of the Sovereign Pontiff. I thought that the repudiation of persons consecrated to God, is so precious, that we must beware of tarnishing it by the appearance of evil or by the least breath of suspicion. She to whom the Virgins were to be sent, might follow the counsels of Satan's agents by whom she was surrounded, and cause these two devout women to be insulted on their route and prevent them from arriving. I presented these observations to the Sovereign Pontiff who reflected some time and concluded by saying: " Your views are correct, it is more prudent for them not to go." I communicated this conversation to Catherine who was at the time quite ill. She turned to me and said; " Had Agnes, Margaret, and a multitude of other Virgins indulged all these reflections, they would never have obtained the crown of martyrdom I Have we not a Spouse who can deliver us from the hands of the impious and preserve our honor amidst a throng of debauchees ? All these reasonings are vain; they spring from a want of faith rather than from genuine prudence." I then blushed interiorly at being so remote from her lofty perfection, and in my heart I admired her constancy and her faith. But, as the Sovereign Pontiff had decided that she would not go, I did not dare to converse longer on the subject.
In the mean time, it appeared advantageous to the Sovereign Pontiff to send me into France, because he had been informed that it would be possible to detach the King of France, Charles V. from the schism excited by himself. The instant that I became acquainted with this project, I went to take counsel from Catherine: — notwithstanding the affliction that my absence would occasion her, she advised me to obey the orders of the Sovereign Pontiff without delay. She said to me: "Hold it as
