Columbia ZKnibersitp in tfje Citp of iSeto gorfe \ LIBRARY THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION IN FRANCE; OR, HISTORY OF THE HUGONOTS. VOL. I. THE PEOTESTANT REFORMATION IN FRANCE; HISTORY OF THE HUGONOTS. ,0 BY THE AUTHOR OF "FATHER DARCY," "EMILIA WYNDHAM," "OLD MEN'S TALES," &c. Deeds of great men still remind us, We may make our lives sublime — And departing leave behind us. Footprints on the sands of time — Footprints that perchance some other, Struggling on life's stormy main — Some forlorn and shipwrecked brother — Seeing — may take heart again. Loxgfello^v^ VOL. I. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, gubliflfiej: in (©rtlmarp to f^cr fHaje^t^* M.DCCC.XLVII. LONDON : Printod by S. & J. Bentlev, Wilson, and Flrv. Bangor House, Shoe Lane, >5 33 J) ^(imisisSton, TO HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND, NOT FOR HER TALENTS, HER BEAUTY, HER NOBLE BIRTH, OR LOFTY STATION, BUT BECAUSE SHE IS GENEROUS, COMPASSIONATE, PIOUS, AND GOOD, THIS ATTEMPT TO RELATE A SAD BUT INSTRUCTIVE STORY, IS WITH MUCH RESPECT DEDICATED. VOL. I. ADVERTISEMENT. The object of this unpretending Work has been to relate a domestic story not to undertake a political history, — to display the virtues, errors, sufferings, and experiences of individual men — rather than the affairs of Consistories or the intrigues of Cabinets — consequent upon the great struggle to diffuse the principles of the Eeformed Religion in France. The narration here presented to the reader terminates in the death of Charles IX. It is my wish, if time be allowed me, to complete the subject by carrying down the history to the downfall of the Cause and Party at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. But whether I shall have power to attempt this is uncertain. Eastbury, March, 1847. AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO. It has been thought that this list, with the period at which the authors lived, and the side which they espoused, may prove accepta- ble to the general reader. I am fully sensible that many sources of information have been closed to me ; but I have endeavoured, as far as lay in my power, to consult and compare the cotemporary histo- rians upon both sides. I. Historians who, though leaning, from their Habits and Edu- cation, TO THE Catholic, may be justly considered as in the MAIN impartial. De ThoiL — His history was, as every one knows, written originally in Latin. Born in 1553. His father, Christophle de Thou, was President of the Parliament of Paris. He was present him- self at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Died 1617. Gamier^ Histoire de France. — Born 1545. Attained considerable eminence in the profession of the law ; appointed Councillor to Henry IV.; enjoyed great opportunities for consulting registers. Matthieu, Histoii^e de France sous Francis /., Henri II., Fi^angois II. ^ llluytrcs, Guise. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 73 maintained; the perfect obedience which was rendered him by so large an assemblage of princes, nobles, captains, and soldiers, without the slightest insubordination in the world ; with the splendid combats and sorties that he made — and afterwards the fair and gentle benignity with which he treated his vanquished enemies — half dead with sick- ness, poverty, and misery — will say and confess that this siege of Metz a ete la plus helle qui jut fait jamais P ^ To a military genius of the highest order the Duke of Guise united indefatigable industry and unceasing watch- fulness, and surpassed his adversaries as much by the ex- actness of his intelligences as by the excellence of his dispositions ; and while, as we shall find, the first captains opposed to him are perpetually deceived in their calcu- lations, through the negligence or indolence of those in- subordinate gentlemen volunteers who at that time con- stituted the main strength of every army. Guise, relying upon himself, and trusting little to others, is invariably successful in his designs. " He was the first general," says Brantome, " of our armies, who fulfilled the duties of colonel, master of artillery, maitre de camp, capitaine, and soldier. In reconnoitring places, he seldom said to any captain or soldier, 'reconnoitre me that, or look after this.' Most often he went himself, and placed his soldiers himself in the trenches, ditches, towers, or on the breach; in short, no captain equalled him in those qualities which the ^larquis de Pescara used to say ought to distinguish a good commander, * who,' said he, ' should govern all with great labour of body and mind, not making use of the eyes of others, but of his own.' For often a great captain comes ofi" victorious from battles and assaults when distrusting others he puts his own hand to the work, of however little importance it might at first ap- pear to be." ' Bruntoiiic, Homines; Illustrcs. 74 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. Guise was accustomed, Brantome tells us, to write his despatches with his own hand, "passing whole nights at this labour," a thing which irritated bejond measure the fiery Montluc, who could have no conception of a general at a desk. At the siege of Thionvillc, Montluc, seeking him on bu- siness, Avas told that he was writing : — " Au diahle de ses hritures,'' cries Montluc. " Pity he 's not grefier to the Parliament of Paris ; he w^ould gain more than Tillet and all the rest." Guise overhearing him, only said, with his usual sweetness, ''Eli hien, Montluc! Crois tu que je serois hon a ctre greffLerr " Do you think I am of the right stuff to make a clerk.'' And then, coming out of his tent, gave his orders with his accustomed decision and authority. To these qualities " were added an eloquence," says our author, (who it must be confessed, speaks as one quite dazzled by the fine qualities of his subject, to whom, in- deed, he had been most warmly attached,) " Non point contrainte et far dee, mais naive et militaire,''' not elabo- rate and artificial, but simple and warlike. A figure lofty and commanding; a countenance noble and intelligent; to which a large scar upon the cheek, from the wound of a lance which had passed entirely through the head, added grace rather than deformity — and from which he obtained, as did his son from a similar cause, the title of le halafrc — complete the picture of this illustrious man. Distinguished as we have seen, during the foreign wars, for the courtesy, gentleness, and humanity of his temper, but of unbridled ambition, and, as it appears, (unlike his brother the Car- dinal de Lorraine,) a fanatic in religion. Guise, during the latter days of his career, suffered himself to be hurried by the influences of that bad man into acts of violence, trea- chery, and duplicity, which excite our almost unmitigated abhorrence. lie had committed that great mistake of neglecting 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 75 to enlarge and cultivate his fine understanding by read- ing. Guise was an ignorant man — and fell a victim to the prejudices and the arts of men, his inferiors in all other, but this one respect. His beautiful wife, Anne d'Este, was, through her mo- ther, (Renee of France, duchess of Ferrara,) grand-daughter to Louis the Twelfth. " Une tres grande dame et la plus belle de la coiir^^ says Brantome ; " possible si je disois de toiite la chretientG je ne mentirois pas^ ^ Charles Cardinal of Lorraine, second brother of the Duke of Guise, to whose sinister influence so large a portion of the miseries of France must be ascribed, had, says Bran- tome, " un esprit fort subtil, bon jugement, bon retentive, il etoit de trh bon grace et fagon. He spoke well and eloquently on all things, human as well as divine; and Monsieur de Guise, his nephew, has told me, that one of his greatest expenses was to have intelligence from all parts of Christendom, and that he had his pensioners who advertised him of everything." Doubtless the Cardinal de Lorraine was learned, politic, and eloquent, but his cha- racter was an epitome of vices ; mean, yet ambitious ; violent, yet crafty ; a contemptible coward, and barba- rously cruel. With the utmost secret contempt for all those things which men in general hold sacred — he was a persecuting bigot, without religious persuasion. For though he was hated by the Hugonots for his religion," continues our author, "he was thought to be a great hypocrite, using it chiefly as a means to build up his greatness. I have heard him talk of the Confession of Augsburg, half approving it ; at times he almost preached it to please the Germans In prosperity he was very insolent and grand, regarding and considering no one ; but in adversity * After the death of the Duke of Nemours, of wliom such a brilliaiit Guise, she niarried the Duke of picture is drawn by Biantoiiie. 76 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. le plus doux, court ois, et gracieux, qiHon en sceut voir; so that one of the queen's young lacliefe, ]\Iademoiselle de la Guyoniere, used to attack him for this ; for when he was upon his high horse he regarded no one, neither man nor woman; and when he was low in the world he sought and courted everybody; so that this young lady would sometimes say, ' Mais, monsieur, dites le vrai, vHavez vous pas eu un revers de jdrtune! * Come, tell us, — Certainly some misfortune has befallen you, otherwise you would never condescend to speak to usV " Gaspard de Coligni, Seigneur de Chatillon, occupies the next place, after his great rival, though early friend, the Duke de Guise. Governor of Picardy and of the Isle of France, he first held the charge of colonel-general of the French infantry ; but he had now resigned it to his brother, the Seigneur d'Andelot, when he himself was created Grand admiral of France — and he now held that post, considered as one of the most eminent in the kingdom, and rated above that of field-marshal. Brantome compares him and the Duke of Guise to two diamonds of the finest water ; on the superior excellence of which it is impossible to decide. "In their youth," says he, " the greatest friendship had subsisted between them — grands compagnons, aynis, et confederes de cour ; wearing the same dresses, using the same liveries, of the same parties in tournaments and combats de plaisir, runnings at the ring, and masquerades. Tout deux fort enjoues, et faisant des folies plus extravagantes les tins que les autres, et surtout, ne faisant jamais nulle folic qtCils nefissent mal; tant ils etoient rudes joueurs, et malheureux dans leursjeux} * Tavamies exceeded in extrava- along the tops of the houses in Paris, gancc all the extravagancies of his and springing from one roof to an- tinie. He is described as running other across the narrow streets. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 77 '^ Monsieur de Guise was prodigiously eloquent, and so was M. TAmiral, but the latter was the more learned of the two ; he understood and spoke Latin well ; he had both studied and read ; always reading when not engaged in affairs — // etoit seigneur d'honneur — liomme de hien, — sage, mu7\ hien avise, politique, et brave ; a censor and weigher of things, loving honour and virtue.^' ^ To this it must be added, that his sense of religious obligation was most deep and fervent ; and that, with him, the maintenance of the Reform was no pretence to cover a factious ambition — but an object of the most serious importance, justified by his convictions, and to which he deliberately sacrificed the best years of his life, and, finally, life itself. Brantome bears witness how earnestly this great and good man laboured for peace; and how invariably he repressed the ambitious designs of his fol- lowers, saying, " If we have our religion, what do we want more V^ And he feelingly describes the patriotic intentions, and affectionate confidence with which after the third troubles, Coligni returned to the king, and to that court where he was so barbarously slaughtered. Coligni was one in truth, devoted to the great cause of human improvement in all its forms ; labouring for the advancement of truth, and the maintenance of justice and order. As Colonel-General of the French infantry. Colonel General de Vinfanterie Frangaise, Brantome tells us, " It was he who regulated it by those fine ordonnances that we still have of his ; and which are printed, prac- tised, read, and published, among our bands. Captains and others, even of the contrary party, when any difficulty of war arose, would say, * In this we must be guided by the rules and ordonnances of M. TAmiral.' They were right, they were the best and most politic that have ever been ' Brantome, Hommcs Illustres. 78 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. made in France ; and I believe have preserved the lives of a million of persons— to say nothing of their proper- ties and possessions. For till then, it was nothing but pillage, robbery, brigandage, murders, quarrels, and bru- tality, so that the companies resembled hordes of wild Arabs, rather than noble soldiers.'^^ He is also recorded (Mem. de Vieilleville) as being the first who planned an hospital for the French army ; and in another place he is mentioned as building a large meet- ing-house at Rouen, for the celebration of the Reformed worship ; while the strenuous efforts he made at the States General of Orleans, 1560, to obtain something like a regular system of representation for the people of France, proves the wisdom and energy of his political character. He was, perhaps, one of the truest patriots that France ever possessed ; yet such is the force of reli- gious prejudice and the injustice of history, that the French writers, almost without exception — save those, indeed, devoted to his own party — conspire in the attempt to cover him with obloquy, as a turbulent and ambitious malcontent : handing down from one to another that sophistical sentence applied to him by his enemies — that his greatest exploits were against his King, his religion, and his country. He was married to Charlotte de Laval, a lady devoted to the new religion ; and it was she, who established in his family, what he ever afterwards maintained, a gravity and decorum rarely to be seen in the households of the nobility of his time. As an example of what that sort of discipline was, which the members of the Reform instituted in their families, I will, from a cotemporary author, transcribe a description of these domestic habits. 1 Brantome, Hommcs Illustrcs. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 79 " As soon as the Admiral had quitted his bed, which in general was very early in the morning, and had wrapped his night-gown round him, he knelt down, as did his attend- ants, and made a prayer after the custom of the French Hugonot Churches ; after which, while he was waiting for the sermon (which was preached every day, accompanied with the singing of Psalms,) he gave audience to the deputies of the churches that were sent to him, and employed himself in public. Occasionally he did business after the sermon till dinner time. When dinner was ready, his household servants, except those who were immediately employed in preparing the necessaries of the table, all waited in the great hall. When the table being set, the Admiral with his wife by his side stood at the head of it. If there had been no sermon that morning a Psalm was sung, and then the usual benediction followed ; which ceremony numbers of Germans — colonels and cap- tains — as well as French officers, who were asked to dine with him, can witness he observed without even intermit- ting a single day — not only at his own house in days of quiet, but even whilst he was with the army. The cloth being taken away, he rose as well as his wife and all his attendants, and either returned thanks himself, or caused his chaplain to do so. And having observed that some of his household could not regularly attend the prayers in the evening on account of their occupations and amuse- ments, he ordered that every one of them should present themselves in the great hall after supper, and then after singing a Psalm, a prayer was said." The Seigneur d'Andelot, the youngest brother of the house of Chatillon, affords by his animated and enterpris- ing character, a striking contrast to the Admiral. But the brothers were tenderly attached to each other — " Us s'entre aimoienf, s'entre aydoient, s'entre soutenoient — 80 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. loved, aided, and supported each other."^ D'Andelot, by the assistance of the Admiral, had made a splendid marriage with Mademoiselle de Rieux, an heiress of one of the first houses in Brittany, and possessed immense estates in that province. He had been, during the Italian wars, a pri- soner in the castle of Milan. " And it was there," says Brantome, "he learned his fine religion, for having no other exercises he set himself to read, and had all sorts of books brought to him — for the Inquisition was not so tight then as it has been since — and there he learned the New Religion, though, indeed, he had got a first scent of it during the Protestant wars in Germany. Such," he con- cludes pathetically, " are the sad fruits of leisure and idleness. So many evil things does she teach us, of which we have cause ever afterwards to repent." Odet de Chatillon, the elder of the three brothers. Bishop of Beauvais and Cardinal, was a man of fine understand- ing, and the most polished manners. " I knew," says a cotemporary author, " the Cardinal de Chatillon well, and whenever I recal him to my memory, it appears to me that France never possessed a man more discreet, cour- teous, and generous than he was ; and I have heard those say, who knew him at the court of Francis I. and Henry IL, that the disgrace of his friends never shook his favour, and that the very enemies of those nearest to him could not refrain from loving himself ; which was because he had so generous and open a countenance, and was never rude, nor displeasing to any one. Gette belle f agon, was not in his brother the Admiral — Je c?'ois que cette entendement retire, en sol meme et cet esprit severe little aided the fortunes of his house, though it was neither arrogance nor pride in him ; but a simple habit to which his nature inclined him." • Brantome, Hommes Illustres. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 81 The Cardinal de Chatillon became earlj a convert to the reformed religion, and in course of time married. We now come to the princes of the blood. At their head was Anthony of Bourbon, King of Navarre, whose descent and connections have been described at large in the preceding chapter. He was a man not without talents of a certain order, who during the late wars had com- manded in the armies with some reputation ; but he was utterly without strength of character, or unity of pur- pose ; and is thus described by Tavannes : — " He was a man of a light and thoroughly irresolute temper, taking one side, then suddenly changing to an- other ; and the opinion he abandoned always seemed to him the best : so that, forgetting the reasons which made against it, he adopted it once more ; and immedi- ately, the present danger leading him to regard that just assumed as the most perilous, he would forsake it again.'^ ' Anthony of Navarre is a striking instance of the evils which arise when second-rate ability, combined with weak- ness of moral principle and instability of temper, is ele- vated to influential situations. The vacillations of his selfish fears and calculations, aided by jealousy, that demon of weak minds, did more to ruin France than all the loftier errors of the rest united. So true it is that states and families may perish as surely through the timidity, meanness, and want of spirit in their leaders, as through the greatest excesses of ill-directed energy. " In his religion he fluctuated, as in other things ; was neither a good Catholic, nor a genuine Lutheran ; his mind seemed to want power to fix itself "^ His brother, Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, the heroic, the beloved, the erring, ' Mem. de Tavannes. ' Ibid. VOL. I. G 82 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. " Ce petit homme tant joli Qui toujours cause, ct toujours rit, Et toujours aime sa mignonne, Dicu garde de mal le petit homme," was as spirited and generous as Anthony was calculating and timid. His talents were great, his disposition kind and affectionate, his soul the very temple of honour. He was remarkable for a ready and unstudied eloquence, and had, in spite of a gay and lively temper, and the errors into which it too often betrayed him, very serious im- pressions of religion and virtue. ' " He spoke well, rallied well, was small and slender, but for all that strong, active, vert, et vigoiireux, ac- costahle, agreahle, aimahle ; so that the Italians used to say, ' Dio mi guarda del hel gigneto del P7incipe de Conde, et del animo et stecco del AmiraglioJ "^ Conde was extremely poor, without appointments, and with a small inheritance, and his whole life had been, and yet was to be, spent in one brave struggle with narrow circumstances; hard for a man of his magnanimity and spirit ! " He was worthy of a better age, and of a better fate."^ " His wife, Eleanor de Roye," (thus speaks the Catho- lic Maimbourg,) " was a woman of great sense, feeling, and virtue; but she and her mother were two of the most ardent and determined Hugonots of their time." It remains to give the reader the portrait of her who is the central figure in the scenes about to follow — of the Queen Consort, dowager, regent, and mother, Catherine de Medicis. Catherine was the only daughter of Lorenzo de Me- dicis, Duke of Urbino, and of Madeleine, Countess of ^ Brantouie, Hommes Illustres. which he had the habit of using ' Stecco, the tooth-pick which Co- when engaged in thought, igny carried stuck in his beard, and ^ Annotator on Tavannes. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 83 Auvergne and Laraguais. Her life had been, till now, one of vexation and imliappiness. The early death of her parents had condemned her childhood to ceaseless vicissi- tudes; and from the time of her marriage continual mor- tification had attended her. The first years of it had been childless, and all the succeeding ones embittered by the triumphs of a successful and haughty rival — Diana de Poictiers, Duchess of Valentinois, who, during the reign of Henry the Second, engrossed all the power and rights of a wife and of a Queen. Catherine had been suspected, even in these her early days, of practising what were called the Italian arts, and of making way, by poison, for her husband's succession to the crown ; ^ but as she had, during so many years, without having recourse to such arts, submitted to this irritating rivalry, the suspicion is probably unfounded.^ This Queen, whose subsequent actions seem to justify the name so often applied to her of the " Modern Brune- hault and Fredegonde'' — this treacherous deceiver and cruel murderer is thus, in appearance and manner, repre- sented by Brantome : — *' She was of a beautiful, rich, and majestic figure, ex- tremely soft in her manners whenever she thought proper so to be ; of a lively aspect, and most excellent grace. Her countenance sweet and agreeable ; the throat excelling by its form, and the exquisite whiteness of her skin, her whole complexion being most fair and delicate: her figure, re- markable for its symmetry, du reste la plus helle main qui fut jamais, si crois je. The poets have praised Aurora for her beautiful hands, but I think this Queen would have surpassed even her ; and she kept this beauty to the last. ^ See Brantome's account of the boon from her rival the smallest fa- death of his elder brother, the dau- vours, which without a- request she phin Francis. ought to have received from her ^ " Accepting in gratitude as a husband." G 2 84 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. " She dressed well and superbly, and had continually new and pleasing inventions. I remember a picture,- painted at Lyons, of this great Queen in all her beauty, dressed after the French fashion, with a hat with her large pearls, and a robe with sleeves of cloth of gold, furred with hup cervier — a most lively representation, with her beautiful face, wanting only the gift of speech, and having her three most lovely daughters near her. In which pic- ture she took much pleasure, and all the company admir- ing and praising her beauty, M. de Nemours said, 'Madame, I see you there well pourtrayed, and your daughters do you honour ; for they approach, but do not surpass you in beauty.' She answered, ' Mon cousin, you remember those days, and can judge whether my beauty was esteemed as you say, and whether I resembled that picture.' And all the company began to praise and infinitely esteem this great loveliness, saying, that the mother was worthy of the daughters, and the daughters of the mother. And these charms lasted, in great measure, till the day of her death." ' " She was excellent company, gay in her spirits, loving all becoming exercise, especially dancing, in which she was full of grace and majesty. She loved hunting, more especially with Francis the First in his small hunting par- ties; and was the first inventor of the side -saddle, and practised horsemanship to the age of sixty years and more. Hunted with her husband; and if he played at the Pall Mall she would play too, and drew the crossbow well." ^ Brantome, Femmes Illustres. my readers may be inquisitive as to ' The Duchess of Valentinois was the means by which so much beauty still more remarkable for the dura- was preserved. It was the practice tion of her beauty. She was forty- for ladies to rise extremely early and seven when she made the conquest spend many hours on horseback. She of a young and licentious Prince, used to return to bed for an hour or under thirty years of age. Some of two when her exercise was over. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 85 The Queen was a lover of poetry and of the theatre, and an indefatigable inventor of ballets, and those scenic entertainments to v^hich that age was so much addicted. " When she called any one mon ami^' concludes Brantome, it signified that she thought him a fool, or was in a rage, so that M. de Boistermier, when she called him so, used to say ' de grace, Madame, let it be mon ennemi! '' Catherine was insatiable in her thirst for power, yet little capable of exercising it, having neither comprehen- sive views nor constancy of object. A judicious French writer, contrasting her with our Queen Elizabeth, says, " The conceptions of Catherine, though plausible at first view, prove on examination little and confined ; and dis- cover only le hel esprit, the jargon of intrig-ue, and the play (manege) of a weak and wicked woman. Elizabeth, on the contrary, saw widely and clearly, and could break her hobbeys (hoquets) at once, whenever they interfered with her views — her's was the march of genius." In her private relations Catherine was vain, domineer- ing, and unamiable ; a haughty, distant, and partial mother, devoting herself with passion to the interests of one child, and that the worst among her children (Henry of Anjou), to the exclusion of the rest ; whom she edu- cated in those habits of awe and of an abject deference and submission, which inevitably weaken and degrade the character. In her own habits she was vicious, and an encourager of vice in others. As for the poor boy King, thus invested at fifteen years of age with unbounded authority, his character, as it has come down to us, appears deficient in every quality that could render such a trust less hurtful or absurd. He appears to have been a poor, weak, peevish, sulky boy, and such afiections as he had were entirely absorbed in his passion for the fascinating Mary Stuart. 86 THE REFORMATIOxN IN FRANCE. [1559. Genuine portraits of all these characters are now in existence, and a few of the most remarkable I have been enabled to have engraved from the Lenoir collection now in this country, and in the possession of his Grace the Duke of Sutherland/ Such were the factions which divided the Court of France. — The state in which the inferior nobility, the middle and lower orders existed, will merit a little attention also, in order to make the situation of society in this moment of transition understood by the English reader. The grand feudal chivalry of France was at an end. Though numbers among the nobility were still powerful enough to enter into leagues and combine against their sovereign, yet those magnificent independent chiefs, hauts feudataires de la couronne, who, single-handed, and upon terms almost of equality, had entered into contests with ' In this collection I looked in vain Second and his two sons, Henry the for a characteristic portrait either Third and the Duke of Alen^on, on of Francis Duke of Guise, the Great horseback. Henry the Second is a Constable, or of Coligny. There is a remarkably fine handsome man, his drawing of the three brothers Cha- very large horse splendidly accoutred tillon, dressed in clothes and short and with a plume of feathers upon cloaks of what appears to be cloth of his head. Henry the Third wears a wool, without any of those ribbons, crown of laurel like a Roman Em- velvets, silks, or embroidery common peror, and appears to be engaged in to the dresses of that day ; their coun- some triumphal procession ; the way tenances are grave, not to say forbid- is strewed with flowers : he is hand- ding ; that of D'Andelot very long, some, but still preserves the mean, thin, and serious t© severity. The unpleasant countenance. The Duke portraits of the three younger sons of of Alen^on, upon a high curvetting Catherine are strikingly characteris- horse, is a very spirited figure, tic ; there is something spirited and The portrait of Catherine is at open, yet an expression that one can- once a history and a lesson. The not quite understand, in the counte- traces of the beauty described by nance of Charles the Ninth ; Henry Brantome are still to be seen ; but the Third, beautiful in feature, has a the scowl, the dark black cloud that meanness and wickedness, so to hangs over the countenance, tells the speak, that is very remarkable ; the tale of an evil life, disappointed Duke of Alen^on, spirited and hand- hopes, and a conscience stained with some, justifies in some degree the blood. For the portraits of the three partiality with which Queen Eliza- Colignys the work is indebted to the beth beheld her young admirer. collection of the Earl Amherst at There are drawings of Henry the Knole. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 87 their nominal Lord, — namely, the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, Normandy, &c. — were no more. The noblesse no longer numbered one single vassal competent alone to oppose the crown, this danger, there- fore, had vanished. The age of chivalry was beginning also to pass away, and that of courts and courtiers to succeed. The once wild, independent nobles, had begun to leave their lofty castles, their forests, and their tufted woods, and, attended by their demoiselles, (that is to say their wives,) attired in the fantastical and expensive fashions of the day, to frequent those gay and magnifi- cent scenes, which, during the last reigns, had been ren- dered so attractive. No Court was ever gayer than that of Francis the First, Henry the Second, or, in imitation of them, that maintained by Catherine of Medicis in spite of all her troubles. There were tournaments, tilting matches — at which the long lance was still used — and where the knights in their rich gilded armour, their sur- coats of velvet, mounted on their caparisoned and plumed horses, rivalled the paladins of old, and with " Store of ladies whose bright eyes Rain influence and judge the prize Of wit and arms." Hunting matches, at which the Jilles de la reine, to the number of several hundred, followed the King attired in fanciful and picturesque dresses, and mounted upon their haquenees. Dances, scenic representations, in which these gay and beautiful creatures bore the most considerable part. Magnificent processions — an idea of which may be taken from the engravings in Montfaucon — gambling for the men and coquetry for the women, divided and animated the time, tending more to subdue the ancient spirit of independence than all the policy of Lewis the Eleventh could ever do. 88 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. Add to this, that the introduction of fire-arms was about to change the whole system of warfare, which now, by degrees, began to assume an entirely new character and aspect. A few years more, and the spirited gens d'arme- rie of France — those brave champions mth their long lances and famous swords, which were so individu- ally famous as even to bear names — were to disappear. And those acts of personal prowess, which had nourished so brave and high-spirited a temper among men, were to become of no avail, before the arquebuse of the Swiss mercenary, the dreaded horse-pistols of the Reisters, or the thunder of the artillery. Mechanical force began to decide the fate of war, and chivalry yielded to strategy. But this change in the independent feelings of the highest class, had not as yet, it will be found, extended to the less noble orders. The magistrature, the bourgeoisie, the merchants, the trades, preserved their freedom and importance in the state, while the whole superincumbent weight seems to have fallen upon the lowest class, the rural population, and what it is now the fashion in France to call the proktaires, and who were at that time charac- terised by a writer as, " k peuple taillahle et corveahle d mercir Since the fourteenth century the intermediate class between the nobles and the people had been regularly rising in importance, and among the magistrature, the confreries of advocates, and the professors of the canon and civil law, were found some few of the most enlight- ened of those who supported Reform -^ but who, desirous it should take rise rather from within than from without the church, demanded a general council. The majority, however, both in the magistrature and universities, with the spirit but too often observable in communities so con- ' Capefigue, Hist, de la Refornie. