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HISTORY 
 
 PERSECUTIONS 
 
 ENDURED BY 
 
 THE PROTESTANTS 
 
 SOUTH OF FRANCE, 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
Printed by A. and R. Spottiswoodc, 
 Printers- Street, London. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PERSECUTIONS 
 
 ENDURED BY 
 
 THE PROTESTANTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SOUTH OF FRANCE, 
 
 AND MORE ESPECIALLY OF 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF THE GARD, 
 
 DURING THE YEARS 
 
 1814, 1815, 1816, &c. 
 
 INCLUDING A 
 
 DEFENCE OF THEIR CONDUCT, 
 
 FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT PEIUOD. 
 
 By MARK WILKS. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 printed FOR LONGMAN, hurst, rees, orme, & BROWN, 
 
 rATEKNOSTER-ROW ; AND 
 
 FRANCIS WESTLEY, 10. Stationers' Court. 
 1821. 
 

 v^ 
 
the el 
 The I 
 
 Tresf CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Arrondissement of Nismes. — Instances of plunder at Mil- 
 haud. — Murder of Hermet. — Extortions and pillage at 
 Vauvert, Beauvoisin, and Generac. — Sufferings of St. 
 Gilles. — The churches of Calvisson and Aiguevives. — 
 Destruction of the arch. — Testimony of the commissioner 
 in their favour. — Sommieres. — The pastor attacked. — 
 Letters of Marquis de Montlord, and the commanding 
 officer. — Crimes of Anjargues. — Events of St. Mamert, 
 Combas, Crespian, and Montmiral. — Murder of Compan. 
 
 — Fons. — The treatment of the mayor and Protestants of 
 Beauzely. — The mayor of Gajans dragged to Nismes. — 
 Persecutions at Montpezat, Parignargues, and other com- 
 munes. — Arrondissement of Uzes. — The Catholics of 
 
 1814<. — Return of Napoleon Restoration. — Crowds 
 
 of Catholics collected at Uzes. — Alarm and assembly of 
 the Protestant peasants at Arpaillargues. — Negociation. 
 
 — Catholics break the convention. — One of them killed. 
 
 — M. Penarier, though innocent, afterwards executed at 
 Nismes. — Melancholy death of Madame Bastide. — 
 History of M. Vallabrix the sub-prefect. — The third of 
 August. — Death of Pascal, and horrid massacre of several 
 Protestants. — General plunder. — Massacre of the pri- 
 sons. — Contributions and extortions. — Case of M. Lom- 
 bard. — Massacre of six Protestants of St. Maurice. — 
 False statements of the official journal. — Quatretaillons 
 acquitted. — Divine service prevented. — Senilhac and 
 Saguries. — Death of Mademoiselle Fresine, and murder 
 of Chastenier. — Persecution of M. Sabatier, and the 
 Protestants of Montaren. — Baron. — The sufferings of 
 Pastor Fromental, his family, and the church at St. Chap- 
 tes. — The Chateau de la Tour. — Communes of Gar- 
 
 634.62 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 rigues, Colorgues and Bourdic. — M. Roux require^ 
 marry a prostitute. — Destruction of the temple ofi 
 zac. — Communes of La Calmette, Dion, Mous, 
 St. Genies. i, 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Subject continued. — Arrondissement of Alais. — Canton of 
 Alais. — Assembly of armed Catholics. — Attack on the 
 temple. — Case of M. Fraissinet. — Assassination of Per- 
 rin charged on the Protestants. — Insurrection of the Na- 
 tional Guard. — Canton of Anduze. — Loyalty of the 
 Protestants. — Circular from the consistory. — Alarm of 
 the inhabitants. — National Guards assemble, and nego- 
 tiate. — Allowed to retain their arms. — Fresh alarms. — 
 Testimony in their favour from the royal commissioner. — 
 Canton of St. Jean Du Gard. — Seizure of the temple 
 of Mialet. — Cantons of Vezenobre and Ledignan. — 
 Communes of Ners and Boucoiran. — March of royal 
 troops. — Camp of the peasants. — Murder of M. Perrier. 
 
 — Conduct of the pastor, M. Bruguier Retreat of the 
 
 troops, and arrest of M. Cambon. — Death of M. Perrier 
 
 examined. — Execution of M. Cambon Persecution of 
 
 M. Bruguier, the pastor, &c. — Communes of Valence, 
 Brignon, and Mauressargues. — Extortions of the com- 
 missioners in several communes. — Arrondissement of 
 Vigan. — M. Durand's account of St. Hyppolite and the 
 Cevennes. — Canton of Louvre. — Letter from the con- 
 sistory. — Communes of Durfort and Canaule. — Canton 
 of La Salle. — Anecdote. — Department of L'Aveyron. 
 
 — Burning of the temple of St. Affrique. — Memorial of 
 the consistory. — Department of L'Herault. — Church of 
 Montpellier. — Burning of the temple of Pignan. — Ad- 
 dress to the consistory. — Devastation of the temples of 
 Cournonteral and Villeveirac. — Addresses to the prefect 
 and the minister of the interior. — Churches of Montagnac 
 and Vallemayne devastated. — Massillargues. — Reflec- 
 tions. 369 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 State of Nismes in October, 1815. — Houses devastated. — 
 Massacre of the 16th. — M. Durand's account of the 
 murder of Lichaire. — Evidence on the trial of Servante, 
 Nov. 25. 1819. — Murder of Lafond. — Trestaillons ar- 
 rested by General Lagarde. — Conduct of the prefect. — 
 
CONTENTS. Vil 
 
 Fete in honour of the Duke D' Angouleme. — Tumult in 
 the chamber of deputies on M. D'Argenson's speech. — 
 The Duke D' Angouleme at Nismes. — Liberation of 
 
 Trestaillons demanded Attempt to open the Protestant 
 
 temple. — Dreadful outrage. — General Lagarde shot. ■ — 
 Protestants killed and wounded. — Temple ravaged. — 
 Proclamations. — Return of the Duke D' Angouleme. — 
 Interview with the consistory. — Letter of the deputies of 
 the Gard Royal ordonnance. — Partiality of the magis- 
 trates. — The first Sunday of December. — Protestants 
 attacked in the country. — State of the prisons. — Con- 
 versions. — Baptisms. — Letter of Cambon. — Letter of 
 M. Juillerat. — Temple opened 21st December. — Pro- 
 testants forced to concede their two temples. — Procla- 
 mation of the mayor. — Conduct of the prefect. — His- 
 tory of the temples. — Conduct of the consistory. — 
 Letter of the Duke D' Angouleme. — Worship celebrated. 
 
 — Persecution at Sommieres on Christmas-day. — M. 
 Mounier attacked. - - P a g e 44?9 
 
 CHAP XL 
 
 Exertions in England in behalf of the Protestants. — Letters 
 of the Duke of Wellington, and M. Vaublanc. — Mission 
 of the Rev. C. Perrot. — Suspension of massacres. — 
 Trestaillons and others protected. — Motion of M. Trin- 
 quelague in their favour. — Revocation of the ordonnance 
 of Nov. 21st, 1815. — Proclamation and conduct of the 
 prefect. — Speech of Sir Samuel Romilly. — Removal of 
 M. Cavalier, procureur-general. — Protestants prosecuted 
 by the tribunals. — Iniquitous verdicts. — Account of the 
 judicial proceedings by M. Madier de Montjau. — Tru- 
 phemy a witness The counsel for the Protestants at- 
 tacked in court. — Fresh outrages. — Devastations. — 
 Conversions. — Arrival of two deputies. — Sentence and 
 execution of Penarier. — Condemnation and execution of 
 three Protestants at Nismes, and two at Arpaill argues. — 
 Many others condemned. — Trestaillons liberated. — 
 Enters Nismes in triumph — Quatretaillons. — Truphemy. 
 
 — Trial of Boissin, the assassin of General Lagarde. — 
 His acquittal. — Letters of M. Bernard, and M. Madier. 
 
 — M. D'Arbaud Jouques. — Prefect dismissed State 
 
 of the Protestants. — The forced loan. — The hospitals. — 
 Attempt at insurrection in favour of the late prefect. — 
 M. Dargout appointed prefect. — New epoch. — Dissolu- 
 tion of the National Guard, and elections in 1818. — 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 Attacks renewed on the Protestants in March, 1819. — 
 The Protestants arm. — Danger of civil war. — Speech of 
 the keeper of the seals. ■ — M. Cavalier appointed mayor. 
 
 — Acquittal at Alais. — Trials of Truphemy and Servante. 
 
 — Effect of the assassination of the Duke of Berry. — 
 Petition of M. Madier de Montjau. — Speech of M. St. 
 Aulaire. — Petition of widows and orphans. — Quatretail- 
 l ons< — Persecution of M. Madier. — The enemies of the 
 Protestants re-enter the chamber of deputies. Page 521 
 
289 
 
 CHAR VIII. 
 
 AIUtONDISSEMENT OF NISMES. INSTANCES OF PLUNDER AT 
 
 MILHAUD. MURDER OF HERMET. EXTORTIONS AND 
 
 PILLAGE AT VAUVERT, BEAUVOISIN, AND GENERAC. 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF ST. GILLES. THE CHURCHES OF CALVISSON 
 
 AND AIGUEVIVES. DESTRUCTION OF THE ARCH. TES- 
 TIMONY OF THE COMMISSIONER IN THEIR FAVOUR. 
 
 SOMMIERES. THE PASTOR ATTACKED. LETTERS OF 
 
 MARQUIS DE MONTLORD, AND THE COMMANDING OFFICER. 
 
 CRIMES OF ANJARGUES. — EVENTS OF ST. MAMERT, 
 
 COMBAS, CRESPIAN AND MONTMIRAL. MURDER OF COM- 
 
 PAN. FONS. THE TREATMENT OF THE MAYOR AND 
 
 PROTESTANTS OF BEAUZELY. THE MAYOR OF GAJANS 
 
 DRAGGED TO NISMES. PERSECUTIONS AT MONTPEZAT, 
 
 PARIGNARGUES, AND OTHER COMMUNES. ARRONDISSE- 
 
 MENT OF UZES. THE CATHOLICS OF 1814?. RETURN OF 
 
 NAPOLEON. RESTORATION. CROWDS OF CATHOLICS 
 
 COLLECTED AT UZES. — ALARM AND ASSEMBLY OF THE 
 PROTESTANT PEASANTS AT ARPAILLARGUES. NEGO- 
 TIATION. CATHOLICS BREAK THE CONVENTION. ONE 
 
 OF THEM KILLED. M. PENARIER THOUGH INNOCENT, 
 
 AFTERWARDS EXECUTED AT NISMES. — MELANCHOLY 
 
 DEATH OF MADAME BASTIDE. HISTORY OF M. VALLA- 
 
 BRIX THE SUB-PREFECT. THE THIRD OF AUGUST. 
 
 DEATH OF PASCAL, AND HORRID MASSACRE OF SEVERAL 
 
 PROTESTANTS. GENERAL PLUNDER. MASSACRE OF THE 
 
 PRISONS. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXTORTIONS. CASE 
 
 OF M. LOMBARD. MASSACRE OF SIX PROTESTANTS OF ST. 
 
 MAURICE. FALSE STATEMENTS OF THE OFFICIAL JOUR- 
 NAL. QUATRETAILLONS ACQUITTED. DIVINE SER- 
 VICE PREVENTED. SENILHAC AND SAGURIES. DEATH 
 
 OF MADEMOISELLE FRESINE, AND MURDER OF CHASTENIER. 
 
 PERSECUTION OF M. SABATIER, AND THE PROTESTANTS 
 
 OF MONTAREN. — BARON. — THE SUFFERINGS OF PASTOR 
 U 
 
2Q0 ARRONDISSEMENT OF NISMES. 
 
 FROMENTAL, HIS FAMILY, AND THE CHURCH AT ST. 
 
 CHAPTES. THE CHATEAU DE LA TOUR. — COMMUNES OF 
 
 GARRIGUES, COLORGUES AND BOURDIC. M. ROUX RE- 
 QUIRED TO MARRY A PROSTITUTE. DESTRUCTION OF 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF BLAUZAC. COMMUNES OF LA CAL- 
 
 METTE, DION, MOUSSAC, AND ST. GENIES. 
 
 On every point of the department where the 
 reformed religion was professed, the same spirit 
 was displayed, as in the capital of the Garde. 
 Before the second restoration, many towns and 
 villages had experienced its violence ; but after 
 the re-establishment of the royal government, 
 it pervaded every branch of the administration. 
 The local authorities were distinguished for 
 their zeal in supporting the efforts of their em- 
 ployers, and under pretence of rebellion, secre- 
 tion of arms, conspiracy, surveillance of the 
 disaffected, or non-payment of contributions - — ■ 
 troops, national guards, and armed mobs were 
 permitted or authorised to plunder, arrest 
 and murder peaceable citizens, and unoffending 
 protestants. To form any idea of the nature 
 and extent of this shameful persecution, it will 
 be necessary to follow the civil and ecclesiastical 
 divisions of the department, and to trace a 
 faint outline of the evils that were perpetrated 
 and endured. 
 
 ARRONDISSEMENT OF NISMES. 
 
 St. Cesaire is so contiguous to Nismes, that the 
 sufferings of its inhabitants, and the murders of 
 
PLUNDER AT MILHAUD. L 291 
 
 Imbert, Affourtit and Isnard have been included 
 in the account of the events that occurred in 
 that city. 
 
 Milhaud is the only commune in addition to 
 St. Cesaire, comprehended in the consistorial 
 church of Nismes. This village was subject 
 to visits without number from the Miquelets *; 
 and all the protestants, who had property, were 
 compelled either to pay enormous sums, or 
 submit repeatedly to pillage. One or two in- 
 stances will demonstrate the spirit and the 
 system of the persecutors. 
 
 M. Teulon, the proprietor of a large and 
 modern house, and extensive premises, was 
 obliged with many others to become an exile ; 
 not because he was committed by any political 
 act, but because it was impossible to resist fa- 
 natical fury while the magistrates permitted its 
 ascendancy. 
 
 On Sunday, the 16th of July, when all the 
 family were yet at home, such large groups of 
 catholics collected around the house, that it was 
 necessary to shut the gates. From alarming 
 and disgusting language, they then proceeded 
 to deeds. The windows were broken, and the 
 gates were re-opened to appease their rage. 
 They were only rendered more audacious by this 
 concession; they threw stones at Madame Teulon 
 and her daughter, and threatened to kill a child 
 only seven years of age. The night was passed 
 
 * A name adopted by the armed mobs of Trcstaillons, &c. 
 
 U 2 
 
292 PLUNDER AT MILHAUD. 
 
 in the greatest disorder and distress. The next 
 day M. Teulon wrote a letter to the mayor, to 
 be forwarded to the sub-prefect, explanatory of 
 the reasons of his departure, and fled to Calvis- 
 son ; where he presented himself to the mayor, 
 with a copy of this letter, and placed himself 
 under his surveillance. After two days, during 
 which, Madame Teulon and her family were 
 continually in danger, she took a few articles 
 and set out for Nismes, leaving the property at 
 the mercy of a band, who were marauding at 
 the distance of a quarter of a league, and who 
 spread terror in every direction. The house 
 was plundered ; at first inconsiderably, but in 
 the course of fifteen days, the pillage was re- 
 peatcd^e times. All the windows were broken, 
 and all the valuable furniture was removed or 
 afterwards destroyed. In order to save the 
 remainder, application was made to M. Vidal, 
 that seals might be affixed, and guards stationed 
 on the premises, by the mayor. The seals were 
 attached ; but the mayor, M. de Chatellier, re- 
 fused to place any guard : on the contrary, he 
 appropriated to his own use, the horse of M. 
 Teulon, whose property he ought to have pre- 
 served. The seals were soon broken, and on 
 the 26th of August, all the residue of the goods 
 was seized, and divided. The hay and wood 
 which were not yet disposed of, were burned 
 with all the deliberateness of confirmed villany j 
 and what is scarcely credible, the furies took up 
 
PLUNDER AT MILHAUD. S$3 
 
 the corpse of a child whicli was buried in the 
 garden, and dragged it round the flames. 
 
 The Corps de Garde was near, and the pa- 
 troles went their rounds ; but they neither at- 
 tempted to check the conflagration, nor even 
 to approach the scene. The trees in the garden 
 were felled; the balconies and the railing of 
 the staircase torn away; and on the following day, 
 (Sunday), at noon, the windows, which the fire 
 had not consumed, were carried off. Two days 
 after, a memorial of these facts was presented 
 to the prefect, M. D'Arbaud Jouques, and he 
 was requested to give orders for the preservation 
 of the vintage, as it was the known design of 
 the catholics to gather the harvest, and destroy 
 the vines. The prefect took no measures to 
 prevent this devastation, and M. Teulon was 
 obliged to sell immediately, for 3500 francs, 
 a vintage, which the purchaser instantly resold 
 for 9000. In the month of September, M. Teu- 
 lon, jun. obtained authority to search several 
 houses for the stolen property, in company with 
 the gendarmes and the mayor. In spite of the 
 order of the commissary-general of police, the 
 mayor refused to accompany them, and though 
 the property was found, the populace rose in 
 such numbers, and with such fury, that the 
 search was abandoned, and it was with great 
 difficulty M. Teulon escaped with his life. For 
 some days following, the people gratified their 
 vengeance, by pulling down the staircases, the 
 chimnies, the inner walls, the roofs, and all 
 
 u 3 
 
294 PLUNDER AT MILHAUD-. 
 
 that the fire had spared. Such was their effron- 
 tery, that Phillippe, one of the most active of 
 the depredators, sold publicly, a dining-table, 
 made of the doors and window frames, which 
 he had stolen. The wife of Roque, another of 
 the banditti, boasted that she had obtained from 
 the house, all the furniture of her apartment, 
 except a sofa, and intreated her cousin to in- 
 dulge her with that article, out of the spoils 
 which had fallen to her share. Finally the 
 urates of the coach house and stables were taken 
 by the national guards to the guard house, to 
 be burnt, or otherwise applied to their own use. 
 
 These and a multitude of similar facts, have 
 all been attested and communicated to the 
 procureur-general, in memorials, from which this 
 account is extracted. The premises were still 
 in ruins when I was at Milhaud. 
 
 M. Picherol, another protestant, took the 
 precaution to deposit his most valuable effects 
 with a catholic neighbour ; the house of this 
 catholic was assailed, and though all his pro- 
 perty was respected, that of M. Picherol was 
 separated, seized, and destroyed. 
 
 The house of M. Dumas, near the village, 
 had been often subjected to contribution and 
 robbery, and at last was abandoned ; a few 
 articles of furniture of little value, only being 
 left. A detachment of depredators thought 
 proper to settle there, as if intrusted with the 
 care of the place. After a short residence, they 
 presented to M. Dumas, (who alone of all the 
 
MURDER OF HERMET. 29-5 
 
 family, remained at Nismes), a charge of 
 1500 francs, for guarding his property ; a charge 
 which he was obliged to pay, to prevent the 
 premises from being set on fire. 
 
 On the 20th of August, a party of the Mique- 
 lets arrived at Milhaud in the night. The same 
 mayor, De Chatellier, gave them 200 francs, and 
 promised to send them 400 to Nismes on the fol- 
 lowing day. On their approach, M. Hermet, a 
 tailor, fled with his wife and an infant in arms. 
 They had proceeded some distance, when they 
 recollected that they had no clothes for the 
 babe, and the husband returned, hoping to 
 secure some articles before the plunderers 
 arrived, and to rejoin his wife and child. Alas ! 
 they were to meet no more ! He was too late j 
 the wretches, who were already in the street, 
 surrounded him, and swore they would kill 
 him. One of the party, however, declared that 
 he was not the Hermet, whom they had in- 
 tended to destroy. " Is he a protestant ?" they 
 exclaimed; he acknowledged that he was a pro- 
 testant ; " Good," said they, " that is enough ;" 
 and he was instantly murdered. The mayor 
 ordered the door of his house to be forced, and 
 the corpse of the husband and father was thrown 
 within. The proces verbal of this atrocity was 
 deposited with the authorities of Nismes, and 
 the names of the criminals were given ; but 
 they have neither been punished nor prosecuted. 
 By the side of the dead body, the mayor paid 
 the 400 francs, which, with the 200 francs 
 
 u 4 
 
296 VAUVERT, BEAUVOISIN, AND GENERAC. 
 
 already paid, were entirely levied on the pro- 
 scribed protestants of Milhaud. 
 
 The consistorial church of Vauvert, comprising 
 the cantons of that name, and St. Gilles, was 
 exposed to the same kind of spoliation. At 
 Vauvert, a commune of 3000 inhabitants, of 
 whom 2800 are protestants, employed in the 
 vineyards and distilleries, the frequent visits of 
 the soi-disant national guards, or royal Miquelets, 
 sent by the prefect, or acting without authority, 
 occasioned great oppression. Under pretence 
 of a second and third disarming, they levied 
 arbitrary contributions, and in detached situ- 
 ations, the proprietors were ruined. In the 
 canton of Vauvert alone, 80,000 francs were 
 exacted. 
 
 In the communes of Beauvoisin and Generac, 
 almost entirely protestant, similar excesses 
 were committed by a handful of licentious men, 
 under the eye of the catholic mayor, and to the 
 cries of " Vive le Roi." At Aimargues, fourteen 
 or twenty families experienced the greatest 
 terror; and to preserve their lives, those who had 
 property were obliged to fly, and leave their 
 homes to be devastated. Excited by the mayor 
 andthe secretary of the commune, mobs frequently 
 collected, and declared that no Calvinist should 
 exist there. The houses of M.M. Lamy, Allut, 
 Mourier, and Vincent Negre, were pillaged or 
 burnt. M. Noguier only preserved his property 
 by paying the mayor 4200 francs, which he 
 demanded in advance. 
 
SUFFERINGS OF ST. GTLLES. 
 
 St. Gilles was the scene of the most unblush- 
 ing villany. The protestants, the most wealthy 
 part of the population, were disarmed and 
 placed at the mercy of their envious neighbours. 
 Under pretence of searching for arms, a band 
 of the royal Miquelets entered the house of the 
 widow Adriane, dealer in yarn and cheese ; they 
 presented a pistol to her daughter, and insisted 
 on money ; Mademoiselle Adriane protested 
 against their violence, as contrary to the will 
 and the law of his majesty ; but seeing a mob of 
 men, women, and children around the house, 
 ready for every crime, she gave them 400 francs. 
 The mayor passed through the crowds and in- 
 quired their object, laughed, and walked away 
 without offering the young woman the slightest 
 protection. Three days after, another party 
 went to the same widow, professedly to hire 
 some empty sacks for the conveyance of corn. 
 They obtained 24 sacks, and Mademoiselle 
 Adriane was further compelled to give each of 
 the party 25 francs, which they claimed as the 
 same proportion which each of their comrades had 
 received out of the 400 francs. The 24 sacks 
 they took to another protestant, Madame Ja- 
 laquier, filled them with her grain, and then 
 plundered both her dwelling house, and her 
 farm. Another detachment attacked Madame 
 Portier, a retailer of vegetables, and insisted on 
 300 francs : her refusal made them furious ; 
 she cried for help ; the mayor was in a house 
 adjoining the scene, and he was appealed to for 
 
£98 CALVISSON AND AIGUEVIVES. 
 
 assistance. " Good woman," said he, "you must 
 arrange with these men, give them half the sum ;" 
 and then turning to the people, " be contented 
 with 150 francs, and retire," said he, " and do 
 not occasion any more scandal." The money 
 was produced ; and the mayor and the robbers 
 walked away, leaving the poor woman in tears. 
 This fact was attested by M. Cavalier, at that 
 time procureur du Rot at Nismes ; but no ju- 
 dicial proceedings have followed. The houses 
 of M. M. Guinard, Peyron, Esteve, &c. were 
 also pillaged, and that of M. Fabregues was set 
 on fire, but happily the flames were extinguished. 
 
 These crimes were perpetrated in a commune 
 of 8000 inhabitants, where the mayor had at 
 his disposal, a national guard of several hun- 
 dred men, organised by his own orders. 
 
 The consistorial churches of Calvisson and 
 Aiguevives, comprising tweny-one rural com- 
 munes, were continually infested by predatory 
 bands of catholics, under the name of royal 
 Miquelets and national guards. The villagers, 
 principally protestants, were charged with being- 
 traitors and Buonapartists ; while they were 
 only anxious to cultivate their fields, and 
 attend their temples. 
 
 The inhabitants of Aiguevives were on the 
 point of suffering military execution, as rebels, 
 for endeavouring to preserve their property 
 and their vines from nocturnal assaults and the 
 fury of a licentious rabble ; and the official 
 journal even announced, that they had raised the 
 
TESTIMONY OF THE COMMISSIONER. 299 
 
 standard of revolt. The truth was proclaimed 
 by no doubtful authority. The commissary, 
 sent into the district called Vaunage, published 
 the following statement : — 
 
 " Ten communes of the Vaunage have con- 
 tributed 5000 francs for the equipment of five 
 gendarmes. These communes deserve to be 
 mentioned, for their zeal and their forwardness 
 to surrender all their arms. They are Calvisson, 
 Congenies, St. Cosmes, Nage, Vergeze, Bois- 
 siere, Soulorgues, Langlade, St. Dionisy, Ca- 
 veirac, Clarensac, Marvejols. These sums were 
 voted at a public meeting, held by the mayors, at 
 Calvisson, on the 28th of July. The com- 
 mune of Gaillargues has contributed 1000 
 francs, Codognan 500, and Mus 230. May their 
 example be followed by all the communes of the 
 department ! ! 
 
 " The commune of Aiguevives has never 
 raised the standard of revolt ; on the contrary, 
 the white flag has waved there since the 17th of 
 July. This commune was never rebellious ; it 
 was a misunderstanding which led some per- 
 sons to tire on the royal troops, alarmed at the 
 unseasonableness of their arrival (they arrived in 
 the night) ; independently of this circumstance, 
 there would not have been the slightest resist- 
 ance ; since the next day, I, alone, disarmed the 
 whole village. 
 
 (Signed) " Cord."* 
 
 * In the churches of Calvisson and Aiguevives there are 
 six pastors, and five of them reside in the communes so 
 honourably mentioned by the commissioner. 
 
300 DESTRUCTION OF THE ARCH. 
 
 This document is the more important as this 
 district was more calumniated and oppressed 
 than almost any other } and held up to France, 
 both in the official journal, and in the proclama- 
 tion of the prefect (cited in a former chapter), 
 as in a state of insurrection against Louis XVIII. 
 
 It would be fatiguing to read the lists of 
 thefts, arrests, and violences which occurred 
 during many months. A few specimens of 
 oppression may be quoted. In the commune of 
 -MuSj containing only 600 inhabitants, four- 
 fifths of whom are protestants, two persons, 
 authorised by the mayor, exacted from this 
 small number of individuals the sum of 2750 
 francs. 
 
 When the duke d'Angouleme was expected 
 at Montpellier in November 1815, the inhabi- 
 tants of Aiguevives, nine-tenths of whom are 
 protestants, prepared, at considerable expence, 
 a triumphal arch, and placed it on the great 
 road, opposite the limits of their commune. 
 The mayor and the municipal council, attended 
 by great numbers of their fellow-citizens, 
 assembled on the same spot, to offer to the 
 royal traveller the homage of their confidence 
 and respect. In the mean time the national 
 guards of Aimargues arrived from Nismes, and 
 finding every attempt to provoke a conflict with 
 the unarmed protestants ineffectual, against 
 their exemplary patience, they destroyed the 
 triumphal arch, and scattered its materials over 
 the road j so that the horses of the prince 
 i7 
 
SOMMIERES. 301 
 
 trampled, and the wheels of his carriage crushed, 
 the ruins of an humble monument, sponta- 
 neously constructed by his supposed enemies, 
 and demolished by his pretended and exclusive 
 friends. The people of Aiguevives still remained 
 to present their personal respect, and had the 
 generosity to refrain from mingling with their 
 felicitations any complaints to his royal high- 
 ness, of the outrages they had just experienced 
 from men armed by the civil authority, and 
 professedly devoted to his service. 
 
 On the same occasion, the protestants of Cal- 
 visson were treated still more cruelly. In that 
 town the mayor prohibited them the practice of 
 singing the psalms ordinarily used in the tem- 
 ple, that the catholics might not be offended or 
 disturbed. 
 
 Sommieres, distant about 10 miles from 
 Nismes, gives its name to a canton, and also 
 to a consistorial church, comprising the canton 
 of St. Mamert, and 27 rural communes, nearly 
 the whole of which suffered in the persecutions. 
 
 From the period of the return of the royal 
 family in 1815, the songs, insults, and depreda- 
 tions of 1814 were recommenced. Between 
 the 14th and 17th of July, the plots that had 
 been formed were put in execution. M. Granier 
 was wounded by a musket-shot in the leg. 
 M. M. Alaric, Vincent, and Jourdan, were also 
 wounded. Delon was stabbed in the thigh with 
 a bayonet ; and Pinchinat run through the body 
 with a sword, by a drummer of the national 
 
30 ( 2 SOMMIERES. 
 
 guard. Without authority or reason the pro- 
 testants were all disarmed ; the white cockades 
 were torn from their persons ; and the white 
 flag, which floated on their temple, was insulted. 
 The house of M. Jalaguier was robbed, on the 
 25th, of two pieces of wine, and all his furni- 
 ture was either stolen or demolished. 
 
 On the 6th of August the catholics made a 
 splendid procession through the town, which 
 continued till the evening, and was succeeded 
 by the plunder of the protestants. Among a 
 great number of houses, those of M. Boisson, 
 negociant, and M. Jaillard (who escaped death 
 by climbing the roof of his house), were entirely 
 pillaged, and the wrecks of their property re- 
 duced to ashes, amidst shouts of " Vive le 
 Rot." The most zealous agents belonged to the 
 national guard, and their wives and children 
 assisted them to convey away their spoils. 
 Other protestants were necessitated to pay the 
 sums demanded, as the price of life. The wife 
 of Nicholas, a poor wheel-wright, who had fled, 
 paid 45 francs, which she could only raise by 
 borrowing them of a neighbour. Several of the 
 inhabitants met at the communal-hall, and, to 
 secure the public tranquillity, proposed " that 
 the protestants, according to their numbers, 
 should be enrolled in the national guard." The 
 commandant of the place positively declared, 
 that " they could not be admitted." 
 
 On the 9th the country-house of M. Meste 
 was attacked, and himself laid under eontribu- 
 
SOMMIERES. 303 
 
 tiou. The premises of M. Causse were also 
 invaded, with the intention to commit murder. 
 Several shots were directed at him ; but he 
 escaped one kind of death by encountering 
 another, and by throwing himself from the top of 
 a very high wall. M. Meste was again visited 
 by men with drawn sabres ; they demanded his 
 head ; an old servant, who was among; the 
 assassins, interfered ; and his life was granted, 
 on the condition that he gave them 15 louis. 
 The deputy mayor of a neighbouring commune 
 was in this company, and, that a regular parti- 
 tion of the booty might be made, he exchanged 
 the 15 louis for silver money. Between the 
 20th and 25th, 40 protestants, intimidated, sub- 
 mitted to forced contributions. On the 27th 
 M. Griolet, M. Fludier, and several other 
 protestants, were arrested, beaten, and dragged 
 to prison. 
 
 On the arrival of the foreign troops, at Som- 
 miereSy the pretended search for arms was 
 resumed ; those who did not possess muskets 
 were even compelled to buy them on purpose 
 to surrender. Soldiers were quartered on them, 
 at six francs per day, till they produced the 
 articles in demand ; that is, till they furnished 
 weapons to their enemies. The protestant 
 temple, which had been closed, was converted 
 into barracks for the Austrians ; and on this 
 occasion, the catholics destroyed a great part of 
 the interior, and injured the family of the Con- 
 cierge, who endeavoured to oppose their inde- 
 
304 THE PASTOR ATTACKED. 
 
 cencies in the pulpit, and in the sacristy. The 
 Miquelets returning from Montpellier, as has 
 been mentioned, committed also shameful out- 
 rages. This occurred on the 2d of September ; 
 and from that period, scarcely a day passed 
 without arrests — breaking of windows — forcing 
 of doors — nocturnal visits, and spoliation. I shall 
 select only one fact from a multitude. An in- 
 dividual of the name of Montpellerien, sent to 
 inform M. Bonnafet, an excellent and respect- 
 able protestant, that if, in the course of the 
 day, he did not receive from him 30 louis, or 
 a given quantity of corn, his house should be 
 rased. M. Bonnafet, in terror, applied to the 
 deputy mayor, who persuaded him to give 200 
 francs as a composition ; and he accordingly 
 paid this sum, in the presence of the deputy, and 
 M. Vidal, who is a member of the municipal 
 council. 
 
 Divine service had been suspended for six 
 months. The temple was re-opened at Christ- 
 mas, and public worship celebrated on the 
 morning of the 24th of December. In order 
 to prevent any accident, the pastor requested 
 the Concierge to examine the belfry, previous 
 to the ringing of the bell ; he discovered that 
 some persons had carried off the clapper. As 
 the hour of service approached, a number of 
 men, women, and children collected at the house 
 of M. Ribot, pastor and president of the con- 
 sistory, and threatened to prevent the worship. 
 At the appointed time, M. Ribot proceeded 
 
THE PASTOR ATTACKED. 305 
 
 towards the temple ; he was surrounded ; the 
 most savage shouts were raised against him ; 
 some of the women seized him by the collar ; 
 but nothing could disturb his firmness, or excite 
 him to impatience. The good minister entered 
 the house of prayer ; ascended the pulpit ; 
 stones entered the windows, and fell among the 
 worshippers ; the congregation remained calm 
 and attentive ; the religious exercises continued, 
 and were concluded amidst noise, threats, and 
 outrage. On retiring, many of the protestants 
 were attacked, and would have been killed, 
 had not the chasseurs in garrison honorably 
 and zealously protected them. These facts 
 are selected from the original of the proces 
 verbal, in which the events are rather mitigated 
 than described. The same day M. Bonnafet, 
 nearly 80 years of age, whose life was exem- 
 plary, a zealous protestant, and a member of the 
 consistory, was arrested on the report of two 
 base calumniators, taken to Nismes, and thrown 
 into prison, where several others shared his 
 captivity. Even the premises of M. Ribot, the 
 pastor, were not respected ; they ravaged his 
 garden, and filled his well. 
 
 Under all these calamities accumulated on 
 the protestants, professedly for their disloyalty 
 and bad conduct, it was some consolation to 
 them, and will afford satisfaction to others, to 
 read the following notes, addressed to M. Ribot, 
 pastor and president of the consistory : 
 
306 LETTERS OF MONTLORD, &C. 
 
 " January 6, 1816. 
 " It is necessary, Sir, that all good men, who 
 believe in God, unite to obtain the punishment 
 of the assassins, brigands, and disturbers of 
 public tranquillity. I am informed that you 
 have received instructions from government to 
 this effect ; and that you intend to read them 
 publicly. You will oblige me by giving me the 
 best information ; and by believing in the 
 esteem I feel for you, as a minister, who has 
 always made the pardon of injuries the subject 
 of his preaching. 
 
 (Signed) " Marquis de Montlord." 
 
 " January 2, 1816. 
 " I deeply lament the prejudices of the ca- 
 tholics against the protestants, who, they pretend, 
 do not love the king. Continue to act as you 
 have hitherto done, and time and your conduct 
 will convince the catholics of the contrary. 
 Should any tumult occur, similar to the affair of 
 Saturday last, inform me. I preserve my re- 
 ports of these acts ; and if the agitators prove 
 incorrigible, and forget what they owe to the 
 best of kings and the charter, I will do my duty 
 and inform the government of their proceedings. 
 Adieu, my dear Sir ; assure the consistory of 
 my esteem, and of the sense I entertain of the 
 moderation with which they have met the pro- 
 vocations of the evil -disposed at Sommieres. , 1 
 have the honour to salute you with respect. 
 
 " SUVAL DE LAINE, 
 
 " Captain of the Chasseurs d'Angouleme." 
 
CRIMES OF ANJARGUES. 307 
 
 This state of things lasted, with little abate- 
 ment, till the 20th of January, 1816, when 
 the service commemorative of the death of 
 Louis XVI. was observed. A procession was 
 then formed, and the national guards, who com- 
 posed the cortege, fired at the white flag which 
 was suspended from the windows of the pro- 
 testants, and the day was finished by the plunder 
 of their houses. At a still later period Alex. 
 Paris, M. Jalaguier, and others were arrested, 
 without even the form of a warrant, or the sem- 
 blance of authority. 
 
 The commune Anjargues was particularly 
 fruitful in intolerance and injustice. From the 
 middle of July persecution was violent and un- 
 disguised. M. Job. Reboul, a member of the 
 consistory, and M. Damien, were among the 
 first victims, and were obliged to purchase mo- 
 mentary repose by the sacrifice of a large quan- 
 tity of wine. On the 6th of August, M. Paul 
 Reboul and his son were dragged to Sommieres 
 before the military commandant, and for some 
 time detained in prison. A general levy was 
 made on the protestants on the 30th of the 
 same month. M. Job. Reboul paid 200 francs ; 
 M. Damien, besides having his olive-trees de- 
 stroyed, w r as obliged to give 100 francs. The 
 catholics were on the point of cutting the throat 
 of Madame d'Antoine, and setting fire to the 
 granaries of her husband, who had emigrated. 
 A considerable number of sheep were taken 
 from Louis Monier. The premises of M. Pierre 
 
 x 2 
 
308 CRIMES OF ANJARGUES, 
 
 Gregoire, a distiller, were broken open , his still 
 was rendered useless ; his wine and other effects 
 were taken away ; and his son, who had already- 
 lost a leg, was shot. In the month of" November 
 his distillery was again ravaged, and his apart- 
 ments were stripped of their furniture ; two tuns 
 of wine were also taken from the cellar. On 
 the same night David Gregoire, a manufacturer 
 of brandy, was visited ; his copper and utensils 
 were destroyed ; and four tuns of wine were 
 staved. The two brothers were thrown into 
 prison ; and when they succeeded in effecting 
 their escape, their wives were seized and placed 
 in confinement in their stead. Three brothers, 
 of the name of Crouzet, inhabiting different 
 communes, met one Sunday at their elder 
 brother's house, in Anjargues ; while they 
 were at dinner, they were arrested, carried to 
 Nismes, and for a long time detained in prison 
 as felons. 
 
 A pistol was discharged at Francis Paul, who, 
 to preserve his life, paid his assassins 100 francs. 
 He, and David Gregoire and his son, were 
 obliged to abandon their families and affairs, 
 though they had ever been loyal to the govern- 
 ment, and forward to pay all their taxes. The 
 farm of M. Alberte was overrun, the trees cut 
 down, and even the fish-ponds emptied ; and in 
 general, the vines, and especially the olive-trees 
 of the protestants in this commune were entirely 
 destroyed. 
 
 In the commune of Fontanes, from the entry 
 
CRIMES OF FONTANES. 309 
 
 of the king in IS 15, the catholics broke all 
 terms with the protestants ; by day they insulted 
 them, and in the night they broke open their 
 doors, or marked them with chalk, to be plun- 
 dered or burnt. Their fields were laid waste, 
 and their harvests gathered. In the early part 
 of August, M. Colomb, jun. was obliged to 
 abandon his home, to avoid being massacred. 
 M. Colomb, senr., was also threatened with 
 death if he did not give up his son ; and that 
 he might save his life and prevent the destruc- 
 tion of his house, he sacrificed 324 francs, which 
 was ail the money he possessed. Sangene, a 
 Garde Champetre, was one of the brigands, 
 and though appointed by government to protect 
 the property of the public, he fired at the 
 servant of M. Colomb, for endeavouring to de- 
 fend that of his master. Francois Peyre, 
 brother to the mayor, went to Dame Gebelin, 
 whose husband had fled, and told her, that if 
 in the course of twenty-four hours she did not 
 furnish him with 100 francs, her house should be 
 burnt. The concealment of her husband was 
 discovered. Gebelin was menaced with the 
 same alternative'. Terrified, he sent to the 
 mayor, to say, that as he had not so much 
 money, he would give the value in produce. 
 The mayor persuaded his brother to accept this 
 offer ; and, accordingly, Gebelin delivered a 
 considerable quantity of sanfbin, and 40 francs 
 in money, in the presence of several witnesses. 
 August the 23d, at 1 o'clock in the morning, 
 x 3 
 
310 EVENTS OF 
 
 eighty men, armed, entered the dwelling of 
 Pierre Combe, one of the most peaceable of 
 men, under the pretence of authority to arrest 
 him, and threatened to burn his dwelling ; his 
 wife at last succeeded in averting bloodshed and 
 conflagration by the sacrifice of 100 francs. 
 On the fete of St. Louis the protestants of this 
 commune were obliged to furnish money for the 
 festivities and orgies of their enemies. 
 
 SL Mamert is the chief commune of the canton 
 of that name ; and two-thirds of its population 
 profess the reformed religion. Before they were 
 disarmed and overrun by banditti, they were 
 able to restrain the violence of the catholic 
 minority, and preserve public tranquillity. This 
 state of things did not, however, long continue, 
 and they were involved in the calamity common 
 to their brethren. 
 
 In the beginning of August the Miquelets from 
 Nismes and Fons made their appearance in consi- 
 derable numbers. By the order of the mayor they 
 were quartered exclusively on the protestants ; 
 and he even aided them in assessing their hosts at 
 the point of the sword. Four hundred francs were 
 given under his directions, by two protestants, 
 M. M. Cabanis and Germain. When the house 
 of M. Roquette was broken open, among other 
 objects, his horse was seized ; he purchased it of 
 the person who had appropriated it ; and the 
 day after he had paid the money, it was retaken 
 and never restored. The death of M. Gaussen 
 was loudly demanded, and his residence be- 
 7 
 
ST. MAMERT. 311 
 
 sieged ; happily he had fled. Even Madame 
 Gaussen was ignorant of the place of his con- 
 cealment, or the direction of his flight ; but she 
 was threatened with being herself shot, unless 
 her husband was produced. There was but one 
 alternative, and it was adopted. All the money 
 that she possessed, or could borrow, was pre- 
 sented ; and in their greediness for gold, the 
 persecutors forgot their thirst of blood. Terror 
 and distress confined the protestants to their 
 homes, where they waited in awful suspense the 
 capricious movements of fanatical fury ; the 
 reports of fire-arms, and the sanguinary vocifer- 
 ations of the populace, alone broke the dismal 
 silence. 
 
 St. Mamert was repeatedly visited by kindred 
 bands. One night, about 11 o'clock, 100 men 
 entered the place, beating the generale, and 
 announcing a Calvinist massacre ; and in the 
 morning they were reinforced from the head- 
 quarters at Nismes. The inhabitants were wan- 
 tonly and barbarously attacked ; Louis Cabanis 
 and Etienne Dumas were shot — both irre- 
 proachable as citizens, but guilty of heresy. 
 M. Soubeiran escaped by climbing from roof to 
 roof; his brother and D. Peyre, by wandering 
 in the fields. No protection was offered by the 
 catholics to their fellow-citizens ; on the con- 
 trary, they seemed rather to applaud than con- 
 demn the conduct of the Miquelets. 
 
 The protestants attempted to unite with 
 the catholics in celebrating the return of 
 
 x 4 
 
312 COMBAS, CRE8PXAN, AND MONTMIRAL. 
 
 Louis XVIII. on the fete of the 3d of Septem- 
 ber ; but they were repulsed aud pursued, and 
 were doomed to commemorate the restoration 
 of the descendants of Henry IV. by barricading 
 their houses, and secreting their property. 
 " A has les Grilleurs, nous ne voulons plus de pro- 
 testans ; ilfautenvoir la fin" were the ominous 
 expressions of an affected and exclusive loyalty. 
 " I must kill a dozen to my share," exclaimed 
 one ; " Show me the heretics I am to kill," 
 cried Roger, a Nismois, who, with a sabre in 
 his hand, and a pair of pistols in his girdle, ex- 
 cited the pious zeal of the friends of the altar 
 and the throne. " He must die before Sun- 
 day," declared a third, pointing to the house of 
 the respectable M. Gaussen, who, during five 
 months, was separated from his family, and in 
 dancer of his life. Around their bonfire the 
 most horrid songs, and the well-known chorus, 
 animated the dance ; and the festival was con- 
 cluded by a farandole, in which, accompanied 
 by some of the municipal authorities, the people 
 proceeded to the premises of M. Dumas, de- 
 stroyed his vintage, and rooted up his vines. 
 
 Similar crimes and persecutions afflicted the 
 communes of Cpmbas, Cresjncm, and Montmiral. 
 The houses of the Sieurs Locke, Brune, Dide, 
 Claude Bressac, Francois Bressac, Clement, 
 and of the Widow Blanc, were violently entered, 
 tired into, plundered, and occupied at discretion. 
 Most of the men having fled, their wives were 
 exposed to menaces and extortions, to which 
 
MURDER OF COMPAN. 813 
 
 t hey quietly submitted, in order to prevent the 
 destruction of a'l their property. Some of the 
 fugitives were secure ; others were arrested, and, 
 after long confinement and ruinous expence, 
 declared innocent. Others, as innocent, were 
 still more unfortunate. Among these was Lau- 
 rent Compan : he was pursued, and murdered 
 in his own fields, and eight hundred francs, 
 which he had taken with him, became the spoil 
 of his assassins. 
 
 At Montmiral, as lately as the 24th of June, 
 1810, the protectants were attacked, beaten, and 
 imprisoned, for daring to observe the fete of the 
 return of a king who had sworn to preserve re- 
 ligious liberty, and to maintain the charter. 
 
 The catholics of the commune of Fans formed 
 themselves into a soi-disant national guard ; and, 
 under that civic name, set at defiance all the 
 obligations of law, justice, and humanity. The 
 servant of M. Salle, factor, of Nismes, was con- 
 veying to Mende, on his own account, four hogs- 
 heads of wine. The waggon was stopped, and 
 the wine taken by these national guards to a 
 post established in the centre of the commune, 
 and there licentiously distributed and drank. 
 Six hogsheads, bought by the same person, were 
 also seized ; and one was carried to St. Ma- 
 mert, and divided among the robbers. On the 
 same route is an inn, called " Les Bariujites de 
 Fons" kept by M. Bruti; a pfotestant. A party 
 of the marauders, one night surrounded the 
 house, and requested refreshment ; but no 
 
314 TREATMENT OF THE MAYOR 
 
 sooner were they admitted than they demanded 
 10,000 francs, or the life of their landlord. Brim 
 escaped, and his wife flew to the window to call 
 to her succour a catholic tenant. Her efforts 
 were useless ; her neighbour paid no attention 
 to her cries ; and, as she was retiring, a musket- 
 ball pierced the shutter, passed close by her 
 head, and entered the wall. Finding herself en- 
 tirely in the power, and at the mercy of mur- 
 derers, she purchased her life by the sacrifice of 
 all the money she had in the house, amounting 
 to 2100 francs, or 100 /. sterling. 
 
 The commune of St. Beauzely was the prey of 
 the same outrages. They commenced in July, 
 and, among others, M. Dupont was then 
 robbed of 100 francs, his watch, valuables, and 
 a quantity of cotton, linen, and other articles of 
 merchandise. During the month of August the 
 persecution was dreadful. A party, headed 
 by Montpellerien, of Nismes, went to the 
 mayor, M. Moutet, a protestant not yet dis- 
 placed, and insisted on 1500 francs. The mayor, 
 to prevent mischief, made a collection among 
 the protestants, and gave them the amount. A 
 few days after, another party appeared, and an- 
 nounced their orders to depose the mayor, and 
 to substitute Jean Guerin, one of their num- 
 ber. They commanded M. Moutet to deliver 
 up his books and papers, and, on pain of instant 
 death, to produce the sum of 10,000 francs. 
 The mayor escaped by leaping out of the win- 
 dow j and his mother saved her life by giving, 
 
AND PROTESTANTS OF BEAUZELY. 315 
 
 at the point of the bayonet, all the money that 
 was in her possession. They then put the vil- 
 lage under contribution, and plundered many 
 of the inhabitants. From Pierre Mabrac they 
 took his linen and apparel, that of his wife, and 
 even their stock of provisions ; and then broke 
 the furniture, and threw it into the street. The 
 houses of Saurin, Martin, Esaie, Antoine, and 
 Dupont were successively plundered. The son 
 of Dupont was deprived of &]5 francs, besides 
 linen, jewellery, &c. The wives of those men 
 who had emigrated were shamefully insulted. 
 Such was the inauguration of the new mayor. 
 Under him these scenes were often repeated • 
 he had neither the character nor the qualifi- 
 cations necessary to this office j but he had re- 
 placed M. Moutet, a rich proprietor, whose fault 
 it was that, by principle, he was a protestant. In 
 the November following the soi disant national 
 guards of Fons came to St. Beauzely to search 
 for some swords, and for three or four muskets 
 said to be concealed. The inhabitants were 
 obliged to lodge them, and pay them six francs 
 per day ; and when the arms could not be 
 found, they levied contributions, and departed. 
 
 The commune of Gajans, situated on the 
 direct road for the Cevennes, afforded the re- 
 fugees from Nismes a temporary asylum in their 
 flight. A report was immediately spread that 
 seditious assemblies were collected in the village, 
 and an armed force was sent there, under the 
 command of M. Bernis, which abandoned itself 
 
.'HO MAYOR OF GAJANS DRAGGED TO NJSMES. 
 
 to every kind of excess. M. Vincent, the 
 pastor, was compelled to flee, and his wife not 
 only to disburse all the cash in her possession, 
 but even to borrow, to satisfy their rapacity. 
 After having paid the ransom of her husband's 
 horse, which they found in the stable, they de- 
 manded the saddle and bridle, and, pointing a 
 musket at her breast, threatened her life, if they 
 were not immediately produced. The horse 
 was taken away one quarter of an hour after the 
 payment of the stipulated ransom. The Sieur 
 Gory, mayor of the commune, was treated yet 
 more barbarously. He was made responsible for 
 the hospitality of his fellow-citizens ; was robbed 
 of all the money, linen, and portable property 
 that was found in his apartments ; was fre- 
 quently in danger of his life ; and, at length, 
 was tied to the tail of his own horse, which was 
 mounted by one of the brigands ; and, amidst 
 the reiterated cries of savages demanding his 
 immediate execution, was dragged to Nismes. 
 This commune suffered eight or ten different 
 invasions. Several times Madame Vincent was 
 subjected to exactions. On one occasion Ma- 
 dame Angelras was near being killed, and 
 only escaped by the musket-ball, which was de- 
 signed for her, striking the lock of the door. 
 The new authorities uniformly left the protest- 
 ants without protection or redress. 
 
 At ParigncirgueSy the disorders were as alarm- 
 ing and oppressive as at Gajans. 
 
 In the end of July, armed men established 
 
PERSECUTIONS AT PARIGNARCUES. 3lf 
 
 themselves in the commune, and without the 
 slightest opposition from the authorities, levied 
 sums at discretion on the protestant population. 
 Tarisson, Valette, Soulier, Sabatery, Bouvely, 
 Therou and Bruguieres," were all compelled 
 to gratify the most extortionate demands. Bru- 
 guieres was even forced, with the privity of the 
 mayor, to carry a hogshead of wine to a post 
 of soi disant Royal troops, at the entrance of 
 Nismes. 
 
 In August this persecution was renewed. Five 
 different invasions, exhausted the resources, 
 and distracted the spirits of the people. In 
 September, a party headed by a schoolmaster, 
 required Sabatery, a protestant, to act as their 
 assessor, and accompany them while they went 
 to rob his brethren ; in case of refusal, they 
 denounced vengeance. The money of the 
 protestants did not satisfy the intruders, but 
 they were condemned to furnish provisions for 
 their oppressors, who had possession of the 
 Communal Hotel. The national guards, who 
 assisted at the installation of a new assistant, 
 or deputy-mayor, on the 12th of November, 
 shamefully interrupted the protestant worship. 
 The worshippers, as they arrived, saw muskets 
 and bayonets placed at their breasts. During 
 divine service, the balls whizzed over their heads, 
 and entered the roof and the walls of their 
 temple, and amidst their prayers and praises, 
 were heard the horrid and discordant sounds of 
 " Sarre les Grilleurs," (kill the protestants;) 
 
318 MONTPEZAT. 
 
 " Vive le Roi." The same events occurred as at 
 St. Mamert, on the fete of the return of the 
 king. 
 
 The protestants of the commune of Montpezat 
 were not more tranquil than those in other 
 parts of the same canton ; but as the details of 
 their vexations are similar, and too numerous 
 to record, the case of one individual only is 
 selected. 
 
 M. Compan, the farmer of a considerable 
 domain, was so cruelly persecuted, that for a 
 long time, he could not venture to sleep in his 
 own house, and was frequently obliged to pass 
 whole nights in wandering from place to place. 
 At length he made the experiment ; he was 
 immediately attacked, and had only time to 
 save himself by gaining the roof, where he lay 
 extended till the return of day favoured his 
 escape. By these sufferings, and by constant vi- 
 gilance, he avoided assassination ; but the hatred 
 of the catholics was so inveterate, that in the 
 summer of the following year, (1816), they set 
 fire to his threshing floor, and consumed stacks 
 containing many thousand bushels of the finest 
 grain. 
 
 In the canton of St. Mamert, and throughout, 
 the arrondissement of Nismes, almost every pro- 
 testant who held office was displaced, and there 
 was not one of whatever rank or reputation, but 
 was disarmed. Mayors were appointed who 
 had neither talent, property, nor character ; and 
 adjuncts who could neither read nor write. 
 
ARRONDISSEMENT OF UZES. 319 
 
 The Gardes Champetres, named by the muni- 
 cipality, were themselves members. Men who 
 paid no taxes, levied the contributions ; and 
 those who had nothing to lose, and every thing 
 to gain by disorder, composed entirely the pub- 
 lic force, and were the persons selected to main- 
 tain tranquillity. 
 
 ARRONDISSEMENT OF UZES. 
 
 Immediately after the restoration of the 
 Bourbons in 1814, a party was formed at Uzes, 
 professedly for the support of religion and 
 loyalty ; but really inspired by the most mean 
 and hateful passions. Some of the leaders of 
 this party were of the old privileged orders — 
 most of them had served the emperor Napoleon 
 — and several had signalised themselves in the 
 revolutionary committee, and even added to 
 their family name, that of the infamous Marat. 
 The persecution and the ruin of the protestants 
 was a prominent part of the plan of these asso- 
 ciates. They calculated on the acquisition of 
 their property, and the usurpation of their in- 
 fluence ; and on the recommendation which 
 their success would form to a family, which had 
 been formerly closely connected with " the 
 friends of the altar and the throne." 
 
 They began their operations by calumni- 
 ating them as factious Bonapartists ; and that; 
 the powerful lever of religious fanaticism 
 might be also at their command, they excited 
 
320 ARRONDISSEMENT OF UZES. 
 
 against them the prejudices of the catholic 
 populace. There was no longer either security 
 or tranquillity for protestants, however liberal 
 or loyal ; but they were constantly exposed to 
 the insults and menaces of " the people," em- 
 boldened by the silence and inaction of the 
 magistrates. The declaration of Louis XVIII. 
 was despised ; and " point dt Constitution" was 
 placarded in the streets, and in the Cafes. The 
 council general of the commune publicly 
 expressed by resolutions its opposition to the 
 charter ; and at a fete, or rather an orgie, sum- 
 moned for the purpose, a copy of the compact 
 between the king and the nation was solemnly 
 burnt. 
 
 The return of Napoleon, and the flight of 
 Louis, suspended the progress of the persecution. 
 All at once, the fanatics and their leaders, re- 
 tired behind the scenes, and the local authorities 
 became alarmed for the consequences which 
 their misconduct might now produce. When Ge- 
 neral Gilly marched through Uzes, on his way to 
 Pont St. Esprit, he calmed the public feeling, 
 and four gendarmes were found sufficient to 
 preserve social order in the town. But in the 
 end of June 1815, the agitation recommenced 
 with increased violence ; " the people" were 
 again in motion, and again excited and directed 
 by the same individuals. Nightly meetings 
 were held at a house called La Ferine, situated 
 outside the town, and the principal catholics 
 and their agents, men capable of every crime, 
 
CATHOLICS RUN TO ARMS. 3Q\ 
 
 discussed and adopted the plans to be pursued. 
 A committee was also organized, and publicly 
 sanctioned by the municipality. 
 
 The news of the battle of Waterloo was the 
 signal for action. On the 2d of July, a pro- 
 cession was formed, and the white flag was 
 hoisted, though the national colours were still 
 acknowledged throughout the Gard, and the 
 neighbouring departments. The white flag was 
 not raised at Nismes till the 16th. 
 
 The leaders immediately seized the power, 
 and established the royal government ; not with 
 dignity and respect, but with the utmost in- 
 decency and disorder. The existing authorities 
 ceded their places without resistance, to in- 
 dividuals unworthy, and self-appointed. The 
 protestants, composing a part of the national 
 guard, did not attempt any defence of the na- 
 tional colours ; but on the contrary, evinced a 
 disposition to range themselves under the new 
 standard. Conciliation was useless ; they were 
 repulsed, and threats of imprisonment and death 
 compelled some to seclude themselves in their 
 houses, and others to flee into the neighbouring 
 communes. Agents were sent express the same 
 day into the catholic districts, and as far as 
 Provence, to circulate reports of the destruction 
 of the churches, and the murder of the priests 
 by the protestants, and to demand assistance. 
 Crowds of villagers arrived the next morning, 
 armed with sabres, guns, forks, and hatchets ; 
 and uniting with the city mob, they spread 
 
 y 
 
822 ALARM OF THE PROTESTANT PEASANTS. 
 
 themselves in the principal quarters of the town, 
 mingling sanguinary vociferations with shouts 
 of " Vive le Roi." They were divided into com- 
 panies by a permanent committee, and suffered 
 to indulge the greatest licentiousness, and to ex- 
 ercise an arbitrary controul. With the protest- 
 ants they lodged at discretion, and were author- 
 ised to require, daily, six or ten francs. Under 
 pretence of raising a fund for the support of this 
 self-formed militia, the protestants were further 
 taxed in the most capricious manner ; and the 
 armed men, already quartered on them, were em- 
 ployed to enforce the payment. The committee 
 only replied, by sneers and threats, to the com- 
 plaints that were made of the vexations, and pro- 
 digality of the soldiery. 
 
 In the meantime an alarm reached the Gar- 
 
 donnenque, that the catholics, who were pouring 
 
 into Uzes, had prepared a general massacre. 
 
 The peasants flew to arms j abandoned their 
 
 fields and vineyards, and assembled at Arpail- 
 
 largues, in order to proceed to the relief of their 
 
 persecuted brethren. Fewer in number than 
 
 the catholics, they were superior in intelligence 
 
 and in moral force ; and continued injuries had 
 
 goaded them to resentment. The crisis was 
 
 dreadful ; a horrid slaughter might immediately 
 
 take place, and ultimately, the whole south of 
 
 France become a field of carnage. The municipal 
 
 council assembled in the night, and resolved to 
 
 send deputies to Arpaillargues, with an assurance 
 
 of the retreat of the catholics from Uzes, and an 
 
ASSEMBLY AT ARPAILLAUGUES. 823 
 
 injunction to the protestant peasantry, to return 
 peaceably to their homes. M. Roux, pastor of 
 the reformed church of Uzes, was one of the 
 principal members of the deputation. 
 
 The assemblage at Arpaillargues at length 
 agreed not to advance beyond that commune ; 
 but it was on the pledge of the deputies, that 
 the catholics should not molest the protestants, 
 nor trespass beyond their own line of occupa- 
 tion : both parties were to wait intelligence 
 from Paris. 
 
