Michel François.

The farrier Michel François, who lived at the end of the 17th century, addressed himself to the intendant of Provence and announced to him that a specter had appeared to him and had ordered that he go reveal to King Louis XIV certain secret things of great importance. He was made to set out for the court in April 1697. Some assure that he spoke with the king; others, that the king refused to see him. What is certain, it is added, is that instead of sending him to prison, he obtained money for the journey and exemption from the taille and from other royal taxes.

Evocation Answer. – Here I am.

How did you know that we wished to speak with you?

Answer. – Why do you ask this question? Do you not know that you are surrounded by Spirits who warn those with whom you wish to speak?

Where were you when we called you?

Answer. – In space, since I am still wandering.

Are you surprised to find yourself in the midst of living persons?

Answer. – Not at all; I find myself so many times.

Do you remember your existence, when, in 1697, under the reign of Louis XIV, you were a farrier?

Answer. – Very confusedly.

Do you remember the revelation you were going to make to the king?

Answer. – I remember that I was to make a revelation to him.

Did you make such a revelation?

Answer. – Yes.

You said that a specter had appeared to you and ordered that you go reveal certain things to the king. Who was the specter? Answer. – It was his brother.

Could you identify him?

Answer. – No; you would not understand me.

Was he a man designated by the nickname of the Iron Mask?

Answer. – Yes.

Now that we find ourselves far from that time, could you tell us what the objective of that revelation was? Answer. – It was precisely to inform him of his death.

The death of whom? Of his brother?

Answer. – But evidently!

What impression did that revelation cause the king?

Answer. – A mixture of sadness and satisfaction. Moreover, this was proven by the manner in which he treated me.

How did he treat you?

Answer. – With kindness and affability.

It is said that a similar fact happened with Louis XVIII. n Do you know whether this is true?

Answer. – I believe there was something similar, but I am not well informed.

Why did that Spirit choose you for such a mission, you, an obscure man, instead of choosing a personage of the court, who would more easily approach the king? Answer. – I was found in his path, endowed with the faculty he wished to find and which was necessary, and also, because a personage of the court would not be accepted as a revealer: they would think he had been informed by other means.

What was the objective of that revelation, since the king would necessarily be informed of his brother’s death, even before knowing it through your intermediary? Answer. – It was to make him reflect on the future life and on the fate to which he exposed himself and to which he did in fact expose himself. His end was stained by actions with which he thought to secure a future that that revelation might have made better. [1]

[see The farmer Thomas Martin and Louis XVIII.]