A History of the Huguenots

by W. Carlos Martyn

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CHAPTER I

Lesson of French Protestantism—The sixteenth century-Forerunners of the Reformation—Christianity ascends the throne of the Roman empire—Constantine and the “flaming cross”—St. Paul’s church under the shadow of the throne of the Caesars—It’s gradual and mighty usurpations under successive bishops—Finally crystallizes into the stupendous structure of the Papal despotism—Fearful corruptions of Christianity—The saturnalia of the church—A few true hearts revolt, and strive to reinaugurate primitive Christianity—Rome labels the preachers of the reform “heretics,” and persecutes—The dissent spreads—Infects Southern France—The Paulicians—Their Manichean and Gnostic errors—Various names by which they were known—Their mission—Ecclesiastical din—The Vaudois—They clasp hands with St. Paul and bring in the epoch of Luther

CHAPTER II

Ancient political divisions—The Count of Toulouse-Languedoc and Provence—The garden of medieval Europe—Egyptian darkness covers Western Europe through the feudal ages—The southern provinces of France an exception—Intellectual character of the Provencals—Their elegant language—Fostered letters—The exiled arts quit for their schools the old Hesperides—Their republicanism—The Moriscoes—Culture of these descendants of the Magi and the Chaldeans—The Mahometan principle of conquest surrendered—Civilization and tolerance enthroned in the Spanish peninsula—Commercial intercourse with the Moriscoes brings civilization into Southern France—The early Spaniards—Their tolerant character—The Troubadours—The minstrels level their satirical verses at the widespread abuses of the Papal see—The epigram of Pierre Cardinal—The Provencals hold the church of Rome in contempt—This preexisting prejudice prepares them to receive the primitive faith—The apostolic altar in the valleys of Piedmont—Peter of Bruys, Henry, and Arnold of Brescia light their torches at the pure Piedmontese altar, and carry the primitive light of Christianity into the Provencal territories—The reformed congregation at Orleans, in France—Its fate-Peter Waldo is converted, commences to teach, and translates the Latin Bible into the vernacular of Gaul—Romanism and Christianity contrasted—The Vaudois creed—Its pure Protestantism—Rapid spread of the Vaudois tenets

CHAPTER III

Rome begins to move—Innocent III—His haughty character—Determines to exterminate the Provencal Vaudois—His wily program—Places Languedoc and Provence under an interdict—Confiscates the property of the reformers—Gives it to the faithful, and anathematizes all who refuse to seize on the usurped estates—Ecclesiastical commissions—St. Dominic—Inception of the Inquisition—Sketch of its rise and progress—Arbitrary proceedings of the Inquisitors in Languedoc—Raymond VI. count of Toulouse—Raymond Roger, viscount of Alby—Pierre de Castelnovo, the papal legate—Dictates a dishonorable policy to Count Raymond—The count withholds his assent—The legate excommunicates him—Innocent supports Castelnovo’s audacity—The Papal letter—Raymond compelled to submit to Rome—Assassination of the Legate—Fury of the pontiff—His savage bull—Origin of the Papal dogma, that “no faith is to be kept with heretics”—The word “crusade” extended to cover the atrocity of sectarian persecution.

CHAPTER IV

Innocent III. dispatches indulgence letters into France, and summons the faithful to take the cross against the Vaudois-The monks of Citeaux preach the crusade—Enthusiastic response to their fanatical appeals—The great nobles assume the cross—Languedoc filled with terror—The Count of Toulouse and the Viscount of Alby endeavor to avert the storm—Supercilious conduct of the Papal legate—Count Raymond’s timidity—He yields every thing, and offers to head the crusade—Heroism of the Viscount of Alby—He counsels resistance, and refuges to give his subjects over to the merciless harry of the crusaders—Retires into his states and prepares for their defense—Count Raymond applies to Philip Augustus and to Otho of Germanyfor assistance—His deputation to the pope—Equivocating morality of the pontiff—Raymond Roger refuses to be hoodwinked—The crusaders put themselves in motion in the spring of 1209–Their strength—The rendezvous—Count Raymond’s protest—Innocent appoints Milon, his secretary, legate—A notable admission—Servility of the Count of Toulouse—Submits to be disciplined before the altar—Assumes the cross against his subjects and against his nephew.