 Having secured the inaction of the protestants 
 of the country, the catholics of Uzes began, in 
 direct opposition to the convention, to disarm 
 the protestants in the town ; that on the com- 
 mencement of hostilities, they might not be able 
 to join their deliverers, but remain at the mercy 
 of their foes. They entered by force all the 
 houses they thought proper ; some were searched 
 several times; persons who had no arms were 
 compelled to purchase from the assailants, muskets 
 or pistols, which had just been taken from their 
 friends, on purpose to give them up ; and even 
 those who had surrendered their arms, were 
 obliged to repurchase them, at arbitrary prices, 
 and immediately restore them. The Gendar- 
 merie was dissolved and recomposed; that is 
 to say, the brigade on duty was robbed of horses, 
 clothes, and arms, and replaced by a body of 
 men, undisciplined, and unprincipled, and to 
 a great extent self-elected. Instead of preserv- 
 
 y 2 
 
324 ONE OF THE CATHOLICS KILLED. 
 
 ing order, or establishing a vigilant police, they 
 set the example of outrage and rapine. 
 
 In addition to all these violations of the 
 treaty, many individuals were personally in- 
 jured ; and the advanced posts even fired on 
 three inhabitants who were returning from Ar- 
 paillargues, where they had been on a mission 
 from the mayor. The arm of M. Boissiere was 
 broken, and M. Praden with difficulty preserved 
 his life. Finally, though the territory of Ar- 
 paillargues was declared inviolable, three men 
 were sent to reconnoitre the position and the 
 movements of the peasantry. The object of 
 their expedition was concealed, but their hostility 
 was evident. They were armed with sabres 
 and blunderbusses, and mounted on the horses 
 belonging to the gendarmerie. Two of them, 
 Coulon and Mouton, were arrested and con- 
 ducted into the village ; and the third, Nicholas, 
 a garde-champetre, but now raised to the com- 
 mand of the gendarmerie, was recognized as 
 possessing the horse, arms, and accoutrements 
 of an ex-gendarme : he was struck by a musket 
 ball which produced a mortal wound. All the 
 wrongs were on the side of the troops, or the 
 rabble of Uzes ; but the moment they received 
 intelligence of the death of one of their party, 
 sent to Arpaillargues in violation of a treaty, 
 they set out to avenge, what they called, 
 treachery and murder. The chiefs were how- 
 ever alarmed at the firm and imposing attitude 
 of their antagonists ; and fearing the result of 
 
M. PENARIER EXECUTED. 325 
 
 an engagement, they returned to Uzes. M. 
 Roux, the pastor, accompanied by M. Tessier, 
 the sub-prefect, who had arrived from Nismes, 
 went again to Arpaillargues. They found the 
 peasants increased in numbers, full of indignation, 
 and prepared to march at sun-rise on Uzes, and 
 decide their fate by an appeal to arms. The 
 deputation, assisted by M. Olivier, the pastor, 
 represented to them the miseries and dangers of 
 civil conflict ; the determination of general 
 Gilly to avoid, if it were possible, all offensive 
 warfare ; and the propriety of confining them- 
 selves to a system of defence within their own 
 territory. They succeeded in calming the 
 agitation, and disposing all minds to patience and 
 tranquillity. 
 
 After the complete establishment of the power 
 of the catholic royalists in the department, 
 M. Penarier was charged with having fired the 
 shot which occasioned the death of Nicholas. His 
 innocence is certain ; but the juries who ac- 
 quitted Trestaillons, Quatretaillons, and Tru- 
 phemy, were capable of his condemnation. He 
 was executed at Nismes, and attended to the 
 guillotine by two of the pastors, M.M. Tachard 
 and Vincent. He suffered with resignation to 
 the will of God, and in the exercise of Christian 
 confidence. His wife died of chagrin, after a few 
 months, and his three orphan children were 
 chargeable to the courts, to the amount of 1200 
 francs, to which their father had been condemned. 
 
 The time that intervened between the re~. 
 y 3 
 
326 DEATH OF MADAME BASTIDE. 
 
 sumption of the white flag at Uzes, and the ar- 
 rival of the royal commissioners, was passed in 
 confusion and revolution. M. Robernier oc- 
 cupied at once the places of mayor and sub- 
 prefect, A new national guard, under the 
 title of royal, was organized ; and M. Vogue 
 established himself at Uzes as inspector. Pro- 
 testants were uniformly excluded ; but catholics, 
 though paupers, and even of the most infamous 
 character, were instantly enrolled. To clothe 
 these persons, the protestants were obliged to 
 give up their uniforms ; and the catholics went 
 unblushingly into their shops, and cut from pieces 
 of cloth as much as they chose for their dress, 
 without any payment being either offered or 
 demanded. 
 
 It would require a volume to record the suf- 
 ferings of the inhabitants, both of the town and 
 the villages ; but some estimate of the state of 
 terror and disorder may be formed by the 
 following circumstance. M. Bastide, a shop- 
 keeper, had been obliged to flee, and his pro- 
 perty was so frequently and so heavily plun- 
 dered, that poverty and ruin seemed inevitable, 
 even if life were preserved. Madame Bastide 
 sunk into a dreadful state of depression, and 
 her friends were alarmed for her reason. Her 
 devoted pastor, M. Roux, paid her frequent 
 visits ; endeavoured to soothe her distress ; 
 directed her view to the providence of God; 
 and presented to her the promises of his holy 
 word, and all those considerations which are cal- 
 
M. VALLABRIX. 327 
 
 culated to fortify the mind, and produce faith 
 and resignation. His efforts appeared to be ef- 
 fectual, and, on his last visit, she promised, and 
 seemed really disposed to hope for better times, 
 and repose on the Divine Goodness for deliver- 
 ance from present calamity. M. Roux rejoiced 
 in the comfort and amendment of his charge, 
 and retired with a degree of pleasure, too rare, 
 amidst the scenes which he had every moment to 
 witness. Scarcely had he left the house, on his 
 way home, when he heard behind him an in- 
 creasing tumult, and the violent repetition of 
 his name. He turned : — it was the family of 
 M. Bastide, who pursued him. No sooner had 
 he left the house than the calmness of his friend 
 was followed by terror. She thought the mur- 
 derers were coming in quest of her husband, and, 
 in a fit of despair, the unhappy woman rushed 
 from her apartment, and precipitated herself into 
 a well. The pastor returned to weep with those 
 who wept ; and, suppressing his own horror at 
 the violent death of an innocent and affection- 
 ate wife, he exerted himself to console the be- 
 reaved, and to quell their indignation against 
 the authors of such extensive miseries. 
 
 Nothing can more effectually display the 
 bad faith and profligacy of the persecuting 
 faction, and the utter falseness of the charges 
 exhibited against the protestants, than the ap- 
 pointment and conduct of the principal ma- 
 gistrate. M. Vallabrix had been sub-prefect 
 for several years under the emperor j but on 
 y 4 
 
328 M. VALLABRIX. 
 
 the first restoration he retained his situation, 
 and permitted the evils which afflicted the pro- 
 testants in 1814. The return of his old master 
 rendered a second change necessary. It is a 
 fact, of which I can guarantee the truth, that 
 when General Gilly passed through Uzes, 
 M. Vallabrix entreated him to solicit the em- 
 peror to continue him in the sub-prefecture, 
 and assured the General that he would serve his 
 imperial majesty with the greatest zeal and in- 
 tegrity. He afterwards obtained the honour, 
 from some of the communes, to appear as their 
 deputy at the Champ du Mai : but, in spite 
 of all his intrigues, he lost his place. The first 
 act of the royal commissioners was to appoint this 
 very man sub-prefect of Uzes. It is, therefore, 
 evident, that it was neither a royalist nor an up- 
 right magistrate, but an unprincipled agent, 
 that they wished to prefer to the local govern- 
 ment ; and it is as evident, that, in denouncing 
 and pursuing the protestants, as Buonapartists, 
 the sub-prefect was acting with the basest hypo- 
 crisy, and commending himself to his employers 
 by his zeal in promoting a known and an in- 
 famous conspiracy. This deputy to the Champ 
 du Mai signalized his restoration by an order to 
 disarm the protestants en masse, as enemies of the 
 Bourbons. The arrete of the Duke d'Angou- 
 leme enjoined the disarming ofjederes. In Uzes 
 there had not been even a project of federation; 
 but that was of no consequence ; the unarmed 
 could not defend themselves, and the sub-pre- 
 i 7 
 
THE THIRD OF AUGUST. 329 
 
 feet was not accustomed to take counsel, either of 
 law or justice. His conduct on the 30th of July 
 prepared the public for the subsequent cruelty 
 and illegality of his government. On that day, 
 at noon, the house of the widow Bedos was 
 assailed and devastated. A neighbour, who 
 Jived opposite M. Vallabrix's residence, observ- 
 ing the destruction of the property of an un- 
 protected female, took his gun, and set out to 
 endeavour to arrest the mischief, or lessen the 
 evil. The sub-prefect saw him, and from his 
 balcony enquired where he was going. " They 
 are destroying the house of Madame Bedos, 
 yonder. ,, " Go back," cried the magistrate ; 
 " that does not concern you ; mind your own 
 business." It was under such auspices that the 
 royal cause was to be established in the ar- 
 rondissement of Uzes, and in the South of 
 France. 
 
 Each day was more terrible than the last, till 
 the third of August arrived. GrafFan, called 
 by his associates Quatretaillons, as surpassing in 
 cruelty and crime the celebrated Dupont alias 
 Trestaillons of Nismes, then collected his band, 
 and committed all possible kinds of outrage. He 
 set the example by firing at a person named 
 Mangonier, who was sitting quietly in his shop. 
 Happily he missed his aim j but M. Flautier, 
 terrified at this wanton and deliberate murder, 
 ran to the top of his house, and, endeavouring 
 to escape by a window, fell into the court and 
 broke his leg. 
 
330 DEATH OF PASCAL. 
 
 Immediately after, a shot, fired by another of 
 the party, in Rue Mas-Bourguet, occasioned the 
 instant death of a catholic workman, named 
 Pascal ; and an alarm was given that a protest- 
 ant was the murderer, and that all the catholics 
 were to be killed. The street was almost entirely 
 inhabited by catholics j but one of the sons of 
 M. Meynier, abakerandaprotestant, was selected, 
 as the author of the assassination. It was known 
 at the moment, that the person who had fired 
 was a catholic ; that the families of Meynier and 
 Pascal lived on the very best terms of friend- 
 ship ; that Meynier was a man of quiet habits ; 
 and that he never interfered with political af- 
 fairs ; that the son of Meynier had never been 
 seen to a fire a musket ; and that all the pro- 
 testants were disarmed. But the truth was con- 
 cealed ; and an immense crowd was permitted, 
 or rather induced, to assemble and commence 
 hostilities. 
 
 The generate was beaten ; " the people" ran 
 to arms ; cartridges were distributed with pro- 
 fusion ; every measure of alarm was adopted ; 
 but not the slightest effort was made to inform 
 and appease the irritated populace. On the 
 contrary, at night, the mayor ordered the doors 
 to be closed, and all the windows to be illu- 
 minated, as though he were determined that the 
 wicked should not be impeded even by the 
 darkness, nor the miserable find an opportu- 
 tunity for escape. 
 
 The house of M. Meynier was the first object 
 
MURDER OF M. MEYNIKR AND SON. 331 
 
 of attack ; and in a moment it was forced and 
 filled. The eldest son, apprenticed to another 
 baker, was absent; but the father and his 
 youngest son fell under a thousand blows from 
 sabres and bayonets. The respectable old 
 man was soon beyond the reach of cruelty, and 
 the possibility of suffering. The son was only 
 mangled ; and they threw him, still living, from 
 the second story into the street. As if to 
 reproach his murderers, nature maintained 
 the struggle, and for some hours the lad 
 survived this mode of death. At length, in 
 order " to finish him," they stabbed him in 
 the street, and his corpse remained on the 
 spot till the middle of the next day. Unre- 
 strained pillage followed the murder. The 
 innocence of Meynier is now universally ac- 
 knowledged ; -the friendship of the families was 
 never interrupted ; the father of Pascal has 
 publicly denounced the real murderer of his 
 son ; and nothing but apprehension of the con- 
 sequences to himself and his family has pre- 
 vented him from executing his declared design 
 of bringing before the tribunals a wretch, not 
 only guilty of the death of a Pascal, but also 
 of those of the unfortunate Meyniers. 
 
 Alas ! neither innocence, nor age, nor sex, 
 was capable of arresting or softening the de- 
 stroyers of the heretics. In the same street 
 they tore the wife of Roche from her husband, 
 and put her to death. The widower was blind, 
 
33 v 2 MASSACRES. 
 
 and entirely dependant on the exertions of his 
 wife for his comfort and support. 
 
 Another female, named Julian, they massacred 
 on the stair-case, and her corpse they dragged 
 into the street, where it was exposed to the out- 
 rages of a brutal populace till the next after- 
 noon. In the course of their career, they en- 
 tered the house of M. Court. He was seventy 
 years of age, and had been a paralytic for nine 
 years. It was intended to lead him out, and 
 shoot him in the street ; but finding it was im- 
 possible to make him walk, they murdered him 
 in his chamber. He was a grocer, and all his 
 stock and furniture were plundered and de- 
 stroyed. These goods comprised nearly all his 
 property, and there remained nothing for his 
 children ; two of whom had served their country 
 as conscripts, and one had lost an arm in the 
 battle of Wagram. 
 
 The house of M. Roux being detached, was 
 set on fire. Madame Roux and Madame Rousel 
 had only time to save themselves by scaling, in 
 a state of nudity, the walls of their gardens. 
 
 Every quarter presented similar spectacles 
 of plunder, conflagration, and murder. At mid- 
 night an immense mass was in possession of the 
 whole town : men of property headed the de- 
 vastators ; and those who had shared in the 
 bloody scenes of 1793 were in full activity. 
 Sappers of the national guard preceded the 
 bands : they knocked formally at the doors and 
 
GENERAL PLUNDER. .S.^S 
 
 gates of the houses destined to be pillaged ; and 
 if they were not opened, they proceeded to de- 
 molish them, and let in the overwhelming 
 scourge. Such systematic rapine appears in- 
 credible ; but it is too certain. Forty houses or 
 magazines were sacked in the course of twenty- 
 four hours. The sappers assisted in breaking 
 in pieces the furniture, and throwing it into 
 carts, which followed the bands from place to 
 place. The whole was collected on the esplan- 
 ade, and burnt under the windows of the cele- 
 brated M. Vallabrix, the sub-prefect. Around 
 these fires, the savages danced to the cries of 
 "Vive la Croix!" "Vivent les Bourbons!" and, by 
 the light of the flames, the protestants who had 
 escaped death in their houses fled for refuge to 
 the woods and fields. The weight of the storm fell 
 on the middling and poorer classes of protestants. 
 The rich, having better information, had gra- 
 dually withdrawn, and removed or secreted their 
 most valuable effects. When the signal for attack 
 was given, those who remained sought an asy- 
 lum with catholics, on whom they thought they 
 might depend. Some welcomed and protected 
 them ; but, in general, they were either re- 
 pulsed, or required to pay dearly for a mo- 
 mentary shelter, and afterwards turned out, on 
 pretence of public orders not to conceal either 
 protestants or their property. * 
 
 The report of a new St. Bartholomew was not 
 
 * The following list of some of the houses plundered in 
 
334, 
 
 MASSACRE OF PRISONERS. 
 
 a vain threat. The catholics avowed, and the 
 reformed expected, the repetition of that dreadful 
 
 i 
 
 Rue du Mas 
 Bourguet. 
 
 - 
 
 Plan des 
 
 cins. 
 Marche du 
 
 medi. 
 
 Capu- 
 
 Sa- 
 
 > Dougue. 
 
 different streets, may serve to illustrate both the quality of 
 the sufferers and the universality of the oppression. 
 
 M. M. Meynier, baker, - - "j 
 
 Roche, proprietor, - 
 Castillion, widow, corn-dealer, 
 Rouset, glazier, 
 Julien, stocking-maker, 
 Bresson, retired officer, 
 Roucante, labourer, - 
 Roux, Jeremie, proprietor, 
 Lauret, baker, 
 Benoit, dealer in wine, 
 Praden, druggist, 
 Saucon, shoe-maker, 
 Delafond, clerk to the Tribunal, 
 Arnaud, shop-keeper, 
 Lavergne, coffee-house, 
 Bedos, widow, proprietor, 
 Lafont, proprietor, - 
 Desplau, retired officer, 
 Joseph, grocer, 
 
 Cabane, inn-keeper, 
 
 Prudent, grocer, 
 
 Berton, inn-keeper, - 
 
 Teissier, proprietor, 
 
 Rostain, pastry-cook, 
 
 Petit, stocking-maker, 
 
 Pascal, butcher, 
 
 Court, grocer, 
 
 Roux, widow, proprietor, 
 
 Verdier, stocking-maker, - 
 
 Ribot, brother of the pastor of j 
 
 Sommieres *, - - - \ Triperie. 
 
 Lombard, son of the pastor of | 
 St. Chaptesf, - - J 
 
 Many more houses were equally devastated, both within 
 and without the barriers ; and some were set on fire. 
 
 * M. Ribot was afterwards shot by Quatretaillons, at the massacre of 
 
 the prison. 
 
 f M. Lombard was deprived of his office, and imprisoned during nine 
 
 months. 
 
 
 Place Bourbon. 
 Bourgades. 
 
 Rue Massargues. 
 
 - ) Place St. 
 - J enne. 
 
 Eti- 
 
MASSACRE OF PRISONERS. S35 
 
 tragedy. At midnight M. Thedenat, commis- 
 sary of police, went to the prison, and ordered 
 the liberation of Gautier, a catholic ; but he in- 
 formed the gaoler that the other prisoners were 
 to be shot the next morning ; and that if any 
 escaped he should answer for them with his own 
 head. The dismal intelligence was communi- 
 cated to the prisoners ; and one of them wrote to 
 the commandant, and demanded his liberty. The 
 officer refused to read the letter ; but gave or- 
 ders that the execution should take place the 
 next morning, at ten o'clock. The gaoler ap- 
 plied to the commandant for a written order to 
 deliver the prisoners. " A verbal direction is 
 sufficient," he replied : " besides, in a revolu- 
 tion the people govern ; and you may do as you 
 please ; but I shall not risk my life." When 
 the failure of this mission was announced, it was 
 difficult to discover, whether the tenants of the 
 dungeon or its keeper, were the most afflicted. 
 This strange fact threw a gleam of light and 
 comfort on the horror and darkness of the 
 scene. How vain the prejudices and calcu- 
 lations of society ! The prisoners, in their 
 misery, found an intercessor in their gaoler; 
 and the only heart that was accessible to justice 
 and humanity was that from which, by common 
 consent, it was supposed all sense of sympathy 
 and equity was banished. Cut off from every 
 hope, the innocent, condemned without trial 
 and without authority, threw themselves on 
 their knees, implored the pardon of their sins, 
 
336 MASSACRES 
 
 and the support of their heavenly Father, and 
 awaited, with calmness and resignation, their 
 unjust but certain doom. Precisely at ten 
 o'clock a troop of monsters, armed with sabres 
 and muskets, and headed by the terrible Quatre- 
 taillons, presented themselves, and demanded 
 their victims. The gaoler, at this moment, dis- 
 played the firmness of a virtuous man : he re- 
 fused to admit one of them without a written 
 order. They persisted in their demands and 
 threats ; and at length he accompanied four of 
 the authorized assassins to the residence of the 
 commandant. Nothing could induce the authori- 
 ties to sign a written document ; and the gaoler 
 was obliged to obey a verbal order, given in the 
 presence of the agents, and return and surrender 
 to the hands of murderers the innocent inhabi- 
 tants of his cells. To protract and increase the 
 miseries of the sufferers, and to gratify their own 
 love of cruelty, their executioners summoned 
 them in pairs. They first ordered out two, 
 tied their hands, and marched them in tri- 
 umph to the Esplanade ; and, amidst a hundred 
 insults, shot them to the cries of " Vive le Roil" 
 " A bas les Protestans /" They returned, and 
 conducted two more to the same spot j showed 
 them the bleeding and dead bodies of their 
 friends, and then deliberately murdered them. 
 A third formal procession was graced by the two 
 remaining victims, who had already suffered 
 more than death, in the slow approach of exe- 
 
OF THE PRISONERS. 337 
 
 cution, and a torturing separation from their 
 unhappy companions. 
 
 These infamous processions passed through 
 the streets where centinels were posted, and the 
 sot disant national guards were under arms ; but 
 to have offered the slightest opposition to mur- 
 der, would have been a crime against the " altar 
 and the throne." By a refinement of cruelty 
 the unfortunate prisoners were obliged to kneel, 
 and receive their death, on the still burning 
 ashes of the spoils which had been consumed 
 the night before. To complete the true cha- 
 racter of the transaction, the whole was perpe- 
 trated before the house of that M. Vallabrix, 
 now sub-prefect, who had entreated General 
 Gilly to intercede for him with the emperor, 
 and was a deputy to the Champ du Mai. His 
 balcony commands the small space called the 
 Esplanade ; and it is even said, that he was seen 
 at intervals, inspecting the proceedings of " the 
 people." At all events, it is certain that he 
 took no interest, offered no impediment, exer- 
 cised no authority for the preservation of six 
 individuals, illegally and inhumanly murdered. 
 One of the persons shot, M. Bechard, was a 
 magistrate, and mayor of the commune of Dion. 
 Another, M. Ribot, sixty years of age, had only 
 returned to Uzes from emigration, on the faith 
 of the proclamations issued by the prefect and 
 M. Vidal, commissary of police, inviting fugitives 
 to return, and promising protection to persons 
 and property. A third, M. Amanlier, a fugi- 
 
338 HUMANITY OF A GAOLER. 
 
 tive of Nismes, had been violently arrested, 
 and had lost part of his hand by the outrages of 
 his assailants. After having been thrown into 
 prison, he was declared innocent of any charge, 
 and was set at liberty ; but, on the instance of 
 M. Roux, the pastor, and other friends, he re- 
 mained in prison, lest his life should be taken 
 by the banditti. Alas ! innocence was no pro- 
 tection ; and friendship had to weep over 
 the improvidence of its prudent calculations. 
 M. Amanlier was shot. 
 
 The prison still contained two persons who 
 were not included in the destined number ; the 
 appetite for blood was only increased by grati- 
 fication ; and the murderers made another pro- 
 cession to the gaol, to obtain possession of all 
 who remained. To the honour of M. Pigeon, 
 the gaoler, he again placed himself between 
 death and the dungeon. " My order," said he, 
 " only extended to six. If you still want blood 
 you may kill me ; but you shall not violate the 
 cells on which my hand has turned the key." 
 Again he became the advocate of the innocent, 
 in the presence of the commandant. " These 
 persons," said he, " are in the hands of justice ; 
 they have been proceeded against, and they 
 ought to wait the issue ; their death would be a 
 crime against the authority of the tribunal, as 
 well as against justice and humanity." The 
 commandant was silent; the eloquence of the 
 gaoler triumphed, and the prisoners were per- 
 
INSULT OF THE DEAD. 339 
 
 mitted to live, and finally were declared com- 
 pletely innocent. 
 
 To console themselves for their disappoint- 
 ment, the catholics and royalists par excellence, 
 returned to the Esplanade to insult the corpses 
 which were still stretched on the place. One of 
 the most active, Robert, after having indulged 
 his cruelty in slaughter, aspired to the infamous 
 distinction of bantering the unconscious dead. 
 He raised the bloody corpse of M. Ribot, 
 placed it in a kneeling attitude, adjusted a pair 
 of spectacles on the nose, and holding it up by 
 the hair, exclaimed, " Regarded si tn vois venir 
 tes brigands de la Gardonenque." After they 
 had rifled and stripped the bodies, they dragged 
 them to the end of the Esplanade, and threw 
 them into a field considerably lower than the 
 walk of the terrace. In this situation they 
 remained several hours, without sepulture. The 
 order was, at length, given for their interment ; 
 a hole was dug in the field ; the six carcases 
 were thrown in ; but so superficially covered 
 with mould, that the dogs and the birds of prey 
 devoured the carrion ; and it was necessary, for 
 the comfort of the living, to heap a little more 
 earth on the remains of the dead. I saw the 
 place of sepulture ; it was only distinguished by 
 a trifling elevation of the surface ; and the 
 peculiar richness and verdure of the herbage. I 
 stood also on the spot where the blood of the 
 protestants was shed, and their property was 
 consumed j the inhabitants imagine that they 
 
 z 2 
 
340 CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXTORTIONS. 
 
 can discover foul stains which never can be 
 effaced, but the circle only was evident; the 
 fire had left at least a blackness, descriptive of 
 the moral character of those by whom it had 
 been enkindled. 
 
 Scarcely were these shocking crimes achieved, 
 when the municipality, in a general coun- 
 cil, determined to raise a pecuniary indem- 
 nification for the widow and the family of 
 Pascal ; and to place under contribution the 
 protestants who had not fled, and who had not 
 been entirely plundered. This requisition was 
 proposed, as likely to calm the people ; and at 
 the same time sanction the report, that the death 
 of Pascal had been inflicted by a protestant. 
 A committee was appointed, and 30,000 francs 
 were easily procured, from a population in con- 
 sternation and despair. * The sums demanded 
 were declared to be the price of safety. 
 Madame Roussel, who, the night before, had 
 been abandoned of all her family, paid 2000 
 francs ; and out of the 30,000, not more than 
 that number came into the possession of the 
 family of Pascal. The situation of some of the 
 commissioners, since that period, explains the 
 appropriation of the rest. The committee, at 
 length, ashamed of their occupation, relinquished 
 the collection ; but one of their number, M. 
 Fabre, a surgeon, associating with himself, 
 
 * This committee consisted of M.M. D'Anglas, colonel ; 
 Fabre, surgeon ; Deveze, advocate ; Deroche, naval captain ; 
 Rafin ; St. Ange Amoreux, &c. <Src. 
 
CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXTORTIONS. 341 
 
 others of his own nomination, recommenced the 
 assessment with more vexation and rapacity 
 than ever. This example was followed by a 
 great number of individuals, who obtained by 
 force or threats, money, or legal obligations for all 
 sorts of fictitious objects, and under all sorts of 
 iniquitous pretences. Madame Roussel, who 
 had already paid £000 francs, was required by 
 a person named Chretien, in presence of 
 M. Sylvain, a notary, to give a promissory 
 note for 1200 francs, on the pretext that his 
 father had received from her late husband the 
 payment of a debt to that amount in assignats. * 
 A tribunal has since decided the scandalous 
 affair in favour of Madame Roussel. M. Hugues 
 was made debtor for 600 francs, and the partner 
 of M. Verdier de Flos for 1800. It is 
 impossible to state the number or the extent of 
 these attacks, subversive of all justice and social 
 order ; they continued long, and were carried to 
 an inconceivable excess. Some idea of the 
 different kinds of vexations may be formed from 
 the following instance, which is not of the most 
 aggravated description. Two Nismois went to 
 M. Simeon, a goldsmith, at Uzes, and, with 
 arms in their hands, demanded 1200 francs; 
 assigning as a reason, that when they had lodged 
 with him, some time before, he had stolen their 
 watch. M. Simeon, whose character placed him 
 
 * M. Roussel had always been rich ; and the family of 
 Chretien always poor. 
 
 z 3 
 
342 CASE OF M. LOMBARD. 
 
 above suspicion, applied to the judge of the 
 peace. " It is true," said the judge, " that the 
 demand is unjust and vexatious ; but, for the 
 sake of peace, give them at least 200 francs." 
 In addition to all these calamities, the domains 
 of all the protestants, in the country, were more 
 or less ravaged ; the vines and olives were 
 rooted up, and the houses burnt ; the disposable 
 property was formally carried off in carts, and on 
 mules and horses, stolen from the proprietors of 
 the estates. 
 
 The persecution of M. Lombard merits par- 
 ticular notice. His house, one of the largest 
 and handsomest in Uzes, was sacked from top to 
 bottom ; and his pavilion, and enclosure without 
 the barriers, were as completely pillaged. At 
 the commencement of the troubles, M. Lombard 
 had retired with his young family, to a country- 
 house inhabited by his father, the venerable 
 pastor of St. Chaptes ; but the arm of destruc- 
 tion reached this humble abode of filial love and 
 piety, and the family assembled, by misfortune, 
 were obliged to seek the safety of their lives in 
 separation and flight. After wandering several 
 days and nights in the woods and fields, the 
 children, and their aged grand-father sinking 
 with age, infirmity, and affliction, found an 
 asylum among the neighbouring villages j while 
 M. Lombard himself sought refuge in the moun- 
 tains of the Cevennes. Here, at the instigation 
 of the sub-prefect, he was immediately arrested, 
 takes to Nismes, thrown into prison, and, with- 
 
CASE OF M. LOMBARD. 343 
 
 out any mandate of arrest, without being ex- 
 amined, or even entered in the gaoler's book, 
 detained there nine months. By dint of soli- 
 citation, he obtained his liberty in May 1816 ; 
 or rather, he was permitted to leave the gaol, on 
 condition that he was placed under the disgrace- 
 ful surveillance of the police ; a condition which 
 was not relaxed till the period of the abrogation 
 of the law of the 29th of October, 1815. 
 
 During his imprisonment, the harvest of 
 M. Lombard was exposed to the most com- 
 plete and scandalous pillage; and even the 
 gardes champetres publicly assisted the plun- 
 derers to load their horses and carts with the 
 produce of his fields and vineyards. At the 
 same time, contributions and arbitrary taxes 
 were levied on him at Uzes, where he had 
 neither house nor property that had not been 
 ravaged. Ransoms were continually required of 
 his family, scattered in the villages, by licensed 
 brigands ; and his venerable father was over- 
 whelmed with injuries which caused his death. 
 To complete the wickedness of this persecution, 
 after the loss of liberty and fortune, M. Lom- 
 bard was deprived of his professional employ- 
 ment as clerk to the tribunal, the only means by 
 which he could hope to replace his family in 
 some of those comforts of which they had been 
 so unjustly and cruelly deprived. 
 
 Uzes was still destined to be the theatre of 
 events as tragical as any it had hitherto exhibited. 
 On the 25th of August, M. Vallabrix, the sub- 
 
 z 4 
 
S4>4> QUATRETAILLONS. 
 
 prefect, dispatched Graffan, alias Quatretaillons, 
 to the commune of Euset, a district beyond his 
 own jurisdiction, and belonging to the arrondisse- 
 ment and sub-prefecture of Alais, under pretence 
 of dispersing an armed and rebellious assembly. 
 This illegal and extraordinary mission, was or- 
 dered at the moment that Trestaillons marched 
 at the head of his bands, into the Gardo- 
 nenque ; and the chasseurs of Vezenobre arrived 
 at Ners. The pretended rebels were the national 
 guards of the sub-prefecture of Alais, who had 
 been commanded to maintain, every night, posts 
 in every commune on the confines of the arron- 
 dissemens of Uzes and Nisines, on purpose to 
 watch against the approach of the bands who in- 
 fested those districts. In conformity with those 
 orders, the greatest tranquillity had been main- 
 tained since the re-establishment of the royal 
 government. Quatretaillons and his company ar- 
 rived at the village of St. Maurice, in the night j 
 and the sentinel perceiving the arms of several of 
 the foremost, cried " qui vive ;" a discharge of 
 musketry replied to his enquiry, and deprived 
 him of his life. The heroic Graffan immedi- 
 ately rushed on the post, and seized six of the 
 national guards, who were peaceably and honour- 
 ably fulfilling a prescribed and important duty. 
 With such celerity was the attack made, and the 
 prey secured, that the victims were far from the 
 spot ere the inhabitants were apprized ; and it 
 was then too late to attempt their deliverance. 
 Arrived at Montaren, a village on the road, 
 
SIX PROTESTANTS MASSACRED. 345 
 
 Graffan prepared to shoot his prisoners, without 
 further trouble or delay, and was with difficulty 
 dissuaded from the massacre j but in the heat 
 of discussion with the principal inhabitants, 
 who opposed the pollution of their soil by so foul 
 a murder, Providence permitted the passions of 
 the wretched agent to make a revelation which 
 it would have been impossible, otherwise, to have 
 obtained. To prove his authority, and justify 
 his cruelty, he exhibited his written orders, and 
 exposed the parties under whom he acted. The 
 prisoners gained only a few miserable hours : they 
 were inarched in triumph to Uzes, and arranged 
 in order of sacrifice on the celebrated Espla- 
 nade. The arbiter of their destiny left them 
 for a few minutes ; he went to the residence of 
 M. Vallabrix, the sub-prefect, whose windows 
 commanded the Esplanade, to report the success 
 of his mission, and to demand further instruc- 
 tions. These instructions were not written ; 
 but Graffan reported, without hesitation or re- 
 serve, the laconic decision of the magistrate. 
 " Do as you please," said he, " they are in 
 your power, and were taken with arms in their 
 hands." The pleasure of Quatretaillons may be 
 easily imagined ; he found himself once more 
 beneath the balcony of a sub-prefect ; the scene 
 of his former exploits inspired his zeal ; and in 
 a few minutes, without the slightest formality, 
 or the semblance of guilt, in open day — and 
 amidst a crowd of spectators — six protestants 
 were massacred on the spot, which, three weeks 
 
346 FALSE STATEMENTS OF THE JOURNALS. 
 
 before, had been saturated with the blood of 
 prisoners taken from the cells. Thus perished 
 M.M. Mejean, Pascal, Bougarel, Gollier, Mazel, 
 and Gilles. The bodies of malefactors are 
 restored to their families, and allowed, at least, 
 a coffin ; but those of respectable citizens, 
 after receiving numerous indignities, were 
 thrown into a hole, in the same field which 
 concealed the remains of others already mur- 
 dered. No friend or relative was near to per- 
 form the last offices of affection. The widows, 
 and twenty-two orphans, deplore the loss of 
 husbands and fathers, suddenly snatched from 
 their embrace, and basely massacred. 
 
 Terrible as were these calamities, and though 
 the conduct of Graffan was designed to favour 
 other attacks on the peasantry of the Gardon- 
 nenque, the protestants were doomed to bear all 
 the odium of disloyalty, incivism, and rebellion. 
 An official journal, published at Nismes, on the 
 30th of August, under the inspection and cen- 
 sure of the prefect, contained the following 
 statement : — " Our details are taken from par- 
 ticular information, on the authenticity of which 
 we can rely. M., the sub-prefect of Uzes, 
 informed, in the morning of the 26th, of the ex- 
 istence of a camp of rebels at d* Yeuzet, ordered 
 Sieur Graffan, called Quatretaillons, to march 
 and observe the assembly. That officer set out 
 immediately, with a detachment of thirty men, 
 and was soon in presence of the rebels. Though 
 inferior in numbers, he attacked them with asto- 
 
FALSE STATEMENTS OF THE JOURNALS. 347 
 
 nishing intrepidity, dispersed them, took six 
 prisoners, and conducted them to Uzes. There 
 they were convicted of having been taken in 
 rebellion, with arms in their hands, and were 
 instantly shot." 
 
 The whole of this statement was false and 
 mischievous. It was on the 25th, and not on 
 the 26th, that Graffan was dispatched ; and his 
 mission, therefore, preceded, instead of being 
 occasioned, by the troubles of Ners. The pro- 
 testants of St. Maurice were so far from being 
 rebels against the royal authority ; that they 
 wore the white cockade, and acted as national 
 guards, under the orders of a sub-prefect, ap- 
 pointed by the king. Instead of being superior 
 in force to the assailants, they did not amount 
 to half their number. No account is given of 
 the murder of one of the protestants on duty, 
 before the departure of the prisoners for Uzes. 
 The six prisoners were so far from being con- 
 victed, that they were not even examined by any 
 tribunal, civil or military. 
 
 False as was this statement, it received the 
 sanction of the government, and was allowed to 
 circulate, till the sub-prefect contradicted so 
 much as implicated his conduct, and that of his 
 colleagues. 
 
 On the 2d of September a letter was published 
 in the official journal, to exculpate the authorities 
 from the charge of participation in the crimes of 
 Quatretaillons. 
 
 " In the journal of the 30th, there has been in- 
 
348 FALSE STATEMENTS OF THE JOURNALS. 
 
 serted an article, containing a very incorrect 
 account of the events which occurred at Uzes 
 on the 26th. It is not true that the Sieur 
 Graffan, commonly called Quatretaillons, is an 
 officer of the national guard, nor has he the 
 honor even to belong to that corps. It is not 
 true that the sub-prefect gave orders to Graffan 
 to reconnoitre an assemblage collected at Yeuzet. 
 The sortie of Graffan and his band was purely 
 tolerated by the civil and military authorities, 
 to spare Uzes the renewal of the horrors with 
 which it was threatened. This sortie would 
 have been a real benefit for the town, had not 
 the return of Graffan again polluted it with 
 blood. 
 
 " It is not true that the prisoners taken by 
 Graffan have been convicted of rebellion. 
 They were purely and simply shot on their 
 arrival at Uzes, without the knowledge of the 
 authorities ; and we engage to prove, to demon- 
 stration, the truth of these assertions in the 
 next number of the journal." * 
 
 This letter, artfully constructed, did not, 
 however, answer the purpose of the writer. 
 It made some important confessions, but 
 did not correct the most flagrant falsehoods ; 
 and though it surrendered Graffan to public 
 opinion, it did not rescue the sub-prefect, 
 as he intended, from the execration of all 
 
 * The editor of the journal adds, " Article communique" 
 The pledge contained in the last paragraph was never 
 redeemed. 
 
QUATRETAILLONS ARRESTED. 349 
 
 good citizens. Graffan had unfortunately- 
 shewn his instructions to the inhabitants of 
 Mantaren j and even without that evidence, the 
 most ignorant individuals could reason on the 
 events. " Why," they asked, " did Graffan 
 inarch on that point, and at that time? Why 
 did he select, as the objects of attack, persons 
 whom he did not know, whom he had never 
 seen, and from whom no booty was obtained ? 
 Why did he convey his prisoners to the Espla- 
 nade, rather than to prison, or to the com- 
 mandant ? Why did he communicate with the 
 sub-prefect of Uzes, on his return from an ex- 
 cursion into another arrondissement, and after 
 committing murder within the government of 
 the sub-prefect of Alais ? Why was he un- 
 restrained in his ferocity, proud of his crimes, 
 and confident of impunity ?" The answer to 
 these questions was not difficult. Graffan was 
 employed and protected by persons in power. 
 They might find it convenient to throw on him 
 the guilt of their conduct ; he had no reputation 
 to lose ; and further than this, he was satisfied 
 they would not, and dared not, proceed. Cir- 
 cumstances soon proved, that the confidence of 
 Graffan was neither excessive nor misplaced. 
 
 The scandal of this massacre required the 
 semblance of j ustice from the prefect, M. d* Ar- 
 baud Jonques ; and a farce was accordingly 
 prepared. It was agreed, that Graffan should 
 be arrested ; and he was, therefore, seized, and 
 sent to Montpellier ; but a deputation from his 
 
 14 
 
350 QUATRETAILLONS ACQUITTED. 
 
 friends, consisting of some of the most eminent 
 inhabitants, and most zealous royalists, of Uzes, 
 followed, to advocate his cause, and solicit his 
 liberation ; and their efforts were supported by 
 the good offices of all the local authorities. * 
 It was thought more advisable to exhibit the 
 mockery of a trial, and to give the murderer all 
 the advantage of an honourable acquittal, instead 
 of that punishment which was due to his aggra- 
 vated and multiplied crimes. The dispatch of 
 the prefect, to the minister of the interior, is 
 a valuable document. While it misrepresents 
 both facts and dates in favour of the catholic 
 faction, it records the instructions under which 
 Graffan acted against the protestants ; and it 
 discloses the interest the authorities had in pre- 
 venting any ulterior revelations, by shielding 
 their agent from justice, under the forms of law. 
 " Believing him guilty," says the prefect, " I 
 spared no efforts for his arrestation ; he en- 
 deavoured to evade my researches, but did not 
 attempt to justify himself. It was not till after 
 his arrival at Montpellier, that the voice and the 
 reports of the authorities of Uzes were unani- 
 mously raised in his defence. It was then proved 
 that Graflan, captain of one of the irregular 
 companies, since dissolved, was sent by order of 
 authority, to make a military reconnoissance in 
 
 * M. M. de Rouviere, ancien juge de paix et officier ; 
 De Pance\ ancien controleur des droits reunis et com- 
 mandant de la Garde Royale ; and De Bargeton Durfort, 
 formed the deputation. 
 
EXCESSIVE MISERY. 351 
 
 the commune of St. Maurice. That having 
 attacked a post, at the head of his troops, he 
 dispersed it, and made six prisoners ; that these 
 unfortunate prisoners, on entering Uze^s, amidst 
 a great crowd and the band of GrafFan, fell 
 victims to the fury of the people, and of the 
 soldiers of GrafFan ; that GrafFan was absent on 
 a conference with the authorities ; and that the 
 prisoners were not only killed without his parti- 
 cipation, but that their death occasioned him the 
 most lively grief.'* 
 
 The discrepancy between this dispatch, and 
 the letter published in the official journal of the 
 2d of September, merits observation. Such 
 a suppression and perversion of the truth in- 
 volves the prefect in the censure which it is 
 impossible to withhold from all those magis- 
 trates who thus appear the friends and pro- 
 tectors of the most infamous assassins. It is 
 not surprising that, under such a government, 
 emigration increased; and that the manufactures 
 and agriculture, which had flourished by the 
 skill and industry of the protestants, sunk into 
 decay. Misery pervaded all classes ; the work- 
 men, who had not quitted the town, were with- 
 out employment, and without food ; while those 
 who fled incurred expences and sacrifices, which 
 exhausted their feeble resources, and reduced 
 them to poverty and want. At the season of the 
 vintage, the vines of protestants were appro- 
 priated by marauding bands, who daily cleared 
 the harvest with horses and paniers, and carts. 
 
352 DIVINE SERVICE INTERRUPTED. 
 
 " This year the harvest," they said, " and next 
 year we will have the vines." One proprietor 
 complained to a judge of the peace ; but the 
 only consolation he received, was conveyed in 
 these words : " It is the people's share, and I 
 can do nothing." The sufferers were almost 
 entirely deprived of the comforts and supports 
 of their religion. During many months the 
 temple was shut against them; one of the 
 pastors was hurried to the grave ; the other 
 was obliged to live in obscurity ; and zealous 
 and devoted as he is, it was only by the greatest 
 caution that he preserved his own life, and ad- 
 ministered in any degree to the spiritual edifica- 
 tion of his flock. When, at length, the temple 
 was opened, and worship celebrated, by order of 
 the government, an immense mob threatened to 
 fall on the worshippers ; and though the magis- 
 trates felt obliged to protect the protestants, and 
 restrain the crowd, they experienced considerable 
 inconvenience ; many were stoned, and several 
 injured. Month after month they endured 
 every species of indignity, interruption, and 
 oppression. They were banished the public 
 walks ; prohibited all social intercourse ; sub- 
 jected to the arbitrary visits of the police ; and 
 exposed to the abuse and blows of the populace. 
 This shameful persecution continued till after 
 the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, at 
 the close of the year 1816. 
 
 While the seat of the sub-prefecture was thus 
 distinguished by the reign of anarchy and inj ustice, 
 
COMMUNES OF SANILHAC AND SAGRIERS. 353 
 
 it is not surprising that the persecution should 
 extend to all the communes and villages of the 
 arrondissement, where protestants had the mis- 
 fortune to reside ; and that the canton and the 
 consistorial church of Uzes should be eminently 
 distressed. 
 
 The armed bands of Trestaillons from Nismes 
 raised immense sums, and committed dreadful 
 outrages on the protestants of Sanilhac. M. 
 RebufFat, alone, was plundered of at least 6000 
 francs. The dead body of Mademoiselle Fresine 
 was found in a well, into which she had either 
 been thrown by brigands, or had thrown her- 
 self, driven to despair by their impure and 
 murderous violence. 
 
 The village of Sagriers contained scarcely a 
 protestant family ; but the catholic inhabitants 
 were among the most active and vicious of the 
 persecutors. They were determined to lay hands 
 on a protestant, named Portal ; and understand- 
 ing that he had taken refuge with Chastenier, a 
 catholic, they surrounded the house in the night, 
 and demanded entrance. Chastenier rose from 
 his bed, and refused to open his door j it was 
 instantly broken open ; a musket was placed at his 
 breast, and he was killed on the spot. After all, 
 the object of their search was not found. It is 
 worthy of observation, that this murder was the 
 only crime, of this period, punished by the tri- 
 bunals. The murderers were condemned, at 
 Nismes, to be branded, and to the galleys for 
 life. M. Chastenier was a catholic. 
 
 A A 
 
354 PERSECUTIONS AT MONTAREN. 
 
 The protestants of St. Queniin were long and 
 terribly afflicted. Many of their houses were 
 plundered and devastated : that of M. Pascal, in 
 the centre of the town, was entirely demolished, 
 and even the stones were carried away. 
 
 The persecutions of Montaren w r ere particu- 
 larly atrocious and unjust. 
 
 In this commune, on the first restoration, the 
 protestants were so hearty in their adhesion to the 
 Bourbon constitutional government, that they 
 attended the Te Deum in the catholic church ; 
 and thus evinced their disposition to unite in 
 loyalty and devotion, as far as their consciences 
 would permit, with the professors of another 
 religion. In their turn, they also sung a Te 
 Deum, by the authority of the sub-prefect ; and 
 invited the catholics to join in their service. 
 Alas ! the moments of apparent concord were 
 few and fallacious. The cure forbad the at- 
 tendance of his flock ; and the "faithful" were 
 highly offended, " that heretics should presume 
 to invite them to enter their accursed con- 
 venticle." An invitation to a public repast, 
 given in honour of the event, by M. Sabatier, one 
 of the principal protestants, was equally refused ; 
 and against every friendly advance, the line of 
 demarcation was deeply and broadly traced. 
 Conciliation was met by the same threats and 
 insults, which spread alarm in the other districts 
 of the department. 
 
 Notwithstanding these provocations, the ca- 
 tholics had not the slightest ground for com- 
 
M. SABATIER. 355 
 
 plaint during the hundred days. Their per- 
 sons, property, and worship were perfectly re- 
 spected and secure. On the second return of 
 Louis XVIII. the white flag was hoisted with 
 the greatest promptitude y and when some of the 
 armed peasants of the neighbouring communes 
 arrived on their way to Uzes, the leading pro- 
 testants assured them of the safety of their 
 brethren, and persuaded them to return peace- 
 ably to their homes. 
 
 As the reward of civic merit so distinguished, 
 four hundred men from Uzes and Nismes, com- 
 manded by Baragnon, inundated Montaren, in 
 the end of July ; and the first object of their 
 fury was the house of that very M. Sabatier, 
 who, the year before, had given a public repast 
 in honour of the Bourbons. M. Sabatier had 
 already fled ; his wife and daughter had scarcely 
 time to quit their beds, throw on their robes, and 
 escape by a private staircase, before the house 
 was literally filled with armed brigands. The 
 relatives of these ladies dared not receive them, 
 and, destitute of an asylum, they were obliged 
 to hide themselves in the woods, in order to 
 elude the pursuit of murderers. In a short time 
 nothing of their home remained but the walls ; 
 every thing was stolen or destroyed ; and, when 
 the destruction of the interior was completed, 
 eighty trees on the premises were cut down, the 
 bee-hives demolished, all the poultry appro- 
 priated, and only desolation left to attest 
 successful crime. 
 
 a a L 2 
 
o.)() M. BOUGAREL. 
 
 Tlie residences of M.M. Odol, Garel, Defos, 
 and Bougarel, and of all the leading protest- 
 ants, were successively attacked, M. Bougarel, 
 as deacon of the church, was treasurer for the 
 poor : his cabinet was forced, and all the fund, 
 contributed for the relief of the indigent and 
 afflicted, was seized in the name of the king. In- 
 stead of respecting the person of an aged and 
 honourable officer of a religious community, 
 they held him against the wall, and, with 
 muskets at his breast, rifled his pockets of the 
 last franc. But his cup of suffering was not suf- 
 ficiently embittered ; he was compelled to see 
 his daughter-in-law, who was near her confine- 
 ment, fastened to the wall j the sabre held to 
 her throat, and her person searched, with an in- 
 decency from which even a prostitute would 
 have shrunk. That the instruments should be 
 thus brutal and shameless, was not surprising, 
 when their chief, M. Baragnon, did not blush to 
 ride a horse taken from one of the principal pro- 
 testants. If this horse were presented by 
 M. Odol, why was he treated as an enemy and 
 a traitor ? If it were appropriated without his 
 permission, the commander of the royal mique- 
 lets was only the leader of banditti. 
 
 Exposed continually to magisterial oppression, 
 and to popular assaults, the protestants did not 
 attempt, during six montns, to celebrate public 
 worship ; but when the royal ordonnance rela- 
 tive to the opening of the temples appeared, 
 they determined to assemble for prayer on 
 
XETTEIi TO M. ODOL. 357 
 
 Christmas-day. With the pretended royalists, a 
 royal ordon nance was to be honoured by diso- 
 bedience, and its author served by the direct 
 opposition of his will. Accordingly, while the 
 protestants worshipped God by the orders of the 
 king, the national guard beat the drums, and vo- 
 ciferated under their windows, and fired into their 
 sanctuary. Thus the exclusive friends of his ma- 
 jesty, endangered the lives of the traitors who 
 were obeying his instructions. Happily, the 
 service was closed without accident, and the 
 worshippers indulged a hope that hostility 
 would gradually subside. Alas ! they were dis- 
 appointed ; for, in a few days, fresh and unex- 
 pected ^difficulties occurred. During the last 
 twelve years a part of the communal house, fitted 
 up at the expense of the protestants, had been 
 occupied by them as a temple. The house was 
 nearly useless, and their occupation was in no 
 respect inconvenient or unpleasant to the mu- 
 nicipal council, who occasionally assembled in 
 the building. On the 29th of December 1815, 
 M. Odol received from the mayor the following 
 letter : 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The rassemblement of the protestants in the 
 communal house, last Monday, having occa- 
 sioned very heavy complaints, the sub-prefect 
 has directed me to oblige them to evacuate that 
 place, and meet elsewhere for the exercise of 
 their worship. 
 
 a a 3 
 
358 PROTESTANTS MEET AT A BERGERIE. 
 
 «' ■ This tolerance? says M. Vallabrix, in his 
 letter to me, ' on your part and mine, must 
 cease ; because we shall very properly be blamed, 
 and because I know that it produces ferment- 
 ation in your commune.* Not to deviate, there- 
 fore, from the system of moderation I have laid 
 down, I give the protestants one month to re- 
 move their effects ; and beyond that period you 
 will be held, responsible for all the consequences. 
 I hope you will convince the multitude that 
 it only requires that which is just. 
 
 " Abriac, Mayor." 
 
 The " tolerance" and " moderation" of the 
 sub-prefect and the mayor, and of their mobs, 
 admitted of no remonstrance ; and attempts were 
 consequently made to obtain quiet possession of 
 other places. The first meeting was held in a 
 bergerie*, and the catholics, as they returned 
 from mass, disturbed the congregation, and fired 
 several times at the building in which it was 
 assembled. The owner was so shamefully 
 threatened, that he was obliged to inform the 
 pastor, " that the repetition of the service 
 would compromise his safety ; and that the 
 strongest motives must induce him to request 
 his absence for the future." Afterwards, 
 M. Roux Sagrier, a wealthy proprietor, accom- 
 modated the poor heretics with a part of his 
 
 * A large stable, designed to fold sheep in the winter 
 months and the rainy season. 
 
COMMUNE OF BARON. 359 
 
 hotel ; but they were so warmly persecuted, and 
 so unable to assist each other, that they were 
 compelled to leave the house of M. Roux, and, 
 subsequently, to give up entirely the celebration 
 ©f public Christian worship. 
 
 M. Sabatier was arrested, and detained in the 
 prison of Nismes till after May, 1816 ; and 
 when at length this excellent citizen, who 
 merited rather the thanks than the persecution 
 of his neighbours, obtained his liberty, he was 
 obliged to sell his estates for a third of their 
 value, and remove to another part of the de- 
 partment. 
 
 In the commune of Baron, Graffan and his 
 horde, when they were conducting their pri- 
 soners to the Esplanade of Uzes, endeavoured 
 to seize M. Randon, the pastor, and add him to 
 the number of their victims. Happily, he had 
 escaped, and they were obliged to be satisfied 
 with stealing his horse. It was in vain that the 
 pastor, who could not visit his flock in the coun- 
 try, applied to the authorities to have it restored. 
 
 The communes of Foissac, Seviers, and 
 Euzety were doomed to endure the same kind of 
 oppression and misery that afflicted those already 
 mentioned. 
 
 Saint Chaptes is the chief town of another 
 canton, and of a consistorial church. The 
 bands from Uzes, amounting to several hundreds, 
 arrived there in the end of July, under pretence 
 of disarming persons who had already been de- 
 prived of their arms. These intruders were 
 a a 4 
 
3()0 SUFFERINGS OF M. FROMENTAL, 
 
 lodged at discretion. The cure was excepted ; 
 but a party, calling themselves officers, took 
 possession of the residence of M. Fromental, the 
 protestant pastor, who had fled, and, at seventy 
 years of age, was obliged to wander in the 
 woods, and sleep in the ditches. Madame 
 Fromental was ordered to prepare their table 
 with the very best the country would afford: 
 and, accordingly, she provided foreign wines, 
 liqueurs, and all the rarities she could procure, 
 in order to placate their wrath, and leave them 
 without pretext for violence. " The faithful," 
 returned these civilities by singing, in her 
 presence, the most infamous songs ; by a dis- 
 gusting intemperance, which rendered it neces- 
 sary to renew several times the table-cloth, and 
 by putting in their pockets five silver converts. 
 The pastor's wife endured all these indignities 
 without complaint, conducted these " friends 
 of the altar" to their chambers, and retired. 
 Scarcely had she descended, when she was 
 loudly and impatiently summoned; and, on 
 re-ascending, she found all her inmates waiting 
 for her with their sabres drawn. They rudely 
 seized her, and compelled her to open her hus- 
 band's drawers, and give them 600 francs. This 
 was not sufficient; and they insisted on, at 
 least, one thousand. It was in vain that Ma- 
 dame Fromental assured them that there was no 
 more cash in the house belonging to her hus- 
 band, and that the contents of another cabinet 
 belonged to the poor, of whose fund the pastor 
 
AND FAMILY, AT ST. CHAPTES. 3()1 
 
 was treasurer. The money given by heretics 
 for the relief of the poor of the flock was doubly 
 welcome ; and they appropriated, with peculiar 
 delight, about lGOO francs. They afterwards 
 broke open all the drawers in their chambers, 
 took every thing that suited them, and quitted 
 the house. 
 
 Another party of soi disant officers, who had 
 quartered themselves on M. Beaumel, an elder 
 of the church, discovered under a bed a chest, 
 in which a quantity of valuables had been 
 carefully deposited. They did not scruple to 
 steal the contents. 
 
 A farm belonging to M. Fromental, the pastor, 
 was completely plundered, the furniture de- 
 stroyed, and the hogsheads of wine, which it was 
 too difficult to remove, staved and wasted. Seve- 
 ral times the doors and windows were repaired ; 
 they were as often demolished. At a late pe- 
 riod, after one of these attacks, the following 
 letter was left on the chimney-piece : 
 
 " This morning we came to your farm to 
 take les oiseaux brigands. You will bring a 
 pretty double-barrelled gun, a pistol, a sword, 
 and L 250 francs, and place them where you find 
 this letter. If you fail to execute this order, 
 we shall burn the farm, and come to St. Chaptes 
 to wish you good day, and, most likely, shoot 
 you in the middle of the market-place. 
 
 " We are the Miquelets of Nismes. 
 
 (Signed) " Sehgent." 
 
362 CHATEAU DE LA TOUR. 
 
 The original manuscript was deposited with 
 the judge of the peace of the canton. Mr. Fro- 
 mental was not indeed shot, but he fell a victim 
 to the persecutions he experienced. 
 
 The chateau cle la Tour, belonging to the 
 Baron Chabaud, was several times attacked by 
 the miquelets from Nismes and Uzes ; and, on 
 one occasion, it was near being destroyed. 
 
 M. Charles Juillerat, one of the pastors of 
 Nismes, who had fled with his father, took re* 
 fusre at the house of the Baron. The attention 
 of the family was excited by the cries of persons 
 approaching the dwelling ; and they perceived 
 a number of armed men pursuing, over the 
 grounds, a fugitive, whom they called, " a mad 
 dog." M. Juillerat, to divert the pursuers, and 
 favour the escape of the individual, whose life 
 appeared in danger, fired a pistol in the air. A 
 crowd was collected, and a report circulated that 
 a secret meeting of armed protestant ministers 
 was held at the chateau. Vengeance was de- 
 nounced ; M. Charles Juillerat was seized, and, 
 to avoid being carried to Uzes, where he would 
 most probably have been murdered, he gave 
 1000 francs for his liberty, and set off for 
 Switzerland. 
 
 Another attack was made on the premises, 
 under the pretence that General Gilly was there 
 concealed. Madame Chabaud, in very delicate 
 health, and her daughter, were obliged to escape 
 across the fields, throw themselves into a cart, 
 (the only conveyance they could procure,) and 
 
COMMUNE OF GARRIGUES. S63 
 
 seek shelter and security in the neighbouring 
 towns. At the point of the sword the miquelets 
 compelled the domestics to conduct them over 
 the house, took five hundred francs in monev, 
 linen, plate, and other effects, destroyed the 
 mathematical and philosophical apparatus, and 
 injured the library. Baron Chabaud was con- 
 demned to death by the revolutionary tribunal, 
 and only escaped the guillotine by the extraor- 
 dinary devotion and heroism of his sister, 
 Madame Juillerat Chasseur, and the energy of 
 his wife. He is now a deputy for the Gard, 
 and has been appointed by Louis XVIII. one of 
 the questures of the chamber. 
 
 Detachments of the same description infested 
 the small village of Garrigues * and, though the 
 protestants possess four-fifths of the land, and 
 form three-fourths of the population, they were 
 entirely disarmed, and arbitrarily taxed. The 
 miserable appearance of these new crusaders 
 would have excited ridicule under other circum- 
 stances ; but now it was the indication of 
 cruelty and rapine. They emptied every house 
 of plate, linen, and jewellery. M. Dizier was 
 robbed to a considerable amount ; and a youno- 
 female, who had surrendered her last franc, was 
 rifled, and indecently deprived of the gold orna- 
 ments of her person. 
 
 On the 13th of August sixty men arrived, 
 and lived at discretion on the protestants for 
 several days. Others followed on the 18th and 
 20th, and raised a sum of six hundred francs ; 
 
364 COMMUNES OF COLORGUES AND BOUHDIC. 
 
 and, a few days after, another hundred francs 
 was required. The age and respectability of 
 the resident pastor, M. Lombard, afforded him 
 neither security nor exemption. His house was 
 particularly injured ; and he was obliged to seek 
 safety in the secrecy of the woods. He 
 was another pastor whose end was accelerated 
 by exposure, fatigue, anxiety, and distress. 
 During the progress of these persecutions, the 
 municipal administration was usurped by the 
 catholics, and almost entirely by one family. 
 
 The population of the commune of Color 'gues 
 is nearly all protestant; but the sub-prefect 
 of Uzes was so determined that the magistrates 
 should be both catholics and tools, that he re- 
 placed the protestant mayor by the servant of 
 Madame Lacoste, and the adjunct by a garde 
 champetre of the commune. 
 
 The catholics, who are in great majority in 
 the commune of Boardic, heaped upon the pro- 
 testants every species of indignity and op- 
 pression. 
 
