Why the Devil Persecuted St. John Vianney

Soon after the Cure d'Ars had opened his house of refuge for the poor orphans of the district, the strangest noises began to disturb his rest at night, and to trouble the quiet of his presbytery.

Always at midnight, three violent knocks against the door of the presbytery generally warned the Cure d'Ars of the presence of his enemy; these knocks were followed by others more or less heavy, according as his sleep was more or less profound. After having diverted himself by making a frightful uproar on the staircase, the demon entered the room, seized the curtains of the bed, shook them so furiously that the poor inmate never could understand why they were not torn to atoms. Sometimes the malignant spirit knocked like some one who was demanding admittance, and the next moment, without the door being opened, he was in the room, moving about the chairs, deranging the furniture, rummaging everywhere, calling the Cure with a mocking voice, 'Vianney, Vianney!' and adding to his name the most outrageous qualifications and menaces. 'Eater of truffles, we shall have you, we shall have you! We hold you, we hold you!'