Presents will be spared to get him acquitted: But then, Madam, consider that he is not to be tried in the Ecclesiastical Court, but before the Parliament at Aix.  And this is to be done by a special Order from Above.

 

Cad.  And the very Reason induces me to believe he will not be found guilty. 

 

Chau.  Nothing shall be omitted on my Part; and I do not see how he can possibly escape Condemnation. — You will presently be sent for in order to do a Re-examination; and I thought proper to give you this Notice that you may not be surprised.  Adieu.  (Exit.)

 

Cad.  Resignation is a great Virtue, and I will bear my Lot, Let it be what it will.  O Girard!

 

AIR XX.     'Twas when the Seas was roaring. 

 

How many, brought to Ruin                   

     By this deluding Man,                

Do now lament his Cooing,                    

     Undone, do what they can?       

The Devil sure possessed him,              

     Or how could he beguile,           

And, when young Maids caressed him,

     Betray them with a smile.          

(The Scene closes.)

 

SCENE VI.

 

Father Sabatier, alone. 

 

Sab.  Sleep, Conscience, and give my Soul no Uneasiness. — This Dose will do the Business.  (Holds up a Vial in his hands.)  Am I not a Jesuit? and shall I suffer my Mind to be governed by Remorse?  Saint Ignatius Lyola, the Founder of our Society, made the Rivers flow with Blood, and destroyed as many Huguenots, as our Biggots did in the Massacre of the Protestants in Ireland; and as I am lifted under his Banner, my Duty requires me to follow my Leader, and attack everyone who shall oppose us.  Cadiere is our Enemy, she has wounded a Brother of our Corps and if this does not force her to apply a healing Plaster, the next Portion shall send her out of the World before him. — Again!  What dost thou mean, Conscience? wilt thou still fly in my Face?  Sleep, I say, for I am neither Statesman, Lawyer, nor Physician?   

 

SCENE VII.

 

Father Sabatier, Guiol.

 

Gui.  Father, I come to receive your further Instructions. — What Design can fail of Success, when a Priest and a Woman is at the Bottom of it?

 

Sab.  Right, Guiol; thou art a Second Maratemon [Madame de Maintenon?], a Machiavelli in Petticoats.  What Pity it is that you were not bred up in one of our Semenaries!  [SIC]  though to give you your Due, you are an Over-match for many of our Society.

 

Gui.  Truly, Father, I may say (without Vanity) that I am able to play my Part with most of them, when I set about it.    

 

Sab.  I believe you.  But now to the Purpose. — Fly to Cadiere with the Wings of Malice and Revenge, you will find her in a stinking prison in the Monastery of the Ursuline Nuns; persuade her to drink some of this Cordial [gives her a vial] before she makes her Appearance in the Chamber where the Committee sit.

 

Gui.  I will hasten with as much Pleasure and Expedition, as if — [aside] I were to meet my dear Girard when Love prompts, and Opportunity invites. — What he calls a Cordial, is something else, or I guess wrong; but I have this Comfort, that I did not prepare it, so let the effect be what it will, I shall set my Heart at rest.  (Exit.)

 

Sab.  This woman is the Tool of our Party, and when our Affair is brought to a Conclusion, it may be justly called Insignificant.  

 

AIR XXI.     Ye Commons and Peers.

 

     Instructions we give                        

   To those who believe                     

Our Words flow from mere Inspiration;       

     They swallow the Bait,                     

     Like Gudgeons of State,                  

Such Dupes may be found in each Nation.

     We take a Review,                           

     Then draught off a few,                    

Our Schemes to prevent from Abortion:     

     But if they refuse,                            

     Or keck at a Noose,                        

An Anodine Pill is their Portion.  (Exit.)      

 

SCENE VIII.

 

SCENE, A Room in a Nunnery.

 

Enter the Lady Beaussiere with a Letter in her hand, followed by Father D'Aubaney.

 

Beau.  (Reading.)  Be under no Scruples, I conjure you, — the Process goes on as well as can be desired for the Father Rector. — It will be sufficient that the Witnesses, who have not given in their Depositions, swear that your Maid La Materone, whose Behavior has been very unhandsome, heard her speak of Miss Cadiere as a Saint, and that she worked Miracles, and of a Pension which the Relations of the said Cadiere had promised to allow her for her Maintenance.  This is the principal Point, and will invalidate all she says. 

 

Your humble Servant,          

 

Sister De Coglin. 

 

Pray Father Aubany give my Service to the Lady de Coglin, and assure her from me of a ready Compliance with every Thing she requests.  This, with my Duty to the Father Rector, is all I have to say at present.  (Exit.)

 

AIR XXII.     The Sun had loosed his weary Teams, etc. 