 They induced Larnac, a catholic girl, of 
 vicious character, and who had abandoned an 
 infant on the public road, to prefer claims on 
 the son of one of the most respectable inhabit- 
 ants. As distinct as possible, both in their re- 
 ligion, property, reputation, and habits, they in- 
 sisted on the young man uniting himself by a 
 marriage, as indecent as infamous, to this 
 wretched beincr, After some time the uncle of 
 Larnac, became adjunct of the mayor, joined 
 
OPPRESSION OF M. ROUX. 3()5 
 
 with the mother and her son, both among the 
 most active of the persecutors, and summoned 
 the assistance of a party of the miquelets of 
 Nismes. They were determined that this union 
 should be consummated ; and M. Roux had no 
 resource but in sudden flight. Enraged at the 
 loss of the son, they seized the father, and only 
 gave him the alternative of being shot, or sign- 
 ing the contract of his son's marriage before a 
 notary. The father preferred death to the dis- 
 honour of his son and his family ; and did not 
 hesitate to adopt the dreadful fate that was re- 
 served for him. His wife, his children, all the 
 protestants, and even some of the catholics, 
 shocked at such atrocity, surrounded the victim, 
 as he was dragged out of the village, and his 
 family declared their determination not to sur- 
 vive his death. The scene was terrible. The 
 murderers were not prepared for so deep a tra- 
 gedy: they were checked, and at length con- 
 sented to spare the life of M. Roux, on the pay- 
 ment of 1 200 francs. The sub-prefect, who ap- 
 peared to patronize the Larnacs, afterwards ef- 
 fected the arrestation and imprisonment of the 
 unfortunate son. 
 
 The commune of Blauzac experienced the 
 greatest calamities, and endured them for a very 
 protracted period. The very first invasion of 
 the miquelets cost the protestants^z/toz hundred 
 francs, which were delivered to one Fouchet, of 
 Uzes. After the performance of a farandole, 
 the catholics proceeded to the devastation of the 
 
366 DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, AND 
 
 temple. They obtained from the mayor the 
 key, which had been deposited with him ; and 
 recommenced their farandole, and sung the 
 most horrid songs where prayer was wont to be 
 made. The interior of the sanctuary they de- 
 faced or destroyed ; and the wrecks they col- 
 lected and burnt on the public place. The pul- 
 pit was reserved for another fate : it was dragged 
 in triumph through the streets, and the frag- 
 ments were afterwards fastened to the doors of 
 the members of the consistory. Trestaillons, 
 on his return from the expedition to Boucoiran, 
 on the 26th of August, exacted to the amount of 
 seventeen hundred francs ; and at La Rouviere, 
 besides plunder, he obtained a further sum of 
 two hundred and Jifty francs. At different pe- 
 riods " the faithful" compelled M. Esperandieu 
 to sign a promissory note for one hundred 
 and Jifty francs ; M. Coulin for two hundred; 
 M. Amalric, elder of the church, for two hun- 
 dred ; and M. Alteyrac forffty. 
 
 It was not till after the Bourbons had been 
 restored fifteen months that it was possible to 
 attempt the celebration of religious worship. 
 M. Fromental, then, like a good shepherd, col- 
 lected his flock in a bergerie, the temple not 
 being yet restored; but he was hooted, dis- 
 turbed, and pelted with stones and mud, and it 
 was only by the interposition of the mayor, that 
 serious mischief was prevented. 
 
 After a further suspension of divine ordinances, 
 till the expiration of twenty months, M. Fro- 
 *5 
 
PERSECUTIONS OF BLAUZAC. 367 
 
 mental determined once more to recommence 
 his ministry, on Sunday March 9. 1817. The 
 consistory apprised the mayor, and requested 
 his protection ; and to avoid all cause of irritation, 
 the meeting was held in a private dwelling. 
 Scarcely had the service commenced, when an 
 alarming mob surrounded the house, drowned 
 the preacher's voice with their vociferations, 
 broke the windows, and threatened to lay violent 
 hands on the congregation. It was necessary to 
 summon the mayor, who succeeded in dis- 
 persing the crowd. The following Sunday a 
 party of sapeurs of the national guard, in full 
 dress uniform, arrived from Uzes, supposing that 
 service was to be again attempted. They went 
 directly to the person who had lent his house to 
 the consistory, and told him, " that they were 
 informed that he had suffered on his premises, 
 last Sunday, an assemblage of brigands, and 
 that he intended to continue his complaisance ; 
 but that in case he permitted again such a 
 scandal, they were come on purpose to raze 
 his house, and to punish his conduct." It was 
 not intended to have worship on that day, and 
 therefore the sapeurs had no pretence for ven- 
 geance ; but they were not satisfied to retire 
 without committing numerous acts of outrage 
 and disorder. At this period M. Darbaud 
 Jouques was no longer prefect. He had been 
 dismissed, and was replaced by M.D' Argout, who 
 acted on very different principles, and punished 
 both the guards and the mayor. In the Journal 
 
3G8 COMMUNES OF LA CALMETTE, DIONS, &C. 
 
 of the Gard of the 9th of April 1817, there is 
 the following article. " By a decree of the 
 third of this month, the prefect has suspended 
 from his functions the mayor of the commune 
 of Blauzac, for not having informed the sub- 
 prefect of Uzes of the disorders committed in 
 his commune, by three national guards of Uzes, 
 though he had been acquainted with them. 
 The national guards have been indicted to the 
 tribunal of Uzes, and provisionally disarmed." 
 
 La Calmette, Dions, Moussac, St. Genies, and 
 in fact, all the communes of this canton, where 
 there were any protestants, experienced similar 
 vexations, cruelty, and persecution ; all were 
 disarmed, without authority, and in the power 
 of their adversaries. 
 
369 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 SUBJECT CONTINUED. ARRONDISSEMENT OF ALAIS. — CAN- 
 TON OF ALAIS ASSEMBLY OF ARMED CATHOLICS. AT- 
 TACK ON THE TEMPLE. CASE OF M. FRAISSINET. 
 
 ASSASSINATION OF PERRIN CHARGED ON THE PROTEST- 
 ANTS. INSURRECTION OF THE NATIONAL GUARD. 
 
 CANTON OF ANDUZE. LOYALTY OF THE PROTESTANTS. 
 
 CIRCULAR FROM THE CONSISTORY. ALARM OF THE IN- 
 HABITANTS. NATIONAL GUARDS ASSEMBLE, AND NEGO- 
 TIATE. ALLOWED TO RETAIN THEIR ARMS. FRESH 
 
 ALARMS. TESTIMONY IN THEIR FAVOUR FROM THE 
 
 ROYAL COMMISSIONER. CANTON OF ST. JEAN DU 
 
 GARD. — SEIZURE OF THE TEMPLE OF MIALET. CANTONS 
 
 OF VEZENOBRE AND LEDIGNAN. COMMUNES OF NERS 
 
 AND BOUCOIRAN. — MARCH OF ROYAL TROOPS. CAMP 
 
 OF THE PEASANTS. MURDER OF M. PERRIER. — CONDUCT 
 
 OF THE PASTOR, M. BRUGUIER. RETREAT OF THE TROOPS 
 
 AND ARREST OF M. CAMBON. DEATH OF M. PERRIER EX- 
 AMINED. EXECUTION OF M. CAMBON. PERSECUTION OF 
 
 M. BRUGUIER, THE PASTOR, &C. COMMUNES OF VALENCE, 
 
 BRIGNON, AND MAURESSARGUES. EXTORTIONS OF THE 
 
 COMMISSIONERS IN SEVERAL COMMUNES. ARRONDISSE- 
 MENT OF VIGAN. M.DURAND's ACCOUNT OF ST.HYPPOLITE 
 
 AND THE CEVENNES. CANTON OF LOUVRE. LETTER FROM 
 
 THE CONSISTORY. COMMUNES OF DURFORT AND CA- 
 
 NAULE. CANTON OF LA SALLE. ANECDOTE. DEPART- 
 MENT OF L'AVEYRON. BURNING OF THE TEMPLE OF ST. 
 
 AFFRIQUE. MEMORIAL OF THE CONSISTORY. DEPART- 
 MENT OF L'HERAULT. CHURCH OF MONTPELLIER 
 
 BURNING OF THE TEMPLE OF PIGNAN. ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 CONSISTORY. — DEVASTATION OF THE TEMPLES OF COUR- 
 
 NONTERAL AND VILLEVEIRAC. ADDRESSES TO THE PRE- 
 
 B B 
 
370 ARRONDISSEMENT OF ALAIS. 
 
 FECT AND THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR. — CHUHCHES 
 
 OF MONTAGNAC AND VALLEMAYNE DEVASTATED. MAS- 
 
 SILLARGUES. — REFLECTIONS. 
 
 ARRONDISSEMENT OF ALAIS. 
 
 1 his arrondissement includes the greatest part 
 of the district watered by the streams of the 
 Gardon, and called the Gardonnenque, and is 
 inhabited by a large proportion of protestants, 
 forming five consistorial churches. The nature 
 of the country, and the character of the popu- 
 lation, rendered it a vast asylum for the fugi- 
 tives from the first scenes of violence ; and on 
 that account it was subjected to special perse- 
 cution. 
 
 The canton and the town of Alais, the seat of 
 the prefecture, was distinguished, on the first 
 return of the Bourbons in 1814, by the bigotry 
 of the catholics, as well as by the loyal and 
 liberal conduct of the protestants, who are by 
 far the most numerous and wealthy manufac- 
 turers and cultivators. It was here that the 
 penitents immediately began to re-establish their 
 ancient order, and the devotees to indulge in 
 fanatical excesses, which alarmed even the clergy, 
 and required the attention of the police. The 
 protestants were doomed to share the uneasiness 
 of their brethren throughout the department, 
 and saw, without surprise, the undisputed pro- 
 gress of the Emperor, till he arrived at the cha- 
 teau of the Tuilleries. The success of their 
 
ASSEMBLY OF ARMED CATHOLICS. -37i 
 
 protector reduced to impotence their persecuting 
 foes ; but instead of taking vengeance on their 
 enemies, they displayed the greatest forbearance 
 during the whole period of Napoleon's ascend- 
 ancy ; and after the capture of the Duke d'An- 
 gouleme, the communes dependant on Alais, 
 facilitated, by every possible means, the return 
 of the disbanded volunteers to their respective 
 homes. 
 
 This system of moderation and charity was 
 lost upon the impracticable "friends of the altar 
 and the throne," and many months of the second 
 return of the king witnessed the regular and 
 cruel oppression of multitudes of his best sub- 
 jects. The number and influence of the Cal- 
 vinists, and the firmness of their conduct, aided 
 by the good intentions of the sub-prefect, 
 M. Narbonne Lara, prevented indeed the per- 
 petration of crimes similar to those which will 
 for ever disgrace the catholics of Nismes and 
 Uzes ; but sufferings, long and complicated, were 
 the reward of undeviating loyalty and exemp- 
 lary civism. With the worst designs, and in 
 pursuit of a plan which threatened the extinction 
 of the protestant name in that part of the world, 
 from fifteen to eighteen hundred armed men from 
 the catholic communes in the north of the de- 
 partment, and from the department of the Ar- 
 deche, were collected in the town of Alais. It 
 may be easily supposed, that besides the alarm 
 which such an assemblage must have occasioned, 
 in a country where the remembrance of the 
 
 b b °Z 
 
i>7~ ATTACK ON r THE TEMPLE. 
 
 camp of Jales was still fresh, it was the source 
 of innumerable vexations. After repeated re- 
 monstrances on the part of the reformed 
 population, and preparations for a civil conflict, 
 which it appeared impossible to avoid, these 
 troops were withdrawn ; but it was only that 
 they might return when the confidence of the 
 protestants should have dissipated their means of 
 resistance, and have rendered them an easier 
 prey. The catastrophe of Ners, which will be 
 hereafter related, though it deranged the oper- 
 ations of this dangerous multitude, led to the 
 introduction of a large garrison of troops, prin- 
 cipally composed of Austrians, and to a more 
 vigorous disarming than would have been expe- 
 rienced as the result of a foreign invasion. 
 
 The spirit of fanatical intolerance maintained 
 its ascendancy during many months, and in ad- 
 dition to a more regular persecution by the 
 local government, popular ebullitions frequently 
 occurred. 
 
 At the period of the re-opening of the tem- 
 ples, the catholics were every where in motion ; 
 and on the 12th of November, the day of the 
 assassination of General Lagarde at Nismes, 
 Alais was the theatre of alarming disturbances. 
 The populace had the audacity to seize the keys 
 of the temple, with triumphant shouts of " Vive 
 Je Roi." The authorities succeeded in re-ob- 
 taining them, but they took no measures for the 
 apprehension and punishment of the guilty. 
 At night they re-assembled in increased num- 
 15 
 
CASE OF M. FRAISSINST. 373 
 
 bers and with augmented fury, and vowed that 
 the protestants should all be destroyed and their 
 temple be burned. They were proceeding to 
 accomplish these catholic imprecations, when the 
 national guard felt itself obliged to interrupt 
 their operations ; still, the magistrates neglected 
 to arrest the principal agitators, and the pre- 
 sence of the troops of the line was necessary to- 
 prevent the threatened conflagration. 
 
 Tumultuous crowds again collected on the 
 27th of December, and the vociferations and in- 
 sults, which usually preceded more direct out- 
 rages, were recommenced. The following day, 
 the son of M. Fraissinet, and his friend, while 
 passing the Place St. Jean, were assailed with 
 stones and beaten, and would have been mangled 
 without mercy, if some respectable persons had 
 not arrived and rescued them from the most im- 
 minent danger. The populace became enraged, 
 and because vengeance was denied them, they 
 demanded justice ; that is to say, required that 
 the two young persons should be condemned 
 for sedition. They were accordingly cited be- 
 fore the police-correctionelle : witnesses were 
 ready to swear whatever might be necessary to 
 obtain a sentence. The pretended culprits were 
 advised not to appear, but to make the first 
 sacrifice, and incur the penalty for non-appear- 
 ance, rather than place themselves in the power 
 of witnesses without conscience, and judges 
 without pity. Thus, after having been stoned 
 and beaten, they were forced to pay a line, and 
 b b 3 
 
3J4> ASSASSINATION OF M. PERRIN 
 
 were condemned, one to four and the other to 
 two months' imprisonment. 
 
 In the beginning of January, 1816, M. Perrin, 
 a catholic, and professor in the college, was as- 
 sassinated. The crime was immediately im- 
 puted to the protestants. The prefect, M. d' Ar- 
 baud Jouques, who had been a tranquil spectator 
 of the most shocking massacres, set out imme- 
 diately for Alais, to prevent, as it was said, the 
 excesses of popular indignation ; but, in reality, 
 to give importance to an isolated fact, and more 
 effectually to throw suspicion on the innocent. 
 The guilt of the protestants could not be sus- 
 pected by the local authorities : they well knew 
 that to such a crime the whole of their conduct 
 might be opposed, and that for a long time they 
 had not been able to appear in the streets with- 
 out danger, and were obliged to fasten them- 
 selves in their houses as the night approached. 
 It is however believed on respectable testimony, 
 that in a report to the minister of the interior, 
 it was stated, " that very legitimate suspicions 
 attaching to the protestants of Alais, relative 
 to the murder of the Sieur Perrin, it was 
 not known to what consequences they might 
 lead — such was the exasperation among the 
 catholic people." 
 
 It is certain, that the journal of the Gard of 
 the 10th of January, declared, that " the assas- 
 sination appeared to be the result of a plot 
 formed by many individuals ;** and it is as cer- 
 tain, that the proclamation of the prefect, while 
 
CHARGED ON THE PROTESTANTS. 3*75 
 
 it pretended to deprecate popular revenge, gave 
 a political character and a national importance 
 to the unfortunate event. 
 
 " On the intelligence," it says, " of the loss 
 you have sustained, in the death of an estimable 
 citizen and a faithjid subject, by a crime which 
 appears to have been committed by some ene- 
 mies of the king and of the country \ I hastened 
 to Alais, to co-operate in the inquiries of your 
 administrators ; but without the smallest suspi- 
 cion of the wisdom of your conduct, which has 
 always been perfect in the most critical circum- 
 stances. You have always united with your zeal 
 and devotedness to the royal cause the calmness 
 alone worthy of a cause so noble and so excel- 
 lent. Justice will be done ; do not doubt this : 
 but it ought to be done legally, &c. — do not 
 suffer yourselves to be surprised by evil persons, 
 who have no longer any resource but in abusing 
 the zeal of good Frenchmen, and making them 
 commit faults which displease the king and dis- 
 turb the peace." 
 
 The reproach thrown on the protestants has 
 been completely repelled. The professor was 
 murdered by a ruffian, hired by an individual 
 who wished to obtain the place he occupied in 
 the college, and the assassin has confessed his 
 guilt: but, alas! till the refutation was esta- 
 blished, what fears, vexations, and anguish were 
 experienced by multitudes of the most honour- 
 able and loyal members of the community ! 
 b b 4 
 
37.6 CANTON OF ANDUZE. 
 
 After the dismissal of M. d'Arbaud Jouques 
 from the prefecture, the government found it 
 necessary to dissolve the national guard of the 
 department. Organized by order of the per- 
 secuting faction, all protestants had, as far as 
 possible, been excluded, and it had been the 
 ready instrument of violence and oppression. 
 Instigated by the same chiefs, it now determined 
 to resist the royal mandate, and on Sunday. 
 August 2d, it appeared at Alais in open insur- 
 rection. The national guards of that town 
 seized the chests containing the muskets in store, 
 broke them open with hatchets, and burnt them 
 on the public place. They then proceeded to 
 the fort, intending to blow up the magazine and 
 pillage the protestants and their friends. Hap- 
 pily they were obliged to suspend their opera- 
 tions till the next day, when a battalion of Swiss 
 arrived and terminated the affair. Twenty-two 
 of the ringleaders were arrested ; but to the 
 grief, though not to the surprise of many, nearly 
 all were afterwards ordered to be liberated. 
 
 " The movement at Alais," says M. Jouy, 
 " was only a false attack, designed to draw the 
 prefect and the garrison from Nismes, where an 
 insurrection was to have taken place, which would 
 have extended to all the towns of the South." 
 
 Anduze is one of the largest towns of the 
 Gardonnenque. The protestants compose seven- 
 eighths of the population, are the great pro- 
 prietors, manufacturers and cultivators, and pay 
 nearly all the taxes. Throughout the political 
 
LOYALTY OF PROTESTANTS. 377 
 
 agitations of the nation, it had displayed extra- 
 ordinary prudence and moderation ; but on the 
 return of the Bourbons it was nevertheless most 
 shamefully calumniated and oppressed. 
 
 It is remarkable, that on the arrival of Na- 
 poleon, the tri-coloured flag was not raised, in 
 this protestant town, till after the other towns 
 of the department, which was also one of the 
 last in the South of France. Neither the muni- 
 cipal council, nor the consistory addressed feli- 
 citations to the Emperor; nor was his restoration 
 celebrated in any of the religious assemblies of 
 the protestants in the communes of this canton. 
 The entry of Louis XVIII., on the contrary, 
 was acknowledged by public thanksgivings in 
 their pulpits : even after his flight, prayers 
 were continued for his Majesty, till the public 
 orders to acknowledge, in divine worship, the 
 imperial government ; and as soon as his return 
 was ascertained, he was replaced in the Liturgy 
 of all the protestant temples. The catholic 
 royalists had not the smallest grievance to endure 
 in the Hundred Days, nor to avenge when the 
 battle of Waterloo placed them again on the 
 pinnacle of power. 
 
 The lilies were exhibited on the borders of 
 the Gardon of Anduze, either the same day or 
 the day after Nismes, according to the distances 
 of the respective communes. It was therefore 
 absolutely without the slightest reproach for the 
 past, or apprehension for the future, that extra- 
 ordinary commissioners, persecuting pacificators* 
 
378 CIRCULAR FROM THE CONSISTORY. 
 
 and pious assassins, were let loose on the canton 
 of Anduze. 
 
 Driven from Nismes and the neighbouring 
 cantons, it was only in the Cevennes and the 
 Gardonnenque, and especially at Anduze, the 
 key of the valleys, that the protestants could hope 
 for an asylum or trust for defence ; and thither 
 men, women, children, and baggage arrived 
 day and night. 
 
 The situation in which the inhabitants found 
 themselves, may be collected from the measures 
 contemplated by the consistory, but which they 
 were unable to carry into effect. 
 
 The consistory of Anduze was presided by a 
 venerable pastor, distinguished for his know- 
 ledge and his piety ; an attack of paralysis had 
 left the energy of his character unimpaired, and 
 that energy he employed to avert the evils which 
 threatened his beloved flock. The consistory 
 were convoked to deliberate on an address to 
 the king, exposing the true condition of the 
 protestants of the Gard, and imploring his 
 justice ; but aware that the concurrence of 
 other churches would be incalculably useful, 
 they prepared and dispatched the following cir- 
 cular : 
 
 " Anduze, July 25. 1815. 
 " What has already taken place, and what 
 daily occurs on the subject of religion, having 
 spread general alarm, it is of the utmost im- 
 portance to inform the government and the 
 
CIRCULAR FROM THE CONSISTORY. 3?9 
 
 king himself, by a memoir and a deputation 
 from the consistories of the several churches. 
 The special object of the mission should be to 
 explain, that, if after rejoicing so cordially at the 
 return of the Bourbons, the protestants appear 
 to have cooled, in this part of the country, in their 
 sentiments towards that family, it has been solely 
 occasioned by the uneasiness and alarm excited 
 by the conduct of catholics of all classes, who, 
 listening to their own passions and prejudices, 
 have acted as if the name and the religion of 
 the king, of which they avail themselves, could 
 authorize their excesses. It might be observed 
 that this state of things has been notorious, — 
 that the extraordinary commissioner and the 
 other agents of government have been expressly 
 informed, — that nevertheless the evil has in- 
 creased, — that it was not diminished by the 
 presence of the prince — and that even at that 
 epoch the rumour of a new St. Bartholomew 
 was so industriously spread among the people, 
 and had filled their minds with such terror, 
 that the appearance of Bonaparte would then 
 have been regarded as a means of safety. It 
 should be stated, that the protestants have never 
 believed that the king entertains such an in- 
 tention, nor even the design of persecuting 
 them ; and that they attribute to his false friends, 
 to evil designing persons, or to individuals led 
 astray by fanaticism, the persecution actually car- 
 ried on against them, and the alarm with which 
 
-S80 CIRCULAR FROM THE CONSISTORY. 
 
 they are unwillingly inspired. To tranquil- 
 lize them, it should be represented, that it would 
 only be necessary that there should no longer be 
 evident, the complete toleration of the vexations 
 complained of, such as insults, extortion, pil- 
 lage, imprisonment, and murder. The king 
 might thenceforth be certain,] that he could not 
 have more faithful and zealous subjects than the 
 protestants of the Gard. 
 
 (Signed) " Blachon, President, 
 
 " Mirial, Soulier, Pastors." 
 
 Such a memoir could not have been prepared 
 without a general meeting ; and the sufferers 
 were afraid of compromising themselves by a 
 step which would not have been sanctioned by 
 the hostile authorities, but would probably have 
 been denounced as a seditious conspiracy. So 
 great was the terror, and so violent the persecu- 
 tion, that they were even afraid of writing to 
 each other ; besides which, the consistories 
 could not assemble, as in many of the churches 
 the members had fled. Nothing, therefore, could 
 be determined by the body ; and the protestants 
 of Anduze feared that their individual efforts 
 would irritate without advantage, and only 
 aggravate the calamities under which they 
 groaned. 
 
 On transmitting their circular to the consistory 
 of Paris, they subjoined an interesting ap- 
 peal : — 
 
ALARM OF THE INHABITANTS. 381 
 
 " August 1. 1815. 
 " It only remains for us to beseech you to 
 examine, how far you may be able to concur in 
 the object, either yourselves or by the agency 
 of persons who interest themselves in our cause ; 
 especially as the churches are prevented from 
 coining to an understanding as to the mission of 
 deputies ; most of the consistories being unable 
 to assemble, some being even dispersed, and 
 their pastors fugitives. We live in a time when 
 nothing should be neglected for the safety of 
 our churches. 
 
 (Signed) " Blachon, President, 
 
 " Mirial, Soulier, Pastors." 
 
 It was in this situation, when called upon to 
 protect their disarmed friends and relatives from 
 the remorseless bands of Trestaillons and Quatre- 
 taillons, that the inhabitants of Anduze were re- 
 quired to relinquish all their arms, and to swell 
 the number of defenceless victims. Shameful as 
 was the requisition, it was on the point of being 
 obeyed, when they learnt that they were threat- 
 ened with new and imminent danger. From 
 fifteen to eighteen hundred men, from the catholic 
 communes in the north, and from the department 
 of the Ardeche, had arrived at Alais ; a great 
 number had also set out for the Cevennes and the 
 Gardonnenque by two roads, and had advanced 
 as far as Gajans on one side, and Boucoiran 
 and St. Genies on the other. A just alarm seized 
 every breast, — labour was suspended, and all 
 
382 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 who could bear- arms threw themselves into An- 
 duze, as the barrier destined to arrest the ap- 
 proaching inundation. Nothing could exceed 
 the regularity, loyalty, and prudence of the 
 principal protestants. The bands from Nismes 
 and Uzes, intimidated by the firm and com- 
 manding attitude of the citizens of the Gar- 
 donnenque, measured back their steps, marked 
 by plunder and cruelty, and dragging with them 
 M. Gore, mayor of Gajans, and M. Bechard, 
 mayor of Dions, who was shot by Quatretaillons 
 among the prisoners of Uzes. 
 
 The assembly of Anduze resolved to submit 
 to any public arrangement, provided, the local 
 authorities would give reasonable guarantees, 
 for their common safety. 
 
 A deputation was sent to the sub-prefect, 
 with an offer to march to any point, under the 
 orders of the magistrates, and to give all the 
 strength to the government, necessary to put 
 down a confederacy which threatened to destroy 
 the department. This offer was not accepted ; 
 but it was agreed, that they should repair to 
 Nismes and remonstrate with the military com- 
 mandant. 
 
 The deputies there represented to the general, 
 that the collection of an army at Alais of such 
 a composition, had naturally caused general 
 alarm, — that all the Gardonnenque was perfectly 
 obedient to the government, — that in the whole 
 arrondissementnot a single incident had occurred 
 in opposition to this spirit, — that it was unjust 
 
ALLOWED TO RETATN THEIR ARMS. 383 
 
 to disarm a large portion of the common family, 
 when a party was animated by the desire of ven- 
 geance and proscription, and when the dreadful 
 state of the disarmed communes daily attested 
 the danger of the measure. The commandant 
 professed to feel the force of some of these ob- 
 servations, and promised that the troops in 
 question should not be allowed to trouble the 
 arrondissement. 
 
 Another deputation waited on the sub-pre- 
 fect, M. Narbonne Lara, to thank him for the 
 attention he had paid to the wishes of the 
 protestants, and to request the dismissal of the 
 armed force. This magistrate promised to dis- 
 miss all but 300 men, as soon as the national 
 guards collected at Anduze should have retired 
 to their homes. The protestants were disposed 
 to confide in this arrangement, on the assurance 
 of the sub-prefect ; and the sub-prefect, on 
 his part, had such confidence in the force of 
 Anduze, that he took men from that body to 
 dissolve another assembly formed on similar 
 principles, and determined to defend itself if 
 attacked unjustly by the catholics. This as- 
 sembly was no longer in existence ; for the pro- 
 mise of the sub-prefect had dispelled their most 
 lively apprehensions, and the persons who com- 
 posed it had disbanded themselves before his 
 arrival. 
 
 The national guards collected at Anduze, be- 
 gan also to retire, and the sub-prefect conceded 
 that they should not be disarmed, till a more 
 
384 FRESH ALARMS. 
 
 regular administration could ensure security to 
 all citizens of whatever faith. Every thing 
 promised improvement, and the electoral col- 
 leges were convoked. But at this moment a 
 new series of events commenced. 
 
 The sub-prefect was on a visit at Anduze, 
 and had confirmed all his assurances, when fresh 
 orders arrived from Nismes, for a complete sur- 
 render of arms throughout the district. By com- 
 mon consent it was resolved to apply to M. Jules 
 Calvieres, who still acted as prefect, though 
 another prefect had been appointed by the king. 
 The mayor and a member of the municipal 
 council were to accompany the sub-prefect to 
 Nismes ; but on their arrival at Alais, they met 
 a delegate of an extraordinary royal commis- 
 sioner, and it was unnecessary to proceed. 
 The delegate and the sub-prefect went with 
 the deputies to Anduze, and there publicly de- 
 clared, that the national guard should not be 
 disarmed, but that if any individuals were 
 found unworthy of their trust, their arms should 
 be taken by the local authorities. The guard, 
 assembled in honour of the visitors, testified its 
 pleasure by repeated shouts of " Vive le Roi" 
 and took the oath of fidelity ; and the magis- 
 trates retired with the most perfect satisfaction. 
 Thus after long agitation and alarm, by its 
 firmness and good conduct, Anduze escaped, 
 the second time, the privation of the means of 
 self-defence. 
 
FllESH ALARMS. 385 
 
 A state of things so just and desirable was 
 not suited to the evil genius of the administra- 
 tion. After some days of repose, a letter from 
 the sub-prefect threw the town and canton into 
 the greatest consternation. The municipality 
 were informed by this letter, that M. Narbonne 
 Lara was apprized of the great fermentation 
 that had taken place ; that he was consequently 
 exceedingly anxious, and was ready to send 
 whatever assistance might be necessary to main- 
 tain tranquillity. Unhappily, before the com- 
 munication of this letter, he had already re- 
 called the troops, whom he had dismissed, 
 from the Catholic districts of the north. All 
 confidence was destroyed. It was evident, 
 that after the personal inspection and arrange- 
 ments of the sub-prefect and the delegate, the 
 pretended situation of the canton could not be 
 believed, and that however well disposed the 
 sub-prefect might be, he was no longer master 
 of his own conduct. The elements of the 
 storm were collected in higher regions. A de- 
 putation from the municipal body and the 
 principal inhabitants visited the sub-prefect, and 
 attested the perfect tranquillity of the town, and 
 even of the whole of the communes of the can- 
 ton. Once more the sub-prefect appeared con- 
 vinced, and instead of sending an armed force 
 to Anduze, he promised to do all lie could 
 personally, to prevent the incursion of those 
 bands, within the limits of his authority, by 
 whom other arrondissemens had been so dread- 
 
 c c 
 
38G FAVOURABLE TESTIMONY OF 
 
 fully oppressed. He accordingly addressed a 
 circular to all the mayors, ordering nightly 
 patroles on all the borders of the arrondisse- 
 ment, to oppose the inroads of the miqueiets 
 from Uzes and from Nismes. The catastrophe 
 of Ners, which led to the sudden advance of 
 the Austrians, changed completely the aspect of 
 affairs, and finally effected the total disarming 
 of the protestants of the Gardomienque, and the 
 possession of their arms by their most bitter 
 adversaries. But that at this very period the in- 
 habitants of Anduze had committed no political 
 fault, and had merited no persecution, may be 
 satisfactorily gathered from the letter of the 
 sub-prefect, on the first rumour of the situation 
 of Ners. 
 
 " This morning, before day-light," says he, 
 " I sent twenty men of the cavalry of the national 
 guard to Ners, to ascertain the situation of 
 affairs, &c. If it should be necessary to send 
 succours to the Chasseurs Royaux, I shall call 
 upon the national guards of my arrondissement ; 
 and that of Anduze will be one of those which 
 I shall employ with the greatest confidence, 
 because I can depend on its good spirit." 
 
 It is not a little curious, that on the same 
 day that the prefect, M. d'Arbaud Jouques, 
 denounced this canton, and many others, as in a 
 state of rebellion, and its national guard as 
 vicious, and condemned the canton to military 
 law and occupation, and the guard to immediate 
 dissolution ; the sub-prefect, who had the most 
 
THE ROYAL COMMISSIONER. 387 
 
 perfect local knowledge, expressed the utmost 
 confidence in the spirit of the population, and 
 selected the national guard of Anduze, to main- 
 tain public tranquillity, and to protect the troops 
 exclusively royal. 
 
 The details of all the sufferings of this con- 
 sistorial church, would occupy too much space, 
 and present only a disgusting repetition of acts 
 of outrage and injustice ; but the history that 
 has been given of the treatment experienced by 
 the legal and constitutional guardians of order 
 and tranquillity, in this most protestant district, 
 will illustrate the system of calumny adopted 
 for the destruction of virtuous citizens, and the 
 methods employed to irritate their passions, 
 deprive them of their arms, and expel them 
 from the ranks of the national guard. 
 
 That under all these injuries and calamities, 
 they preserved, unimpaired, their titles to the 
 national esteem and gratitude, and the honour 
 of the religion they professed, is evident from 
 testimony above suspicion, contained in the 
 following letter from M. de Micault, Commis- 
 sioner of the King, to the municipality of 
 Anduze. 
 
 " Anduze, November 8th, 1815. 
 
 " Mr. Mayor, 
 
 " When I arrived in your commune, in the 
 
 name of the king, with the message of peace 
 
 and consolation, you opened to me all your 
 
 hearts, and I was not backward to acknowledge 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 ST. JEAN DU GARD 
 
 the legitimacy of the fears by which you were 
 agitated. 
 
 " Happy in having been able, in so short a 
 period, to allay your apprehensions, by dissipat- 
 ing prejudices, which appearances falsely inter- 
 preted had occasioned against the town and 
 the canton of Anduze, I cannot approach the 
 expiration of the period of my stay, without the 
 most lively regret. 
 
 " One thing alone can mitigate my feelings ; 
 and that is, my intimate persuasion, that the 
 testimonies you have given me of your satisfac- 
 tion, were too sincere not to be durable ; and it 
 will be delightful to believe, that though absent, 
 I shall always preserve, what I most highly 
 value, a place in your hearts. 
 
 " On my part, be assured that I shall ever 
 feel for you the same infection, and that I shall 
 consider as a new source of happiness, every 
 circumstance which affords me any opportunity 
 of being useful to you. 
 
 " Accept this assurance, and believe that my 
 felicity depends on yours. 
 
 (Signed) L. P. Micault, . 
 
 " Com. Mil. du Roi." 
 
 The canton of St. Jean du Gard is situated 
 among the wild and sterile mountains of the 
 Cevennes ; but it possesses a large consistorial 
 church, and in addition to the fertility and 
 wealth, which the industry of the protestants 
 has produced, may be found in abundance, the 
 
AND MIA LET. 389 
 
 more valuable and delicious fruits of their holy 
 and amiable religion. It was here that the 
 persecuting soldiers of the Duke d'Angouleme 
 experienced special kindness and generosity. 
 They traversed the district with the ensigns of 
 royalty, when the tri-coloured flag waved in 
 every town and village they entered, and was 
 finally raised behind them in the canton they 
 had left ; but instead of suffering injuries and 
 captivity, they enjoyed security and comfort. 
 M. Genies, the pastor and president of the 
 consistory, even accompanied the mayor to the 
 lodgings where these hostile troops were quar- 
 tered, and recommended them personally and 
 particularly to the attention of their hosts. 
 
 In return, St. Jean du Gard was treated with 
 untempered rigour — denounced by the royal 
 commissioners and the prefectas rebellious — sub- 
 jected to martial law — disarmed and garrisoned 
 by foreign troops — and after all, oppressed by 
 an agent, denominated, in opposition to a royal 
 ordonnance, a royal commissioner. 
 
 One fact will demonstrate the abuse of his 
 irregular and despotic power. 
 
 The protestants of the commune of Mialet 
 had been authorised by the former government, 
 to appropriate an old and abandoned church, on 
 the condition, of their paying to the treasury 
 of the catholics, an annual rent of 60 francs. 
 The dilapidated building was accordingly re- 
 paired at their expense, and consecrated to 
 their worship ; and since the period of their 
 c c 3 
 
890 VEZENOBRE AND LEDIGNAN. 
 
 occupation nothing had disturbed the harmony 
 or the compact which existed between the ca- 
 tholics and the calvinists. It remained for the 
 soi-disant commissioner of a king, who had 
 guaranteed by his charter all rights and mterests, 
 to terminate this profanation, and eject the 
 heretics. Accompanied by the cure of St. Jean 
 du Gard, and a party of national guards se- 
 lected from the most bigotted and furious ca- 
 tholics, he proceeded to the capture of the 
 temple of Mialet. The mayor and the inha- 
 bitants explained and remonstrated ; but the 
 arms of the national guards, the threats of the 
 commissioner, and the anathemas of the priest, 
 silenced all the appeals of reason, justice, and 
 religion ; the tenants were compelled to sur- 
 render the keys of their sanctuary, and the 
 compact, so long found beneficial to both parties, 
 was violently and arbitrarily dissolved. 
 
 The cantons of Vezenobre and Ledignan con- 
 tain one large consistorial church, formed from 
 the population of nearly SO rural communes, 
 who are principally employed in the cultivation of 
 vines and mulberry trees, the breed of silk- 
 worms, and the spinning of silk. 
 
 Rich in their own industry and simplicity, 
 and ardently attached to a religion transmitted 
 to them by their ancestors at the sacrifice of 
 their lives, the protestant inhabitants of these 
 humble villages, could not but be objects of 
 envy and hatred to the ambitious and intolerant 
 catholics. To the sounds of " Vive le Rot, 
 
NERS AND BOUCOIRAN. 391 
 
 vive la Crou\" their fields were made desolate, 
 and their cottages stained, not with the pro- 
 tecting sign of the passover, but with the seal 
 of selected vengeance. 
 
 Among the communes which were the most 
 heavily visited, Ners and Boucoiran were dis- 
 tinguished. The events that occurred in these 
 communes, were in themselves so dreadful, and 
 in their influence on the general progress of 
 the persecution so important, that they must be 
 correctly and minutely related. 
 
 Ners and Boucoiran. On the 24th of August 
 (St. Bartholomew's Day,) two squadrons of 
 cavalry set out from Nismes, with tiie professed 
 intention of marching directly to Alais. They 
 belonged to a newly formed regiment, called 
 the Chasseurs Royaux de Marquis de Cal- 
 vieres-Vezenobre ; as though they were raised 
 and paid by the Marquis de Vezenobre, ac- 
 cording to the feudal system of the ancien 
 regime. Their very title marked the spirit of 
 the troops, and the designs of those by whom 
 they were employed, and distinguished them, 
 as the agents of private and party policy, from 
 the regular and constitutional force intrusted 
 to the king. 
 
 The distance from Nismes to Alais is about 
 24 miles, and as there is no town on the route 
 sufficiently large to quarter a body of troops, 
 they are accustomed to march in the day from 
 one depot to the other. Without previous in- 
 formation, these troops entered Boucoiran early 
 c c 4 
 
39% MARCH OF ROYAL TROOPS. 
 
 in the morning, and demanded lodgings. They 
 were nearly half-way on the road to Alais, and 
 the greater part of the day was before them ; 
 Boucoiran was too small a village tolodgejlve hun- 
 dred cavalry ; but in spite of the alarm and incon- 
 venience of their stay, they were determined to 
 remain. About nine o'clock in the morning, 
 M. Vidal, the mayor of Ners, a village nearer 
 Alais, on the other side of the Gardon, received 
 from the mayor of Boucoiran a request to lodge 
 a detachment of about 150 chasseurs ; and im- 
 mediately after the quarter-master arrived. 
 The detachment entered the village about ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 Such an unexpected movement of troops, 
 when even one armed individual occasioned unea- 
 siness, could not but inspire the peasantry with 
 considerable alarm. Especially, after the sub- 
 prefect had promised a reduction of the force 
 assembled at Alais, and ordered nightly patroles 
 on the borders of the arrondissement ; and 
 when the intruders assumed a title so inauspi- 
 cious, and to modern France so strange, the citi- 
 zens feared, that under pretence of establishing 
 the royal authority, they should have to suffer 
 oppression, pillage, and murder. Apprehension, 
 or prudence, soon induced all the armed inhabi- 
 tants to quit the village, and take their station 
 on an adjoining height. By this step they 
 thought to avoid all quarrels, and escape all 
 danger. 
 
CAMP OF THE PEASANTS. 393 
 
 In a few hours, the report of the arrival of 
 these unwelcome troops was spread through the 
 country, and the same apprehension was en- 
 tertained by all the neighbouring communes. 
 To preserve their own homes, they thought it 
 necessary to assist those who appeared the 
 first menaced. More than a thousand national 
 guards rallied for the defence of Ners, and 
 formed a sort of encampment on a plain above 
 the village. 
 
 As soon as the Chasseurs were aware of the 
 union of the armed inhabitants of Ners, they 
 endeavoured to diminish their numbers, and 
 engage them to surrender their arms : but per- 
 sonal safety was paramount. The peasants re- 
 plied neither " by vociferations," which would 
 have irritated, nor " by a discharge of musketry," 
 which would have killed the officers; but by sin- 
 cere protestations, that the military had nothing 
 to apprehend, and that their design was not to 
 injure them, but to protect their own families 
 and save their own lives. 
 
 In the mean time several of the Chasseurs 
 began to threaten and torment their hosts, pre- 
 tending that " their sabres had been sharpened, 
 and that at midnight the remainder of the regi- 
 ment would arrive and assist them to put the 
 village to rights." The officers also were dis- 
 posed to insult the country-people ; not being- 
 able to appear amiable, they attempted to be 
 formidable ; indulged in the grossest invectives, 
 and denounced the heaviest punishment. Such. 
 
394 M. BRUGUIER. 
 
 boasts and threats were at least imprudent, and 
 discovered any thing but friendly and pacific 
 intentions. 
 
 Unfortunately, a young man, whom they met 
 in the street without a cockade in his cap, was 
 treated with great violence, and declaring that 
 he was a rebel, they beat him and dragged him 
 to prison. The women who witnessed this scene 
 raised a cry of terror and indignation, which re- 
 sounded through the village, and was heard at 
 the place of encampment. Fear became violent 
 and contagious, and the villagers thought only 
 of finding safety in immediate flight. Old men, 
 women, and children, ran through the fields to 
 escape the dreaded fury of the soldiery. The 
 roads were choaked with baggage and carts 
 loaded with linen and goods, which they hoped 
 to save from plunder and conflagration. 
 
 A spectacle so afflicting could not but distress 
 and enrage the national guards, already disposed 
 to terminate a condition of oppression and in- 
 certitude, which became every day more insup- 
 portable. In such circumstances, nothing but 
 the ascendancy of virtue, and the firmness and 
 energy of a superior mind, could succeed to calm 
 the general effervescence, and check a torrent 
 which threatened to overwhelm the troops and 
 produce in the department the greatest cala- 
 mities. 
 
 Happily at this critical moment M. Bruguier 
 the pastor appeared. His well known and 
 authoritative voice, enjoined order and tranquil- 
 
MURDER OF M. PERRIER. 395 
 
 lity. His tongue, accustomed to announce the 
 most solemn truths, described the fatal conse- 
 quences to their brethren and their country of a 
 passionate and inconsiderate attack, and repre- 
 sented the certainty of revolt being ascribed to 
 those, who, indulging what they thought to be 
 only just and natural resentments, might obtain 
 a complete and immediate triumph. His per- 
 suasive and paternal tone, softened down the 
 spirit of the warlike peasants, and, supported by 
 the observations of other 'wise and reflecting 
 persons, produced all the effect his patriotism 
 had desired. The inhabitants of several com- 
 munes had already retired to their homes, others 
 were about to imitate their example, when a new 
 incident threw fuel on the dying flame, and ex- 
 cited to frenzy the anger of the national guards. 
 
 It was sun-set, but the smallest objects were 
 still discernible, the bustle of the encampments 
 had in a great degree subsided, and such a still- 
 ness reigned as often in a summer's evening 
 seems to pay homage to the retiring light. On a 
 sudden, the report of a fire-arm discharged in the 
 suburbs of the village reached the height, and 
 intelligence immediately followed, that M. Per- 
 rier was killed. The guards, who were preparing 
 to depart, rushed to their posts; the peasants flew 
 to arms ; nothing was heard but cries of venge- 
 ance and fury, and the citizens with rage and 
 despair in their hearts resolved to march against 
 the detachment and obtain satisfaction for a 
 dreadful crime. Once more M. Bruguier threw 
 
396 MURDER OF M. PERRIER 
 
 himself between the peasants and the objects of 
 their indignation, and at the peril of his life 
 opposed his influence to the tumultuous violence 
 of their passions ; and once more he succeeded 
 in arresting their steps and preventing a fright- 
 ful scene of carnage and destruction. 
 
 M. Perrier, the late mayor of Ners, was a 
 protestant, known to all the national guards of 
 the surrounding communes, and universally re- 
 spected by the inhabitants. For some years he 
 had held his office, and discharged its functions 
 with credit and integrity. On the first restor- 
 ation, the Bourbons found him mayor and con- 
 tinued him at his post. During the hundred 
 days he had not been displaced, and without 
 meddling with the political causes of successive 
 changes, he exerted himself to maintain order, 
 and conduct the ordinary operations of the civil 
 institutions. Within the last month (July 27th.) 
 he had been dismissed by the provisory prefect, 
 M. Calvieres, and re-placed by M. Vidal, the 
 present mayor. He was now without any official 
 obligation or authority ; but the weight of his 
 character and his knowledge of business were 
 on this occasion consecrated to the service of his 
 country, and he assisted M. Bruguier in calming 
 the feelings of the guards, and inducing those 
 from a distance to retire. He had just de- 
 scended to the village, when M. Calvieres, an 
 officer of the chasseurs, took him by the arm, 
 and drew him, though reluctantly, again towards 
 the place of encampment ; but they had scarcely 
 IS 
 
EXAMINED. 397 
 
 arrived at one of the extremities of the village, 
 before he received a mortal shot, and instantly 
 expired. The nature of the wound is unques- 
 tionable. It is thus officially described by the 
 judge of the peace and his proper assistants in 
 their proces verbal of the inspection of the 
 corpse, prior to its removal for interment the 
 following day. 
 
 " We found the body of M. Perrier laid on 
 the pavement between the houses Tessier and 
 Bruguier, in the street leading to Colombier. 
 We examined it, and found between the two 
 breasts, but nearest to the left, a large hole of a 
 round figure, which we judged to be about three 
 incites in diameter, and occasioned by a fire- 
 arm. We caused the body to be turned, and 
 perceived that it was perforated by a shot, which 
 from the largeness of the wound must have been 
 fired close to the deceased, (a bout portant.) 
 The corpse was guarded by three men appointed 
 by the mayor." 
 
 These guards, and several other inhabitants, 
 describe the clothes and even the flesh as having 
 been burnt by the explosion, and the wadding 
 as being attached to the wound. 
 
 The spot on which the murder was committed 
 was not within view of the national guards, nor 
 within reach of their muskets. The deceased 
 had been dismissed from his office by the pre- 
 fect, the persecutor of the protestants, and died 
 regretted by all the inhabitants collected on the 
 heights. But still his death was attributed to 
 
398 RETREAT OF CHASSEURS. 
 
 the national guards, and made the pretext for 
 aggravated persecutions in most of the protest- 
 ant districts. The person who fired on the ex- 
 mayor must have been either near to him or at 
 a distance. In the first case ; though the sun 
 was set, it was still light and the smallest objects 
 were discernible ; the officer was dressed in uni- 
 form, which not only distinguished him from the 
 ex-mayor, but rendered him a mark for the aim 
 of an assailant. How then can it be imagined 
 that any of the country-people would have 
 selected their fellow-citizen, friend, and re- 
 spected ex-magistrate, in preference of the officer 
 of those chasseurs, on whom they were disposed 
 to take vengeance for their ill-treatment of their 
 wives and families ? In the second case, if the 
 shot were fired from a distance, more or less con- 
 siderable, how could it have happened that the 
 wound should have been so large and deep as 
 the agents of the government describe it to have 
 been — that the clothes and flesh of M. Perrier 
 should have been burnt — and that the officer who 
 declared himself to be wounded, should have 
 been wounded in the right hand, when only one 
 piece was fired, and the ex-mayor was killed on 
 his left ? No evidence, however corrupt, no rea- 
 soning, however subtle, can destroy natural facts, 
 or impeach the testimonies of time and place. 
 
 Nierht drew on, and the commander of the 
 chasseurs assembled his men on the great road, 
 and in front of an inn, kept by the adjoint or 
 deputy mayor. The landlord was at the house 
 
EXECUTION OF M. C AMBON. 3QO, 
 
 of the mayor at the other end of the commune, 
 when the mayor was summoned to attend the 
 commandant. The mayor immediately complied, 
 and took with him M. Daniel Cambon, his 
 adjoint, and M. Coudouloux, member of the 
 municipal council. M. Cambon was seized, on 
 the charge of having fired on the chasseurs from 
 a window in the village. The mayor protested, 
 and proved that his adjoint was innocent : every 
 body knew him to be innocent ; and certainly 
 if he had not been innocent, he would scarcely 
 have presented himself voluntarily to the com- 
 mandant, when he had the means of avoiding 
 him so completely in his power. The truth was, 
 he had resisted the violent and extortionate con- 
 duct of the soldiers, and they had threatened 
 vengeance. They did not threaten in vain: 
 he was dragged with two other prisoners to 
 Nismes, and on the moment of their arrival, 
 by authority of the prefect, M. d'Arbaud 
 Jouques, they were shot by the Austrians, with- 
 out the shadow of form, or the semblance of 
 justice. 
 
 The chasseurs fell back on Boucoiran, and 
 joined a large band of catholics who had ar- 
 rived from Nismes, headed by Trestaillons and 
 his comrades. This junction left no doubt on 
 the minds of the inhabitants. They saw their 
 worst fears justified, and they perceived in the 
 
 number of catholics assembled at Alais, the 
 
 march of the chasseurs, — the movement of 
 Trestaillons from Nismes, and Quatretaillons 
 
400 DEMANDS OF THE NATIONAL GUARDS. 
 
 from Uzes, a regular plan for attack and mas- 
 sacre, which was to be terminated by the Austrians 
 extirpating as rebels a peaceable population, 
 goaded to resistance by oppressors and mur- 
 derers. 
 
 The seizure of M. Cambon, as well as the as- 
 sassination of M. Perrier, was known imme- 
 diately among his brother protestants ; and in 
 the morning, (August 25.) a great many na- 
 tional guards and peasants collected at Boucoi- 
 ran. Indignant at an act so unjust, and so 
 destructive of the rights of citizens, they de- 
 manded his liberation, and also the restoration 
 of numerous articles of which the inhabitants 
 of Boucoiran and the neighbouring villages had 
 been deprived ; and, among other things, of a 
 quantity of goods and three hundred francs 
 taken from MM. Pic and Maurin, at the ham- 
 let of L'Eglise. These equitable demands were 
 rejected, — every effort was unsuccessful, — 
 exasperation succeeded, and several skirmishes 
 took place, which would have become more 
 serious and decisive, had not the Austrians ap- 
 peared. It was not the intention of the pea- 
 sants to make war on the allies, nor to contend 
 with the regular armed force of the govern- 
 ment, but to oppose the aggressions, and resent 
 the violence, of lawless and blood-thirsty ban- 
 ditti. 
 
 When the pillage of Boucoiran had augmented 
 their booty, all the bands (except the Austrians) 
 
EVENTS OF NERS. 
 
 401 
 
 set off by cross roads, and plundered and de- 
 vastated wherever they went. Quatretaillons, 
 in the mean while, was operating on the side 
 of St. Maurice, whence he tore six fathers of 
 families and shot them, as has been already men- 
 tioned, on the esplanade of Uzes. 
 
 Such were the dreadful events of Ners ; but 
 farther to illustrate them, and at the same 
 time to exhibit more clearly the system of mis- 
 representation that was pursued, the official ac- 
 count given in the journal of the Gard is placed 
 in a note, accompanied with observations, which 
 it will be proper carefully to read and impartially 
 to compare. * 
 
 * Official Account. 
 
 " Thursday the 24th two 
 squadrons of the regiment of 
 Chasseurs Royaux de Mon. 
 le Marquis de Calvieres 
 Vezenobre were sent to form 
 the garrison of Alais. 
 
 " They arrived at Bou- 
 coiran at seven in the even- 
 ing, the greater part without 
 arms, and each leading a 
 horse besides that mounted. 
 
 " Not being all able to 
 lodge in that place, some of 
 them were sent on as far as 
 the village of Ners, where 
 they were quartered at private 
 houses. 
 
 " At dark the command- 
 ant of this detachment being 
 
 D 
 
 Observations. 
 
 They never went to Alais. 
 The object was to oppress 
 the protestants, that under 
 pretence of rebellion the 
 allies might destroy them in 
 mass. 
 
 They arrived at Boucoiran 
 about nine in the morning, 
 and at Ners about ten ; all 
 armed, but badly equipped, 
 and having more the air of 
 assassins than soldiers. 
 
 It was very easy to march 
 them to Alais, with only halt- 
 ing at Boucoiran to refresh. 
 
 He knew of the assem- 
 blage soon after his arrival, 
 U 
 
402 
 
 EVENTS OF NERS. 
 
 One circumstance connected with this tra- 
 gedy merits particular notice. M. Bruguier, the 
 excellent and heroic pastor of Ners, who had 
 
 Official Account. 
 informed, that on the right of 
 the village there was an as- 
 semblage of armed men, or- 
 dered it to be reconnoitred, 
 and the bugle to sound to 
 horse. 
 
 " Some chasseurs who had 
 not time to mount their 
 horses, were surprised by 
 their hosts, disarmed and un- 
 dressed. 
 
 " Immediately after, the 
 former mayor came to in- 
 form the commandant, that 
 there was another assemblage 
 formed in the village, and 
 even on the place of the 
 mayoralty. 
 
 " M. Cabrieres, the lieu- 
 tenant, was sent to recon- 
 noitre this assemblage, fol- 
 lowed by a detachment, and 
 conducted by the ex-mayor. 
 
 " Arrived at the place of 
 the mayoralty, he advanced 
 towards the assemblage with 
 his guide, and addressed it in 
 amicable terms. 
 
 Observations. 
 and when it was only com- 
 posed of the inhabitants of 
 Ners. The bugle was not 
 sounded till the evening, and 
 after the death of M. Perrier. 
 
 The men bearing arms had 
 left the village, and the old 
 men and the women, instead 
 of injuring the chasseurs, 
 showed them every attention 
 possible, in order to prevent 
 altercation and disturbance. 
 
 The whole of this para- 
 graph is utterly and abomin- 
 ably false. 
 
 This officer was not follow- 
 ed by any detachment : he 
 was alone with M. Perrier, 
 the ex-mayor. 
 
 They did not go to the 
 place of the mayoralty, 
 where ten men could not 
 manoeuvre, but towards the 
 encampment. They disco- 
 vered no assemblage, because 
 
EVENTS OF NERS. 
 
 4*03 
 
 done every thing that it was possible to do, to 
 calm popular fervour and prevent confusion, 
 who had held back the arm of vengeance when it 
 
 Official Account. 
 
 " The rebels answered by 
 vociferations, and a dis- 
 charge of musketry, by which 
 the ex-mayor was killed at 
 his side, and he was wounded 
 in the arm. 
 
 " The inhabitants, on their 
 part, fired from the windows 
 of their houses, and amongst 
 them was distinguished, the 
 adjoint of the mayor. 
 
 " M. Cabrieres retired on 
 the rest of the troop, who 
 fell back and bivouacked on 
 the other side of the Gardon, 
 taking with them the adjoint 
 of the mayor, wbo was seized 
 in his house. 
 
 D 
 
 Observations. 
 they did not leave the vil- 
 lage. 
 
 There was oidy one shot 
 fired, and that not by the 
 protestants. The officer re- 
 fused to show his wound or 
 have it dressed, though the 
 new mayor was a surgeon. 
 
 Let it be observed, that 
 the assemblage was charged 
 with the murder of M.Pcr- 
 rier, and the wound of M.Ga- 
 brieres. Here it is assert- 
 ed, that the inhabitants fired 
 from their houses in the 
 narrow streets of Ners, and 
 yet there were neither killed 
 nor wounded ! ! 
 
 M. Cambon was not seized 
 in his house, but in the street, 
 by the side of the mayor, 
 with a lantern in his hand, 
 and the mayor declaring his 
 innocence. This mayor, who 
 bad replaced M. Perrier, 
 ought to have had some in- 
 fluence witb the command- 
 ant. The journal does not 
 mention that, among other 
 things, they took with them 
 M. Pernor's horse, and sold 
 it at Nismes. 
 D 2 
 
404 
 
 EVENTS OF NERS. 
 
 would have fallen with terrible efficiency on the 
 royal troops, and to whom it was owing that 
 civil war had not its full course in the South of 
 
 Official Account. 
 " The morning of the 25th 
 was spent in parleys : the 
 chasseurs were wise and mo- 
 derate, but they could pro- 
 duce no effect on the furies. 
 
 " In spite of his wound, 
 M.Cabrierescame express to 
 give information of the affair, 
 and to receive the orders of 
 the government. 
 
 " Six hundred Tyrolese 
 were sent from the Aus- 
 trian troops at nine in the 
 morning: they arrived at Ners 
 at one in the afternoon. 
 
 " They were accompanied 
 by 200 of the chasseurs a 
 cheval, and found about 5 or 
 600 of the rebels : they were 
 ranged in order of battle, and 
 began to fire. 
 
 " The commanding officer 
 ordered the charge : it was 
 executed, and the rebels were 
 routed. 
 
 Observations. 
 
 The chasseurs refused to 
 set at liberty M. Cambon, or 
 to restore their plunder ; but 
 they required the national 
 guards to surrender their 
 arms, and place themselves 
 in the power of the merciful 
 Trestaillons. 
 
 It is not a^little astonishing 
 that an officer with a ball in 
 his arm, and his wound un- 
 dressed, should be sent ex- 
 press to receive orders ! 
 
 They arrived at Ners very 
 late, because affairs had de- 
 tained them at Boucoiran. 
 
 The pretended rebels 
 were not ranged in any or- 
 der, much less in the order 
 of battle. Without any 
 commander, they placed 
 themselves in the fields or on 
 the hills, to the best advan- 
 tage, and this not near Ners, 
 but Boucoiran. 
 
 There was neither battle, 
 combat, nor charge ; all pass- 
 ed in petty skirmishes. 
 
EVBtFS OF NERS. 
 
 405 
 
 Fiance ; instead of being honoured and re- 
 warded by the government, became the object 
 of the most malignant and protracted persecu- 
 
 Official Account. 
 
 " Four Tyrolese were kill- 
 ed and nine wounded. The 
 rebels left on the field of bat- 
 tle sixty or eighty killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 " Several prisoners were 
 made, three of whom arrived 
 at Nismes the same day at six 
 in the evening. 
 
 " Account of the death of 
 M. Cambon, published by M. 
 D'Arbaud Jouqucs, prefect 
 of the Gard, in his own justi- 
 fication. 
 
 " Behold the truth ! 
 
 ' ' Three men were made pri- 
 soners by the Austrians, in the 
 combat of the 25th of August, 
 at the moment, even wh en they 
 fired on the Austrians; con- 
 ducted before the General, 
 they were condemned by mili- 
 tary justice, as rebels against 
 D 
 
 Observations. 
 Several of the Chasseurs 
 Royaux were killed, and hvo 
 of the peasants. 
 
