Urbain Grandier | Page 7

who in spite of Grandier's frequent unfaithfulness yet
remained his mistress-in- chief; then it began to be whispered that the
young girl, having had conscientious scruples about her love for Urbain,
he had allayed them by an act of sacrilege--that is to say, he had, as
priest, in the middle of the night, performed the service of marriage
between himself and his mistress. The more absurd the reports, the
more credence did they gain, and it was not long till everyone in
Loudun believed them true, although no one was able to name the
mysterious heroine of the tale who had had the courage to contract a
marriage with a priest; and considering how small Loudun was, this
was most extraordinary.
Resolute and full of courage as was Grandier, at length he could not
conceal from himself that his path lay over quicksands: he felt that
slander was secretly closing him round, and that as soon as he was well
entangled in her shiny folds, she would reveal herself by raising her
abhorred head, and that then a mortal combat between them would
begin. But it was one of his convictions that to draw back was to
acknowledge one's guilt; besides, as far as he was concerned, it was
probably too late for him to retrace his steps. He therefore went on his
way, as unyielding, as scornful, and as haughty as ever.
Among those who were supposed to be most active in spreading the
slanders relative to Urbain was a man called Duthibaut, a person of
importance in the province, who was supposed by the townspeople to
hold very advanced views, and who was a "Sir Oracle" to whom the
commonplace and vulgar turned for enlightenment. Some of this man's
strictures on Grandier were reported to the latter, especially some
calumnies to which Duthibaut had given vent at the Marquis de
Bellay's; and one day, Grandier, arrayed in priestly garments, was
about to enter the church of Sainte-Croix to assist in the service, he
encountered Duthibaut at the entrance, and with his usual haughty
disdain accused him of slander. Duthibaut, who had got into the habit
of saying and doing whatever came into his head without fear of being
called to account, partly because of his wealth and partly because of the

influence he had gained over the narrow-minded, who are so numerous
in a small provincial town, and who regarded him as being much above
them, was so furious at this public reprimand, that he raised his cane
and struck Urbain.
The opportunity which this affront afforded Grandier of being revenged
on all his enemies was too precious to be neglected, but, convinced,
with too much reason, that he would never obtain justice from the local
authorities, although the respect due to the Church had been infringed,
in his person he decided to appeal to King Louis XIII, who deigned to
receive him, and deciding that the insult offered to a priest robed in the
sacred vestments should be expiated, sent the cause to the high court of
Parliament, with instructions that the case against Duthibaut should be
tried and decided there.
Hereupon Urbain's enemies saw they had no time to lose, and took
advantage of his absence to make counter accusations against him. Two
worthies beings, named Cherbonneau and Bugrau, agreed to become
informers, and were brought before the ecclesiastical magistrate at
Poitiers. They accused Grandier of having corrupted women and girls,
of indulging in blasphemy and profanity, of neglecting to read his
breviary daily, and of turning God's sanctuary into a place of
debauchery and prostitution. The information was taken down, and
Louis Chauvet, the civil lieutenant, and the archpriest of Saint- Marcel
and the Loudenois, were appointed to investigate the matter, so that,
while Urbain was instituting proceedings against Duthibaut in Paris,
information was laid against himself in Loudun. This matter thus set
going was pushed forward with all the acrimony so common in
religious prosecutions; Trinquant appeared as a witness, and drew
many others after him, and whatever omissions were found in the
depositions were interpolated according to the needs of the prosecution.
The result was that the case when fully got up appeared to be so serious
that it was sent to the Bishop of Poitiers for trial. Now the bishop was
not only surrounded by the friends of those who were bringing the
accusations against Grandier, but had himself a grudge against him. It
had happened some time before that Urbain, the case being urgent, had
dispensed with the usual notice of a marriage, and the bishop, knowing

this, found in the papers laid before him, superficial as they were,
sufficient evidence against Urbain to justify him in issuing a warrant
for his apprehension, which was drawn up in the following words:
"Henri-Louis, Chataignier