 

Aub.    A Nun, that is a Biggot grown,
               Loves dearly her Confessor;
           Her Zeal on each Occasion's shown,
               Though you but lightly press her.
           With every Motion she complies, 
               And meddles not with Conscience;
           If Scruples at any Time do rise,
               She says they are but Nonsense.

 

SCENE IX.

 

Father D'Aubany, Lady D'Aubert.

 

L. Aub.  Have you anything to communicate to me, Father Aubany?

 

Auban.  Yes, Madam; I am to acquaint you, and the Nuns under your Care, that the Bishop of Toulon is extremely incensed against ye for suffering your Maid to appear against Father Girard, and that if any of them shall offer to give Evidence against that Jesuit, he will turn them out of the Convent in four and twenty Hours.

 

L. Aub.  I cannot persuade myself, that that Prelate ordered such a Message to be delivered to me, for he very well knows that this Monastery of St. Clare is a Royal one, and consequently has no Dependance on the Bishop of Toulon; but as he has commissioned you to signify his Mind to me, pray let him know that I am resolved on my Part, and I believe I speak the Sense of the Sisterhood, to declare the Truth when Justice requires it.

 

Aubon.  Is this your final Answer, Lady Abbess?

 

L. Aub.  My Resolution is fixed, and I think myself obliged to adhere to it.  (Exit severally.)

 

SCENE X.

 

SCENE,  A Prison in the Monastery of the Ursuline Nuns, a Lamp burning.

 

Miss Cadiere alone.

 

I wait with Patience for some kind Deliverer to lead me from this nauseous Place.

 

SCENE XI.

 

Miss Cadiere, Mrs. Guiol.

 

Gui.  I come, Cadiere, to put a Period to your long Restraint.

 

Cad.  O joyful Sound!

 

Gui.  You are very faint.

 

Cad.  Indeed I am; the Stench of this loathsome Dungeon has impaired my Health, and would soon deprive me of my Senses.

 

Gui.  I have brought a Cordial to you; drink it, and it will give Vigor to your drooping Spirits.

(Gives her the vial.)

 

Cad.  I thank you for your Kindness.  (Drinks)  Ha!  I am all on Fire, my Head is giddy. and methinks the Dungeon turns round.  What can be the Occasion of this sudden Change? — Ha!  There he goes, seize him, seize him, Devil; seize the Father Rector, Ha, ha, ha, have you catched him, take Care that he does not slip from you.  (She raves.)

 

Gui.  I find it works according to Expectation.  A Jesuit is a Match for any Physican or Apothecary in France.  But I must relieve her. — Come, Cadiere, I perceive the Smell of this Place has overpowered you; you will find great Benefit from the fresh Air.

 

AIR XXIII.     Now ponder well, etc. 

 

Cad.    How can my Fate be so severe!

          Must I never find Relief?

           Pity, ye Saints, the lost Cadiere,

                  Now overwhelmed with Grief.

(Exit.)

 

SCENE XII.

 

SCENE     A Street. 

 

Enter a Mob, with Captain Tom at the Head of 'em.

 

Tom.  For Shame, Gentlemen, keep your Ranks and march in Order; otherwise you will be taken for a Company of the Train-Bands, and what a Disgrace will that be to ye! — You, Butcher, place your Club on your Left Shoulder? — Oonds, the Fellow is conceited, and yet as awkward as a Taylor.

 

1st. Mob.  Look ye, Tom, though we have chosen you to be our Captain, yet we did not give you a Commission to abuse us.  I know as good Things as you do, without Vanity be it spoken.

 

Tom.  I abuse you, Brother Killerow! far be it from me.

 

2nd Mob.  You have abused him and me too, not that I value it a Louse; I am ready to show my Manhood with the best Man in the Company.

 

Tom.  Nobody doubts it. — I must give them good Words, otherwise they may desert me.  (aside)  Now, Gentlemen, listen to me. — Silence in the Rear. — You remember upon what Occasion we are met: This same Father Girard, do you see (They lean on their Clubs and listen) is a damned Whoremaster, a mere Cormorant [bird] at Ling and Thornback [fishes].  Now if he be acquitted, we must certainly conclude that he is Guilty; and therefore we will not lose our Diversion, and if he be not burnt in good Earnest, why then in sober Sadness we will burn him in Effigy.

 

Mob.  Ay, ay, Huzza, Captain Tom forever.

 

Tom.  Now our next Business is to keep the Peace and be very Sober, knock down everyone that speaks in Favor of a Jesuit, and be as Drunk as so many Lords. — Now have a Care Gentlemen; Rest your Clubs — Poise your Clubs — Shoulder. — March.  (Exit hallowing.)

 

SCENE XIII.

 

SCENE     A Room.

 

Father Girard, Sabatier, and Aubany.

 

Sab.  Cheer up, Brother, the Trial goes on with Success.

 

Gir.  I fear it much.