 This is a gross artifice. 
 The three prisoners who ar- 
 rived were the unfortunate 
 M. Cambon and his compa- 
 nions. M. Cambon was not 
 taken by the Austrians, but 
 by the chasseurs the night 
 before. They were shot by 
 the Austrians the instant of 
 their arrival at Nismes, on the 
 fete of St. Louis ; and about 
 the time that the Austrians ar- 
 rived at Ners. M. D'Arbaud 
 Jouques, the prefect, has had 
 the effrontery to publish to 
 the world that M. Cambon 
 was taken by the Austrians, 
 on the 25th, in the act of 
 firing on them ; when the of- 
 ficial account, already quoted, 
 states that he was seized by the 
 chasseurs on the night of the 
 24'th, for having fired at them 
 from a window ! ! The prefect 
 styles them three men, when 
 one was a magistrate, the ad- 
 D 3 
 
406 EVENTS OF JJERS. 
 
 tion. Denounced as a traitor, he was obliged 
 to abandon his home and flee for his life. A 
 price was set on his head, and his flock heard it 
 publicly announced in the markets of the sur- 
 rounding towns with the sound of the trumpet 
 or the drum. During many months he was 
 obliged to wander in the fields and conceal him- 
 self in the woods. His sufferings continued till 
 after the dismissal of the prefect, D'Arbaud 
 Jouques. The iniquity of this treatment is now 
 placed beyond all question. M. D'Argout, who 
 succeeded M. D'Arbaud Jouques in the prefec- 
 ture, examined all the particulars of M. Bru- 
 guier's case, and interested himself so zealously 
 in his behalf, that in spite of all the efforts of 
 his enemies, he has been not only restored to 
 liberty and security, but re-instated in all his 
 pastoral rights and functions, and now exercises 
 his ministry among his delighted and affectionate 
 flock. The restoration of the pastor of Ners 
 was a real fete to every protestant ; for the old- 
 est inhabitant does not remember, and the 
 
 Official Account. Observations. 
 
 the lawful authority. The joint of the mayor, and an- 
 orders of Comte Stahrem- other, a garde champetre, by 
 berg was their only judg- his office obliged to bear 
 ment." arms. What can be thought 
 
 of a prefect who did not 
 rise from his banquet to save 
 the lives, or examine the 
 conduct of three French citi- 
 zens ? 
 
EVENTS OF NERS. 407 
 
 youngest never knew, any but a Bruguier fill 
 the pulpit of the temple, or administer the ordi- 
 nances of their religion. 
 
 The troubles which afflicted this commune did 
 not cease till a very late period. A company of 
 national guards, led by Pierre Huguet of Veze- 
 nobre, made a descent on Ners, July 27th, 1816. 
 Not finding the individual object of their search, 
 they endeavoured to carry off an old citizen, 
 more than sixty years of age, and declared, that 
 as they had not secured the nephew, they would 
 fusillade the uncle. About the same date, the 
 following letter was written to an inhabitant of 
 the village : 
 
 " Vezenobre, July, 1816. 
 " I request M. Becamel to desire M. Courdil 
 to come to Vezenobre the 28th of this month, 
 between ten and eleven in the morning, to be 
 conducted to the fort of Alais. 
 
 (Signed) " Trial, Serjeant. 
 
 " N. B. — You will tell him that if he has 
 any answer to make, to write immediately. " 
 
 This M. Courdil is an elder of the consistory, 
 a respectable man, old, and infirm. He was 
 obliged to find the captain, and obtain protec- 
 tion against this alarming citation. 
 
 Another inhabitant was fined by a corporal 
 of the national guard for working on Christmas 
 day. 
 
 d d 4 
 
408 EXTORTIONS AT VALENCE, &C. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1817, the national 
 guard of Boucoiran attacked a private house, 
 without any authority from the magistrate, and 
 insulted the women who were employed in spin- 
 ning. The mayor, who happened to be a pro- 
 testant, was called upon for protection ; but 
 both he and his family were 'assailed. He was 
 afraid to draw up a proces verbal, and only 
 complained to the sub-prefect, who advised him 
 to remain quiet, and take no notice of what had 
 passed. 
 
 While all these transactions gave celebrity to 
 the villages of Ners and Boucoiran, the other 
 communes and hamlets of the canton were not 
 neglected by the persecuting genius of the de- 
 partment. 
 
 At Valence the protestants were exposed to 
 arbitrary and heavy contributions, for the sup- 
 port of a faction which was armed against the 
 whole family of the descendants of the Hu- 
 guenots. 
 
 Among the excesses committed at Brignon, 
 was the spoliation of Madame Claris. Her 
 royalism was universally known ; but she was a 
 protestant, and the widow of an elder of the 
 church. Another member of the same family was 
 plundered of linen, clothes, plate, several hun- 
 dred francs, fifty fowls, and about three thou- 
 sand bushels of corn. 
 
 A patrole of five hundred men " were sent 
 to make an arrestation" such are the words of 
 the prefect, in the village of Mauressargues* 
 
EXTORTIONS AT MAURESSARGUES. 409 
 
 containing about thirty families. All the houses 
 of the protestants, amounting to seven, were 
 completely ravaged. Those of the mayor and 
 adjoint not yet displaced, were the worst treated. 
 The mule belonging to the mayor was used to 
 carry the heaviest of the articles. A poor woman 
 was even forced from her bed, that her sheets 
 might be taken away j and the corn of the widow 
 Martin was sold in the public market to the 
 highest bidder. The sub-prefect delegated 
 M. Denis Capel to take cognizance of these de- 
 predations, and authorized him to call in the 
 national guards of Ledignan, and, if necessary, 
 the troops of the line. M. Capel related the 
 facts to the prefect, who replied, " that the 
 five hundred men were sent by authority, and 
 that if disorders had occurred, the royal troops 
 were incapable of committing them. ,, The dele- 
 gate had an injunction to quit the place without 
 delay, and the protestants were left to the mercy 
 of their foes. 
 
 The sub-prefect could not avoid visiting the 
 commune to ascertain the damages, (the valu- 
 ation presented by the mayor notbeing received,) 
 and when the adjoint of the mayor showed the 
 wrecks of his furniture, and observed that every 
 door had been forced, but that of his granary, 
 " You may think yourself happy," said the 
 sub-prefect, " that they left you any thing to 
 eat." 
 
 Other communes of this canton suffered ex- 
 ceedingly from the unprincipled extortions of a 
 
410 ARRONDISSEMENT OF VIGAN. 
 
 soi-disant royal commissioner. Though entirely 
 disarmed, soldiers were quartered on those in- 
 habitants who were said to have arms concealed. 
 They were compelled to pay the military six 
 francs per hour during their stay, and even to 
 purchase fire-arms for the purpose of surrender- 
 ing them. The regular price was fifty francs 
 for a single-barrelled gun, and a hundred francs 
 for one with a double barrel. 
 
 Remonstrances were made ; but they were 
 only met by demands for money. Some of the 
 mayors who required receipts for the satisfaction 
 of their communes, were given to understand 
 that they insulted the personal honour and the 
 official dignity of the commissioner, and that 
 these transactions did not require ordinary pub- 
 licity. On this plan, Aigremont paid 1125 
 francs ; St. Benezet, 1300 ; Lezan, 700 ; and 
 Cardet, 500. St. Jean de Serve, almost entirely 
 inhabited by catholics, was exempted from this 
 abominable and vexatious contribution. 
 
 ARRONDISSEMENT OF VIGAN. 
 
 In the arrondissement of Vigan, rapine and 
 murder were not carried to the same extent as 
 in some other districts ; but it was seriously me- 
 naced, and frequently disturbed. & 
 
 The inhabitants Mere deeply afflicted by the 
 knowledge of continued evils which they could 
 not prevent ; by the presence of numerous fugi- 
 tives whose distress they could not adequately 
 
m.durand's account of the cevennes. 411 
 
 alleviate ; and, finally, by a cruel proscription 
 which they did not in the slightest degree 
 merit. 
 
 The protestant cantons of St. Hypolite, Sauve, 
 Quissac, La Salle, and Valleraugue, were se- 
 lected by the prefect as the theatre of his mili- 
 tary operations, and included in his revolution- 
 ary proclamation. Fortunately for them, the 
 oppression produced by the presence of a fo- 
 reign garrison, and by a general seizure of arms, 
 was in some measure compensated by the resist- 
 ance which the Austrians opposed to the violence 
 of the Miquelets, and the base designs of the 
 local authorities. 
 
 As the inhabitants had avoided all ground for 
 reproach and persecution, so they endured, with 
 exemplary patience, the constant provocations 
 to which they were exposed. The following 
 testimony to the good dispositions of the pro- 
 testants of the Cevennes, and especially of 
 those of the consistorial church of St. Hypolite, 
 has been published by M. Durand, a member of 
 one of the most respectable catholic families of 
 the department. 
 
 " In the little town of St. Hypolite," says he, 
 " I saw multitudes crowded together, and suffer- 
 ing the most dreadful anxiety ; but every door was 
 open to them. For a time labour was suspended, 
 and no occupation was thought worthy of at- 
 tention, but that of rendering assistance to the 
 unhappy. The most affecting care and iiospi- 
 
412 m.durand's account of the cevennes. 
 
 tality was afforded to all whom danger or fear 
 had driven to the mountains. 
 
 " I observed that in their commiseration there 
 was less of softness and more of solemnity than 
 in ordinary pity ; — religious principle mingled 
 with the impulse of humanity, and gave it a cha- 
 racter more serious and august. There were 
 no tears, no effusions, no complaints. A 
 gloomy silence and a severe sort of virtue was 
 observed by the hospitable hosts, and they re- 
 ceived, in return, from the fugitives, but few 
 expressions of gratitude. An immoveable at- 
 tachment to]the persecuted, a pious and heroic 
 firmness, and a simple and unostentatious gene- 
 rosity distinguished all. This religious feeling, 
 which cannot have escaped those who have 
 visited the Cevennes, even in a season of pros- 
 perity, was especially impressive in a period of 
 alarm and consternation. 
 
 " One day, during excessive heat, our cabrio- 
 let had to wind round the side of a mountain in 
 the neighbourhood of St. Hypolite. We de- 
 scended, and took a shorter and a shady path, 
 which conducted into the middle of a wood. 
 We had for some minutes been silent ; when I 
 broke the stillness, and began to sing. On a 
 sudden, a melancholy voice issued from the 
 trees, and we distinguished these words : " Why 
 do you sing, brother, when death is nigh!" 
 Astonished at this apostrophe, we looked around: 
 a herdsman was stationed at a little distance : 
 it was he who had addressed to me the admoni- 
 
M.DURAND'S ACCOUNT OF THE CEVENNES. 413 
 
 toiy words, and he immediately proceeded to 
 interrogate us on the afrairs of Nismes. 
 
 " With such a people, it is persuasion and not 
 force that should be employed ; for when this 
 religious sensation is roused to hostility, it pro- 
 duces invincible antagonists. The Cevennois 
 are not enemies to " the altar and the throne" 
 as has been represented. Had they been dis- 
 posed to rebellion, it was not 2000 Austrians 
 who would have disarmed them ; they would 
 have dared to resist even 20,000. Let them 
 but hear the alarm of danger to their brethren, 
 and they could become terrible avengers. 
 Proprietors, artisans, husbandmen, all would 
 become soldiers. Their fowling-pieces would 
 arm them, and, guided by men like themselves, 
 woe to those who should dare to attack them 
 in their mountains ! When they were once im- 
 prudently threatened, I saw squadrons form as 
 by enchantment, — an infantry organized in an 
 instant, — and the people begin to dig up a 
 quantity of arms whose gothic form and rusty 
 hue announced that they had been long buried in 
 the earth. Old men, men, and lads began 
 their march, to put an end to oppression and 
 outrage ; but informed that the government 
 promised severe and repressive measures, they se- 
 parated and returned to their peaceful and rural 
 labours. 
 
 " But even if disarmed, they would not be 
 less fearful antagonists. Take away their 
 arms ; but they still have left enough for defence 
 
414 PERSECUTIONS AT SAUVE. 
 
 and even for hostility: — they have the wood of 
 their trees, and the stones of their mountain s." 
 
 Possessed of such capacities, and with suffi- 
 cient provocation, these people still practised 
 the forbearance of the Gospel towards their ene- 
 mies, as well as its charity towards their friends. 
 Nothing could, however, convince their perse- 
 cutors, because their doubts were wilful. It was 
 their religion that made them formidable} even 
 while it made them amiable. 
 
 The primitive and pious M. Gachon was so 
 shamefully misrepresented that he was compel- 
 led to discontinue the prayer-meetings which he 
 was accustomed to hold in private houses, and the 
 advantage of which his flock particularly needed 
 in the season of adversity. The part of the build- 
 ing which had long served the protestants for 
 a place of worship was also abandoned to troops 
 who were sent to disarm and oppress them. 
 
 The protestants of the church and canton of 
 Sauve were equally persecuted, though equally 
 free from charge, and above suspicion. The in- 
 habitants of the town, both catholics and pro- 
 testants, had formerly occupied the same edifice 
 for their separate worship ;< and though the ar- 
 rangement was terminated by the revolutionary 
 fury which, for a short period, suppressed all 
 religious observances, the parties were so well 
 satisfied with each other, that when worship 
 was again permitted, they wished to resume their 
 accustomed habit. They were only prevented 
 by the will of the bishop. 
 
LETTER FROM THE CONSISTORY. 415 
 
 The ancient frankness and charity of the 
 protestants was not at all diminished j and on the 
 appearance of the proscriptive proclamation of 
 M. D'Arbaud Jouques, M. Guerin, the respect- 
 able pastor and president of the consistory, ad- 
 dressed to him the following letter : 
 
 " Mr. Prefect. — Surrounded by all the 
 members of the consistory, I address you in 
 their name and in the name of the members of 
 our church. If we were guilty, I should have 
 recourse to prayers ; but we are far from being 
 in a situation to appeal to the mercy or clemency 
 of the king. Our consciences testify that we 
 have faithfully and invariably rendered to Caesar 
 the things that are Caesar's. You may easily 
 convince yourself of this, Mr. Prefect. Send 
 among us, unknown to us, impartial and honour- 
 able men to ascertain our state and our dispo- 
 sitions. They will find a population active and 
 laborious ; a population which has fertilized the 
 summits of the highest mountains and the points 
 of the most rugged rocks ; a population ardently 
 attached to peace and order, submissive from 
 feeling rather than interest, and convinced that 
 the word of a king is power. They will hear 
 their pastors constantly instruct them to ' fear 
 God, and honour the king.' They will perceive 
 that we support the honour of the throne in all 
 its splendor, force, and extent ; that we carry 
 this respect as far as it ought to go, and that we 
 unite in our affections God and the king. These 
 
116 COMMUNE OF DURFORT. 
 
 are the doctrines and sentiments which have been 
 transmitted to us by our ancestors, and which 
 we wish to transmit to our children." 
 
 The prefect professed to " believe most firmly 
 that the description contained in this document 
 was strictly true ;" but at the same time he took 
 care to abate nothing of the evils which it was 
 designed to avert. 
 
 The commune of Durfort contains a popula- 
 tion of nearly one thousand souls, of whom up- 
 wards of eight hundred are protestants. Their 
 district is the seat of industry, simplicity, and 
 comfort. Affluence in such a situation is hardly 
 to be expected, but ease and property are gene- 
 rally diffused. This description does not accord 
 with the prevalence of a revolutionary spirit, but 
 it presents motives for jealousy and aggression. 
 
 The commissioner delegated to the canton 
 of Ledignan carried his ravages into the next 
 arrondissement, and the communes of Durfort 
 and Canaule attracted his cupidity. Assisted by 
 detachments selected from the army of Trestail- 
 lons he levied contributions and violated the 
 laws. M. Thomas, an old and respectable inha- 
 bitant, still filled the office of mayor : this ban- 
 ditti attacked his house, threatened to whip and 
 sabre his wife and daughter, and " promised 
 themselves the pleasure of shooting the villain of 
 a mayor before his own door." They arrested 
 two brothers, MM. Matthieu, gentlemen uni- 
 versally respected, " because they were Bona- 
 
 16 
 
CANTON OF LA SALLE. 417 
 
 papists;" but really because they were protest- 
 ants, and wealthy. The conduct of the commis- 
 sioner and his band was at length so shameful, 
 that the Austrians were compelled to interfere. 
 They took the inhabitants under their protection, 
 and threatened to shoot the invaders if they did 
 not retire. 
 
 Throughout the excesses of the revolution, 
 the protestants of La Salle had been distin- 
 guished for their moderation, and for their at- 
 tachment to religion ; as the following anecdote 
 will attest. At the period when the Sabbath 
 was abolished, and religion confounded with 
 aristocracy, Alegre, a protestant labourer, 60 years 
 of age, was arrested, and imprisoned for not work- 
 ing on the Sabbath. The first Sabbath after his 
 liberation, he presented himself to the commit- 
 tee, dressed in his habits de Dimanche. The 
 committee, doubtless, expecting a denunciation, 
 enquired his business. " Gentlemen," said he, 
 " I am old, and when 1 have worked hard all 
 the week, I have absolutely need of one day's 
 rest : if I were to go to work on the Sabbath I 
 should not be able to perform half what I ought, 
 and should only rob my employer; I prefer, 
 therefore, if you please, to be sent to prison." 
 The committee were astonished, and dismissed 
 the old man to spend his Sabbath according to 
 his wishes. 
 
 Amidst all the recent changes, La Salle had pre- 
 served its reputation, but it was not spared : it 
 was included in the unjust and arbitrary pro- 
 
 E E 
 
418 DEPARTMENT OF THE AVEYRON. 
 
 scription. Thus, from one end of the depart- 
 ment to another, in every arrondissement, over 
 hundreds of communes, and, in fact, wherever a 
 body of protestants was to be found, the course 
 of persecution was directed ; innocence, piety, 
 loyalty, offered no security. The magistracy and 
 the populace united in an infamous coalition, 
 and, during many long and painful months, an 
 immense population, professing the same religion, 
 was abandoned to the most unmerited and cruel 
 torments. 
 
 But it was not within the limits of the de- 
 partment that the spirit which actuated the 
 persecutors confined its influence. To other 
 departments, where protestantism had formerly 
 flourished, and where a remnant still maintained 
 its profession, the conduct of the catholics of 
 Nismes furnished an example ; and to the bigot- 
 ted and intolerant every where it presented a 
 signal and an excitement. 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AVEYRON. 
 
 The department of the Aveyron was early 
 distinguished for the number and the zeal of its 
 churches. From 1532 to 1787* it had been the 
 theatre of martyrdom and proscription. In 
 1802 it only contained a sufficient protestant 
 population to form one consistorial church. — 
 Saint Afrique (distant from Nismes 60 miles) 
 is the seat of the consistory. This town, this 
 solitary church of the Aveyron, was selected by 
 " the friends of the altar and the throne, " as 
 
BURNING OF THE TEMPLE OF ST. AFRIQUE. 410 
 
 the most proper scene for the display of their 
 loyalty and religion. 
 
 " It is in vain (said a private communication 
 in the beginning of August, 181.5,) that we en- 
 deavour to shut our eyes on the truth. A fac- 
 tion exists ; its chiefs are concealed, but its 
 power is evident, and its object is avowed. It 
 designs to restore the ages of ignorance and 
 despotism. Fanaticism indulges in too bold a 
 flight for us to doubt either its confidence or its 
 security. Every day it ventures on new efforts, 
 and promises still greater. ' The time/ they 
 say, * will soon arrive when we shall be at 
 liberty to fall on the protestants and seize their 
 temples.' — * Down with the black dogs]! down 
 with the temples V are the loyal cries with which 
 our deplorable town resounds ; and if it does 
 not witness appalling scenes, we shall be espe- 
 cially indebted to that Divine mercy, which 
 protects those it loves, and often out of evil 
 produces good. 
 
 " Our position becomes every day more alarm- 
 ing. Madame de R. was lately accosted on 
 the road to her country-house by one of the 
 fanatics, who, mistaking her for a catholic lady, 
 assured her of the approaching destruction of 
 the heretics. * It is so arranged,' said he, 
 1 that not a black dog will long remain, nor a 
 temple exist.' An involuntary movement of 
 horror discovered to him his mistake, and he 
 abruptly left Madame de R., not a little cha- 
 grined at his premature revelation." 
 
 E E 2 
 
420 BURNING OF THE 
 
 The fears expressed in this letter were soon 
 realized. The protestants were torn from their 
 families and dragged to prison ; they were stoned 
 in the streets ; their pastor was publicly insulted; 
 the windows of his house were beaten in, and 
 the burning of the sanctuary was announced. 
 
 The increase of danger gave occasion to an 
 affecting instance of union and devotedness. 
 About twenty young men waited on the pastor 
 of St. Afrique, to apprize him of the determi- 
 nation which they had solemnly formed. 
 
 " Our temple," said they, " Sir, is to be set 
 on fire: we have resolved to watch day and night 
 over the sacred building : we will rather die than 
 it shall be abandoned ; and we are prepared to 
 bury ourselves under its ruins." 
 
 The pastor was exceedingly impressed, but his 
 prudence kept pace with their zeal. " I cannot 
 but admire," said he, " your courage and your 
 attachment to the worship of God ; but I wish 
 you also to cherish confidence in Him. You are 
 unduly alarmed : our temple will be preserved ; 
 and without your exertions, I will answer for its 
 safety." By such assurances he succeeded in 
 preventing the execution of their project, and 
 rescuing them from certain death. The fury of 
 " the people" would only have been increased by 
 their resistance, and, without saving the temple, 
 they would inevitably have been sacrificed. The 
 conflagration took place on the 20th of August, 
 as will be seen by the following deliberation and 
 address to the prefect by the consistory of the 
 church. 
 
TEMPLE OF ST. AFRIQUE. 4-21 
 
 Extract from the Register of the Consistory of 
 St. Afrique. 
 
 " The consistory, deeply afflicted at the op- 
 pression which weighs on the protestants of the 
 commune of St. Afrique, and particularly at 
 the outrage committed on their place of wor- 
 ship ; and convinced of the importance of seek- 
 ing a remedy for evils so numerous and so great ; 
 has thought it best to have recourse to the pre- 
 fect of the department, and to present to him a 
 statement of the events that have recently oc- 
 curred, persuaded that he will not be insensible 
 to the distresses of the protestants, but will af- 
 ford them the redress they so justly demand. 
 In the mean time, the consistory will exhort 
 the reformed patiently to endure their afflictions, 
 and to oppose to the calumnies, injuries, and 
 shameful treatment of which they are the sub- 
 jects, the humility and moderation which always 
 become the true disciples of Christ. 
 
 " During the night of the 18th and 19th, 
 persons, whom we are unwilling to describe, re- 
 paired in considerable numbers to the protestant 
 place of worship, got to the top of the building 
 and attempted to carry off the bell. A storm, 
 which suddenly arose, and lasted the greater part 
 of the night, prevented the execution of their 
 project, and they retired, taking with them the 
 clapper, and leaving their ladder, which was re- 
 moved the next day by order of the authorities. 
 This attempt alarmed the protestants, but they 
 hoped that the authorities, who were fully ap- 
 E e 3 
 
422 BURNING OF THE 
 
 prised of the fact, would employ every means to 
 prevent the recurrence of outrage. 
 
 " The next day (Saturday), about nine in the 
 evening, several of the same men began to as- 
 semble, and proceed in crowds to the gates of the 
 temple. 
 
 " The mayor, his adjoint, two gendarmes, and 
 •a. fete national guards, followed them ; but they 
 were unable to arrest their rage and impetuosity. 
 — They broke open the door, like madmen, and 
 forced their way into the edifice ; at the same 
 time others entered through the apartments of 
 the door-keeper, whose door they also demo- 
 lished. Immediately they began to pillage and 
 break in pieces every thing they found : the 
 greater part of the objects, on which they 
 wreaked their fury, were carried into the square, 
 and on to the main road adjoining, and set on 
 fire : the seats, the chairs, the minister's gown, 
 the funeral cloaks, the church registers, the reli- 
 gious books, the psalms of the congregation, and 
 the Holy Bible, experienced the same fate. The 
 books of devotion that were not burnt were torn 
 in pieces. The pulpit and the communion-table 
 were demolished* The Commandments, and se- 
 veral passages of Scripture inscribed on the walls, 
 and intended to place before the eyes of the wor- 
 shippers their duties as citizens and as Chris- 
 tians, and among others this, — " Honour all men, 
 love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the 
 king :" — these precepts, which even heathens 
 would have respected, were covered with mud 
 
TEMPLE OF ST. AFRIQUE. 423 
 
 and filth. All the windows were broken, and 
 the frames taken out and burnt. Some tore 
 away the iron-work and railing, while others 
 plundered the residence of the door-keeper, 
 devastated the interior, and pulled down the 
 chimney. This horrid scene lasted from nine, 
 Saturday evening, till two o'clock on the Sunday 
 afternoon. 
 
 " It is not surprising that the conflagration 
 continued so long a time j for, besides the por- 
 tico of the temple, the floor of the consistory, 
 the staircase, the pulpit, and the balustrades, 
 the place contained a great number of chairs, 
 and more than one hundred wooden seats, among 
 which was one curiously carved, and designed 
 for the local authorities. 
 
 " The streets of the town and the neighbour- 
 ing hills were illuminated the whole night, and 
 resounded the savage cries of those who danced 
 round the ascending flames. Such has been the 
 atrocious outrage committed on a building con- 
 secrated to Christian worship. We abstain from 
 all reflection. 
 
 ** As from the ruin of their temple, the mem- 
 bers of the reformed church are deprived of the 
 public ordinances of religion, the consistory ven- 
 tures to hope that the prefect will hasten the 
 necessary orders for its reparation, and for the 
 supply, at a fair valuation, of all the articles 
 burnt or demolished. The consistory hopes he 
 will be the more convinced of the justice of their 
 reclamation, as the members of the church pur- 
 - e e 4 
 
424 BURNING OF THE TEMPLE OF ST. AFRIQUE. 
 
 chased the ground on which their place of wor- 
 ship was built, and that from the third or fourth 
 purchaser ; as they have borne the whole ex- 
 pense of its erection ; as all the objects it con- 
 tained were their private property, and as there 
 could be no greater violation of the sacred right 
 of property, than a refusal to restore their tem- 
 ple to the state in which it was before it was 
 profaned. The consistory would consider it an 
 insult to the prefect to insist more largely : they 
 do not doubt but a magistrate, distinguished by 
 the love of justice and other eminent virtues^ 
 will enable the church of St. Afrique to enjoy 
 the privilege of exercising, in full liberty, its 
 religious worship," &c. &c. 
 
 The deliberation was accompanied by the fol- 
 lowing letter from M. Nazon, president of the 
 consistory, and pastor of the church. 
 
 " In the midst of these disorders I have had 
 the pleasing consolation to see all the members 
 of my church docile to my instructions, follow- 
 ing my advice, and opposing only mildness and 
 silence to violence and persecution. Malignity 
 itself cannot reproach them with the slightest 
 fault, or even the smallest inconsistency. I may 
 positively say of them, that agreeably with the 
 example of their Divine Saviour, they have suf- 
 fered without deserving to be injured. All my 
 desire is, that the king should be informed of 
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE HERAULT. 425 
 
 their innocence and their misfortunes. I can- 
 not believe that he does not wish prosperity to 
 all his subjects, and that he would not rejoice 
 to frustrate the frightful projects of a faction, 
 which desires to renew the persecutions that our 
 ancestors endured. Like them, we should 
 doubtless find a hospitable reception in other 
 lands ; but, like them, we should also shed tears 
 of blood on quitting our natal soil," &c. &c. 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF THE HERAULT. 
 
 The department of 1/Herault was formerly a 
 part of Lower Languedoc, and always celebrated 
 in the History of the French reformation. 
 Even as early as 1417, Catherine Sorbe was 
 burnt at Montpellier for denying the supremacy 
 of the church of Rome ; and almost all the 
 sanguinary executions which followed the re- 
 vocation of the edict of Nantes were consum- 
 mated in that city. 
 
 In 1790, attempts, similar to those made at 
 Nismes and Uzes by " the friends of the altar 
 and the throne," threatened the extermination 
 of the descendants of the Huguenots ; but 
 after that period, the protestants enjoyed com- 
 plete security, and lived in perfect harmony 
 with their catholic fellow-citizens. On the pro- 
 mulgation of the new system of the First Consul, 
 the scattered communes were ranged under 
 the four consistorial churches of Montpellier, 
 Montagnac, Ganjes, and Massilargues. 
 
426 CHURCH OF MONTPELLIER. 
 
 The Bourbons had no sooner entered France 
 than the harmony which had so long subsisted 
 was disturbed, and the security of the protest- 
 ants was exchanged for alarm and danger. In 
 1814, they were insulted in the streets, at- 
 tacked in their houses, surrounded by mobs, 
 who sang the celebrated songs, and were often 
 obliged to seek safety in obscurity and flight. 
 On the second restoration all these disorders 
 were renewed with aggravated atrocity. 
 
 The consistorial church of Montpellier, and 
 Pignan, Villeveirac, Cournon, and Cournonteral, 
 dependent on that consistory, were called to 
 endure sufferings similar to those which afflicted 
 the churches of the Gard. 
 
 The following address from the protestants of 
 Pignan to M. Floriac, prefect of the depart- 
 ment, will present some idea of their unmerited 
 oppression. 
 
 " M. Prefect. — The undersigned, protest- 
 ants, inhabitants and landed proprietors of the 
 commune of Pignan, have the honour to inform 
 you that for the last eight months they have been 
 forced, by the persecutions of the vilest agitators, 
 to abandon their homes and all their occupa- 
 tions. 
 
 " Submissive to the laws, peaceable, and just 
 in their relations with their fellow-citizens, they 
 had no reason to anticipate the shameful perse- 
 cution of which they have been the victims. 
 £11 their guilt consists in their being protest- 
 
ADDRESS FROM THE PROTESTANTS OF PIG NAN. 4&% 
 
 ants. No sounds, but those of proscription meet 
 their ears, and they are become vagabonds to 
 escape death. After suffering every species of 
 vexation, several of their relatives have perished 
 by the hands of murderers. M. Galabert, who 
 had several times experienced their cruelty, see- 
 ing a fresh troop enter his house, and expecting 
 a thousand tortures, blew out his brains with a 
 pistol, and expired at their feet. Unaffected 
 by this awful spectacle, they passed over his 
 corpse to plunder his house, and immediately 
 after proceeded to that of M. Verdier. Not 
 contented with pillaging his premises, and beat- 
 ing him in the most brutal manner, they drag- 
 ged him to the communal house, whence he 
 only escaped by paying the sum of 300 francs. 
 
 " Arrested without any order, or any legal 
 warrant, the protestants are taken to Montpel- 
 lier, and thrown into dungeons, where they 
 groan without pity, and almost without hope. 
 
 " M. Prefect, we demand not vengeance ; 
 that we leave to Him by whom sooner or 
 later such crimes will certainly be punished. 
 If we are guilty, there are the laws and the 
 tribunals to judge, and to condemn us ; but if 
 we are faithful subjects, and useful members of 
 society, we demand, what no individual is denied 
 in any civilized nation, the security of our 
 persons and our property. Confiding in your 
 justice, we have the honour to remain," &c. &c. 
 
428 TEMPLES BURNT AND DEVASTATED. 
 
 Oppressed and restrained as they were under 
 the reign of terror, forty of the principal pro- 
 testants had the courage to sign this address ; 
 but just and temperate as it was, it produced no 
 effect, and the crimes continued. After nu- 
 merous acts of outrage, the vengeance of the 
 catholics was directed against the temple. They 
 hallowed the Sabbath, by setting fire to the 
 sanctuary, and, as the beams of the roof succes- 
 sively fell, instead of the hymns of praise which 
 were wont to ascend from the sacred spot, the 
 air was rent with shouts of " Vive le Roil" 
 
 This temple was erected at the expense of 
 the protestants, and was the more interesting 
 to its possessors as it was the first built after the 
 revocation of the edict of Nantes. 
 
 The temples of Coumonteral and Villeveirac 
 were not spared j they were entirely devastated, 
 and only escaped conflagration because their 
 situation in the interior of their communes en- 
 dangered other buildings. The inhabitants of 
 these places, as well as those of Cournon, were 
 mercilessly persecuted and dragged to prison, 
 without authority, and although perfectly in- 
 nocent. 
 
 At the expiration of two years the inhabitants 
 of the commune of Villeveirac were compelled 
 to present the following petitions to the prefect 
 and the minister of the interior. 
 
ADDRESS TO THE PREFECT. 429 
 
 " Villeveirac, August 10. I8I7. 
 " M. Prefect, 
 
 " The undersigned inhabitants of the com- 
 mune of Villeveirac, have the honour to inform 
 you, that public order was again disturbed last 
 Sunday, (the 3d of August, 1817,) at ten 
 o'clock at night, by the same persons, who, dur- 
 ing the last twenty-five months, have committed 
 all kinds of mischief with perfect impunity. 
 A number of individuals, at the head of whom 
 were a lieutenant of the national guard, and a 
 standard-bearer, made a farandole in the streets, 
 to the sound of the drum, beaten by the drum- 
 mer of the national guard, and accompanied 
 with the most horrid cries ; they attacked several 
 citizens, and so beat and wounded them, that it 
 was with difficulty their lives were preserved. 
 — « We will have none of them ! not one of 
 them shall remain!' and similar well known 
 exclamations revealed their intentions. 
 
 " Reflect, Sir, on the series of calamities of 
 which we have been the miserable subjects for 
 twenty-five months, and you will perceive that 
 it will be worthy of your wisdom to terminate 
 our sufferings. Let it not be said, ' the temple 
 of justice is open to your complaints!' An at- 
 tempt to obtain justice would only ensure legal 
 impunity to the authors of the disorders ; espe- 
 cially when they have been committed under 
 the eyes of the authorities, by one part of the 
 population against another, without any mea- 
 sures being taken to repress the evils or prevent 
 
43ft. ADDRESS TO THE PREFECT. 
 
 their recurrence. Besides, by what means could 
 we support our prosecution ? If we produced 
 the testimony of the persons pillaged and per- 
 secuted, we should be told, such evidence was 
 partial and suspicious. If we appealed to mo- 
 derate men who groan at all these events, terror 
 would seal their lips. Must we then address 
 ourselves to the disturbers themselves ? certainly 
 this would be to afford them a double triumph. 
 " The house of M. Durge was broken open, 
 his windows destroyed, himself, his wife, and 
 his children obliged to climb the roof to save 
 themselves from murderers. The doors of Siau 
 and Reynaud demolished. The harvest of Casse 
 entirely ravaged. Nagarde, garde-champetre, 
 deprived of the use of his hands by blows of a 
 sickle ; Aaron Brousset, Jean Pons, the widow 
 Ricard, Antoine Sigale and his wife, Pierre 
 Jeantet, Jean Didac, and many other indivi- 
 duals, attacked, and dangerously wounded in the 
 fields and in the streets. The temple, where our 
 fathers worshipped God, profaned and devastat- 
 ed. Ourselves prevented from assembling to offer 
 the Father of mercies the worship that he claims. 
 Our minister insulted and menaced by the vilest 
 rabble, after having received from the mayor 
 (decorated with his scarf, and accompanied by 
 the national guard) the order to descend from 
 the pulpit of truth. Such is the analysis, Mons. 
 Prefect, of the atrocities under which we lan- 
 guish ; atrocities which the government has 
 known by public notoriety, and of which it has 
 
 l 7 
 
ADDRESS TO THE PREFECT. 431 
 
 been expressly informed by us, without having 
 afforded the smallest mitigation of our sufferings. 
 When the first officers of the judicial and admi- 
 nistrative police are inattentive to facts of which 
 they are perfectly informed, and which they 
 witness, would it be prudent in us to bring our 
 case before their tribunals ? How is it possible 
 to repress the audacity of the persecutors, when 
 they have for a shield the protection of their 
 leaders ? 
 
 " We might enlarge the statement of our 
 grievances. The son of the present mayor, 
 captain of the national guard, went through 
 the streets on the Sunday, and ordered the 
 most respectable citizens, with the most brutal 
 language, and horrid imprecations, to shut 
 themselves in their houses at four o'clock, on 
 pain of being shot. Since then, we have been 
 obliged to close our doors before sun-set. The 
 persecutors have also determined to appropriate 
 the parts of the heaths which we have pur- 
 chased : every day they grub them up j and if 
 we threaten them with the law on this subject, 
 in return, they threaten to burn us in our 
 houses. A party of the national guard formally 
 applied to one of the proprietors, as long ago 
 as last March, and assured him, that if he and 
 the other purchasers did not cede their rights, 
 they should never have peace in the village. 
 
 " Further, several members of the local con- 
 sistory, and two protestant ladies, were invited 
 by the mayor to a conference with him at the 
 
4*32 ADDRESS TO THE PREFECT. 
 
 mayoralty : he there proposed to them to cede 
 the protestant temple, for a communal house, 
 and promised that if they complied, he would 
 guarantee their tranquillity for the future. The 
 answer could not be doubtful : they told the 
 mayor, that the temple, having been purchased 
 for all the protestants, was common property ; 
 and that, belonging to every individual, they had 
 neither the power, nor the right to make the 
 cession. 
 
 " What painful reflections are suggested by 
 this rash and insulting proposition, when those 
 who ought to set a public example are the first 
 to trifle with all that is most sacred in morals, 
 by attempting to destroy the equal liberty of 
 worship guaranteed by the charter ! 
 
 " A powerful consideration has determined 
 us, M. Prefect, to remind you, on this occasion, 
 of the course of our sufferings. The persecu- 
 tors boast of their design to renew their horrible 
 conduct at an approaching period ; and experi- 
 ence has taught us that at the time of harvest 
 they always occasion disturbances, that they may 
 drive away the larger proprietors, and devas- 
 tate their lands, and seize the fruit of their in- 
 dustry. 
 
 " We hope, M. Prefect, that you will find in 
 your wisdom the means of preventing and ter- 
 minating such scandalous scenes. 
 
 " Signed by twenty-six of the inhabitants of 
 the commune, the most rated to the go- 
 vernment." 
 
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR. 433 
 
 The petition to the Prefect was enclosed in 
 a memorial addressed to the Minister of the 
 Interior. 
 
 1* Monsieur, 
 
 " We have the honour to enclose a copy of 
 the communication presented to the Prefect, the 
 10th of this month, containing a sketch of the 
 crimes which have afflicted a third of the popu- 
 lation of this commune since July, 1815. 
 
 " Of what are we accused ? « With having 
 
 * taken arms in defence of the usurper ?' His 
 appearance excited among us the same alarm 
 as in France in general. « With having sup- 
 ' pressed the enthusiasm of the people on the 
 
 * return of the king?' Our hopes have al- 
 ways equalled our submission. < With beinc 
 
 * dangerous persons interested in promoting dis- 
 
 * orders ?' The complainants are the citizens 
 the most heavily taxed, and the undersigned 
 pay the half of the whole land-tax of the 
 commune. Order, peace and justice, are es- 
 sential to their interests. 
 
 " The sentiments ascribed to us, are only de- 
 signed to sanction hatred and persecution. 
 The real cause of all our sufferings is our at- 
 tachment to the religion of our fathers. 
 
 " Not a single protestant is included in the 
 national guard. They are all disarmed, and 
 deprived even of their fowling-pieces and 
 walking-sticks. 
 
 " The commune furnishes six electors : //n 
 
 F F 
 
434 ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 are among the complainants to your Excel- 
 lency, one of whom pays as much in taxes as 
 all the present national guard. 
 
 " During twenty Jive months, our persons have 
 been the daily sport of the vilest of the popu- 
 lace. Our harvests have been plundered ; the 
 garde-champetre, deprived of the use of his 
 hands, and mangled with a sickle, has not 
 been replaced, on purpose that robberies, not 
 being legally proveable without his evidence, 
 might not be punished. 
 
 " Every thing has transpired under the eye 
 of the local authority, and the supreme au- 
 thority has been fully informed ; but nothing- 
 indicates the probable termination of our suf- 
 ferings. 
 
 " Is there, then, neither mercy nor security 
 lor us, who only ask to be permitted to live 
 under the protection of the laws, whose sub- 
 mission is sufficiently proved by unbroken 
 silence under all our sufferings ? who have 
 only resolved to complain at the foot of the 
 throne, when the excess of our calamities 
 makes us envy the Greeks the happiness they 
 enjoy under the iron yoke of the barbarous 
 Turks ? 
 
 " It is not punishment we solicit ; for such is 
 the organization of the machine in these un- 
 happy countries, that the punishment of rob- 
 bers and assassins would only be the signal for 
 more dreadful crimes ; we confine ourselves to 
 the following observations : — 
 
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR. 43,5 
 
 " 1. The action of the laws must be fettered 
 ,is long as those who ought to put them in force 
 are interested in the existing evils. 
 
 " 2. The protection of our persons and pro- 
 perty ought not to be confided to men without 
 consideration, or to wretches who have more 
 to gain by causing tumult than by maintaining 
 tranquillity. 
 
 " 3. The police of our towns and villages 
 ought not to be exercised by passionate, inter- 
 ested, or subservient men, actuated by principles 
 opposed to those which the government has 
 proclaimed as essential to general harmony. 
 
 " If these remarks are received as we hope, 
 your Excellency will enjoy the blessing of all 
 good men, and we shall remain, &c. &c." * 
 
 * Extracts from the Register of the Central Consistory 
 of the Reformed Church of Montpellier. 
 
 " November 12th, 1816. — The consistory assembled at 
 the usual time and place. The session was commenced by 
 prayer, M. Cazelle, pastor of the churches of Cette and 
 Villeveirac communicated an account of the events of last 
 Sunday, the details of which were contained in a letter ad- 
 dressed to the prefect. 
 
 " ' M. Prefect, < Montpellier, Nov. 12th, 1816. 
 
 " ' In consequence of the letter which I had the honour 
 to address to you on the 6th, I went last Sunday to Ville- 
 veirac, to lead the worship, which had been interrupted 
 during eighteen months. I had previously informed the 
 mayor of my intention, and he came from his country-liouse 
 at 10 o'clock on the Sunday morning. He then said, " Sir, 
 I shall take no responsibility. Bring a letter from the pre- 
 fect, and I give you my word, that having more power, I 
 will do all I can to preserve! tranquillity; but I wish you 
 
 i- V 2 
 
436 VILLEVEIRAC. 
 
 The complaints and the observations in these 
 memorials from Villeveirac were equally appli- 
 cable to other communes in the department. 
 
 would not come to disturb that which we now enjoy. Be- 
 sides, Sir, I am wholly unacquainted with you ; where are 
 your titles? There are but few protestants here, and is a 
 church necessary for such a handful ? However, you are 
 wise, act as you think proper." — I replied, that this lan- 
 guage did not much accord with his assurances of protec- 
 tion, — that I had invariably inculcated peace and union, — 
 that my past conduct was a pledge for the future, — that I 
 thought it incumbent on him as a magistrate to preserve the 
 peace, — and that if he did not know me, the members of 
 the consistory of Villeveirac would satisfy him as to who I 
 was. 
 
 " ' I proceeded to the temple, but scarcely had I begun 
 prayer, when the mayor appeared in costume, accompanied 
 by some national guards under arms, and exclaimed, 
 " M. Pastor, in the name of the law, I beg you will retire, 
 for there is already an uproar in the village." I instantly 
 obeyed ; but in descending from the pulpit, I exhorted my 
 flock to patience and resignation. I was the first to leave 
 the place, and I only saw two women in the street : I bowed 
 to them, and they returned the salutation. Every body 
 was then at high mass. Such is the true state of the case. 
 Accept, M. Prefect, the assurance of profound respect. 
 
 (Signed) " ' Cazelle, Pastor.' 
 
 " It was resolved, That the letter be presented to the 
 prefect by the pastor Cazelle, and a deputation of the con- 
 sistory, composed of M. Michel president, M. Lissignol 
 pastor, and MM. Mezille and Aubrespy ; and that a copy 
 be inserted in the register." 
 
 " December 27th, 1816. — The consistory assembled at 
 the usual time and place. The session was opened by 
 
MASSILLAIIGUES. 437 
 
 At MasstllargaeSj the strength of the pro- 
 testant population afforded some protection to 
 the members of that consistorial church ; for 
 
 prayer. M. Cazelle presented an address to the prefect, con- 
 taining the account of the occurrences at Villeveirac, De- 
 cember 19th. 
 
 " < M. Prefect, ' December 27th, 1816. 
 
 " < Authorized by his majesty Louis XVIIL, by your 
 letter of the 18th, and by a letter from the mayor of Ville- 
 veirac, I did not expect further opposition to the perform- 
 ance of my duty. The result has blasted my hopes. 
 
 " < In conformity with what you said, relative to the time 
 of worship, I wrote to the mayor to inform him, that we 
 were willing to meet between the two catholic masses ; and, 
 unless he advised to the contrary, fixed on nine o'clock in 
 the morning. I waited in vain for an answer ; and being re- 
 fused admission to the communal house, we repaired to 
 the temple at half-past nine. Before we went, shouts and 
 threats were heard from an adjoining public-house, where a 
 party was assembled ; as we proceeded they became louder; 
 and when we arrived they were more violent. It was parti- 
 cularly distressing to observe the infatuation of the people, 
 who mingled shouts of " Vive le Roi!" with their sanguinary 
 vociferations. Alarmed at the appearance of affairs, but 
 few ventured to meet, and we dispensed with a sermon. 
 Seven of us humbled ourselves before the Lord, and en- 
 treated him to protect us from the dangers by which we 
 were surrounded, and he did not forsake us. 
 
 " ' Emboldened by the silence of the mayor, the people 
 ran about the village, dancing to the sound of a drum, and 
 menacing the protestants, and especially the pastor. " Down 
 with the Huguenots !" " Down with the brigands !" " Down 
 with the temple, — they shall not go there !" " We will 
 murder him !" (speaking of the pastor,) resounded on every 
 side. All this occurred between the two masses. 
 
 F F 3 
 
438 MASSILLARGUES. 
 
 before they began their attacks, the persecutors 
 always took care to be superior to the perse- 
 cuted either in numerical or military force ; but. 
 
 " « The mayor went out and took away the drum-sticks; 
 but he did not attempt to disperse them, nor to silence 
 their horrid imprecations. Many of them belonged to the 
 national guard ; and among others there were the drummer 
 and ensign-bearers. — On returning home, I was endangered 
 by a Serjeant. Several protestants were ill treated, and the 
 tumult continued all the day, and the greater part of the 
 night. I submit this faithful recital to your justice and im- 
 partiality. 
 
 (Signed) " ' Cazelle, Pastor.' 
 
 " It was resolved, That the expose be adopted, and that 
 it be presented to the prefect by a deputation of the two 
 pastors, and two elders." 
 
 " February 28th, 1817. — The consistory assembled at the 
 usual time and place. The session was commenced by 
 prayer. 
 
 " The president read a letter from the consistory of 
 Cette, stating, that the consistory being informed from 
 unquestionable authority that its pastor could not visit 
 Villeveirac without imminent danger, and at the hazard of 
 his life, had resolved to oppose any visits in future from 
 the pastor, till order and security were restored and estab- 
 lished. 
 
 It was resolved, That a copy of the said communication 
 be sent to the prefect, and that the president address to 
 him, in the name of the consistory, the following letter. 
 " < M. Prefect, 
 
 " < The central consistory having this day considered a 
 letter addressed to me by the consistory of Cette, has de- 
 sired me to present you with a copy. You will see that 
 M. Cazelle cannot visit Villeveirac without rashly exposing 
 himself to the greatest danger. The consistory observes 
 
lunel. 4<sg 
 
 it was not exempt from the general calamity. 
 Lunel, a considerable town on the high road 
 from Nismes to Montpellier was frequently in- 
 
 with regret, that so long as the conduct of the authorities 
 is in opposition to the charter and the public safety, there 
 can be no security for the protestant worship. 
 
 " ' You had the goodness to assure us, that you had given 
 orders for the preservation of the peace on the day fixed 
 for our worship ; but allow us to inform you, that it is not a 
 temporary calm on a specified day, or partial measures, 
 that can ensure our security ; on the contrary, it is neces- 
 sary that whenever the duties of M. Gazelle summon him 
 to Villeveirac, he may enjoy the liberty and protection 
 which the law affords. Have the goodness, M. Prefect, to 
 honour me with an answer. I shall confidently expect this. 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) " ' Michel, Preses.' " 
 
 " March 26th, 1817. — The consistory assembled as usual : 
 the session was opened by prayer. No communication 
 being reported from the prefect, it was resolved, That the 
 following letter to the prefect be adopted and presented. 
 " ' M. Prefect, 
 
 " ' The central consistory yesterday expected the commu- 
 nication which you promised me in answer to the letter from 
 the consistory of the 28th of February. It is the more im- 
 portant, M. Prefect, to know what measures have been 
 taken to suppress the malevolent, as the attempt to mur- 
 der two protestants of Cournonteral on Sunday last appears 
 to be connected with what occurred at Villeveirac. Accounts 
 have reached us, on which we depend, but which we can- 
 not yet attest, stating, that some national guards of Ville- 
 veirac, among whom was one called Trestaillons, were seen 
 the same day at Cournonteral. Crimes unpunished ne- 
 cessarily produce others ; the evil extends, till it is difficult 
 to ascertain where it will stop. 
 
 F 1 1 
 
440 MONTAGNAC. 
 
 vaded, and the protestants, who are a small and 
 wealthy minority, were subjected to every 
 species of oppression. 
 
 The church of Montagnac had its full share 
 of the cup of affliction. The temples of Mon- 
 tagnac and Vallemangue were both devastated - y 
 and it was only the contiguity of the property 
 of good catholics, which prevented the destruc- 
 tion of those buildings by fire.. 
 
 Such was the violence of the persecution at 
 Montagnac, that the loss sustained by M. Ca- 
 zelle, a protestant related to the pastor of 
 Villeveirac, amounted to sixty thousand francs, 
 or two thousand Jive hundred pounds sterling. 
 
 The existence of animosity and persecution 
 in towns and departments still more distant 
 from Nismes, the metropolis of protestantism, 
 might easily be described ; but enough has been 
 recorded for the ends of justice. 
 
 After the review which the two last chapters 
 have afforded, it can no longer be imagined, 
 
 " ' Be pleased, M. Prefect, to answer us as soon as possible, 
 and relieve us from the perplexity your silence has occa- 
 sioned. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) " * Michel, Preses.' " 
 
 From the specimen which these extracts furnish, it will 
 be seen that the statements in this work are not collected 
 from vague reports, — that the trouble and anxiety of the 
 protestants was incalculable, — that their conduct was regu- 
 lar and dignified, and that the spirit of the magistrates wa* 
 onu of the principal causes of their protracted sufferings. 
 
REFLECTIONS. 141 
 
 that the calamities which the protestants en- 
 dured were either the temporary ebullitions of 
 angry mobs, or the local collisions of particular 
 interests. The British reader will not think of 
 comparing them with the riots of London, or 
 the conflagrations of Birmingham ; and the in- 
 habitants of the continent, where the govern- 
 ments are absolute, and popular movements 
 seldom witnessed, will know that such events 
 could not have been prolonged for many months, 
 and even for years, over a vast extent of coun- 
 try, without systematic and powerful support in 
 the higher departments of the state. 
 
 Since the two last chapters were printed, 
 Lavie, one of the murderers of Hermet of Mil- 
 haud, (see p. 295) has been tried and condemned. 
 Several of the witnesses, as Chastellier, the mayor, 
 and Cambon, captain of the national guard, were 
 partizans of the banditti, and of course in their 
 examination they endeavoured to suppress every 
 fact that might criminate themselves as well as 
 the prisoner. But the whole evidence produced 
 by the procureur-general confirms the correct- 
 ness of the history contained in this work, and 
 even proves that the accounts furnished by the 
 protestants, so far from being exaggerated, are 
 below the truth. For these reasons, and as 
 they concern the rural communes of the 
 arrondissement of Nismes, these important legal 
 proceedings are recorded in this place. 
 
 7 
 
112 TRIAL OF LAVIE 
 
 The cause was removed, by the court of 
 cassation, from the department of the Gard to 
 the department of Puy de Dome, on the ground 
 of suspicion legitime, and afterwards, on the 
 application of the prisoner, to the department 
 of the Aude. 
 
 The trial commenced December 7th, 1820, 
 before the cour d' Assises of the Aude. The 
 procureur general of Nismes was the pro- 
 secutor. 
 
 Thirty-six witnesses were subpoenaed by the 
 procureur general. The prisoner produced 
 none in his defence. The first witness, M. 
 Chastellier, mayor of Milhaud in 1815, deposed, 
 that, in the night of the 20th of August, a band 
 of 25 or 30 armed men came into the com- 
 mune and demanded so many heads, or 10,000 
 francs ; that he told them, there were no 
 Buonapartists, and the sum they asked was 
 too great ; and that after providing them with 
 food, he pretended to go and fetch some mo- 
 ney. To several questions from the president, 
 the witness replied, that some days after, it 
 was said in the commune, that Lavie was the 
 chief of the band ; that he did not know how 
 much money was given to the banditti, nor 
 on whom it was levied ; that Cambon, captain 
 of the national guard, was charged with the 
 remittance \ that he was ignorant where, or to 
 whom it was paid ; and finally that the superior 
 authorities had never required from him, any 
 information of what passed in his commune. 
 
FOB UIl: MURDER OF HERMET. 443 
 
 When confronted with the accused, the wit- 
 ness thought he was about the same height 
 and figure as the chief of the band. 
 
 The second witness, Cambon, captain of the 
 national guard, deposed to similar facts, and 
 added that a band of about 80 men attacked 
 the house of M. Pecherol, and was with great 
 difficulty induced to retire, by the promise of 
 money. That the next morning, furnished 
 with the stipulated contribution, he went to 
 Nismes, but about 100 yards before he reached 
 the town, he met eight or ten persons, who 
 told him, they had begun to suspect he would 
 not bring the money, and that then they 
 should have returned to Milhaud at night. He 
 also declared that he neither knew where, nor 
 to whom he was to pay the money ; that he 
 dared not reveal the circumstance to the au- 
 thorities ; and that although he had negotiated 
 with the brigands, he could not recognize one 
 individual ! 
 
 Deveze, the third witness, was deputy mayor 
 of Uchaud in 1815. The 20th of August, two 
 bands, one of 300, and the other of 600, pre- 
 sented themselves at one o'clock in the morning. 
 The first, composed principally of persons in 
 the national guard, produced a list, and de- 
 manded the heads of 12 inhabitants, or 
 10,000 francs. They agreed finally to take 
 1,200, and were paid by the twelve proscribed 
 persons. The second band made the same 
 demand, and received 1,500 francs. The men 
 
444 TRIAL OF LA VIE 
 
 were arranged in ranks under the walls of* the 
 church. Lavie was one of the chiefs, and 
 the murderer of Hermet. 
 
 Lienard of Bernis, aged 65 years, was the 
 fourth witness. He passed over several other 
 invasions. On the 20th of August, some bri- 
 gands broke open his gate, and entered his 
 court ; one of them cried " In the corridor, 
 the last door on the left. ,, This was the 
 chamber in which he slept ; he was surrounded 
 by all his family. They attempted to force the 
 door ; he opened it, and instantly the prisoner 
 and Coussin, of Nismes, put their sabres to his 
 breast, and demanded 4000 francs. " I have 
 no more money,' ' said he, " You know TrestaiU 
 Ions has visited me already." The prisoner 
 then exclaimed, " Very well, he must be served 
 as I served him at Milhaud," and he was drag- 
 ged into the corridor. His daughter, Emilie, 
 rushed between the murderers and her father, 
 and offered her life to save his. This noble 
 devotedness disconcerted the wretches. They 
 overran the apartments, pillaged or broke all 
 they could find, packed their booty in sacks and 
 petticoats, set the house on fire, and retired. 
 One of them forgot his musquet, and a comrade 
 finding it, denounced M. Lienard to the autho- 
 rities for having arms concealed in his house ; 
 and the next day, he was obliged to justify him- 
 self before the mayor. The band went through 
 the commune, and exacted from the inhabitants 
 6000 francs, which were paid by the municipal 
 
FOR THE MURDER OF HERMET. 445 
 
 council. — Emilie, daughter of the witness, was 
 called, and on entering the hall, and beholding 
 the murderer of her father, fainted; her evidence 
 could hardly be heard for sobs ; and when she 
 related the fact of her saving her father's life, 
 she fainted the second time and fell into his 
 arms. 
 
 Louis Arnaud, 60 years of age, w r as the sixth 
 witness. In the middle of the night his house 
 was attacked. Coussin attempted to shoot him, 
 but his musquet missing fire, the prisoner said 
 " I will kill him with the fusil that shot him 
 of Milhaud. ,, His shutters were pierced with 
 ball. He opened his door ; six bayonets were 
 at his breast ; they told him to make haste and 
 say his prayers. " I have said them," he re- 
 plied, and opening his waistcoat, exclaimed, 
 " Fire, and do not make me suffer." Three of 
 them forced him to borrow money of his neigh- 
 bours ; while the others plundered his house 
 and took 200 francs, which they found on the 
 premises. 
 
 Soulier, the presentmayor of Milhaud, deposed 
 that the banditti told the late mayor that they 
 did not come without orders, and gave him at the 
 same time a list of the persons by whom the 
 money demanded was to be paid. 
 
 Brun assisted to remove the body of Hermet, 
 and observed five wounds. A few days after, 
 he met the prisoner armed with a musket and 
 sabre, who told him that he was hunting the 
 Christians. 
 
440' TRIAL OF LA VIE 
 
 The widow of Hermet, who was the next 
 witness, requested not to see the culprit. She 
 deposed that the protestants having heard 
 they were to be massacred at night, fled into 
 the country. In the confusion she was separated 
 from her husband ; her friends allayed her fears 
 by telling her that he was among the numerous 
 protestants who were scattered over the commune. 
 Returning into the village the next morning, 
 she found the dead body of her husband, in her 
 home. The deputy mayor told her that the 
 chief of the band had given a list of nine per- 
 sons to the mayor, assuring him that they did 
 not come without orders. Her evidence was 
 frequently interrupted by her sobs, and the 
 tears of the audience. The emotion was in- 
 creased, when the afflicted widow presented the 
 vest and hat of her husband, which she had 
 religiously preserved. * 
 
 Henry, shoe-maker of Milhaud, w r as the fif- 
 teenth witness. He was at Nismes in the dress 
 of the national guard, when a gendarme took 
 him into a public-house, where a party was 
 preparing for a descent on Milhaud. They 
 proposed to him to join them, and on his re- 
 fusal they upbraided him with not being a good 
 royalist : " Vous n'etespas done bon royalist." — 
 He replied " Je le suis, mats non pourfaire le 
 mat." 
 
 * Hermet was the chanteur of the protestant temple, and 
 one of his pastors assured the author, that he was an ex- 
 ample of gentleness, piety and zeal. 
 
FOR THE MURDER OF IIERMET. 447 
 
 Cros, another witness, proved that Cambon, 
 captain of the national guard, had sought in 
 several public-houses in Nismes, the persons to 
 whom he was to pay the contribution, and at 
 last gave it to Cadet. 
 
 Polge, inn-keeper, of Milkaud, deposed, that 
 after the murder of Hermet, three individuals 
 came to sup at his house ; that Cambon, captain 
 of the national guard, recommended him to 
 give them all they wished, but not to take any 
 money, as he would engage to see him paid. 
 He reluctantly acknowledged that Lavie was 
 one of the principal criminals. 
 
 Anne Mazel described the murder and de- 
 vastation which occurred, and stated that her 
 husband, being one of the proscribed, paid his 
 share of the 600 francs, out of which the mayor 
 repaid himself the ten napoleons he had advanced 
 the night before. 
 
 The widow Bres, of slubord, declared, that 
 the day after the murder some brigands came 
 to her house, and demanded refreshment ; that 
 the prisoner boasted of having committed the 
 murder, placed his sword, stained with blood, 
 on the table, and told her she would run no 
 danger, because she was protected by the ca- 
 tholics. They left at her house several sacks 
 filled with linen, &c. 
 
 Francis Valentin, of Milhaud, had known 
 the prisoner for thirty years. The day after 
 the murder he told him, " It is I who com- 
 mand in Milhaud ; I am master of the village; 
 
44S CONDEMNATION OF LAVIE. 
 
 I will answer for you, but I have a list of 
 twenty-seven names." 
 
 Jeanne Paul met the prisoner one day in the 
 country, with his arms ; and, on asking him 
 where he was going, he replied, " We are going 
 to hunt the Christians as much as *we ca?i." — 
 Nous allons a la chasse des Chretiens tant que 
 nous pouvons. * 
 
 She received several visits from the prisoner, 
 who wished to see her husband ; but, fearing 
 for his life, she sought the protection of Cam- 
 bon, captain of the national guard. Cambon re- 
 plied, " Lavie comes on purpose to kill him : I 
 cannot save him ; though he may attempt to 
 escape ; he is a dead man ; his life hangs by a 
 thread." 
 