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 89 stituted, obstinately clung to the long received corrup- tions, and resisted the spirit of improvement with all the pertinacity belonging to the system, and with all the ferocious barbarity proper to the criminal jurisprudence of the age. The organization of the great cities in France, which in those days were a form of society totally distinct from that of the country, is described by Capefigue so briefly and distinctly, that I think it better to make use of his own words here, than supply them by any of my own. The organization of the great cities in France, he tells us, was, in all important respects, formed upon the same model. " The communes, properly so called, had every- where yielded to the system of Mayors and Prevots, ar- ranged by the ordonnances of Louis the Eleventh. The right of election, however, had been preserved. The bour- geois had also their arms, their captains elected by them- selves ; their police, their chains, their barricades, their treasure, and their Maison commune. The privileges of the walled towns were still more extensive. They had the right of closing their gates against all archers, pil- lards, and arquehiisiers. And the King himself could not penetrate within the walls of most of these fenced cities with his troops or his standards flying, without the ex- press consent of the municipality. To this vast aggrega- tion of municipal bodies must be added a multitude of pri- vate confhiies, (brotherhoods,) with their own individual rights and privileges. The people were thus broken into a thousand little societies, protected by their ancient charters, and having each their guards, their patron, and their banner. The masters of all these communities, proud of their colours, and of their ancient prerogatives, marched in the grand processions — appeared on Sundays, the days of their Monstre or review, in arms, with pistol 90 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. and arqucbusse, and elected their own Captains, D'lxainiers and Centeniers." Each trade had a magistrate of its own choosing ; and were judged by their prudhommes. " What proud fellows were the carpenters, the spinners, the butchers in all their glory ! They were more powerful in their own towns than many gentlemen upon their ma- noirs ; more especially when they perorated at the Halles, or on the Place de Greve, where all the assembled con- freries were accustomed to meet for their deliberations " ]\I. Capefigue, who has so industriously examined an- cient monuments and manuscripts, adds, in a note ad- dressed to those interested in such matters, an invitation to examine the curious livre des hannieres in the ar- chives of the prefecture of police at Paris.' The King sent his mandement d'elire to the sixteen Quartenie7^s, who were the principal magistrates ; these called to themselves the Cinqiiantiers, the Dixainiers, and eight of the most important of the bourgeois, who named the Echevins. The election was made by voice, and the scrutiny was carefully verified by the Quartenier pre- sent, who was eligible himself to the place of Echevin^ provided he was an inhabitant of Paris. That great city had four-and-twenty municipal councillors, of whom seven wxre chosen among the most considerable of the bour- geoisie ; seven from among the dealers, not mechanics ; and ten from among the officers of the courts of justice, maitres de requites, and so on. This ordonnance of Henry the Second somewhat limited the rights of election which had before this been more popular, but which were restored to their full extent in the days of the League. The political influence of the town of Paris is, however, * The mode of election of the cond, may be takrn as a type of the municipal officers at Paris, as regu- system pursued in the other large lated by an edict of Henry the Se- towns. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 91 very observable even in the days of Henry the Second. The King communicated directly to the municipality the bulletins of his battles ; the garde hourgeoise mounted guard at the gates and upon the ramparts; the Town Council had absolute authority in matters of police ; the different officers were answerable for the behaviour of the people in their quarter of the town ; the masters of the metiers, for all those who followed their banner. At Lyons, ^larseilles, Toulouse, the same privileges existed, though, as we shall find, the officers bore somewhat differ- ent titles — such as Consuls, Capitulaires, &c. At this period what was the real progress of the Re- form ? Amid the population, as yet, no public assembly of the religious had been allowed ; nor, such was the unre- strained violence of the people, would have been possible : yet the opinions had secretly diffused themselves to such an extent, that it is calculated that one- seventeenth part of the population of France, to say the least, had embraced them. At Paris the people, commonly so called, were Catholic to the highest degree of fanaticism ; but the Reform had made considerable progress among the more learned bodies. At Meaux and Orleans the new opinions had diffused themselves among the generality. The Duchy of Burgundy, in spite of the neighbourhood of Switzerland and Germany, was, as yet, very little under their influence. In Lyons the old superstitions prevailed; and Notre Dame de la Montague de Fourriere was still the object of the pious pilgrimages of the weavers of silk, and embroiderers of gold stuffs. But, in the neighbour- hood, all the country which extended to the Rhone, with the fortified castles which crowned their steeps, swarmed with the Calvinists. In Provence the zeal of the popula- tion, their devotion in the worship of the Virgin and the Saints, and the numbers of their pious confreries, rivalled 92 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. those of Spain herself. In Languedoc again, the old tradi- tions of the Albigenses still inclined the people to embrace heartily the Iveform ; and, in Navarre, as we have said, it was openly professed. Proceeding northward, Brittany was still in its ancient faith, unmoved by what was going on around ; Anjou, and that part of the kingdom, " in- fected with these novelties ;" Normandy divided into two parties in religion ; and Picardy inclined to follow the example of Flanders. To resume ; the Duke of Guise and the members of the House of Lorraine, placed themselves at once at the head of the high Catholic persecuting party, and entered into understandings with Spain ; while the Princes of the blood, and the family of the Colignys were, from persua- sion, principle, a generous love of liberty, and abhorrence of this barbarous oppression, devoted to the Reform. We have no reason to suppose that they had at present any direct friendly communication with any of the foreign Protestant powers, but we shall soon find them driven by necessity to seek assistance from without, where and how they could. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 93 CHAPTER III. PROCEEDINGS UPON THE DEATH OF HENRY THE SECOND. USURPATIONS OF THE LORRAINES. GENERAL DISCONTENTS. Such was the aspect of things, when the sudden death of Henry the Second brought, as we have seen, all the jarring elements of which his court and kingdom con- sisted, into collision. The Reformed Churches were now secretly but firmly united by the system of their internal government, and the party, notwithstanding the resolute and unsparing principles of persecution which had been adopted, was rapidly becoming far too powerful to be longer restrained by any authority in which they did not themselves ac- quiesce. Under the intolerable severity with which they had been treated, they had for some time begun to cast their eyes around for relief ; but, true to the princi- ples of submission which their religion inculcated, they were most anxious it should be legitimately and peace- ably obtained. The death of Henry the Second appeared to afford the means of securing both these objects. This expectation was founded upon that fundamental principle of the French monarchy, which permits the first prince of the blood to expect at all times to assist in, and influence the councils of the kingdom ; but more especially entitles him to administer, as head of the government, in all cases of minority or other incapacity of the crown. This right, violence or intrigue had often set aside, but the principle remained undisputed, it was 94 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. an acknowledged maxim; and to it tlie Protestants looked for relief under their present miserable circumstances, — for Anthony of Navarre, and his brother, the Prince de Conde, first princes of the blood, were attached to the Reform. On the death of Ilenrj, it is said, Catherine hesitated some few days what course to pursue, and which of the contending factions to espouse; but the popularity and power of the Guises, the influence which, through Mary Stuart, they were sure to possess over the young King, and, more than all, the immediate sacrifice on their part of her detested rival, the Duchess of Yalentinois, (on whom, during the life of Henry, they had lavished every mark of respect and afiection,) united to a long concealed enmity which she had nourished against the Constable, combined to decide her. She united herself, therefore, at once, and, to all outward appearance, cordially with their party, though it is certain she always felt a secret jealousy of their power, and even thus early, kept up an under- standing with the Admiral and the chiefs of the opposite faction. The King of Navarre was, unfortunately, at this critical moment, at Pau; but the Constable had immediately written to urge his return without delay to Court; he travelled, however, slowly, and had as yet only reached Vendome. The Constable himself was engaged in con- ducting the funeral obsequies of the late King. This ceremony which belonged in right to his office, according to the customs then prevalent, occupied him thirty-five days, during which it was not considered decent to quit the body, or hold communication with any one : the field, therefore, remained open to the Lorraines and their allies, enabling them to make such impressions as they pleased upon the mind of the young King, to secure the 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 95 charges they intended to occupy, and thus lay the neces- sary foundation for their future proceedings. In concert with the Queen-Mother, De 1' Aubespine was sent to demand the late King's seal from the Constable. The Cardinal de Lorraine was then appointed superintend- ent of the finances; the Duke of Guise had the war depart- ment confided to him ; and other officers were appointed ; so that, while the Constable was shut up engaged in the duties of his office, and before the arrival of the King of Navarre, the whole frame of the government was arranged. The entire power of the crown was thus lodged in the hands of this ambitious family, who, according to Cape- figue, had made it their principle to endeavour to recover in France that which they had lost in Anjou and Pro- vence in anterior times. To such an arrangement it was not to be expected that the proud and tenacious Constable would tamely submit; but the time of his absence had been well em- ployed in alienating the mind of the young King from this ancient servant of his father. It was no very diffi- cult matter to excite the jealousy of Francis against one whom he was taught to regard as a harsh, self-willed, obstinate old man ; who long accustomed to govern, and, regarding his sovereign as a mere child, would dispute his authority upon every occasion. When, therefore, the Constable — the funeral ceremonies being over — presented himself before his new master, he received a complete, though speciously-motived dismissal from Court ; and, concealing his chagrin in the best man- ner he could, found himself obliged to retire to his house at Chantilly. Montmorenci thus set aside, the next ob- ject was to remove the Prince de Conde, whose claims, talents, and undisguised enmity, made him, in spite of his poverty, extremely formidable. He was accordingly 96 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. appointed ambassador to the Low Countries, on a mission to confirm the peace and new alliance with Spain, an em- ployment wliich carried him immediately into Flanders. But lionourable as was the employment, he set out in- sulted and offended by the miserable appointments offered for the embassy —one thousand gold crowns being all that was allowed upon such an occasion to the second prince of the blood. ^ Under various pretences the Guises next contrived to clear the ground of all other persons likely to interfere with their pretensions; and when the deputies from the Parliament of Paris came, according to custom, to congratulate the King upon his accession, asking to whom it was his good pleasure they should in future address themselves, in order to receive his commands; his Majesty answered, that, with the approbation of his mother, he had given the entire charge of his government to his uncles the Duke de Guise and the Cardinal de Lorraine, under the general superintendence of the Queen- Mother.' The Guises had indeed strengthened themselves by forming an administration composed of the most able, influential, or popular men that could be attached to their party. To conciliate public opinion, Francis Olivier, a man of high reputation, but, till now, in general esteem for his tolerant notions in regard to religion, was fatally persuaded to accept the seals under men of religious and political principles so widely differing from his own; while, on the other hand, as an earnest of the spirit in which it was intended to proceed, the Cardinal de Tournon took his seat at the council table. The Mar^chal de St. • Mezeray, Hist, de France. ^ Davila, Guerre Civile di Francia. 1559.J FRANCIS THE SECOND. 97 Audre, a nobleman of a brave spirit and aspiring mind, but lost in prodigality and debauchery, to shelter himself from his creditors — many of whom had confided to him large sums — was also persuaded to join their party ; ^ and he offered his daughter and the reversion of his immense possessions, acquired by confiscations and crimes, to the eldest son of the Duke of Guise. Thus it appeared evi- dent from the first, that the Lorraines had deter- mined to. exclude the Princes of the blood, and every member of the opposite faction, from the slightest par- ticipation in the government. No wise man could regard with indifference, irrespon- sible power lodged in such hands; no spirited man could rest satisfied under so insolent an assumption of supe- riority; no ambitious one submit to so complete an exclusion from affairs. The apprehensions of Coligny; the animosity of Conde; the jealousies of Montmorenci and Navarre, were at once excited.^ The discontented nobles appear to have lost no time in consulting upon the measures in the present dilemma to be pursued. Their first step was to hold a conference at Yendome; a town belonging to the King of Navarre, which Anthony, who had left Beam too tardily for his interests, was passing through upon his way to Court. There he was met by Conde, the Admiral and the Cardinal de Chatillon, the Comte de la Rochefoucault, the Yidame de Chartres, the Prince de Porcian, and D'Ardouin, secretary to the Constable, who attended on the part of his master. Most anxious deliberations were now held, as to the best means of opposing a power which threatened to annihilate the rights and privileges of the Princes of the blood, and of all who were attached to their interests. Every one was agreed as to the im- * Mem. de Castlenau, additions of Le Laboureur. * De Thou. VOL. I. H 98 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. portance of the crisis and the necessity for immediate exertion, but they differed as to the means to be adopted. Conde, D'Andelot, and the Viclame de Chartres, were for an immediate recourse to arms, to force " these fo- reigners" from the vicinity of the throne ; but Navarre, Coligny, and D'Ardouin, opposed such proceedings warmly. Coligny remarked that the King, young as he was, having attained his legal majority, the right to name his own ministers was unquestionably vested in him. Positive claim, therefore, on the part of the Princes of the blood to a regency there was none ; but he held out a hope that by the exercise of the secret influence which he and many of his party held over the Queen-Mother, and by the demonstration of a formidable union among them- selves, the Guises might at least be induced to use their power with moderation; and perhaps peaceably to sur- render to the Princes of the blood and their immediate adherents, some portion of that authority, which, undi- vided in their hands, occasioned such just apprehensions. It was finally resolved that the King of Navarre should proceed upon his journey to the Court ; and there, in his capacity of first Prince of the blood, endeavour to force upon the comprehension of the King the views and reso- lutions of himself and his friends : striving, by a pru- dent and yet energetic representation, to obtain for him- self a proper share of influence in the government; and for the Prince de Conde and his party such offices and dignities as their rank and consequence entitled them to expect. It was also agreed that he should urgently demand the immediate assembly of the States- General of the king- dom; that, being regarded by all as the only effectual remedy for the disorders and divisions rapidly spreading around.^ Unfortunately Anthony of Navarre was entirely want- * Davila, Guerre Civile di Francia. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 99 ing in the decision and firmness of character necessary for the conduct of such a negotiation. " He set out upon his journey," Davila tells us, " his mind already shaken and intimidated by the magnitude of the affairs confided to him ; and the reception he met with at Court completed his discomfiture." The Guises well knew how to deal with a character of his stamp ; and he was received, upon his arrival at St. Germains, with a series of petty afi*ronts eminently calcu- lated to depress a vain and uncertain man. " Being come near to the Court, he sent his fourriers to prepare his apartments, who were not a little displeased to find no quarters allotted to their master such as be- came his rank — and still less for his suite. But as those Guises felt sure that he would resent nothing properly, they cared little enough for his officers, ainsi les ren- voy event avec paroles hautaines — the Duke de Guise say- ing, that it should cost him his own life, and that of ten thousand men besides, before he would surrender the apartments which the King had allotted him (lui avait haille) near his person. Et ainsi ne craignoient ceux de Guise de faire connaitre leur autorite avec mepris du Navarrois!' '' The kings of France, in their greatness, have this custom, that, wishing to favour any prince or great lord, they, knowing the hour they are expected, go courteously to meet them, under pretence of hunting that way — and so chance upon them by accident, as it were — ce qui est estime pour run des plus grands honneurs et faveurs. For, before all the Court, the King returns with them en- gaged in loving conversation. But nothing of all this was done for the King of Navarre. The Duke of Guise took care to lead the hunt in quite a contrary direction ; and so the King of Navarre arrived at the chateau, sans que H 2 100 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. mil lui flit au devant de tons les courtisans. And he found his lodging so little prepared, that all his trunks and boxes were scattered about the courtyard. Having dismounted, he went straight to the Queen-Mother, with whom was the Cardinal de Lorraine, who moved not one step to meet him or greet him; and when he had made his devoirs to the Queen, he looked at him in the most haughty fashion : at which people were astonished — d'autant plus quHls rCattendoient rien moins que ce prince ne voulut sahhaisser, mcme au temps qu'il devoit au moins commander d tous!^ ^ The young King, whose mind had been poisoned by a thousand jealousies, steadily refused to grant Navarre an audience, unless in the presence of his uncles. All his demands were peremptorily rejected, and he was not even invited to take that place at the board of the Council of government, which had never yet been denied to one of his pretensions. Far from resenting these affronts with the spirit which the occasion demanded, Navarre met them with a mean- ness which disgusted his friends and encouraged his ad- versaries. He endeavoured to conciliate the haughty Lor- raines by the most obsequious advances ; and, when Francis, at one of their interviews, maintained that he had a right to nominate his own ministers, and declared his perfect satisfaction with the proceedings of those he had ap- pointed, Navarre was contemptible enough to express his approbation. "People were astonished," continues La Planche, " to see this prince demean himself so greatly when he ought to have dictated to all; and many gentle- men among his followers were so greatly displeased, cui- dans que ce fut faute de cceur, that they for the most part quitted him and returned to Paris," ^ whither Na- ' Mem. de Vieilleville. ^ Regnier de la Planche. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 101 varre, finding his situation becoming more and more intolerable, soon after followed tliem. At Paris he was joined by Conde, and, under the influ- ence of his spirited brother, he made some efforts to strengthen himself by forming a party in the Parliament, and ingratiating himself with the people ; apparently with some success — for we find him, upon occasion of the King's coronation at Rheims — w^hen he felt supported by the pre- sence of the principal nobility of his party, — not only establishing his claim to a seat in the Council, but loudly demanding the States-General. 'New measures were therefore necessary to drive him from the field. Accordingly, a letter was read to the board in his presence, purporting to be from Philip of Spain, (who thus early was allowed to begin his ill-omened interference in French affairs,) wherein that monarch, grounding the pretext upon those disputes which had long subsisted between Spain and Navarre with respect to the territory south of the Pyrenees, insisted upon the total exclusion of Anthony from any share whatsoever in the French government. And he threatened, in case Na- varre persisted in his demand, to occupy Beam and his remaining territories with a Spanish army, and attach them at once to his own dominions. These menaces, con- certed no doubt between the two governments, produced their full effect upon this timid and selfish spirit. Uncon- ditional submission was the only course which presented it- self to his terrified imagination, and he adopted at once the hypocritical advice of the Queen-Mother. She, affecting to lament the perils to which he was exposed, " through the youthful impatience of others," counselled him to accept the honourable office now offered to him — that of conduct- ing the Princess Isabella to her new kingdom of Spain. She told him he would thus probably obtain a personal 102 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. interview with Pliilip, wliicli luiglit lead to the security, not only of his })resent possessions, but to the recovery of that portion of his dominions beyond the Pyrenees, the loss of which lay so near the hearts both of himself and his Queen. Navarre eagerly swallowed the bait, and, deaf to the representations, and indifferent to the indignation of his friends, set forward to conduct the gentle and lovely Prin- cess to the country of that gloomy tyrant to whom she was consigned. There was, however, not the least intention on the part of the French Court to advance his interests. Philip had not the slightest idea of granting a personal interview. The Duke of Alva received the Queen at Roncesvalles, and gave Navarre clearly to understand, that his only chance of success in his demands upon Spain rested upon his total relinquishment of any share in the present government of France. Navarre, absorbed in his personal concerns, now abandoned every other consideration, and, returning quietly to Beam, resolved to interfere no further in what was going on : but sacrificed, without remorse, to his pri- vate views all those great public interests he was bound, alike by prudence and honour, to maintain. Thus the first chance of a peaceable arrangement of aifairs was at an end. The evil efiects of the selfish secession of Navarre were but too speedily manifested by the increased audacity and violence of the administration. The Cardinal, no longer under any restraint, gave a loose to his insolent and cruel temper ; and the adverse party soon found that they were to look not only for a system of complete exclusion, but of unsparing oppression; not only every occasion for ad- vancement was to be denied, but they must soon expect to be stripped of those possessions and dignities which they had already acquired. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 103 The charge of Grand Master, (anciently Maire du Pa- lais,) much coveted on account of the facilities which it afforded for approaching the person of the King — was wrested by the Duke of Guise from Montmorenci : while the Prince de Cond6 was disappointed in his expectation of succeeding Coligny in the government of Picardy, — which government the Admiral had resigned, with the understanding that it should be bestowed upon his friend, his poverty rendering some lucrative employment almost necessary to his existence. It will easily be imagined how these, and proceedings of the like nature, served to exasperate the rising quarrel. The Guises, meanwhile, with inexplicable imprudence, furnishing the powerful and deeply-oiFended chiefs with friends and supporters in every province of the kingdom. Disorder in the finances seems to be the invariable fore- runner of approacliing ruin, both in states and private families ; not only from the weakness and embarrassment which is its invariable attendant, but from the habit of vicious laxity which it supposes. Such causes of embar- rassment were not wanting here. The senseless profusion of Henry the Second had reduced his finances to the most deplorable condition; and at his death, the royal cofi'ers were not only empty, but the government found itself burdened with a debt of 48,000,000 livres— a sum enor- mous for the time.^ The Cardinal of Lorraine was no sooner invested with his new office, than he found himself beset with clamor- ous demands, which it was impossible to satisfy. " The Venetians claimed an excessive sum ; the Swiss troops clamoured for their arrears of pay ; the bankers called in their advances."^ Multitudes belonging to that large and ill-paid army, ' Mezeray, Do Thou. ^ Biantouie, Honiiiietj lllust. 104 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559- ■which was disbanded in consequence of the peace, and now turned loose upon tlie country, daily besieged the Court with claims for arrears or recompenses, difficult to answer, and dangerous to resist. " What could the King and his councillors do," asks Brantome, " under such cir- cumstances *? " The expedient the Cardinal adopted was strange and daring, and gives a frightful specimen of the irregular proceedings of a time, when such a measure could have been ventured upon; and, as Gamier remarks,^ if the fact did not rest upon undoubted authority, it would be im- possible to credit it. He ordered several gibbets to be erected close to the Castle of St. Germains, and caused it to be proclaimed three times by sound of trumpet, " That all captains, soldiers, men of war, or others, who were there to demand their money, should quit the place with- out delay, on pain of being hanged without form of pro- cess, upon one or other of these erections.'^ The exasperation excited by this proclamation among these fierce bands of veterans was excessive, and not to be allayed by all the courtesy and kindness with which the Duke of Guise endeavoured to temper its effect. They dispersed, it is true; "but," as says D'Aubign^, ''clierchant a etre mis en hesogne; ''^ and Brantome, in his way, tells us, "This fine proclamation, and the discontent thence arising, with the pretext of religion, mainly contributed to help forward the conspiracy of Amboise." What Brantome, looking upon it with the eye of a soldier, calls the pretext of religion, was a deep-rooted de- termination, upon the part of the Reformed, to resist in- supportable oppression. The desperate situation in which they found themselves placed on the death of Henry, has been briefly described. The last edict upon the subject of • Garnicr, Hist, dc France. ^ D'Aubigne Hist. Universelle. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 105 religion had been issued shortly before that event/ from Ecouen, being little other than a republication of the edict bearing date 1551, and which it seemed intended to revive. This edict of Ecouen " was published and verified by all the parliaments/' says Carloix, " and by it the judges were constrained to condemn all the Lutherans to death, with- out limitation or modification whatsoever — being expressly forbidden to diminish the pains of it, as they had lately been in the habit of doing." The death of the late King had offered some faint hope of a relaxation of these dreadful provisions, but that hope proved worse than groundless. An understanding, which would in the opposite party have been stigmatised, and justly stigmatised, as the worst of treasons, had already taken place between the Lorraines and Philip of Spain. In this most unholy contract it had been stipulated, that Philip should support the ascen- dancy of their house in France, provided the power so acquired was exerted in aid of his almost insane deter- mination to root out heresy from the face of the earth ; and those dreadful maxims of government adopted which he was carrying out with such dire effect in his own dominions. Extermination, in fact, formed the basis of the policy adopted with respect to the Pieformed, who, far from experiencing that relief which they had fondly expected, only beheld the most appalling dangers sur- rounding them on every side.^ Sept. 4th. A declaration was published forbidding pri- vate assemblies for the purposes of religion, " on pain of death ; " ' and ordering all houses and conventicles where such were held, to be razed from the ground. The letters- patent which accompanied this declaration, carried, " That all persons having knowledge of such illicit assemblies, ' Mem. de Castlcnau, additions of ^ Ibid. ^ Ibid. Le Laboureur. lOG THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. who should fail to reveal them, should ])e subjected to similar pains and penalties with those who attended them. "And whosoever shall first make revelation of such things shall be pardoned, and receive payment of one hundred crowns ; and such informer be carefully protect- ed from all injuries, oppressions, and molestations, which may from thence to him ensue." ^ This declaration was followed upon the 1 4th of Novem- ber by an edict to the same effect, which was registered in the Parliament of Paris, and which was more especially intended to prevent any possible remission of the penalties. " Whoever shall be present at a private assembly," such are the terms, "shall be j)ut to death without hope of modili cation of punishment."^ To those who considered religion with the deep ear- nestness which then characterised the Calvinists of France, and who looked upon the obligation of its exercise with the seriousness of men whose best hopes in a future world rested upon their fulfilment of such obligation — the dis- may occasioned by this inquisition into their religious privacy may be conceived. By this cruel edict the greatest secrecy, the most sedu- lous desire to avoid any breach of the public peace, or scandal to the public eye, were rendered of no avail. To abandon the exercise of their religion was, according to their principles, to forsake the most vital of duties and obligations ; and the only alternative now presented to them was death, and in its most fearful form. " These edicts were published throughout the kingdom," says Car- loix, "and the magistrates made great inquisitions and pursuits against the Protestants, more especially in the city of Paris, to give example and a rule, as it were, to the other cities in the kingdom. Moreover, the judges ' Mem. dc Castlcnau, additions of Le Laboureur, 41, 188. ^ Ibid. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 107 ordered punishments at their own discretion, and often exceeded against the Protestants what was allowed by the edicts, according as zeal for religion, or private passion dictated." New chambers were erected in each Parliament for the purpose of carrying these atrocious laws into execution. " They were called cliamhres ardentes,''^ says Mezeray, " because they burned without mercy every one they con- victed ; ^^ no other proof being necessary but that of hav- ing been present at a secret nocturnal assembly. " The President Menard, and the Inquisitor Demochares labour- ed with the most persevering violence in Paris, seeking out in obscure garrets and cellars their victims, on the information of their spies." ^ To justify these violences in the eyes of the public, those inventions were made use of, which, from the ear- liest days of Christianity, have served to calumniate reli- gious meetings, the secrecy of which has been rendered necessary by unjust persecution. The Calvinists were ac- cused of sacrificing little children ; of substituting siuine's flesh for that of the Paschal Lamb, (a singular accusation against a Christian assembly,) and other equally incredible and most abominable practices. Two wretched creatures, goldsmiths by trade, were brought before the Council of Government and deposed to having been present at the house of a certain advocate, named Trouilhard, when every sort of licentious enormity was practised. They were inter- rupted by the Chancellor Olivier, who easily detected the falsehood of such calumnies, and perceived that the wit- nesses had been instructed by a certain Cure. Neverthe- less, these falsehoods were adopted without hesitation by the government, and used as an excuse for fresh cruelties. • Mez. Hist, de Fr. rioiis of these, Muuchi, the spies were " Mem. de Castleiiaii, additions of called Mouchards, modem Mouches. Le Labomem-. From the most iioto- 108 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. In a letter addressed by the King to the Parliament, it is said, " Lon ne saiuvit assez inventer de pe'ines" — Pains cannot be invented severe enough to punish these sectaries.' The most private recesses of families were not secure ; houses were broken open upon the slightest suspicion; and whole households dragged through the streets of Paris to prison, and from prison to the flames, '' et a aucuns on coupait la langue^ de peur qu^en mourant, Us ne donassent au peuple impression de leur doctrine,'' says Carloix, who, it ought to be remembered, was a Catholic.^ ' Trouilhard and his family were cast into prison, where, in spite of the discovery of their innocence, they continued to Languish several years. 2 Of the barbarity of these execu- tions it is impossible to give an idea, unless, like Beza in his Histoire des Eglises, I were to relate in detail the series of these horrible executions. The hulatK^oire was commonly used, the stake not being barbarous en- ough ; slow fires, mutilations, tor- tures ordinary and extraordinary, of the severity of which an idea may be formed by looking into Dumas' Crimes Celebres. Men are tortured till they can no longer stand at the stake where they are to expire, and their tongues cut out, lest their piety should aAvaken the pity of the by- standers. I feel, in spite of my ear- nest desire to represent this quarrel in its true light, that I have altogether failed in doing justice, either to the heroic patience with Avhicli the re- formed still continued — in compliance wnth the principles of the Gospel, to abstain from the slightest breach of the peace in self-defence — or the dreadful habits of cruelty which, at that time, pervaded a people — edu- cated by the Catholic Church — from the highest to the lowest. "En cette maniere^" says Beza, speaking of Paris, for instance, ''le peuple de Paris compose pour la plupart d'une multitude ignorante, ramassee de toutes nations ; gouvernee a I'ap- petit de ccux qui la remuent, fut mis en une rage extreme, ne cherchant que les occasions d'executer ce qui leur avait ete mis aux oreilles pour les echauifer a toute cruaute." .... He mentions an instance of a man who, quarrelling with another man, called him Lutheran, upon which the people fell furiously upon him, and pursued him to a church, Avhere he took refuge, A gentleman passing by, named St. Martin, shocked at this cruelty, entered the church, and be- gan to remonstrate ; when a priest called out he deserved the same fate, as he dared to defend a Lutheran, upon which the people fell upon /nm, and upon his brother who interfered in his defence. The priest turning them out of the church into the midst of the infuriated concourse: the one, covered with Avounds, escaped to a neighbouring house ; but the other was massacred. "C'etait un pauvre prieur nullement instruit en la reli- gion montrait toute signe a, ce peuple qu'il ^toit de I'eglise Ro- maine mais il n'y avait aucun raison en cette bete furieuse et enragee . . . il n'y avait si petit qui ne lui bailla son coup : et mettaient meme leurs mains dedans les plaies, puis les essuyaient, se glorifiant de les avoir teintes du sang d'un Lutherien .... Si quelqu'un plus pitoyable avan^ait quelques mots de compassion il etoit incontinent accoutre de toutes famous . . . bref c'etait un chose horrible de voir. A Saint Eustachc un de nos moines surnomm^ Tame de feu Pi- 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 109 The very children, so violent was the persecution, were accustomed to discourse of martyrdom as of a familiar thing ; and to arm their young minds reciprocally to meet the approaching trial. ^ " These judges and robbers in one," says Eegnier de la Planche,^ speaking of the persecutors, "extended their pur- suits into every quarter of the town. If those suspected left their houses, such good account was given of their property by the officers of justice, that it was who should boast of the greatest plunder — qui se vanteroit dJ avoir le mieux hutin6. Paris was traversed by troops of armed men on foot or horseback, dragging men, women, and children of all conditions, to prison ; the streets were so filled with carts laden with furniture — farcies de meu- hles — that it was difficult to pass; the corners and alleys being choked with this booty exposed to sale. The houses were forsaken as at the sack of a town ; poor men became rich, and rich men poor. But the most deplorable sight was to behold numbers of very young children abandoned upon the stones, crying for hunger with incredible lamentations, and perishing for want of a morsel of bread ; no one daring to assist or shelter them for fear of falling into the same danger, ainsi on en faisait moins de compte que des chiens, tant cette doctrine etoit odieux aiix Parisiens." " Cette saison fat horrible de souffrances" says D'Aubigne, "nevertheless, the more they were punished, the more they multiplied , and were so obstinate in their card, ne prechait autre chose que s'ecrie que c'etait un Luthcrien— le sang et meurtre, et animaient les peuple se jette dessous . . . et le Parisiens a tuer, faisaiit de belles pro- massacrent. La chose demeura in- messes a ceux qui s'y employaient punie." — Beza, Hist, des Eglises. .... etant advenu a un pauvre eco- ^ See the life of D'Aubigne where lier (venu la bien devotement pour he mentions his oimi feelings Avhcn a ouir le sermon, de se rire d'un sien child, compagnon) — une vieille bigotte * Regnier de la Planche. 110 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. religion, tliat the greater tlie determination to make them die for it, the more was tlieir resolution to persevere.^ The execution of Anne du Bourg, the treacherous cir- cumstances of whose arrest have been related in the first chapter, occasioned, perhaps, a greater sensation than all this multitude of inferior sacrifices. A sacredness at- tached to his character as member of the highest court of justice, the violation of which excited universal dismay. He was executed about Christmas, first strangled and his body burned ; after a trial in which he displayed the utmost constancy, refusing to shelter himself by legal prevarications from the consequences of that simple de- claration of his opinions which he had deemed it right to niake.^ " lie is entitled," says a French author, '' to rank as the most lamented among the innumerable victims of that system of intolerance adopted by the legislation of the age." As if to increase the general desperation, the Assembly ' Various were the methods em- exactly genuine or not, may serve as ployed to raise a spirit of fanaticism an example of the opinions for which among the lower orders in Paris. A he suffered. custom still common in Catholic Chanson spirituelle d'Anne du countries then had its rise : '^ Images Bourg, conseiller du roi en parle- were placed in the corners of the ment, etant cs lieux pour soutenir la streets, crowned with flowers and parole de Dieu, et pour laquelle il with tapers burning before them ; souffrit constamment la mort a Paris, round these the people assembled, Sur le chant du Psaume 40. singing their litanies, and if any re- Gens insens^s, ou avez vous les coeurs fused to worship they were beaten, De faire guerre a Jesus Christ ? dragged in the dirt, and sometimes Pour soutenir cet ante-Christ carried to prison." — Mezeray, D'Au- Jiisques a quand serez persecuteurs? bigne. Traitres abominables, De Thou tells us of one Vistome, Le service des diables with his wife, aged father, and little Vous allez soutenant ; children, being led to prison ; it was Et de Dieu les edits in Lent, and a capon and some meat Par vous sont interdits which had been found in the larder A tout homnie vivant. were carried before them, to impress N'empechez plus la predication the people with the idea that indul- De la parole et vive voix gence in gluttony was a leading mo- De notre Dieu le Roi des rois, tive with the followers of Reform. Ou autrement sa malediction 2 The following version of the Sur vous verre zestendre 40th Psalm was attributed to Du Et vous fera descendre Bourg at the time, and, whether Aux enfers tenebreux. Sismondi. Capefigue. 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. Ill of the States-General, to which all looked as to the only chance for relief, against the tyranny of the Lorraines, was imperiously denied. Even to propose it being de- clared high treason, as implying an attempt to infringe upon the legitimate authority of the King. The universal ferment thus excited manifested itself first through the press ; which had already become a most efficient engine in the disputes of the times. " France teemed," says D'Aubigne, "with libels and apologies, all printed without privilege; some treating of the ancient institutions of the kingdom ; some of successions, of the administration of Kings minor, of regencies, &c. In these various remedies were proposed. On the one hand, the Assembly of the States-General, to which assembly the guardianship of the King, by the old customs of the king- dom, of right belonged, was advocated. On the other, nothing less was spoken of than the execution of the Princes who favoured the Reform — while some again openly attacked the Lorraines, exclaiming against their tyranny, and denouncing the domination of foreigners and of a woman. The kingdom resounded mth apolo- gies, invectives, replies, and rejoinders."^ In the "Memoires de Conde,'' numbers of the original pamphlets are preserved. The principal question agi- tated was, whether so young a monarch possessed the right of excluding from his councils the Princes of the blood, "his legal regents and guardians, in favour of foreigners." But speculations more general and daring may be found among them, marking the excursive and questioning spirit of the age. A book entitled ''Defenses contre les Ty- rans,'' is mentioned by D'Aubign^ as greatly contributing to reconcile men's minds to the Conspiracy of Amboise. ' Memoires de Conde, D'Aubigne' Hist. Un. 112 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. It treated on the limits of obedience to Kings ; on the causes wliicli justify the assumption of arms-; and on the cases in which the assistance of foreign Princes may be legitimately demanded. It was written by Hubert Languet. The Lorraines were not slow in endeavouring to repress these general manifestations of a hostile spirit ; and with such severity, that even Davila, with all his prejudices, confesses that the Protestants were absolutely forced upon measures of self-defence. '' Essere dello disperazione condotti a desiderio, ami a necessitd, il tsporsi a qualun- que futuro periglio, per liber ar si delta durezza delta con- dizione presented The churches had, however, by this time become very numerous. They were organized upon a system which rendered them, scattered though they were throughout the nation, capable of a union which might render them seriously formidable, if once their scruples upon the sub- ject of resistance were overcome. Paris, Orleans, Ohartres, Senlis, Poictiers, Meaux, Angers, Rouen, Blois, &c. The large towns on the other side the Loire and Garonne, as Toulouse, Rhodez, Marseilles, Frejus, Sister on, Nismes, &c. So that even in the single county of Provence alone, Beza enumerates sixty Churches. And says he, "the year 1559, which ended the life of King Henry IL, found no abatement of the persecutions so long ago begun, and so long persisted in : that shameful and most injurious peace having been made between the two kings, with the deliberate determination of extermi- nating all the Reformed churches, principally at the insti- gation of the two cardinals ; De Granvelle on the part of Spain, who managed all the affairs of the Low Countries, and the Cardinal de Lorraine on that of France. But God had otherwise disposed it, being certain that nothing has 1559.] FRANCIS THE SECOND. 113 served more efFectiiallj to advance the cause of the churches, tlian the turbulent and impetuous spirit which actuated these two cardinals.^ " For, whatever difficulties presented themselves to the unhappy faithful, they never lost courage ; but at this very time, (that is to say the 26th May, 1559,) by the singular grace of God, deputies from all the churches assembled at Paris, and agreed, with one accord, upon a Confession of Faith ; and upon a system of ecclesiastical discipline, arranged as nearly according to the institution of the Apostles, as the state of the times would bear." Of this Confession of Faith consisting of forty articles, thirty -three relate to religious doctrine, a subject upon which it is not my intention to touch ; the two last arti- cles I shall here insert, it being necessary to show how little the Reformed merited the stigma endeavoured to be cast upon them by their adversaries, as insubordinate members of society and disturbers of the public peace. " Art. 39. — Nous croyons que Dieu veut que le monde soit gouverne par lois et polices, afm qu'il y ait quelques brides pour reprimer les appetits desordonn^s du monde, et ainsi qu'il a etabli les royaumes, republiques, et toutes sortes de principautes et tout ce qui appartient a r^tat de justice : et en veut etre reconnu I'auteur. A cette cause, il a mis la glaive en la main des magistrats pour reprimer les pech^s commis II faut done a cause de Lui que non seulement on endure que les superi- eurs dominent, mais aussi qu^on les honore et prise en toute reverence, les tenants pour ses lieutenants et officiers, qu'il a commis pour exercer une charge legitime et sainte. '' Art. 40. — Nous tenons done qu'il faut obeir a leurs lois et statuts, payer tributs, impots, et autrcs devoirs, et por- ter le joug de subjection d'une bonne et franche volonte ' Beza, Hist, des Eglises. VOL. I. I 114 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1559. encore qu'ils fussent intid^les, moyennant que Tempire de Dieu demeure en son enticr. Par ainsi nous detestons ceux qui voudraient rejeter les superiorites, mettre com- munautc^ en confusion de biens, et renverser Tordre de justice. ]\Iatthew, xvii, 24. Acts of the Apostles, vi, 17, 18,19." Such were the principles of non-resistance circulated among the churches by articles intended for their own private use alone ; but which now at last began to give way before the violence of a government exercised by men, the legitimacy of whose authority was by most questioned, and by a very large party absolutely denied. All other and less questionable means of relief being utterly despaired of, the Protestants were driven, in self- defence, to that last fatal resource of the oppressed, secret conspiracy. The very name of conspiracy inqolies something so equivocal, so hostile to the genuine feelings of uprightness and truth, that we can scarcely avoid regarding it with aversion and suspicion. But all must confess that if any circumstances can be allowed to render it justifiable, they were all united here ; and for this error, if error it were, and other errors of the hapless Protestants, let their Ca- tholic persecutors be answerable under that just sentence of Manzoni : — " That the oppressor is not only to be held accountable for the misery he inflicts; but for all the effects of that violence of resistance which he most often excites in the victims of his oppression." The wide spreading and formidable conspiracy which ensued is well known in French history as the conspiracy of Amboise. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 115 CHAPTER lY. CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE, Beza thus commences his relation of the Conspiracy of Amboise : — " These ways of proceeding so openly tyranni- cal, the menaces employed against the greatest men in the kingdom, the estrangement of all the great lords and princes of the country from the court and government, the contempt in which the States-General of the kingdom were held, the corruption of the powerful administrators of justice entirely at the devotion of the new governors, their administration of the finances and of all lucrative employments bestowed only upon their own creatures — in short, their violent and illegal government excited extraordinary hatred against them, and many great lords now began to rouse themselves as from slumber, and to rally in defence of the ancient and legitimate government of the kingdom.—- The question being pro- posed to the most celebrated jurisconsults of Germany and France, as also to the most learned theologians, it was found, that they might legitimately oppose the usurped authority of the Guises, and take arms, if need were, to resist violence, provided that the Princes of the blood, in this case to be considered as "born magistrates," (n4s legitimes magisfratsj, or one or two of them, would undertake the matter; or better yet, at the petition of the States of France, or a wholesome portion of them. For to advertise the king of this, or his council, would be to apprise the very adversaries themselves, because that the King, to say nothing of his minority, was absolutely subject to IIG THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [l5G0. them ; so that there was no means of reaching them (leur faire jjroces) by the ordinary way ; and as for the Queen- Mother, she seemed to serve only to colour their enterprises. It was, therefore, necessary to seize upon their persons at any hazard, and then to assemble the States-General, to which they should render an account of their administration. This far being settled by com- mon consent, three kinds of persons presented themselves as ready to engage in the affair. The first, moved by a righteous zeal to serve God, their prince, or their country; others, incited ])y ambition and greedy of change ; others, urged by the thirst for vengeance upon injuries received on the part of the Guises, either in their own persons, or in those of their relations and friends — so that we need not marvel that there was confusion in the conduct, and a tragical termination to the enterprise." ' The object of this conspiracy was, therefore, to seize upon the person of the King, separate him from his ini- quitous ministers, and place him in the hands of those whom the ancient customs of the realm and public opi- nion called to the administration. The names of the first originators and instigators of this scheme remain to this day uncertain ; the Chatillons, Montmorenci, the Prince de Conde, the King of K'avarre, the Queen-^Iother herself, have all been named by different authors, and all have supported their assertions by plausible evi- dence. It is certain that D'Andelot, and the great and good Michel de FHopital were concerned, for their names were found subscribed to the original plan of the enter- prise, long in the possession of D'Aubign^.^ De Thou ' Beza, Hist, des Eglises. boise; ce que je mainticns contre tout ' De I'Hopital homine de grand ce que en a ete ecrit, pour ce que estime lui succeda (speaking of the I'original de 1' entreprise fut consigne Chancellor Olivier), quoique il eut entre les mains de inon pere, ou etoit €ie des conjures pour le faict d'Am- son seing tout du longue entre celui 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 117 makes no doubt that the chef miiet was in reality the Prince de Conde. But that the other parties we have mentioned were even privy to the existence of the plot has never been proved ; and, when their respective situa- tions and characters are considered, and the evidence on both sides duly weighed, I think they must be dis- charged from any share, either of the blame or glory which may be attached to the enterprise/ Towards the end of the year there certainly was a second secret meeting of the malcontent chiefs at La Ferte sur Jouarres ; but it does not appear that this had any relation to the conspiracy, or that it in any manner entered into their deliberations. The ostensible head and planner of this great enter- prise was a man of no consideration/ a private gentleman of Perigord, by name Godefroi de Barry Seigneur de la Renaudie, an able and active spirit, rendered desperate by the loss of a vexatious lawsuit. In consequence of this he had been subjected to the disgrace and punishment attached to the crime of forgery ; of which, however, there is little doubt that he had never been guilty. He had been heavily fined, and at last banished ; but, as it is said, through the exertions of the Duke of Guise, the sen- tence had been reversed, and he had been suffered to re- turn to France. " A man of a ready hand and an active spirit,'' to use the words of De Thou, " burning for re- de D' Andelot ct d'lm Spifame — cuses the Queen-Mother herself of a chose que j' ai fait voir ^ pUisieurs share in the undertaking ; and her personnes de marque. — Mem. D'Au- subsequent conduct renders it not bigne, liv. 1. improbable that she Avould have ' Brantome, on the authority of looked with satisfaction upon any La Vigne, Secretary to La Renaudie, means of putting an end to that ty- declares that the Admiral was kept ranny which extended even to her- entirely in ignorance, and gives as a self : but it appears that the enter- reason"^ that they dared not entrust prise Avas not confided to her. the secret of an enterprise so auda- cious to one of his known prudence ^ De Thou is my guide in this and caution. Tavannes, Mem., ac- narrative. 118 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. venge, and desirous of washing out the ignominy of the sentence recorded against him hj some great exploit." During his exile he had been much at Berne, Lausanne, and Geneva, where he fell into company with many of the Religious, whom the proscriptions had driven from France. On his return he continued his connexion with the mem- bers of that party, and no man was better acquainted with its secret relations throughout the provinces ; so that holding, as it were, the threads by which the society was held together, he was well fitted to assume the conduct of this enterprise.^ His first care was to visit every part of the kingdom, and exhort the discontented, not only among the Hugo- nots, but also among the numerous Catholics who were irritated by the late proceedings, to send deputies to a secret meeting proposed to be held at Nantes upon the 1st day of February 1560. The Thesis (as D'Aubigne calls it,) for this meeting had been prepared at Aubonne, in the Pays de Vaud, and it must have been there that the celebrated Case was drawn up, which was submitted, as we have seen, to the first jurists and most eminent divines in France and Germany. It was corrected by the jurisconsult Hotman, and signed, among others, by Spifame, Bishop of Nevers, Theo- dore Beza, and some say Calvin. By it the querist de- manded, "whether, with a safe conscience, provided no violence were offered to the King and the lawful ma- gistrates, men might take up arms for the safety and liberty of the country, seize Francis de Guise and the Cardinal Charles, his brother, and compel them to resign their misused authority, and render an account of their administration.'' ^ They received for answer, " That, as the matter was » De Thuu. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 119 stated, they were of opinion that provided the proceeding should receive the sanction of the Princes of the blood royal, or at least of one of them, they being in these cases the legitimate and horn magistrates, and that it should be done with the consent of the States of the kingdom, or of the greater and sounder part of them, it would not be necessary to apprise the King of the matter, who, on account of his youth and inexperience, was not calculated to govern his own affairs, and was held, as it were, a prisoner by the Guises." ^ The circumstance of this consultation suffices to show that here was no rash popular insurrection — that the enterprise ranked among its supporters men of virtue and deliberation, and was considerately planned and conscien- tiously determined upon. The speech which La Renaudie delivered to the depu- ties assembled at Nantes is given at great length by De Thou. It opens with an enumeration of the grievances which had excited so much discontent. These were — the affronts offered to the houses of Bourbon, Montmorenci, and Chatillon — the formal refusal to assemble the States- General — the cruel persecution of the Protestants— the tyranny of the Guises, and the designs they were accused of entertaining upon the crown by right of their descent from Charlemagne to the exclusion of the Capetian race of Yalois. These complaints establish that which the Reformed maintain in all their writings, namely, that this conspi- racy must not be regarded as one in which the interests of religion alone were concerned; but that it took rise from various other sources of discontent, and involved great political interests. Having laid before the Assembly the Case with its * Mem. D'AubJgn^, liv. ii. p. 124. 120 TlIK KEFORMATION IN MIANCE. [1560. answer, La Renaudic next proceeded to explain his plan of operations.' He proposed that the gentlemen assem- bled should immediately return to their several provinces, which were divided into districts and allotted to different chiefs, many of whose names we shall find hereafter among those the most distinguished in the civil wars. To Castlenau do Chalost,^ Gascogny was assigned ; Beam to Mazeres; Dauphine to Montbrun; Languedoc to Mou- vans; Poictou to St. Cyr and D'Aubigne, &c. These gentlemen were charged to engage, with the utmost se- crecy and celerity, as great a number of partizans as possible ; who were not, however, to be let into the real purpose of the ex})edition ; but were to hold themselves in readiness, upon the simple assurance of their ministers that the enterprise — was for the good of the community. This multitude was, by various by-roads, to assemble upon a stated day, namely, the 10th of March, in the neighbourhood of Blois, an open town where the Court was at this time residing. Certain of the leaders, un- armed, were then to repair to the Court, penetrate to the King's presence, and respectfully present a petition for liberty of conscience. Upon the rejection of this petition — a rejection regarded as certain — the assembled multi- tude was to rush into the town, and, as if this rejection had driven them suddenly and furiously into sedition, were to seize upon the Guises, retain them for trial, and place the government in the hands of the Prince de Conde f the ' Davila, Guerre Civile di Francia. sollicit^ d'entendre a ses affaires pour ^ This gentleman must not be empecher la ruine du Roi et de tout confounded with Castlenau de la I'etat : apres avoir longuenient et Mauvissiere, whose Memoirs we pos- murement pens^, apres avoir aussi sess, and who was a distinguished diligemment cnquis de I'avis des leader upon the other side. gens doctes, pour etie inieux r^solu ^ Cela mis en avant, Louis de quel etait le droit des Princes du Bourbon appeleordinairement Prince sang comme le consequence du fait de Conde, prince vraiment gene'reux le requerait en tel cas, donna pre- entre tons ies Princes du sang, etoit mierement commission acertains per- 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 121 chef muet of the enterprise, who was to be already at Blois, prepared to head the insurrection. This plan having received universal approbation, the meeting separated, and the gentlemen dispersed to carry their several parts into execution. De Thou remarks with astonishment the fidelity with which a secret, con- fided to so many persons, was kept, and adduces it as a proof of the violent hatred entertained against the Guises ; " a hatred," says he, " which— though the authority of the King and magistrates was unimpaired, and the peo- ple, as yet, unaccustomed to rebellion— could gather to- gether so many men from all parts of the country ; among whom good faith was so religiously preserved, that the first intimation the Guises received of the conspiracy, was from Germany, Italy, and Spain, rather than from the spies and informers with whom they had covered the face of the kingdom. One man only being found in France, and he of the Protestant religion, who, in ab- horrence of the thing, could be found to divulge it." This man was an advocate of Paris, named D'Averolles, with whom La Renaudie, for greater secrecy, lodged du- ring his visits to Paris. He, suspecting something from the numbers who came to visit his guest, questioned La Renaudie, when the whole was in confidence revealed to him. He was terrified at the magnitude and danger of the enterprise, and went to Stephen TAllemand — a lawyer concerned in the management of the Cardinal de Lor- raine's private afiairs — and through him the whole matter was revealed to the Guises. sonnages de prud'homerie d'enquerir Tetat ; pour ce que faisant autrement, &c. . . . et lui promit (la Renaudie) il s'opposerait le premier a ce qui icelui prince de se trouver sur le lieu s'y dirait, entreprendrait, ouferait au de Texecution de la dite capture contraire. — Beza, Hist, des Eglises. pour la favoriser en ce qu'il By this it would seem that Beza, pourrait, pourvu que rien ne fut who is perhaps the best authority dit, entrepris, ni faite en sorte quel- upon the subject, allots to the Prince conque contre Dieu, contre le Roi, de Conde a larger share in tlie enter- messieurs ses freres, les Princes, ni prise than do other historians. 