CHAPTER V

The crusaders wind into the valleys of the Rhone—Count Raymond meets them at Valence, and conducts them to Montpellier—The Viscount of Alby makes a last effort for peace—Avows himself a true servant of the church, but refuses to yield the principle of toleration—Imperturbability of the. legate—He does not desire an accommodation, his object is extermination—The viscount quits Montpellier sad but resolute—Throws himself into his strong-hold of Beziers, and awaits the onset—His noble conduct—The crusaders advance and burn Villemur-The siege of Chasseneuil—Its vigorous defense and final capitulation—A ghastly carnival—The crusaders press forward to the siege of Beziers—Like Attila, they leave no living thing behind them—Beziers—It is summoned to surrender—Wily harangue of the bishop of the city—The citizens are advised to save themselves by yielding their Vaudois fellow-townsmen to the avengers of the faith—Their noble reply—Unexpected capture of Beziers—Scenes of horror—The unglutted crusaders leave Beziers a smoking tomb, and lay siege to the viscount’s strong-hold and capital of Carcassonne—Situation of the city—Courage of its defenders—The king of Aragon acts as mediator—His visit to Raymond Roger—The admission of that prince—The crusaders are apprized of the desperate condition of the besieged—Terms offered by the abbot of Citeaux—The viscount’s heroic response—Departure of Don Pedro—A general assault—The crusaders are unsuccessful—The chiefs of the war resort to diplomacy—The viscount’s visit under a safe-conduct-practical application of the Jesuit doctrine, that “no faith is to be kept with heretics”—Raymond Roger a prisoner in the clutches of Simon de Montfort

CHAPTER VI

Effect of the perfidy of the crusaders upon the inhabitants of Carcassonne—The yawning cavern—A midnight march through the oozy bowels of the earth—Safety at last—Amazement of the crusaders—A great city deserted—Where are the citizens?–The abbot of Citeaux’s lying proclamation—He will not be cheated of a holocaust—The states of the Viscount of Alby subdued—The crusaders begin to separate—The inquisitors, the legate, and the abbot of Citeaux not satisfied—The Vaudois are conquered, but not exterminated—The work of the Inquisitors not accomplished—They desire to obliterate the tracks of civilization—Until they do this, reform will flourish despite the sacrifice of hecatombs of victims—The legate’s council—Who will accept the conquered territories?–The duke of Burgundy’s reply—The great lords refuse the gift—Simon de Montfort is summoned to accept them—The comedy of refusal—The butcher of the Vaudois finally succumbs to the abbot’s eloquence—Greedy and fanatical ambition rewarded—The bar sinister no impediment to a foremost rank among the great feudatories—De Montfort enters upon his usurped dominions—Fears the legitimate sovereign, whom he holds in his dungeon—The poison rids him of a rival, and quiets his conscience—The close of Raymond Roger’s earthly career—Count Raymond again—A recreant troubadour—Fouquet de Marseille made bishop of Toulouse—Count Raymond’s foes—Their intrigues to prevent his reconciliation with the church—The council of St. Gilles—The count is again excommunicated, and his states are given up to pillage and devastation—The preaching of a new crusade—Alice de Montmorency—De Montfort’s new army of crusaders—Renewed atrocities—Heroism of the Vaudois—The castle of Minerva—The assembly of martyrs—How God’s children could die—The ecstasy of religious devotion—The martyr heroism of devoted womanhood—In the flames—The siege of Termes—An attempted escape—De Montfort’s orgy—The Provencal territories completely surrendered to the domination of demoniacs.

CHAPTER VII

The hunted stag at bay—The alliance—De Montfort is ready—Siege of Lavaur—A frightful massacre—The Vaudois “burned alive with the utmost joy”—De Montfort before Toulouse—The White and Black Companies—The monster baffled—The hunter hunted—De Montfort’s cry for aid—New swarms of fanatics swoop upon Languedoc—De Montfort’s ferocious activity—Death of Count Raymond’s ally, Don Pedro of Aragon—Death of Innocent III—His character—Count Raymond in the field—Re-enters Toulouse—De Montfort once more besieges it—The struggle before the city—The “Cat”—The sally—De Montfort at mass—His last charge—Death smites him in the hour of victory—Consternation of the crusaders, and end of the siege of Toulouse.

CHAPTER VIII

A momentary respite—The gathering of another tempest—Death of Count Raymond VI—His character—An instance of Rome’s spiteful vengeance—Accession of Count Raymond VII.—Death of Philip Augustus—Fouquet, bishop of Toulouse, at Rheims at the coronation of St. Louis—He instigates the young king to proclaim a new crusade—Louis assents—The vulture on the wing once more—He swoops upon the defenseless prey—The cruelties of De Montfort’s regime are reenacted—The crusaders spare neither man in their wrath nor woman in their lust—The Inquisition established in France as a permanent institution by the Council of Toulouse in 1229–The tests of heresy—Two canons of the Council of Toulouse—The bribe—The philosophy of Rome—The Vaudois refuse to deny their Savior—The storm still rages—The conflict has a political phase—The final catastrophe—The Vaudois exterminated, or driven into exile—They continue steadfast in the faith to the last and earn a right to clasp hands with St. Paul, their elder brother in Christ Jesus.