 The prisoner was found guilty of robbery and 
 murder, and condemned to death. 
 
 * In patois, " Anan a la easso d'aon chrestian tant que 
 pouden." 
 
440 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 STATE OF NISMES IN OCTOBEK, 1815. HOUSES DEVASTATED. 
 
 MASSACRE OF THE 16TH. M. DURAND's ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE MURDER OF LICHAIRE. EVIDENCE ON THE TRIAL 
 
 OF SERVANT, NOVEMBER 25. 1819. MURDER OF LAFOND. 
 
 TRESTAILLONS ARRESTED BY GENERAL LAGARDE. 
 
 CONDUCT OF THF PREFECT. FETE IN HONOUR OF THE 
 
 DUKE D'ANGOULEME. TUMULT IN THE CHAMBER OF 
 
 DEPUTIES ON M. D'ARGENSON's SPEECH. — THE DUKE 
 D'ANGOULEME AT NISMES. LIBERATION OF TRESTAIL- 
 LONS DEMANDED. ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE PROTESTANT 
 
 TEMPLE. DREADFUL OUTRAGE. GENERAL LAGARDE 
 
 SHOT. PROTESTANTS KILLED AND WOUNDED. — TEMPLE 
 
 RAVAGED. PROCLAMATIONS. RETURN OF THE DUKE 
 
 D'ANGOULEME. INTERVIEW WITH THE CONSISTORY. 
 
 LETTER OF THE DEPUTIES OF THE GARD. ROYAL OR- 
 
 DONNANCE. PARTIALITY OF THE MAGISTRATES. THE 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY OF DECEMBER. PROTESTANTS ATTACKED 
 
 IN THE COUNTRY. STATE OF THE PRISONS. CON- 
 VERSIONS. BAPTISMS. — LETTER OF CAMBON. LET- 
 TER OF M. JUILLERAT. TEMPLE OPENED 21ST DECEMBER. 
 
 PROTESTANTS FORCED TO CONCEDE THEIR TWO TEMPLES. 
 
 PROCLAMATION OF THE MAYOR. CONDUCT OF THE 
 
 PREFECT. HISTORY OF THE TEMPLES. CONDUCT OF 
 
 THE CONSISTORY. LETTER OF THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME. 
 
 WORSHIP CELEBRATED. PERSECUTION AT SOMMI- 
 
 ERES ON CHRISTMAS DAY. M. MOUNIER ATTACKED. 
 
 While the obscure and remote communes 
 of the department suffered every species of 
 persecution, it can hardly be supposed that 
 
 G G 
 
450 STATE OF NISMES. 
 
 Nismes enjoyed peace and security. In order 
 to trace more distinctly the course of events 
 in the several arrondissemens, the history has 
 advanced in the two last chapters beyond the 
 date of the occurrences at Nismes. The state 
 of that city has only been described to the end 
 of September, and it will therefore be necessary 
 to return to that period. 
 
 October commenced without any improve- 
 ment in the principles or the measures of the 
 government ; and its progress was marked by 
 the increasing disorder of ■ the people.' After 
 a few days of apparent calm, which was merely 
 the lassitude occasioned by exhaustion, pillage 
 and murder were renewed with fresh rigour 
 and audacity. Several houses in the Quartier 
 St. Charles were sacked, and the wrecks were 
 collected and burnt in the street, amidst songs, 
 dances, and shouts of " Vive le Roil" The 
 mayor appeared, but the joyous multitude pre- 
 tended not to know him ; and when he ventured 
 for once to remonstrate, they told him that his 
 presence was not needed, and that he might 
 retire. 
 
 Encouraged by the inactivity of the magi- 
 strates, and the timidity of the persecuted, the 
 populace became still more outrageous. On 
 the 14th of October the protestant gardeners, 
 who had returned to their homes in the fau- 
 bourgs, on the faith of promises and procla- 
 mations, were attacked, plundered, and on the 
 point of being murdered. Similar assaults were 
 
HOUSES DEVASTATED. 451 
 
 made on the protestants in the city ; and fifteen 
 houses were pillaged in honour of religion and 
 loyalty. The following day the protestants, of 
 whatever class, sex, or age, could not appear 
 in the streets without danger ; — they looked 
 forward to the night with dreadful forebodings. 
 The scenes that occurred would have been 
 thought horrid in other countries, and even in 
 France in other times : but every thing is com- 
 parative ; and the protestants were so accus- 
 tomed to bloodshed, that they congratulated 
 themselves that they had only to suffer heavy 
 ransoms, and plunder, terror, and alarm. The 
 morning exhibited the royalists publicly shar- 
 ing their spoils, and collecting, for confla- 
 gration, what they were not disposed to ap- 
 propriate. During the day (16th), every pre- 
 paration announced a night of carnage : orders 
 for assembling, and signals for attack, were cir- 
 culated with regularity and confidence. Tres- 
 taillons reviewed his satellites, and stimulated 
 them to the crimes he wished them to per- 
 petrate. It is known that with one of these 
 wretches he held the following conversation : — 
 
 " If all the protestants, without one exception, 
 are to be killed, I will cheerfully join ; but, as 
 you have so often deceived me in our expe- 
 ditions, unless they are all to go, I will not stir." 
 
 " Come along, then, said Trestaillons, for this 
 time not a single man shall escape." 
 
 It is also known that arrangements were 
 made to fulfil to the letter this horrible promise. 
 g G l 2 
 
i-.-y2 .MASSACRE OF THE KJTII OCTOBER. 
 
 Eight hundred men, divided into bands, were to 
 have gone through the faubourgs. On a certain 
 signal they were to have been joined bv their 
 partizans from the country ; and then the mas- 
 sacre was to have commenced: — a massacre, 
 in which a catholic, giving an asylum to a pro- 
 testant, was to be treated as a protestant. On 
 the part of the magistrates, or the commissaries 
 of police, not the slightest precaution appears to 
 have been taken, nor even the smallest attention 
 to have been paid to the proceedings of the 
 conspirators : they all retired to rest, certain of 
 their own safety, and leaving the city to the 
 mercy and discretion of hundreds of accom- 
 plished murderers. General La Garde, com- 
 mandant of the department, alone offered seri- 
 ous and timely opposition to the bloody enter- 
 prise ; and, as he could only be informed by 
 the civil authorities, he was not aware of the ex- 
 tent of the danger. At ten o'clock he perceived 
 the dreadful truth, and felt that not a moment 
 was to be lost. Crowds were advancing by the 
 faubourg de Sauve and the Cours Neuf; the 
 streets were filled with ruffians, uttering the 
 most horrid imprecations ; the dwellings of 
 citizens who professed religious opinions for 
 which they were only accountable to God, were 
 broken open and ravaged ; shrieks of anguish 
 and despair were heard from the tops of the 
 houses, where, as a last resort, many had taken 
 refuge ; and the frequent reports of fire-arms 
 .announced the march and the triumph of crime. 
 
M. durand's account, &c. 4.53 
 
 The generate sounded at eleven o'clock, and 
 added to the confusion which was now spread- 
 ing through the city. A few troops rallied 
 round the Count La Garde, who was wrung 
 with distress at the height at which the evil had 
 arrived. 
 
 It is impossible to describe or imagine the 
 horror of the scene. M. Durand, an advocate, 
 a catholic, and son of the architect to the de- 
 partment, has given the following account of 
 what transpired under his own eye : — 
 
 " It was near midnight ; my wife, who had 
 retired to bed, was just falling asleep, and I was 
 writing by her side, when we were disturbed by 
 a distant noise. It appeared as though the drums 
 beat the generate, and crossed the town in every 
 direction. My wife, in alarm, enquired what 
 all this could mean ; and, in order to allay her 
 apprehensions, I replied that it probably an- 
 nounced the arrival or departure of some troops 
 of the garrison. But firing and shouts were im- 
 mediately audible ; and, on opening my window, 
 1 distinguished horrible imprecations, mingled 
 with cries of " Vive le Roi /" I roused an officer 
 who lodged in the house, and M. Chancel, 
 director of the public works. We went out to- 
 gether, and gained the boulevarde. The moon 
 shone bright, and every object was nearly as dis- 
 tinct as in the day. A furious crowd was press- 
 ing on, vowing extermination, and the greater 
 part half naked, armed with muskets, knives, 
 sticks, and sabres. I enquired repeatedly the 
 g g 3 
 
454 m. durand's account of 
 
 history of the tumult, and was informed 'that 
 the massacre was general, and that in the fau- 
 bourgs several were already killed.' M. Chancel 
 retired to put on his uniform, as captain of the 
 pompiers ; the officer repaired to the barracks ; 
 and, anxious for my wife, I returned home. By 
 the noise I was convinced that persons followed : 
 I crept along in the shadow of the wall, opened 
 my door, entered and closed it, leaving, how- 
 ever, a small aperture, that, unperceived, I 
 might watch the movements of the party, whose 
 arms shone in the moonlight. In a few mo- 
 ments some armed men appeared, conducting a 
 prisoner to the very spot where I was concealed. 
 At this I was not surprised, as, for some time 
 past, any brigand had the right to seize and im- 
 prison a citizen, without any authority but his 
 own will. They stopped. I now shut gently 
 the door ; but, being unwilling to lose sight of 
 the party, I mounted an alder-tree, planted 
 against the wall of the garden. The foliage 
 covered me ; I looked over the top of the wall ; 
 and what a scene ! — the mere recollection chills 
 me with horror. A man, on his knees, implored 
 mercy from wretches who mocked his agony, 
 and loaded him with abuse. ' In the name of 
 my wife and children,' said he, * spare me ! — 
 what have I done? — why would you murder 
 me for nothing?' — A cold sweat stood on my 
 forehead : my agitation was insupportable ; and 
 though a hundred fiends would have beset my 
 house in an instant, and 1 was alone to defend 
 
THE MURDER OF LICIIA1RE. 455 
 
 my wife and family, I was on the point of cry- 
 ing out. and menacing the murderers with ven- 
 geance. I had not long to deliberate : the dis- 
 charge of several fusils terminated my suspense ; 
 and the unhappy supplicant, struck in the loins 
 and the head, fell, to rise no more. The assasins 
 were in the shade under the wall ; and their 
 backs were turned towards the tree. Of course 
 I could not recognize them ; and they imme- 
 diately retired, reloading their pieces. 
 
 " I descended, and approached the dying 
 man. I found him in his blood, disfigured, and 
 tittering deep and dismal groans. At first I 
 thought of carrying him into the house ; but I 
 perceived that his wounds were mortal, and I 
 remembered that his removal w r ould designate 
 my house to his murderers. Some national 
 guards arrived at the moment, and I again re- 
 tired, closed the door, and listened. ' What do 
 I see?' said one, c a dead man !' — 'He sings 
 still,' said another, (some groans escaped the 
 sufferer in the agonies of death.)— * They have 
 tickled him/ said a third, ' and that is not amiss ; 
 but it will be better to finish him, and put an 
 end to his misery.' — Five or six muskets were 
 instantly fired — the groans ceased. 
 
 " Should any refuse to believe such compli- 
 cated horrors, I can excuse their incredulity. 
 1 witnessed them, and yet I am frequently obliged 
 to assure myself that all was not a dream. The 
 next morning, from the break of day, I began to 
 send to all the commissaries of police for au> 
 G£ 4 
 
456 EVIDENCE ON THE 
 
 thority to remove the body to the hospital. 
 Some of these gentlemen were in bed, and others 
 were out. At length, by dint of application, 
 about eleven o'clock, I received the permission. 
 One word more ; and 1 shudder while I write. 
 Crowds came to inspect and to insult the de- 
 ceased. The day after a massacre was always 
 observed as a sort of fete: every occupation was 
 left to go and gaze upon the victims. A wretch, 
 who wished to gratify ' the people,' took the pipe 
 from his own mouth, and placed it in the mouth 
 of the corpse. The jokes and merriment of 
 the spectators rewarded the exertions of this 
 friend of « the altar and the throne.' All this I 
 saw." 
 
 It was the death of Louis Lichaire, the father 
 of four children, that M. Durand witnessed. 
 Four years after the event, (Nov. 25. 1819,) the 
 writer verified this account by his oath, on the 
 trial of Servant, one of the murderers. The de- 
 positions of other witnesses, and the whole pro- 
 ceedings of that trial, are so illustrative of the 
 history of the period, that they ought not to be 
 entirely omitted in the relation of the occur- 
 rences of the night of the 16th of October. 
 
 The first witness lived in the same house as 
 the deceased. After the generale was beaten, 
 violent and repeated knocks at the door were 
 heard, and admission was demanded in the name 
 of the king. The real object of their search 
 was the nephew ; but they determined to have 
 a victim, and they ordered Lichaire, the uncle, 
 
TRIAL OF SERVANT. 4.57 
 
 to descend. He hesitated, and one of the 
 party levelled his musket. The wife sprang 
 forward, and turned aside the muzzle. Resist- 
 ance was useless : they led Lichaire out of his 
 house. His wife attempted to follow, but was 
 compelled to return. They had not proceeded 
 far when they shot their prisoner, near the resi- 
 dence of M. Durand. 
 
 Third witness. " I heard the report of fire- 
 arms, and, with my nephew, ran to the spot. 
 Lichaire was lying on the ground, and had 
 covered his face. I spoke to him, but received 
 no answer : a patrole approached, and I retired. 
 They immediately fired at Lichaire, and finished 
 the business." 
 
 A juryman. " Why did you not call to this 
 patrole of national guards for assistance ?" — 
 Witness. " Because there were all sorts of men 
 in the guard." 
 
 A juryman. " Was this patrole ordered by the 
 magistrates ?" — Witness. " No." 
 
 The President. " Were there any protestants 
 in the national guard ?" — Witness. " No." 
 
 Fifth witness. " I heard one of the national 
 
 guard say, ' This b has a life like a cat : 
 
 they have begun, and I will render him the last 
 service.' " 
 
 Sixth witness. '« I was in bed, but got up 
 and went out. After the murder of Lichaire, 
 one of the murderers came up to me, struck me 
 on the shoulder, and said, * All persons without 
 
458 EVIDENCE OX THE 
 
 arms ought to put out their lights, and go in 
 doors.' " 
 
 The Procureur-general. " Why were not you 
 in the national guard?" — Witness. " Because 
 I am a protestant." 
 
 Seventh witness. " One of the party told 
 me that the deceased threw himself on his 
 neck, and entreated him to save him ; but that, 
 in spite of his good-will, he could not, without 
 compromising himself. ,, 
 
 The Procureur-General. " Were you in the 
 national guard ?" — Witness. " I was before the 
 troubles : but I was excluded as a protestant." 
 
 Thirteenth witness. " Being asked, whether 
 no assistance was offered the dying man, re- 
 plied, * The women danced a farandole round 
 him, but nobody gave him any succour.' " 
 
 The President. " Prisoner, there are three 
 persons who distinctly recognize you." 
 
 Prisoner. " If they were at Nismes they dare 
 not say this" — There was a general burst of in- 
 dignation from the audience. The trial took 
 place at Riom, in the department of Puy de 
 Dome. 
 
 Marie Theron. " I was awoke by the drums, 
 and saw a patrole of national guards, among 
 whom was the prisoner. They knocked at my 
 door, and demanded my father and my hus- 
 band. A catholic neighbour observed them 
 from the window, and the prisoner exclaimed, 
 6 Retire, or I will blow out your brains.' " 
 
 Anne Sauze. " About midnight, Servant, the 
 
TRIAL OF SERVANT. 059 
 
 prisoner, fired a musket at me, and wounded me 
 in the head and the breast. He entered my house, 
 with several others, to search for my husband j 
 and not rinding him, they robbed the house." 
 
 Saussine. " One of the assassins told me, 
 that he was called to join by Trestaillons, who 
 furnished him with a carbine and twenty-two 
 cartridges.' ' 
 
 Anne Formentin. " The prisoner met me, 
 and said, ' I want to go into your house ; where 
 is the villain your husband ?' He is out, I re- 
 plied, and has taken the key. < Let us go some 
 where that I may speak to you.' We went to 
 a distance. * Your husband owes me eighteen 
 francs,' said he. ' Well if he does, he will pay 
 you.' « Yes, whether he does or not, I will have 
 them/ and presenting a pistol, he added, ' your 
 head depends on it.' I demanded time, and 
 sold my silver hook for three crowns, of six 
 francs each, but the prisoner would not have 
 them without the twelve sous, lost on the coin." 
 The counsel for the prisoner, after some re- 
 marks on the facts, exclaimed, " All this is said 
 to have occurred at Nismes. Nismes has magi- 
 strates of the highest rank. Where were they in 
 the moment of disorder ? Where were the pre- 
 fect, the mayor, the judge of the peace, the 
 commissaries of police ? — The indictment does 
 not inform us. Was there a legal armed force ? 
 Was there any sedition ? — No answer. What 
 extraordinary silence ! What did the authorities 
 in these circumstances ? I have a right to say 
 
4()0 EVIDENCE ON THE TRIAL OF SERVANT. 
 
 to these magistrates, * The generale sounds, 
 bands assemble, they carry the arms you have 
 put into their hands, they wear the uniform you 
 have authorised them to wear, and you are re- 
 sponsible for the result ; but you cannot speak.' 
 The prisoner had no private quarrel to avenge, 
 there was no jealousy between him and the de- 
 ceased as workmen, for they were not of the 
 same trade. The generate beat, he was a na- 
 tional guard : it was his duty to be at his post. 
 Was he armed ? the drum called him to arms. 
 Was he in a party ? it was a patrole of the 
 guard. I repeat, then, that the authorities alone 
 were able to prevent all that passed, and for 
 crimes so great and so numerous, after the lapse 
 of four years, ought such an obscure and miser- 
 able victim to be selected ?" 
 
 The procureur-general justified the silence 
 of the widow since 1815. " Her silence," said 
 he, " was inevitable, for during that period the 
 administration of the laws and of justice seemed 
 to be annihilated." — " My accusation of the 
 authorities is then supported by the procureur 
 general," replied the counsel for the prisoner. 
 " He has conceded that for four years it was 
 not possible for a widow to prosecute the mur- 
 derers of her husband." 
 
 The president in his address to the jury gave 
 a paternal exhortation to the protectant witnesses. 
 " Be assured," said he, " that the administration 
 will always protect you, and that in the heart of 
 the king, as well as in the constitution which he 
 
MURDER OF LA10XD. 4<6l 
 
 has given the country, all Frenchmen are catho- 
 lics. I am grieved, as well as the advocates, at 
 the silence of the authorities at that epoch, and 
 I can only account for this silence, and the ab- 
 sence of a proces verbal, by the fright which 
 such crimes might have occasioned them." 
 
 Whatever was the cause of the inaction of 
 the magistrates, it is certain that it was General 
 La Garde alone who seriously and firmly 
 attempted to check the progress of the deso- 
 lation, and that the magistrates favoured the 
 criminals whom he arrested, and justified the 
 murders he endeavoured to prevent. 
 
 Among the slain was the Sieur Lafond, a 
 bachelor, sixty-six years of age, perfectly retired 
 in his habits, and estranged from all political 
 affairs. This old man lived alone, on a ground 
 floor, in a little garden on the Cours Neuf : he 
 was a protestant, and had saved some money. 
 His door was burst open, and the report of two 
 muskets which were fired at him was heard by 
 the whole neighbourhood, and collected a crowd. 
 His dead body was brutally treated, and his 
 house was plundered, 
 
 M. D'Arbaud Jouques, the prefect, has pub- 
 lished a statement of this event, as false as it is 
 improbable. 
 
 " This solitary old man," he says, "mounted 
 by a ladder to a little window, fired a musket and 
 a pistol on a patrole who passed on the other 
 side of the Cours, and uttered, with the grossest 
 abuse of the royalists, cries of Vive I'Empereur I 
 
402 MURDER OF LAFOND. 
 
 An irritated mob was collected: the people broke 
 open the door, and killed Lafond in his apart- 
 ment ; but left the premises untouched." 
 
 The murderers could not have desired or 
 have composed a better defence. The peaceable 
 Lafond, wantonly attacked and killed, is con- 
 verted by the prefect of the department into 
 an assassin, a rebel, and an active and sturdy 
 champion. His butchers are described as loyal 
 and harmless citizens, acting in defence of their 
 own lives, and the authority of the king. But 
 nothing can surprise from the pen of a prefect, 
 who has had the effrontery to declare to the 
 world, that a protestant burnt alive was not a 
 protestant, but a catholic. 
 
 The chief magistrate did not confine his good 
 offices to written apologies. In the same night 
 an officer was dispatched with a dozen men to 
 save the remains of a house that was being pil- 
 laged by the populace. Maurin was arrested as 
 he was coming out of the door loaded with 
 booty ; several others were made prisoners, and 
 their comrades fled: but the fewness of the 
 military was no sooner ascertained, than * the 
 people' rallied and attacked them with fixed 
 bayonets. The soldiers were overpowered : the 
 officer was already in the hands of the assailants, 
 and shouts of ' Kill him, kill him !' announced 
 his fate, when a reinforcement opportunely 
 arrived. Maurin escaped, but was retaken and 
 conducted with the other prisoners, under a 
 strong escort, to the citadel. .What was the 
 
TRESTAILLONS ARRESTED. 463 
 
 result ? Maurin and several of his accomplices 
 taken in the very act of plunder, and concerned 
 in an attack on a royal officer acting in discharge 
 of his duty, were set at liberty by the prefect, 
 M. d'Arbaud Jonques, accompanied by a judge 
 and the commissaries of police. At that moment 
 the prisons were crowded with innocent and 
 respectable protestants, who had been seized by 
 Trestaillons, and confined without any warrant 
 or any specific charge. 
 
 It was some hours past midnight : the firm- 
 ness and activity of the general had disconcerted 
 the conspirators, but the storm still raged, and 
 lie determined to arrest some of the chiefs of the 
 insurrection. 
 
 Trestaillons was on the Cours Neuf with an 
 immense crowd. Some officers of the disbanded 
 army offered to execute the orders of the general. 
 The terrible chief was surrounded with his 
 agents : he had a sword by his side, two pistols 
 in his girdle, and a carbine slung over his 
 shoulder. To disguise their intentions, the 
 officers as they approached, shouted * Vive le 
 Rot /' They plunged into the midst of ' the 
 people,' in an instant secured the hands and 
 the weapons of the hero, and marched him off 
 to the commandant. On his arrival he expressed 
 his indignation that a man ennobled by so many 
 loyal murders should be thus ill treated and 
 disarmed, and threatened with signal vengeance 
 the soldiers who had dared to arrest him. The 
 fury of the populace rendered his detention in 
 
4()4> ATTACK ON CIIABRIER. 
 
 the prisons of Nismes difficult and dangerous, 
 and the general took the precaution to remove 
 him immediately to MontpelHer, in a post-car- 
 riage, and under a strong escort. 
 
 The day dawned, and the sun arose on the 
 continuance of the disorders. It was eight 
 o'clock, when a sanguinary horde broke into 
 the house of Chabrier, a silk-weaver. He had 
 lately returned to his home, on the assurance of 
 delusive promises, and supposing that the miseries 
 of Nismes were immediately to terminate. On 
 the approach of the savage mob, he fled and 
 took refuge with a neighbour. No asylum was 
 sacred : the first of his pursuers who reached 
 him plunged a bayonet in his thigh, and threw 
 him over the staircase — others dragged him into 
 a stable, and after giving him numerous stabs, 
 they left him for dead. When his murderers 
 were gone, he was removed on a hurdle to the 
 hospital, and contrary to all probability he re- 
 covered, though with the certainty of being a 
 cripple, and incapable of labour all his days. 
 During these frightful scenes, the life of the 
 general was several times endangered : several 
 of the officers also displayed an intrepidity to 
 be expected from those who had served in the 
 most desperate campaigns, and which was ne- 
 cessary to awe ruffians so long accustomed to 
 success. M. Durand mentions that M. Lie- 
 baber, chef d'escadron, who attacked one horde 
 of bandits, was saved almost miraculously : two 
 muskets pointed at his breast missed fire at the 
 
CONDUCT OF THE PREFECT. 465 
 
 same moment. A few days after, this officer, 
 so zealous for the maintenance of public order, 
 was put on half pay by the local authorities. 
 
 When the departure of Trestaillons was ge- 
 nerally known, the people assembled before the 
 hotel of General Lagarde, impudently demand- 
 ing the liberation of their chief. The firmness 
 of the general did not fail him ; he immediately 
 arrested several of the rebels, nor did he stop 
 there ; two days after, Lavondes, the most active 
 and violent agent of the catholic faction and 
 an officer of the national guard, was sent to 
 prison. Trestaillons, however, eventually tri- 
 umphed, and returned to Nismes in a grand 
 procession : General Lagarde was soon after 
 shot for his upright conduct, by one of the 
 national guard. 
 
 The proclamation published by the prefect 
 on this occasion, was distinguished by the same 
 spirit with all those which had hitherto emanated 
 from his hotel. The crimes that had been com- 
 mitted were scarcely mentioned. After this 
 proclamation, the brigands demanded from the 
 protestants the money due, for the trouble they 
 had taken to preserve them from greater mis- 
 fortunes. The slightest resistance would have 
 been dangerous ; seldom would they allow any 
 diminution of the sum. Whatever they de- 
 manded, was given to avert more terrible sa- 
 crifices. 
 
 About this period, the anticipated visit of his 
 Royal Highness the Duke d'Angouleme, was 
 
 u H 
 
466 fete in honour of 
 
 publicly announced, and the circumstance was 
 too important not to be improved. Every 
 stratagem was employed by * the friends of the 
 altar and the throne,' to turn it to their advan- 
 tage, by inflaming the zeal of the fanatics, and 
 by associating the name of the Prince with the 
 basest calumnies. Thus saith the Journal of 
 the Gard. 
 
 " At length the wishes of the royalists of the 
 " Gard are about to be completely gratified. 
 " The arrival of His Royal Highness, Mon- 
 " seigneur Due d'Angouleme within our walls 
 " is announced. The hero of France will re- 
 " ceive no where testimonies of love and de- 
 " votion for his sacred person, more lively and 
 " numerous than in this city, &c. 
 
 " The rcyalists of Nismes, instead of brilliant 
 " fetes, have conceived the project of one more 
 " suited to the pious and beneficent character 
 " of the prince, and of celebrating his visit by 
 " acts of religion and benevolence. 
 
 " The following is the programme of this 
 " interesting fete. 
 
 " < Nismes, October 23. 1815. 
 
 " « The first thought of the royalists was to 
 " celebrate with fetes the arrival of an adored 
 " prince, the model of every virtue. Praise- 
 " worthy motives have dispensed with expensive 
 " rejoicings, which might be felt by the public ; 
 " but these restrictions do not limit the will 
 " of individuals ; they are not prohibited from 
 
THE DUKE d'aNGOULeME. iSj 
 
 " expressing their joy. The royalists have ne- 
 " vertheless thought they should act more in 
 " conformity with the dearest wish of His Royal 
 " Highness, by giving to their delight a bene- 
 " volent object ; and the twelve undersigned com- 
 " missioners have been charged with the draw- 
 " ing up of the present programme, which has 
 " received the assent of the magistrates and 
 " the citizens. 
 
 " ' Many royalists, already the victims of 
 " the revolutionary disasters, have been again 
 " oppressed during the three months of the 
 " invasion of the usurper under an incalculable 
 " load of misfortunes j they are pining in 
 " wretchedness. Persons of respectability are 
 " invited to assist them, by paying into the 
 " hands of one of the commissioners, the sums 
 " they may be disposed to devote to this good 
 " work. These sums, which the commissioners 
 " will place every evening in the hands of M. 
 " Murjas, one of their number, shall be dis 
 " tributed during the stay of his Royal High- 
 " ness, to the families of indigent loyalists. The 
 " unfortunate individuals relieved will never 
 " forget that the hero of the South was the 
 " impulsive cause of their happiness. 
 
 " t j± religious ceremony ought to signalize 
 " the same event. The commissioners have 
 " therefore invited the cm es of Notre Dame, 
 " and Saint Castor, to celebrate with solemnity 
 " a grand mass ; to be followed by the exaudiat 
 " and the benediction of the holy sacrament. 
 h h 2 
 
41)8 fkTE in honour of 
 
 " His Royal Highness will be most humbly en- 
 «.< treated to be present at this ceremony. The 
 " royalists will ornament all their windows with 
 " white flags. The touching simplicity of this 
 « fete will not fail to gratify the descendant of 
 " Henry IV. ; and all good citizens will be 
 " eager to unite in its celebration. 
 
 (Signed) " ' The Viscount Renis de Bernis, 
 " colonel ; the Marquis de Calviere, 
 " colonel ; Cazelle, conseiller ; Four- 
 " nier, administrator of hospitals ; Mur- 
 " jas, judge in the tribunal of com- 
 " merce ; Boyer, advocate ; Surville, 
 " adjutant of the staff of the 2d corps 
 " of H. R. H. ; Rabanis, judge of the 
 " peace ; the Viscount de Rochemaure, 
 " chef d'escadron ; Troupenas, Galian, 
 •■« Carbonnel, merchants. 
 " * The prefect of the Gard, having examined 
 " the plan and the object of the above asso- 
 " ciation, and being convinced that we cannot 
 " better express our sentiments towards the king, 
 " and his royal highness the Duke d' Angouleme, 
 " than by imploring the assistance of Heaven 
 " for our country and the family of our kings, 
 " and by pouring the streams of benevolence on 
 " those who have particularly suffered in the 
 " sacred cause, approves the proposed asso- 
 " ciation, &c. 
 
 (Signed) " « Marquis d'Arbaud Jouques." 
 
 " * The subscription was immediately filled ; 
 
 " the prefect, the general, the mayor, the other 
 
THE DUKE d'aNGOULEME. 469 
 
 «* authorities, and a crowd of citizens, hastened 
 " to contribute, to the utmost of their ability, to 
 " this beneficent work. It may be easily im- 
 " agined that the idea of such a fete was not 
 " suggested by those who lately cried, Vive 
 " VEnfer! the place from which, indeed, they 
 " seemed to have recently issued, to second the 
 " sinister designs of the new Robespierre.' " 
 
 From the whole of this article, published in the 
 official journal, as well as from the plan of the 
 fete, it is impossible not to perceive that the pro- 
 testants were entirely excluded all participation 
 of the public rejoicing. The project was the act, 
 not of the government or the city, but of the roy- 
 alists of Nismes. A spurious benevolence was to 
 be excited in behalf of persons said to have suf- 
 fered before the 17th of July ; while the widows 
 and the orphans of multitudes, recently massa- 
 cred in the streets of the city, and the families 
 who had been for three months pursued with 
 fire and sword, were to be totally neglected. 
 The pretended sufferings of the persons to be 
 relieved had been charged on the protestants, 
 by the royalists who arranged the festival ; 
 and, false as was this charge, it was now so- 
 lemnly assumed as the basis of a public and 
 charitable provision. All the twelve commis- 
 sioners were distinguished catholics. The re- 
 ligious part of the fete was to consist of a mass, 
 and other ceremonies, in which it was impossible 
 that the protestants, a third of the population, 
 could unite j and, so far from the citizens being 
 hh 3 
 
470 TUMULT IN THE 
 
 invited, generally, to observe religious cere- 
 monies accordant with their several professions, 
 the protestants dared not assemble ; their temples 
 had long been closed, and there was no prospect 
 of their being re-opened. The preparations for 
 this festival did not originate with " the people," 
 but with persons of the greatest influence and 
 celebrity in the department. These were not 
 the tumults and sallies of a mob, but the deliber- 
 ate and systematic efforts of a faction, deter- 
 mined to vilify the protestants, and to excite 
 the horror of the prince and the fury of the 
 populace against those whom they represented 
 as having violated the faith of treaties, as wish- 
 ing to renew the crimes of Robespierre, and as 
 having cried, " Hell for ever !" 
 
 It is not a little remarkable that, on the very 
 day of the publication of these documents at 
 Nismes, a violent tumult occurred in the Cham- 
 ber of Deputies, because a catholic member 
 thought it his duty to mention the reports that 
 were in circulation of the sufferings of the pro- 
 testants. 
 
 The chamber was occupied in the discussion 
 of an act for investing the ministers with the 
 power of arresting and imprisoning all persons 
 suspected by the government. 
 
 M. Voyer d'Argenson opposed the passing of 
 an act contrary to the charter and the criminal 
 code ; while the existing laws were sufficient to 
 ensure public tranquillity, if executed with firm- 
 ness and wisdom. " Without any proofs," said 
 
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. Vjl 
 
 the speaker, " or documents demonstrative of 
 the insufficiency of these laws, or the neces- 
 sity of the case, we are called upon to suspend 
 the liberty of the subject. If we vote without 
 examination, we shall only augment the alleged 
 evils, by the creation of an arbitrary power. We 
 ought undoubtedly to have evidence to assure 
 us that the state of things demands a more vigor- 
 ous legislation. It is not on isolated facts, or 
 partial rumours, that you can form your opinion. 
 On the one hand, we hear that seditious cries 
 and excitements to revolt are general ; on the 
 other hand, my heart has been torn by state- 
 ments of the massacre of the protestants of the 
 South." — Here M. d'Argenson was so tumul- 
 tously interrupted, that it was impossible to 
 proceed. A multitude of voices exclaimed, 
 " That is false ; order! order!" M. Bellart, 
 procureur-general, and a great number of mem- 
 bers, rose to speak. M. d'Argenson insisted 
 on being heard. The president, M. Laine, in- 
 formed the orator that he could not permit him 
 to speak on the fact, if the chamber persisted in 
 calling him to order. A great number of depu- 
 ties repeated the cry " A I'ordre." " I wish," 
 said Mr. d'Argenson, " to explain. I have not 
 announced any facts ; I have not brought any 
 charges. On the contrary, I demand that the 
 vague and contradictory statements should be 
 proved. I do not believe all these reports ; but 
 it is to ascertain the truth, to know the real 
 situation of the country, that an investigation 
 
 H h 4> 
 
i?2 TUMULT IN THE 
 
 ought to be instituted. This is what I said." 
 " Read the phrase," exclaimed several members. 
 The president said the phrase had produced too 
 bad an impression to be repeated ; and that it 
 was only necessary to know whether the chamber 
 was satisfied with the explanation. A great num- 
 ber of voices, " Non, Non, A Pordre ! A Pordre I" 
 The call to order was then put, and carried by 
 a considerable majority ; but the degradation of 
 an honourable deputy, who wished, though a 
 catholic, to do justice to the protestants, was not 
 yet complete. Some days after, on the reading 
 of the proces verbal of the sitting, M. Castel- 
 bajac objected that it did not mention that a 
 member had been called to order. The pre- 
 sident observed, that it was only in the case of 
 resistance on the part of the speaker that the 
 rule required the record on the minutes. It was 
 argued that the fact, if not the name of the de- 
 puty, might be inserted. The president replied 
 that the fact, being painful, it were better that it 
 should be omitted, and that, as it respected the 
 individual who had incurred the displeasure of 
 the chamber, it would increase his punishment. 
 After other business had been disposed of, a 
 member revived the question introduced by 
 M. Castelbajac, and insisted on all that passed 
 being recorded. His demand was supported by 
 another deputy ; and the motion was at length 
 put to the vote, and lost. # 
 
 * M. le Marquis Voyer d'Argenson is the heir of one of 
 the most illustrious families of France ; and his ancestors, for 
 several generations, filled the highest offices of the state. It 
 
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 4<73 
 
 M. d'Argenson has been since fully avenged 
 by the esteem and confidence of his country, 
 
 is remarkable that the only senator who raised his voice in 
 behalf of the slaughtered protestants, was the direct de- 
 scendant of the Marquis d'Argenson, who was charged by- 
 Louis XIV. with the demolition of Port Royal des Champs. 
 
 At the commencement of the revolution, M. d'Argenson 
 was studying at Strasbourg ; but, after the invasion of France 
 by the Germans, he became aide-de-camp to General La 
 Fayette. On his marriage with the widow of Prince Victor de 
 Broglie, mother of the Duke de Broglie, he devoted himself 
 to the cultivation of his estates, and the education of his chil- 
 dren. Napoleon wished to add to the splendour of his court, 
 by having a d'Argenson as his chambellan ; — the invitation 
 was not accepted. In the hope of being useful to his coun- 
 try, M. d'Argenson consented to be named prefect of 
 Antwerp ; but as he was not made to be the agent of in- 
 justice, or the tool of despotism, he soon resigned. 
 
 As an enemy to imperial tyranny, M. d'Argenson was of- 
 fered the prefecture of the Bouches du Rhone, after the first 
 restoration, which he refused to accept, without the gua- 
 rantee of a free constitution. On the second invasion of the 
 allies, he joined in the protestation of M. Lanjuinais against 
 the forcible dissolution of the senate. 
 
 M. d'Argenson was nominated deputy for the Bas Rhine 
 to the new chamber, without his knowledge, and while he 
 was in Poitou. It was not without difficulty that he arrived 
 at his post, through the foreign garrisons that occupied 
 France. From the protestants of Alsace, who are con- 
 nected with those of Nismes by family and commercial 
 relations, he first heard the horrid tale of the massacres of 
 the south ; and he seized the first opportunity of express- 
 ing at the tribune his honourable grief and indignation. 
 
 At that period, the parties that have since divided the 
 chamber were not developed, and the members occupied the 
 benches indiscriminately. The tumult burst at once from 
 every part of the hall, and the confusion was universal : there 
 was not one spot on which the eye of the speaker could find 
 
i/'t THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME 
 
 and by the repeated denunciations of the massa- 
 cres to which he alluded, by the ministers of 
 Louis XVIII., in the same chamber, and at the 
 same tribune, from which the vociferations of 
 his colleagues compelled him to descend : but 
 the immediate effect of this interruption on the 
 protestants of the south, and on their perse- 
 cutors, was terrible in the extreme. Both parties 
 perceived, by the report of the debates, that the 
 chamber was determined to stifle the first sound 
 that might reveal the crimes that had been for 
 months committed with impunity. The suf- 
 ferers saw the clouds thicken and approach, 
 and sat down in despair. The murderers be- 
 held a long and bright perspective of guilt and 
 protection, and rushed on to the gratification of 
 their desires. The scene of the 12th of Novem- 
 ber, and the assassination of General Lagarde, 
 mav be justly charged on the deputies, who 
 
 support ; but in every direction appeared furious looks, me- 
 nacing arms, and violent gesticulations. Among the rest, 
 M. Trinquelague, deputy of the Gard, was particularly con- 
 spicuous. Those who were not hostile, dared not express 
 their sentiments ; the courage of a hero was necessary to 
 the performance of a simple duty. 
 
 On his return from the chamber, M. d'Argenson called on 
 his friend, M. La Fayette, and described the treatment he 
 had experienced. " You are not the object of compassion, 
 but congratulation," said his venerable compatriot. " Your 
 voice has been stifled, but it is the voice of truth ; it will 
 resound through France and Europe i your unfinished sen- 
 tence will be as celebrated and as useful as the most brilliant 
 speeches of Mirabeau." 
 
AT NISMES. 475 
 
 silenced their colleagues, and deceived their con- 
 stituents. 
 
 In the mean time the Duke d'Angouleme 
 pursued his journey in the south, and, on the 
 fifth of November, arrived at Nismes. He en- 
 tered the city on horseback, and, amidst the 
 greetings of the inhabitants, was conducted to 
 the hotel of the prefecture. In the evening he 
 appeared at the theatre ; the next day he gave a 
 general audience. As one of the public bodies, 
 the consistory were admitted to his presence ; 
 but it was not without difficulty that they con- 
 vened a meeting, nor without danger that three 
 of their number, Messrs. Olivier Desmond, 
 Juillerat Chasseur, and Rolland Lacoste, gained 
 entrance through a private door, to avoid in- 
 sults from the populace. 
 
 From his Royal Highness they received no- 
 thing but attention, respect, and encouragement. 
 He invited them to his table, listened to the 
 brief recital of the sufferings of their brethren ; 
 demanded an explanation of the horrible patois 
 songs, which, in 1814, had introduced the per. 
 secution ; expressed his astonishment at the 
 long suspension of religious worship ; repeated 
 his assurance that the will of the king, and oi 
 his family, guaranteed the freedom of religious 
 profession ; desired that the temples might be 
 re-opened on Thursday the 9th j and ordered 
 General Lagarde to take every precaution to se- 
 cure the public tranquillity. One of the depu- 
 ties took the liberty to suggest, that a proclam- 
 
47$ LIBERATION OF TRESTAILLONS 
 
 ation was the only means of giving to the 
 honourable intentions of his royal highness that 
 publicity which circumstances required; but 
 whether he thought such publicity unnecessary, 
 after the decided manner in which he had ex- 
 pressed himself, or whether his powers were 
 not sufficiently extensive, unhappily he declined 
 to comply with this suggestion. 
 
 The flattering reception given to the few 
 protestants who approached the person of the 
 duke, disconcerted exceedingly the catholics; 
 and their mortification was increased by the 
 failure of a plan, on the success of which they 
 had confidently calculated. It was nothing 
 less than the liberation of Trestaillons and his 
 accomplices, arrested on the 16th of October by 
 General Lagarde. The friends of this avowed 
 murderer were found among the highest ranks 
 of society ; and they selected as their organs the 
 most powerful advocates. Some distinguished 
 females, M. de Rochemaure, grand vicaire, and 
 M. Bonhomme, cure, were entrusted with this 
 mission ; and these ministers of religion did not 
 blush to solicit the orders of the prince for the 
 immediate liberation of wretches, covered with 
 the blood of their fellow-citizens. This fact 
 alone proves, beyond all question, the real nature 
 of the persecution. The same priests who cele- 
 brated mass, and pronounced the benediction of 
 the sacrament, in the fete given in honour of 
 his Royal Highness, became intercessors for the 
 murderers of protestants : the persons who pro- 
 
DEMANDED. 4/7 
 
 fessed an exclusive attachment to the king, re- 
 quested another to exercise more than royal au- 
 thority, and withdraw criminals from the action 
 of the laws ; and those who were associated in a 
 pretended public charity, in behalf of imaginary 
 sufferers, stood forward as the protectors and 
 patrons of notorious robbers and assassins. 
 
 Had not passion completely perverted the 
 judgment of the applicants, the result of their 
 criminal demand might easily have been fore- 
 seen. " Leave to the tribunals," said the prince, 
 in a tone of displeasure, "the prosecution of 
 assassins and incendiaries. ,, The decision of 
 the tribunals was not for a moment doubtful : 
 there was no danger to the prisoners either from 
 witnesses, judges, or juries; their acquittal was 
 certain ; but their friends and patrons had views 
 distinct from the comfort and safety of the 
 guilty. Their interference was selfish and fac- 
 tious ; it was the immediate re-appearance of 
 these monsters on the scene that they desired ; 
 the agents were necessary to the success of their 
 projects ; and the failure of their application 
 rendered the applicants more vindictive and 
 furious than ever. They threatened to take 
 ample vengeance after the departure of the 
 duke ; " the king wishes the temples to be 
 opened," they exclaimed ; " but the people of 
 Nismes will not consent." The event justified 
 their assertions. 
 
 His Royal Highness set out for Montpellier 
 and Toulouse on the 7th, accompanied by Ge- 
 
478 ATTEMPT TO OPEN 
 
 neral Lagarde. The catholics of Montpezat 
 and St. Mamert, who assembled at Lunel to 
 meet the prince, ill-treated the disarmed pro- 
 testants of Calvisson to so great a degree, that 
 they were obliged to arm themselves with spades, 
 forks, and scythes, in their own defence. Though 
 order was immediately restored by the arrival of 
 some gendarmes, eight fathers of families were 
 dragged to prison for the crime of self-defence j 
 and two hundred troops of the line, and a bri- 
 gade of gendarmes, were dispatched from 
 Nismes, and quartered on the inhabitants. At 
 Arguevives the arch raised by the protestants 
 was destroyed by the catholics ; and every in- 
 sult was offered that was calculated to provoke 
 a conflict. 
 
 In this state of turbulence, and especially in 
 the absence of General Lagarde, the consistory of 
 Nismes were not so unwise as to think of recom- 
 mencing divine worship, suspended during seve- 
 ral months ; but, though they had been desired 
 by the duke to open their temples on the 9th, 
 they determined, for the present, to avoid all 
 occasion of offence. There were not wanting, 
 even among the authorities, persons who ascribed 
 this prudence and moderation to the worst of 
 motives. On Saturday, the 11th, General La- 
 garde returned to Nismes; and, early on Sun- 
 day morning, the 12th, he informed the con- 
 sistory that he had promised the prince that the 
 temples should be opened that day, and that, 
 for that purpose, he had hastened his return. 
 
THE PROTESTANT TEMPLE. 47<J 
 
 The president of the consistory, and M. Juil- 
 lerat Chasseur, represented the certain danger 
 to which the worshippers and all the protestants 
 would be liable ; and proposed, if the will of 
 the authorities were positive, that only the small 
 temple should be opened, that the ringing of 
 the bell should be omitted, and that the organ 
 should be silent. These precautions were ap- 
 proved ; and General Lagarde declared that he 
 would answer with his head for the safety of the 
 congregation. The protestants privately in- 
 formed each other that worship was once more 
 to be celebrated at ten o'clock; and they began 
 to assemble silently and cautiously, and rather as 
 though committing an offence than exercising a 
 right. The larger temple stands in one of the 
 most open and public parts of the town. The 
 smaller temple is situated in one of the narrow- 
 est and most ancient streets. The service being" 
 held here, was less likely to attract attention, 
 and the spot was less adapted for the movements 
 of a tumultuous assembly. 
 
 It was agreed that M. Juillerat Chasseur 
 should perform the service ; though such was 
 his conviction of danger, that he entreated his 
 wife, and others of his flock to remain with their 
 families. The temple being only opened as a 
 matter of form, and in compliance with the 
 orders of the Duke d'Angouleme, this worthy 
 pastor wished to be the only victim. On his 
 way to the house of prayer, he passed numerous 
 groupes, who regarded him with ferocious looks* 
 
480 DREADFUL OUTRAGE. 
 
 " What !" cried some, " have they still the 
 audacity to dare to pray to God ?" " This is 
 the moment," said others, " to give them the 
 last blow." " Yes," added their companions, 
 " and neither women nor children must be 
 spared." One wretch, raising his voice above 
 the rest, exclaimed, " Ah ! they dare to come 
 again, I will go and get my musket, and ten for 
 my share." * Through these ominous sounds 
 M. Juillerat pursued his course ; but when he 
 gained the temple, he found the concierge so 
 terrified, as not to have courage to open the great 
 door, and he was obliged to open it himself. 
 
 In spite of every precaution, as the worship- 
 pers arrived, they found persons in possession of 
 the adjacent streets, and the steps of the church, 
 who vowed that the worship should not be per- 
 formed, and expressed their rage in the following 
 exclamations : — " A bas les protestans ! sarre 
 (kill) les protestans /" " Les brigands viennent 
 a leur temple ; mats nous leur en f s tant, 
 qu'ils n'auront pas envie de revenir." " Nous 
 ne voulons pas qu'ils se servent de nos eglises ; 
 quails nous rendent nos eglises, qu'ils aillent au 
 desert, dehors, dehors." The general attempted 
 to calm and to disperse the groupes, placed sen- 
 tinels at the points the most threatened, and the 
 apparent success of his efforts induced him to 
 retire. The church was nearly filled, and prin- 
 cipally by the most respectable protestants ; the 
 poor being more liable to the attacks of the 
 
 * In patois, " Vau que>e" moun fusil ; des de ma part !" 
 
ON THE OPENING OF THE TEMPLE. 4S1 
 
 rabble. At ten o'clock, M. Juillerat Chasseur 
 commenced the service j the congregation, as- 
 sembled in such peculiar circumstances, ap- 
 peared elevated in devotion above the tumult 
 and danger of the scene, and for some time 
 they were undisturbed. The calm was of short 
 duration. On a sudden a violent noise inter- 
 rupted the minister, and a number of persons 
 entered the church, uttering the most dreadful 
 cries, and profaning both the sanctuary and the 
 royal authority, by mingling with the usual 
 shouts of " Vive le Roi" — " Mort, mort aux 
 protestans ! tuez, tuez I" The gendarmes suc- 
 ceeded in excluding these fanatics, and in closing 
 on them the doors. The noise now increased 
 without, and the tumult redoubled. The po- 
 pulace endeavoured to break open the doors; 
 the sound of their blows filled the temple ; every 
 moment they promised to be effectual, and the 
 doors once open, there would be no obstacle to 
 a general massacre. The house of God re- 
 sounded with groans and shrieks ; some pressed 
 together like sheep in a storm, equally harm- 
 less, and equally helpless, and those who neither 
 wept nor spoke, were pale and motionless. It 
 was an awful spectacle. The voice of the pastors, 
 who endeavoured to encourage and console 
 their flock, was inaudible. They attempted in 
 vain to sing the 42d Psalm. 
 
 Three quarters of an hour rolled heavily 
 away. " I placed myself," says madame Juil- 
 lerat, the excellent wife of the preacher, " at the 
 
 1 i 
 
482 DREADFUL 
 
 bottom of the pulpit with my daughter in my 
 arms ; my husband at length joined and sus- 
 tained me. I remembered that it was the an- 
 niversary of my marriage. After six years of 
 happiness, I said, I am about to die with my 
 husband and my daughter ; (the babe Paul 
 whom I had left at home, was, I confess, almost 
 forgotten.) We shall be slain at the altar of our 
 God, the victims of a sacred duty, and heaven 
 will open to receive us and our unhappy 
 brethren. I blessed the Redeemer, and with- 
 out cursing our murderers, I waited their ap- 
 proach." 
 
 M. Olivier, son of the pastor, and an officer 
 in the royal troops of the line, attempted to 
 leave the church, but the sentinels cried from 
 the outside, that the danger was too great, and 
 he was obliged to remain besieged with the rest 
 of the worshippers. The gendarmes who were 
 stationed at the temple, found themselves un- 
 able to resist the torrent, and prevent the most 
 criminal excesses ; the national guards refused 
 to act, and declared, they " would not expose 
 their lives for such villains," and the fanatical 
 crowd took every advantage of the absence of 
 the general, and of their increasing numbers. 
 At length the sound of martial music was 
 heard, and voices from without called to the be- 
 seiged, ' Open, open, and save yourselves.' The 
 first impression was fear of treachery, but they 
 soon learnt that a detachment returning from 
 mass, was conducted in front of the temple to 
 
OUTRAGE. 48-°) 
 
 favour the flight of the protestants. The door 
 was opened, and many of the worshippers es- 
 caped among the ranks of the soldiers, who had 
 driven the mob before them, but this street was 
 again filled, as well as the other streets through 
 whicli the fugitives were obliged to pass. 
 
 The catholics were furious and disappointed, 
 for, according to their avowal, too much ardour 
 had deranged their plan. It was intended to 
 suffer the worship to terminate, and then to rush 
 with arms on the unsuspecting protestants as 
 they left the temple, and massacre them all. 
 To give the greater excitement to popular fury, 
 persons were also sent into the cathedral, during 
 mass, to announce that the protestants were 
 killing the catholics, while they were being pur- 
 sued in the streets, assailed by showers of stones, 
 thrown down, beaten, bruised, whipped and 
 mangled, without regard either to helpless age 
 or tender infancy. The venerable pastor, 
 Olivier Desmond, between ?0 and 80 years of 
 age, was surrounded by murderers ; they put 
 their fists in his face, and cried " Kill the chief 
 of brigands." His life was only preserved by 
 the firmness of some officers, among whom was 
 his own son. They made a bulwark round him 
 with their bodies, and amidst their naked sabres 
 conducted him to his home. M. Juillerat, who 
 had engaged in the divine service, with his wife 
 at his side, and his child in his arms, was pur- 
 sued and assailed by stones. His mother re- 
 ceived a blow on the head, and for a month her 
 
 i 1 <2 
 
484 PROTESTANTS KILLED AND WOUNDED. 
 
 life was in danger. M. Pourrat, eighty years of 
 age, was thrown clown and trodden under the 
 horses' feet. The widow Defague, seventy years 
 of age, and Mademoiselle Debiarge received 
 several wounds ; Jeanne Genevier was shame- 
 fully whipped; Jeannette Connibliere died of 
 the bruises and wounds she received; the 
 daughter of Bigonnette Mas dragged along the 
 pavement, kicked, and so indecently and inhu- 
 manly treated, that she survived but a few days. 
 Others received mortal or lasting injury, and 
 the number of protestants more or less ill-treated 
 amounted to between seventy and eighty. 
 
 A check w r as at length put to these excesses 
 by the report of the murder of count Lagarde. 
 Stimulated by virtuous indignation, the general, 
 on receiving information of the tumult, mounted 
 his horse, and entered one of the streets to dis- 
 perse a crowd. A villain seized his bridle ; 
 another presented the muzzle of a pistol close 
 to his body, and exclaimed, " Wretch, you 
 make me retire?" He immediately fired, and 
 perceiving that the general maintained his po- 
 sition on his horse, he added, " Ah ! brigand, 
 I have not killed you !" The murderer was 
 Louis Boissin, a serjeant in the company of 
 national guards, commanded by M. Vidal, son 
 of the celebrated commissary-general of police. 
 Boissin was known to every body, but no one 
 endeavoured to arrest him, and he effected his 
 escape without difficulty. As soon as the ge- 
 neral found himself wounded, he gave orders to 
 
(.ENERAL EAGARDE SHOT. 4>S5 
 
 the commander of the gendarmerie to protect 
 the protestants, and set off in a gallop to his 
 hotel : immediately on his arrival, he fainted. 
 On recovering from the swoon, he prevented 
 the surgeon from examining his wound, till he 
 had written a letter to the government, that, in 
 case of his death, it might be known from what 
 quarter the blow had been aimed, and that none 
 might dare to accuse the protestants of the crime 
 from which he suffered. 
 
 The probable death of general Lagarde 
 produced a consternation among the principal 
 fanatics ; their agents had gone too far, and 
 they anticipated the re-action ; they foresaw 
 that public opinion would be enlightened by an 
 act which it would be impossible to conceal or 
 distort j that the government must adopt mea- 
 sures answerable to the nature and the publicity 
 of the event ; that future aggressions would be 
 more difficult, and that some of their past crimes 
 might receive a just visitation. To this con- 
 sternation, the protestants were indebted for an 
 apparent relaxation on the part of their enemies, 
 and for some indications of returning calm ; 
 but the mass of the people were too ardent and 
 too long accustomed to licentiousness to be 
 restrained even by the murder of the represent- 
 ative of their king. In the evening, they again 
 directed their steps to the temple, and with 
 hatchets broke open the doors, which in the 
 morning had sheltered the victims of their fury. 
 The dismal noise of their strokes resounded 
 
 i i « 
 
480 TEMPLE RAVAGED. 
 
 through the neighbourhood, and carried terror 
 into the bosom of the protestant families who 
 were sitting in their houses in desolation and 
 in tears. The larger doors once demolished, 
 those of the various offices and apartments in 
 the interior, offered but a momentary impedi- 
 ment. The contents of the poor-box, and the 
 clothes prepared for distribution, were stolen ; 
 the minister's robes were rent in pieces ; the 
 books were torn up or carried away ; the pulpit 
 was stripped of its furniture, and made the stage 
 for a thousand indecencies ; the closets were 
 ransacked, and the room which contained the 
 archives of the church and of the synods of the 
 province for centuries, was entered ; provi- 
 dentially these valuable records were not des- 
 troyed, but had it not been for the numerous 
 military patroles that were on foot, the whole 
 would have been the prey of conflagration, and 
 the edifice itself a heap of ruins. 
 
 On this occasion, it is surely impossible to say, 
 that the protestants were not the objects of per- 
 secution. This was the third attack on their 
 places of worship that they witnessed. The 
 same temple had been entered, and the sacristy 
 plundered some weeks before, and it was much 
 longer since the white flag had been carried 
 away from the great temple, the books destroyed, 
 and all sorts of profanations committed in the 
 pulpit. Nor were the outrages which marked 
 this period confined to Nismes. It may be 
 seen in the preceding chapters, that when the 
 
PROCLAMATION'S. 487 
 
 attempt was made to re-commence public wor- 
 ship, the commotion was general. The temple 
 of Milhaud, recently built by the protestants, 
 was with difficulty preserved from the flames ; 
 those of Alais, St. Ambroix, Parignargues, &c. 
 &c. were in similar danger of destruction. 
 
 The following days produced nothing cal- 
 culated to satisfy or assure the sufferers. Some 
 detachments of national guards, who arrived at 
 Nismes on the loth, joined in the rallying cry of 
 the populace " Sarre les gTilleurs." The fana- 
 tics openly ascribed the murder of the general 
 to his own self-devotion, and said that " it was 
 the will of God." General Briche came express 
 from Montpellier. He announced the re-or- 
 ganization of the national guard, which, after 
 its refusal to act, could not with any decency 
 be preserved. But his intentions were despised, 
 and the women vowed, that if their husbands 
 were disarmed, they would set fire to the town. 
 The authorities feared that the late event would 
 bring discredit on their administration, and per- 
 haps occasion their dismissal ; but they equally 
 feared to risk their credit with their satellites, 
 whose revelations they were anxious not to pro- 
 voke, and whose services they might hereafter 
 require. The prefect consequently issued the 
 following proclamation : 
 
 " People of Nismes, All Frenchmen, what- 
 ever religion they profess, are the subjects and 
 children of the king, the father of his country. 
 The orders of the king are to protect all worship, 
 i i 4 
 
1*88 PROCLAMATIONS. 
 
 to secure to all Frenchmen, property, existence, 
 and liberty of conscience. We have received 
 his orders, sacred to all good Frenchmen. We 
 have executed them, we shall maintain them all to 
 our latest breath. A criminal, concealed in some 
 popular assemblage, who, perhaps, thought 
 themselves only tumultuous, but who are ab- 
 solutely rebels against the king, has endeavoured 
 to assassinate his brave general, to whom this 
 department owes so much esteem, affection, and 
 gratitude. 
 
 " The judgment of this infamous assassin can 
 alone save the country, and absolve the people ; 
 he was not arrested at the fatal moment, but 
 you know him, you who surrounded him at 
 the moment of his crime. In the name of the 
 department, I promise a reward of three thou- 
 sand francs to any person or persons of the 
 military department, or to any inhabitant who 
 shall give me information of his retreat, and 
 bring him before me. 
 
 (Signed) Marquis d'AitBAUD Jouques." 
 
 That the marquis had received orders from 
 the king to protect property, life, and liberty 
 of conscience, might be true ; but how could 
 he have the audacity to assert that such orders 
 he had executed ? Hundreds of protestants 
 had been murdered ; thousands had lost their 
 property ; for months their temples had been 
 closed, and when they attempted to re-open 
 them, the worshippers were compelled to relin- 
 
PROCLAMATIONS. [<S9 
 
 quisli their devotions, deprived of their lives, 
 and the officer who endeavoured to save them 
 from massacre, was shot in the public street ; and 
 yet the prefect was not ashamed to proclaim, 
 that he had executed the orders of the kino: I 
 His declaration, that he would maintain them 
 to his last breath, will remind the reader of his 
 proclamation against the duke of Wellington, 
 and of the oath of the national guard on the 
 day of the bull-tight already mentioned. That 
 guard swore to maintain order and the laws; 
 but when required to protect the protestants 
 in their worship, they replied, " We shall not 
 expose ourselves for villains." That the prefect 
 would execute the royal orders, as he had 
 hitherto executed them, was not doubted ; for 
 in the next line, he spake of " One criminal, 
 in some popular assemblies, who believed they 
 were only tumultuous." How kind and gene- 
 rous this extenuation of the guilt of plunderers, 
 persecutors and murderers ! And again, " the 
 judgment of this well-known criminal is neces- 
 sary to absolve the people ;" as though there 
 had been no such monsters as Trestaillons, 
 Quatretaillons, Truphemy, &c. 
 