122 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. The Court was at ]31ois, slenderly guarded, when this intelligence was received. The young King had been carried there on account of his health, which was indeed in the most lamentable condition; strange diseases, for which medicine could find no remedy, rendering the feeble and wicked boy a miserable heap of infirmity. The journey had been gloomy. A mournful silence and solitude prevailed wherever he passed : upon all sides the peasants had disappeared. He observed the general avoid- ance, and, it is said, asked with some emotion, what he had done to excite so much hatred. The fact was that a strange report prevailed very generally, and which may be noted as a proof of the prejudices which existed against the Court. It was believed, that to refresh the exhausted vitality of the young King, baths, made of the warm blood of young children, were employed. The terri- fied peasants fled on all sides to conceal their infants, and the villages were totally deserted. Davila represents the Cardinal de Lorraine and his brother, upon receiving the deposition of D'Averolles, as recommending very opposite plans of proceeding. The Cardinal, taking counsel only from his excessive fears, advised armaments, arrests, and executions, without form of process; hoping, by such measures, to crush the undertaking in the bud. But the Duke of Guise was of another opinion. He held cheap the danger arising from a mixed and disorganized multitude; but appreciated justly the injury which would arise to his own reputation from measures so severe, on occasion of a conspiracy never openly declared; and which he might even incur the odium of having invented. He calculated, too, the vast increase of power which the defeat of a manifest conspiracy would confer. On these grounds he refused to adopt any measures which might alarm the conspira- 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 123 tors prematurely, and lead tliem to postpone or reconsider their plans; and he prepared, with a courage, which we cannot but admire, to await the result in his then de- fenceless attitude. Two measures only he adopted. One was to remove the King and Court from Blois to Amboise ; a small town in the neighbourhood : whose castle, towering on the heights above the Loire may still be seen, though no longer, as then, surrounded by thick and almost impene- trable woods — the other, that being doubtful how far the house of Chatillon might be engaged ; — " for he dreaded," says De Thou, " their wealth and power, but much more their virtue " — he requested the Queen-Mother to write to the Admiral and D'Andelot, and desire their imme- diate attendance upon the King. Both obeyed without hesitation. Upon their arrival, the matter was laid be- fore them, when Coligny, in the presence of the Chancel- lor, did not hesitate to declare that these discontents arose from the violent and unheard-of measures of the administration, and the bitter persecutions upon account of religion : adding, that it was not too late to allay these disorders by the immediate publication of an edict grant- ing liberty of conscience, and promising to refer the reli- gious disputes to a General Council, This opinion was warmly supported by the Chancellor Olivier, and, in consequence, an edict was prepared, hur- ried through the Parliament of Paris, and published upon the 12th of March. This edict granted a general pardon, ''pour tons les crimes concernant les fails de religion,'^ and commanded all judges, *' de n'en faire auciine ques- tion, pourvii qii'on vescut de Id en apres comme hons Catholiques, fidels et oheissans fils de Veglise." But these concessions, moderate as they are, were — with a treachery worthy of the Court — coupled with a secret arret, bearing 124 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. ir)()0. " that when they came to be carried into execution, tliey sliouhl be rc-cons'idered" ' As, however, this edict excepted from its provisions of mercy all the preachers, and " whosoever should in any manner have conspired against the King, the Queen his mother, any of the royal family, Princes of the blood, or principal ministers," it was not sufficient to pacify men's minds; but by the very despair which its exclusions occa- sioned to all engaged in the conspiracy, obliged them in a manner to persevere. Tlie Duke de Guise had, in the meanwhile, proceeded to make his own personal advantage of the circumstances under which he lay, by demanding the lieutenant-gene- ralcy of the kingdom. This office conferred an uncontrolled authority, amounting pretty nearly to a dictatorship ; ^ his pretence for the demand was that it was necessary to place such authority in his hands to meet the coming emergency. • DeThou. ^ An idea of the powers conferred by this office will be be.st given by inserting here a copy of those be- stowed by Henry TI, npon the Duke of Guise when he con.>titutcd him lieutenant-general of the king- dom. ... "A ces causes connoissant, &;c etre dans la personne de notre tres cher et ame cousin Fran- cois de Lorraine, Due de Guise, pair et grand chambellan de France .... le faisons, et ordonnons, et insti- tuons, par ses presents notre lieu- tenant-general representant notre personne en et par tout notre royaume .... si aucun de quelque qualite et condition qu'il soit presume d'en- friendre et contravenir a ses com- mandemens en ce que concernera notre dit service, et le fait de sa charge, nous voulons, entendons, et nous plaist, qu'il les fasse chatier et punir corporcllement selon I'exi- gence du cas Pour la garde, gouvernciment, et administration de nos villes, chateaux, et fortcresses, s'il voit que besoin soit pour le bien de notre service, chargera et muera quand bon lui semblera les person- nages par lui cominis a la dite garde et gouvernement . . . pour rccevoir et ouir toutes ambassades de princes, villes, communautes, et sernblable- nicnt deputer autres ambassades, de par nous devers tels princes, seig- neuries, qu'il advient .... Voulons en outre et lui donnant pouvoir, d'autorite pour la direction et con- duite des affaires de sa charge sur le fait des denicrs et finances, qui ont et^ et seront assignes pour le fait de la guerre .... Promcttant i)ar ces presens signes de notre main, parole de Koi — avoir agieable, tenir ferme et stable tout ce qui sera fait et pris en execution .... Si donnons en mandement a nos aimez et feaux, les gens de notre Cour de parlement, d'autres nos Cours souverains, qu a notre dit cousin lis fassent obeyir et entendre a toiit ceux, et ainsi qu'ils appartiendra, &c. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 125 The Queen-j\Iother and the Chancellor were extremely averse to granting so great an accession of power to one already but too formidable ; but the urgency of the King's fears carried everything before it, and they were con- strained to yield. Olivier, however, as the condition of affixing the seals to the letters patent, exacted a declaration of a general amnesty to all who should immediately lay down their arms; which declaration was published the very day before the insurrection broke out. The removal of the Court to Amboise had, in some degree, disconcerted the measures of the conspirators. It became necessary to change the place of rendezvous, and to postpone the day of meeting to the I7th; but the intelligence that their design was discovered in no way abated their resolution. Conde, on his way to Court, re- ceived this information, but pursued his journey never- theless ; and arrived at Amboise time enough to witness the catastrophe which ensued. La Renaudie had selected 500 horse from among the gentry, and had with them advanced to a spot close upon Amboise ; while the younger Mazeres had led seventy men, chosen from among the leaders of the enterprise, into the town to join Conde. He concealed these in garrets and cellars ; while another, whose name is unknown, undertook to lodge thirty more in the castle itself. Castlenau and the elder ^lazeres, with their Gascons, were advancing to ^oisy, a castle in the neighbourhood, from whence they were, with their followers, to come into the town early in the morning, in such small parties as not to be observed. La Re- naudie was to enter about dinner-time, (eleven o'clock,) and, with the half of his partisans already in the place, seize the gates, secure the persons of the Guises, and, making a signal from the tower, the mixed multitude, who lay concealed in the neighbouring woods and thick- 126 THE REFORxMATION IN FRANCE. [15(J0. ets, were to rush into the castle hy the garden-gate, and gain possession of the place. The plan, as thus newlj ar- ranged, was betrayed upon the very morning of the execu- tion by a certain Lignieres. He had pledged his faith to the conspirators, but he, nevertheless, came in and disco- vered to the Queen-Mother the last orders that had been issued; adding the names of the leaders — the roads bj which they were to traverse the woods — and the places where they already lay concealed. The Duke de Guise immediately put himself upon his defence. He ordered the garden-gate to be walled up, and placed the Swiss guard at the grand entrance. San- cerre was dispatched with a body of cavalry to beat the country ; while the defence of one of the gates was en- trusted to the Prince de Cond^. The Grand Prior of France, supported by a strong party of those most attached to the House of Guise was, however, associated with him in this duty; — a measure which effectually prevented the Prince from acting in concert with the assailants. The Marechal de St. Andre and the Duke de Nemours, with such ca- valry as they could collect, now left the castle and placed ambuscades in the spots designated by De Lignieres ; with intent to intercept those who were creeping through the woods and bushes to the place of rendezvous. Mazeres, leading the contingent of Beam, was the first seized upon. He was attacked by the Count de Sancerre, surrounded, and, with his party, made prisoner. "The soldiers tied them to the tails of their horses, and dragged them in triumph into the castle, where, booted and spurred just as they were, they were immediately hanged from the battlements." ' The Baron de Castlenau had already reached Noisy. There he halted to refresh his troops, and the Duke de ' De Thou, 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. ]27 Nemours was dispatched against him. Castlenau, expect- ing to be supported by La Renaudie, prepared himself at first for defence; but, finding Nemours stronger than he expected, and La Renaudie not appearing, he at length consented to a parley. Here Nemours reproached him with his disloyalty to the King. He answered that he was not in arms against the King, but to remonstrate with him upon the violence of his ministers. Nemours said, that was not the manner in which a loyal subject ought to remonstrate with his King. Castlenau replied, that he and his party were in arms, in order to secure, in defiance of the Guises, the means of approaching " in all reverence,'' their Master's person, in order to declare their grievances. Upon this, Nemours promised, foi de Prince, that if he would surrender, no injury should be done to him or to any of his compa- nions, but that they should immediately be admitted to the King's presence, and afterwards be at liberty to depart whithersoever they pleased. This promise was signed by his own hand, Jaques de Savoie, and Castlenau, gratified by the idea of obtaining his object without violence, and perfectly confiding in the good faith of Nemours, attended by fifteen other gentlemen, accompanied him to Amboise. But here, in contempt of all that had passed, they were thrown into a dungeon and loaded with fetters, the Chancellor Olivier himself declaring that no faith was to be kept with rebels — " Qu'un Prince rCest nullement tenu de sa parolle a un sujet rebel; rHy de quelconque promesse qifil lui a faite!^ ^ The Duke de Nemours, after a few remonstrances, sub- mitted, " but he was," says Carloix, " tormented in his mind about his signature — for as to his word he could have given the lie, and challenged any one who had ' Mem. de Vieilleville. 128 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G1. reproached liiin with that — sans mil excepter fors sa Majeste lui meme, tant etoit genereux Prince et vaillant. Such were the ways of thinking of the times. La Renaudie, as he was advancing to Castlenau's assist- ance, perislied obscurely in an encounter with the Baron de Pardaillon. The next day the conspirators, having heard of his death, made, under Coqueville, one desperate attack \x\)()\\ the castle. They were repulsed, driven back into the town, and some massacred on the spot ; the rest being taken prisoners were hanged from the trees and battlements. To this last attempt, '' portant au comhle la fureur des Guises,'' De Thou attributes the revocation of the edict of amnesty, and the subsequent excesses. Troops were dispatched upon all sides in pursuit of the fugitives ; " the prisoners were hastily interrogated, condemned, and immediately executed. Some were hung from the lofty battlements of the castle ; others drowned in the Loire, under an apprehension that the perpetual repetition of spectacles so full of horror, might move the people to pity. Many were dragged to execution, their very names being even unknown ; and the executioner, contrary to custom, never addressing to them one word.^ The Loire was covered with dead bodies ; the streets ran with blood ; and the Place (or market place,) was crowded with gibbets." ^ " Earnest," cries Davila, " of those massacres, and of that blood, which has, during so many melancholy years, been without intermission shed !" The people beginning to murmur aloud at these cruel- ties perpetrated within their town, " orders were given to search the forest, and slaughter without form of process all who should be found in arms ; and in this manner • De Thou. 2 Ibid. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 129 numbers of these poor creatures perished, who had assembled with no other design than that of presenting a petition to their King. Under this pretext, also, several travelling merchants were robbed and murdered." ^ " These severities," says Carloix, " did little good to the affairs of France; for in conspiracies it suffices to punish the chiefs, without too curiously searching out inferior agents. Too great a rigour urges all to despair. Justice should be moderated by softness and clemency, not depraved to cruelty. Moreover, the most part of these conspirators were ignorant where they were going, or that they were committing treason ; having no other object but to assure themselves that their petition would be presented ; by which they hoped to obtain liberty of conscience for themselves, and some relief for the rest of France." ' We are told that, in their simplicity, these poor people had delighted themselves with the idea of entering into the presence of their King, to whom the heart of every Frenchman used once to turn with affectionate confidence. The father of D'Aubign^ coming some days afterwards to Amboise in company with his son, could distinguish the faces of many of his intimate acquaintances, and much beloved and honoured friends, as they hung upon the innumerable gibbets which surrounded him — shuddering with horror, though in the midst of several hundreds of people, he could not forbear exclaiming aloud, " Oh the traitors ! they have murdered France ! " And laying his hand upon his son's head, " My son," he cried, " I charge thee, at the hazard of thy own life — as I will at the hazard of mine, avenge these honourable chiefs — and, if thou failest to attempt it, my curse shall follow thee to the grave." ^ * De Thou. ^ M^m. de Castleaau. ^ Mem. d'Aubigiie. VOL. I. K 130 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G0. Nearly twelve hundred men were hanged, drowned, or beheaded, on this most melancholy occasion. Castlenau, with the fifteen gentlemen who had surren- dered upon the faith of Nemours, were put to the ques- tion, and miserably tortured. But no agonies could extort the slightest variation in the declaration of all ; that against the Guises — and against the Guises alone — and in no manner whatsoever against the King was the conspiracy directed. In Castlenau's boot was found a paper containing a plan of the conspiracy, and a protestation declaring that the person and authority of the King would always be respected. On La Renaudie's body ano- ther was found, beginning " Protestation par le chef et tout ceux du concile associes en cette sainte et politique entreprise, de rHattenter aucunement, ni en quelque chose que ce soit, contre la Majeste du Roi, ni les Princes de son sang — mais pour mettre avec Hayde de Dieu le gou- vernement du royaume en son premier etat, et faire ob- server les anciennes coiitumes de France!^ ^ Castlenau was interrogated by Olivier, " and," says La Planche, " defended himself with such excellent examples and reasons drawn from the laws, all quoted with so much propriety, that the Chancellor was silenced, and only said — he had studied his lesson marvellously well. He answered, that in an affair of this importance it be- came him to study it well — and to resolve his own doubts, so that, without scruple of conscience, he might engage in an undertaking — wherein he perilled life in that best of quarrels, the defence of his religion, and of his King. He was then attacked upon his religion, and de- fended himself so ably, that the Chancellor asked in what school of theology he had studied ? — Saying, that he recol- lected him a very difierent man during the late wars. ' Mem, de Vieilleville. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 131 ' You know well where I studied/ he replied, ' for on my return from my imprisonment in Flanders, you asked me how I had employed my time, and when I answered, in the study of the Holy Scriptures — have you forgotten how you praised my labours, resolved my doubts, and advised me to frequent the assemblies at Paris 1 — Did you not ex- press a wish that all the nobility of France resembled me in zeal and affection, because I had chosen 'that better part 1 ' And, as the Chancellor, confounded, held down his head, ' How dare you ! ' cried he, ' trembling upon the edge of the grave — raised by God to the highest dignity in this kingdom, and by His grace admitted to a know- ledge of truth — how dare you, to please that Cardinal, tamper with your duties, your conscience, and your reli- gion by these unworthy submissions ! — Is it not enough that you lent yourself, against your principles, to the per- secution of the miserable churches of Mirandol and Ca- brieres 1 — Have I not heard you declare, with groans and tears, that for this God had rejected you ? — Oui, malheu- reux ! You, who have trifled through life with God and the Holy Scriptures, know that the time of your account is near — yea, nearer than you imagine — for the measure of your iniquity is full ! ' The Cardinal de Lorraine seeing the Chancellor mute and confounded, took up the argu- ment, but soon confessed himself answered ; upon which Castlenau, turning to the Duke de Guise, begged him to remark that his brother was confuted. He replied, brutally enough, ' I know nothing of argument, but very well understand how to cut off heads.' — ' Would to God,' replied Castlenau, 'you understood argument like your brother, I am certain by you it would never be abused, to pervert your conscience ! — But, as to your threat of cutting off heads, it is unworthy of a Prince like you.' " * - La Planche. K 2 132 THE UKl-ORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. All their appeals to the })romise of Nemours, under the faith of which they had surrendered, were vain. Castle- nau and his brave followers were condemned, and the sentence was signed by the Chancellor. When Castlenau heard he was convicted of high treason, he seemed to lose all patience, and exclaimed, " If it be treason to take up arms against these violators of our laws and liberties, let them be declared kings at once. Qu'on les declare Rois." The greatest exertions were made to save his life, but his enemies were inexorable. " The King and the Queen- Mother,'' says La Planche, " were pressed and importuned by the Admiral and D'Andelot to save him — not only on account of his virtues and the great services which his family had rendered to the crown of France,^ but also to avoid the violent resentment which his execution w^ould excite among his party. The Queen did her best, even condescending to go and entreat in their own apartments these new Kings ivho ivere become invincible^ But the Cardinal used these w^ords, " Par le sang de Bieu, il en mourira, the man breathes not in France who shall save him." Castlenau and his friends were executed upon a scaffold erected in front of the castle. The King, his Queen Mary Stuart, the Queen-Mother, the young Princes her sons, the Princesses her daughters, the Duchess of Guise, and all the ladies of the court being present at the windows and balconies to witness the dismal scene. " They died praying aloud to God, and appealing to Him to attest the justice of their cause, compelling many to lament and deplore their fate."^ " When it came to the turn of Villemorgue, one of the ^ His brother had saved the life of Henry the Second, at tlie expense of the late Duke of Orleans, brother of his own. ^ La Place. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 133 fifteen gentlemen, he dipped his hands in the blood of his companions, and raising them to heaven, cried with a loud voice, ' Lord ! behold the blood of thy children most unjustly slain ! Thou wilt take vengeance.' " At these words the Duchess of Guise, who had been forced most unwillingly to witness this execution, uttered a cry, and starting from her seat rushed from the scene and hurried into the chamber of the Queen-Mother, where Catherine on her return found her in an agony of tears. On the Queen's approach her sobs, groans, and cries re- doubled, " the more," says La Planche, " because they two had often, in great privacy, discoursed of the goodness and innocence of those of the religion." The Queen seeing her distress, asked her why she lamented, de si strange fagon. "Alas, J\Iadam !" said she, " Have I not cause '? I have witnessed the most strange and piteous tragedy — the effusion of innocent blood — blood of the best and most faithful subjects the King ever had ; and much I fear some heavy curse will fall upon our house, and that God will exterminate us, in vengeance for this barbarity." ^ The Chancellor Olivier was observed to weep at the execution, and when it was over seemed suddenly struck with dismay. The last words of Castlenau ringing in his ear, he retired to his chamber — Here, flung across the bed, he abandoned himself to all the horrors of an awakened conscience, and to the agonies of the most furious despair ; ^ An old engraving- preserved in ses compagnons decapites ; Ville- the Collection "du Cabinet d'estam- mongis, ayant trempe ses mains dans pes, Biblioth. du Roi, Paris, Regne le sang de ses compagnons, va etre Francois II. thus reproduces the aussi decapite. Fids gr-ande affiu- scene : — ence de belles et gentilles dawes, par- " La Renaudie guinde h une po- hint et riant incessanient ; elles en- tence au pied du Chateau d'Amboise. tourent une potence ayant trois tetes A la porte, cinq des conjures sont sur le sommet ; audessous est escrit : pendus avec de longues cordes, et Cy sont trois tetes pour memorial. — incontinent deux autres vont etre Capefigue. etrandes ; le Baron de Castlenau et 134 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. rcproacliing his Maker, that ever he was born, and revil- ing himself in the wildest and most violent manner.' The Cardinal de Lorraine, hearing of his distress, hastened to visit and to console him, but lie refused to be comforted, and turned impatiently away to the other side of the bed, without answering him a single word : till, as the Cardinal was leaving the room, he cried out, " Ha ! cursed Cardinal, you have damned yourself and all of us." Two days after he died. When this speech was reported to the Duke de Guise, it is said he cried angrily, " ' Damned! — Damned !'— What a rascally liar !" A bitter part in this tragedy was that of the Prince de Conde. Deeply as. he was implicated in the plot, not one among the brave spirits concerned, even in the midst of the most dreadful tortures of the question, could be found to betray him. La Vigne, secretary to La Renaudie, alone went so far as to say, that he knew nothing of the King of Navarre, but that had the plot succeeded, he sus- pected that the Prince would have been found at the head of it. Surrounded by his enemies, he had been ordered at the first alarm to defend the gate, and had been compelled not only to witness, but almost to assist in the defeat of his party. He was afterwards required to attend the execution, where the expression of distress upon his coun- tenance was so excessive that he was reproached with it. " How can I be insensible," he cried, " to the death of so many brave officers, who, during the last two reigns, have done such service to the crown ! I confess I am at a loss to conceive why none of the ministers have taken upon themselves to represent to the King the injury these infamous executions are inflicting upon the state." ' Mem. de Vieilleville. 1560.] CONSPIRACY OF AMBOISE. 135 These words were carried to the Cardinal de Lorraine, and were not forgotten, as we shall find/ Such was the termination of this celebrated conspiracy, undertaken as we have seen — at least as far as the majority were concerned — from the purest and most conscientious motives ; and punished by the evil men against whom it was directed with a barbarity which laid but too surely a foundation for those long and bloody quarrels which ensued. Had the conspirators attained their object, the succeeding history of their country might have, in all probability, be- come one of enlightened civil and religious improvement ; directed, as it would have been, by those great and virtuous men, who, in these early days, headed the Reformed party. France might thus have led the advance in that great progress which signalised the century, and walked a light and an example before the nations. But the evil princi- ple triumphed ; the reign of injustice and supersti- tion finally prevailed ; and those dark clouds gathered round and obscured her destiny which it required all the wild forces of her last awful Revolution to dispel. I will terminate this chapter with the account De Thou gives of the rise of the word Hugonot, which now first began to be applied to the French Protestants. It was at first a term of reproach.^ "At Tours," says he, "the religious first began to be known by the name, at once odious and ridiculous, of Hu- gonots of which this is the origin. As in all our towns they have their particular names for the fairies, hobgoblins, spirits, and other imaginary beings, about whom old women's tales are told to frighten children ; so at Tours, ^ Gamier. was forbidden to be used, as well as ^ Sismondi gives another and more that of Papist, in one of the edicts honourable derivation from the Ger- of pacification, as if it were an irri- man, and does not seem to think the tating term. Beza gives much the name was applied as one of reproach ; same derivation as De Thou, but we find that the word Ilugunot 136 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE- [1560. King Hugo is famous, who is said to ride about the pre- cincts by night, and plunder all he meets ; from him they were called llugonots ; because they assembled secretly in those places, and by night, for the purpose of hearing sermons, and for prayer, which at this time it was not lawful to do." 137 CHAPTER V. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY, MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. If the exertion of arbitrary power, unrestrained by considerations of equity or mercy, punishing revolt with almost unexampled severity, were sufBcient to subdue the spirit of disaffection, and establish the security of a govern- ment, that of the Guises might have henceforward rested upon the most assured foundations. The conspiracy of Amboise had been repressed with the greatest decision, and punished with the most unrelenting rigour ; but the Lorraines, far from finding cause to exult in their success, discovered to their cost that they had raised a spirit it was impossible to lay, and that every hour, as it rolled over their heads, furnished additional cause for anxiety and apprehension. They had mistaken the character of the times, and of the high spirited nation with which they had to do. They little understood the force of that deep and fervent reli- gious persuasion which had difiused itself so widely amid the masses ; nor of that generous and patriotic spirit which animated so many of the gentry and old nobility — now swelling with indignation at the insults offered to their party — and at the barbarous and merciless proscription which had slaughtered so many of their bravest and their best. The fermentation was universal. France trembled from her centre to the extremity of her provinces, and upon 138 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. every side commotions and obscure disturbances gave evi- dence of those internal lieavings and convulsions which announce an approaching catastrophe. In Dauphin6, Provence, Langucdoc, and more especially in JS'ormandy, a spirit of determined resistance was almost openly manifested. While the depositions wrung by torture from the miserable victims of Amboise had taught the Government, how generally a similar spirit lay concealed under the surface of society — and that they might expect a general insurrection. The Protestants, far from sinking into despondency after their late defeat, seemed at last incited by desperation to cast aside the religious scruples which had so long held them passive, and to prepare for a vigorous resistance. — They were actively, though secretly, employed in strengthening the union which subsisted between the Churches, in devising means for seizing certain strong- holds, and the places of deposit for the public money, so as to furnish themselves with the most necessary among the means of defence. They maintained the closest con- nexion with the Bourbon Princes, and it was evident that, thus supported, the party would speedily resist by force the cruel persecutions to which they were subjected. One- third of the general population of the kingdom, it is said, might be considered at this time as attached to the party of the malcontents ; while the higher nobility were alien- ated by a tyranny which French gentlemen had been little accustomed to endure with patience, even at the hands of their legitimate sovereigns — and which became abso- lutely insupportable when exercised by those regarded as foreigners and strangers. Such, after the first exultation of triumph had subsided, was the critical position in which the Princes of the house of Lorraine found themselves; and their perplexity and un- 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 139 easiness are manifested by the vacillation and uncertainty of their measures. Yet it does not appear that they for one moment wa- vered in their main design — namely, to establish their own power as Ministers of the King ; and the power of the King himself upon the basis of an unmitigated despotism. To allay discontent by just and merciful measures of con- ciliation ; to heal the wounds of society, and unite, ere yet too late, under one system of equal protection, those opinions which threatened to rend it in pieces ; to yield to, and at the same time to guide, the spirit of the times, by a judicious mixture of firmness and concession — were mea- sures alien to their natures — and the wisdom of which, they rather wanted the morality than the intellect to com- prehend. But to those who are insensible to the claims of justice, force will always appear the best, as it is the last, argument in political disputes : and accordingly they, with that blind indifference to wrong, which characterises their career, resolved to concede nothing to opinion — nothing to the reasonable claims of their adversaries — but to conquer opposition by rigour ; or, if this were impossible, to under- mine it by that insidious and perfidious policy — the common resource of the politicians of that age, when the more open violences proper to its manners could not be exercised. They resolved, in defiance of the strong and tender affec- tion then cherished by the French nation for their blood royal, to terminate by death the opposition of the Bourbon Princes ; and, in contempt of the lessons past experience might have taught, to persevere in endeavouring to eradi- cate by cruelty that spirit of religious Reform which it was evident all suffering was inadequate to extinguish. ' ' The fatality of crime is like the the Catholic party seemed almost progress of virtue, one step entails impelled, as the consequence of almost necessarily another ; and ne- these their first outrageous measures ver was lesson more sensibly taught of injustice and barbarity, than by the dark course into which 140 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. These are tlie secret objects wliicli Davila instructs us to detect, (and in this he is supported by tlie evi- dence of more trustworthy historians,) in any measures of popularity', or apparent moderation, which the govern- ment was at this time led to adopt. " They agreed toge- ther," says he, " upon the chastisement and final destruc- tion of all those who, by counsel or action, added fuel to this fire. But such a determination being attended with infinite perils, and requiring the most dexterous conduct, they resolved to begin Avith dissimulation : to feign ignor- ance of all but the external manifestations of this conspi- racy; to attribute it solely to diversity of religions, and misconduct on the part of the inferior magistrates ; and rather to testify fear on their own parts, than shew confi- dence and security by their oppressions ; and thus, while they affected a sense of justice, and a desire to find means of reforming abuses, to satisfy the minds of all. By means such as these, hoping to allay suspicion and restore tranquillity, while they carried to perfection those plans which, by open force, they saw it was at present utterly im- possible to accomplish." Such are the designs which Da- vila lends to these heroes and favourites of his history, — and he thinks he praises them. The preliminary and most important question to be re- solved by the Council of government, after the first bloody executions were over, was how to dispose of Conde. He still remained in their power at Amboise, closely watched, though, after some days, not absolutely under restraint. The government was in possession of the strongest pre- sumptive evidence of his share in the conspiracy, but direct proof was wanting ; and, under these circumstances, it appeared equally dangerous to release or to punish him. The Cardinal de Lorraine was, however, for immediately proceeding judicially on such evidence as they possessed, 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF TFIE CONSPIRACY. 