 

Auban.  If Subornation and Perjury —

 

Sab.  If Bribery and Corruption can carry the Point, you are late: I have secured an Equality in your Favor, and flung a Bone of Contention among the other Twelve.  If a Jesuit cannot compass his wicked Purposes, he ought to be expelled from the Society.  Did you ever know a rich Man found Guilty, who would open his Purse freely?  And have I not received three Millions of Livers in Specie from our Seminaries with Bills of Credit for the like Sum, if we shall have Occasion for it?  How then can you imagine yourself to be in Danger?

 

AIR XXIV.     A Soldier, and a Sailor. 

 

     A Man that has got Wealth, Sir,

     (No Matter if by Stealth, Sir,)

     To plunder may be bold, Sir,

     His Country of her Gold, Sir,

          And murder, cut, and slash:

     But he that takes your Pence, Sir,

     Or in his own Defense, Sir,

     For nothing but a Rope, Sir,

          If he be out of Cash.  (Exit.)

SCENE XIV.

 

A Mob within Hallowing, and crying, Burn him, Burn him

 

Enter Father Cadiere, Abbe Cadiere, and Miss Cadiere.

 

Mob.  Down with the Jesuits, down with the Jesuits.

 

F. Cad.  Pray, Gentlemen, forbear, it may be thought that we prompted you to do this.

 

Tom.  Let us see the Man that dares think so, and we will burn him in Earnest.

 

Abbe.  I thank ye, Gentlemen, for your Care in conducting my Sister to her Mother's House.  Accept this small Gratuity to drink her Health.

(Gives them Money.) 

  

Tom,  Oonds, she's a clever lass; by St. Francis I could crack a commandment with her.  (Aside.)  (Exit, crying, No Jesuits, down with the Jesuits.)

 

Abbe.  From henceforward I renounce Jesuitism, the spawn of Beelzebub, and the Mother of all kind of Wickedness.

 

Cad.  It grieves me much that ye, my Brothers, have been imprisoned on my Account, and yet no Crime laid to your Charge: But I do not wonder at it, since Girard could make Interest to be acquitted, though every Crime of which he was accused was fully proved.  As soon as I recover my Health, I will quit the Kingdom, and retire to a Monastery at Rome.

 

AIR XXV.     The Lass of Parie's Mill. 

 

     Since I a Victim fall                

           To Love's unhappy Flame;

      Be warned ye Virgins all,        

       In Time to value Fame:

      For if your Name's secure,      

       Virtue's not worth a Pin,

 They only stand most sure,

     Who under Cover Sin.

 

            Though Knaves wear formal Face,

             And Looks demurely strong;

     They who pretend most Grace

          Oft do the greatest Wrong:

Then this just Maxim learn,

   That oft Religious Art,

        Through Mists none can discern,

         Conceals a Villain's Heart.

 

EPILOGUE

 

Well, Sirs, what think you?  tell me, was it meet

To pay so dear for it, though the Sin was Sweet?

Men know our Fate — the Weakest to the Wall —

And, when They Stand, rejoice to see Us Fall.

Hard is our Lot!  But as to Girard's Case,

Could you not willingly supply his place?

Was nothing tempting in the hapless Fair?

I'm sure you often wished for — When and Where.

O, how you hugged yourselves to think on That!

Pleased with the Hopes of having — you know What.

Come, come, never mince the Matter, be so civil

To tell the Truth for once, and Shame the Devil.

Many, like Father Girard, do I see

Pious and equally devout as he,

Who here in England strut like mighty Giants,

And to the Inquisition bid Defiance:

Nay, even Doctor's Commons, O assure y'

(Mercy upon us!)  can't assuage their Fury,

So eager are they in pursuit of Sport,

One would imagine they were bred at Court.

Such sinners know they can with Ease commute,

Money, not Penance, is the grand Dispute;

And let me tell you, that a smooth-chin Beau

In a White-Sheet would make an awkward Show.

The Difference then 'twixt Rich and Poor is this,

The Rich may riot in unlawful Bliss,

But the unhappy Wretch, devoid of Pence,

Must be debarred from Pleasure, most intense,

Or suffer for each natural Offense.

 

FINIS. 

 

 

*

Blogger's Notes: Father Jean-Baptiste Girard made his passing over to the 'higher planes' of existence in 1733.  The final dialogue in the two-act play that I wrote about this trial and entitled it "Nostalgia for Demons" is a succinct epitaph —

 

GUIOL

A year after Father Girard's death, the Jesuits proposed to make him a saint while Catherine vanished from the scene.  Some believed that she had been sent into forced exile; others that she voluntarily ended her days in a convent. 