 After this proclamation, it is not surprising 
 that Boissin was safe. The three thousand 
 francs might be safely offered for his appre- 
 hension, for it was perfectly understood, that he 
 was not to be taken either by the fanatics or 
 the agents of the authorities ; the protestants 
 dared not arrest him, and in fact he was not 
 
4JK) RETURN OF THE 
 
 made prisoner till the end of July, 1816, eight 
 months after the commission of his crime. 
 
 An extraordinary courier had been dispatched 
 to the duke d'Angouleme at Toulouse, and on 
 the 15th he arrived at the prefecture of Nismes. 
 His first act was to visit the suffering general, 
 the victim of obedience and fidelity. From 
 this faithful servant he might have obtained a 
 knowledge of the whole truth ; but the know- 
 ledge of truth is not in the destiny of princes. 
 Every thing had been preconcerted. The phy- 
 sician, it appears, prohibited conversation for 
 fear of irritating the patient's wound ; the con- 
 fessor also gave him to understand, that on the 
 eve of appearing before God, he ought to exer- 
 cise full forgiveness, and that he who pardons 
 must not be an accuser. 
 
 The life of General Lagarde was indeed in 
 danger, the ball had entered the breast, fractured 
 the collar-bone, and lodged in the back of the 
 neck ; and it was not till after fifteen days, that 
 an eminent surgeon from Montpellier could 
 succeed in its extraction. 
 
 His Royal Highness, however, knew enough 
 to testify immediately his dissatisfaction with 
 the national guard, and to refuse to admit its 
 officers to his presence; and two days after, 
 (17th,) an order of the prefect was issued for 
 its re-organization. In the preamble, the prefect 
 offered a sort of apology to his party for the 
 measure which he was at length obliged to 
 
 '3 
 
duke d'angouleme. 491 
 
 adopt, and indirectly threw the odium on the 
 prince. 
 
 " The execution of the orders of the king," 
 he says, " and the pacification of the town, are 
 my first and most sacred duties, and are essential 
 to the prosperity and existence of Nismes ; the 
 present acts of my administration ought the 
 more readily to obtain the confidence and obe- 
 dience of the inhabitants, as they are proclaimed 
 at the moment that the town enjoys the tutelary 
 presence of His Royal Highness the duke 
 d'Angouleme." 
 
 The illegal and dangerous composition of the 
 existing national guard was completely acknow- 
 ledged by this decree ; and by the following 
 articles, it appeared how long the grossest vio- 
 lations of the laws had been permitted. 
 
 " The provisions of our decree of the 9th of 
 this month against persons wearing uniforms, 
 epaulettes, arms and decorations, to which they 
 have no right, are renewed, and shall be rigo- 
 rously executed. 
 
 " It is expressly prohibited to add any or- 
 nament, or any colour to the royal French 
 cockade, which ought to be worn plain and 
 white, as it is worn by His Majesty and the 
 Princes. ,, From these prohibitions, it is evident 
 that the murderers and plunderers had hitherto 
 continued to wear the dress and decorations of 
 the regular army, and to mix green with white 
 in their cockades and scarfs. 
 
 The enemies of the protestants had expected 
 
49- INTERVIEW WITH 
 
 that His lloyal Highness, at the expence of his 
 reputation, would give his unqualified sanction 
 to their intolerance ; as before his departure, they 
 had expected the liberation of the agents of 
 their cruelty, and they were therefore not a 
 little enraged that his presence should reproach 
 their favourite national guard, and authorize 
 an apparent change in the conduct of the magi- 
 strates. Their humiliation was however neither 
 deep nor lasting. The Journal of the Gard 
 contains the account of the reception of the 
 officers of the guard on the day after the pub- 
 lication of the decree. " Last Saturday, (18th), 
 after the organization of the national guard, 
 the officers were presented to His Royal High- 
 ness, and graciously received. Among other 
 flattering things, H.R.H. said he was happy to 
 see them ; that he knew all the love and de- 
 votion of the inhabitants to his family ; and con- 
 cluded by saying, maintain always the royal 
 authority." 
 
 It is difficult to comprehend how an organ- 
 ization could have been effected in twenty-four 
 hours, which could efface all that had past in 
 three months ; but mystery was the order of the 
 day, and on Sunday the 19th, one day after the 
 decree of re-organization, and one week after 
 the attack on the protestant temple, General 
 Briche published the following address. 
 
 " Brave national guards, the Prince is recon- 
 ciled to you, because he could not think that 
 you were changed. It was not difficult for me 
 
THE CONSISTORY. 493 
 
 and the prefect, to persuade H.R.H. that some 
 concealed agitators had hired evil-disposed per- 
 sons to excite them to the excesses they have 
 committed the three past months. You have 
 a good major ; in the absence of your colonel, 
 the re-organization will be continued. Guided 
 by him, you will for the future repulse from 
 your bosom, persons who can only involve you 
 in dishonour. Your prosperity will revive with 
 your tranquillity and your obedience to the laws 
 and the orders of His Majesty, Vivele Roi!" 
 
 The protestants remained patient spectators 
 of the measures adopted by the government ; 
 confiding in the honour of the Prince, they made 
 no appeal to his passions, but yielding to the 
 menaces of the people, the consistory abstained 
 even from a personal interview. 
 
 On the 17th, His Royal Highness sent for 
 the President and an elder, and assured them 
 that he had returned to execute the wishes of 
 the king, relative to the opening of the temples. 
 The members of the consistory replied, 
 
 1st. That the causes which had hitherto 
 operated, still existed in all their force, and that 
 the performance of divine worship, so ardently 
 desired, would be attended with the greatest, 
 danger. 
 
 2d. That if his presence, which had not pre- 
 vented the ill-treatment of their brethren, were 
 to cause a momentary submission to the laws, 
 greater calamities would assail them after his 
 departure. 
 
494 ROYAL ORDONNANCE. 
 
 3d. That as directors of the church, it was 
 not their duty to precipitate their brethren into 
 danger by prematurely appealing, the second 
 time, to their piety and courage. 
 
 4. That if prudence condemned them, for 
 some time longer, to the privation of public 
 worship, they would submit with resignation, 
 from a desire to contribute by every possible 
 means to the re-establishment of general tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 This prudence, on the part of the persecuted, 
 frustrated the most atrocious projects. The 
 people openly demanded the restitution of the 
 temples, which before the revolution had been 
 occupied by the catholics. This restitution, it 
 will soon be seen had been promised, and had 
 the protestants entered the church, they would 
 have been attacked as appropriating property to 
 which they had no right. The persecutors 
 were not indeed satisfied with a moderation 
 which gave a darker shade to their late excesses, 
 and which deprived them of the pretext for 
 future aggressions. The attempt on the life of 
 the military commandant was a fatal blunder ; 
 this fact could not be concealed as the slaughter 
 of the protestants had been, and it became ne- 
 cessary, that not only France, but Europe, should 
 read the following ordonnance : — 
 
 " Louis, by the grace of God, king of France 
 and Navarre, &c. 
 
 " An atrocious crime has stained our city 
 of Nismes : in contempt of the constitutional 
 
ROYAL ORDONNANCE. 4<j.*> 
 
 charter, which recognises the catholic religion, 
 as the religion of the state, but secures to every 
 other protection and liberty, seditious assem- 
 blages have dared to oppose the opening of the 
 protestant temple. Our military commandant, 
 in endeavouring to disperse them by persuasion, 
 before recurring to force, has been assassinated, 
 and his assassin has sought an asylum from the 
 pursuit of justice. If such a crime were to re- 
 main unpunished, all public order and govern- 
 ment would be at an end, and our ministers 
 would be guilty of not putting the laws in 
 execution. 
 
 On these grounds, we have ordained and do 
 ordain as follows : — 
 
 Art. I. Our procureur-geneVal, and our pro- 
 cureur ordinaire, shall institute proceedings with- 
 out delay against the assassination committed 
 on General Lagarde, and against the authors, 
 abettors, and accomplices, of the tumult which 
 took place on the 12th of this month. 
 
 Art. II. A sufficient number of troops shall 
 be sent to Nismes, there to remain at the ex- 
 pence of the inhabitants, till the assassin and 
 his accomplices shall have been delivered up to 
 the tribunals. 
 
 Art. III. Those inhabitants who are not en- 
 titled to form part of the national guard, shall be 
 disarmed. 
 
 Given at Paris, in the Chateau of the Tuil- 
 leries, November 21st, of the year 1815, and 
 of our reign the twentieth. 
 
 (Signed) Lor is. 
 
4Q() PARTIALITY OF THE MAGISTRATES. 
 
 This ordonnance was by no means what the 
 circumstances required : it threw a veil over the 
 crimes of three months, and subjected the suf- 
 fering protestants to new oppressions, from the 
 presence and maintenance of more troops ; but 
 its effect on the fanatics of Nismes may be in- 
 ferred from that which it produced on their de- 
 puties. These four gentlemen pretended that 
 the king had been misled by his ministers, 
 threatened to denounce them in the chamber of 
 deputies, and published, in the Quotidienne, the 
 following letter : 
 
 " To the Editor. 
 « Sir, 
 " Very inaccurate accounts of the events of 
 the 1 2th at Nismes have been inserted in several 
 journals ; rumours still more false are in circu- 
 lation here and in other countries. They are 
 calculated to throw on the mass of the popu- 
 lation of a town most devoted to the king, the 
 blame of a serious fault, committed by a few 
 women of the lower orders*, and which all the 
 inhabitants, without exception, far from parti- 
 cipating, loudly condemn. It is our duty to 
 justify our fellow-citizens from a calumny so 
 unmerited, by the impartial recital of these un- 
 happy events, and the simple exposition of their 
 
 * A few women rendered it necessary for the military 
 commandant to call out the troops, and expose his own 
 life ! ! ! General Lagarde estimated the persons assembled 
 at six thousand. 
 
PARTIALITY OF THE MAGISTRATES. 497 
 
 causes. We entreat you," &c. &c. — After giv- 
 ing a false account of what occurred at Cal- 
 visson, they state, " On the following Sunday, 
 (12th) mutual provocations passed between wo- 
 men of the lower orders of the reformed re- 
 ligion, who were going to their temple, many of 
 them carrying branches of laurel, and catholic 
 women of the same class. The catholics were 
 also proceeding to the temple, which is an 
 ancient catholic church*: they were joined by 
 other women and children. The congregation 
 was insulted, and the worship interrupted. 
 Count Lagarde instantly ordered out troops to 
 put a stop to this disorder : he proceeded him- 
 self to the scene, without delay ; and he com- 
 manded the first groupes he met to disperse. 
 One man alone was in the midst of a crowd of 
 women. He refused to obey the general, who, to 
 compel him, struck him with the flat side of his 
 sabre ; and instantly this wretch discharged his 
 pistol, and desperately wounded the general. 
 The assassin escaped, because there was no per- 
 son on the spot capable of arresting him. The 
 women remained motionless with astonishment 
 and fear. The shot which struck the virtuous 
 and distinguished general spread grief and con- 
 
 * The mention of the old catholic church, proves that 
 these deputies were aware that unconstitutional projects of 
 reclaiming the temples had been held out to the populace ; 
 projects subversive of the charter, and calculated to raise in- 
 numerable enemies against the Bourbons. 
 
49$ LETTER OF THE 
 
 sternation through the city : the passions were 
 instantly appeased, and the disorder ceased. * 
 
 " One man alone has committed this crime ; 
 the whole city curses him. t. He has neither 
 found protection nor support : he will always be 
 repulsed with indignation by a people, who, for 
 twenty-five years, have been faithful to their God 
 and their king. 
 
 " The deputies of the Gard. 
 
 " Count Rene de Bernis. 
 
 " Count Charles de Vogue. 
 
 " Baron Jules de Calvieres. 
 
 " M. Trinquelague." 
 
 From this letter, a complete tissue of ab- 
 surdity and falsehood, it appears probable that 
 the reports respecting the deputies of the Gard 
 were not without foundation, and that they were 
 not unacquainted with the manoeuvres by which 
 the truth was concealed, the victims of perse- 
 cution were calumniated, their cries stifled, and 
 crimes, the most clearly substantiated, left un- 
 noticed by any tribunal. Who ought to have 
 enlightened opinion, and have made the govern- 
 ment acquainted with the cause and the extent 
 of these evils? — The deputies. Who ought to 
 
 * The passions, so far from being appeased, were excited 
 to such a degree, that in the evening the populace returned 
 to the attack, broke open the temple with axes, and de- 
 stroyed all they could find. 
 
 •J- A whole city curses a criminal; and yet he escapes, 
 and for months is secure and unpunished ! 
 
DEPUTIES OF THE CARD. M)<? 
 
 have solicited and promoted the punishment of 
 the guilty? — The deputies. Who ought to have 
 been the first and the most active in endeavour- 
 ing to restore to peaceable citizens the en- 
 joyment of those sacred and religious rights, of 
 which they had been deprived by the most 
 cruel persecution ? — The deputies. The de- 
 puties did not thus discharge their duty ; the 
 massacre of the protestants had secured their 
 election ; and they were not ungrateful to their 
 constituents. Protected by such apologists in 
 the senate, where alone their crimes could be 
 fully exposed, it was not likely that the perse- 
 cutors should be restrained, or the evils of their 
 conduct repaired. The national guard was re- 
 duced, but its vicious elements still existed ; 
 the dissolved companies retained their arms, 
 and were dismissed with a general certificate, 
 " that their excess of zeal for the royal cause 
 had produced some disorders, from which the 
 enemies of legitimacy had suffered." The regi- 
 ment of Marie Therese arrived from Toulouse 
 on the 26th, and the Duke d'Angouleme left 
 Msmes the following day. The troops of the 
 line were highly indignant at the misery and 
 desolation in which they found the town ; and 
 to their presence, more than to any moral con- 
 sideration, the protestants were indebted for any 
 partial alleviation of the calamities they had 
 been so long accustomed to endure. 
 
 Every artifice, and every pretext that could 
 be applied to the injury of the protestants, wa& 
 
500 FIRST SUNDAY 
 
 eagerly adopted. The royal ordonnance pro- 
 duced no beneficial results ; but where no real 
 occasion existed, the greatest vigour was em 
 ployed. While the greatest care was taken thai 
 there should not remain, even in concealment, 
 a single picture, seal, or button, bearing the re- 
 semblance or the insignia of the fallen emperor, 
 bands of devastators openly infested the coun- 
 try, and committed all sorts of outrages, with 
 confidence of impunity. On the 30th of Novem- 
 ber the prefect issued his letter of instructions 
 to the magistrates : " Your cares," said he, 
 " must not be limited to the destruction of 
 busts, portraits, inscriptions, he. ; but if you 
 learn that there exist coats of arms, stamps, or 
 seals in private houses, after using persuasion, 
 employ your authority for their destruction." 
 The object might be both proper and dignified; 
 but those who have traced the spirit of the de- 
 partmental administration can be at no loss 
 to calculate on the effect of such a communi- 
 cation. It presumed that there was a party 
 eager to adopt the ensigns of revolt ; it implied 
 that the late events had not been produced 
 by religious hatred; and it justified all the 
 past and future excesses of the populace. The 
 agents of government, selected among persons 
 the most servile, and the most bitter against the 
 protectants, availed themselves of this circum- 
 stance, as well as every other occasion con- 
 vertible to the same purpose. 
 
 Under the imperial regime, the first Sunday in 
 
OF DECEMBER. 501 
 
 December had been always consecrated to the 
 glory of the French armies, and the coronation 
 of Napoleon. Before the arrival of that day, 
 the enemies of the protestants spread reports 
 that it would be observed by fetes and rejoicings 
 in all the protestant communes. The day passed, 
 as every other, in misery and gloom ; and, tor- 
 mented as the protestants were, it would have 
 been strange, indeed, had it been otherwise. 
 Into several of the mixed communes the ca- 
 tholics sent emissaries, for the special purpose 
 of giving the appearance of agitation to the 
 pretended Bonapartists, and criminating the 
 protestants. In the village of Uchaux they suc- 
 ceeded in producing a quarrel ; and, as the con- 
 sequence, thirty horse chasseurs, about fifty in- 
 fantry, and some gendarmes, were sent from 
 Nismes, and lodged and maintained at the ex- 
 pence of the protestant inhabitants. At the 
 same period royal troops were sent into all the 
 communes of La Vaunage, under pretence of 
 disaffection and revolt, but with the sole view 
 of exciting opposition to the existing govern- 
 ment, among a peaceable and submissive popu- 
 lation. 
 
 On the 6th of December a detachment of 
 armed men attacked the farm of M. Peyron, of 
 Broussan, whose life had already been en- 
 dangered, and whose fortune had been seriously 
 diminished. His three sons watched over the 
 place of his concealment. The assailants de- 
 manded the delivery of the parent, or the blood 
 
 K K 8 
 
602 PROTESTANTS ATTACKED 
 
 of his children. Unmoved by the threats of 
 murderers, and attentive only to the dictates of 
 filial duty and affection, the three sons refused 
 to surrender to torture and death their aged and 
 respectable father. They were overwhelmed 
 by numbers ; one of them, stabbed with a bayo- 
 net, was left as dead ; and the house and the 
 farm were entirely ransacked and plundered. 
 
 The farms of M. Pestrau, of the village of 
 Caissargue, was robbed of between seven and 
 eight thousand francs. Three brothers, of a 
 very advanced age, occupying a country house, 
 of which they were joint proprietors, were at- 
 tacked by armed brigands, who, after robbing 
 and ill-treating them, seized them as prisoners, 
 and carried them before the procureur du roi 
 at Nismes, on pretence of their having uttered 
 seditious cries. That magistrate immediately 
 declared their innocence, and expressed his in- 
 dignation against their base and malicious ac- 
 cusers ; but, unwilling to abandon their prey, 
 they dragged them before the prefect, who or- 
 dered them to be conducted to prison, " as a 
 -measure of safety." The order was executed 
 with triumphant shouts of " Vive le Roi !" 
 
 The circumstances of the times hastened the 
 death of M. Ricourt, one of the pastors of the 
 church of Uzes. Obliged to flee, first his house 
 in the town, and afterwards that in the country, 
 plundered of his property, driven from his 
 ■church, his flock scattered and impoverished, he 
 .sunk under the distress he was obliged to wit- 
 
Hi THE GOUNTRY. 505 
 
 ness or endure, and added another to the victims 
 of a remorseless and insatiable persecution. 
 
 The prisons of Uzes and of Nismes were 
 crowded with prisoners. Of upwards of a 
 thousand persons arrested, without any warrant 
 or order, several hundreds remained in the pri- 
 sons of Nismes. # Every day the fanatics sent 
 emissaries to the dungeons, to endeavour to 
 obtain, by promises or threats, abjurations of 
 faith, and conversions to the apostolic, catholic, 
 and Roman religion. The families of the im- 
 prisoned protestants were incessantly insulted 
 and tormented with similar importunities. The 
 pastors were either absent, or unable to strength- 
 en the sufferers by their counsel and their prayers; 
 the public ordinances of their religion had been 
 long denied ; fraternal visits were difficult, and 
 often impossible ; charitable relief could not be 
 administered ; and unfortunate individuals, who 
 had neither work nor bread, were urged and 
 invited to embrace a religion, rendered hateful 
 by their own persecution, and the imprisonment 
 and murder of their dearest relatives. That, 
 
 * " In the month of September, I saw in the prison of* the 
 palais; or in the citadel, more than six hundred protestants, 
 all detained without a warrant, or the order of any public 
 authority whatever. Several hundreds remained for months. 
 They remained six months without being able to procure a 
 trial, liberation, or even the regular registration of their im- 
 prisonment. 
 
 " Du Gouvernement Occulte, par M. Madier 
 de Monljau, Conseillcr a la Cour Royale de 
 Nismes, et Juge." 
 
 K K -1 
 
504 STATE OF 
 
 in such circumstances, some should profess a 
 change they felt not, is scarcely surprising, 
 when it is remembered what multitudes, under 
 the dragonades of Louis XIV,, were received 
 into the bosom of the catholic church as sound 
 converts, who were afterwards condemned and 
 murdered as heretics relapsed. But, to the 
 honour of the persecuted, and to the glory of 
 God, who strengthens the infirmity of his crea- 
 tures in the hour of trial, the protestants had 
 hitherto generally preferred insult, outrage, 
 spoliation, imprisonment, and death, to all the 
 allurements connected with the adoption, even 
 feigned, of a religion which their consciences 
 disavowed. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to M. Juil- 
 lerat Chasseur, one of the pastors of Nismes, 
 under a false impression of the intention of 
 government to indemnify the sufferers, will de- 
 scribe the excessive misery to which multitudes 
 were reduced: — 
 
 " M. le Pasteur, 
 " Informed that you wish to be acquainted 
 with the calamities experienced by the members 
 of your communion, my unhappy condition com- 
 pels me to apprize you, that the spoliations I 
 have endured have not been confined to the en- 
 tire destruction of my shop and all it contained, 
 but have extended to the plunder of all the fur- 
 niture and property in my apartments in the 
 Ancien Petit Cours, opposite the Cafe de Sully. 
 
THE PRISONS. 505 
 
 A husband and the father of a family, obliged 
 also to support my father and mother, arrested 
 by Trestaillons, thrown into the prisons of the 
 palace, where I have languished more than five 
 months, and unable to exercise my calling as 
 hair-dresser, my family, since my detention, has 
 been reduced to the utmost misery and want. 
 If you can include me in the list of those persons 
 to whom the government will allow assistance or 
 indemnity for their losses, I shall be exceedingly 
 grateful, and have the honour to remain, 
 " Your most humble and obedient servant, 
 
 " Francois Cambon." 
 
 Placed between the pressure of power and of 
 poverty, exposed, himself to the vengeance of 
 the tribunals, and his family to the miseries of 
 starvation, the writer of this letter sacrificed 
 principle to interest, and, as the means of escap- 
 ing the galleys, entered the pale of the catholic 
 church. 
 
 The system of forced conversions was making, 
 at this period, regular and fearful progress. The 
 publicity given to the fact by the journals, justi- 
 fies all that has been said in these pages of the 
 character of the persecution, and destroys all 
 doubt of the object of the persecutors. The 
 Paris Journal des Debats published the follow- 
 ing article from the Journal Officiel du Gard : — 
 
 " An interesting ceremony took place on the 
 26th ult. in the church of St. Paul, at Nismes. 
 Two protestant families, forming together about 
 
50(J CONVERSIONS. 
 
 twenty persons, made public abjuration between 
 the bands of the cure of the parish, and returned 
 to the bosom of the Romish church. Some 
 families had already given an example of this in 
 the parish of Baudille ; and others, it is said, 
 are preparing to follow." Paris journals of a 
 later date continued to announce " many pro- 
 testant families of the South embrace the catholic 
 religion." An article, which appeared at the end 
 of October, in the Journal Officiel du Gard, 
 expressed in the very terms of the reign of 
 Louis XIV., and announcing a circumstance 
 bearing no relation whatever to the interests of 
 the department, displayed most evidently the 
 ianatical and persecuting spirit of the admi- 
 nistration : — 
 
 '« An English lady, of the pretended reformed 
 religion, young and handsome, wife of M. Au- 
 range, captain of the 2d foreign regiment, made 
 public abjuration of heresy, Sept. 27th, in the 
 parish of Notre Dame de Verdun. She after- 
 wards received, according to the Roman catholic 
 rites, the sacraments of penitence and of the 
 eucharist." 
 
 Further evidence and information on this sub- 
 ject has been furnished by M.Juillerat Chasseur, 
 in a letter inserted in the Bibliotheque His- 
 torique, in April 1818. M. Juillerat is now one 
 of the pastors of the reformed church of Paris, 
 but was pastor of the church at Nismes in 1815, 
 and, except Mr. O'Desmond, who is eighty 
 years of age, was the onJy pastor who remained 
 
CONVERSIONS. 507 
 
 nt his post during the scenes described in this 
 work. 
 
 " I have seen," says he, " in the Spectateur, a 
 piece entitled ' Dementi,' given to the editors of 
 the Bibliotheque Historique, relative to the affairs 
 of Nismes,by M. the prefect of the Gard. Though 
 I was not absent from Nismes a single moment 
 during our calamities in 1815, and did not quit 
 that town till July 1816, after having insen- 
 sibly collected some o£ the scattered wrecks of 
 my afflicted church, so that, either by my own 
 observation, or by the testimony of eye-wit- 
 nesses, I was informed of almost every thing 
 that occurred ; I shall not enter on the detail of 
 events, of which some have been mentioned in 
 the Bibliotheque Historique ; but I consider it a 
 duty to declare, that what is there related, so far 
 from being exaggerated, is far below the truth. 
 
 My surprise was of course great, and my af- 
 fliction extreme, on reading in the Dementi of 
 the prefect of the Gard the following words: — 
 " The Bibliotheque contains calumnies as odious 
 as extravagant. For example, it says, under 
 the date of December last, " All the principal 
 families havejled, and the number of fugitives daily 
 increases : the consistory is only composed of two 
 pastors and two elders, I have seen the protest- 
 ants more than once conducted in a troop, and by 
 twenties, to mass, where they are baptized, as 
 if they were Pagans or Jews." 
 
 I cannot verify the quotation, but it is clear 
 that, by the month of December last is not in- 
 
508 LETTER OF 
 
 tended December 1817 ; and it appears to me 
 impossible, that any man of sense and good 
 faith can so mistake the meaning of the passage. 
 The Bibliotheqae, to the best of my recollection, 
 contains only the letters of different persons, 
 written in 181.5. * Now, I declare that, at that 
 period, the consistory was never composed of 
 more than two pastors and two elders. One of 
 these elders, M. Roux Amphoux, is since dead, 
 in consequence of the horrible scenes which 
 passed under his own eyes ; the other is still 
 at Nismes. The two pastors were M. Olivier 
 Desmont, president, whose son was an officer in 
 the royal volunteers, and myself. The other 
 elders, to the number of ten, and the other 
 pastors, amounting to three, were either obliged 
 to flee, or prevented by terror from meeting us 
 at the house of our president. Our temples 
 having been shut from the 16th of July, we were 
 forced to add to our number some notables, who 
 had the courage to comply with our request, in 
 order to deliberate on plans of addresses and 
 complaints relative to our sufferings, which we 
 dared not, however, execute. The wisest and 
 the boldest men were then overwhelmed with 
 distress and apprehension. 
 
 As for the account of the protestants re-bap- 
 tised by the priests, it is equally correct. I have 
 been often assured that the number amounted 
 
 * The article in question was taken from the Report of 
 the Reverend C. Perrot. 
 
M. JUILLERAT. 509 
 
 to fifty or sixty. The Journal du Gard has 
 sometimes boasted of these pretended con- 
 versions, which can only be ascribed to the 
 combined influence of misery and terror. In 
 times of true religious tranquillity, it is difficult, 
 to find an example of any such conversion. 
 These baptisms were celebrated with great 
 solemnity in the churches of the Recollets, and 
 of St. Charles, and if I do not mistake, also in 
 the church of the Capuchins. Volumes might 
 be written on the dreadful scenes of which the 
 Gard has been the theatre of late years. The 
 piece attributed to the prefect has, I repeat, 
 excited my astonishment and grief, as it may 
 give an appearance of authenticity to the ca- 
 lumnies which have too long pursued the per- 
 secuted and the dead, and render dubious the 
 perfidy and atrocity of oppressors and murderers. 
 To conclude ; this magistrate, to whom the 
 protestants are indebted for the amelioration of 
 their lot and the restoration of tranquillity, 
 at the head of another department very distant 
 from Gard at the period of these events, may 
 have been deceived by persons interested in 
 denying or distorting facts. Charity demands 
 mercy and pardon even for the most wicked, 
 but not at the expence of truth and innocence. 
 
 Juillerat Chasseur." 
 
 The murder, proscription, and conversion of 
 the protestants of Nismes ; the prohibition of 
 their worship, and the banishment of their 
 
510 LETTER OF 
 
 pastors was at length followed by a formal and 
 and authoritative ejectment from both their 
 temples. It has been already intimated, that 
 such a plan was in contemplation, and that, to 
 justify the crimes of the populace, on the 12th 
 of November, the deputies and the departmental 
 authorities had stated that the troubles were 
 occasioned by the possession of churches for the 
 religious assemblies of protestants formerly con- 
 secrated to catholic worship, and that the res- 
 toration of these edifices to their antient use 
 would be the means of establishing tranquillity. 
 The time was now arrived for the accomplish- 
 ment of the project. 
 
 A notice of which the following is a literal 
 copy was affiche in Nismes on the 19th of 
 December. 
 
 " The laws of the realm and the will of the 
 king secure the free exercise of the protestant 
 worship : I tell you this ; I, your magistrate, 
 your mayor, who have surely some claims on 
 your confidence. The protestant temples will 
 be opened on Thursday next, the 21st, and 
 that day will prove to the king, to France, 
 and to Europe, which accuses us, that the blind 
 infatuation of a Jew women and children, is not 
 the crime of the city of Nismes, which has been 
 so often distinguished, and even recently, by 
 its fidelity and devotion to the king. 
 
 Women ! blinded by your zeal, and perhaps 
 excited by your enemies, you will not once more 
 ruin your city, and rejoice by your infatuation 
 19 
 
THE MAYOR. 51} 
 
 the enemies of the royal cause. I am certain 
 you will not, and it is therefore with pleasure 
 I inform you, that conferences are opened and 
 nearly terminated with the protestant consis- 
 tory, the object of which is to restore by com- 
 mon consent, to the worship of the state, the 
 churches which have been conceded to the 
 protestant worship. Two temples will be con- 
 structed, and that very shortly, to supply the 
 place of those so given back, and during this 
 very short delay, the protestants will enjoy 
 unmolested the places which they concede. 
 The people of Nismes require only to know the 
 will of the king, and to hear the voice of the 
 royal authorities, to do their duty. 
 
 The Marquis de Vallonques, Mayor.*' 
 
 Contemptible and wicked as was this pro- 
 clamation, it contained two important conces- 
 sions : the first, that the foreign interference, so 
 much deprecated, had sounded a salutary warn- 
 ing in the minds and the consciences of the 
 authorities ; and the second, that by some means 
 or other, Nismes had been the theatre of crimes 
 and desolation. But to tell France and Europe 
 that a few women and children had ruined Nismes, 
 plundered hundreds of houses, massacred hun- 
 dreds of citizens, dragged above a thousand 
 innocent individuals to prison, driven thousands 
 more into exile, and carried misery and death 
 through a whole department, was to insult pub- 
 lic opinion, and to act as though there were 
 
512 PROTESTANTS FORCED TO CONCEDE 
 
 neither virtue nor common sense in the world. 
 What ! Boissin was a child ! Trestaillons and 
 Truphemy, and Servan, and hundreds more, 
 were women, blinded and infatuated ! And then 
 to issue an address to these women, « excited by 
 their enemies' to request them, not to * ruin the 
 town? and to promise them in return the ex- 
 pulsion of the protestants from their temples ! 
 Under such a magistracy, no crimes, no atro- 
 cities can surprise ; the foulest actions must have 
 been the ordinary operations of society. 
 
 The conferences which the mayor announced 
 with so much eclat, were only meetings held 
 under the mandate of a prefect, to whom the 
 protestants rendered a forced obedience. Their 
 snbmission was an irrefragable proof of the op- 
 pression to which they were devoted. The two 
 pastors and an elder of the consistory were in- 
 vited to the prefecture. M. d'Arbaud Jonques, 
 the prefect, M. Vallonques, the mayor, and 
 M. Surville, colonel of the celebrated national 
 guard, waited their arrival, and after assuring 
 them that the catholic people saw, with the 
 greatest uneasiness, the ancient catholic churches 
 in the possession of the protestants, they pro- 
 posed to them to relinquish them to the catho- 
 lics, on the understanding that two should be 
 built for them, either at the expence of the 
 government or the city. 
 
 To comprehend the iniquity of this propo- 
 sition, it is necessary to know something of the 
 history of the churches in question. At the 
 
THEIR TEMPLES. 513 
 
 period of the revocation of the edict of Nantes, 
 the protestants possessed a temple under the 
 guarantee of the laws. On the 23d of Septem- 
 ber, 1685, service was performed in it for the 
 last time ; it was then closed by the Marquis 
 Montanegre, and the next day the dragoons 
 opened their mission. The temple was not 
 demolished, but was appropriated to the use 
 of the sisters of the f Doctrine Chretienne/ and 
 after the revolution it became the property of 
 the commune. The inscription, on black marble, 
 ' This is the house of God ; this is the gate of 
 heaven/ placed over the door by the protestants, 
 remained visible at the commencement of the 
 revolution. After the loss of their temple, and 
 its appropriation by the catholics in 1685, till 
 1793, the protestants were without any temple, 
 and when allowed to meet for worship, they 
 assembled in the rocks, au desert, which have 
 been already described. It was not till some 
 time after the suppression of monasteries, and 
 the conversion of the estates of the church into 
 national property, that one of their present 
 temples, called the Great Convent, and formerly 
 belonging to the Ursuline nuns, was purchased 
 by a private individual, M* Vincent, and con- 
 secrated to the use of the protestants. One 
 place of worship being incapable of accom- 
 modating the number of worshippers, and being 
 disproportionate to the state of the population, 
 a second was given them by the government in. 
 1803. This second temple was at that time 
 
 L L 
 
514 HISTORY OF THE TEMPLES 
 
 national property, and had been, before the 
 revolution, the church of the convent of the 
 Dominicans. 
 
 Thus it is evident, that from neither of these 
 temples had the protestants ejected the catholics ; 
 that both were slowly, legally, and honourably 
 acquired; that one had been in the rightful 
 occupation of a respectable individual during 
 two and twenty years ; that the other, neither 
 equal in size nor value to that they had lost by 
 the treacherous revocation of the edict of Nantes, 
 had been appropriated to the protestant worship 
 by the same imperial government which restored, 
 beautified, and reconstructed avast number of 
 catholic churches in all parts of France ; that 
 for many years both had been quietly possessed 
 without the slightest jealousy or dissatisfaction 
 on the part of the catholics ; that the same 
 peaceable possession was guaranteed by the 
 laws which rendered secure all national pro- 
 perty, and by the express provisions of the 
 charter given by Louis XVIII. and which he 
 was solemnly sworn to maintain. It is further 
 to be observed, that the great majority of the 
 existing protestant temples had been formerly 
 conventual churches, alienated, abandoned, and 
 dilapidated, amidst the storms of the revolution ; 
 and that throughout France there are now 
 thousands of these churches left in ruins or 
 desecrated by the occupation and use of the 
 catholics themselves. In Paris all the protest- 
 ant places of worship were once of this descrip- 
 
CONCEDED BY THE PROTESTANTS. 515 
 
 tion ; there the gorgeous dome of the Val de 
 Grace, under which were buried the hearts of the 
 kings of France, may be seen covering a depot 
 of government military stores, and the Sorbonne 
 itself may be viewed in ruins. 
 
 In Nismes, the fish-market is held in the 
 church of the Penitents ; the church of Ursu- 
 lines is a waggon-office, and the church of Sainte 
 Marie a wine-store. 
 
 The proposition of the chief authorities of the 
 Gard was, therefore, of the utmost importance, 
 and pregnant with the greatest evils. It was an 
 attack on the charter $ an attempt to shake the 
 moral tenure by which the protestants held 
 their sanctuaries, and to subvert the legal sys- 
 tem by which that tenure was established. The 
 example was to be given in Nismes, the metro- 
 polis of protestantism ; and the precedent, once 
 established, it might be applied as opportunity 
 and power should permit. 
 
 The members of the consistory of Nismes 
 listened to the overture of the prefect with 
 profound attention ; and perceived at once all 
 the difficulty of the situation in which they were 
 placed. An absolute refusal to concede their 
 temples would throw on the protestants the 
 odium of a hostile and unconciliatory spirit, and 
 serve as a pretext for the murder of their de- 
 fenceless brethren. By their consent they 
 would sacrifice justice and liberty, surrender the 
 post which protected all the churches of France, 
 and facilitate the march of an enemy, whose 
 
 l l 2 
 
516 CONDUCT OF THE CONSISTORY. 
 
 hatred was only bounded by his power. They 
 endeavoured to steer a middle course, and 
 avoid, if possible, the greater dangers on either 
 side ; and they replied, " that they had always 
 " been submissive to the laws, and that the king 
 " and the magistrates would always find them 
 " obedient to the government ; that they would 
 " meet the wishes of the authorities, provided 
 " those wishes were expressed in writing ; but 
 " that they could not take the initiative in a 
 " negociation for the surrender of their temples, 
 " expose themselves to the censure of the great 
 " majority of the protestant churches, which, 
 "' like that of Nismes, were in possession of edi- 
 " fices formerly consecrated to catholic worship, 
 " nor even appear to consider illegal or improper 
 " that occupation which they had enjoyed dur- 
 " ing twenty years." The prefect, afraid to 
 push to any greater length his unjust inter- 
 ference, engaged to draw up a proces verbal, ex- 
 planatory of the result of the interview ; and 
 the consistory, after their distinct and dignified 
 avowal of constraint, made a concession, dictated 
 by terror and force. * The places suitable for 
 the erection of the promised temples were sub- 
 sequently discussed. The site of the protestant 
 temple, which had existed before the revocation 
 of the edict of Nantes, was not approved by the 
 
 * " We consented," said one of the consistory to me, 
 " as the traveller consents to be robbed on the highway — 
 " with the knife at our throats." 
 
DUKE d'aNGOULeMe's LETTER. 517 
 
 authorities, lest it should prove the ground of 
 new disputes, and present bitter recollections. 
 The ancient catholic cemetiere was considered 
 equally objectionable : the feet of heretics must 
 not press the ashes of the faithful. In fact, 
 there was no serious intention on the part of the 
 persecutors to fulfil their promise. If their 
 power should be established, they would be able 
 to treat the protestants at discretion ; and, if 
 justice and liberty should re-assume their em- 
 pire, the negotiation would be a dead letter. 
 At the same time the immediate object was se- 
 cured ; the royal ordonnance for the resumption 
 of the reformed worship might be ostensibly 
 obeyed, but tranquillity would, in reality, be 
 purchased by concession ; the past conduct of 
 the persecutors would be justified by the apparent 
 reasonableness of their demands ; the protest- 
 ants would worship by sufferance, and live under 
 the indignity of having submitted to the will of 
 the catholics. Such a compromise ought to 
 have been peremptorily forbidden by the govern- 
 ment of the king. Of this public attack on the 
 sanctity of the constitutional charter, it could 
 not have been ignorant ; but it neither censured 
 the departmental authorities, enjoined the ful- 
 filment of the conditions of the convention, 
 nor revoked the shameful instrument. On the 
 contrary, after some weeks, the following letter 
 from the Duke d'Angouleme was published by 
 the prefect of the Gard : — 
 l l 3 
 
518 duke d'angouleme's lettek. 
 
 " M. le Prefet, 
 
 " Understanding that the catholics of Nismes 
 desire to have their churches, now occupied by 
 the protestants, but that their intentions cannot 
 be fulfilled without entering into an arrangement 
 for the purchase of these churches, which 
 would enable the protestants to build one j I 
 promise, in case this arrangement should be 
 made, to contribute the sum of fifteen thousand 
 francs towards the purchase of the churches for 
 the catholics. If, therefore, the protestants and 
 catholics decide on this, I desire you to inform 
 me, that I may remit the sum that I have 
 promised. 
 
 " I hope that the individuals of your pre- 
 fecture will see, in this proposal on my part, 
 how much I wish, as far as depends on me, to 
 do all that may contribute to maintain among 
 them that perfect harmony which ought to exist 
 among all the subjects of the king. Receive, 
 M. le Prefet, the assurance of my esteem. 
 " Yours, affectionately, 
 
 " Louis Antoine." 
 
 It is to be regretted that a member of the 
 Royal Family should have sanctioned so danger- 
 ous a measure, and, however pure his intentions 
 might have been, that his name should have 
 been associated with a proposition which ought 
 never to have been made. The catholics had 
 no right to desire the temples of the protestants ; 
 
TEMPLES OPENED. 519 
 
 they were forbidden fruit, and to covet them 
 was to sin. They were fruit, too, which they 
 could not enjoy. Had the catholics needed 
 churches for a sacred use, the government could 
 easily have accorded them, or his Royal High- 
 ness might have given them fifteen thousand 
 francs towards the erection of a new edifice ; 
 but they had churches in abundance, and they 
 only desired to deprive the protestants of tem- 
 ples for which they had no use themselves. 
 
 At length, after a lapse of Jive months, public 
 worship was celebrated in the two temples, with- 
 out any serious disturbance, though not with 
 that entire tranquillity and security which 
 the public journals affirmed. The mayor gave 
 express orders that the bells should be rung; 
 the national guard acted on the occasion with 
 a vigour altogether unusual ; the troops of the 
 line, recently reinforced, considered their honour 
 interested in the issue of the day ; and even the 
 leaders of the people felt that it was necessary 
 to restrain their violence. 
 
 The worshippers, who timidly and modestly 
 proceeded to the sanctuary, to adore the God of 
 their fathers, and to pray for their persecutors 
 and murderers, thought themselves happy in 
 receiving only insults, threats, and expressions 
 of hatred. The Journal Officiel du Gard, of 
 the 23d December, explains the cause of this 
 amelioration of their affairs : — " The know- 
 ledge of the negotiations which have taken place, 
 under the direction of the prefect, for the re* 
 
 l l 4> 
 
520 ARMED BANDS. 
 
 storation of the two churches, which, for some 
 years, have been appropriated to the protestant 
 worship, to the performance of the religion of the 
 state, powerfully contributed to calm the spirit 
 of the multitude." 
 
 On Sunday, the 24th, and on Christmas-day, 
 in Nismes, and several other communes, the pro- 
 testants worshipped without molestation ; but in 
 some places they were seriously alarmed, and 
 shamefully interrupted. The events which oc- 
 curred at Sommieres have been related. There 
 the officers who protected the protestants were 
 fired at by the populace j and a respectable mem- 
 ber of the consistory, eighty years of age, was 
 dragged to Nismes, on the charge of having 
 cried " Vive I'Empereur /" The armed bands 
 still infested many of the villages ; and on the 
 22d a detachment of about fifty men attacked 
 the house of M. Mourier, at St. Blancard. 
 M. Mourier is wealthy ; he had just returned 
 from exile, where he had liberally assisted and 
 relieved many of his fellow-fugitives. The 
 catholics intended to murder him ; but he was 
 so fortunate as to escape. Three horses, and 
 various other articles, were carried off by the 
 banditti, to console themselves for their disap- 
 pointment. 
 
521 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 EXERTIONS IN ENGLAND IN BEHALF OF THE PROTESTANTS, 
 
 LETTERS OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND M. VAU- 
 
 BLANC. — MISSION OF THE REV. C. PERROT. SUSPEN- 
 SION OF MASSACRES. TRESTAILLONS AND OTHERS PRO- 
 TECTED. MOTION OF M. TRINQUELAGUE IN THEIR 
 
 FAVOUR, REVOCATION OF THE ORDONNANCE OF NOV. 
 
 2lST, 1815. PROCLAMATION AND CONDUCT OF THE 
 
 PREFECT. SPEECH OF SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY. RE- 
 MOVAL OF M. CAVALIER, PROCUREUR GENERAL. — PRO- 
 TESTANTS PROSECUTED BY THE TRIBUNALS. — INIQUITOUS 
 
 VERDICTS. ACCOUNT OF THE JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS 
 
 BY M. MADIER DE MONTJAU. TRUPHEMY A WITNESS. 
 
 THE COUNSEL FOR THE PROTESTANTS ATTACKED IN COURT. 
 
 FRESH OUTRAGES DEVASTATIONS — CONVERSIONS. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF TWO DEPUTIES. SENTENCE AND EXE- 
 CUTION OF PENARIER. — CONDEMNATION AND EXECUTION 
 OF THREE PROTESTANTS AT NISMES, AND TWO AT ARPAIL- 
 
 LARGUES. MANY OTHERS CONDEMNED. TRESTAILLONS 
 
 LIBERATED — ENTERS NISMES IN TRIUMPH. QUATRE- 
 
 TAILLONS TRUPHEMY. — TRIAL OF BOISSIN, THE AS- 
 SASSIN OF GENERAL LAGARDE. HIS ACQUITTAL. 
 
 LETTERS OF M. BERNARD, AND M. MADIER. M. D'AR- 
 
 BAUD JOUQUES, PREFECT, DISMISSED. — STATE OF THE 
 PROTESTANTS. THE FORCED LOAN. — THE HOSPITALS. 
 
 ATTEMPT AT INSURRECTION IN FAVOUR OF THE LATE 
 
 PREFECT. M. DARGOUT APPOINTED PREFECT. — NEW 
 
 EPOCH. — DISSOLUTION OF THE NATIONAL GUARD, AND 
 ELECTIONS IN 1818. — ATTACKS RENEWED ON THE PRO^ 
 TESTANTS IN MARCH 1819. — THE PROTESTANTS ARM. 
 
 — DANGER OF CIVIL WAR. — SPEECH OF THE KEEPER 
 
 OF THE SEALS. M. CAVALIER APPOINTED MAYOR. 
 
 ACQUITTAL AT ALAIS. — TRIALS OF TRUPHEMY AND 
 
522 EXERTIONS IN ENGLAND 
 
 SERVANT. — EFFECT OF THE ASSASSINATION OF THE 
 
 DUKE OF BERRY. PETITION OF M. MAD1ER DE MONT- 
 
 JAU. SPEECH OF M. ST. AULAIRE. — PETITION OF WI- 
 DOWS AND ORPHANS. QUATRETAILLONS. PERSE- 
 CUTION OF M. MADIER. THE ENEMIES OF THE PRO- 
 TESTANTS RE-ENTER THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 
 
 It was at this period, that the 'foreign interfe- 
 rence* so loudly condemned by those friends of 
 the altar and the throne, who for twenty-five 
 years had been soliciting every court in Europe 
 to enter France with fire and sword, began to 
 have a decided influence on the affairs of the 
 protestants. Dreadful as had been their cala- 
 mities, neither the pastors nor the consistories 
 of the South, had permitted themselves to apply 
 for protection to the protestant countries of the 
 continent, or especially to their ancient friends 
 and brethren of the British Isles. For months 
 they had endured spoliations and cruelties 
 worthy of the times of Charles IX. and Louis 
 XIV., before they received any intimation of 
 the design which was formed in England to 
 assist the churches of France. The interest 
 excited by the sufferings of the French protest- 
 ants in the breasts of Englishmen, was honour- 
 able to themselves, to their country, and to pro- 
 testantism. It was natural that a people who, 
 on the first restoration of the Bourbons, had 
 displayed a zeal so righteous in favour of the 
 enslaved Africans, should be forward to express 
 their sympathy with those who had descended 
 with themselves from the fathers of the glorious 
 
IN BEHALF OF THE PROTESTANTS. 523 
 
 reformation. But it was not before the middle 
 of November that intelligence was received by 
 the persecuted, that, at a meeting of some of 
 the dissenting ministers of London, it had been 
 resolved to assemble all the ministers of the 
 three denominations of that city, and its envi- 
 rons, to deliberate on the affairs of the protes- 
 tants of the Gard. Some weeks again elapsed 
 before they were informed that the intended 
 meeting had been held, and that a deputation 
 had solicited the good offices of the British go- 
 vernment with the French court, in favour of 
 its suffering protestant subjects. * 
 
 * Extract from a Circular from the Committee of the 
 Ministers of the Three Denominations in London, to their 
 Brethren in the country. — Williams's Library, Red-cross 
 Street, London, Nov. 28. 1815. 
 
 « * * * 
 
 " During the present month, we have been occupied in 
 collecting intelligence from numerous private sources, and 
 in authenticating the details which have appeared in the 
 journals and other periodical publications. The result is 
 melancholy, indeed ; since we have ascertained, with a pre- 
 cision too accurate for our wishes and hopes, that for a 
 long period our protestant brethren have been exposed to 
 merciless persecution by the agents of a despotic and cruel 
 fanaticism. 
 
 With such facts before us, as protestant dissenters, and 
 the descendants of men who distinguished themselves in 
 those struggles which achieved the liberties of Britain, and 
 diffused throughout Europe the most enlightened principles, 
 we could not mistake in deciding, that it was our duty to 
 give a distinct and public expression of our sentiments ; to 
 use our influence with the government of our own country, and 
 
524 EXERTIONS IN ENGLAND. 
 
 Numerous meetings of public bodies were 
 the consequence of this example. The pro- 
 ceedings and discussions of the common council 
 of the city of London, of the society for the 
 protection of religious liberty, and the de- 
 
 to demonstrate to our distressed brethren in France, our 
 sympathy and regard. 
 
 " Under this conviction an extraordinary general meeting 
 of the ministers of the Three Denominations was convened on 
 Tuesday, November 21st, at the Library, Red Cross-street. 
 On this occasion nearly one hundred ministers assembled, 
 and after long and solemn deliberation, they determined 
 unanimously to adopt the Resolutions which are annexed, 
 and to appoint a deputation, consisting of the Rev. Robert 
 Aspland, the Rev. Mark Wilks, the Rev. W. Newman, D.D. 
 and the Rev. Thomas Morgan, the librarian and secretary, 
 to confer with his Majesty's government, and to request 
 its good offices with the court of France for the liberty and 
 protection of the reformed. The conference was held on 
 Saturday, November 25th, and the strongest assurances were 
 given by the Earl of Liverpool, of the deep regret ex- 
 perienced by the ministers of His Royal Highness the 
 Prince Regent, at the horrid scenes which have lately been 
 witnessed in France, and of their disposition to use their 
 utmost efforts for the support of the freedom of religious 
 faith and worship. * * 
 
 " We do not doubt that our prompt and 
 decisive efforts will meet your approbation ; and we hope, 
 also, that the early, liberal, and firm conduct of the protes- 
 tant dissenters will excite the efforts of others ; arrest the 
 progress of superstition and tyranny ; alleviate the sufferings, 
 and secure the liberties of a large portion of the human 
 race, and preserve for future generations, the example of 
 their principles and character. 
 
 " We remain your affectionate Brethren, 
 (Signed) " Thomas Morgan, Librarian and Secretary," 
 
IN BEHALF OF THE PROTESTANTS. 5 C 25 
 
 puties for the protection of the civil rights of 
 dissenters, at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Ply- 
 mouth, Gosport, Sheerness, Newcastle, Berwick, 
 Exeter, and elsewhere, were published in the 
 journals, and circulated through Europe, and 
 were instrumental in rousing public opinion, 
 and carrying directly to the French throne, the 
 sentiments of other nations on the events which 
 had so long afflicted France. 
 
 " The protestants," said a memoir, sent from 
 the scenes of persecution, " who received with 
 astonishment these proofs of Christian love and 
 charity, were touched with gratitude, and 
 filled with tender and fraternal affection. They 
 began to hope, that the God of their fathers had 
 not abandoned the children of his servants, and 
 ventured to receive as a pledge of merciful de- 
 liverance from the hostility of their fellow-sub- 
 jects, the zeal of their brethren in a foreign 
 land." 
 
 Alas ! their persecutors made this spontaneous 
 act of humanity and religion, the pretext for 
 charging on the sufferers a treasonable corres- 
 pondence with the party politicians of England. 
 They were thus involved in new difficulties 
 watched, accused, oppressed, and reduced to the 
 dreadful necessity either of falsifying, by their 
 silence or denial, the accounts of their miseries 
 which had excited commiseration, or of sustain- 
 ing the charge of being factious men, plotting 
 against the state. In this situation, appeared, 
 to their dismay, a letter sent some time before 
 
52() LETTER OF DUKE WELLINGTON. 
 
 to England by the Duke of Wellington, stating, 
 that * much misinformation existed on the events 
 of the South.' Such delight and exultation did 
 this communication from his Excellency afford 
 the persecutors, that, not satisfied with publish- 
 ing it in their journals, accompanied with insult- 
 ing remarks, they also printed it in hand-bills 
 and placards, and distributed it in the communes, 
 to raise the spirits of their agents, and to cele- 
 brate a triumph over their trembling victims. 
 
 " It is evident, by the following extract from 
 the English Courier" said the Journal du Gard, 
 " that there is no longer any doubt as to the true 
 causes of the troubles of the South. 'An authen- 
 tic report on the affairs of Nismes has been sent 
 to the Duke of Wellington, and has been com- 
 municated to us. The details prove, that the 
 true origin of the disorders which have afflicted 
 the friends of tranquillity, is to be found in 
 political opinions, and in the recollection of the 
 excesses committed by the revolutionists and 
 Bonapartists.' " 
 
 The letter of the Duke of Wellington was 
 dictated by the very chiefs of the catholic fac- 
 tion ; and though it has since been fully con- 
 tradicted by the first statesmen of both countries, 
 it produced, at the moment, an impression most 
 unfavourable to the interests of the protestants. 
 It was the more mischievous, as it appeared 
 supported by the hostile sentiments of the go- 
 vernment itself. The following note of the 
 17th of January was dispatched from the minis- 
 
LETTER OF M. VAUBLANC. 5TJ 
 
 ter of the interior to all the prefects of de- 
 partments. 
 
 " A circular, printed and dated London, has 
 been addressed to the French protestant minis- 
 ters. This production, under the pretext of 
 the persecutions which it supposes committed 
 against the latter, may spread alarm among 
 them, and excite to emigration. 
 
 " I have before me the answers of the presidents 
 of several consistories : they are all remarkable 
 for the good spirit in which they are dictated, 
 and the good sentiments they express ; and I 
 doubt not that those which have not reached 
 me, repelled, with the same indignation, these 
 dangerous insinuations. I beseech you, Sir, to 
 send me a copy of all these answers ; I shall 
 lay them before the king. His Majesty will 
 there see, with satisfaction, unequivocal testimo- 
 nies of the confidence of the protestants in his 
 paternal government, of their attachment to 
 his person, and of their love for their country. 
 
 " The protestants may also reckon on the pro- 
 tection of the king, who sees only in his subjects, 
 whatever their religion, subjects to whom he 
 bears an equal affection. 
 
 (Signed) " Vaublanc." * 
 
 After the circulation of this letter, is it sur- 
 prising that the protestants of England should 
 only have received in the public correspondence 
 
 * This M. Vaublanc was one of the most servile and 
 devoted of the Prefects of Napoleon. 
 
528 MISSION OF THE REV. C. PERROT. 
 
 of the presidents of consistories, statements ill 
 which the truth was suppressed, and the per- 
 secution and its crimes palliated or denied ? 
 Is it surprising that the local government should 
 have continued to misrepresent its own conduct, 
 and to throw all the blame of horrors, which 
 could not be denied, on the sufferers themselves ? 
 It was impossible, however, to cover the light 
 with a veil so dense, but some rays of illu- 
 mination could escape : in spite of every ob- 
 stacle, the truth made its way to the British 
 shores, and taught the cruel and despotic that, 
 though they may hope to escape detection, and 
 may cover with calumny the victims of their 
 oppression, they will ultimately be exposed, de- 
 graded, and contemned. 
 
 The ministers of the Three Denominations in 
 London, anxious not to be misled, either by 
 exaggerated complaints, or interested apologies, 
 requested one of their brethren to visit the 
 scenes of persecution, and examine with impar- 
 tiality the nature and extent of the evils they 
 were desirous to relieve. The Reverend Clement 
 Perrot acceded to their request, and fulfilled 
 their wishes with a zeal, a prudence, and a de- 
 votedness, above all praise. The difficulties with 
 which he had to contend, can only be appre- 
 ciated by those who are acquainted with all the 
 despotic apparatus of the French government, 
 and who know something of its effect when put 
 in motion under the reign of terror. His return 
 furnished abundant and incontestible proof of 
 
 13 
 
MISSION OF THE REV. C. PERROT. 529 
 
 a shameful persecution ; materials for an appeal 
 to the British parliament ; and a printed report, 
 which was circulated through the continent, 
 and first gave correct information to the in- 
 habitants of France. * 
 
 * " Williams's Library, Red-cross Street, April 24. 1816. 
 " At a Special Meeting of the Committee of the Dissenting 
 Ministers of the Three Denominations, appointed by the 
 General Body, summoned to receive the Report of the 
 Rev. Clement Perrot, who, from his eminent qualifications, 
 the respectability of his character, and his personal ac- 
 quaintance with the most distinguished Protestants in the 
 South of France, had been requested to repair to that 
 country, for the purpose of examining on the spot their 
 real situation ; 
 
 The Rev. J. Rippon, D.D. in the Chair, 
 " It was unanimously resolved — 
 
 * * * 
 
 " II. That the Rev. Clement Perrot, for the promptitude 
 with which he complied with the request of this Committee, 
 and undertook a long, fatiguing, and dangerous journey — for 
 the diligence, the prudence, and the zeal with which he has 
 executed the objects of his important mission — for the 
 generous sacrifice of his time, his engagements, and his 
 personal safety — for the display his conduct has afforded of 
 those liberal and enlightened principles which have distin- 
 guished protestant dissenters among the benefactors of 
 mankind — for the important services which he has rendered 
 to the cause of the French Protestants in particular, and 
 to the interests of truth, liberty, humanity, and religion in 
 o-eneral ; merits the warmest gratitude and esteem, and that 
 he be requested to accept the most sincere and affectionate 
 acknowledgements of this Committee. 
 
 " III. That from the verification of documents before pos- 
 si ssed, (the truth of which was never questionable,) and 
 especially from the testimony now produced by their re- 
 
 M .u 
 
530 MISSION OF THE REV. C. FERROT. 
 
 Foreign interference was eminently useful i 
 the declarations of tolerance, and the professions 
 
 spectable friend, it is perfectly evident, that the persecutions 
 so long and so disgracefully continued, have been instigated 
 by bigotry and intolerance, and have been excited and di- 
 rected by powerful leaders, against the protestants, as the 
 depositaries of those religious and social principles, which 
 must always render their possessors efficient and honourable 
 in society ; — that political opinions have only been the 
 pretexts under which the odious projects of their enemies 
 were concealed, as protestants were as prompt, and as sin- 
 cere in their acceptance of the restored dynasty, as any 
 class of Frenchmen whatever ; — that the impious, rapacious, 
 and barbarous conduct of their persecutors, has exceeded 
 the representations which have been made by the committee, 
 and has equalled in criminality that of the most guilty per- 
 secutors of ancient times ; — that it is impossible to excul- 
 pate, at least from connivance, the local civil and military 
 authorities ; because the extent of the outrages — the length 
 of their duration — the publicity of the crimes — the no- 
 toriety of the criminals — the uselessnes of complaints from 
 the sufferers, and the vexations to which they have been 
 exposed — the confidence with which the robbers and mur- 
 derers have acted, and the impunity and protection they 
 have experienced, are equally unknown, in any country, 
 where the magistracy, however feeble, has been active and 
 sincere. That it is equally evident, that from some cause, 
 which this Committee do not intend to assign, the higher 
 departments of the government have not taken a suitable 
 interest in the dreadful calamities, which have been sustained 
 by its faitliful and honourable subjects — have not main- 
 tained equal security for the professors of the protestant and 
 catholic religions ; but have appeared to entertain the most 
 lively jealousy of the unsolicited interference of benevolent 
 persons in this country — have neglected to give to the 
 protestants, and to Europe, any satisfaction, by demanding 
 
SUSPENSION OF MASSACRES. 531 
 
 of justice which it elicited from the govern- 
 ment ; as well as the more cautious march of 
 the catholic persecutors, were direct and in- 
 voluntary acknowledgments of the importance 
 of that external influence which was so much 
 censured or despised. 
 
 The stern voice of public opinion produced 
 a reluctant suspension of massacre and pillage, 
 but the murderers and plunderers were still 
 unpunished, and even caressed and rewarded 
 for their crimes. 
 