CHAPTER IX

The crime against the Vaudois not the separate wickedness of a single nationality, but a mosaic of infamy—Postponement of the Reformation for three centuries—Even then some of the Romanic races do not accept it—The Vaudois born out of time—Christendom not prepared to receive their truth—”From the sixth hour there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour”—The Vatican congratulates itself—Rome imagines that she has strangled the Reformation—The interregnum means postponement, not conquest—The Vaudois are scattered, not exterminated—”Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,” can separate them from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ—They become the missionaries of mediaeval Europe—They leaven Bohemia through Huss—They leaven England through Wickliffe—A historical episode—The Vaudois and Louis XII—The Piedmontese Vaudois—The rival factions in Italy—The Guelphs and the Ghibelines—Europe’s last effort to clutch the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracen—The Vaudois keep aglow the dying embers of the gospel through these dismal ages—The darkness which precedes the day—The profligacy of the Romish Babylon—A baptism of suffering prepares the way to a glorious reformation—The agents of reform—The revival of learning—The invention of printing—Vaudoisism and humanism the twin laboratories of the Reformation of the sixteenth century.

CHAPTER X

The resurrection of reform—Rome sets herself to subdue the new rebellion against her politics and theology, using old weapons—Leo X. intones his creed from the balcony of the Vatican—The responsive voice from the heights of Wittemberg—Salvation by faith in Christ the soul of the Reformation—The struggle of that epoch was not a movement towards materialism, as some claim, or towards the abolition of Christianity, as the papists charge—Its primary object was the reformation of the abuses which corrupted and deformed the Christian faith—It simply called on man to ground his faith, not on the word of a usurping priest, but on the infallible word of God—The Sorbonne denounces the reform—Leo anathematizes it from the pontifical throne—Rapid spread of Protestantism—Melancthon and Bucer in France—Favorable omens—The reign of Francis I—The Reformation grounds itself in France—The court and the prelates alarmed—Motives of the French bishops for opposing the Reformation—They persuade the king to issue an edict against heresy—A reformed congregation dispersed at Meaux—William Briconnet—Lefevre of Estaples—Francis I. vacillates—The shuttlecock king goes wholly over to Rome—An auto da fe—Louis de Berquin—The jeer of a Jesuit—Unconquerable vitality of faith.

CHAPTER XI

Opening phases of the Reformation—Renee of Ferrara—Margaret de Valois—The sister of the king becomes a disciple of the reformed theology—Her life at the court—Devotes her life to literature and divinity—Her political talents—Her beauty—Her benefactions to the dissenters—The constable Anne of Montmorenci’s advice to the king—Francis’ reply—Margaret the mother of French reform—Her influence—Kings are dangerous missionaries—Conscience the palladium of Protestantism—Margaret marries Henry d’Albret, king of Navarre—Writes toleration on the first line of the first page of her code of laws—The “Evangelicals ” have now an asylum—The persecution rages with increased vehemence—Francis personally attends at an auto da fe—The cardinal of Tournon becomes the king’s adviser after Margaret’s departure for Navarre—His pride and bigotry—Holds the king firm in his determination to exterminate heresy—Two anecdotes—The gloomy prospects of reform—The ascendancy of women at the court—Virtue and honor bartered for station and influence—The ingredients of a. gallant court—The rival factions—The Duchess D’Etampes—Diana le Poitiers—The court soil not productive of the growth of Christian principle—The saying of Diana of Poitiers—The court must spin through its giddy dance—The orgies at the capital do not stay the merciless steps of the inquisitors—”France scents burning bodies in every breeze”

CHAPTER XII

Apostles of the faith-Count Sigismond of Haute Flamme—His conversion—Connection with Margaret of Navarre—Devotion to evangelical truth—His frank courage—A grand idea—Sigismond’s labors with the surrounding priests and nobles—Lambert’s witticism—Pierre Toussaint—Toussaint in the abbot of St. Antoine’s dungeon—Liberty at last—Repairs to Paris—Margaret offers him an asylum—The queen of Navarre is surrounded by a troop of hypocrites—Who will expose their wiles?—Toussaint’s conversation with Lefevre and Roussel—The timid scholars—Their optimism—Toussaint’s grief—Quits the court—His prayer—William Farel—His character—His life as eloquent as his sermons—Farel’s visit to Gap—An incident in his apostolic career—Over the walls—The reformation constantly gains strength—It lacks unity and symmetry—Who shall organize the Reformation?—Sigismond, Farel, and Ecolampadius are in doubt—John Calvin appears