This 'ballad opera' play of 1731 shows how complex circumstances related to human behavior, relationships and anything involving mysterious phenomena and 'visionary' aspects of mind ('psychic phenomena') have been almost completely subverted while abbreviating familiar trite angles in a methodology that might be phrased as 'socially conscious pandering' to the 'least common denominator' of people (or so-labeled hoi polloi).  Helping readers expand their metaphysical, spiritual and cosmological understanding is the purpose of all 750+ noncommercial articles at this blog.

 

For the viewer, movies, TV shows, plays, novels, Pop music and sports all bring the—actually enchanting—illusion of something experiential being fostered when, in fact, there is oppressive stultification.  The reasons for diversions becoming habitual is based upon a human being accepting the most readily available amusement instead of engaging in more productive steps (and perhaps requiring more effort) to pursue some more purposeful objective.  One irony here is that Catherine and Father Girard's regard for one another may have been influenced and progressively altered by perceptions about what constitutes conventional assumptions regarding what personal interactions are fulfilling.  

 

A shocking case of contemporary 'entertainment trance' is chronicled in the recent 'paranormal initiation of an everyman' blog series, chronicling how an unprepared livestreamer involved with pranking and playing computer games while livestreaming is too fearful to host sequences examining evidence of 'paranormal phenomena' so that superstitious and ignorant fears of the demonic can be relinquished. 

 

The causes of perceived oppression and opposition between persons and peoples can involve what one transcendental communicator (or 'channeled entity') has called the words "victim hero villain complex."

 

. . . we also want to remind you of the nature of the oppressed and the oppressor in your world.  As there is a cycle of the victim hero villain complex.  Whenever one person is stepping into — one person or any group of people, yes, step into one of these roles, it creates a force of attraction that manifests and places other individuals or groups of people into one of the other roles and the cycle plays out forever.  And it is almost guaranteed that the vindictiveness and revenge that is embedded in the consciousness of a deep victim will lead such a victim to at some point in time then become the villain in another way. 

 

The communicator speaking through the human trance channeler applied this predicament to the ongoing wars —

 

And so, here in these times in your world you're seeing that there are different groups of people fighting and both of these groups of people have been in some sense victimized at one point in time.  They have been other-ified and cast aside.  And yet when a certain group of individuals has been occupying a land for thousands of years and suddenly another group of individuals comes in and lays stake to a claim on the land, being backed and justified by the biggest armies in your world you have to understand that this itself is colonization, which is one of the biggest causes of the division and separation of consciousness and the instilling of deep violence in the hearts of so many of your peoples in your world.  And when a nation has been colonized in this way, they are having their fundamental and innate value shrouded from their view.  They are being told they are less than and they don't deserve what they have had access to for so long and so lost.  We don't have all of the solutions here.  But we do have the ultimate remedy that is Source consciousness.

 

The practical steps that your world will have to take will be many but they will all be based in the Source consciousness.  And you can be part of the remedy by stepping into Source consciousness, recognizing that there are no enemies and that there is no harm that you can cause to another without harming yourself; recognizing that every time you judge another you're amplifying the energy of judgment in this reality; recognizing that whenever you see another as different, and you see their sufferings as justified or justifiable, you are causing that suffering onto yourself.  You can come to go beyond this level of duality while living within the realm of duality and start to anchor in that fifth dimensional non-dual state of consciousness.  That is the way the world will heal.  So open yourselves to that awareness of the non-dual, where there is peace and there is love; that there is an understanding that all is one; when there is an understanding that all actions ripple out across space and time.  And also allow yourself to recognize the nature of violence that has been enacted and is enacted.

 

Allow yourself to recognize that those who claim to help at this time are helping themselves and the biggest influence you can have is on your own governments who influence from afar for their own self-interested purposes as that is what has brought them to make things the way they are in this area of the Middle East in the first place.  And when you start to see it from that perspective, you will . . . who really . . . causing certain levels of disruption in the first place.  You have to embody that consciousness of oneness and non-duality, and know that everyone involved is responsible.  And when you tap into that . . . that ability to tap into peace within yourself that peace will ripple out from you and beyond you to bring about new realities for others as well.

And at a fundamental level what everyone must recognize is that you were all the chosen person and no one is the chosen person.  You are all that One, that God and yet because you are all that, none of you are higher or lower than anyone else.  We speak about this much in our other materials of how you can step out of the consciousness of hierarchy because this is divisive, and this prevents you from fully allowing your Source consciousness to merge with . . . you.  When you fully tap into your . . . consciousness you will know which quality will manifest on . . . ways of generating that energy in your world will accelerate the process of integrating into fourth energy.  So we thank you for allowing us to share this message and share this transmission with your world.  And we know that as this energy in this information integrates in your own consciousness, that massive change will ripple out in your world.  (1, 2)

 

*

 

Here is AI Companion Copilot's description of the image that was created to depict Catherine's testimonial.

 

 

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