 Among the most notorious agents of mis- 
 chief and disorder, w r ere Souchon, Vamperre, 
 and Terme. In 1814, (to say nothing of their 
 former history) they were sent from Nismes, 
 by Count Maubourg, the king's commissioner, 
 for their injurious treatment of the protestants. * 
 In 1815 they were at the head of three com- 
 panies of the armed brigands who committed 
 so many outrages. No sooner was M. Trinque- 
 lague appointed secretary to the minister of 
 
 an account of their conduct from the local or extraordinary 
 authorities — and, finally, have left the victims of persecution 
 at the mercy of prevotal courts, composed of their enemies, 
 who have inflicted on protestants the most degrading and 
 cruel punishment for alledged trifling crimes, and have 
 honourably acquitted catholics, covered with blood, and 
 guilty of numerous and horrid murders. 
 
 " By order of the Committee, 
 " T. Morgan, Secretary and Librarian." 
 * See Page 117. 
 M M 2 
 
532 TRESTAILLONS AND OTHERS PROTECTED. 
 
 justice, than they set out for Paris, and after 
 an absence of three weeks, returned openly 
 patronised and rewarded by the government. 
 By a royal ordonnance, inserted in the Moniteur, 
 they were appointed commissaires priseurs 
 (appraisers) at Montpellier, Bourdeaux and 
 Nismes. 
 
 Trestaillons, who had been sent to Montpel- 
 lier by General Lagarde, was conducted to 
 Lyons in the month of January 1816. Some 
 protestants who had fled from Nismes, unable 
 to subdue their indignation at the sight of a 
 monster, covered with the blood of their friends 
 and relations, had the imprudence to express 
 their hope that finally justice would prevail. 
 " They will not dare to condemn me," said 
 Trestaillons, " because I shall reveal ;*' and im- 
 mediately the protestants who invoked the laws, 
 were arrested and imprisoned for having insulted 
 Trestaillons. 
 
 In the chamber of the deputies, their friends, 
 ever attentive to their interests, endeavoured 
 to hold over these wretches the aegis of the laws. 
 In the committee on the law of amnesty, M. 
 Trinquelague, the principal orator of the Gard, 
 expressed himself with remarkable frankness. 
 " The great criminals," said he, " have been in- 
 cluded in the amnesty, and would it not be just to 
 extend the law to those who, to render the lilies 
 triumphant, amidst the effervescence of parties 
 may have committed excesses almost inevitable ?" 
 "By that measure," it was observed, " you will be 
 
MOTION OF M. TRINQUELAGUE. .5S3 
 
 deprived of the means of punishing the criminal 
 Bonapartists." — " The criminal Bonapartists 
 should be punished, I allow," replied M. Trin- 
 quelague, " but the faithful royalists !" — " Well, 
 if any are guilty, they will be punished, but 
 there will be compensation.'* — " There can 
 scarcely be any compensation," resumed M. 
 Trinquelague, " for the excess of the love of 
 royalty has occasioned other excesses." 
 
 From the bureau, M. Trinquelague proceeded 
 to the tribune, and the Moniteur of the 7th of 
 January gives the following account of the dis- 
 cussion on the article of the law of amnesty 
 relative to crimes against private persons. 
 
 " M. Trinquelague. This article is contrary to 
 " the principle of the amnesty. That principle 
 " is violated if crimes against private persons are 
 " prosecuted, which originated in late events. 
 " Disorders have occurred in the South, and in 
 " the West ; persons have given themselves up 
 " to excesses. The sword of justice was ar- 
 " rested ; will you make it fall on the culpable ? 
 " Shall the men who may have been misled by 
 
 " their zeal for the royal cause ' Several 
 
 " voices. * The assassins must be punished.' 
 " M. Trinquelague proposed as an amendment, 
 " the extension of the amnesty to private of- 
 " fences which followed the enterprise of the 
 " usurper, or the re-action which succeeded. 
 
 " M. de Serre (now keeper of the seals) op- 
 " posed the amendment. * Shall we absolve lor 
 " such crimes ?' he exclaimed : ' the cause in 
 m m 3 
 
534 MOTION OF M. TRINQUELAGUE. 
 
 " which they have been committed is nothing ; 
 " murder and rapine ought to be punished ; 
 " social prosperity requires it ; and if, among 
 " those guilty of crimes, which nothing can 
 * excuse, are found men who have served the 
 " royal cause, this is a special reason for their 
 " punishment ; they should be entirely detached 
 " from so fine a cause, and disavowed before all 
 " France.' 
 
 " The amendment of M. Trinquelague was 
 " loudly called for. M. Try spoke against the 
 " amendment, and said, ' the amnesty only com- 
 " prehended political crimes/ 
 
 " The minister of police rose. ' If,' said 
 " he, * private offences committed, since the best 
 " of kings has constantly enjoined respect for 
 " the laws as the first of duties, were to be ex- 
 " cepted, the amnesty would lose its grand, dis- 
 " tinct, and useful character. To adopt the 
 " amendment in the sense proposed, would be 
 « to proclaim that there have been murderers and 
 " brigands in the royal cause ; which you ought 
 « loudly to disavow, by rejecting the prono- 
 " sition that has been made.' " 
 
 The opposition made to the amendment of 
 M. Trinquelague explains its nature, and proves 
 that the object of that deputy, who was one of 
 the most violent in calling to order M. d'Argen- 
 son, was to protect the royalist catholics, who 
 had imbrued their hands in the blood of innocent 
 and defenceless citizens. 
 
REVOCATION OF ORDONNANCE. 535 
 
 If the deputies of the Garcl had not, on this 
 occasion, all the success they had anticipated, 
 they were more happy in their private efforts 
 to serve their constituents at Nismes. The 
 Journal Officiel thus announced the result of 
 their exertions: — " Our deputies, always occu- 
 pied with the interests of the department, have 
 powerfully contributed, by their constant soli- 
 citations, to obtain the revocation of the ordon- 
 nance of the 21st November. The Duke de 
 Feltre has communicated to them the ordon- 
 nance of the 10th January ; and informed them 
 that the troops would no longer be at the charge 
 of the inhabitants of Nismes. The deputies 
 have thus another title to our esteem and gra- 
 titude." 
 
 The following is the ordonnance of the 10th 
 January : — " Louis, by the grace of God, &c. 
 We are informed that our ordonnance of the 
 21st November last has met with that respect 
 and submission, in the city of Nismes, which we 
 had a right to expect ; that if the criminal whom 
 justice claimed is not yet arrested, severe en- 
 quiries have been made ; that they have been 
 seconded by the national guard, and by the in- 
 habitants ; that every thing announces that the 
 murderer of General Lagarde has neither asylum 
 nor protectors in Nismes. On the other hand, 
 the article of the constitutional charter, which, 
 recognizing the catholic religion for the religion 
 of the state, secures to other professions liberty 
 and protection, has been faithfully executed. 
 
 M M 4/ 
 
J>86 REVOCATION OF ORDONNANCE. 
 
 The temple of the protestants is open ; they en- 
 joy all the security guaranteed by the law. 
 
 " After so striking a return to order, we do 
 not wish to defer the revocation of the rigorous 
 measures which necessity alone forced us to 
 adopt. We therefore ordain as follows : — 
 
 " 1. The troops quartered on the inhabitants 
 of Nismes shall be withdrawn, without delay, and 
 distributed in the barracks, and such other places 
 of the department as our military commandant 
 shall think proper. 
 
 " Q. Our prefect shall testify to the inhabit- 
 ants of Nismes, that we are satisfied with the 
 zeal with which they have concurred in the 
 maintenance of tranquillity, and the re-establish- 
 ment of order in our said good city. 
 
 " Given the 10th of January, of the year of 
 grace 1816, and of our reign the 21st. 
 
 " Signed, &c. &c. Louis.'* 
 
 The royal ordonnance of the 21st of Novem- 
 ber declared, " that if so atrocious a crime were 
 to remain unpunished, all public security and 
 government would be at an end ;" and ordered 
 troops to be quartered on the inhabitants till 
 the assassin and his accomplices should be given 
 up. Now, on the 10th of January not one 
 " accomplice, author, or abettor," had been 
 punished or arrested, though a reward of three 
 thousand francs had been offered, immediately 
 on the commission of the crime ; the assassin 
 still remained unmolested, at four leagues dis- 
 
PROCLAMATION OF THE PREFECT. 537 
 
 tance, and money had been collected for him, 
 under the title of " an interesting character.' ' 
 The temples were opened, it is true ; but this 
 liberty was purchased by the forced concession 
 of those very temples. The concession had 
 been announced before public worship was at- 
 tempted ; and after its celebration, the security 
 of the protestants was ascribed, in the Official 
 Journal, to the restoration of the two edifices to 
 the catholic religion, the religion of the state. 
 Such, however, was the influence of the perse- 
 cutors with the government, that the ministers 
 of Louis XVIII. were induced to affix the sig- 
 nature of their master to a declaration " that 
 the assassin had neither friends nor protectors in 
 Nismes ; and that the inhabitants had returned 
 to principles of justice and order !" 
 
 The prefect of the Gard knew how to profit 
 by a royal ordonnance, obtained by the constant 
 solicitations of the faithful deputies of the de- 
 partment ; and, as soon as it arrived at Nismes, 
 he published the following proclamation : — 
 
 " At length, brave and loyal inhabitants, and 
 national guards of Nismes, after so much solici- 
 tude for your happiness and your fame, I have the 
 satisfaction to see a fine day dawn on that city, 
 the population of which has given so many 
 proofs of unalterable fidelity to legitimate 
 monarchy, to the august house which reigned so 
 long over our ancestors, and which, if our wishes 
 are granted by the Supreme Arbiter of kings and 
 
,538 PROCLAMATION OF THE PREFECT. 
 
 people, will reign eternally over our descend- 
 ants. 
 
 " The king is satisfied with your conduct ; he 
 has amply crowned all my desires, and rewarded 
 my efforts, by ordering me to inform you of his 
 sovereign and paternal satisfaction. Thus a 
 Jew errors, into which perfidious agitators, who 
 took advantage even of your loyalty, have pre- 
 cipitated you, are effaced ; thus, those calum- 
 nious reports which they have vainly tried to 
 propagate in the bosom of our country, and even 
 to the foot of our august monarch's throne, 
 but which have been disseminated with too 
 much success among foreign nations, now, in- 
 deed, undeceived as to our true sentiments, are 
 annihilated. 
 
 " I conjure you, therefore, brave inhabitants 
 and national guards of Nismes, continue to 
 merit, by your fidelity to the king, by your obe- 
 dience to the laws and his sacred orders, by your 
 resnect for the freedom of conscience and wor- 
 
 JL 
 
 ship, the favour which his Majesty has granted, 
 and the justification before Europe which his 
 Majesty has condescended himself to proclaim, 
 in his royal ordonnance of the 10th of this 
 month. Vive le Roi, vive d jamais notre grand, 
 notre bon Roi !" 
 
 This proclamation, couched nearly in the 
 terms of that of September 7th *, demonstrates 
 
 * See page 282. 
 
CONDUCT OF THE PREFECT. 539 
 
 that, however circumstances had rendered indis- 
 pensable some outward change, the source of 
 the evil remained as strong and as mischievous 
 as ever. The prefect pronounced the murders, 
 robberies, extortions, obscenities, and crimes of 
 six months to be only a few errors* into which 
 the loyal had been precipitated by perfidious 
 agitators, and declared that they were effaced ; 
 the prefect denounced the prayers of the suf- 
 ferers as calumnies which they had in vain at- 
 tempted to carry to the foot of the throne ; the 
 prefect held the persecutors justified to all Eu- 
 rope, by the royal ordonnance of Louis XVIII., 
 from those falsehoods by which foreign nations 
 had been deceived. The sentiments of the 
 prefect were, of course and of necessity, parti- 
 cipated by all the dependent functionaries of 
 the department. 
 
 It was this same prefect that M. Juillerat 
 Chasseur, one of the pastors of Nismes, with a 
 courage inspired by religion, endeavoured to in- 
 terest in favour of his imprisoned and persecuted 
 flock. In a street conducting to the prefecture, 
 several of the murderers were assembled ; and 
 on the approach of M. Juillerat they suspended 
 their conversation, prepared their fire-arms, and 
 one of them levelled his musket. Retreat and 
 resistance were equally impossible; and the 
 minister of mercy pursued his way : but he 
 met death with a countenance so calm, and an 
 air at once so resigned and intrepid, that the 
 assassins were involuntarily awed into impo- 
 
•540 CONDUCT OF THE PREFECT; 
 
 tence : they dropped their arms, and their vic- 
 tim lived. Under the impression of what he 
 owed to a watchful and restraining Providence, 
 M. Juillerat hastened to the hotel of the pre- 
 fect, and supported his solicitations for others 
 by the relation of the dangers from which he 
 had miraculously escaped himself. The pre- 
 fect was exceedingly amused ; and, with the 
 most self-complacent smiles, expressed his sur- 
 prise that a protestant pastor of Nismes should 
 feel the least inquietude at the mere joke of hav- 
 ing a musket levelled at his breast. M. Juillerat 
 acknowledged that he had forgotten at the mo- 
 ment all the proofs of playfulness given by his 
 catholic fellow-citizens for some months past j 
 and, dismissing any further consideration of his 
 own insecurity, he referred to the object of his 
 interview. " As for that," after relating the 
 history of all his ancestors who had been mem- 
 bers of the Academie Francaise, " as for that," 
 said the prefect, " my personal and official dig- 
 nity would be compromised were I to take 
 cognizance of the brawls and quarrels of the 
 lower classes. At Paris the women of the 
 Halle knock off each other's coiffures, but the 
 prefect never thinks it his duty to interfere." 
 
 The protestants of the Gard might well be 
 astonished and afflicted at the continuance 
 of such a magistrate in such a post, when a 
 foreign senator was induced thus to express his 
 feelings in the British senate : — " What was the 
 conduct of the English government in conse- 
 
SPEECH OF SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY. 541 
 
 quence of the outrages committed in the year 
 I7SO? The offenders were immediately prose- 
 cuted, and promptly visited with the just seve- 
 rity of the law : and even the first magistrate 
 of the city of London was proceeded against 
 for cowardice, in not having sufficiently exerted 
 himself to bring; the disturbances to an early 
 termination. Had any thing like this occurred 
 in France ? Was it not notorious that even 
 when the general sent to quell the rioters was 
 shot, nothing had been done by the prefect of 
 the department ? The assassin was well known, 
 but he had not been brought to justice. His 
 name was Boissin, and he was a Serjeant in the 
 national guard. A reward was offered for his 
 apprehension ; but those among whom he re- 
 sided pretended not to know him. He had 
 thus been suffered to escape ; and the magi- 
 strates, under whom he had been sheltered from 
 justice, were not removed. The interference of 
 the people of England, which had been cen- 
 sured, had been attended with the happiest 
 effect ; for to that the unfortunate protestants 
 owed what they enjoyed of toleration, which, 
 however, hardly deserved the name. * 
 
 * Sec speech of Sir Samuel Romilly, in reply to Lord 
 Castlereagh, whojirst introduced the subject into the House 
 of Commons, on the discussion of a motion relative to the 
 Spanish patriots, February 27. 1816. Sir Samuel Romilly 
 afterwards renewed the discussion ; and he brought forward, 
 on May 23. the following motion : — " That an humble Ad- 
 M dress be presented to His Royal Highness the Prince 
 
-542 SPEECH OF SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY. 
 
 If the continuance of the persecuting author- 
 ities in their places were a fearful sign, theprotest- 
 
 " Regent, praying that he will be pleased to give directions 
 " that there be laid before the House copies of all commu- 
 " nications between His Majesty's Government and the 
 " Government of France, relative to the Protestants in the 
 '•< southern departments of France." In a speech, which oc- 
 cupied between two and three hours, Sir Samuel Romilly 
 entered, with astonishing accuracy, into the whole history of 
 the alleged persecutions. He described the state of the pro- 
 testants, subsequently to the revocation of the edict of 
 Nantz, and up to the period of the first restoration of the 
 Bourbon family. He related the indignities and injuries to 
 which they were exposed, and the alarms by which they 
 were agitated, from that time till the departure of the king ; 
 and equally proved that, before that event, the protest- 
 ants were peaceable and faithful subjects ; and that, during 
 the period between that event and the second restoration, 
 they committed no violence, and indulged no revenge. 
 
 He then drew a touching picture of the persecutions of 
 the protestants, from July 15. 1815, and proceeded to ex- 
 pose, with the strongest indignation, the conduct of the local 
 authorities. He produced many of their proclamations, 
 commented on their negligence, their deceit, and criminality, 
 in suffering such outrages to be committed, and then to be 
 unpunished; and proved, from official papers, that when 
 some of the most dreadful massacres and outrages took place, 
 there were in the city twenty -four companies of infantry and 
 a regiment of cavalry. He called on the House to consider 
 the present condition of the protestants, at the mercy of ar- 
 bitrary and partial tribunals — insulted by the lowest rabble — 
 jostled, if they went into the streets, by the murderers of 
 their wives, parents and children — threatening them with their 
 looks, and exulting in their successful villany — the wretch 
 who shot General la Garde, and the monsters Trestaillons 
 and Quatre Taillons, still screened from justice. He con- 
 
 *3 
 
SPEECH OF SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY. ,543 
 
 ants had a still more alarming indication of what 
 awaited them, when they found their enemies had 
 
 jured every member to peruse the report of the gentleman who 
 had just returned from Nismes, which he saw the noble Lord 
 (Castlereagh) had in his hand * ; and concluded with remind- 
 ing the House and the Government, that while the nation in- 
 terfered as it had done, and continued to do, in the affairs of 
 France, it would fall under a very great degree of blame if it 
 should not ask protection for these unfortunate people. 
 
 The motion was opposed by Lord Castlereagh ; but, after 
 all, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, not professing to state 
 that any correspondence had taken place with the French 
 Government on the subject, produced in evidence only an 
 anonymous letter, written by a person, as he stated, a tra- 
 veller to the south. Even this statement was, however, more 
 than corroborative of the facts detailed by Sir Samuel Ro- 
 milly ; for it acknowledged that sanguinary songs had been 
 sung during the first restoration ; that protestants had been 
 deprived of offices and consideration ; and that 300 had 
 been murdered in Nismes, and 1000 in the department. 
 
 Mr. Brougham followed, in a most animated and eloquent 
 strain, and retorted on him the result of that interference 
 which had been charged on those who disapproved of the 
 treaty, allowing the slave-trade to continue for five years. 
 
 Lord Binning defended the line of argument adopted by 
 the Foreign Secretary. Mr. W. Smith thought it very re- 
 markable that, after the long duration of these persecutions, 
 and the deep interest which a large portion of the British 
 nation had taken in the situation of the protestants, nothing 
 was said of any existing correspondence between the re- 
 spective governments ; and that all that had been brought 
 forward was a letter, without any name. 
 
 Sir Samuel Romilly closed the debate with a most able 
 and energetic reply. He disclaimed the motives which had 
 
 * The Committee had presented copies of the Report of Mr. Penot to 
 the principal members of administration, previous to the debate 
 
514 REMOVAL OF M. CAVALIER. 
 
 sufficient interest to obtain a royal ordonnance for 
 the removal of almost their only legal friend, the 
 
 been charged on him, and reminded Lord Castlereagh that 
 he himself first brought the subject into Parliament, and, on 
 a discussion quite foreign, had unhandsomely reflected on 
 those benevolent persons who had taken up the cause of 
 suffering fellow-christians. He denied that the outrages 
 were confined to the Gard, though that department alone 
 contained between 3 and 400,000 inhabitants. He compared 
 the conduct of the British Government, on the occasion of 
 the riots of a few days in 1780 (to which the eight months' 
 persecution in the south had been compared) to that of the 
 French Government; and could not hold the latter free from 
 censure. He thought the Duke of Wellington's letter un- 
 justifiable. The Duke professed to speak from his own 
 knowledge ; but his assertions were not borne out by facts. 
 
 " Whatever imputations might be cast upon him," he said, 
 " for the discharge of his duty, it was some consolation to 
 the cause of humanity, that so obscure an individual as him- 
 self could bring into public discussion a topic of such an im- 
 portant nature ; and that there was one place, at least, in 
 Europe, where the oppressed could appeal, and where, so 
 long as public justice lingered in the world, acts of atrocity 
 could be stamped with infamy, and men, who were suffered to 
 go unpunished, be visited with public detestation. 
 
 " One of the prefects had observed, that the charges 
 against the fanatics of the south had been made in the face 
 of Europe. He felt, therefore, that when the whole question 
 was brought before Europe, the best results might with con- 
 fidence be anticipated." 
 
 Previously to this discussion it devolved on the author of 
 this volume to communicate with this illustrious descendant 
 of a French refugee. Often, at midnight, and when ex- 
 hausted by the labours of the senate and the bar, has he seen 
 him examine, with the most scrupulous attention, the de- 
 tails of the subject he wished to advocate, reduce every 
 
REMOVAL OF M. CAVALIER. £45 
 
 proaireur'gineral of the Cour Roy die of Nismes. 
 During more than three weeks, M. Cavalier did 
 not take off' his judicial robe, neither day nor 
 night. " It is covered with my toge" said he, to 
 his noble friend, M. Madier de Montjau, " that 
 I will present myself to the assassins, whom I 
 every moment expect. I have written to the 
 government that I expect death, and that I 
 shall receive it without pain ; because it is, per- 
 haps, death alone that can absolve my ministry 
 from the guilt of crimes which I am unable to 
 prevent." M. Cavalier had, indeed, witnessed 
 all the crimes that had been committed in the 
 name of " the altar and the throne;" he 
 had officially received memoirs and documents 
 from the persecuted, which were necessary to 
 the public prosecution of the criminals ; he had 
 refused, when solicited, to misrepresent the pro- 
 testants in his communications with the minister 
 of justice j he had held firmly to the laws, 
 amidst the wildest anarchy ; he had loudly ex- 
 pressed his intention of bringing before the tri- 
 bunals the guilty, the moment there was the 
 slightest appearance that justice had resumed 
 her seat. Such a magistrate was dangerous : he 
 was not assassinated, but he was displaced. 
 
 representation below the fact, in order to avoid the possi- 
 bility of exaggeration; and, in a question which others might 
 suppose an affair of party, exercise, in private, all the con- 
 scientious assiduity of an enquirer after an essential truth. 
 
 N N 
 
<04(j PROTESTANTS PROSECUTED 
 
 When the prisons were filled with protestants, 
 arrested in their own houses by Trestaillons, and 
 dragged to jail without any warrant, or record of 
 their confinement, M. Cavalier applied to M. Vi- 
 dal, commissary-general of police, to make ar- 
 rangements for their liberation. M. Vidal re- 
 fused his consent, and gave as his reasons, " that 
 all those who left the prisons would certainly be 
 murdered." M. Cavalier addressed the keeper of 
 the seals, received his order for the liberation of 
 those who were not detained by the prefect, and, 
 accordingly, requested from the prefect the 
 names of those imprisoned by his orders. The 
 prefect, instead of a reply, visited the prison, 
 accompanied by the mayor and the commissaries 
 of police, and liberated Maurin and his accom- 
 plices, arrested on the l6th of October, in the 
 act of plunder ; and detained respectable pro- 
 testants, whom M. Cavalier was anxious to de- 
 liver. * When M. Bernard replaced M. Cavalieiv 
 he received a long list of crimes, charged on 
 persons whom his predecessor intended to prose- 
 cute. It led to no results. 
 
 No sooner was M. Cavalier removed than prose- 
 cutions were commenced against the protestants,. 
 and the tribunals became the servile and dreadful 
 instruments of a cruel and feigned fanaticism. 
 
 The spirit of the local authorities was per- 
 fectly displayed in the publicity and importance 
 
 * Among these was M. Lombard, of Uzes, son of a pro- 
 testant minister. He was confined nine months without 
 warrant. He is now juge at Nismes ! 
 
BY THE TRIBUNALS. 54Q 
 
 they gave to every trifle by which they might 
 throw odium on the sufferers, compared with 
 their silence or their exculpatory language when 
 the murders and robberies committed on the 
 protectants were brought before the public. 
 
 In connection with the charge of a treasonable 
 correspondence with foreigners, the following 
 account of an insignificant affair was published, 
 January 6th, in the Journal Officiel. " False 
 and alarming rumours are circulating in the 
 department; the people should no longer be 
 kept in agitation ; we should endeavour to con- 
 solidate the peace we enjoy. The rumours are 
 similar to what follows. On the 3d of this 
 month, the correctional tribunal tried Etienne 
 Girard, a native of Toulouse, pretending to have 
 returned from the prisons of England, and con- 
 victed of having said on the 7th of December 
 to two soldiers, on the road from Beauvoisin 
 to Vauvert, * that the king had issued an or- 
 donnance for butchering all the protestants in 
 France ; but that the English would soon 
 arrive in the ports and avenge their death.* He 
 was condemned to a year's imprisonment, a fine 
 of 100 francs, and five years' inspection of the 
 police. The sentence is to be printed and pub- 
 lished in all the communes." It should be 
 observed, that the soldiers in question were some 
 of the plunderers who infested the country, and 
 that at this period, witnesses daily swore to the 
 most palpable falsehoods, under the protection 
 of the courts. 
 
 N N L 2 
 
548 JOURNAL OFFICIEL. 
 
 In the Journal Officiel of the 10th of January, 
 the assassination of M. Perrin at Alais, by a 
 catholic, was basely charged on the protestants, 
 and described as the result of a plot of many in- 
 dividuals. The prefect set out for Alais, and 
 in a proclamation, declared, that " the crime 
 appeared to have been committed by the ene- 
 mies of the king and the country," and thus 
 magnified an act of private malice into a vast 
 political conspiracy. The same falsehood was 
 propagated in the Journal of the 17th, which 
 announced that on the 15th, the Cour cV Assises, 
 had condemned to death Porcet, for having fired 
 at a royalist, and occasioned him an illness, and 
 loss of work for 20 days. " May this example," 
 it added, " alarm those evil-disposed persons, 
 who carry in their breasts the most wicked in- 
 tentions, and have proved by the crime which 
 they have committed at Alais, to what extent 
 they are determined to push their audacity and 
 fury. 
 
 An article in the Journal of the 20th was 
 expressed as follows : " By the jugement of the 
 17th, Jacques Rouviere and his wife, of Vau- 
 vert, were condemned ; Jacques to two months' 
 imprisonment, and his wife to four months ; to 
 separate confinement, to all the costs, and 100 
 francs' fine to the plaintiffs, Granet and his wife, 
 for having charged them with making lists of 
 protestants who ought to be murdered. — On the 
 18th, JeanBonnafet, of Sommieres, was acquitted 
 of having uttered seditious cries ; but it ap- 
 
JOURNAL OFFICIEL. 54f) 
 
 pearing that he had reported in places of 
 public resort, that a gendarme had shewn him 
 a letter, containing an order to the catholics to 
 murder all the protestants ; on consideration of 
 the circumstances of extenuation, the tribunal 
 condemned him to six days' imprisonment, a 
 fine of 50 francs, and the costs, and the forfeit- 
 ure, during five years, of the civic rights men- 
 tioned in article 42 of the penal code." 
 
 M. Bonnafet is a respectable protestant, 
 eighty years of age ; the perjured witnesses ad- 
 duced against him contradicted each other, and 
 in order to justify his shameful arrest, recourse 
 was had to a false report of language held 
 anterior to the affair for which he had been 
 tried. 
 
 In the beginning of February, the proceedings 
 of the tribunals was thus described in the same 
 official journal : " Our magistrates are ever eager 
 to empty the prisons, which our late troubles 
 have filled) and to do justice to the detained. 
 At every sitting of the tribunal, and in which 
 they try principally those accused of seditious 
 cries, some are acquitted, and others are sen- 
 tenced to punishments more or less severe. 
 The 7th of this month, several individuals were 
 condemned to imprisonment proportionate to 
 their political offences. These examples prove 
 that justice is active, and restrains the seditious. 
 Impunity had only emboldened them ; but for 
 some time past, seditious cries have not been so 
 common." Another article, after stating that 
 
 N N 3 
 
550 INIQUITOUS VERDICTS. 
 
 the tribunal of police correctionelle employed 
 the greatest activity in judging those arrested 
 for political offences, added, " In the sitting of 
 the 17th of February, there was particularly 
 noticed, the case of a girl accused of seditious 
 discourse. The exaltation of her opinions, had 
 not only led her to hold conversation disrespect- 
 ful to the royal family, but also to menace old 
 men, and strike children. She was convicted 
 of seditious discourse, and of having thrown a 
 stone at the breast of a girl, which caused her 
 to faint, and obliged her to employ a surgeon for 
 several days : considering that she had already 
 been confined in prison six months, she was con- 
 demned to six months' more imprisonment, a 
 fine of 50 francs, the expenses of the proceed- 
 ings, and at the expiration of her imprisonment, 
 three years' surveillance of the haute police, un- 
 der a bond of 200 francs." 
 
 It is impossible to imagine more revolting- 
 partiality, or more shameful injustice than was 
 thus every day consummated under the sanction 
 of the laws : perjury was treated as a virtue, while 
 an honest witness exposed himself to instant 
 death, for deposing to the truth, and even in the 
 presence of the judge, was reminded of his fate. 
 
 Sayen, sixty years of age, an old inhabitant 
 of Nismes, father of a large family, in easy cir- 
 cumstances, of irreproachable character, was 
 sentenced, for a pretended robbery, to five years* 
 imprisonment, and to the pillory. He petitioned 
 the minister of justice ; but in the meantime 
 
INIQUITOUS VERDICTS. 551 
 
 suffered the most horrible part of his sentence ; 
 for an hour, his grey hairs were exhibited on 
 the scaffold, amid the furious insults of the 
 populace, who with difficulty permitted his de- 
 graded form to be conveyed back alive to his 
 dungeon. When M, Trinquelague was no longer 
 secretary of justice, he was liberated ; and his 
 three companions, who put themselves on their 
 trial, were all acquitted. * 
 
 In the month of March, several catholics of 
 Nismes, who had been arrested by the efforts 
 of M. Cavalier, were brought to trial. They 
 had invaded the commune of Senilhac, armed, 
 and in uniform, pillaged the whole village, and 
 levied arbitrary contributions. They were 
 taken in the act of robbery, and the property 
 they had plundered was found upon them. 
 The Journal Officiel observed, " that as these 
 ten individuals were all of Nismes, and had all 
 marched under the banners of the Duke d'An- 
 gouleme, a great concourse of people was col- 
 lected." The inference is direct : they were 
 all acquitted. The next day, six protestants 
 were put to the bar, charged with having taken 
 part in a quarrel, in which a man, named Riche, 
 had received a wound or a scratch in the hand : 
 they were all condemned j — Sauze le Pur, and 
 Deylau, sen. having 12 children, to be marked 
 with hot irons, the pillory, and the galleys for 
 life ; Gourdoux to ten years' imprisonment, the 
 
 * See page 162. 
 N N 4< 
 
55 c 2 ACCOUNT OF THE JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS 
 
 pillory, and the hot iron ; Sauze de Pinet, to 
 the galleys for seven years, the hot iron, and the 
 pillory ; Deylau, jun., to the galleys for jive years, 
 the pillory, and the hot iron. 
 
 The manner in which these verdicts were 
 obtained, has thus been described by the cele- 
 brated M. Madier de Montjau, judge of the 
 Cour Royale of Nismes, and president of the 
 Cour d y Assises of the Gard and the Vaucluse. 
 
 " My conscience tells me that I did not 
 merit censure the day that I quitted the court 
 rather than witness the crime of Truphemy. 
 — In a hall of the palace of justice, opposite 
 that in which I sat, unfortunate persons, per- 
 secuted by the faction, were being tried. Every 
 deposition tending to their crimination, was 
 applauded with cries of * Vive le Roi /' Three 
 times the explosion of this atrocious joy, be- 
 came so terrible, that it was necessary to send 
 for reinforcements from the barracks, to increase 
 tenfold the military posts, and two hundred 
 soldiers were often unable to restrain the peo- 
 ple. On a sudden, the shouts and cries of 
 ' Vive le Roi !* redoubled. A man arrives, 
 caressed, applauded, borne in triumph : it is 
 the horrible Truphemy ; he approaches the 
 tribunal ; he comes to depose against the pri- 
 soners ; he is admitted as a witness ; he raises 
 his hand to take the oath ! Seized with horror 
 at the sight, I rush from my seat, and enter 
 the hall of council ; my colleagues follow me ; 
 in vain they persuade me to resume my seat. 
 
13Y M. MAIMER DE MONTJAU. 553 
 
 1 No,' exclaimed I, ■ I will not consent to see that 
 wretch admitted to give evidence in a court of 
 justice, in the city which he has filled with 
 murders, in the palace, on the steps of which 
 he has murdered the unfortunate Bourillon. * 
 I should not more revolt from seeing him kill 
 his victims, as of late, with his poniard, than 
 from seeing him kill them by his depositions. 
 He accuser ! he a witness ! ! No ! never will I 
 consent to see this monster raise, in the presence 
 of magistrates, to take a sacrilegious oath, his 
 hand still reeking with blood!' These words 
 were repeated out of doors ; the witness trem- 
 bled, the factious trembled ; the factious, who 
 guided the tongue of Truphemy, as they had 
 directed his arm, who dictated calumny, after 
 having taught him murder. These words pene- 
 trated the dungeons of the condemned, and in- 
 spired hope ; they gave to a courageous advocate 
 the determination to sustain the cause of the per- 
 secuted. He carried to the foot of the throne 
 the prayer of misery and innocence. There 
 he asked, if the evidence of a Truphemy was 
 not enough to annul a sentence. The king 
 accorded a free and full pardon." t 
 
 • M. Bourillon was killed by Truphemy on the esplanade, 
 August 2d. the day appointed for the adoption of an address 
 to the king. The magistrates, assembled in the jmlais de 
 justice, heard the report of the muskets with which he was 
 shot. — See page 233. 
 
 f To such an infamous perfection was this system of 
 perjury and subornation carried, that twenty-six witnesses 
 were found to sign and swear, that on the 3d of April, 1815, 
 
.554 NOBLE BEHAVIOUR OF 
 
 If this testimony from a catholic judge can 
 receive any addition, it will be found in the 
 
 General Gilly, with his own hand, and before their eyes, took 
 down the white flag at Nismes ; though it was demonstrated, 
 that at the time the tri-coloured flag was raised, he was 
 fifteen leagues from Nismes, and that he did not arrive there 
 till three days after that event. Before tribunals thus gar- 
 nished, innocence had not even a chance of protection. 
 General Gilly was too prudent to appear, and was condemned 
 to death on the charge of contumacy. When the General 
 quitted Nismes, he thought either of passing into a foreign 
 country, or of joining the army of the Loire, and it was 
 long supposed that he had actually escaped. But it was 
 impossible to gain any point, or find any security ; his only 
 hope was in concealment. The attempt was desperate ; a 
 friend found him an asylum in the cottage of a peasant, but 
 that peasant was a protestant, and the General was a ca- 
 tholic. " The step," said his friend, " merits consideration." 
 The General did not hesitate; the [protestant was poor, and 
 his own life might be sold at a great price ; but he confided 
 in his honour. He entered the cottage of a peasant, of the 
 canton of Anduze. The name of Perrier deserves to be 
 recorded: he lives by his daily labour, but he displayed 
 virtues which would adorn a throne. The fugitive was 
 welcomed ; his name was not asked ; it was a time of pro- 
 scription ; his host would know nothing of him ; it was 
 enough that he was unfortunate, and in danger. He was 
 disguised, and he passed for the cousin of Perrier. The Ge- 
 neral is naturally amiable, and he made himself agreeable, 
 sat by the fire, eat potatoes, and contented himself with 
 miserable fare. For several months he preserved his retreat, 
 though subject to frequent and eminent alarms. Often he 
 heard the visitors of his host, boast of having concealed 
 General Gilly, or of being acquainted with the place of his 
 concealment. Patroles were continually searching for arms 
 in the houses of the protestants ; often in the night the 
 
A PEASANT OF ANDUZE. 555 
 
 declaration of a catholic advocate in the Cour 
 Roy ale of Nismes. 
 
 General was obliged to leave his mattrass, and, half-naked, 
 hide himself in the fields. Perrier, to avoid these dangers 
 and inconveniences, made an underground passage, by which 
 his guest might pass to an out-house constructed on the 
 premises. The wife of Perrier could not endure that one 
 who had seen better days should live, as her family, on 
 vegetables and bread, and she occasionally bought meat 
 to regale the melancholy stranger. These purchases were 
 so unusual, that they excited attention ; in a time of terror, 
 danger is every where ; it was suspected that Perrier had 
 some one concealed ; nightly visits were more frequent. 
 In this state of agony, he sometimes complained of the 
 hardness of his lot. Perrier one day returned from market, 
 in a meditative mood, and, after some enquiries from his 
 anxious guest, he replied, " Why do you complain; you are 
 fortunate, compared with the poor wretches whose heads 
 were cried in the market : Bruguier, the pastor, at 2400 
 francs ; Bresse, the mayor, at 2400 francs ; and General 
 Gilly at 10,000 !" 
 
 " Is it possible ?" M Aye, it is certain." Gilly concealed 
 his emotion ; a momentary suspicion passed his mind ; he 
 appeared to reflect. " Perrier," said he, " I am weary of 
 life ; you are poor, and want money ; I know Gilly, and the 
 place of his concealment ; let us denounce him ; I shall no 
 doubt obtain my liberty, and you shall have the 10,000 
 francs." The old man stood speechless, and as if petrified. 
 His son, a gigantic peasant, 27 years of age, who had served 
 in the army, rose from his chair in which he had listened 
 to the conversation, and, in a tone not to be described, said, 
 " Sir, hitherto, we thought you unfortunate, but honest ; we 
 have respected your sorrow, and kept your secret ; but 
 since you are one of those wretched beings who would 
 inform of a fellow-creature, and insure his death to save 
 yourself, there is the door ; and if you do not retire, I will 
 
556 DECLARATION OF A 
 
 " I arrived at Nismes at a late period," says 
 M.Lauze dePeret, "in May, 1816; at that epoch, 
 though the government was employed in bring- 
 ing the department under the empire of the 
 laws, the same men continued in the public 
 functions, and M. d'Arbaud Jouques remained 
 prefect. The society called Royal, and its 
 secret committee, maintained a power superior 
 to the laws. It was not possible to procure the 
 condemnation of an assassin, of whose crime the 
 evidence was incontestible, and for whom, in 
 other times, there would have been no hope of 
 escape. The invisible power by which Nismes 
 was oppressed, was revealed to me in all its 
 
 throw you out of the window. Gilly hesitated ; the peasant 
 insisted ; the General wished to explain, but he was seized 
 by the collar. — " Suppose I should be General Gilly," said 
 the fugitive : the soldier paused. " And it is even so," he 
 continued; " denounce me, and the 10,000 francs are yours." 
 The soldier threw himself on his neck; the family were 
 dissolved in tears ; they kissed his hands, his clothes ; pro- 
 tested they would never let him leave them, and that they 
 would rather die than he should be arrested. In their kind- 
 ness he was more secure than ever ; but their cottage was 
 more suspected, and he was at length obliged to seek another 
 asylum. The family refused any indemnity for the expense 
 he had occasioned them, and it was not till long after, that 
 he decided them to accept an acknowledgment for the hos- 
 pitality he had experienced. When the course of justice 
 was more free, in 1820, General Gilly demanded to be tried; 
 but there was nothing against him ; and the Duke d'Angou- 
 leme conveyed to Madame Gilly the permission of the king, 
 for the return of her husband to the bosom of his country. 
 
CATHOLIC ADVOCATE. 557 
 
 horror. The Truphemys, &c. &c. appeared in 
 public, wearing immense moustaches, and their 
 cockades embroidered with green, which they 
 have not yet abandoned (1818). Like the bri- 
 gands of Calabria, they had at their waist a 
 poniard and two pistols. Their appearance 
 diffused an air of melancholy mixed with in- 
 dignation. Even amidst the bustle of the day, 
 there was the silence of fear, and the night was 
 disturbed by atrocious songs, or African vocifer- 
 ations, like the sudden cries of ferocious beasts. 
 A house near that in which I resided was the 
 den of a club, dependent on that central society, 
 which, without powers, governed Nismes. Over 
 the door was inscribed Societe Royale, and the 
 motto in the style of the committee of public 
 safety, was * The Bourbons or death P It was 
 rare for protestants to appear in public. 1 have 
 seen them driven from the promenades by a brutal 
 and arrogant populace. Even at that period, 
 the protestants dared not exercise their calling. 
 Heterodox workmen were not permitted to gain 
 their bread. I have seen pious porters pursue 
 their protestant comrades with stones, drive 
 them from the street, and not suffer respectable 
 bales to be touched by polluted hands. 
 
 " * The faithful,' remembering the plagues 
 of Egypt, had marked their houses with the sign 
 of the cross. Those without this sign were 
 designated to Trestaillons and his familiers. 
 Their zeal had not neglected to purge also the 
 sanctuary of justice. The faction, every where 
 
5.58 ADVOCATE ATTACKED EY THE MOE, 
 
 dominant, put in requisition the judges. There 
 was no security for them ; and so far was there 
 from being tranquillity in the court, which ought 
 to have been inviolable, that two different times, 
 while defending the protestants, I was insulted, 
 openly menaced, and even forced to abandon 
 my clients. Deprived of all support from the 
 administration, it was necessary thus to concede, 
 to save the prisoners from the certain dangers 
 which would have followed the proof of their 
 innocence. 
 
 « On the 10th July, 1816, I defended a man, 
 whom it was impossible to reproach. I esta- 
 blished his innocence by certain and unanswer- 
 able testimony ; but the persecutors were the 
 more determined on his condemnation, as he be- 
 longed to Nismes ; and as they wanted a judicial 
 act to accredit a lie, for ever repeated, ' that 
 the protestants of Nismes had ill-treated the 
 royal volunteers. 5 I proved that, on the con- 
 trary, to several of these volunteers he had 
 rendered particular services. It was necessary 
 to oppose my evidence ; my voice was drowned : 
 I was abused, threatened, and clenched fists 
 announced the decision of the populace. A 
 witness thus brought against me was a simple 
 labourer ; but that day he wore a sword, and 
 menaced me with it in full assembly. All was 
 suspended ; the president exposed to me the 
 danger of a contest. The audience was com- 
 posed almost entirely of the faithful horde ; and 
 I remarked among them the famous Truphemv. 
 
 13 
 
FRESH OUTRAGES. .5.59 
 
 Thus fell the accused j but his innocence was so 
 formal and indisputable, that the procureur- 
 general afterwards obtained the reversion of his 
 sentence, or rather his full pardon. I have 
 mentioned this circumstance to prove what must 
 have been the terror in 1815, if so much re- 
 mained at the expiration of a year." 
 
 The populace, who displayed such zeal and 
 audacity in the courts of law, and in the presence 
 of the judges, were slow to comprehend the 
 policy of their leaders, which enjoined the sus- 
 pension of massacre and pillage ; and it was ne- 
 cessary to grant some indulgence to habits so 
 long established. The news of the commotions 
 at Grenoble and Dauphiny served as a pretext, 
 though they had no relation to protestant or 
 catholic opinions ; and the rabble of Nismes re- 
 commenced their violence. 
 
 Two houses, one belonging to Paulet, a gar- 
 dener, and the other to Crouzat, a la Placette, 
 were pillaged and devastated, the protestants 
 were beaten in the streets, and several were con- 
 fined to their beds, in consequence of their 
 wounds. 
 
 On Sunday, the 12th of May, the city was 
 thrown into dreadful confusion. Many protest- 
 ants tied, and others were barricaded in their 
 houses ; but few attended public worship. After 
 service, the pastor gave the religious benediction 
 to a marriage. The bridal party was attacked 
 as it left the temple : the husband and others 
 were dangerously wounded. 
 
•560 CONVERSIONS. 
 
 The next clay, the residences of the persons 
 ill-treated were forcibly entered. One of these, 
 Teissonier, was near being murdered. A dozen 
 of these monsters rushed into his chamber, threw 
 themselves on his wounded body, with the in- 
 tention of suffocating or strangling him ; and 
 would have succeeded, had it not been for a 
 catholic woman, who lodged in his house. After 
 breaking two chairs, in endeavouring to beat 
 them off, she fetched her child, thrust it on the 
 bed, between the murderers and the body of 
 her landlord, and exclaimed, " If you kill him, 
 you shall first kill my child." Among so many 
 crimes, it is a pleasure to record this instance of 
 humanity and heroism. 
 
 The terrorists marched through the faubourgs, 
 knocking at the doors of the protestants, and 
 publishing, with horrid imprecations, the arrival 
 of a royal ordonnance, which commanded all 
 protestants to embrace the catholic faith and 
 declared that there should be but one religion 
 throughout the kingdom. These reports, calcu- 
 lated to deceive the ignorant, and alarm the 
 timid, were accompanied with pompous con- 
 versions. Those of Serrasse, and Sequin, formerly 
 a violent Jacobin, were particularly distinguished. 
 The apostate published an account of his con- 
 version, or rather it was prepared for him, in 
 which he celebrated three returns; — his own 
 return to the bosom of the church ; the return 
 of the pope to Rome ; and the return of Louis 
 XVIII. to the throne of his ancestors. This 
 
SENTENCE OF PENARIER. 5()l 
 
 absurd and fanatical composition was profusely 
 distributed, and stuck up at the corners of the 
 streets. 
 
 The arrival of M. de Bernis and M. de Cal- 
 vieres, two of the deputies of the department, 
 presented another opportunity of tumult and 
 rejoicing. The women of the Bourgades went 
 to meet them, having at their head the whippers, 
 la compagnie desjbuetteuses.* Their gestures, 
 manners, and vociferations made them resemble 
 furies ; and the protestants, who were compelled 
 to behold them, shuddered with horror. 
 
 To such a people the tribunals were con- 
 tinually affording fresh occasions of triumph and 
 gratification : blood was their delight ; and if 
 it must not be shed by their own hands, they 
 must, at least, see it flow at the hands of the 
 executioner. From these tribunals the semblance 
 and the attributes of equity were removed. In- 
 stead of justice, appeared a demon; the sword 
 was exchanged for a dagger, the balance for a 
 bribe, and eyes unveiled shot malice and re- 
 venge. 
 
 A few days after the scene described by 
 M. de Peret, July 15., Francois Penarier was 
 condemned to death, on the charge of having 
 fired at Nicolas, at Arpaillargues, in July, 1815. 
 The protestant peasantry were assembled at that 
 period, to resist the threatened attacks of the 
 
 # So called from their having been most active in whip- 
 ping and heating the protestant women with batons full of 
 nails. 
 
 o o 
 
562 EXECUTION OF PENARIER. 
 
 catholic army ; and religious . enthusiasm ab- 
 sorbed every other feeling. The pastors pre- 
 sented themselves to restrain the vengeance of 
 the protestants. One of them, M. Olive, not 
 being generally known, was seized by some of the 
 peasants as an enemy ; but no sooner did they 
 learn that he was pastor of St. Chaptes, than 
 they embraced him, and, bursting into tears, ex- 
 claimed, "Ah! Sir, it is our religion they in- 
 tend to destroy, and for which we are deter- 
 mined to die." * 
 
 Penarier is considered to have been innocent ; 
 and it is known that, at the moment Nicolas was 
 killed, Feline, the principal witness against the 
 prisoner, enquired who had fired the shot. And 
 even supposing Penarier to have occasioned the 
 death of Nicolas, the event had occurred at a 
 period of civil conflict, when the royal govern- 
 ment was not established, and in consequence of 
 the violation of a convention on the part of the 
 deceased. But Penarier was tried in the hall 
 where Truphemy appeared as a witness ; and he 
 was condemned. On the 31st August he was 
 executed ; Messrs. Vincent and Tachard, pas- 
 tors of Nismes, accompanied him to the guillo- 
 tine. He met his fate with Christian courage 
 and resignation, and died protesting his inno- 
 cence. His wife fell a sacrifice to grief for the 
 loss of her husband , and their three orphan 
 children were left entirely to the care of pro- 
 
 * See page 325. 
 
CONDEMNATION OF FIVE PROTESTANTS. 563 
 
 vidence, and chargeable to the courts to the 
 amount of 1200 francs, to which their father had 
 been sentenced. 
 
 In the same month, July 1816, nine individuals 
 were condemned for an affair which took place 
 in the same village, at the period of the capture 
 of the Duke d'Angouleme. The disbanded 
 volunteers, marching through the country with 
 their arms, in opposition to the terms of the 
 treaty, attempted to enter the village by force, 
 and two of them were killed. * Eight protest- 
 ants were sentenced to the guillotine, and one 
 to be marked with a hot iron and to the gallies 
 for life. They heard their sentence with the 
 greatest calmness. They appealed to the Court 
 of Cassation, and to the clemency of the king. 
 His majesty commuted the punishment of 
 death for perpetual labour, in favour of three 
 of the applicants ; and five, among whom were 
 two females, were ordered for execution. 
 
 As soon as the information arrived, the pastors 
 hastened to the dungeons, in which, for months, 
 the prisoners had languished and groaned. 
 Though they were visited very frequently, they 
 learned, from the countenances of the ministers 
 as they entered, all the truth, and perceived that 
 death was near. " We have long expected it," 
 they exclaimed ; " and you have prepared us for 
 it. We are not afraid to die." To administer 
 more copiously to the appetite of the people, and 
 
 * See page 153. 
 o o 2 
 
5C)4f THREE PROTESTANTS EXECUTED 
 
 to consolidate more effectually the system of 
 terror, two spectacles were ordered, and the exe- 
 cutions were divided ; three were to take place 
 at Nismes, and two at Arpaillargues. Reboul, 
 Bresson, and Dame Verdus, aged sixty-five, were 
 to be executed at Nismes. The pastors, and 
 M. Roux, pastor of Uzes, shut themselves up 
 with them in their cells, to console their minds, 
 and prepare them for the solemn hour. Their 
 efforts were crowned by the blessing of Heaven. 
 The unhappy protestants, accompanied by two 
 pastors, ascended the scaffold, with a confidence 
 which the people at first considered mere arro- 
 gance, but which religion only could inspire. 
 Dame Verdus was the first ; and she mounted 
 the guillotine singing those words of the 25th 
 psalm : " Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my 
 soul. O my God, I trust in thee, let me not be 
 ashamed ; let not mine enemies triumph over 
 me," &c. &c. 
 
 Reboul died, recommending his family to God, 
 and imploring for himself his grace and mercy. 
 
 Bresson, who was naturally ardent, began to 
 complain of the injustice of his lot, and of the 
 conduct of his persecutors ; but, on receiving 
 a look from his pastors, who were at his side, 
 the murmurs expired on his lips, and he wel- 
 comed death, which he said he suffered for his 
 religion, and prayed that his relatives and 
 friends who survived him might see happier 
 days. He desired that some clothes he had left 
 in prison might be sent to his father, as the last 
 
AT NISMES. 56.5 
 
 expression of his filial attachment. " Though 
 young," said he, " I do not regret life ; I leave 
 the world with resignation, because I am confi- 
 dent that the God with whom my religion has 
 made me acquainted, will be more merciful and 
 more just than those who have condemned me 
 to this shameful death : but 1 feel for my aged 
 father, who depended on me, and has no one 
 left for his support." These executions took 
 place on the 24th of September, 1816 ; and, in 
 the course of a few weeks, Trestaillons and 
 his satellites had the gratification of seeing four 
 protestants perish, as criminals, on the scaffold 
 of Nismes. 
 
 The revolutionary arrangements of the ma- 
 gistrates had not merely divided the executions, 
 but separated the females, so that the death of 
 a woman might increase the tragic interest of 
 each scene, and brutalize, if possible, still more 
 the cruel agents of persecution. The widow 
 Boucoiran, and Boisson, seventy-eight years of 
 age, were ordered to Arpaillargues, on the night 
 of the day on which their unfortunate com- 
 panions had suffered at Nismes. Before they 
 set out, the widow Boucoiran requested her 
 companion, and all who were present, to unite 
 with her in devotion. She then knelt down, 
 and offered an affecting prayer, suited to her 
 dreadful situation, and afterwards sang the 
 51st psalm : " Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 
 according to thy loving-kindness j according unto 
 000 
 
566 WIDOW BOUCOIRAN. 
 
 the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my 
 transgressions," &c. 
 
 M. Tachard, pastor of Nismes, and M. Roux, 
 pastor of Uzes, accompanied these prisoners in 
 the voiture ; and, during a journey of four 
 leagues, the conversation was wholly occupied 
 with religious subjects. As they passed the 
 town of Uzes, the steeple of the protestant 
 church met their eyes. " Blessed temple i" 
 exclaimed Boucoiran, " where I loved so much 
 to worship, I shall never see you more ; but I 
 shall go to one still more glorious in heaven, 
 and angels will conduct me there." At the sight 
 of a mill on the road, she requested that the 
 miller might be paid for some flour, for which 
 she was indebted. When the voiture arrived at 
 the village of Arpaillargues, " Here I am about 
 to die," she said, " before my own house : my 
 children are, perhaps, there concealed 5 and I 
 must leave the world without giving and receiv- 
 ing one embrace.. Ah ! this is, indeed, painful 
 to a mother's heart ; but the will of the Lord be 
 done." Looking round, she continued, " Every 
 thing in nature dies, — trees, flowers, all perish. 
 We are like flowers ; why should not I die also ? 
 But when I am no more, watch over my chil- 
 dren : let them, I beseech you, be well in- 
 structed in religion, that they may find it sup- 
 port them, as it has supported me, and as it now 
 supports me in my last trial. Make them learn 
 the catechism thoroughly, and let them be 
 taught trades, that they may gain an honest 
 
EXHORTATION OF M. ROUX. 56J 
 
 livelihood, and be placed above the temptation 
 of abandoning their religion." 
 
 At the foot of the scaffold, M. Roux addressed 
 an exhortation to the condemned, which deeply 
 impressed not only them, but many who were 
 collected to witness and enjoy the execution. 
 A few sentences were collected. "You are now," 
 said he, " arrived at the end of your melancholy 
 journey. On this spot you are to be executed. 
 Listen, for the last time, to the voice of a 
 pastor, who, with deep affliction, witnesses the 
 death of the members of the flock committed to 
 his care ; but who will esteem himself most 
 happy, if, by the help of the Lord, he be made 
 instrumental to their salvation. It is not the 
 scaffold, on which you are about to receive an 
 easy death, a death which you will scarcely feel, 
 that should inspire you with terror ; it is the idea 
 of the tribunal of the Supreme Judge, before 
 which you must immediately appear. You have 
 but a few moments to live j but connected with 
 these remaining moments is your eternal hap- 
 piness or woe. Improve them ; hear nothing, 
 observe nothing that passes around you ; regard 
 only the cross on which your Saviour hung and 
 expired. Hear him say to a malefactor who 
 died by his side, * This day thou shalt be with 
 me in paradise.' If you supplicate with the 
 same ardour, he will bestow on you the same 
 grace ; and if, after his example, you have for- 
 given, and now forgive, he will forgive you. 
 Though you should be innocent of the crimes of 
 o o 4 
 
568 EXECUTION OF 
 
 which you are accused, you are still great sin- 
 ners before God. Fall, then, at his paternal 
 feet ; let your hearts soften at the remembrance 
 of the death and blood of his son ; and, covered 
 with that precious blood, say to him, * Divine 
 Jesus, we have no hope but in thee ; it is from 
 thy death alone that we hope for life. Thou 
 didst not come into our world to save the just, 
 but the unjust. Save us, then, O Lord, so that 
 when we are dead to this world, we may live to 
 thee. We fear thy justice ; but thine infinite 
 mercy encourages us. Society rejects us, all 
 abandon us j but thou, tender friend, receive us 
 to thy breast. There we cast ourselves, with 
 perfect confidence. Wash in thy blood all our 
 sins ; apply to us all the merit of thy sacrifice. 
 Cleanse our souls from all their impurity and 
 stains, take them to thyself, and introduce them 
 to the heavens, where thou eternally livest and 
 reignest. In this sweet and consoling hope we 
 present our bodies to the stroke of the exe- 
 cutioner.* " 
 
 At the conclusion of this prayer, M. Roux 
 raised the widow Boucoiran, and conducted her 
 on to the scaffold, which she ascended with an 
 energy and fortitude altogether above her sex. 
 Her resignation, the prayers which she offered, 
 with an unaltered tone, for her own salvation ; 
 the forgiveness of her enemies, which she re- 
 peatedly pronounced, astonished and affected 
 many of the spectators. Till the moment that 
 the instrument of death severed the head from 
 
I30UCOIKAN AND BOISSON*. 56\) 
 
 her body, the voice of prayer was heard to issue 
 from her lips. Her pastor prayed, also, beside 
 her, till she had passed into an eternal world ; 
 and then, covered with her blood, he prayed for 
 her companion, Boisson, who also ascended with 
 a firm step, pardoned his persecutors, implored 
 the grace of God, and resigned himself to death 
 with a calm and dignified confidence, of which 
 the multitude had never beheld an example. 
 
 The bodies remained some time on the spot ; 
 and no one would assist in their interment. 
 M. Roux would not quit them. He procured 
 two protestants, who were in the village, and, 
 aided by some persons ordered to the service by 
 the adjunct of the mayor, they conveyed the 
 corpses to two holes, which had been prepared 
 the night before. All the consideration and im- 
 portance of M. Roux was necessary to restrain 
 the brutal malignity of wretches, who, not satis- 
 fied with exulting in the execution of the un- 
 fortunate, longed for the gratification of insult- 
 ing their lifeless remains. 
 
 The widow Boucoiran left four orphan chil- 
 dren ; the eldest, a girl of thirteen years of age, 
 was thrown into prison, charged with a capital 
 crime, and brought before the cour d'assises, 
 with an old man, eighty years of age. While in 
 prison she was separated from her mother, who 
 was not permitted to see her child before her 
 death, and exposed to numerous inducements to 
 renounce the religion in which she had been 
 educated, and embrace the catholic faith. 
 
570 MANY OTHER PROTESTANTS CONDEMNED. 
 
 Many other protestants were prosecuted and 
 condemned, for the same affair of Arpaillargues. 
 Three were condemned to death for contumacy, 
 two to the gallies for life, and three to prison for 
 five years. Bertrand, the author of all the events 
 for which so many protestants suffered, was ac- 
 quitted 1 But Bertrand was a good catholic ! 
 
 Had Trestaillons, Quatretaillons, Truphemy, 
 Boissin, and their associates, endured the pe- 
 nalty of their aggravated crimes, it might have 
 been presumed that witnesses were free, juries 
 pure, judges impartial, and the protestants 
 guilty ; but while those monsters were not only 
 certain of impunity, but treated as innocent, 
 every just and reasonable mind must conclude 
 that witnesses were suborned, juries corrupt, 
 judges partial, and the protestants unjustly con- 
 demned. In fact, the true character of the suf- 
 ferings and executions of the protestants was 
 proclaimed in the liberation and the triumph of 
 the infamous Trestaillons. This wretch, when 
 arrested by General Lagarde, was conveyed to 
 Montpellier, to prevent his rescue by the people. 
 The next day an immense multitude demanded 
 his liberation at the hands of the general, by 
 whose orders he had been arrested. Disap- 
 pointed in their application, the catholic priests 
 of Nismes, and persons of the highest rank, be- 
 came their advocates, and solicited from the 
 Duke d'Angouleme himself this special favour. 
 " Leave to the tribunals the assassins and in- 
 cendiaries," was the answer of the prince. The 
 
TRESTAILLONS LIBERATED. 571 
 
 hero of the catholics was conveyed from Mont- 
 pellier to Lyons, before a judge of instruction; 
 and there some protestant refugees were im- 
 prisoned for insulting him, by expressing their 
 hope of his merited punishment. From Lyons 
 he was sent to Riom to be tried ; but the trial of 
 Trestaillons was not to take place : he was not 
 deemed sufficiently guilty to be brought before 
 the cour d y assises, nor the chamber of accusation 
 of the Cour Roy ale ; for the first court, the tri- 
 bunal de premiere instance, decided that there 
 was not even ground for prosecution. The 
 terror which subdued the protestants pre- 
 vented the appearance of a single witness. And 
 this was not all ; in the absence of witnesses 
 against the criminal, there were produced in his 
 favour the certificates of persons of the first 
 consequence, and even of public functionaries, 
 soliciting his liberation, and representing him as 
 a good royalist, carried away by zeal, but de- 
 serving all the interest of honnetes gens. De- 
 clared innocent, without even the scandal of a 
 trial, Trestaillons returned to Nismes, amidst the 
 acclamations of an immense multitude, who rent 
 the air with shouts of " The king of the Bour- 
 gades is arrived."* His majesty received the 
 homage of many hundreds of catholics, and re- 
 turned his visits, dressed in the uniform of the 
 national guard, and with a sabre under his 
 arm. 
 
