"I did not know what this meant," said Mélanie, "for in our part of the country we do not call them potatoes. I asked Maximin what they were, and the Lady said to me:
"'Ah! my children, you do not understand me, I will use other language.'
"The Blessed Virgin now repeated the preceding in _patois_, and the remainder of her discourse was also in _patois_. We give the translation as follows:
"'If you have wheat, it must not be sown, the animals will devour what you sow; and should any remain, it will yield naught but dust when threshed.'
"'There will be a great famine. Before the famine comes, little children under seven years of age, will be seized with fright and die in the arms of those who are holding them. Some will do penance by reason of the famine. Even the nuts will fail and the grapes rot.'
"After these words, the beautiful Lady continued to speak aloud to Maximin. Though seeing the motion of her lips, Mélanie hears nothing. Maximin receives a secret in French. Then the Blessed Virgin addresses herself to the little girl, and Maximin ceases to hear her voice. She likewise confides to Mélanie a secret in French, but a more lengthy secret it appears than that entrusted to Maximin. Continuing her discourse in _patois_, and so as to be heard by both, she adds: 'If they turn aside from their evil ways, the very rocks and stones will be changed into heaps of grain, and potatoes will be found scattered over the fields.'
"The Queen of Heaven then addressed herself more directly to the children.
"'Do you say your prayers with devotion, my children?'
"'Oh, no, Madame,' they both answered, 'we say them with very little devotion.'
"Our divine Mother continued: 'Ah! my children, you must say them fervently evening and morning. When you have not the time, and cannot do better, say an _Our Father_ and a _Hail Mary_; and when you have the time you must say more.
"'No one goes to Mass, except a few aged women; all the rest in summer spend Sunday working, and in winter, when at a loss for something to do, they go to Mass only to ridicule religion; and during Lent they frequent the shambles as if they were dogs.'
"After a few more words, reminding Maximin that he had already seen the failure of the grain, the august Queen finished in French as follows: 'Ah! my children, tell this to all my people.' And before leaving them, she repeated the command.