CHAPTER XIII

with Calvinism–John Calvin’s influence in molding the religious character of America. Calvin’s birth—Family—He is a man of the people—Calvin at the college of La Marche—Mathurine Cordier—Master and pupil.—Calvin belongs to the strictest sect of the Roman communion.—The saying at the college—The Noyon boy’s devotion to study.—The red hat and scarlet gown of a cardinal glitter before the eyes of his father—The visit home—A breeze of the gospel in the air—Does Calvin heed it?–Opposes the Reformation at the outset, in the college wrangles—Is won to examine the reformed theology—A terrible struggle—Examination means emancipation—Calvin’s conversion—His prayer—Breaks with Rome—Calvin at Orleans—At Bourses—He “wonderfully advances the kingdom of God”—A life of vicissitudes—Calvin a fugitive—Repairs to Geneva, en route for Germany—His journey summarily arrested—Geneva-Beauty of its situation—Its early history—The three strata—Liberties of the citizens—The counts of Geneva—The bishops—Their worldliness and political ambition—The conflicting jurisdictions of the counts and the bishops—Fierce and prolonged internecine conflicts—Pierre de Savoy—The paladin sails by moonlight on lake Leman.—The dukes of Savoy—They hunger for Geneva—Apply to the pope for the secular authority—Alarm of the citizens—They determine to resist—”Rome ought not to lay its paw upon kingdoms”—”No alienation of the city, or of its territories; this we swear”—The duke withdraws his petition—Pope Martin V—His tarry at Geneva—His dislike of the franchises of the citizens—”The license of popular government” incompatible with the papal rule—The pontiff’s usurpation—Installment of a bishop prince—The Genevese acquiesce for a time in sullen discontent—The revolt—Apply to the Helvetic confederacy for aid—The struggle, though at first a political one, soon assumes a religious phase—The Genevese converted to the Reformation—Farel at Geneva—His influence there—Farel constrains Calvin to stay—Calvin’s unwilling acquiescence. The two preachers are exiled on account of the strictness of their discipline—Calvin a wanderer once more—Correspondence with Melaucthon—With Bucer—With Capito—Calvin recalled to Geneva—Condition of his return—Comes back as a conqueror—Sets to work—New-models the. civil code—Education—Calvin organizes the Reformation—The “Christian Institutes”—Calvin completes the temple of God—Geneva the school of the—Reformation—Influence of its disciples—Guy de Bres, and the Netherlands—John Know and Scotland—England and France inoculated

CHAPTER XIV

A parliamentary edict—Two martyrs—Margaret of Navarre—The “mirror of a sinful soul”—The Sorbonne in council—The syndic’s harangue—”This is deadly heresy”—A raid on the booksellers’ shops—The faculty deliberate—What shall be Margaret’s punishment?–:A monk’s advice—A comedy—The king’s anger—He quells the Sorbonne—A tragedy—The end of the Vaudois—The testimony of the Abbe Anquetil and of De Thon—“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

CHAPTER XV

Death of Francis I—Succession of Henry II—Condition of the kingdom—French politics—The four court factions—Anne de Montmorenci—Diana de Poitiers—Catharine de Medici—The Guises—Inception of the house of Lorraine—Claude de Guise—His six sons—The rage of faction—The coalition—The selfishness of cabals—Francis Duke of Guise—His character—Montmorenci versus the confederacy—The constable persuades the princes of the blood to join his party—Anthony de Bourbon—Prince de Conde—The house of Chatillon—Odet, Cardinal de Chatillon—Gaspard Chatillon de Coligny—Francis Chatillon D’Andelot—D’Andelot joins the Reformation—The colonel-general before the king—A noble avowal—In the dungeon of Melan—Popularity of the reformed doctrines—The meeting at the Preaux Cleves—D’Andelot at liberty—Paul IV. is chagrined—Character of the Admiral de Coligny—The two brothers.

CHAPTER XVI

Henry’s double mission—The dishonorable truce—Abdication of Charles V.—An anecdote—The persecution renewed—King Henry and the old domestic—The tumult at Paris—The edict of Chateaubriand—The Cardinal’s scheme—The king’s assent—The Parliament and veto—Sequier’s speech—The Jesuits—Ignatius Loyola—Character of the “Society of Jesus”—Endeavor to obtain legal recognition—The bishop’s reply—Opinion of the Sorbonne—Momentary failure—Military affairs—Political charges—Treaty of Chateau Cambrisis—The Cardinal’s counsel—An atrocious plot—Henry and the Parliament—The debate—Louis IV—Anne Du Bourg—Henry’s rage—The arrest—The tournament—Death and character of Henry II—Rise of the name Huguenots.