141 and by a legal sentence effectually and for ever laying at rest this dangerous and active spirit ; but the Duke de Guise strongly opposed the measure. " And/' says La Planche, " he on this occasion gave reasons for his opinion, contrary to his usual custom, which was in all things to say — mon avis est tel, — et faiit faire ainsi, ou ainsi. He harangued long, endeavouring to persuade his brother, saying, that to attack the Princes so suddenly would raise a universal sedition — that it was entirely against his opinion and advice — that it would give colour to all the defamatory placards and libels published by the rebels, who accused the house of Guise of a desire to extinguish the blood royal — and that they ought, to strengthen their judicial proofs, and prepare the King's troops, before they attempted an enterprise of the kind."^ Conde being informed that the Cardinal taxed him openly with a share in the conspiracy, with carrying con- cealed arms, filling the Court with his adherents, and va- rious proceedings of a like nature, demanded an audience of the King, in order to justify himself. " Here,'' says De Thou, " in the presence of the King, the Queen, the Princes, the Lorraines, and the foreign ambassadors, he pleaded his cause with that warmth and eloquence which were natural to him, ending his defence by a challenge in the usual form, directed with his usual spirit against his powerful enemies. He declared that whosoever affirmed him to be chief of a conspiracy directed against the per- son of the King, or the security of the State, lied, — and as often as he repeated it he lied,— and that, as far as this matter was concerned, he renounced his dignity as Prince of the blood,- and challenged to single combat • La Planche, ob. Castlenau, 42. gard seulernent)— son rang et dignite 141. de Prince du sang ; lequel le dit 2"Et pour preuve de son inno- seigneur, (Roi), ni les siens ne lui cence, voulait quitter (pour ce re- avaient donne, mais Dieu seul qui 142 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. whosoever, of whatsoever degree, affirmed the contrary. Upon which the Duke of Guise, in pursuance of his secret design, to the surprise of every body, stepped for- wards ; and, far from taking up the gauntlet thus thrown down, declared, such was his own opinion of the vir- tue and rectitude of the Prince who had just spoken, that, should a combat upon this question ensue, he offered himself as his second — being ready to risk his life in his service, and maintain his quarrel against all the world." "It is difficult," adds the historian, " at which to wonder most, at the confidence of the Prince when he gave this challenge, or at the profound dissi- mulation of the Duke when he seconded it."^ On this, Cond6 turned to the King, and besought him to lend his ear no longer to calumniators, but to regard him in future as the most faithful of his subjects, and to re- ject them as enemies of his own person and of the pub- lic peace.- The Guises were still hesitating whether to detain or to let the Prince go, when he cut the matter short by eluding their vigilance ; and upon occasion of the Court proceeding to Tours — for we are told the air of Amboise was so poisoned by the multitude of the dead, as to be rendered unwholesome — he contrived to escape, and set- ting forward with great speed, joined his brother, the I'avait fait naitre de sa souclie.'' — loured in a very diflFerent manner by Beza, Hist, des Eglises. Remark Brantome : — " Sur qiioy il (Conde) the dignity and independence con- fit certain rodomontade en I'air, mais tained in the idea — and the differ- non en piesence, comme s'est dit et cnce between an hereditary and a ecrit, car alors il n'osoit parler si created aristocracy. — Russia and haut ; bien que d'ailleurs il eut la Old France. parolle belle, bonne, haute, et hardie. ^ It may be observed, that Conde Mais pourtant connoissant qu'il ne only maintained he was a party in no faisoit pas bien pour lui, et que Pon enterprise against the King or the commencoit a decouvrir le pot aux State; the conspiracy of Amboise roses, il partit de la cour et s'en alia merited, in his eyes, no such appelia- trouver le Roi de Navarre dont pour- tion. " tant Ton se repentit {car je le sqais) 2 The whole of this scene is co- de quoy on I'avoit laiss6 aller," 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 143 King of Navarre, at Nerac. As he mounted his horse to depart, Conde was accosted by Genlis, a friend and partisan of his, who asked what message he should carry to the King. Conde desired he would assure his Majesty of his most perfect loyalty, and entire submis- sion in every point except with regard to matters of religion. " But I have," added he, " sworn, and here I swear again, that I will never go to ^lass." Arrived at ^N'erac, he found Navarre in no favourable disposition towards him. Timid in his views, irresolute in his measures, all that Anthony had done before the conspiracy was declared, had been to collect his com- pagnies dJ ordonnance, and to remain in Beam, waiting the event. Immediately upon the catastrophe, he had altered his plans, and had employed his forces in mea- sures directly in contradiction with his original views. He attacked and dispersed a body of 2,000 Protestants, who, relying upon his connivance, had assembled in the neighbourhood ; and spared no pains to convince the Court that he had taken no share in the insurrection. He now endeavoured to persuade Conde to return to Tours, and allay suspicion by the appearance of confidence; but Conde had other designs in contemplation, and he per- sisted in remaining at Nerac, where he immediately began his exertions for the maintenance of his house and the protection of his religious party, now menaced by perse- cutions more grievous than ever. He opened a most ac- tive correspondence with the Churches ; and never rested till, by the force of his representations, he had persuad- ed Anthony once again to second him. The cruelty of the persecution on account of religion was now exaspe- rated by political jealousy, and the situation of the hap- less members of the Reformed religion more desperate than ever. Letters are in existence (Bib. du Eoi MSS. Col- 144 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. bert, vol. 27), in which orders were given to the authori- ties of different provinces, de nettoyer le pays de ce ca- naille— in other words, exterminate them. " I command you (MSS. Colbert, vol. 27) to transport yourself to all suspected places, to learn from good Catholics the names of those who are present at the preachings et sur ces sim- ples tcmoignages verbaiix, to seize the preachers and hang them without form of process by the Provost Marshal ; and with regard to the Hugonots who make public pro- fession of their religion, they shall be put into the hands of justice and judged incontinently if the assistants (at such assemblies) be armed, they shall be cut to pieces or hanged ; and such as shall not be arrested, the King leaves it to the discretion of the authorities, to deprive them of property and privileges — to raze their houses, and condemn them to such pecuniary fines as they shall see fit.*" In vain ! — The letters of the Comte de Yillars thus de- scribe the efi'ect produced by this merciless proscription in his Province. " Part of the inhabitants of Nismes, to the number of three or four thousand, have retired into the mountains of Gevaudan, from whence they threaten to descend into the plain ; in which case, those who appear the most submissive will infallibly join them. The heresy extends every day. The children learn only the Cate- chisms of Geneva. Marriages are solemnised after the Hugonot fashion : and as for prisoners, the number is so great that it is impossible to put them all to death." The Court of Navarre now became a refuge for the persecuted and the discontented ; and all laboured in- cessantly to induce Anthony to take some decided step, which might finally commit him with the government, and render retreat impossible. A public declaration of protection to the Reformed Churches would, it was 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 145 thought, best accomplish this object ; and, in order to persuade the King of Navarre to the measure, certain of the more eminent among the Protestants came, at the instigation of the elder j\Ialigny, to N'erac, bear- ing a humble supplication and remonstrance from the Churches. At the audience to which they were admitted, they offered to both Princes, in the name of their constituents, ^•seeing that they represented more than a million of men,^^ the free disposition of their lives and fortunes, pro- vided they would make common cause with them by public- ly avowing themselves chiefs of the party. But they threat- ened, on the other hand, to separate themselves from them entirely, and to choose other leaders — either among les regiiicoles or foreigners — if, forgetting their rank, their own rights, and the wrongs of the suffering people, they betrayed their confidence by basely abandoning the King and his brothers, the cause of freedom and of their country, to the murderous fury of two bloody and implacable tyrants. This remonstrance was afterwards printed and widely circulated, under the title of " Supplication et re~ montrance addresse au Roi de Navarre, et autres Princes du sang pour la delivrance du royaume^ &c" Libels and pamphlets again swarmed from the press, in which the Lorraines were attacked with great force and bitterness. Concerning one, called le Tigre, an anecdote is recorded so strongly indicative of the violence and in- justice of the times, that it shall be inserted : — A copy of this work having been found in the possession of a poor bookseller of Paris, named Martin I'Hommet, he was ar- rested and put to the question, in order to force from him the name of the author, or, at least, that of the man who had furnished him with the manuscript. L'Hommet preserved an honourable silence, and was thereupon con- VOL. I. L 14G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. demncd to be hanged in the author's place. As he was led to execution the populace pursued him with their in- sults and their outcries, and at last became so much exasperated as to be upon the point of snatching him from his accompanying guards and tearing him to pieces, when a tradesman {fadeur) of Rouen accidentally passing by, shocked at the scene he witnessed, though a perfect stranger to L'Hommet, interfered from pure humanity, and endeavoured to quiet the fury of the mob by repre- senting the baseness and the folly of defiling their hands with the blood of a miserable wretch for whom the exe- cutioner was already in waiting. The rage of the people, diverted from its first object, was now directed against the unfortunate tradesman ; they got about him, seized upon and dragged him to prison ; from whence, in a few days, he was carried to the Place Maubert, and, having been already condemned as an accom- plice of L'Hommet, was hanged. This execution excited very great indignation not only against the Guises, but against those unworthy judges who had pandered to their tyranny by thus condemning to death an innocent man for a mere act of generous humanity exercised in favour of one until then entirely unknown to him. But the increasing hostility was not confined to the lower ranks ; among the highest and most influential of the Court the ill-disguised dissatisfaction excited by mingled jealousy and indignation was rapidly increasing. The Queen-Mother, though in appearance supporting the Guises, was in secret their active enemy, and was already endeavouring to construct a party which might serve, at least in some degree, to balance their power. The Constable, also, regarded with increasing ill will this rapid advance of his ancient rivals, and the consequent decline of his own influence, and that of his nephews of 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 147 Chatillon, whom he loved and cherished as his own chil- dren. Being appointed to communicate the affair of Amboise to the Parliament, he gave the ministers a speci- men of what sort of support thej might expect from him. For obvious reasons it was a leading object with the Guises to represent the conspiracy as expressly directed against the person of the King himself. The Constable, however, thought proper to give it a very different colour, remarking, as he enlarged upon its enormity, " that any design against the favourite servants of a house, must be cause of grave offence to the master of that house/^ Thus making his communication in a form peculiarly obnoxious to the government, and testifying, at one and the same moment, his contempt for their wishes, and his indiffer- ence to their resentment. The Guises now too late lamented that they had suffer- ed Conde to escape ; and anticipated a formidable struggle with the powerful union which it was evident was begin- ning once more to be formed against them. To recover their advantage by enticing the Bourbon Princes once again to Court, and to prepare by the collection of a large military force, to carry into execution the desperate designs they afterwards meditated, became next the object of their proceedings. The Duke de Guise, as Lieutenant-General of the kingdom, speedily accomplished one of these objects, by adding one thousand lances and a new regiment of arquebusiers to the troops usually in attendance upon the person of the King. The command of the new regiment he bestowed upon Anthoine du Plessis Richelieu, surnamed Le Moine, a man who had been once a monk, but who, tonsured as he was, now assumed the sword, and who was of such atrocious con- duct and infamous character, that it marks a very aston- ishing defiance of public opinion in the Duke de Guise, to L 2 148 THE REFORMATION IN TRANCE. [1560. venture to appoint him at such a moment to such a charge.' In addition to these forces, the Duke received a very considerable body of troops from Scotland, set at liberty by the treaty of Leith just concluded. The vieilles handes from Piedmont, under the command of the Mar^chal de Brissac — -veterans hardened in the fields of Italy, had also just returned to France and might be considered at his devotion ; added to which, setting first the pernicious example of hiring foreign soldiers to take part in the domestic quarrel, he entered into negotiations with the German princes and Swiss cantons, for large levies of mercenaries to be ready to march to his assist- ance when required. While the Guises thus strengthened their hands against the approaching contest, the Queen-Mother, on her side, was not idle ; and, whatever might be the selfishness or generosity of motive which influenced her conduct, its prudence, and the happy consequences which resulted from it, are unquestionable. Influenced, some say, by jealousy of the Lorraines, others, by the advice of the Duchess de Montpensier, others, by her own secret leaning in favour of the Reformed religion, she gave her con- fidence to Coligny, and conferred upon France the signal benefit — some atonement for innumerable crimes — of appointing Michel de I'Hopital to the seals, vacant by the death of Olivier — an appointment which was conceded most unwillingly by the Guises to her pertinacity and de- termination. De THopital was, indeed, one who would have done honour to any age — a man just, benevolent, enlightened, and far advanced beyond the times to which he belongs. If there are passages in his life when he may be thought to have lent himself to some compliances ' This man was grandfather to the his barbarity and audacity may be Cardinal de Richelieu ; instances of found in De Thou, 1560. J CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 149 unworthy of his character, something must be pardoned to the lawyer — much to the difficulties of his situation — but much more to that prudence which sought to carry into effect such portions of good as the spirit of the age seemed able to bear, rather than to forfeit all chance of success, by aiming at an impossible perfection. ^ The Queen either feigned or felt a desire to employ Coligny in the most secret and confidential manner. She, about this time, either to flatter his party, or, that she really designed, in matters of religion, to support a more equitable and tolerant system of government, desired to confer with Chandieu, one of the most eminent of the Reformed divines, who certainly had several secret inter- views with her— and when Coligny, and D'Andelot, in grief undisguised at the slaughter of Amboise, prepared to leave the Court, she engaged the Admiral to go down into ]S[ormandy, where the Protestants were numerous and the appearances of disaffection most alarming, that he might endeavour to discover the real cause of the dis- contents ; and pacify matters if possible. Coligny ac- cepted the commission, and wrote shortly after his arrival to the Queen. In his letter he does not affect to spare the King's ministers, but declares their insatiable am- bition, together with the persecutions on account of religion, to be the sole causes of the present disaffection : he ends by urging the Queen by every argument in his power, to take the administration of affairs into her own hands — advice with which Catherine was ready enough to comply. While Coligny thus endeavoured to weaken the influ- ence of the Lorraines at Court, De I'Hopital was employed * The important reforms which De not germain to the leading subject of THopital introduced into the French this little work, will be passed over system of jurisprudence, as they are in silence. 150 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. in the yet more important occupation, of resisting by every means in his power the attempt, now openly made by the Cardinal de Lorraine, to alter the constitution of the Court of Inquisition as it then existed in France — a resistance in which he was successful, though at the expense of very considerable sacrifices. It was not the first occasion upon which the ambitious and profligate Car- dinal had endeavoured to arm this tribunal with those tremendous powers which it wielded in Spain ; the at- tempt had been made so early as the reign of Henry the Second. But to explain to the general reader the im- mense difierence which, in fact, subsisted between tribu- nals bearing the same title in these two countries, a few words from De Thou will be necessary. " In France the King reserves to himself the entire cog- nisance of all causes on account of religion, and attributes to his judges the right of decision on the punishment of all ofiences against religion unless the culprit be in holy orders.' When it is necessary to examine whether an opinion tends to heresy, doubtless the ecclesiastics must be called upon to decide that question, and so far their juris- diction must be permitted to extend. But your tribunals shall have cognisance of the appeals on whatever regards the punishments imposed et les jugemens en dernier ressort seront rendus par des Juges laics, dc.'' The axiom was laid down, " that no power in the state did, or ought to, possess the sovereign authority of life or death over the subjects of such state, save the sovereign alone, as supreme head." How widely such principles ^ He gives us in illustration the avoir ^gard a I'appel toutes les per- follo wing extract from a remonstrance sonnes qui auroient ete condamnes of the Parliament, made in the year par les Inquisitions de la Foi.'' The 1555, on occasion of an edict which attempt to attribute such extraordi- they refused to register, " par la- nary and irregular powers was re- quelle il fut enjoint a tous les Gou- sisted, and among other the princi- verneurs de punir sans delai et sans pies in the text were laid down. 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 151 differed from those which allowed the Spanish Inquisitiou to commit, try, and sentence, without appeal, all the sub- jects of the state, laity as well as clergy — only performing the empty ceremony of handing its victims over to the secular arm, when its sentences were to be carried into execution — it is unnecessary to point out to the reader's attention. A tribunal, with powers such as those attributed to the Inquisition in Spain, it was the determination of the Cardinal de Lorraine now to establish in France, and it is to Michel de THopital that she is indebted for her escape from the greatest of those evils which deform the judicial history of mankind. De THopital represented forcibly the enormous mischief which such a tribunal was daily inflicting upon Spain ; the dire contest which its attempted establishment was preparing for the Low Countries, and the impossibility that the frank and loyal character of the French nation could be submitted, without a violence incredible, to such a yoke. He succeeded in arresting the project, but in the struggle he was condemned to make several, and great sa- crifices ; one of which was to exchange the edict of March, for the second important edict on religious matters — known as that of Romorantin. — An edict by which several of the privileges allowed to the Reformed were again with- drawn ; but, in considering which, less regard must be paid to the evils it occasioned than to those it averted.* By this edict the cognisance in cases of heresy was committed to the ecclesiastical tribunals, to the exclusion of the secular courts. All persons frequenting conventi- cles or secret assemblies were declared guilty of high treason — and five hundred crowns offered as the reward to informers — this clause, however, being modified by the 1 Gamier, Hist. France, 28, 291. 162 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. provision that all calumnious informers should be sub- jected to the pehie du taUon. This measure excited the greatest clamour on all sides— the parliament resisted the clause, which attributed new and alarming powers to the bishops ; and consented to re- gister it only conditionally : the Protestants, disappointed to find themselves once more deprived of their right of as- sembling for religious purposes, exclaimed at its severity : the Catholics murmured at its weakness and inefficiency. But de I'Hopital had already chalked out for himself the line he intended to pursue, in order, by slow degrees, to accustom the public mind to those principles of general toleration which he had adopted as the guide of his fu- ture proceedings. Satisfied with the successful stand he had made against the introduction of measures which would have finally closed the door against a liberal and enlightened system of things ; he listened to the re- proaches which assailed him from all parties with im- movable composure, and only replied to the expostulations on all sides — Patience, tout ira bien. The edict of Romorantin, however, for the present only served to augment the fears of the Reformed churches. The general feelings of distrust and dissatisfaction were increased and the rising fermentation was evidenced by various signs. The edict was disobeyed in many places. At Caen, St. Lo, and Dieppe, the assemblies for religious service and the preaching of the gospel were openly persisted in. In Provence the populace, under Paul de Mouvans, as- sembling tumultuously, began to destroy images, and carry off the church plate. At Valence and other towns, they took possession of some of the churches, and appropriated them to their own purposes. Montbrun, in Dauphin^ made an attempt to liberate the Venaissin from the dominion of 1560.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSPIRACY. 153 the Pope. Our limits do not allow of detailing these partial insurrections, with regard to which, however, it is but right to explain, that an examination of such details invariably proves that the Protestant population were well inclined to be orderly and tranquil ; and that they were, in every instance, goaded to insurrection by the vexations and cruelties of the Catholics, or by their earnest desire to obtain for themselves the liberty of assembling for reli- gious purposes alone. ^ Whatever the cause the effect filled the kingdom with tumult and confusion, while the miserable state of the finances, and the almost total impos- sibility of providing funds for even the current daily ex- penses, crippled the powers and completed the perplexities of the government. In this state of disorder, contention, distraction, and ill-defined alarms, all parties at length began to agree upon the necessity of a final appeal to the nation — or, in other words, upon the assembly of the States-Ge- neral. The Reformed, Avhose opinions with regard to government have been already adverted to, looked upon this assembly as the only possible chance for arresting the rapid strides by which the government, from a monarchy, in some degree qualified, was fast passing into the most oppressive tyranny — the opposition to Avhich already threatened to convert secret discontent into open rebellion. Even the Guises themselves had their secret reasons for supporting the measure, as we are informed by Davila. " They determined," says he, " to summon the States-General (in whose hands the whole authority of ' As an instance of the "bmtal and heart thrown to the dog-s. The ani- fanatical spirit which animated the mals refused the horrid repast, upon h)wer Catholics the sickening story which they Avere called Lutherans, of the brother of De Mouvans shall and beaten to pieces by the exaspe- suffice. He was torn to pieces in a rated mob. tumult by the populace, and his 154 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. the realm resides), ' appresso del cpiale resiede tidto Vautoriid del reame! in order to make use of its powers to countenance the designs thej entertained against their rivals ; and as a snare to bring the Bourbons once more into their hand." Davila is apt to over-refine in the motives he attributes to his personages. Yet one thing appears certain, the Guises possessed the means, and had the intention, to overawe this assembly, and make use of it as a most effectual instrument for confirming their authority ; but the strongest motive which led them to have recourse to a popular assembly seems to have been their extreme want of money. Forty years had now elapsed since France had beheld the shadow of a representation, or any assembly whatsoever convened that could, in the slightest degree, control that authority which her Kings had by degrees assumed to themselves. However much the measure was desired, to summon the States-General after so long a suspension, and in . such stormy times, could not but excite consi- derable anxiety and apprehension; and it was, there- fore, proposed by De THopital, — and cheerfully acceded to by all parties, — that, as a preliminary measure, an as- sembly consisting of the most eminent men in the nation should be summoned to meet at Fontainbleau, and there consult upon the proceedings best adapted to the exi- gencies of the times. Letters patent were accordingly issued July the 31st, addressed to the Princes of the blood, the ministers of the crown, and such of the nobility and knights of the order as were illustrious for their birth and influence. They were summoned to meet on the 20th of August, to deli- berate on the affairs of the nation.^ ' The letters addressed to the exist. Bibl. du Roi, MSS. de Be- Constable de Montmorenci still thime, vol. Cot. 8674 fol. 47. 1560.] MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. 155 The King arrived at Fontainbleau, surrounded by a large military force ; a proceeding to which the French nation had not till then been accustomed. Besides the consider- able body of troops immediately in attendance, the Duke de Guise had distributed several compagnies d' ordonnance in the neighbourhood ; and the regiments of the vieilles handes were quartered at a few leagues' distance.^ But, in spite of these precautionary measures, even the Duke of Guise himself, it is said, could not resist a feeling of alarm, when the Constable, attended by his two eldest sons, the ]\Iarechal de JMontmorenci, and Damville, and followed by eight hundred gentlemen on horseback, was seen to file down the avenues which led to the castle ; he was soon followed by the Chatillons, by the Vidame de Chartres, the Prince de Porcian, and nine hundred of the inferior nobility and gentry. The King of Navarre and Conde did not, however, attend. De Thou tells us that they had agreed with Co- liguy never to appear at the same time with him and in the same place, and the enterprises they were then secretly engaged in made it doubly imprudent to visit the Court. Their secretary. La Sague, came instead. The Assembly met on the 21st of August, in the Queen's Cabinet : it had only four sittings. The King, placed on an elevated seat, had on either side the Queen- Mother, and the Queen-Consort. The Princes his brothers, and the Cardinals of Bourbon, Lorraine, Guise, and Chatillon, were on his right. The Dukes de Guise and D'Aumale, the Constable, the Chancellor, the Marechals de St. Andre, Brissac, Montmorenci, and the Admiral de Coligny, on his left. Lower down were seated the Councillors of State, the Maitres de Eequetes, the Secretaries of State, and the Treasurers. ' Gamier, Hist. France, 28, 349. 150 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. The King opened the Assembly by a speech ; in which, after decharing liis reasons for summoning the council, he prayed each one j)resent to deliver his opinion with can- dour and sincerity. The Queen-Mother followed more at large ; entreating all present to give the King their ideas on the best means of preserving the crown, and effectually relieving the people/ De I'Hopital spoke next. He affirmed that the divisions in religion, and the disorder of the provinces, were the main causes of that general spirit of insubordination which prevailed. Then the Duke de Guise, as Lieutenant-General of the kingdom, laid upon the table an account of the military force now at the King's command ; proving that, far from being sufficient to preserve internal tranquillity, it barely sufficed for the defence of the frontiers. Next the Cardinal de Lorraine summarily exposed the state of the finances ; shewing that, in spite of every re- trenchment that could be made, the annual expenditure exceeded the receipts by 2,500,000 livres. This pro- ceeding closed the first sitting. The 23rd, the Assembly met again ; and the members had no sooner taken their places than the Admiral rose, and, bending his knee twice to the ground, approached the King, and presented two papers. Then, raising his voice, so that he might be distinctly heard by all present, he said, " That having been sent into Normandy by his Majesty's orders, to inquire into the cause of the trou- bles which agitated that province, he had found that the first and main reason was the persecutions on account of religion." He added, " that great numbers, in that part of the country, who professed the Reform, had requested ' I have followed De Tliou in the account of this council. 1560.] MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. 157 him to present their humble petitions upon this subject to the King, which he had now accordingly done, not thinking it right to disappoint the wishes of so many worthy people.'' The King accepted the papers, and ordered De I'Aubes- pine, Secretary of State, to read them aloud. They were of similar tenor, one being directed to the King, the other to the Queen-Mother, and were thus designated : — '^ Requete de la part desficUles de France^ qui desirent vivre selon la Reformation de Vevangile ; donnee pour presenter au Gonseil tenu d Fontainhleau au mois d'Aout, 1560.'' (Petition on the part of the faithful in France who desire to live according to the principles of the Re- formation; presented to the Council held at Fontainhleau in the month of August, 1560.) ^ A few extracts, in the words of the petition itself, will prove the best evidence of that peaceable and reasonable spirit which animated the Calvinists. "AuRoY, " Sire, . . . We your very humble and most obedient subjects, scattered in very great numbers throughout this kingdom, desiring to live according to the rule of the Holy Gospel, protest before God and you, that the doctrine we follow is no other than that contained in the Old and New Testaments ; and that the faith which we hold is that very faith comprehended in the Apostolical Symbol {Sym- hole des Apotres, i. e. Apostles' Creed), as appears by our confession, which has before been presented. And that our greatest desire, after the service of God, is to hold our- selves always in obedience to your Majesty, and to the magistrates ordained by you ; rendering to you that sub- jection and those duties, which faithful subjects owe to their prince. 1 ]Mem, de Coiule. 