 * In patois, Lou rcy deis JBourgades es arriva. 
 
57^ QUATllETAILLONS. 
 
 As for Quatretaillons, after his arrestation, a 
 deputation of the principal inhabitants of Uzes 
 solicited his restoration to liberty, and the autho- 
 rities interested themselves warmly in his favour. 
 Witnesses were equally afraid to appear against 
 him, as against Trestaillons, and he was found 
 too good a citizen to be exposed to the ordeal 
 of the bar. Persons of distinction welcomed 
 him to their houses, and one of them appointed 
 him his garde-chasse. Truphemy, so far from 
 being disquieted, was admitted to give evidence 
 against the friends and brethren of the protest- 
 ants he had pitilessly murdered ; and was ac- 
 quitted of the guilt of a robbery, which he 
 acknowledged in open court. 
 
 Boissin, whom a royal ordonnance had de- 
 clared without protector or friend in Nismes, 
 " lived peaceably during many months at four 
 leagues distance, and, at length, fully assured 
 by his friends, he consented to give himself to 
 justice," or to use the words of the mayor, 
 " audaciously suffered himself to be arrested at 
 four leagues distance, after having had the hap- 
 piness to escape the vengeance of public jus- 
 tice ; thus braving the laws, and the authority 
 charged with their execution." 
 
 Every thing was arranged under the direction 
 of the Societe Royale, at the Cafe Bolze, to 
 render the triumph complete. The trial was 
 delayed till February I8I7. Witnesses in num- 
 bers were procured, and regularly instructed, 
 and the jury were carefully selected. M. Bar- 
 
TRIAL OF BOISSIN. .573 
 
 agnon, counsel for the prisoner, was major of 
 the national guard, in which his client was 
 Serjeant. 
 
 Boissin acknowledged that he fired a pistol 
 at the general, but pretended that it was in law- 
 ful defence. The hall was crowded to excess, 
 and the witnesses for or against the assassin 
 were received by shouts of disapprobation or 
 applause. 
 
 The declaration of General Lagarde stated, 
 that the populace whom he endeavoured to dis- 
 perse amounted to several thousand persons. 
 
 The officers of the garrison deposed, that the 
 mobs before the doors of the temple, in the 
 streets and on the open places around, were 
 composed, according to the extent of the spot 
 of one, two, three and Jour thousand persons. 
 One of these officers stated that, to protect the 
 protestant ladies, as they left the place of wor- 
 ship, he was obliged to make them retire into 
 the first house, and place himself at the door 
 with his drawn sword to prevent the mob from 
 pursuing them. He added, that the colonel of 
 the gendarmerie, approached him in a rage, and 
 said, " You are not a protestant ; you have no 
 business here ; retire." 
 
 Maignard, a commissary of police, declared 
 the mob consisted of sixteen hundred persons. 
 Another commissary of police estimated it at 
 one hundred andjijty persons, and a third swore 
 that he visited all the neighbourhood of the 
 temple, and that there were not more than 
 
5J4f TRIAL OF BOISSIN. 
 
 jifteen or sixteen persons assembled. This wit- 
 ness united with M. Vidal, son of the celebrated 
 commissary general of police, and captain of the 
 company in which Boissin was serjeant, in 
 attesting the moral character of Boissin, and 
 declaring, that he would not have fired at the 
 general, had he not received personal injuries, 
 and been compelled to defend himself. " Ob- 
 serve the following circumstance in this famous 
 process," says M.Madierde Montjau, one of the 
 judges. " In answer to the charge of premedi- 
 tation, Boissin pretended that he carried the 
 pistol in question always about him, for his own 
 safety. — * By whom was it menaced ?' enquired 
 the procureur general. ' By the protestants, my 
 enemies,' replied Boissin, amidst shouts of Vive 
 le Rot from the people. — * You could not have 
 feared the protestants, disarmed and fugitives, 
 who trembled at the mere sight of the uniform you 
 wore as serjeant of the national guard ?' — The 
 objection was weighty. Boissin was embarrass- 
 ed and silent ; but his advocate, who has since 
 been the advocate of Truphemy, desirous of 
 destroying the bad impression produced by the 
 confusion of his client, exclaimed, * I allow 
 that after the hundred days, the enemies of 
 legitimacy (observe the words j the enemies of 
 legitimacy} in a moment of alarm, left Nismes 
 in great numbers j but they soon returned, and 
 in November they displayed their wonted au- 
 dacity, though they had not yet dared to open 
 their temples.' 
 
 18 
 
TRIAL OF BOISSIN. 575 
 
 " At these words, the speaker was interrupted 
 by a sort of flattering acclamation. The fearful 
 auditory who filled the court was seized with 
 enthusiasm, at hearing all the protestants out- 
 raged by those generic terms, * The enemies of 
 legitimacy had recovered their audacity, though 
 they had not dared to open their temples.' I 
 requested the president to suspend the sitting, 
 that the court might hear an important demand, 
 which I felt it my duty to make. I entered 
 with my colleagues into the council chamber 
 amidst a frightful tumult. 
 
 " * What you have just heard, gentlemen,' said 
 I, is at once an insult to the protestants, and a 
 provocation against them. In existing circum- 
 stances we owe them special protection ; and I 
 demand public apology for this outrage.' 
 Against this opinion, the agitation of the minds 
 of men, and the danger of an insurrection were 
 urged, and it was proposed to send for the ad- 
 vocate, and admonish him in the chamber of 
 council : in fact, he appeared and expressed his 
 regret, that such phrases had inadvertently 
 escaped. I replied, that the assurances given 
 by the advocate would not efface a fault com- 
 mitted before the auditory ; and I declared that 
 I would not resume my seat, if public repar- 
 ation were not immediately made. My ob- 
 stinacy, if so they are pleased to call it, excited 
 fresh debates, which continued two hours ; and 
 during the discussion, I was informed that hor- 
 rible menaces were uttered against me, and that 
 
5/0 TRIAL OF EOISSIN. 
 
 the people would not let me leave the palace 
 alive if this incident occasioned the adjourn- 
 ment of the trial of a wretch, whose acquit- 
 tal had been promised them for that day. I 
 was not to be intimidated ; I announced, that 
 in an hour I would undertake to leave the 
 palace, and set out for Paris, to inform the 
 keeper of the seals of the motives which had 
 determined me to quit the court. 
 
 " At length, the advocate, major of the na- 
 tional guard of 1815, consented to pronounce 
 in public the apology that I required, and thus 
 addressed the court. « I beseech the court to 
 attribute only to the warmth of extemporary 
 speaking, the expressions that escaped me 
 against an estimable part of our fellow-citizens. 
 Among them there may have been partisans of 
 the usurper ; but it would be unjust to accuse 
 the whole, for the fault of some.' 
 
 " I resumed my seat, and had the happiness to 
 witness the expiation of the great scandal that 
 had been given to the protesants. I saw that 
 atrocious populace, whose boldness had been 
 fortified by long impunity, obliged to hear the 
 eulogies of men who to that day had been aban- 
 doned to its insults and its fury. 
 
 " The friends of Boissin were confounded ; 
 silence and consternation succeeded to menaces, 
 and the acquittal of the assassin was necessary 
 to revive in them sufficient hardihood, to pro- 
 fane again the sanctuary of justice with their 
 cries of < Vive le Rot.* " 
 
ACQUITTAL OF BOISSIN. 577 
 
 When the proceedings were concluded, the 
 president proposed to the jury ten questions, 
 which they answered in a few minutes. 
 
 1. Is Boissin guilty of resisting with violence 
 and arms, the public force, acting for the 
 maintenance of the laws and the orders of the 
 authority ? No. 
 
 '2. Has lie taken part in a rebellious meeting 
 of more than twenty persons ? No. 
 
 3. Did he carry arms concealed ? No. 
 
 4. Is he guilty of wilfully wounding a public 
 agent in the exercise of his duty, and of oc- 
 casioning illness, from which has resulted loss of 
 labour during more than twenty days ? No. 
 
 5. Have the wounds in question the charac- 
 ter of murder ? No. 
 
 6. Were they made with premeditation ? No. 
 
 7. Similar to the fourth ? No. 
 
 8. Is he guilty of any attempt at murder with 
 premeditation ? No. 
 
 9. Is he guilty of any act of rebellion, &c. ? 
 No. 
 
 10. Is it proved that Boissin acted under pro- 
 vocation of blows, or violence exercised against 
 his person, without legitimate motive, by an 
 agent of the public force in the exercise or on 
 occasion of the exercise of his functions ? Yes. 
 
 This reply, which concluded the verdict, com- 
 pleted the enthusiasm of the populace. It not 
 only exculpated the assassin, but inculpated the 
 victim. The president pronounced the acquit- 
 tal of Boissin. The mayor promised his liber- 
 
 r p 
 
578 ACQUITTAL OF BOISSIN. 
 
 ation at the expiration of twenty-four hours. 
 The people enjoyed their triumph, danced faran- 
 doles, and shouted " Vive le Roi ! d bas les gril- 
 leurs." 
 
 The ordonnance of the king had declared 
 " that if such a crime committed on the person 
 of his commandant were to remain unpunished, 
 there would be neither public order nor security; 
 and the magistrates would be guilty of not en- 
 forcing the laws." The catholic royalists thought 
 differently, and they proclaimed, by the honours 
 paid to Boissin, that contempt for the royal au- 
 thority was the best proof of loyalty to the king. 
 A subscription was opened for the benefit of the 
 murderer, and he received a sum about equal to 
 that which had been offered for his appre- 
 hension. 
 
 It was impossible for the most incredulous 
 and prejudiced any longer to resist the evidence 
 of the existence of a conspiracy, under the name 
 of religion and loyalty, which was equally dan- 
 gerous to the cause it professed to promote and 
 that which it determined to persecute. 
 
 Those agents of the government who were 
 not entirely devoted to the persecuting faction, 
 were compelled to express their disgust and in- 
 dignation at the system which had so long and 
 so cruelly afflicted the department of the Gard. 
 The day after the trial, M. Bernard, procureur 
 general of the king, who had been chosen for 
 his decided royalism, to replace M. Cavalier 
 driven from his post by the enemies of the pro- 
 
LETTER OP M. BERNARD. ^79 
 
 testants, wrote to his friend M. Madier de Mont- 
 jau senior, Conseiller to the Cour Royale of Lyons, 
 the following letter : 
 
 " My dear Friend, 
 
 " I have held the assizes in the affair of Bois- 
 sin, the assasin of La Garde. It has had the 
 most detestable result ; for the assassin, avowing 
 his crime, has been fully acquitted. You can form 
 no idea of the intrigues employed by the party, 
 calling itself royalist, to save this great crimi- 
 nal : the interest which they took in him arose 
 from his being a royalist, and his having fired at 
 the officer who protected the opening of the 
 protestant temple. 
 
 " This wicked conduct will involve, at least 
 so I fear, this city in endless calamities. I 
 could tell you many things that have occurred 
 in this affair, but as they would not be honour- 
 able for the actors, I cannot trust my observ- 
 ations to a letter ; besides your son, who is full 
 of courage and of honour, will communicate 
 with you himself. I have done my duty. I 
 have thundered against the enormity of the 
 crime and the criminal ; so that I am, in the 
 eyes of the party called royalist, only a jacobin, 
 who has preserved to this moment his disguise. 
 Such is this country ! I am not afflicted at what 
 concerns me personally, but at the wickedness 
 itself, and at the pain which the king will ex- 
 perience, who in his ordonnance said, " An 
 atrocious crime has polluted our city of Nismes, 
 p p 2 
 
580 LETTER OF M. MADIER. 
 
 if it is not punished, there will be neither order 
 nor government." And it is not only unpu- 
 nished, but it has been decided that Boissin 
 acted in lawful defence ; that is to say, that the 
 general attempted the life of Boissin, by giv- 
 ing him some strokes with the flat of his sabre, 
 because he insolently refused to retire," and that 
 Boissin did right to fire at him. — My blood 
 runs cold at hearing such principles ! 
 
 •' This city is not fit to hold tribunals. Justice 
 is not free here, especially under the controul 
 of magistrates without energy ; and for my part 
 I desire heartily to be immediately removed, 
 though thoroughly disposed not to abandon, good 
 principles, but to defend them at any price to 
 the last. 
 
 " Adieu, dear friend, 
 
 " Bernard." 
 
 Another catholic magistrate, of the Cour 
 Royale, wrote immediately alter the trial as 
 follows : — 
 
 " They have gloriously acquited Boissin to 
 the cries of Vive le Roi I I give you my honour 
 that a catholic of considerable influence in the 
 national guard said seriously this morning, that 
 if Boissin were acquitted, as was most probable, 
 General Lagarde would pay dearly for the time 
 he had been detained in prison. The procureur 
 general displayed on this occasion firmness and 
 talent j but how could one expect any other result 
 
LETTER OF M. MAD1EU. 581 
 
 from a jury composed by such a prefect? The 
 crowd were quiet, till they were excited by the 
 noise of two thousand persons, which the hall 
 could not contain. It threatened to overturn 
 the palace. A farandole was commenced on the 
 esplanade. When the procureur required the 
 detention of Boissin, till it was known, if there 
 was any other charge against him, he was hissed 
 and hooted. The tumult was terrible. To- 
 morrow he will walk between Truphemy and 
 Trestaillons. When one thinks of these iniquit- 
 ous trials, and on the condemnations, or rather 
 the butchery of Arpaillagues, nothing can 
 astonish ; and it requires a strong mind to resist 
 either fury or despair. You can form no idea 
 of the sufferings of the persecuted protestants. 
 How many have I seen weep as they have said 
 to me, * You are deceived, or you deceive us — 
 before the revolution we had no temple, and our 
 lot was supportable ; but now w r e are apparently 
 tolerated, we are in fact abandoned to more hor- 
 rible calamities; and the tribunals — the tribunals 
 for the last eighteen months !' I am ashamed 
 of myself. How can one be an upright and 
 courageous magistrate, and by one's presence 
 appear to sanction such iniquity? The hope of 
 preventing evil has alone detained me ; at least 
 I know all, and I am prepared to expose their 
 manoeuvres and intrigues. The jury have been 
 selected and re-selected. Boissin was sen- 
 tenced to be hung in 1782 or 1783 in the Ar« 
 p p S 
 
582 M. d'arbaud jouuues dismissed. 
 
 deche ; but could they hesitate between him 
 and General Lagarde ?" 
 
 The minister of justice denounced the verdicts, 
 and annulled the decision of the Cour d' Assizes; 
 but- this proceeding, though it proved the ille- 
 gality of the decree, disturbed in no respect the 
 authority of the vote of the jury ; and Boissin, 
 though invited by the mayor to absent himself 
 from Nismes, remained at liberty. 
 
 The government itself could no longer de- 
 cline to act, without compromising both its dig- 
 nity and its reputation. At length M. D'Arbaud 
 Jouques, prefect of the Gard, under whose ad- 
 ministration so many plots had been matured, 
 so many crimes committed, so many innocent 
 persons persecuted for their religious profession, 
 and so many criminals pampered and protected, 
 was dismissed from his office ; an office which 
 he had held with dishonour to himself and mi- 
 sery to the department. This was a concession 
 to public opinion in France and in Europe ; a 
 concession highly honourable to the protestants, 
 so long calumniated and so cruelly oppressed. 
 
 It may be conceived, from the result of this 
 trial, what must have been the general spirit of 
 the local administration, and to what number- 
 less and nameless acts of injustice and persecu- 
 tion the protestants had every moment to submit, 
 even when their houses were not sacked and 
 burnt, and their lives hourly immolated. The 
 
STATE OF THE PROTESTANTS. 583 
 
 hand of arbitrary power was felt when it was 
 not visible ; every part of the social circle was 
 either broken or compressed. It is hardly pos- 
 sible for a public officer to leave in the sphere of 
 his administration more solid monuments of in- 
 capacity and injustice. 
 
 The rich protestants, both manufacturers and 
 agriculturists, had suffered immense losses. The 
 interruption of their commerce and their occu- 
 pations, the necessary abandonment of their 
 homes, the destruction of their harvests and 
 estates, the demolition of their houses, the 
 repeated robberies and extortions of licentious 
 mobs, and the partial and despotic assessments 
 of the Constituted Authorities, had impaired in- 
 calculably their fortunes. One fact alone will 
 display the truth of these assertions. 
 
 The French government had recourse to a sort 
 of forced loan of one hundred millions of francs 
 to meet the claims of the Allied Powers, after 
 the second restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. 
 in the department of the Gard, the assessment 
 was made with an iniquitous partiality above all 
 description. Two lists of contributors were 
 formed ; one of landed proprietors and another 
 of capitalists and tradesmen. In the former it 
 was difficult to introduce an arbitrary alteration, 
 and the assessment was made by the administra- 
 tion of public contributions. On the second, 
 the most shameful and revolting injustice was 
 exercised ; and the protestants were compelled to 
 submit, and dared not even complain. 
 p p 4 
 
584 FORCED LOAN. 
 
 The entire list of all the individuals taxed, 
 with the sums paid by each, and the necessary 
 explanations, would occupy too great a space 
 without exciting particular interest. But a few 
 instances from this list will demonstrate the 
 audacity with which the property of respectable 
 citizens was illegally appropriated. 
 
 M. Former Clausonne, Conseiller of the Cour 
 Royale of Nismes, and the only protestant in 
 that court, was taxed 3437 francs (a£l43. ster- 
 ling) ; and this sum nearly equalled the amount 
 levied on the whole Cour Royale, composed of 
 thirty catholic magistrates. M. de Forton, w r ho 
 was president at that period, is himself far richer 
 than M. Former Clausonne, and is, in fact, one 
 of the richest inhabitants of the department. 
 
 Messrs. Murjas, merchants and catholics, of 
 Nismes, are universally known to be much richer, 
 both as proprietors and capitalists, than Messrs. 
 Vincent de Villars, protestants. . Messrs. Vin- 
 cent were, however, taxed 8250 francs (a£333. 
 sterling,) and Messrs. Murjas were only liable 
 for the sum of 825 francs (i£34. sterling.) 
 
 Messrs. Rodier, protestants of Anduze, whose 
 property consists principally of estates, were 
 assessed to the amount of 18,000 francs (a£749. 
 sterling), while M. Dumerlet, catholic, of the 
 same town, and of nearly equal fortune, was 
 only taxed 80 francs (£3. 6s. 8d.) The same 
 proportion was observed on an amount of 400,000 
 francs. 
 
FORCED LOAN. 58.5 
 
 While the rich were thus rapaciously plun- 
 dered, the poorer classes were plunged into the 
 greatest misery, and were deprived of all the 
 ordinary sources of alleviation and support. 
 
 Their looms, their tools, their cattle, their fur- 
 niture, their habitations, their produce, and the 
 little savings of economy on industry, all were rav- 
 aged and destroyed, — orphans and widows claim- 
 ed the succour of relatives who were themselves in 
 mourning and distress, — multitudes in prison 
 and exile not only endured every sort of indig- 
 nity and privation, but entailed on their families 
 the persecution and cruelty of the magistrates, 
 by whom they ought to have been protected and 
 relieved, — their employers were either catholics 
 who dismissed them, or protestants who had fled 
 for the safety of their lives. The wealthy had 
 sustained such injury in their fortune, that their 
 charity was necessarily more limited as the occa- 
 sion for its exercise was more urgent ; and the 
 relief of suffering protestants was even considered 
 as evidence of conspiracy against the altar and the 
 throne. The Consistory was deprived of its re- 
 sources, its system was deranged, and its oper- 
 ations were suspended. The deacons were no 
 longer able to dispense to the expecting sufferer 
 the wonted portion of food and raiment. Com- 
 plaint was even denied to the wretched and the 
 destitute ; it could only irritate their enemies 
 and aggravate their woe. 
 
 Under this accumulation of poverty, cha- 
 grin, terror, and sickness, all their supposed ex- 
 
58() THE HOSPITALS. 
 
 pedients were diminished or annihilated. Here 
 also one instance may suffice. 
 
 There are two hospitals at Nismes ; one for 
 the sick, and another for foundlings and for the 
 aged and infirm. A council, composed of catho- 
 lics and protestants, superintends the finances j 
 but the internal regulations, and the management 
 of the patients, is almost entirely abandoned to 
 the nuns. 
 
 The protestants pay nearly half the revenue 
 derived from the municipal funds, and they 
 bave therefore a right to all the advantages of 
 these establishments, without being exposed to 
 cruel and unjust persecutions for their religion, 
 or being tormented in the agonies of death. 
 Alas ! instances of persecution and cruelty con- 
 tinually occur and will occur, while all the ser- 
 vice is devolved on nuns bound by the vows and 
 rules of their congregations to destroy heresy 
 and propagate by all means the catholic faith. 
 
 When the pastors visit the sick of their flock, 
 they are denied access ; the nuns pretend not to 
 know the patients ; no information can be ob- 
 tained, and it is absolutely necessary for the 
 relatives who conveyed them, to conduct the 
 pastor to the very foot of their beds. At other 
 times, they are told that the patient lias not asked 
 for them, will not see them, is become catholic, 
 and has confessed. The perseverance of the 
 pastor has led to the discovery of a sufferer who 
 welcomed him as an angel of God sent to strength- 
 en his resistance to a thousand cruel efforts to 
 
THE HOSPITALS. o87 
 
 obtain a pretended conversion. The pastors 
 scarcely ever visit the hospitals without hearing 
 bitter complaints. 
 
 An old man, upwards of sixty years of age, 
 was in the last extremity. Several nights he was 
 tormented to change his religion, and his situ- 
 ation became so insupportable that he deter- 
 mined to withdraw. His friends, though indi- 
 gent, received him. He was in a dying state 
 when the pastor visited him. The struggles of 
 his mind, and his painful removal, occasioned 
 delirium, and while the consolations of the 
 Gospel were addressed to him, he thought he 
 heard only the discourses of his persecutors, and 
 exclaimed continually, " Leave me ; leave me ; 
 I will die a protestant ; I will not become a 
 catholic." One female was so solicited and re- 
 proached as a heretic, that she was often obliged 
 to leave her bed in the night, undressed. Several 
 others complained of similar violence and in- 
 ducements on the part of the nuns. 
 
 All the foundlings and orphans are educated 
 as catholics, though they are known to belong- 
 to protestant families. A family w r as refused the 
 restoration of two girls, solely on the pretence of 
 their not having made their first communion in 
 the catholic church. 
 
 The poor protestants could not, under these 
 circumstances, endure the idea of entering the 
 hospitals, and preferred aggravated sufferings 
 and even want. Thus, while the catholics in 
 the hospitals amount to two and three hundred, 
 
588 PREFECT REMOVED. 
 
 the number of protestants, who form a large 
 third of the population, has never been more than 
 ten or fifteen, and during the last years has not 
 exceeded two or three. 
 
 The same principle of evil pervaded every part 
 of the administration, and every rank and every 
 relation of society. Every protestant was ejected 
 from public office. The aged postmaster (posle 
 auxchevaux) was displaced, and after many years' 
 respectable service, could not obtain from the 
 mayor a certificate of his good conduct. A pro- 
 testant prisoner could find no register of his crime 
 or his confinement in the records of his prison. A 
 protestant widow could obtain no attestation of 
 the murder or interment of her husband; an instru- 
 ment necessary to the civil rights of her offspring. 
 But it would be hopless to trace the mischief: it 
 was every where. The prefect, with whom all 
 this was identified, was dismissed ; and there was 
 at least the chance of improvement from the 
 change. It was not without an effort that 
 the friends of the Marquis D'Arbaud Jouques 
 suffered him to depart. The character of his 
 successor was not satisfactory ; and it was hardly 
 probable they could be favoured with another 
 prefect as perfectly adapted to their system, and 
 as instrumental to their success. 
 
 Though the prefect was removed, the inferior 
 magistrates and agents still remained ; and before 
 they could be displaced, it was deemed expedient 
 by the Societe Royale, to employ them in taking 
 vengeance on the protestants, and exciting a 
 
INSURRECTION IN FAVOUR OF THE PREFECT. ,089 
 
 tumult iu the Gard,* which might render the re- 
 turn of their late chief apparently necessary. 
 Emissaries were dispatched in different directions, 
 as far as St. Ambroix in one extremity of the 
 department, and the Herault on the other, to 
 circulate reports and provoke disturbances. The 
 tri-coloured flag was announced as raised in the 
 protestant communes. The new prefect, alarmed 
 and sensible of his responsibility, put the troops 
 in motion. Vezenobre, Generac, St. Genies, 
 Codognan, Mus, Aiguevives, Gajan, Blauzac, 
 Beauvoisin, St. Hyppolite, &c. were the scenes 
 of confusion and violence. To enter into all 
 the details of this attempted insurrection would 
 be too tedious. One or two instances will ex- 
 pose the nature of these iniquitous proceed- 
 ings. At St. Genies, a shepherd presented himself 
 at the mayoralty to apprize the mayor that a tri- 
 coloured flag was flying on a poplar tree in the 
 country. He confessed that he had not seen 
 any assemblage of peasants ; and the examination 
 was concluded by his acknowledging that he had 
 hoisted it himself! 
 
 The mayor of Generac had ordered all the in- 
 habitants to shut themselves up in their houses 
 at eight o'clock at night, and posted national 
 guards on the public place to maintain tranquil- 
 lity. In the middle of the place is a well, ar- 
 ranged for the watering of cattle ; but it had 
 been for some time out of order and useless. 
 About three o'clock in the morning, a woman 
 whose son was in the guard, went to this dry 
 
590 m. d'argout prefect. 
 
 well to water her horse, though she usually made 
 use of one on her own premises. In spite of 
 the darkness of the night, she discovered on 
 the top of the pump an old petticoat with red 
 and blue stripes, to which had been attached 
 some white fringe. She ran to the post, and 
 alarmed the national guard, the generate was 
 beaten, and the commandant set off to Nismes 
 to inform the authorities that the standard of 
 revolt was raised. The provost, the judge, and 
 the general, accompanied by a military force, 
 repaired to Generac, where they were soon satis- 
 fied that the petticoat could not have been ex- 
 hibited, without the co-operation of the national 
 guard, and that the protestants, who were con- 
 fined to their houses after eight o'clock, could 
 have had no participation in the pretended re- 
 volt. 
 
 Under the former prefect, and before circum- 
 stances had permitted the truth to obtain some 
 circulation, these despicable attempts would 
 have deceived the government, and have pro- 
 duced the most mischievous results. It was 
 now too late : the new prefect became each 
 day better informed ; the government had ample 
 experience of his predecessor, and M. D'Argout 
 was permitted to promise protection to the 
 protestants, and peace to the department. 
 
NEW EPOCH. 591 
 
 The administration of M. d'Argout, which 
 commenced in the spring of 1817, marked a 
 new epoch in the affairs of the protestants. 
 It will be necessary to throw a hasty glance 
 over subsequent events. 
 
 The amelioration was rather negative than 
 positive, but it was duly appreciated and grate- 
 fully received. National guards no longer 
 scoured the country pour chasser les Chretiens ; 
 but they were still armed ; their vicious organi- 
 zation still continued ; the protestants were still 
 excluded and still disarmed. The tribunals 
 ceased to select and pursue the members of the 
 protestant churches, but proceedings and sen- 
 tences were still hanging over many ; some 
 condemned to death, were only saved by con- 
 cealment ; others were suffering imprisonment, 
 and every species of privation ; and it was long 
 before the prefect could effectually interpose 
 with the government to reverse or mitigate the 
 judicial penalties pronounced by persecutors. 
 Protestants were not murdered and plundered 
 in open day, but in open day they were insulted 
 by the murderers of their relatives, and the 
 widows and orphans of the murdered were 
 unassisted — their property was lost, and their 
 trade ruined. The agents of government were 
 not so wanton in their oppression, and so partial 
 in their authority, but the protestants were still 
 excluded from the places of profit and influence 
 which they were qualified and entitled to pos- 
 sess. The persecuting faction was not insolently 
 
.592 DISSOLUTION OF THE NATIONAL GUARD. 
 
 supreme, but the committee of the Cafe 1 Bolze 
 was still organised, all its ramifications were 
 unbroken, and every arrangement was made to 
 profit by any circumstance favourable to the 
 resumption of absolute power. 
 
 Thus a sort of calm without security was 
 prolonged for several months ; the hatred of the 
 catholics was not concealed, the anxiety and 
 depression of the protestants was evident, and 
 the prospect was dark and foreboding. The 
 government at length found it necessary to dis- 
 band the national guard, and to require the 
 surrender of its arms. " It has been badly 
 formed," wrote M. Laine, then minister of the 
 interior, " it has not opposed any of the excesses, 
 and I am convinced that there will be neither 
 tranquillity nor freedom of election in the Gard, 
 till after its dissolution." 
 
 This important measure was not effected 
 without difficulty. Instigated by their chiefs, 
 the " brave national guards" determined to re- 
 sist the royal authority, and on the 2d of Au- 
 gust, they appeared at Alais in open insurrection. 
 The national guards of that town seized the 
 chests of muskets in store, broke them open 
 with hatchets, and burnt them on the public 
 place ; they proceeded to the fort, with the 
 intention of setting fire to the magazine, and, 
 had it not been for the arrival of a Swiss bat- 
 talion, the protestants had been massacred. 
 This movement was designed to draw the at- 
 tention of the prefect and the garrison from 
 
ELECTIONS IN 1818. 593 
 
 Nismes, that an insurrection might have there 
 exploded, which would have extended to the 
 whole department. Twenty of the ringleaders 
 were arrested, but the terror was too great at 
 the period of their trial (1819), to permit of 
 their punishment. 
 
 This rebellious resistance to the royal mandate 
 proved more strongly its necessity, and the dis- 
 solution was finally accomplished. The elections 
 were conducted without tumult. The father- 
 in-law of M. de Cazes was appointed president 
 of the college, and he and M. Chabaud de la 
 Tour, a distinguished protestant, were elected 
 deputies. By uniting a relative of the principal 
 minister with the representation of the depart- 
 ment, the government gave a pledge of its in- 
 tention to maintain the protestants in the exer- 
 cise of their religious and civil rights. 
 
 The disarming of the national guards was, 
 after all, rather a nominal than a real advantage. 
 They surrendered, it is true, the arms of the 
 government, but there were still left to them 
 all those of which they had deprived the pro- 
 testants, and which were equal in number to 
 those they resigned. Their organization was 
 secretly maintained ; they were privately re- 
 viewed ; they preserved much of their terrible 
 costume, and with all their moral consistency 
 undissolved, they displayed an impudence and an 
 impatience which bespoke their confidence, and 
 their determination to recommence their attacks, 
 
 Q Q 
 
594 FRESH DISTURBANCES 
 
 whenever the opportunity should occur. * Such 
 an opportunity was soon presented, in the ad- 
 dress of the chamber of peers, for a change in 
 the law of elections, at the beginning of the 
 year 181 9. France was generally agitated ; but 
 in the Gard the apparent calm was suddenly 
 exchanged for the fury of the passions, and all 
 the precursors of religious and civil war. 
 
 From numerous accounts of the scenes of 
 March, 1819, the following is preferred ; first, 
 for its comprehensiveness, and especially as it 
 bears the authority of an official communication. 
 It formed part of a speech before the court of 
 Cassation and the Keeper of the Seals, by M. 
 Madier de Montjau, judge of the Cour Roy ale 
 of Nismes. 
 
 " On the first mention of an alteration of 
 
 * The ordonnance of the king for the dissolution of the 
 national guard appeared July 26th, 1818. But though dis- 
 solved, on the 12th of August, a letter was sent to the in- 
 spector, by order of Monsieur Comte d'Artois, of which the 
 following is an extract : — 
 
 "The national guard has shown itself worthy of itself 
 tc the last moment. Monsieur expected nothing less 
 of this excellent corps. The recollection of the last cry 
 which it uttered, will remain in the heart of his Royal 
 Highness, by the side of the remembrance of its fine and 
 glorious conduct in 1815." 
 
 The mayor wrote on the occasion to all the officers, 
 sub-officers and guards, a letter equally laudatory of its good 
 ~nd loyal conduct ; though that conduct had been so fla- 
 grnt, that the minister of the interior said, " There will be 
 no tranquillity in the department, till it is dissolved ; and 
 his MajeSy na( * accordingly ordered its dissolution. 
 
IN MAUCH, 1819. 595 
 
 the law of elections in 1819, all the chiefs of 
 the faction were in raptures, and their agents 
 were immediately in motion. M. d'Argout had 
 passed to another prefecture ; his successor 
 had not arrived, and a substitute held the office 
 in his absence. The Swiss troops, who had 
 long been in garrison, were removed ; the new 
 regiment had not entered, and only about 130 
 soldiers remained to insure the peace of Nismes 
 and the department. 
 
 Missionaries were sent into the communes to 
 excite sedition and tumult. One of them, JBois, 
 a catholic royalist, of Milhaud, was arrested by 
 the procureur du roi, and it was proved on his 
 trial, that after several conferences with his 
 friend Trestaillons, he went among the peasantry 
 crying " Vive Vempereur" with the design of 
 provoking some expressions which might be 
 charged on the protestants. 
 
 The men of 1815 recovered their sanguinary 
 audacity. Shouts, provocations and threats, 
 were heard in abundance on the 6th March, and 
 the old national guard re-appeared in uniform. 
 On the 7th, the protestants were attacked with 
 stones and sticks, and several were seriously 
 injured. Some of the rioters were arrested ; 
 they were rescued, and all the night this triumph 
 was celebrated by horrible clamour. Aggra- 
 vated outrages marked the following day. Mobs 
 of three thousand men paraded the boulevards, 
 rending the air with the cry of * Les Bourbons 
 ou la mort !' A sort of order was observed in 
 
 a q 2 
 
.596 THE PROTESTANTS ARM. 
 
 these evolutions : the leaguers acted with a 
 frightful regularity, and in Nismes and the 
 neighbouring villages, the most atrocious threats 
 publicly announced a vast and complete pro- 
 scription of the protestants. 
 
 " Pushed to extremities by their persecutors, 
 these unfortunate citizens felt at length, that 
 they had only to choose the manner in which 
 they were to perish. They unanimously deter- 
 mined that they would die fighting in their own 
 defence. This firm attitude apprised their 
 butchers that they could no longer murder with- 
 out danger. Every thing was immediately 
 changed. Those who, for four years, had in- 
 spired terror, felt it in return. They were ter- 
 rified at the force, which men, so long resigned, 
 found in despair ; and their alarm was height- 
 ened when they heard that the inhabitants of 
 the Cevennes, informed of the danger of their 
 brethren, were marching to their aid. But 
 without waiting for these reinforcements, on 
 the 9th of March, the protestants appeared at 
 night in the same order, and armed in the same 
 manner, as their enemies. The leaguers pa- 
 raded the boulevards with their usual noise and 
 fury. The protestants remained silent and firm 
 in the posts they had chosen. Three days these 
 dangerous and portentous meetings continued ; 
 but the effusion of blood was prevented by the 
 efforts of some worthy citizens distinguished by 
 their rank and fortune. By sharing the dan- 
 gers of the protestant people, they obtained the 
 
INTERFERENCE OF M. MADIER. 5[)7 
 
 pardon of an enemy, who now trembled while 
 he menaced. 
 
 " Unhappily fresh violences, committed in the 
 night of the 12th of March, on some isolated 
 protectants, rekindled in the mass all their in- 
 dignation. In the midst of this frightful agi- 
 tation, the procureur general pressed me to re- 
 pair to the place where the protestants concerted 
 their measures of defence. I feared that all 
 my entreaties would not induce them to abandon 
 their projects of vengeance. " Nobody can 
 calm them so well as you," said the procureur 
 general. " Do not require it," said I, " if I 
 do not succeed, the leaguers will accuse me of 
 exciting vengeance ; and if I do succeed, they 
 will denounce me as the chief of a party, and 
 ascribe my generosity to some secret motive." 
 " Ah!" replied my friend, " what signifies 
 calumny and ingratitude. / am convinced, that 
 the firm and calm conduct of the protestants has 
 saved the department. I authorize you to inform 
 them, that I have already apprised the govern- 
 ment of this truth. Conjure them not to injure 
 their cause. You cannot better serve the king 
 and humanity." 
 
 " I no longer hesitated to endeavour to arrest 
 the most lawful resentment. My remarks were 
 at first coldly received ; but some of the unfor- 
 tunate persons, who had been condemned by the 
 tribunals, and whose sentences had been re- 
 mitted by the king, exclaimed, " Shall we forget 
 how M. Madier declared against our condemn- 
 or 3 
 
59$ THE PROTESTANTS ARM. 
 
 ation, and enlightened the justice of the king. 
 It shall not be said that we were deaf to the 
 voice of our defender. Tell the procureur ge- 
 neral that he has judged impartially, that we 
 shall not trouble the department we have saved, 
 and that we shall always be generous towards 
 our enemies, when they do not endanger our 
 lives. In fact, the meetings of the protestants 
 ceased that night." 
 
 The danger was not, however, terminated. 
 The general commanding in the department 
 sent to Montpellier for a detachment of troops ; 
 and the commandant of the 9th military division 
 dispatched them with the greatest expedition. 
 The leaguers, emboldened by the moderation of 
 the protestants, had become so outrageous, that, 
 on the 14th, the troops were obliged to charge 
 them with the bayonet. Two were wounded, 
 and one was killed. The first functionaries in- 
 formed the government, that the situation of 
 Nismes was frightful, and that every moment 
 blood might flow in torrents. The ministers 
 held a special council, directed the new prefect 
 to set off instantly for his post, dismissed several 
 of the local authorities, and ordered troops, in 
 every direction, to march on Nismes. The 
 ministry was now animated by a spirit very dif- 
 ferent from that which tolerated the protracted 
 massacres of the South ; and this effort of ma- 
 lignity and fanaticism was not only abortive, but 
 returned upon its authors in exposure and dis- 
 grace. 
 
SPEECH OF M. DE SE11RE. 5[)D 
 
 At length the veil was entirely removed, 
 and the truth was clearly exhibited. It was no 
 longer the solitary voice of a virtuous deputy, 
 drowned in clamour and censure, but the 
 solemn accents of M. de Serre, the Minister 
 of the King, the Keeper of the Seals, and the 
 Minister of Justice, that, from the height of 
 the tribune, resounded through France. " The 
 ministers are reproached," said he, " with 
 indifference to the pressing dangers of the 
 monarchy. No ; but it is otherwise they 
 have perceived the danger — the danger of 
 yielding to the attack of a party — the danger 
 of laying a rash hand on a law (the law of 
 elections) to which the nation is attached, as 
 to the surest ramparts of its liberties and its 
 rights ; the danger of destroying the confi- 
 dence between the monarch and his people. 
 Why must 1 repel another odious reproach. The 
 augmentation of the college of the department 
 of the Gard has been attacked, and one of its 
 deputies has been forced to prove that the mur- 
 ders committed the year before, had but too 
 justly prevented the attendance of the eclectors. 
 Immediately inattention and impunity were 
 charged upon the ministers ; confounding the 
 present ministers with those who have retired. 
 It is impossible any longer to be silent, however 
 afflictive the scandal. Let it be remembered, 
 however, that the scandal is in the crime, not in 
 the complaint, not in the voice of blood unjust !y 
 ftifi . 4 
 
600 SPEECH OF M. DE SERRE. 
 
 spilt : this tribune ought not to be silent before 
 crimes so great. 
 
 " If members had reflected on the state of 
 parties, on their ramifications, their power, their 
 audacity, they would perceive that their spirit 
 could viciate and paralyse the most noble organs 
 of the social order. Learn the result of the 
 efforts of the government, and appreciate the re- 
 proaches which it meets. I shall mention only 
 a few facts, but they are striking and notorious. 
 I shall make no reflexions. 
 
 " The general commanding at Nismes, in 
 the midst of a riot, protected with his person 
 and his sword public order, and the lives of 
 citizens. He is shot. The perpetrator of the 
 crime is seized ; the fact is certain and acknow- 
 ledged. The judge asks the following question. 
 Was the homicide committed in a case of lawful 
 defence ? The jury reply, yes ; and the crimi- 
 nal is acquitted. — Another general command- 
 ing at Toulouse, endeavouring to quell a tu- 
 mult, received a dangerous wound. He was 
 carried home, his murderers pursued him, en- 
 tered his house, and mangled him, yet living, 
 with a thousand blows. They were tried. It 
 was argued in their favour, that they could not 
 kill a man already mortally wounded. Two of 
 them only were condemned, and that only to 
 imprisonment. 
 
 " A man whose horrible name it is painful to 
 utter, Trestaillons, and his associates, were pro- 
 secuted for several murders. The cause was 
 
SPEECH OF M. DE SEKRE. (301 
 
 sent before the tribunals of Riom, where it was 
 hoped justice would be more independent. It 
 was impossible to obtain the evidence of a single 
 witness against them. They were frozen with 
 terror. The witnesses in their favour were 
 numerous. For want of evidence, the prisoners 
 were set at liberty. 
 
 " I have done, and I demand, " Shall France 
 be delivered or not to the domination of a party ? 
 No, France repels such domination, she expects 
 from it only oppression, shame, and calamity." 
 
 M. le Comte de St. Aulaire, father-in-law of 
 the Duke de Cazes, acknowledged that the 
 electors had been more numerous in the Gard 
 on the last elections than the former. " But," 
 said he " the reason is obvious. Before the 
 elections took place in 1815, numbers of de- 
 fenceless citizens were killed in the streets of 
 Nismes, many houses were pillaged, and women 
 were outraged with equal indecency and bar- 
 barity. The protestant electors of the Cevennes 
 did not enter the city; they regained their 
 mountains, and the elections were finished with- 
 out opposition. Justice has not overtaken the 
 authors of these crimes. The presence of mur- 
 derers shocks public morals, and distresses the 
 families of the murdered. These men still ex- 
 erted themselves in the elections of 1818." 
 
 The speech of M. de Serres was the official 
 declaration of the ministry, and it left neither 
 obscurity on the past, nor doubt on the future. 
 Trestaillons, who had defied opinion and 
 
602 ACQUITTALS AT ALAIS AND VIGAN. 
 
 justice, by exhibiting himself with his agents 
 on all the public walks of Nismes, took the 
 alarm ; his friends withdrew him from the pur- 
 suit of the minister, and he fled. 
 
 M. Cavalier, who was dismissed in 1815 from 
 the important post of procureur general was 
 appointed mayor of Nismes j several other 
 mayors were replaced by persons more calcu- 
 lated than their predecessors to inspire public 
 confidence, and the protestants began to hope, 
 that the march of the government would be 
 henceforth so decided and impartial as to gua- 
 rantee their security and comfort. Alas ! they 
 were again to be deceived. 
 
 The persecuting faction was too deeply and 
 broadly rooted, to be eradicated by the ordinary 
 operations of any government. It still preserved 
 its power; and the course of justice was still 
 perverted. The rebels against the public au- 
 thority at Alais, who had broken and burnt 
 the chests of the government, stolen its arms, 
 and insulted its officers, were all acquitted, 
 save one, and the jury only consented to find 
 him guilty, because they were informed that he 
 would be merely sentenced to the costs and the 
 surveillance of the police. Such was the re- 
 collection and the terror of 1815 and ]816, 
 that the jury took care publicly to declare to the 
 crowd, before their verdict was returned, that 
 the prisoners should be acquitted. 
 
 Bou don, of Vigan, was arrested for having 
 attacked a protestant, and having wounded him 
 
TRIALS OF TRUPHEMY AND SERVANT. ()03 
 
 with a knife ; and the charge was attested by 
 lour of his friends. Not a doubt was entertained 
 of the guilt of Boudon, but he was acquitted. 
 
 " The evil," said the president of the court, 
 in his letter to the Minister of Justice, " is great, 
 it is immense, but my efforts would be useless 
 to determine the government to the only re- 
 medies which can arrest its progress. At 
 Nismes, I have no longer hope of success ; it 
 seems that the faction redoubles its activity and 
 audacity, and extends its manoeuvres in propor- 
 tion to the energy which it expects to meet in a 
 president. 
 
 " I can no longer, I will no longer, wit- 
 ness such indignities. I will no longer be 
 even the innocent occasion of a verdict similar 
 to that which has ensured the impunity of 
 Boudon, and which may be called a proclam- 
 ation, designed to encourage and recruit the 
 bands of Trestaillons and Truphemy, for a mo- 
 ment alarmed.'* 
 
 Two of the most active companions of Tres- 
 taillons were arrested after the new crimes which 
 they endeavoured to commit in March, and were 
 tried at Riom in November j Truphemy, for the 
 murder of M. Bourillon on the esplanade, and 
 Servant, for the murder of Lichaire. Encouraged 
 by the speech of the Keeper of the Seals, and the 
 pledges given by the government, the witnesses 
 appeared, and gave their evidence with clearness 
 and courage. Servant did not scruple to say 
 before the court, that they dared not have given 
 
6(>i« TRUPHEMY AND SERVANT CONDEMNED. 
 
 such evidence at Nismes. Both the criminals 
 were condemned to death. Their friends of the 
 Cafe Bolze discussed the propriety of sending 
 an advocate from Nismes to defend them ; but 
 they decided that it was not the moment to brave 
 the minister of justice. The sentence of Tru- 
 phemy was annulled by the court of Cassation, 
 for informality; and he was again tried at Va- 
 lence in the department of the Isere. Some 
 months had elapsed, and the revival of the hopes 
 and courage of the catholics had commenced. 
 This time a subscription was opened, and catho- 
 lic ladies made a collection for Truphemy. M. 
 Baragnon, major of the national guard of 1815, 
 who had so successfully defended Boissin, the 
 assassin of General La Garde, was dispatched to 
 Valence to conduct the defence. The jury were 
 well composed, and they added to their verdict 
 of guilty — "of the fact, but not of the inten- 
 tion !" The exertions of the catholics thus se- 
 cured the life of Truphemy, and they openly 
 boasted, that he would obtain the royal pardon, 
 and that the acquittal of Servant would also have 
 been certain, had his trial been delayed. 
 
 Every means was now put in motion to 
 strengthen and stimulate the populace. On the 
 7th of January, 1820, one of their nightly com- 
 mittees was convened, to arrange a secret in- 
 spection of their national guard, and to fill the 
 places of some inferior officers deceased. A 
 plan was adopted for the removal of the gar- 
 rison, and the dismissal of the mayor and pro- 
 
ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF BERRY. G0<5 
 
 cureur general of Nismes. Fortunately these 
 intrigues were not kept profoundly secret. The 
 minister of war was apprized beforehand of the 
 period when the application would be made, 
 the obscure individual by whom it would 
 be presented, the eminent personage by whom 
 it would be supported, and the infamous rea- 
 sons on which it would be founded. All ar- 
 rived, as foretold, and the minister promised 
 that nothing should be changed, nothing be 
 neglected, to ensure the tranquillity of the de- 
 partment. 
 
 At this moment the assassination of the Duke 
 of Berry, which threw France into consternation, 
 furnished a splendid occasion for the perse- 
 cutors to resume their bloody reign. Their 
 chiefs at Paris forced M. de Cazes from the helm 
 of the state, and sent him into exile. At Nismes, 
 the most horrible of all the monsters of 1815 
 re-appeared triumphant. Trestaillons had fled 
 after the speech of M. de Serre ; he returned 
 after the 13th of February, 1820. " He is come 
 to avenge the death of the prince," cried his 
 troops, assembled on the Boulevards, — and on 
 whom? "On the protestants !" As though 
 the protestants of the Gard were guilty of 
 the crime of Louvel. " Why did not we make 
 an end of the race in 1815 ?" " Let us murder 
 these wretches ; their blood will produce royal- 
 ists !" During several days, these cries were con- 
 stantly repeated, and the instructions received 
 
U*0(> ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF BERRY. 
 
 from Paris alone prevented scenes of carnage. 
 The leaders once more preached patience and 
 caution, and presented promises and hopes. 
 The delay was only to render more signal the 
 vengeance of the people.* 
 
 In this state of affairs, when there appeared 
 only the alternative of destruction or conflict, 
 Providence, who secretly and perfectly arranges 
 the vicissitudes of the social world, sent an in- 
 
 * " The 17th of February, the news of the death of the 
 Duke of Berry arrived at Nismes ; but, amidst the general 
 grief, an atrocious joy was manifest among those who cal- 
 culated on the effect of the crime. In the course of the 
 18th, a circular, No. 34., was received from the committee 
 at Paris ; among other things, it said, " Be neither sur- 
 prized nor alarmed; though the event of the 13th, has not 
 produced the instant fall of the favourite ; act as though he 
 was already overthrown ; we will tear him from the post if 
 they do not consent to banish him. In the mean time, or- 
 ganize yourselves ; instructions, orders, and money, will not 
 be wanting." 
 
 These directions were implicitly followed, and the attitude 
 of the murderers was as terrible as their masters could de- 
 sire. The next circular, No. 35., soon followed. " We 
 required of you, a few days since, an imposing attitude, at 
 present we recommend calmness and the most perfect re- 
 serve. We have gained a decisive advantage in driving out 
 De Cazes. Great services may be rendered to us by the new 
 ministry ; and we must take care not to discover hostility. 
 We repeat it — the greatest calm. Our addresses must be 
 numerous, let them be sent even from the hamlets, and by 
 the side of sentiments of grief, the necessity for vengeance 
 must be energetically expressed." This order was obeyed. 
 
 These circulars always arrived at Nismes in the short 
 period of three days. The distance is about 180 leagues, 
 and the ordinary time of the courier eight days. 
 
PETITION M. MADIER. 607 
 
 dividual to effect the deliverance of the pro- 
 testants of the Gard ; or at least to retard the 
 hour of their great calamity. 
 
 M. Madier of Moiitjau, a catholic, a magis- 
 trate, and the son of a catholic, a magistrate, and 
 a royalist, who, from the meeting of the States- 
 general, by votes, sacrifices, imprisonment, and 
 exile, had proved his devotion to the Bourbons ; 
 M. Madier of Montjau stept forward alone; and 
 in a petition to the Chamber of Deputies, re- 
 vealed all the facts of the long and inconceiv- 
 able persecution. He exposed the brutality of 
 the populace, the intrigues of their leaders, the 
 guilt of the magistrates, the scandal of the tri- 
 bunals ; asserted the innocence and the virtue 
 of the protestants ; demanded the destruction of 
 the secret armed force, and the punishment of 
 the guilty. Above all, he presented two circu- 
 lars, which formed part of a regular correspond- 
 ence, subversive of the administration, carried 
 on by persons of the highest consequence, and 
 expedited by couriers more rapid and inde- 
 pendent than the messengers of the govern- 
 ment. The statements of M. Madier were 
 incontrovertible. As conseiller of the Cour 
 Royale of Nismes, and president of the court 
 of Assizes, he had witnessed every transaction, 
 had corresponded with the government on many 
 of the evils, and had prevented others. His 
 reputation was irreproachable ; honour, loyalty, 
 courage, and patriotism, were too universally 
 associated with his character not to enhance 
 
60S SPEECH OF M. ST. AULAIRE. 
 
 the value of his revelations. He produced an 
 analysis of all the history contained in this 
 volume, and not a word could be denied. The 
 deputies of the Gard ascended the tribune and 
 supported his declarations. France listened and 
 pronounced its verdict. 
 
 The following speech, delivered by M. St. 
 Aulaire, father-in-law to the Duke de Cazes, 
 forms an important document. 
 
 " I had intended to give to the chamber the 
 fewest details possible of what occurred in 
 the department of the Gard in 1815 ; but I 
 have just read, in a paper printed by permission 
 of the censure of the government, and which 
 seems to give it more credit, that the crimes 
 committed at Nismes after the second restor- 
 ation ought to be considered as reprisals, the 
 necessary consequences of what had previously 
 occurred. It is impossible for me to suffer the 
 Chamber and the public to be deceived on this 
 point. I will say, since these unjust recrimin- 
 ations are repeated, that the crimes committed 
 after the second restoration, were not only atro- 
 cious, but entirely gratuitous. I appeal to my 
 colleagues, and to all those who know the de- 
 partment, and I declare, in their name as well 
 as in my own, that not a drop of blood was 
 spilt at Nismes during the hundred days. Three 
 royal volunteers were injured at Arpaillargues, 
 but it was with arms in their hands, and in a 
 contest with other armed men. The good roy- 
 alists had, with all France, the grief of seeing the 
 
SPEECH OF M. ST. AULAIRE. 6'09 
 
 legitimate government overthrown ; but the most 
 exact investigations have not informed me, that 
 they were the objects of any persecution what- 
 ever. These unjust recriminations and denials 
 are not the only causes of the irritation which 
 still exists. When the king sent me in 1818, 
 to preside over the Electoral College of the 
 department, I must say, that the protestants 
 appeared to me full of love for the lawful 
 authority. Their desire was, to repose under the 
 royal protection j they felt the importance of 
 making great concessions to the executive power, 
 to enable it to mediate between all interests and 
 all passions. This testimony I must render to 
 men whose political principles have been so much 
 calumniated." 
 
 " The protestants were modest in their demands, 
 they only asked present safety and security for 
 the future ; alas ! they have only obtained the 
 half of their demand. I do not pretend to re- 
 proach his Majesty's government j in 1818, all 
 the ministers displayed the utmost solicitude for 
 the Gard. The dissolution of the National 
 Guard was due to the prudence and the firmness 
 of M. Laine. The re-organization of the Cour 
 Royale was effected by M.Pasquier,then Keeper 
 of the Seals. These measures prevented public 
 disorders ; but security for the future has never 
 been established ; and how could such security 
 exist in a country where that part of society 
 which is nearest the throne, continually displays 
 the most odious anticipations ? While it seems 
 
 R R 
 
GlO SPEECH OF M. ST. AULAIRE. 
 
 to recognize a law, distinct from the law ; a 
 government, distinct from the government ; and 
 a king, other than the king himself? It is but 
 too true, that at Nismes the lawful and protect- 
 ing influence of the government has had to 
 contend with the secret and exciting influence of 
 a party. I repeat it, there is there imminent 
 danger. The royal authority must exist for every 
 one, or it will soon cease to exist for any one. 
 
 " In the department of the Gard, the protest- 
 ants have suffered much, and they have suffered 
 with resignation ; and I am certain they would 
 have renounced all vengeance, and have signed 
 a sincere reconciliation, under the auspices of 
 the throne, if the party of 1815 had consented 
 to destroy its organization. But this organiz- 
 ation still exists, (April 25th, 1820,) and every 
 day symptoms admonish the protestants, that 
 they enjoy not a durable peace, but a truce, and 
 prudence counsels them to prepare. I do not 
 say that there is a conspiracy, but there is at 
 least a league, which is necessarily destructive of 
 public tranquillity. What would be said, if the 
 protestants were to form an association ? Who 
 would have a right to complain ? Not those who 
 first gave the example ; nor the government, which 
 is unable to defend itself. Such is the state of 
 the Gard, and I repeat, there will be no remedy 
 till the organization, and the power of the 
 party of 1815, are destroyed." 
 
 Several other deputies expressed similar sen- 
 timents, bore their testimony to the truth, and by 
 
PETITION OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. Gil 
 
 long and animated debates, avenged, in some de- 
 gree, the wrongs of the protestants of the South. 
 Urged by the dangers that menaced them, 
 and encouraged by the example of their disin- 
 terested and intrepid defender M. Madier de 
 Montjau, the widows, orphans, and relations, of 
 the slaughtered protestants presented, in the 
 course of the summer of 1820, a petition to 
 the Chamber of Deputies, demanding the prose- 
 cution of the murderers of those most dear to 
 them, as the only guarantee of their future se- 
 curity, and as the necessary step to the assertion 
 of their civil rights. Another revelation of crimes 
 and persecutions was the result, and their dis- 
 closure tended to awe both the people and their 
 chiefs. 
 
 Quatretaillons, of Uzes, was accused before the 
 tribunals on eight different charges, — an attempt 
 at murder with fire-arms, — robbery with fire- 
 arms, — an attempt at robbery with fire-arms, — 
 the murder of six prisoners, forced from the 
 care of the jailor, and shot on the esplanade of 
 Uzes, — open pillage of a house and shop with 
 an armed mob, and extortion of one hundred 
 and fifty francs, — the devastation and plunder 
 of a house, furniture, and produce, of a female 
 at Montaren, — jobbery of a horse of a protest- 
 ant pastor, — and, finally, the murder of six 
 protestants of St. Maurice, on the esplanade of 
 Uzes. On all this catalogue of crimes, which 
 is a specimen of those committed in profusion 
 by himself and his comrades, he was ordered to 
 r it 2 
 
612 PERSECUTION OF M. MADIER. 
 
 be tried. His friends withdrew him from the 
 violence of the storm ; and secure under their 
 protection, he waits for the return of those times 
 when he may again be the guest of notable cath- 
 olics and eminent royalists. In the mean while, 
 his non-appearance has exposed him to the sen- 
 tence against contumacy ; but he remembers, 
 that Bertrand, of Arpaill argues, was also con- 
 demned for contumacy, and now lives safe and 
 happy, though Jive innocent protestants were 
 doomed to the guillotine. 
 
 On the other hand, the sufferers of Nismes 
 saw themselves attacked in the person of their 
 generous champion. M. Madier de Montjau 
 was officially summoned before the Court of Cas- 
 sation, presided by M. de Serre, Keeper of the 
 Seals, to answer for alleged impropriety of con- 
 duct as a magistrate, in making those public ap- 
 peals to the Chamber, which saved the protest- 
 ants, and have rendered more difficult the renewal 
 of the persecution he denounced. The public 
 prosecutor demanded the erasure of his name 
 from the list of magistrates. This was refused by 
 the court ; and it was with difficulty that the 
 censure of this virtuous magistrate could be ob- 
 tained, for having imitated the example given 
 him by the same M. de Serre, in his speech in 
 1819, already cited. * 
 
 The noble and eloquent defence of M. Madier 
 remains to attest and increase the evidence of 
 
 * See page 599. 
 1 
 
THE SITUATION OF THE PROTESTANTS. 613 
 
 the innocence and the injuries of the protestants. 
 Before the highest legal court, all the facts of a 
 religious persecution were re-stated, and not a 
 single negation was opposed. Happily for the 
 persecuted, with that union of talents, virtues, 
 and energy, which is destined to have a mighty 
 influence on public affairs, and with new lustre 
 thrown on a brilliant reputation, he is returned 
 to watch at the post of danger. 
 
 To conclude : on the past, there rests no 
 doubt, but the future is still alarming. The 
 condition of the persecuted fluctuates with the 
 slightest political alteration. The law of elec- 
 tions has been changed. Two of the bitterest 
 enemies of the protestants have been chosen 
 deputies at Nismes. 
 
 Such is the history of the events that have 
 occurred since 1814. Such, at the close of 
 the year 1820, is the situation of the protestants 
 of the department of the Gard. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by A. and It. Spottiswoode, 
 Printers- Street, London. 
 
BRITTLE DO NO' 
 PHOTOCOPY 
 
 933 
 W65