CHAPTER XVII

The end of a historic rivalry—The court revolutionized—The Guises. in power—Francis II. and Mary Stuart—The king in duress—The cabal—An auto da fe—Trial and execution of Anne Du Bourg—Incorporation of the “Company of Jesus”—Alarm of the Huguenots—Discontent of the nobility—The conspiracy—The castle La Ferte—Conde the chief, La Renaudie the nominal head of the confederates—The ruined chateau in the outskirts of Nantes—The conspirators at the rendezvous—La Renaudie’s harangue—The oath—The court at Blois—The king and queen—An indiscreet admission—The attorney’s perfidy—The Guises in possession of the plot—A hunting gallop from Blois to Amboise—Francis and the duke of Guise—Suspicions—Coligny and D’Andelot summoned to Amboise—Coligny’s appeal for religious enfranchisement—He is supported by the moderates of the Council—The edict—Conde at Amboise—The hour at hand—Forewarned is forearmed—The attack—The death of La Renaudie—Rout of the conspirators—The Duke Nemours and Castelnau—A cavalier’s idea of honor—The Guises triumph—Revocation of Coligny’s edict—Conde arrested—Sanguinary course of the government—Conde and the duke of Guise—The conspiracy ends with a liberation—A page from contemporaneous history.

CHAPTER. XVIII

Assembly of the notables—Death of Olivier—L’Hopital succeeds to the chancellorship—Coligny’s appeal—Guise and the admiral—Progress of the word—Conversations—The plot—Apprehension of the Bourbon princes—The citation—Navarre and Conde at Orleans—Conde’s arrest—The trial—The condemnation—The soldier and the confessor—Conde’s firmness—The wife’s petition—Navarre’s exertions—A projected assassination—A lawyer’s stratagem—Death of Francis II.

CHAPTER XIX

Accession of Charles IX—Regency of Catharine de Medici—Liberation of Conde—The new-modeled cabinet—First measures of the new administration—Convention of the states-general—Effort to exile the princes of Lorraine—Navarre’s motion—The Triumvirate—The Spanish ambassador—Condition of parties—The edict of July—A mock reconciliation—Colloquy of Poissy—The leading disputants—L’Hopital’s address—Beza’s plea—The response of Tournon—The cardinal of Lorraine’s harangue—Results of the colloquy—Catherine’s letter to the pope—The pontiffs alarm—The attempt to suborn the king of Navarre—His final fall—Dismay of Jane D’Albret—The two queens—Characteristic speeches—Renewed assembly of the states-general at St. Germain—The new decree.

CHAPTER XX

The intercepted letter—Conde’s confession of faith—Navarre’s intrigues—The double banishment—The results of a compromise—The scene at Vassy—Atrocities—Guise’s coup d’ etat—Movements of the Triumvirate—Conde’s manifestos—Enthusiasm of the Huguenots—An anecdote—Character of the Huguenot leaders—Conde attempts to play Machiavelli—The faux pas—Foreign alliances—Marches and counter-marches—France rent by demoniacs—The twin demons.

CHAPTER XXI

Military operations—Siege of Rouen—Death of Navarre—His character—The advance on Paris—The battle of Dreux—Capture of Conde and the constable—Guise’s elation—Siege of Orleans—Assassination of the duke of Guise—The charge against Coligny—The halt of civil war before the bier of Francis Guise.

CHAPTER XXII

The queen mother regains her supremacy—Conde signs a peace—Consternation in Coligny’s camp—Provisions of the treaty—The admiral grounds arms—His precautions—Catherine’s chagrin—Conde’s reply—Expulsion of the English—Anger of queen Elizabeth—Wasted hours—Encroachments upon the edict of pacification—The Reformation compromised by its political chiefs—The rationale of reform—Politics of the Vatican—The pontiff’s audacity—Anger of Charles IX—Sine die adjournment of the Council of Trent—History of its sessions—Arrest of Du Moulin—Coligny’s intercession—The king proclaimed of age—The royal journey—Catherine de’ Medici and the duke of Alva—The queen mother and the Papal nuncio—First murmurs of St. Bartholomew—Alva’s epigram—Assembly of notables at Moulins—Intrigues to entrap the Huguenots-The new edict—Charles IX. and the admiral.

