Urbain Grandier | Page 9

overwhelm Grandier and break
his spirit. But Grandier's resolution enabled him to face this attack
boldly: he engaged counsel to defend his case before the Parliament,
while he himself conducted his appeal to the Archbishop of Bordeaux.
But as there were many necessary witnesses, and it was almost
impossible to bring them all such a great distance, the archiepiscopal
court sent the appeal to the presidial court of Poitiers. The public
prosecutor of Poitiers began a fresh investigation, which being
conducted with impartiality was not encouraging to Grandier's accusers.
There had been many conflicting statements made by the witnesses,
and these were now repeated: other witnesses had declared quite openly
that they had been bribed; others again stated that their depositions had
been tampered with; and amongst these latter was a certain priest
named Mechin, and also that Ishmael Boulieau whom Barot had been
in such a hurry to select as candidate for the reversion of Grandier's
preferments. Boulieau's deposition has been lost, but we can lay
Mechin's before the reader, for the original has been preserved, just as
it issued from his pen:
"I, Gervais Mechin, curate-in-charge of the Church of Saint-Pierre in
the Market Place at Loudun, certify by these presents, signed by my
hand, to relieve my conscience as to a certain report which is being
spread abroad, that I had said in support of an accusation brought by
Gilles Robert, archpriest, against Urbain Grandier, priest-in-charge of
Saint-Pierre, that I had found the said Grandier lying with women and
girls in the church of Saint Pierre, the doors being closed.
"ITEM, that on several different occasions, at unsuitable hours both day
and night, I had seen women and girls disturb the said Grandier by
going into his bedroom, and that some of the said women remained
with him from one o'clock in the after noon till three o'clock the next
morning, their maids bringing them their suppers and going away again
at once.

"ITEM, that I had seen the said Grandier in the church, the doors being
open, but that as soon as some women entered he closed them.
"As I earnestly desire that such reports should cease, I declare by these
presents that I have never seen the said Grandier with women or girls in
the church, the doors being closed; that I have never found him there
alone with women or girls; that when he spoke to either someone else
was always present, and the doors were open; and as to their posture, I
think I made it sufficiently clear when in the witness-box that Grandier
was seated and the women scattered over the church; furthermore, I
have never seen either women or girls enter Grandier's bedroom either
by day or night, although it is true that I have heard people in the
corridor coming and going late in the evening, who they were I cannot
say, but a brother of the said Grandier sleeps close by; neither have I
any knowledge that either women or girls, had their suppers brought to
the said room. I have also never said that he neglected the reading of
his breviary, because that would be contrary to the truth, seeing that on
several occasions he borrowed mine and read his hours in it. I also
declare that I have never seen him close the doors of the church, and
that whenever I have seen him speaking to women I have never noticed
any impropriety; I have not ever seen him touch them in any way, they
have only spoken together; and if anything is found in my deposition
contrary to the above, it is without my knowledge, and was never read
to me, for I would not have signed it, and I say and affirm all this in
homage to the truth.
"Done the last day of October 1630, "(Signed) G. MECHIN."
In the face of such proofs of innocence none of the accusations could
be considered as established and so, according to the decision of the
presidial court of Poitiers, dated the 25th of May 1634, the decision of
the bishop's court was reversed, and Grandier was acquitted of the
charges brought against him. However, he had still to appear before the
Archbishop of Bordeaux, that his acquittal might be ratified. Grandier
took advantage of a visit which the archbishop paid to his abbey at
Saint-Jouin-les-Marmes, which was only three leagues from Loudun, to
make this appearance; his adversaries, who were discouraged by the

result of the proceedings at Poitiers, scarcely made any defence, and the
archbishop, after an examination which brought clearly to light the
innocence of the accused, acquitted and absolved him.
The rehabilitation of Grandier before his bishop had two important
results: the first was that it clearly established his innocence, and the
second that it