To recount these would be an endless task. They were designed
as mere specimens of power, to illustrate the influence of
superstition: to give sceptics the consolation of certainty: to
annihilate the scruples of a tender female, or facilitate my access
to the bosoms of courtiers and monks.

The first achievement of this kind took place in the convent
of the Escurial. For some time the hospitality of this brotherhood
allowed me a cell in that magnificent and gloomy fabric. I was
drawn hither chiefly by the treasures of Arabian literature, which
are preserved here in the keeping of a learned Maronite, from
Lebanon. Standing one evening on the steps of the great altar,
this devout friar expatiated on the miraculous evidences of his
religion; and, in a moment of enthusiasm, appealed to San Lorenzo,
whose martyrdom was displayed before us. No sooner was the appeal
made than the saint, obsequious to the summons, whispered his
responses from the shrine, and commanded the heretic to tremble and
believe. This event was reported to the convent. With whatever
reluctance, I could not refuse my testimony to its truth, and its
influence on my faith was clearly shewn in my subsequent conduct.

A lady of rank, in Seville, who had been guilty of many
unauthorized indulgences, was, at last, awakened to remorse, by a
voice from Heaven, which she imagined had commanded her to expiate
her sins by an abstinence from all food for thirty days. Her
friends found it impossible to outroot this persuasion, or to
overcome her resolution even by force. I chanced to be one in a
numerous company where she was present. This fatal illusion was
mentioned, and an opportunity afforded to the lady of defending her