CHAPTER XXIII

Unpopularity of the edict of pacification—The cardinal of Lorraine at court—Projects of the king of Spain—The plotters at Paris—Augmentation of the army—Secret council of the Huguenot chiefs at Chatillon-sur-Loing—The counterplot—Conde before the capital—Negotiations-Battle of St. Denis—Death of Montmorenci—A leaf from Brantome—The German auxiliaries—An instance of the influence of religious enthusiasm—Renewed pacification—Dissatisfaction of the Huguenot leaders—Insidious assaults upon the reformers—Conduct of the Romish clergy—”No faith need be kept with heretics”—Emeutes of the canaille—Catharine’s perfidy—The plot to seize Conde and Coligny—Their narrow escape—Consequent postponement of the St. Bartholomew—The rendezvous at Rochelle—Charles IX and the duke of Anjou—Renewed hostilities—The battle of Jarnac—Defeat of the Huguenots, and heroic death of Conde—Conde’s character—Coligny saves the army—Jealousies and intrigues of the court—Death of, the duke of Deux-Ponts—Death of D’Andelot—The Admiral’s grief—Dissensions in the Huguenot ranks—Noble conduct of Coligny—Jane D’Albret in the camp—Her appeal for union—young Conde and the prince of Bearn—Henry of Navarre proclaimed generalissimo of the Huguenots—Coligny the real chief—Popularity of the admiral—Battle of Mincontour and rout of the Huguenots—Coligny’s genius and energy repairs the defeat—The admiral’s victory at Arnay-le-Duc—Alarm of the court—Catharine dissembles—The tragic comedy of reconciliation—Pacification-The guarantees.

CHAPTER XXIV

The court changes front—The age of craft—The wily queen mother caresses the Huguenots—Jane D’Albret and the admiral fix their residence at Rochelle—Artifices to draw them to the capital—Catharine’s consummate hypocrisy—She instructs the king to use every art to gain the confidence of the Huguenots—Marriage of Charles IX—The reformers are deceived—Numbers repair to Paris and join in the court fetes—A new scheme—Projected marriage of Margaret de Valois and the prince of Bearn—Sketch of the early life of Henry of Navarre—Reluctance of Jane D’ Albret to accede to the match—A mother’s instinct—Duplicity of the king—The wary admiral is hoodwinked—Journey of Charles IX to Louvain—Meeting of the two courts—Charles IX and Coligny—Hypocrisy of the young king—Definitive arrangements are made for the nuptials of Navarre and Margaret—The time appointed—Catharine’s sardonic satisfaction—The treacherous calm—Jane D’Albret at the Louvre—Her sudden death—Infatuation of Coligny—The warning—The admiral’s project—The French court listens to the recital of his plans with courteous but perfidious attention—The ripening holocaust.

CHAPTER XXV

A catastrophe predicted—The bloody nuptials—The wedding on the scaffold—Attempt to assassinate the admiral—The old soldier’s sang froid—Exclamation of the king—Efforts of the court to allay suspicion—Energy of the conspirators—Proposition to quit the capital—Coligny and the Vidame of Chartres—A diabolical ruse—The cordon of masked executioners—The midnight signal—The frenzied populace—”Blood! blood!”—Tavannes’ witticism—Pezon the butcher—The queen-mother’s perfumer—Cruces boast-Guise flies to the admiral—The entrance of the bravos—Coligny’s awakening—Question and answer—Coligny’s composure—He prays—”Art thou Coligny?”—The admiral’s reply—The martyrdom—Petrucci’s announcement—Incredulity of Guise—Coligny’s corpse is flung from the window—Brutality of Guise—Awful treatment of the admiral’s remains—Charles IX at the gibbet of Montfaucon—The king quotes the atrocious Latin of Vitellius—The final sepulchre—Scenes of horror—The king’s ferocity—The window of the Louvre—Charles amuses himself—Fanaticism of the abandoned beauties of the court—The courtesans transmuted into harpies—Barbarous conduct of the brazen wantons—Appalling spectacle of Paris by daylight—The massacre spreads through France—Isolated instances of humanity—Noble conduct of the Count de Tende—Of the Count de Charny—Of the governor of Auvergne—Of the commander of Bayonne—A ghastly resume-Shall Conde and Navarre be spared?–A page from the memoirs of the royal bride—The princes and the king—Conde’s candor—The decision—”The mass, death, or the Bastille”—The king’s demoniacal glee—The well-learned lesson—The trophies of the massacre—Pibrae’s query—The proclamation—Mingled atrocity and dissimulation of the king—Renewal of the “Paris matins”—Wild fantasies—Navarre’s prodigy—The clotted drops of blood upon the table—An hour at midnight by the bed-side of Charles IX—Wail of the phantom voices—The king’s agony—”Conscience does make cowards of us all.”

