And when the priest was astonished and asked
how she came to know Latin, when her parents, who stood by,
were wholly ignorant of it, "Thou hast never seen my
parents," was the reply. To this the priest, "Whence art
thou, then, if these are not thy parents?" And the demon, by
the mouth of the girl, "I am a follower and disciple of
Satan, and for a long time I was gatekeeper (janitor) in
hell; but for some years, along with eleven companions, I
have ravaged the kingdom of the Franks." (Cap. v. 49.)
He then goes on to tell how they blasted the crops and scattered
pestilence among beasts and men, because of the prevalent wickedness
of the people.[39]
The enumeration of all these iniquities, in oratorical style, takes up
a whole octavo page; and at the end it is stated, "All these things
the demon spoke in Latin by the mouth of the girl."
And when the priest imperatively ordered him to come out, "I
shall go," said he, "not in obedience to you, but on account
of the power of the saints, who do not allow me to remain
any longer." And having said this, he threw the girl down on
the floor and there compelled her to lie prostrate for a
time, as though she slumbered. After a little while,
however, he going away, the girl, by the power of Christ and
the merits of the blessed martyrs, as it were awaking from
sleep, rose up quite well, to the astonishment of all
present; nor after the demon had gone out was she able to
speak Latin: so that it was plain enough that it was not she
who had spoken in that tongue, but the demon by her mouth.
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