158 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. " Therefore, we first supplicate your Majesty to be pleased to do us this grace and favour, not to lend ear to those wlio most wrongfully accuse us of seditions, muti- nies, and rebellions against your State ; seeing that the Gospel, of which we make profession, teaches us the exact contrary ... for we confess that we never so well under- stood our duty towards your Majesty, as since we have learned it by means of the holy doctrine preached unto us. It being, therefore, your proper office to maintain and defend those who desire to live after a Christian manner and to render you due obedience, from the ex- cesses, violences, and outrages which they suffer from those who are enemies to the Gospel. . . . We humbly entreat your Majesty, in order to take away one main occasion of such disturbances, — arising chiefly on the part of those of religion differing from our own . . . that you would be pleased to allow us temples of our own . . . according to the number of the faithful in every city and town ; in which temples we may assemble during daylight, in all modesty and gentleness {douceur), to hear the holy word of God, offer prayers for the prosperity of your state {etat royal), and receive the holy sacraments as ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ ; without being disturbed or mo- lested by those who know not the truth in God. And because we are taxed with sedition, and with making nocturnal and illicit assemblies ; if, after having obtained such place, we are found to congregate elsewhere, or do anything in any manner contrary to the public peace, we are content to be punished as both seditious and rebel- lious, And this indulgence will be a certain means of ex- tinguishing the present troubles . . . for. Christians being permitted to show themselves openly, an end will be put to all secret and suspicious assemblies " Moreover, desiring, as we do, only to live in peace 1560.] MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. 159 and tranquillity under the protection of your sacred care ; rendering unto you joyfully such things as are due from subjects to their sovereign lord. We will, if it be desira- ble, consent to pay larger tributes than the rest of your Majesty's subjects, in order to shew how wrongfully we are accused of a wish to exempt ourselves from those it is your pleasure to impose. All these things, if it please your Majesty to ordain, it will bring great repose to your kingdom, and engage us yet the more to pray God for the happiness of your Majesty," &c. &c. The last proposal effectually absolves the Protestants from any design to create a party, in order to form a factious opposition to government. Certainly no regula- tion could be better imagined to limit their numbers, and confine them strictly to such as adhered to the cause upon conscientious grounds alone. The King, having graciously accepted the petition, re- quested the members of the Assembly to deliver their opinions in succession upon the subjects in debate, begin- ning with the youngest. The Bishop de Valence then rose, and addressed the Assembly. His speech, in length nearly twenty-six octavo pages, is preserved in the Memoires de Conde ; as is that, of nearly equal length, delivered by Charles de Marillac, Bishop of Vienne. They are loaded with those quotations from ancient authors, and appeals to ancient history, which encumber the oratory of the time ; but contain so many curious hints as to the state of opinions and manners, that no apology is here made for inserting pretty copious extracts. Speaking of the state of the kingdom, the Bishop of Valence thus expresses himself : — " Numbers of your sub- jects are become disorderly [deregUs), and have forgotten the love, honour, and reverence due to your ministers, 160 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G0. whether of justice or of religion, and, indeed, to all supe- riors of whatsoever denomination, so that we cannot but call to mind tlie words of Isaiah the Prophet, — ' In that time, the priest shall be as the people, the master as the servant, the maid as her mistress, the debtor as his creditor;' that is to say, all ranks and conditions shall be confounded ; and this we see everyday among us. Once, your officers were everywhere honoured ; your very name alone carried with it more terror to evil doers than all the powers of your kingdom. But in a little space the change has been so great, that we hear of nothing but seditions and rebellions, — of edicts disobeyed, — and those repulsed with arms who endeavour to maintain them ; while the ecclesiastical order is fallen into such contempt, that a churchman dare scarcely avow his profession.'' . . . He then proceeds to treat more particularly of the new opinions in religion. " This doctrine. Sire," he says, " which engages your subjects has now been sowed for thirty years. It was taught by three or four hundred ministers, diligent and learned, with great modesty and appearance of sanctity, professing to detest all vice, most especially that of avarice ; fearing not the loss of life to confirm their teaching ; having always Jesus Christ in their mouths — a word so sweet, that it opens the closest ears, and flows softly into the most hardened hearts. Preachers such as these found the people without pastor or shepherd to lead or instruct them ; they were readily received and eagerly listened to. Nor can we marvel that numbers have embraced this doctrine, by so many tongues, and in so many books, thus diligently taught." " Now, let us discourse of the means which have been used to restrain this infection. To begin with the Pope. I protest it to be my desire to speak of the Holy Chair with due reverence ; but my conscience obliges me to de- 1560.] MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. 161 plore the misery of Christendom, — combated from with- out, — troubled from within, — torn by such diversity of opinions, — while the Holy Pontiffs give so little heed to the maintenance of order, that they are busied only with war, and with the promotion of enmity and dissen- sion among princes. " The Kings, your predecessors, moved with zeal, have ordained heavy pains and penalties, thinking thereby to eradicate these opinions ; but they have been deceived in their anticipations and frustrated in their designs ; while the ministers of justice have greatly abused the ordon- nances, executing them with a wicked zeal to please the great who demanded confiscations ; which were only to be obtained through false accusations. " Any villainous president or officer of justice, to cover his own past crimes, had only to demand one of these commissions, and shelter his abuses under the appearance of zeal, — as if religion could be maintained by lies and wickedness ! Can we wonder that the people are irri- tated, when those whose intention it is to commit crimes have only to shelter themselves under the mantle of justice 1 " As for the Bishops, they are for the most part idle, having no fear before their eyes of that account which they must render unto God of the flocks committed to their charge. Their principal care is to preserve those revenues, which are abused by being wasted in foolish and scandalous expenses, so that we may have seen forty pre- lates residing at one time in Paris, while the flame was spreading in their dioceses. We behold bishoprics fre- quently bestowed upon children and ignorant persons, wanting both the knowledge and the desire to do their duty The cures are avaricious and ignorant, occupied in anything but their charge ; their benefices having been, VOL. I. M 162 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. for the most part obtained by illicit means. Aidant de deux ecus, que les banquiers ont envoyes a Rome; autant de cures nous ont Us envoySs (so many crowns as the bankers have sent to Rome, so many cures has Rome re- turned.) Cardinals and bishops have made no difficulty in bestowing benefices on their maitres-d'hotel, valets de chambre, cooks, barbers, and lacqueys ; while the lower priests, by their avarice, ignorance, and licentiousness, are odious and contemptible to all the world.'^ He next proposes his remedies; and, as the first, he classes the cultivation of a religious spirit, proposing, as the best means, the study of the Scriptures ; and enlarging long upon the advantage of singing, what he calls, the Bcdmes de David, — addressing himself to the two Queens, — " instead oi folks chansons" in use among their ladies. He next recommends a general council ; and, till it can be assembled, a cessation of all penal inflictions on account of religion — bearing this testimony to the virtues of the Reformed, " Many there are who have received this doc- trine, and retain it with such fear of God, and reverence for you, that for worlds would they not offend you. Both their life and death instruct us that they are moved alone by a fervent zeal, and ardent desire to seek the true road to salvation ; and, having, as they think, found it, they will not depart from it, — counting, in this regard, for nothing the loss of worldly goods, all the torments that can be endured, and even death itself. And, I confess, that whenever I think upon those who died with such constancy the hair rises upon my head ; and I de- plore our own misery, touched neither by zeal for God, nor by zeal for his religion." The speech of Marillac, which followed, is praised by Le Laboureur as le dernier effect de la science la plus consonnmee; yet, enlarged as was the understanding of 1560.] MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. 163 this eminent man, his opinions upon toleration, we may remark, were little in advance of the erroneous ones of his age. Unison, instead of hai^mony, he still regarded as the grand desideratum in religious affairs. " The two columns on which the state is supported," says he, " are conformity in religion {I'integrite de la religion), and the good-will of the people." To secure these two objects, he advises the immediate assembly of a National Council, and of the States-General, and justify- ing this latter advice against those " who cannot approve of such an assembly, alleging it to be a thing long fallen into disuse, and detrimental to the King's authority," he, after detailing the miseries of the people oppressed by the tailles, — the poverty of the government, — and the scan- dalous rapacity of which the ministers are accused, adds, " By this custom of assembling the States, the throne of France has been maintained one thousand years. . . . Let those who advocate its discontinuance examine the evils which thence have arisen. Certainly they will find that, had this observance been maintained, we should have avoided many of the present calamities. For corruption would never have been suffered to proceed so far without being wholly or in part remedied. And, there is no well- ordered kingdom which does not follow this ancient and holy custom of assembling its States, as is seen in the Em- pire where Diets are held; in the kingdoms of Spain, England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Bohemia, and Hun- gary. And, since so many Kings find the benefit of this custom, and esteem it the only method to preserve their dominions, — can we justifiably depart from that which we have so long preserved V When it came to Coligny's turn to harangue the Assem- bly, he inveighed against this new custom of surrounding the King with a formidable military force ; which served M 2 164 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. only to nourish a mutual distrust between the monarch and his subjects. He afterwards adverted to the petition he had presented, saying, that though unsigned, it was supported by 150,000 Protestants. Upon this the Duke de Guise, who had with difficulty repressed his passion during the whole speech, rose up, and cried, " Then he would lead a million good Catholics against them, to break their heads.'' ^ The Cardinal exclaimed that the petition was seditious, impudent, rash, heretical, and fanatical. At which words, the Admiral answering with considerable w^armth, a violent contention ensued, which threatened at once to disappoint the whole object of the meeting. The King, however, restored order, though with some difficul- ty, and the deliberations continued. But here terminated and for ever, the long friendship of Coligny and the Duke de Guise ; and one of the strongest bands which served .still to hold together the distracted kingdom was rup- tured in a moment.^ The Cardinal de Lorraine spoke one of the last, and his speech was little calculated to repair the breach which had been made. He said, "The opinions he had expressed were well supported by those petitions which the Admiral had just presented, — petitions proving anything rather than the obedience and fidelity of those who had prepared them ; for, though it was true they professed obedience, it was always upon one condition, that the King should be of their opinion, and of their sect. And he put it to every one, whether it was reasonable to adopt the opinions of de tels galands, in preference to those of the King. As to allowing them temples, and places of worship, it would be to approve their idolatry, — a thing the King could not do without being damned for it eternally {perpetuelle- * Brantome, vie Guise. ^ La Place. 1560.] MEETING AT FONTAINBLEAU. 165 ment damne). With regard to calling a General or Na- tional Council, there was no great reason for it to reform the Church ; that being a matter each church was compe- tent to do for itself. Religious aifairs had been so often settled and concluded, nothing was wanting but to ob- serve what had been ordained. All the councils in the world could order nothing but to observe and obey those which had gone before. It was easy to see what all these petitioners would be at, by their libels and placards, which came out every day, and of which he had at that moment two-and-twenty lying upon his table, all written against himself. Things which he carefully preserved ; looking upon it as his highest honour to be blamed by such wretches, — being a testimony to his life and opi- nions, which he trusted would render his name im- mortal." ^ He concluded that such seditious disturbers of the peo- ple ought to be grievously punished, and more especially when found in arms, as had lately been the case. " But, as for those who, without arms, and for fear of being damned, went to their preachings, and psalm-singings, and other particularities that they observe, — since punishment has as yet done nothing, — he was of opinion that the King should no longer pursue them par voye de justice; being himself sorry that they had already proceeded to such rigorous executions : for, he declared, that if his life or his death could serve these poor misled creatures, he would expose them courageously and freely" (d'un ires grand courage et tr^s Uberalement) . With regard to the States-General, he was decidedly of opinion that they should be called, " A/In de rendre resolu et paisihle tin chaciin de la bonne administration t Reofiiier de la Planclie. 166 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. que le Roy fait des affaires de son royaume^ et de leur faille voir au doigt et a Vwil la honne esperance de mieux."^ After the Knights of the Order had given their opi- nions, and expressed their concurrence with those of the Cardinal de Lorraine, the Assembly came to the following unanimous resolutions : — 1st. That the States-General should be immediately assembled ; and, 2nd, That if the Pope still persisted in delaying to summon a General Council {Goncile CEcumenique), that a National Council should be convened ; in furtherance of which, an assem- bly of bishops was fixed for the 16th of January, 1561, either to communicate with a General Council, should such by that time be appointed, or to deliberate on the assembling of a national one. To these resolutions were added others for the arrest and punishment of all seditious persons ; at the same time that proceedings on grounds of religion were for the present suspended. Letters patent were accordingly issued, directed to all bishops, seneschals, judges, and magistrates, publishing the Assembly of the States at Meaux on the 10th of December following ; after which the King dissolved the meeting, and every one returned home. ' In order that the g'ood administration of affairs made by the King of his kingdom might be made manifest to all. CHAPTER VI. THE CARDINAL S RAT-TRAP.— LETTER OF COLIGNY AND PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. ARREST OF CONDE. DEATH OF FRANCIS THE SECOND. It may at first excite surprise, when the spirit of their policy is considered, to find the Guises thus, advo- cating an appeal to a popular assembly ; but the Cardinal de Lorraine had the sagacity to perceive that no more formidable engine can be wielded by the hands of power, than a representative assembly chosen under certain cir- cumstances — and that these circumstances existed to their full extent at the present moment in France. The mode of election rendered it easy for the government to influence or overawe those entrusted with the choice 168 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. of the Deputies ; and, under the sanction of an assembly thus constituted, the Lorraines presumed that schemes might be ventured upon far too audacious, and too bar- barous, to be attempted on their private responsibility alone. To decimate a kingdom by cutting off without remorse, a whole body of individuals attached to a certain class of opinions (the Protestants were estimated at a tenth of the population) ; and to terminate upon a scaffold the pretensions of Princes, whose cause was advo- cated by one-third of the nation ; such were the despe- rate schemes which, incredible as it may appear, [history leaves no doubt of it,) were seriously entertained by the Guises, and the council of government. Convinced that while the Calvinist party existed in the state, it must serve as an effectual check upon their power, and finding all the ordinary modes of legal oppression in- effectual to check its increase, the Cardinal de Lorraine had decided upon extermination. His project was founded upon a certain Formula of doctrine or Confession of Faith drawn up during the leign of Francis the First, that is to say in the year 1543, by the Faculty of Theology, which its members had been required to sign, and strictly in their preaching adhere to. Subsequently, letters-patent had been issued by that King, declaring all of the laity seditious and disturbers of the public repose, who, either in public or private, dog- matised in any manner repugnant to the propositions contained in this formula. This regulation, which though long fallen into neglect had never formally been ab- rogated, the Cardinal drew from oblivion, and proposed it as the basis of his future operations. It was determined that the King, having the support of the Catholics, who would infallibly prevail in the States- ' De Thou ; Regnier de la Planche ; Gamier. 1560.] THE cardinal's RAT-TRAP. 169 General, should propose the adoption of this formula as a fundamental law of the state. That the King, having first himself signed it, should next present it for subscrip- tion to the great officers of state, to the cardinals, the higher nobility, and to the knights of the order, exacting, at the same time, from each individual an oath " Not only to hold and keep it individually, but to pursue as public enemies, and without regard to father, mother, wife, brother, sister, relation, or friend, whoever should in any manner contravene it ; and if any one refused this formula, or delayed to sign (they made sure that the Chatillons would be among the number), then his Majesty should, without other inquisition, degrade them from all their estates, dignities, or honours, and send them the next day to be burned without mercy {le lendemam les envoy er hruler tous vifs)^^ It was proposed to administer this formula to every individual throughout the kingdom, arrived at years of discretion. It was by the Chancellor to be offered to the higher officers of the law, and by these to the inferior branches of the profession ; by the bishops to their canons and abbots, by these to the monks and cures ; and, lastly, each cure, assisted by a. notary, was to present it from house to house, to every individual within his parish. Finally, the two Queens were enjoined to re- quire the signature from every lady belonging to their respective households. This profession of faith to be made " sous peine aux defaillans d'estre hrules, sans autre forme ou figure de procesT ^ The Cardinal called his rat-trap — aussi appel- hit le Cardinal cette confession sa rationiere} "And did it happen that any great prince or superior belonging to ' Regnier de la Planche. burned alive, without the necessity ^ Under pain to recusants of being of any further form of proceeding. 170 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. their own party, yet refusing to sign the formula, should on that account be pardoned, he was hereafter to wear as a mark of perpetual infamy a robe of those colours adopt- ed by the Inquisition in Spain to mark its criminals — of which an exact copy had been obtained." The ensuing Christmas was appointed for carrying this resolution into effect : a chapter of the knig'hts of the order was to furnish the occasion.' The question naturally arises, by what means the Car- dinal proposed to secure the execution of so horrible a measure. Garnier,~ whose authority may be relied upon, assures us that preparations had been made to raise large bodies of troops, in addition to those already under the command of the Duke de Guise, " which separated into four divisions, commanded severally by the Duke d'Au- male, the Marechals St. Andre, Brissac, and De Termes were to sweep the provinces from north to south, exter- minating or driving before them every one who should be found infected with the poison of this heresy. The King of Spain and the Duke of Savoy were, on their side, to hold bodies of troops in readiness on the frontiers, either for the purpose of penetrating into France, or of closing the entrance of their states to the fugitives ; in return for which, the King of France engaged to assist the King of Spain in carrying the same measure of pur- gation into effect in the Low Countries, and the Duke of Savoy in reducing Geneva." ^ To pay these armies, large contributions, it was calcu- lated, might be obtained from the clergy, ''deeply in- terested in the success of this measure" and should this resource fail, it was proposed, in order to furnish the ne- cessary funds, to seize upon the treasures of the churches, ' De Thou ; Garni er ; Beza ; De '^ Garnier, vol. xxviii. la Planche. ^ Garnier. 1560.] THE CARDINAL'S RAT-TRAP. 171 converting without scruple reliquaries, crosses, silver can- dlesticks, and even the chalices into French crowns. Gamier adds that, " it being considered certain that num- bers of the Calvinist nobility, and more especially the Chatillons, with several among the deputies to the States, would refuse the formula, the utmost diligence had been used to strengthen and repair the prisons in Orleans, and the neighbouring cities ; the largest tower amongst which that of St. Aignan, already bore the name of L'Amiral :"— Every engine was now set at work by the government to influence the election of the deputies to the States : in general with success, but in some parts of the kingdom the Calvinists prevailed, and deputies of that persuasion were returned. The tumults and dissensions which arose upon such occasions may be imagined. But the arrest and execution of the Bourbon Princes was the indispensable prelude to this scheme of carnage. Possessed of a leader at once so active, enterprising, and popular, as the Prince de Conde, the first rumour of the intended violence would have served to rouse the whole malcontent population to arms. The public mind, how- ever, was not yet prepared to witness the sacrifice of the first Princes of the blood without horror ; it was neces- sary to disguise the true nature of the measure by the form of a legal proceeding, and unfortunately the impru- dence of the Prince afibrded his enemies but too plausible a colour for their designs. Among those who retired immediately upon the break- ing up of the assembly at Fontainbleau, was La Sague — bearing letters for the King of Navarre, and the Prince de Cond^. Betrayed to the Queen by one, in whom he had imprudently confided ; he was arrested at Estampes, and carried secretly with all his papers to the Court. The 172 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G0. letters appeared to be merely those of compliment ; but upon the torture being shewn to him, he confessed to a widely spread conspiracy, of whicli tlie Prince was the head, and in which Navarre took a large, though unavowed share ; he desired them to bathe the cover of a letter to the Vidame de Chartres in water, and the most important secrets would be revealed. It tlius appeared that the Prince was preparing to advance to Court with a large body of troops, seizing Poictiers, Tours, and Orleans by the way, while the Constable was to secure Paris. — Sennar- pont, Picardy— the Duke d'Estampes, Brittany — and the Count de Tende, Provence. Such were the discoveries made by La Sague.^ They were confirmed by the intelli- gence shortly afterwards received, that the south was in a state of almost open insurrection, and that an attempt had been made by the younger Maligny upon Lyons; which, from its vicinity to Geneva, and forming, as it were, the capital of the south, was a city of infinite im- portance to the designs of the Prince. This attempt was frustrated, chiefly through the indecisions of Navarre, and measures were immediately taken by the government to defeat the other projects. Bodies of troops were dis- patched into the disafiected provinces ; camps were formed at Pontoise and Melun, and the place appointed for the assembly of the States was transferred from Meaux, a town tilled with Hugonots, to the strongly fortified city of Orleans. The Guises were now, as they imagined, possessed of sufficient evidence to convict the Prince of high treason ; nothing was wanting but the means to withdraw him from the security of Beam, and lure him once more into their power. For this purpose the King of France wrote to 1 It has been doubted how far his est certain qu'ils avoient tels des- evidence was to be relied upon, but scins." D'Aubign^, Hist. Univer., says, " il 1560.] LETTER OF COLIGNY. 173 the King of Navarre ; his letter is dated Fontaiubleau, August the 30th : — "Mox Oj^cle, " I THINK jou must well remember (etre bien recors) the letters I wrote to jou from Amboise/ wheu that com- motion happened, and wherein I sent you word, concern- ing the Prince de Conde, mj cousin, your brother, whom an infinite number of the prisoners charged heavily, {charges merveilleusement). A thing that could not enter into my comprehension, for the honour of the blood to which he belongs, and which I bear to my relations. I hoped that time, and his conduct, would manifest the false- hood of these wretches; but I have since continually received so many advertisements from all parts of my kingdom, of his practices to the prejudice of my afiairs, and the safety of my state ; which, nevertheless, I never would believe, jusqu' a ce que de fraische memoire fen ai vu si gr ancle a'pparence,^ that I am resolved to satisfy myself and to know the truth. Not being in- clined, through the madness of one of my subjects to spend all my life in trouble : and, therefore, Mon Oncle, as I have always been assured of your fidelity, I have chosen this present, in which I pray you, by all the ser- vice that ever you desire to do me, and as you hold my favour dear, to bring him to me yourself ; a matter with which I would charge no one but you. Having no other intention, but that he should justify himself in your pre- sence, from that with which he is charged ; assuring you that I shall be as glad to find him innocent, and clear from so infamous a conspiracy, as I should be much grieved, that into the heart of a person of so good a race, and so nearly allied to me, {qui me touche de si pres) such ' These letters may be seen in ^ Till they lately became so appa- Capefigue, Hist, de la Rcforme. rejit. 174 THE REFORMATION IN ERANCE. [1560. uiiliappy detenniiiations should have entered. Assuring you tliat if lie refuses to obey me ; I shall very well know how to let him understand I am King — as I charged M. de Crussol to make you comprehend from me, as well as many other things, wherein I pray you to credit him as myself, &c." This letter was dispatched by the Comte de Crussol, charged by his instructions to omit neither persuasions nor threats to induce the Princes to comply with its de- mands. He was to insist much upon the expediency of the King conferring with Kavarre, upon the business to be laid before the States-General ; and upon the propriety of Cond^ appearing in company with his brother, to clear himself from the unpleasant rumours afloat with regard to them both. Should Navarre refuse to obey, Crussol was directed to communicate to him, as in confidence, that his ruin would be in that case certain, though he were able to bring twenty or thirty thousand men into the field : for that, at least, three times that force would be in readiness to invade his kingdom ; as the King being re- solved to put an end to these dissensions, would find means to assemble an army of forty-eight thousand French troops, besides Swiss and lansquenets, who were already enlisted ; while the King of Spain had engaged to furnish two large armies, one to penetrate into France by Picardy, the other by Gascony. Still the Princes hesitated and delayed.' But Ca- therine imposed upon the credulity of the Cardinal de Bourbon, by all those arts of duplicity which she so well understood. — Enlarging upon the affection she bore the Prince and her desire for his full justification— she gave her solemn assurance that sliould he appear she ' Gamier. 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 175 would herself protect him to the utmost against the malice of his enemies : and having demonstrated the imminence of the danger impending over the King of Navarre — who would be infallibly ruined in his attempt to resist the will of the two powerful sovereigns, between whose state his little kingdom lay enclosed — she per- suaded him to follow De Crussol, and — blinded himself — to betray his brother into the toils. He was furnished, more- over, De Thou assures us, with the King's royal word, sa paroUe i^oyalle, that if they would appear "on ne leur feraitpas de mal"^ The arguments and persuasions of the Cardinal prevailed. Conde, too generous to occasion em- barrassment or danger to the brother he loved, and whose protection had been extended to him, and relying upon the solemn assurances that he had received, resolved to accom- pany Navarre to Orleans. And, in spite of the tears and prayers of his most affectionate wife, who, better informed of the real designs of the Court, was upon her knees day and night to dissuade him, he began his ill-omened journey. Immediately on being informed that the Princes were on their way, the King proceeded to meet them at Orleans ; putting himself at the head of the camp of Pontoise, which consisted of one thousand two hundred lances, and seven or eight thousand veteran infantry. He traversed Paris in military array, drums beating, and co- lours flying, and having thus astonished his capital, ad- vanced towards Orleans. He scattered, as he proceeded, a universal terror ; the villages were deserted, the people fled at his approach, as from an invading army — the same silence and universal gloom as before attended his foot- steps. The same evil reports were current, the same terror and avoidance every where to be observed. • No liann should happen to them. 176 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [150'0. CipieiTC, the governor of Orleans, had already demanded their arms from the citizens, who awaited in trembling ex])ectation the arrival of tlieir King. The King made his entry into the city on the 18th of October, 1560, surrounded by his men-at-arms "more," says De Thou, " as the conqueror than as the father of his people. In all the streets and squares, bodies of armed men were posted ; the city bore the appearance of a town threatened with a siege. Some great design seemed in agitation, men could not comprehend how a King, almost a minor — a child, full of sweetness and humanity, could require so many troops to defend his life, when he had given offence to no living creature."^ The common people, struck dumb with these unusual appearances, stood mutely gazing in the streets, and re- ceived their sovereign with the utmost coldness. The Queen-Mother made her entry in the afternoon of the same day, magnificently attired ; she was mounted upon her white haqiienee, and surrounded by a troop of ladies, richly clad, and brilliant with youth, gaiety, and beauty ; but terror had seized the crowd. No sign of rejoicing appeared ; men trembled, for they knew not what — the Hugonots shuddered in secret : while the deputies for the States, who had already be- gun to assemble, were seized with apprehension, and many secretly returned home. Having introduced a sufficient body of troops to ensure the obedience of the town, the Duke de Guise distributed the remainder in the neighbourhood : the intention being, it was evident, by these proceedings, to overawe the States- General, and carry into execution whatever measures might be deemed expedient against the Bourbon princes. The King of Navarre had quitted Pau, with his bro- ther, leaving the Queen Jane, and her two young children, ' De Thou. 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 177 in such security as his miserable little kingdom afforded. The princes travelled attended only by their ordinary household. On their way, they were continually met by gentlemen of their party with offers of service, and at length a general rendezvous was appointed at Limoges, a town under their seigneurie. As they proceeded further, they found all Aquitaine, as ■ it was still called, in the greatest commotion ; the Protestants busied in enrolling soldiers and levying contributions among the Churches ; the Catholics in repressing assemblies and preparing against surprises. Commissions had been received from the King, empowering the most influential to seize upon the strong places, raise companies of soldiers, and hinder every assembly whatsoever for purposes either political or religious.