CHAPTER XXVI

European effect of the massacre of St. Bartholomew—The news in England—Opinion of Germany—The pleas in justification—Rome greets the news with acclamations, bonfires, an illumination, and a high mass celebrated by the sovereign pontiff in person—The honorary medal—Equivocal morality—The Amen of Madrid—Ferocious joy of Philip II—Witticism of the admiral of Castile—Results of the massacre in France—Firmness and energy of the Huguenots—The confederation—The appeal to arms—The siege of Rochelle decided on—Sketch of the history of Rochelle—Preparations for the defense—The solitary sentinel—La Noue’s mission—The interview—Noble conduct of the Rochellois—Disaffection in the camp of the besiegers—Anjou’s ennui—Rochelle triumphant—The pacification of 1573–Terms of the treaty—Election of Anjou to the throne of Poland—He quits France for Warsaw—Last hours of Charles IX—The confession to Ambrose Paré—The dying monarch and Henry of Navarre—The whispered caution—An awful death-bed.

CHAPTER XXVII

The Polish courier—Regency of Catharine de Medici—Effects of despotism—The new coalition—Policy of the queen-mother—Henry III. receives intelligence of his brother’s death—The clandestine departure—The arrival—Catharine’s flattery Death of the Cardinal of Gonaive—Meeting of the insurgents at Milland—The pledge—The king before Livron—Henry is hooted—Disaffection of Alencon—Battle of Dormans—Navarre’s protestation—Peace-Brantome’s epigram—Davila’s statement—Catliarine’s subtlety.

CHAPTER XXVIII

General dissatisfaction—Character of Henry III—Precautions of the Huguenots—Action of the Ultramontane party—Rise of the League—The cabinet at Joinville—The covenant—Influence of Spain—Activity of the League—Meeting of the States-general at Blois—Henry’s alarm—Resolution of the king—Guise’s demand—The deputation—Navarre’s reply—Answer of Conde and D’ Amville—Recommencement of the war—Edict of Poitiers—The “Lovers war”-Renewed pacification.

CHAPTER XXIX

Death of Alencon—Energy of the League—Rendezvous of the conspirators—The decision—The traitorous treaty—Fears of the king—The League startled—Epernon and Navarre—The manifesto of the “Holy Union”—Henry’s counter declaration—Success of Guise—The ignominious treaty—Navarre’s astonishment—His whiskers turn white in a night—Activity of the Huguenots—The proposition—Commencement of hostilities—Death of Gregory XIII—The new pope—The brutum fulmen—Effect on the League—Moral effect—Action of the Swiss cantons—The bull in Germany—Navarre takes the field—Battle of Contras—Rout of the royalists, and death of the Duke of Joyeuse—Navarre’s criminal conduct—He plays the carpet-knight.

CHAPTER XXX

Guise’s laurels–Envy of the king-Guise’s popularity-The family meeting at Nancy–Real object of the house of LorraineThe masked policy-An insolent petition–Half measuresC,uise at Paris-Mob enthusiasm-The duke and the queenmother-Guise and the king-“Vive la Hypocrisie”-Paris in the olden times-Catherine’s ruse-Escape of the kingRTemville’s announcement-Negotiations-Convention of the States-general-Guise’s manoeuvres-Muddled condition of French politics-The advice of a soldier-A lawyer’s connselAssassination of Henry de Guise-`° The king of Paris is dead “Unwonted vigor of the king-News of the tragedy at ParisFrenzy of the capital-Death of Catharine de’ Medici-Henry’s embarrassment-A pontiff’s influence–The enraged League will not negotiate-The king appeals to the Huguenots-Meeting of Navarre and Henry III.-The advance on Parisblayenne’s retreat-Siege of Paris-Famine chokes the capital-The power of fanaticism Tacques Clement-How he was heated-Assassination of Henry III.

CHAPTER XXXI

The enthronement of a Huguenot—Joy of Ultramontane France—The Pontiffs blasphemy over the murder of Henry III—Activ ity of the new king—Difficulties of the succession—Condition of the League—Military successes of Henri Quatre—Battle of Ivry—”The white plume of Navarre”—The advance upon the capital—The starving metropolis—Maneuvers of the duke of Parma—Death of a phantom king—The decision of the League—Henry’s alarm—The struggle of a human soul—The king determines to abjure Protestantism—The sad scene at St. Denis—Effect in the Huguenot ranks—Mornay’s letter—The deputies—General acquiescence in the new regime—Course of the Jesuits—Their regicidal doctrines—The attempted assassina tion of the king—Indictment of the “Society of Jesus”—Ar nauld’s plea—The address of Louis Dollé—Intense popular feeling against the Jesuits—The thwarted knife of Chatel—Banishment of the Jesuits—D’ Aubigne’s epigram—A warning and a prophecy.