^ The authorities were allowed by these com- missions to transport themselves from place to place, and imprison or kill, without mercy, whomsoever they could seize ; and that they might not be embarrassed by the number of their prisoners, a maitre de 7'eqiiStes was authorised to proceed en dernier ressort against the crimi- nals, and execute his sentences on the spot. Though alarmed at what was passing, the princes conti- nued to advance : when Marillac, Bishop of Yienne, antici- pating the event, and filled with horror at the apprehen- sion of that unmitigated tyranny which must result from the destruction of the Bourbons, wrote in the most urgent terms to the Duchess de Montpensier, to conjure her to save the blood-royal, and arrest this fatal journey ; or, if that were now impossible, to take precautions to avert the catastrophe.^ He represented the necessity of sup- plicating the good offices of foreign princes upon the occasion ; and suggested that the Duke de Bouillon should, at all events, seize upon the children of the Duke • Gainiev. ^ La Planchc. VOL. I. X 178 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G0. de Guise, and detain them at Sedan or Janiets, as pledges for the security of the princes of Bourbon. lie added, that it was too late now to flatter themselves that the tyranny of the Guises would prove its own destruction ; for that their power was so well consolidated that nothing less was to be expected than the entire ruin and subver- sion of the monarchy ; and he ended by praying to God to remove him from a world now become intolerable to him, seeing, as he was compelled to do, his King armed by strangers against those of his own blood, and against the oldest and most faithful of his subjects. The efforts of the Duchess proved ineffectual, and the bishop, yielding to despair, sank under the anguish of his apprehensions, and died on the 3rd of December. The princes had now entered France, ^ and they found it impossible to return, for, under pretence of paying them honour, the Marechal de Termes attended them so closely with a body of cavalry, that he blocked up the roads and effectually cut off all retreat. No sooner was it known that they had crossed the fron- tiers, than many of their friends were arrested ; among others, Madame de Roye,^ mother of the Princess of Conde, and Groslot, baillie of Orleans, who had been de- nounced as a favourer of the Hugonots, by La Sague. D'Andelot, alarmed for his own safety, retired precipitately into Brittany, determined, if necessary, to pass into Eng- land. The Constable, already on his way to the States, paused, and under pretence of illness, returned to Chan- tilli ; but Coligny and the Cardinal de Chatillon came openly to Orleans, were received with great courtesy ' As distinguished from Aqui- institutions of these two portions of taine. See in the Revue de Deux the kingdom. Mondes, June 15th, 1846, an ac- 2 ^o^ne say this took place after count of the difference in the legal the arrest of the Prince. 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 179 by the Queen-Motlier, and remained watching, with sus- picious eyes, the proceedings of their daring enemies. It seems extraordinary that, in spite of the precautions of the government, between seven and eight hundred gen- tlemen, armed and mounted, met the King of Navarre at Limoges.^ Having assembled in his apartment, they offered, if he would openly espouse the cause of the Churches, to bring up in the course of a few days, no less than 6,000 men : adding, they had a promise of 4,000 in addition from the south, and an equal number from Normandy ; but that, with the 6,000 men, they might open the cam- paign, and seize upon Bourges and Poictiers; having rea- son to know that whole companies of the gens-d'armerie only waited a favourable opportunity to join them. An- thony, incapable of a vigorous determination, hesitated, calculated, and at length decided that the enterprise was impossible. The gentlemen then proposed that he should continue his journey, leaving Conde to command them ; but this he positively refused. He dared not appear in Orleans without his brother for whom he was rendered responsible ; — and Conde, true to his generous nature, declared he would never secure his own liberty at the expense of his brother's safety. " These lords and gentlemen then took leave, and the King of Navarre bade them take courage,^ for all would yet end well — and added, that he made sure of obtaining their pardon from the King for having accompanied him thus far in arms. ' Pardon for us V cried one, ' Prepare to ask it, and very humbly, for yourself — You, who are going to surrender with the rope about your neck — Pardon will be needed by you rather than by those who are resolved to sell their lives as dearly as they can ; and sooner perish with arms in their hands, than submit to these ene- » La Planche. = i^jj^ n2 180 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. mies of God and the kingdom ! And since we are so miserably destitute of chiefs, let us pray God to raise up some who will have pity upon us, and deliver us from the oppression of these tyrants.'" At Poictiers, the princes found, to their surprise, the gates shut against them. Astonished at this affront, they paused, while their friends reiterated their entreaties that they would return ; but the mistake was speedily rectified, the gates were thrown open, and they were received with every possible honour. Yet, as they approached Orleans, a vague and undefined sense of apprehension began at length to steal over them. From that crowded Court and city no one came out to meet them. The public ways were deserted, all was si- lence ^nd solitude. They entered the city upon the 9th of October — the gates were filled with the military — the walls manned — the streets and squares guarded — be- tween lines of soldiers armed and prepared for attack, who insulted them as they passed, they approached the house of the unfortunate Groslot, where the King had taken up his residence. They here found the great gates of the court-yard shut, and being rudely told they must enter by the wicket, they dismounted in the street, and sought the King's presence. Francis,^ well prepared for their reception, was placed upon an elevated seat, attended by his uncles, and sur- rounded by a crowd of courtiers, not one of whom step- ped forward to accost or welcome the new-comers. The King received them with extreme coldness, and, the usual ceremonies being over, led them to the Queen- Mother s apartments ; where the Guises, it appears, not choosing openly to take a part in the proceeding they had prompt- ed, did not accompany them. ' La Planche. 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 181 Catherine received them with tenderness, weeping over them, says La Planche, " crocodile's tears ;" but a little reflection might have taught her to lament in bitter sin- cerity over this last triumph of the worst enemies of her house and children. The King now turned upon Conde, and accused him in the harshest terms, of having conspired against his person and authority, — of cherishing designs upon his crown, of compassing to destroy at one blow his brothers and himself, and, contrary to every law divine and human, of carrying on the war against him in every place and in every manner wherein he could by possibility molest him. Cond6, whose high spirit not all the circumstances of his situation could abate, answered with his usual animation — declaring such accusations to be black and detestable calumnies ; and, flinging back the charge of treason upon his accusers, he enumerated all their tyrannies, cruelties, and crimes against the state, concluding by asserting his readiness, whenever called upon, and in whatever place, to prove his loyalty and his innocence. " K that be the case,'* said the King, " we will proceed according to the ordi- nary forms of justice ;" and leaving the apartment, or- dered the Captain of the guards to arrest and carry the Prince to prison. Conde preserved his coolness and equanimity, but as he followed the officer and passed the Cardinal de Bour- bon, he could not forbear saying, " Eh Men, Monsieur, avec vos belles assurances vous avez livre voire frere ct la mort!^ ^ The Cardinal could only answer by his tears. At the gate, the Prince's page enquired whether he should want his horse. " I shall never want him more !" was the reply. He was then carried to a house prepared J Very well, Sir — with your fine assurances you have led your brother to the scaffold. 182 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. for liis reception, where he was closely guarded, and all communication Avith his friends denied, even in the presence of his jailor. The consternation of Navarre at this outrage exceeded all bounds, and he sank at once from the height of his vain security to the deepest humiliation and despair. In vain he entreated that the guardianship of his brother might be confided to him ; in vain appealed to the pro- mises of the King : he had to do with men insensible to the claims of honour, humanity, and even courtesy. " The King of Navarre," says Brantome,^ "thought, on his arrival, to carry everything with a high hand, and brave and disconcert the Court. Ce jut d lui a caler et a faire, non du Fr'ince, mats du simple gentilhomme. I saw him come twice that evening to M. le Cardinal — once in his chamber, once in his garden — to solicit him to intercede for his brother ; speaking to him uncovered, while the other was quite at his ease — Se mettait tres bien d son aise, — car il faisoit tres grand froid" His remonstrances with the Queen-Mother were equally ineffectual. She contented herself with throwing the blame upon the Duke de Guise, as Lieutenant-General of the kingdom ; and that evening the lodgings of Navarre were surrounded with guards, and himself, though not actually a prisoner, closely watched. A Commission was immediately appointed to try the prince, at the head of which we find Christophe de Thou, father of the historian ; one of the most eminent and re- spected lawyersof his time — though it is agreed on all hands that the commission was illegal, " for, by the ancient laws and customs of France, a prince of the blood could not be judged but by the Assembly of the Peers of France."^ ' Hpmmes lUust., Vie Coiide. to the Meinoires de Castlcuau, en- ^ Le Laboureur, in his additiouf? tors at large upon this question, and 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 183 The Prince denied the competence of the Commission, and refused to plead, demanding to be tried by the King and Peers of France in Parliament assembled ; and, ad- dressing De Thou, said that " he was astonished at his in- finite impudence in daring to present himself before him as the Commissioner upon this occasion, knowing his quality as Prince of the blood, — being amenable as such to no other judge than the King, accompanied by his princes, sitting in Court of Parliament ;" adding, that he, of all the " bonnets ronds " in the kingdom, ought to have kept himself clear of such a business (" devoit s'abstenir de tel negoce'^), being, as he was, a well known slave to the Guises, his own mortal enemies. — De Thou could only reply, that he knew his place, but was there by command of the King. The extreme uncertainty which attended the adminis- tration of law at this period — the absence of principles, the neglect of precedents, will be remarked by the reader. At the urgent petition of the Princess de Cond6 counsel were allowed to the prisoner : by their advice he consented to answer interrogatories under a certain form ; and the legal difficulties being thus, as it was ima- gined, surmounted, he was convicted of high treason. And, in an Assembly, consisting of some Knights of the Order, a few of the nobility, and most of the Privy Councillors, after an examination of the charges and informations against him, he was sentenced to lose his head : a sentence signed by all present, with one exception only — that of the Count de Sancerre.^ " He supplicated the King very decides, that no commission could Conde ne fiit point une affaire de legally take cognisance of a cause of commissaires." the Prince of the blood; he ends, ' Memoires de Castlenau — who "Je conclus, comme j'ai commence, was a Catholic, and a friend of the que la condamnation du Prince de Queen-Mother. 184 THE REIORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. humbly, to command him in any other thing or manner, for his service : but as for signing that paper, he could not — et aymoit mieux qii'on le trancha la tSte de son corps,^ which astonished le dit Sieur (the King) very much, and, looking at the Cardinal, he seemed to ask his opinion of what should be done.— But the Count, quitting the apartment, the Cardinal set all right by saying, " the count is an old madman, im vieilfol, &c " ^ " The presidents and maitres de requetes signed very willingly," adds La Planche, " and without putting the mat- ter to deliberation— the King sending for them separately." The Chancellor, however, under various pretences, de- layed to affix his signature to the sentence ; and his ex- ample was followed by one Councillor of state, Guillot de Mortier. The proportion of honest men, it seems, was small. " The injustice of these proceedings made a great change in the minds of men,^ and led them to pity and sympa- thise with the Prince, and to execrate the Lorraines. Nevertheless, in this its extreme distress, the house of Bourbon found itself alone, and deserted by every one but the Admiral, and the Cardinal de Chatillon." * " The unfortunate Princess de Conde was day and night before his ]\lajesty, with abundant tears, entreating to see and speak to her husband. . . . One day she broke into the presence, and, flinging herself upon her knees before the King, implored, with incredible lamentations, to be permitted to see her husband once more, neither to speak to nor to give him the least sign, — ainsi pour avoir cette heure, de le voir encore une fois en sa vie. But not all these cries and entreaties could move this Prince to pity : they only soured and angered him the more — telling her 1 And would rather his own head ^ De Thou, was severed from his body. * Mem. du Castlcnau— Additions =» Regnier de La Planche. of Le Labourcur. 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 185 that the Prince was his great and mortal enemy, and that he would have his revenge — and, as she entered upon his defence, and ceased not to importune the King, the Car- dinal, who feared his Majesty might be moved to some pity, drove the Princess rudely out of the chamber, with the most brutal and insulting expressions ; " V appellant importune, et fascheuse, et que qui hi feroit droit on la mettroit dans un cul de fesse, elle m^me. Ceux qui virent son ennui et sa passion, disoient que jamais n'on avoit parle de la soiie^ ' Conde preserved his courage and his serenity. He passed the most part of his time arguing with Robertet, his legal adviser, in defence of the justness of his conduct. " Defending it tres sommairement et tres disertement ; al- leging many memorable examples, in excellent terms, and with the most composed and assured countenance." He denied that his sufferings were to be regarded as a punish- ment from God, for he had in this matter given his Creator no cause of offence ; and maintained " that he, with a conscience at rest, was not the real prisoner ; but they, who, though enjoying their personal liberty, were yet loaded and enchained by the perpetual remembrance of their vices and crimes." He gave his advocates excellent instructions for his defence, and wrote letters of the tenderest consolation to his wife.^ Nothing could persuade him to make the slightest sub- mission, — He regarded submission as inconsistent with his honour, ''far dearer to him than life." He refused to make any advances to the Guises ; and replied to one who ' Calling her troublesome, and im- that he often amused himself by set- portunate; and that, if she was served ting his guards to play at children's right, she would be clapt up herself. games ; running blindfold in a circle Those who witnessed her anguish chalked on the floor, &c., till they and passion declared that never had adored him for his facility and sweet- any one spoken so before. ness." — La Planche. ^ " Such was hislight-heurtedness 186 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. wished to find expedients for a reconciliation, that there was no other settlement of the afiair in such a case but at the point of the lance {qu'il ii'y avoit meilleur moyen d'appointement qu' avec lapointe de la lance.y Equally dishonourable did he consider it to disguise his religious sentiments. A priest being sent into his cham- ber to say mass, — in order, it was thought, to put his reli- gious constancy to the test, the Prince refused to hear him, saying, " He was there to justify himself against the calumnies of his enemies : a matter of rather more im- portance to him than to hear mass." This was taken very ill.^ Yet the Guises, in spite of their apparent success, were not without their apprehensions. The Constable still re- mained at Chantilly ; and with so redoubted an adversary at large, they hesitated to carry the sentence recorded against Conde into execution. Besides, whilst the King of Navarre lived there would always remain one able to take advantage of the general indignation and avenge the death of his brother. It was impossible to reach Anthony by a judicial sentence ; his assassination was therefore resolved upon. And to screen their own heads from censure and respon- sibility, the King, young as he was, was himself pitched upon to undertake the office of executioner. This base manoeuvre will not be thought inconsistent with the character of the Cardinal ; but it is, unhappily, certain that the Duke de Guise himself was privy to the design. Francis was provided with a poignard, and in- structed at their next interview to seek a quarrel, a VAl- leinand, with Navarre, and in the course of it stab him with his own hands. Navarre being summoned into the ' Mein. de Custlcnau, acUlition.s ^ Mem. de Castleiiau, additions of of Lc Labourcur. Lc Labourcur. 1560.] PROCEEDINGS AT ORLEANS. 187 presence — the purpose for which he was called was hinted to him — Anthony showed on this occasion that in physical courage, at least, he was not altogether un- worthy of his race. " I go," said he, " but never was skin sold so dearly as shall be mine." Then turning to his attendant, " If I fall, carry my bloody garment to my wife and son — though yet too young to maintain my quarrel he will live to revenge this treacherous murder.'' The resolution, however, of the young King failed him ; and j^avarre returned unhurt. It 'is said that the Duke de Guise on seeing him retire alive, exclaimed, " Oh ! le timide et lasche enfant!" ^ The 26 th of November, the day appointed for the execution of Conde now rapidly approached. In vain the Chatillons made every effort to save him, in vain the Chancellor delayed to sign the sentence. The Guises and Catherine adhered to their resolution. But while the Prince awaited the dismal hour with magnanimous composure, a sudden change in affairs arrested his fate. The King upon the morning of the 1 7th of ^N'ovember, as he was setting out for hunting, was seized with a sudden heaviness in the head which obliged him to re- turn home ; in a few days the most alarming symptoms appeared ; an abscess formed in the brain and began to discharge through the ear ; and his surgeon, Ambrose Pare, declared him to be in the greatest danger. There arose, as usual at that time upon occasion of sudden attacks of illness, a general suspicion of poison ; and it was whispered that his valet de chambre, who chanced to be a Hugonot, horror-struck at the fate preparing for his leader, had poisoned the imposthume. But be the cause of the illness what it might the event at once changed the whole aspect of affairs. — With Francis the ministry of ' oil ! tlie weak and cowardly child ! 188 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. the Guises would immediately expire, and under a King legally a minor, the depressed Princes of the blood must unquestionably rise to power and importance. In such circumstances the regency devolved as a matter of course upon the first Prince of the blood. The law of the land would confer it upon JS'avarre. In this emergency the Lorraines made one desperate effort to preserve their ascendancy. They went to the Queen-Mother and solicited her, before it was yet too late, to put an end to the common enemies of both, and destroy the men whose vengeance, should they be allowed to survive the King, might produce consequences the most terrible to them all. They urged her, therefore, to order the immediate execution of Conde ; and condemn the King of IS^avarre to suffer in his company, without incurring in his case the risk of delay by waiting for a judicial proceeding. But the Queen, whose ejes had been opened as to the nature of her true interests, during her secret conferences with the Chatillons and her friend the Duchess de Montpensier, refused to act in this business without consulting the Chancellor. De rilopital being sent for, found her in the greatest perplexity, '*' weeping among her women, who surrounded her in deep silence, their eyes fixed upon the ground." It was easy for him to point out, not only the monstrous injustice, but the glaring impolicy of the pro- ceeding in question. He made the Queen comprehend the immense advantage in her present situation of holding in her own hands the balance between one mighty faction and the other ; and of securing by the preservation of the Bourbon Princes, a check upon that overwhelming power of the opposite party, which threatened to enslave both herself and her children. Catherine accordingly sent for Navarre. She had re- 1560.] DEATH OF FRANCIS THE SECOND. 189 solved to save him, but she determined to secure for her- self as large a portion as possible of the power which events were about to lodge in fresh hands. Anthony found her with the Duke de Guise and the Cardinal, and now, while the King still breathed, and his fate, and that of his brother, might be considered uncertain, — leaving him no time to consult with his friends, — she contrived to extort from him a written promise that he would resign all claims to the regency in her favour ; and even should the States — as it was certain they would — propose to confer the office of Regent upon him, that he would refuse it. In return for this important paper, Navarre was con- tented to receive her verbal assurance that he should be appointed Lieutenant-General of the kingdom ; and having thus in a moment of weakness abandoned his own rights and those of his party, and degraded himself by the farce of an outward reconciliation with the Guises ; he was given to understand as his reward, that the Queen would unite her interests with his. The King died a day or two after, December the 5th, 1560, leaving no children, "little regretted,''^ says Le Laboureur, " a real minority being less to be dreaded than a false and imaginary majority." His short and ill fated reign was characterised by one undeviating course of evil ; and it may with truth be said, that this opportune death was the sole benefit he ever conferred upon his country. "One cannot," says a sensible French author,^ " reflect without an involuntary shudder upon those tragedies of which France might have formed the theatre had Francis the Second lived longer. The gloomy temper of the Prince, nourished by a sickly constitution, and soured by the prejudices of those who ' Mem. de Castlenau, additions ^ Author of the Observations on of Le Laboureur. the Memoires de Castlenau. 190 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE, [1560- surrounded him, was the more to be dreaded as he had naturally an immense fund of obstinacy. Accustomed to regard a portion of his family and a large part of his subjects, as enemies to his throne and life, it was pro- bable each future day of his reign would have been marked by fresh proscriptions ; and, as bloodshed only increases the necessity for blood, the sovereign authority would rapidly have degenerated, into the most sanguinary tyranny/' The Calvinists, delivered by his death from those dark apprehensions of impending evil, for which they had had but too sufficient cause, gave vent to the most excessive demonstrations of joy. Satires, songs, and caricatures swarmed. Of the verses, the following are inserted as no ill written character of this not less unfortunate than detested Prince. " Quant a mes moeurs, je fus froid de nature, Morne, hautain, parlant peu, triste, et coy, Non point enfant a ce que j'entendoy, N'y mal croisant de taille, et de stature : Sobre de vin, de venus, et de vice, D'oiseaux et de chiens j'aimai fort I'exercise ; Je n'eus regnant un seul jour de plaisance ; Et comme on vit peu a peu de poison, Ainsi d'ennuy, de soin, et de soup^on, Se nourissoit la fleur de ma jouvence ; Si qu'eux suc9ans son humeur nourissante, M'ont fait decheoir ja toute languissante. The last act of influence exercised by the Cardinal de Lorraine over the King, was to engage him to make a solemn vow to noire dame de CUry, that in case he was allowed to recover he would exterminate all the Pro- testants. Little was the emotion his loss occasioned ; his beauti- ful wife, Mary Stuart, was alone the one to weep his early decay. Catherine received the news that he had 1560.] DEATH OF FRANCIS THE SECOND. 191 expired with perfect indifference ; and, as for all those who had shared his favour during life, they were far too much occupied by their interests to have time to lament his death. His remains lay unhonoured, his obsequies were neglected. "All these great personages,'' says Mezeray, " were so much occupied by their own affairs, that neither his mother nor his uncles took the slightest care for his funeral. Of so many great lords and bishops assembled at Orleans, only Sansac, La Brosse, and the Bishop of Sen- lis, who was blind, attended his body to St. Denys. ... A billet, with these words, was found attached to his pall : — " Tanneguy du Chatel ou es tu f Mais il etoit Ft^ari- ^ois" ^ Conde, upon this sudden turn of his affairs, manifested the same extraordinary equanimity which he had display- ed under all the trying circumstances of his imprison- ment and conviction. " His behaviour," says Le La- boureur, " had throughout appeared something above hu- man nature ; such was the greatness of soul which he displayed, the contempt of death and of his enemies, whom he would not propitiate by a single word." He was at cards with the captain of his guards, when Picard, his attendant, entered the room, big with the intelligence that the King had just expired. He made numerous signs, which served only to increase the Prince's curiosity and anxiety. At length Conde bethought himself to let fall a card, and stooping at the same time with his valet, as if to pick it up, Picard whispered in his ear, '' Nostre liomme est croquet The Prince finished his game without alter- ing a feature. > Tanneguy du Chatel was first his master, and tliat the last duties Chamberlain to Charles the Seventh, were neglected, he hurried to Court, and, after having rendered great ser- and made, at his own expense, a vices, was disgraced, and exiled to funeral, costing thirty thousand gold his estate. Hearing of the death of crowns. BOOK 11. CHARLES THE NINTH. VOL. 1, 195 CHAPTER I. ACCESSION OF CHARLES THE NINTH. ARRANGEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT. MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. Charles the Ninth was eleven years of age when he succeeded his brother Francis ; who died childless, aged seventeen years, two months, and one day. The death of a boy barely seventeen years of age, suf- ficed to change in one hour the destiny of millions. Hun- dreds and thousands of innocent creatures arose that morn- ing protected and secured, over whom all the horrors of a merciless proscription had been impending A kingdom on the eve of a civil war, was restored for the moment to peace and order, — a vast assembly, prepared to serve as the engine of a grinding oppression, was transformed into the organ of liberty, ready to carry the voice of the peo- ple to the throne : while prisoners lying under sentence of death — judicially convicted of crimes against the state — found themselves at once not only liberated, but ab- solved, and with the highest offices in their hands. The maxims of government — the rights of individuals — the very principles of morals seemed reversed — as a tyranny the most sanguinary was exchanged for a government breathing nothing but moderation and the love of the public good, — when the influence of the Cardinal de Lor- raine gave way before that of Michel de THopital. Such were the consequences depending upon the life of a sickly, peevish, and unpromising youth, ruled by a beau- tiful and inconsiderate young woman : such the effects to o 2 196 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G0. a nation of uncertain constitutional principles, ill-defined laws, and an irregular administration of justice. AVitli Francis expired the power of Mary Stuart ; and wdth her that ambitious family sank, for the present, into com- parative insignificance, which, supported by her influence, had governed with unbounded authority the affairs of France. Flattering prospects now opened to the country ; but experience proved that from institutions so imperfect permanent good was vainly to be expected. The evil principle remained. The curse of instability lies at the root of every absolute monarchy. The sceptre passed, in this case, into other hands : time shewed them to be equally weak, and more dangerous ; and the wisest and the best of men found it impossible to lay an enduring foundation of good in the shifting sand of such a system. Catherine beheld herself, upon the death of her son, elevated at once into one of the most important situations which can fall to the lot of a human being. She stood the umpire between two great factions, by that event ren- dered pretty nearly equal in power — and held in her hands the means, by the practice of wisdom, firmness, and justice, so to rule both, as to preserve the peace and ensure the well-being of the large society committed to her charge. But, alas 1 for the w^eakness and the wickedness of that heart to which so much influence was permitted. The history of the next terrible half century is but a picture of the consequences arising from the mis- takes and the crimes of her unprincipled ambition and narrow, vacillating policy. The state of parties was now as follows : — The Guises were established as the leaders of the high Catholic party, contending for the exclusion of every religion but their own. Their principal friends were, the Cardinal de Tour- non, the accomplished Duke of Nemours, Cipierre, governor 1560.] ACCESSION OF CHARLES THE NINTH. 197 of Orleans, the Marechal de Brissac, and the Mardchal de St. Andre, — a man rendered highly influential by his splen- did fortune and shining talents. The troops assembled at Orleans might be considered entirely at their devotion ; but their general popularity was at this time greatly upon the decline : their violent administration, their warlike preparations, and, above all, the rumours afioat of Spanish armies assembling on the frontiers, had excited almost universal discontent. On the other hand, the King of ^N'avarre was supported by the Chatillons, the Prince de Porcian, and by the whole Protestant interest ; and be- sides, was now invested with that authority which an un- questionable right to assume the government will always confer in the eyes of the multitude. The Queen-Mother, it is said, was at first appalled by the magnitude of the task before her ; but was speedily reassured by the conduct of these redoubted rivals. Mutual jealousy laid them both at her feet ; each ready to exalt a power which might serve to curb an adversary, or to sup- port themselves. They vied with each other in protesta- tions of loyalty and obedience ; and concurred in offering to her that regency which each dreaded to see in the hands of an antagonist. The Queen, with considerable dexterity, secured her advantages ; and assumed, with the general approbation of all parties, the reins of government. Not to curb, with vigorous resolution, the rising violence of faction, — not with the generous design to assuage contention, allay di- visions, and heal the broken peace — the reflections of a mind such as hers drew unfortunately a far different con- clusion from the circumstances before her. She believed she had discovered the secret of power in that dangerous maxim, which now, according to Davila, she adopted, of " divide and govern ;'' " and now pouring oil, and now 198 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. water," ^ she strove to inflame those jealousies from whence she imagined her own strength would be derived. — AYicked, dangerous, and vain policy ! as the event proved. Before a final adjustment could be made of the different shares to be allotted to each eminent person in the new frame of the government, it was necessary to await the arrival of the Constable. He, on being informed of the King s danger, had immediately recommenced his suspend- ed journey to^the States at Orleans, and was impatiently expected by all parties ; every one anxious to learn where the very considerable w^eight of his personal influence would fall. He arrived at Orleans with six hundred gen- tlemen ; ]3ut the King had already breathed his last, and he was, therefore, too late to prevent that promise of re- signation of all claim to the regency already given by Navarre to the Queen-Mother ; a measure which was most deeply deplored by Coligny as a surrender of authority infinitely detrimental to the cause of the Reformed. When Montmorenci at length arrived at Orleans, the Queen set every engine at work to attach him to herself ; and, with that exquisite skill which she possessed of go- verning men by their weaknesses and their faults, she worked upon the vanity and the prejudices of the old statesman till she led him heartily to concur in all her arrangements. The Council of State met on the 12th of December,'^ to arrange the government ; which was done as follows : — The supreme authority, the Regency, though without the ' D'Aubigne, Hist. Universelle. Chancellor, the Marechals St. An- dre and Brissac, Guillarde de Mor- - The council of state consisted of tier, the Bishops of Orleans, Va- the King of Navarre, the Cardinals lence, and Amiens, and the Seigneur Bourbon, Lorraine, de Tournon, de d'Avanson. It is evident that a Guise, and Chatillon, the Prince de large majority was attached to the la Roche sur Yon, the Dukes de Guises. — Me'm. de Castlenau, addi- Guise, d'Aumale, and Estampes, the tions of Le Laboureur. 