CHAPTER XXXII

Disordered condition of the kingdom–The king devotes himself to the amelioration of internal affairs–Signature of the edict of Nantes–Its provisions–Feeling of the papists–The king and the murmurers–Sully’s resume–Henry’s marriage–Reentrance of the Jesuits into France–Catherine of Bourbon–She becomes the chief court pillar of the Huguenots—Mornay’s letter to the princess–The reply–Catherine’s influence with her brother–The Huguenot reunion at the Louvre–The snubbed delegates–Attempt at reconciliation–Catherine’s marriage–Her persistent faith–Her death–Henry’s grief–The holy father’s insinuation–The king’s spirited answer–The royal tour–Anecdotes–Repose of the Huguenots–The reputed plot–A Jesuit babble–Henry’s last years–The mysterious project–Mary de Medici–The coronation–The king’s buoyancy–An after chill–The ride–The narrow street–The assassination–Seizure of Ravaillac—Precautions–The queen’s terror–Consternation–An awful comedy–The rack brings forth no confession–Singular conduct of the judiciary–L’Etoil’s solution of the enigma–Péréfixe’s witticism.

CHAPTER XXXIII

Henry’s family—Succession of Louis XIII—D’Epernon’s boldness secures the regency for Mary de Medici—The queen’s apartments resound with songs and laughter—Mirth on one side, the murdered dead upon the other—The Concinis—The change—Alarm of the Huguenots—Their chiefs—Bigotry and court cabal—The regency ends in a tragedy—The new favorite—Conduct of the Huguenots—The descent on Bearn—Clamors of the Romish clergy—The arrét-The king at Pau—Celebration of the mass in the ancient citadel of the Reformation—Recommencement of hostilities—Diversified nature of the contest—Pacification on the basis of the edict of Nantes—Richelieu enters the cabinet—His threefold object—The duke of Buckingham—His plans—Richelieu’s opportunity-His sagacious program—Wily diplomacy—Siege of Rochelle—The gallant defense-Capture of Rochelle—Peace again—Paens to Richelieu—The Huguenots stripped of all political importance—Momentary cessation of persecution—The cause—The synod at Charenton—The deputation—The demand.

CHAPTER XXXIV

The Huguenots enjoy twenty years of peace—Death of Richelieu—Regency of Anne of Austria—Mazarin—His policy—Rise of the English commonwealth—Cromwell’s intercession—Model behavior of the Huguenots—Mazarin’s testimony—D’Harconrt and the deputies of Montauban—Louis’ declaration—Death of Mazarin—Louis XIV assumes the direction of affairs—The reign of courtesans and Jesuits—The policy of corruption—Steadfastness of the middle classes—Satanic ingenuity exercised in enforcing proselytism—The infinite hard spiritual fights of God’s suffering children—The enemies of the faith—Steady progress of the government from one tyranny to another—The commencement of emigration—The prohibitory decree—Persistence of the Huguenots—”Not principalities nor powers can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus”—The rage of persecution—Malignity of the government, priest-ridden and corrupt—Père la Chaise, the king’s confessor—The incitement—A Jesuit’s weapons—The congenial trinity—The dragonades—The army of soldiers, and the army of priests—Recommencement of emigration—Macauley’s estimate of Louis XIV.

CHAPTER XXXV

The “booted missionaries” extend their efforts into all the Huguenot provinces—Pellisson’s fund—The lies of the Gazette—Exultation of the court—Meeting of the Huguenot deputies at Toulouse—The determination—Rage of the king—The flutter in the courtier dove-tote—A leaf from Soulier—The testimony of Rulhiére—The alternatives—The demoralization of France—The greed for proselytes—Louvois’ letter—Noailles’ announcement—Revocation of the edict of Nantes—The lying preamble—Feature of the revocation—Its effect—The enforcement of the decree—Letellier’s Nunc dimittis—Grammont’s witticism—The Huguenot pastors—Claude—Conduct of the Huguenots—Instances of devotion—The heroism of despair—The flood-tide of emigration—Frightful depopulation of the kingdom—The victims—What it cost to suppress the truth in France—Atrocious punishments—Moral results of the proscription—The economic aspect—The compensation.

CHAPTER XXXVI

The number of Huguenots who remained in France after the revocation—Their faithfulness—The liberalization of public opinion—The law unchanged—The Camisard war—A wholesale massacre—The reign of Louis XV—Increasing humanity of the bar—Judges obey justice in disobeying the law—The rise of infidelity—Coldness of the philosophical school towards the oppressed Huguenots—No points of resemblance between bastard philosophy and Christianity—The synod at Nismes—The yoke grows lighter—The edict of toleration—The four things which it granted—Jubilee of the congregations of the wilderness—The yawning abyss of the Revolution—The “Goddess of Reason”—The necessity of religious faith—Napoleon’s usurpation—The empire decrees limited toleration—Toleration under the restoration—Under the second empire—Present condition of French Protestantism—Reflections.