1560.] ARRANGEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT. 199 title, was conferred upon the Queen. The Assembly coming to a resolution, " Que le royaume ne pouvait etre mani6 de plus digne main que de la dite darned The King of Navarre was made Lieutenant-General of the kingdom ; the Constable retaining the superintendence of the army, and the Duke de Guise his place of Grand- Master ; each being to discharge his individual duty, sub- ject to no control but that of the Queen. Catherine re- tained in her own hands the management of the finances, with the assistance of her secretaries — excluding Navarre from all interference therein : all letters upon civil busi- ness of every description were to be addressed to her ; those on military matters alone to be addressed to Na- varre, and by him to be communicated to the Council. The share of power allotted to Navarre was thus, it will be seen, very insignificant. The secret articles of the treaty, in return for which he ceded so large a portion of the authority he might legitimately have claimed, were, it is said, the liberation of Conde, the relief of the Hugonots, and the depression of the house of Guise. This last measure was not one to be ventured upon without extreme caution, — the power of that splendid family remained still formidable ; indeed Brantome gives the Duke de Guise credit for the greatest moderation, in that he did not at once, in defiance of law and custom, seize upon the reins of government.^ '' He shewed," says he, " when King Francis came to die at Orleans, that he did not possess that unwarrantable ambition as to take for himself {s' impair oniser) the kingdom of France, and make himself a demi-roy, as was so loudly said ; no, nor even to make himself Viceroy, and govern both King and king- dom, and do his good pleasure therein. He gave them ' Brantome, Hommes Illustres, Guise, 200 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [loGO. all the lie {leur donna a tons le dementi). It was more than easy, had he pleased. He might have seized upon the King of Navarre, the Constable, and all who were flocking to the States ; having, as I know, the whole Court at his devotion. I saw him seven or eight days after the King's death, going on foot a pilgrimage to Cldrj : he drew after him all the Court and nobility, the King remaining almost alone, and his Court a solitude — occasion of great murmuring and jealousies." " Besides he had from fifteen to twenty companies of veteran infantry in Orleans entirely at his devotion, who might have made all France tremble. What hin- dered him from disposing at his good pleasure of the King and all the rest jxir la fumee des arquebuses de ces braves soldatsf Besides, except those of M. I'Amiral, those of the Constable and his children, he had all the compagnies d'ordonnance at his command. The greater part of the gens d'armes being devoted to him, on ac- count of the Catholic religion now in danger, from that w^hich was rising ; and they loved M. de Guise greatly because they knew him for a good Catholic ; and they mis- trusted that if the King of Navarre was made Regent — whose religion was more than suspected — great troubles would arise, as afterwards was seen : nor can it be doubted, que si alors on eut joue des mains basses, en ce lieu d Orleans, comme il etoit aise, nous n'eussions veu les troubles et querelles civiles qui se sont veus} Doubtless by these means he might have seized upon the person of the King, and possibly we might have seen France the happier for it, as I heard many great lords and captains say at the time. Even M. le Cardinal urged him much, but he would not listen to it, saying, ' it was neither of God nor * That if they had laid about them at been easy enough,\ve should never have that time in Orleans, which would have seen all the troubles we have seen. 1560.] ARRANGEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT. 201 reason, {de Bleu ni de la raison,) to usurp the rights and authority of others ; yet, methinks, in an affair of so much importance, such things might have been justly done — ainsi^ etoit trop conscientieiix ce coup la, ce hoii et hrave Prince.'' " ^ " ]\I. le Cardinal, ecclesiastic as he was, had no such delicacy ; had he been as full of valour as his brother — had he found in himself as much good courage, as incli- nation, he would have raised his banner ; but he was naturally a poltroon, and he quitted the Court at that time through pure poUronnerie ; and great was his morti- fication as he rode out of the town to hear the people crying in the streets and from the shops and windows, ' Adieu M. le Cardinal la messe est cassee'" As for the Prince de Cond6, the Queen-Mother early sent him word that he might consider himself at liberty, he replied, " That he could not quit his prison and leave his honour there. That the gift of liberty was an injury unaccompanied with the acknowledgment of his inno- cence, and the punishment of his accusers." On the Constable, however, pointing out, " that he would not be the less innocent for being free, and that the road to justification was less easy to one between four walls,'' he consented to quit his prison, and retired to his govern- ment of Picardy ; attended, for form's sake, by his guards, who, either inclining to the new opinions, or won by the charm of his agreeable manners {ses frequen- tatlons agreahles), were devoted to him.- All eyes were now turned upon the approaching as- sembly of the States-General. Immediately upon the news of the King's decease, the deputies had again crowded into Orleans. The Queen at ' So that good and brave Prince was a thought too conscientious upon ^ Matthieu, Histoire. this occasion. 202 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. first fearing that this national assembly would claim its ancient privilege of appointing to the liegencj, and might render vain her previous manoeuvres by offering the supreme authority to Navarre, had been anxious to pre- vent their meeting. And the deputies themselves at this juncture were not unwilling to afford a pretence for their dissolution ; for the most part of those secretly attached to the Reform, aware of the feeble influence their party must exercise in an assembly chosen under the late circumstances, had insinuated that the death of Francis necessitated the dissolution of the States, and that fresh elections must be made. But De I'Hopital pointing out to the Queen-Mother the deplorable state of the finances, which rendered it impossible to carry on the government ; and urging the necessity of obtaining, if possible, for her authority the immediate sanction of the States, persuaded her to allow of the assembly. The objections of the deputies were therefore overruled ; and it was decided, that by the laws of the kingdom le vij saisit le mort, — that in France the King never dies, and his authority passes without interruption to his immediate successor. Upon the 13th of December, therefore, 1560, the States- General were solemnly opened. The proceedings and deliberations of great national assemblies are among the most interesting portions of history ; not only as conveying some of the best authen- ticated information with regard to national circumstances and manners ; but as furnishing the most valuable mate- rials towards the history of opinions — a history as im- portant as that of actions. Upon this principle the in- dustrious Garnier has preserved a most ample history of the States-General of Orleans, drawn from the authentic source of their own papers and documents. My limits will only allow me to select some of the most interesting 1560.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 203 portions of his curious details, which will serve to illus- trate, as briefly as the nature of the subject will admit, the manner in which such assemblies were at that time conducted ; and the sentiments therein prevailing ; add- ing to this any singular facts elicited in the course of their proceedings. The ceremonies of the opening were as follows : — " Upon the day appointed, the Duke de Guise, holding the haton of Grand Master covered with black crape in his hand, and assisted by certain officers, called over in order the deputies of the several baiUiages, and assigned them their places in the hall of Assembly. The hall was divided into two parts, the upper and the lower. In the centre of the upper, two seats were placed of equal height for the King and for the Queen-Mother ; upon the left of the Queen, on seats less elevated, were placed Madame Marguerite de France the King's sister, Madame Renee de France Duchess Dowager of Ferrara, his father's sister, and after them the Cardinals de Tournon, Lorraine, Bourbon, Chatillon, and Guise, according to the dates of their promotion. On the right of the King, on seats less elevated, Monsieur, afterwards Henry the Third, the King of Navarre, the Dauphin d'Auvergne, eldest son to the Duke de Montpensier, and the Prince de la Roche -sur- Yon, princes of the blood, with the Prince de Joinville, eldest son of the Duke de Guise. Upon stools somewhat advanced in front of the line, right and left of the throne, sat the Constable holding the naked sword, and the Chan- cellor, having at their feet each two huissiers kneeling, and holding up their maces. Upon the footstep of the throne the Duke de Guise, as Grand Chamberlain, the baton of Grand Master lying between his knees. Before the Princes of the blood, two steps lower, was a bench upon which were the Grand Ecuyer, the Admiral de 204 TIIK REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. Coligny, the ^larc^xhals dc St. Andr^ and Brissac. Before the Cardinals, in the same manner, the Bishops of Orleans, Valence, and Amiens, and the remainder of the Coun- cillors of state were placed. Round a desk in the centre of the semicircle the four Secretaries of state. Behind the chair of the Queen her gentlemen of honour. Behind those of her sons were their two governors. On each side of the fire-place the four captains of the guards. Round the outside of the circle the gentlemen of the King's chamber, each his baton in his hand. And on the steps separating the superior from the inferior part of the chamber the superintendants of the finances. The in- ferior side was filled with benches more or less elevated. On the right sat the Bishops, and the deputies for the clergy. On the left the Knights of the Order, Barons, and deputies of the nobility. The centre was occupied by the deputies for the tiers etat. The Kings-at-arms occupying the entrance of the barrier which separated the deputies from crowds of spectators. '* When all had taken their places a herald proclaimed that the King desired every one to be seated and covered. Then the Chancellor rose and knelt at the King's feet, as if to receive his orders, after which he returned to his place, and extending his hand, addressed the assembly as follows : — a i Messieurs. — Dieu qui donna la volonte au feu Roi Francois d'assembler et semondre les etats de son Roy- aume en cette ville d'Orleans, ha icelle continuee au Roy Charles, son frere, nostre souverain Seigneur, et a la Reine mere des deux Rois. Et combien que par la mort du feu Roy sembloit que les etats dussent etre obtemperees et que le changement du Roy dut apporter avec soy muta- tion de beaucoup de choses toute fois le changement n'a 1560.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 205 apport^ non seulement aucunes nouvelles esmeutes et seditions ainsi ha appaise et admontes celles qui lors estoyent. Et comme nous vojons a un jour obscur et pleine de nuees et brouillards, que le soleil a sa venue rompt et dissipe la nuee et rend le temps clair et serein, ainsi le visage de notre jeune Roj ha perce jusqu' au fonds des coeurs des Princes du sang et autres Seigneurs, ha chasse et oste tons soupQons, passions, et affections qu'ils pouvoi- ent avoir, les a pacifies, lies, et unis tellement ensemble, qu'il n'j a maison privee, ou les freres soj'^ent si bien amis, concordans, et ob^issans, comme sont les dits Princes et Seigneurs, envers le Roy leur Seigneur, &c."' After a multitude of illustrations of the advantages of unanimity, praise of the King, and of the Queen- Mother whom he calls " ires sage et vertueuse Princesse,'' he proceeds : — " Now, gentlemen, because we are about to renew the ancient custom of holding the States, neg- lected for the space of nearly eighty years — a time to which the memory of man cannot attain — I will in few words explain what is meant by ' holding the States — for what cause they were used to be assembled, who presided therein, and what advantage by our Kings was thence • " Gentlemen, And as we behold on a black and " God, who had given to the late cloudy day that the sun at his rising King Francis the desire to assemble breaks the dark and renders the sky the States of his kingdom in this his clear and serene, so the rays from town of Orleans ; has to his brother the countenance of our young King King Charles, our present Lord and have penetrated to the hearts of the Master, this same continued, as Princes of the blood, and other No- likewise to the Queen, mother of bles, and dissipated all suspicions, both Kings. And though by the passions, and aifections, that might death of the late King it would have been there entertained, and has seem that the States should be put so paciiied, bound, and united them off, ;and that the change in the together, so that now there is no King's person should bring divers private family in which the brothers other changes — not only has this are better friends, or more accord- change excited no new troubles or ant and obedient than arc the said seditions, but has appeased and Princes and Lords towards the King quieted those which we have seen. their master." 20G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. derived, and what by their people.' " He then goes on to say, " It is certain that our ancient Kings were accus- tomed to hold the States, which were either assemblies of the people, or of deputies appointed by them." He adds, " Geci estoit ancienment appellc tenir le parlement et en- cores a retenu ce nom en Ancjleterre et Ecosse^''^ "The States were assembled for divers reasons, either to demand aids in men or money, to regulate afiairs of justice, or to bestow appanages on the children of France. The Kings in person there presided — save at those States once sum- moned for the most noble question that ever was laid before them, that is to say, to decide on whom the crown ought to devolve after the death of Charles le Bel, whe- ther upon Philip de Yalois, or upon Edward of England. The King Philip did not therein preside, car il n'estoit encore Eoi^ il etoit parti" ^ After combating at great length, and in the tedious and confused manner common to the oratory of the times, the opinion that the frequent holding of the States- General impaired the kingly authority, we come to his opinion of the duties of such an assembly. " Leiir devoir est,'' says he, ''supplier ires humhlement le Roi et obeir." ' He next enters into an inquiry as to the cause of the present seditions, and among other things says, " Se- dition arises either from the discontent of those who feel themselves ill treated or despised, ou de crainte qu'on ha de lumiere, (or from the dread which is entertained of light), or from general want of employment, poverty, and necessity." Among the unemployed, he particularly enu- » This was anciently called holding ^ The intention of them is, that a parliament, and yet retains the they should humbly petition the name in England and Scotland. King and obey. 2 For he was not yet King, he was a party interested. 1560.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 207 merates the military adventurers, mams de la paix, re- fusing to submit to law or order, accustomed to exist on plunder and the labours of others, either incapable or unwilling to till the ground. When he comes to explain his notions of the relative duties of the several ranks of society, we meet with ideas singular enough. Those relating to the obligations towards kings might suit the present atmosphere of Russia, and are certainly very remarkable in the mouth of a man, stigma- tised, in his own times, with the reproach of what we should now call ultra-liberalism. " Le Roi ne tient sa couroniie de nous, mais de Dieu, et de la hi ancienne du Royaume, II donne et distribue les charges et honneurs d qui lui plaist ; tellement qu'on ne pent, ni doit, hi dire pourquoi : nous so7iimes en ces mains comme jetons que maintenant il fait valoir un, maintenant milled ^ The duty of subjects is to obey ''par vraie obeissance, qui est de garder ses vrais et perpetuels commandemens, c'est d dire ses ordonnances ; et ne voidussent s'egaler d lui, se dispen- sans des dits his et ordonnances, auxqiiels tons doivent obeir, et sont sujets, excepte le Roi seul." ^ The ideas of De 1' Hopital upon religious matters appear strangely contracted for a man, the apostle of toleration. Of toleration in the modern acceptation of the word, — that is to say— a respect for the right, inherent in every man, to worship his Creator in the manner most consistent with his own conscience, — it is plain he had as yet a most imper- fect conception. Uniformity instead of harmony, being still, ' The King does not hold his gives value, at others renders as no- crown from us, but from God, and thing. the ancient law of the kingdom. He ^ In true obedience, that is to say, gives and distributes places and ho- to keep his true and perpetual com- nours to whom it pleaseth him, so mandments — in other words, his or- that no one ought or can ask of him donnances. No one is equal to him, the wherefore : we are but counters all being bound by such laws and or- in his hands, to which sometimes he donnances, save the King alone. 208 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15()0. in his view, the proper aim of legislation upon religious subjects. He lays it down as a maxim, that it is madness to expect concord between those of different religions, " C'est folie d'csperer paix, repos, et amltik entre les per- sonnes qui sont de dive?'ses religions. We see every day that a French and an Englishman, being of the same re- ligion, will hold each other in more affection and friend- ship than two inhabitants of the same city, subjects of the same Lord, who are of divers religions." — But he overlooked the cause which produced such effects. He regarded liberty of conscience with the eye rather of a legist than of a moral philosopher; seeking a tri- bunal competent to decide upon differences — whereon no human authority can justly decide — rather than the means of cutting at once the root of dissension by per- mitting no one to interfere with the conscience of an- other. In common, it must be owned, with all the Pro- testants of that day, the remedy he proposed for religious quarrels was either a National or (Ecumenical Council, before which the professors of the contending religions should be at liberty to support by argument their opi- nions, and which Council should be competent to decide upon luhat was truths and afterwards to exact submission to its decrees. " Est dificile que les hommes estants en telle diversite d'opinions puissent se contenir de venir aiix armes . ... est besoin oster la cause du mal, et y don- ner quelque hon ordre par une sainte Goncller ' Again, " Tu dis que ta religion est meilleure,je defens la mienne ; lequel est la plus raisonnable, que je suive ton opinion, ou toi la mienne, or, qui enjugera si ce n' est pas une sainte Concile f"^ He recommends, at the same time, the utmost lenity towards the Reformed. ' It is difficult for men living in ^ You say your religion is best, — such diversity of opinions to avoid I defend my own — which is in the coming to blows the cause right ? — you or I ; and who can must be obviated by a holy Council. judge between us but a holy Council ? 1560.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 209 This speech concludes with an earnest recommendation to consider the lamentable state of the finances ; and pro- mises, in return, on the part of the government, to re- ceive '' henignement et gracieiisement, les plaintes, do- leances, et autres resquetes,'"' that should be presented by the Assembly. ^ This discourse of the Chancellor, though listened to with the greatest attention, did not altogether satisfy the deputies of the States. Many were displeased that in speaking of the King of Navarre he had seemed to con- sider him as inferior to the Queen-Mother ; some thought it strange, that in treating of the obedience due by all to the law, he had excepted the King. It was the custom, after listening to the harangue of the Chancellor, for the States to assemble in one cham- ber, and, before proceeding to dispatch of business, to choose an Orator (Orateur). It was the duty of the Ora- tor, upon the conclusion of the deliberations, to make known to the King the resolutions of the Assembly, and present the cahier with an explanatory harangue. After choos- ing the orator, the custom was for the Orders to adjourn to separate chambers, there to prepare what was called the cahiers, of those complaints and demands with which they had been entrusted by the electoral assemblies. They afterwards re-assembled in one chamber, to reduce their several cahiers into one, which was presented by the orator to the King, as containing the prayers and com- plaints of the nation at large. Accordingly the Chancellor appointed the three orders to assemble the next day, in the Hall of the Cordeliers ; but at the appointed hour the Clergy alone presented themselves. The Noblesse and the Tiers Etat had assem- ^ The speech of De I'Hopital is given by La Place and Regnier de la Planche, at length. VOL. L P 210 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. bled, it was found, separately, one at the Jacobins, the other at the Carmelites. The clergy proceeded alone to choose an Orator, and named unanimously the Cardinal de Lorraine : a deputa- tion was sent to the other orders, to invite their concur- rence in this nomination ; but they refused, saying, " they could not with propriety choose as their organ one they might find themselves under the necessity of impeaching," and immediately proceeded to choose orators of their own. The Nobles chose Jacques du Tilly, Baron de Beaufort; the Tiers Etat, Jean TAnge, Advocate at the Parliament of Bordeaux. The Cardinal de Lorraine on this refused the office of orator altogether, and indeed thought it prudent soon afterwards to leave Orleans, under pretence of accompany- ing his niece, Mary Stuart, to Scotland. Jean Quentin, Canon of Notre Dame, v^as then chosen in his place. Thus were the States split into three chambers. That they should vote by chambers was the interest of the Pro- testant party; the Nobles and the Tiers Etat being both united against the Clergy. This manoeuvre is mainly to be attributed to the Chatillons, it being their object to obtain from the Chambers the appointment of Navarre to the Regency, — a measure regarded as of the very first importance to the interests and protection of the re- ligious. ^ On the 21st of December, the plan of the new govern- ment, as arranged in the Council of the 12th, was, by command of Catherine, laid for approbation before the Orders. It was received with applause by the clergy, but excited the greatest fermentation among the other two. The proceeding, it was said, could be regarded only as an insult to the Assembly; for if it lay with the States- • Gamier. 1560.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 211 General to form a Council of Regency, by what right had one been nominated under their eyes, without their having been even consulted 1 If the nomination were not in them, why was the plan now laid before them 1 Mainly, as it would appear, to make them share in the responsi- bility of appointments which would occasion universal dissatisfaction. Loud murmurs were heard at the num- ber of ecclesiastics admitted to the Council of government, and at the very small share of power allotted to Navarre ; more especially at his exclusion from any part in the management of the finances. The zealous Catholics, and those attached to the Duke de Guise, defending the proceeding with equal warmth, the immediate consequence was, a schism in the order of the Nobles. The deputies of twenty bailliages presented a petition, wherein they stated, that they could not pro- ceed to exercise the incontestable right of the States- General to nominate to the Eegency, being incompetent, ''parceqiH Us n'avoient receus aucuns pouvoii^s a cet egard, de la part de leurs commettans, qui n'avoient pu, ni du prevoir le cas qui se present oitr^ They, therefore, de- manded that the Provincial Assemblies should be once more convened, in order to give to the deputies now assembled at Orleans the means of consulting them, and of obtaining fresh instructions ; and, till that should be done, they objected to everything that should be ''pro- pose, delihere, ou arrete en cette matiere^ The Queen and the Council rejected the petition, and ordered the de- puties to proceed to dispatch of business : the dissidents protested, and warned the Orders to refrain from any deli- beration upon the Regency, under pain of being "denounced to the nation as violators of its rights, and of being ren- ' Having received no powers from nor ought to have foreseen the case their constituents, who neither could which had presented itself. 212 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1560. derecl personally responsible for the evils which might thence arise." A second and third petition were presented to the Council, couched in nearly the same terms, and employ- ing the same arguments. It was urged that the two several occasions upon which it had formerly been deem- ed expedient to summon the States-General — whether to relieve the oppression under which the subjects of the state might labour — or to relieve the crown in case of disability or minority by the appointing of a Regency — now unexpectedly presented themselves together. " The Assembly was convened, by a King, major, on the demand of the nation, pour ohvier a un soidevement general (to prevent a general insurrection), it finds itself called upon to consider a question with which this has nothing in common ; to wit, the appointment of a Council of Re- gency for a king of ten years of age." " Sans pouvoir d cet egard , . . . il faiit, ou qu'ils s'en procurent une nouvelle, ou que s'arrogeant un choix, qui appartient d la nation entiere, et dont elle ne leur a point confix Vexercise, ils s'exposent a etre desavouSs, reprimand's, et deshonoresP ' It is useless, they add, to shew that the Queen and the Princes of the blood are perfectly agreed upon the choice of those persons who shall compose the government. " Les deputes qui connoissent les homes de leur s pouvoir s, ne se hasarderont ni d'approuver ni d'improuver aucun de ces choix; pour ne pas donner cette marque de mepris d la nation, qui a droit d'en deliherer . . , . il n'ose se sub- stituer d la nation dans V exercise dune fonction dont elle ne les a point charges ; s'exposer a la honte d'un desaveu ; ' Without powers in this respect, at large, which not having been con- either they must be re-elected, or fidcd to them, they expose them- they must arrogate to themselves a selves to the risk of being disavow- choice which belongs to the nation ed, reprimanded, and dishonoured. 1560.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 213 et fournir un moyen de nullite, contre tout ce qui auroit ete fait dans cette AssembUe.'' ' They added, that it was likewise necessary to receive fresh instructions from their constituents on the subject of the finances. To these remonstrances Catherine made verbally a cautious answer. She said the petitioners were doubtless aware, that in all deliberative assemblies the plurality of voices must decide every question : and as the majority of their order had already decided upon proceeding to despatch of business, she hoped they would lay no further impediments in the way of the discussion of those griev- ances which so heavily afflicted the state. Upon this the dissidents came to a resolution not to deliberate with the rest of the Chamber; but to present their cahier in the original form in which they had re- ceived it from the provincial States. The majority, thus left to act alone, were speedily divided upon the subject of religion ; one party advocating the maintenance of the laws then in force against heretics — the other, toleration for all denominations of Christians ; that is to say, for all who adhered to the Apostles' Creed, reserving " les peines afflictives, aux athees, aux anahaptistes, et autres mon- stres:"" The result was, that the Nobles ceased to deliberate in common, even upon matters more indifferent; and three several cahier s were presented to the King from that one Order alone. As for the Tiers Etat, they refused to deliberate upon the question of the Regency, but, unwilling to arrest the ^ The deputies, who perfectly uii- themselves for the nation in the exer- derstand the limits of their powers, cise of a power not Confided to them, cannot take upon themselves to ap- and by that means furnish a pretence prove or censure these appointments, of nullity against all that has or may lest they should shew contempt to be done in this Assembly, the nation, which has alone the right ^ The penal afflictions for atheists, to decide — they dare not substitute anabaptists, and other monsters. 214 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G1. progress of those reforms for which the occasion was so fair, they agreed to pass the subject siih silentio. Upon the 1st day of Jan. 1561, the King, accompanied as before, came down to the Assembly to listen to the harangue of the Orators. L'Ange for the Tiers Etat spoke first. His speech though pedantic contains an animated and affecting picture of the miseries which afflicted his country, united with sentiments upon the subject of liberty, and the rights of mankind in general, which were just as they were generous. He denied that religious differences alone occasioned the distraction and decline of the state, attri- butable in a still higher degree to the vices of the higher, and the wretchedness of the lower orders of society. He accused the clergy of une ignorance crasse et gtnerale^ of avarice which drove a trade even in the sacraments — and devoted to purposes, equally profane and scandalous, funds destined to feed the poor, and maintain unimpair- ed the holy edifices — of unbridled luxury, qui changeoit en un palais, V humble toil qu'ils devoient avoir dans le parvis de leur eglise ; et leur modeste domestique en un train et des equipages, qui les faisoient mieux res- semhler aux anciens Satrapes de Ferse qu'aux successeurs des Apotres!' ^ The magistrates he censured for venality, ignorance, and idleness. The nobility, for a neglect of those duties, the discharge of which formed the condition by which they alone held their great possessions and high privi- leges — more especially that of military service, which they were bound to perform to the exclusion of the ' Of miserable and universal ig- into equipages and trains of domcs- norance. tics, wliicli made tliem ratlier rcsem- ^ Whicli changed the humble roofs ble the Satra])s of Persia than the they ought to occupy into palaces, successors of tlie A]»ostles. and their once modest households 1561.] MEETING OF THE STATES GENERAL. 215 inferior classes. " Whereas, now the people were loaded with taxes to pay foreign mercenaries to supply their place." " En effet a ne considerer que la conduite et les deportemens de la plus part de cet ordre, on seroit tente a croire, qiCils font consister la noblesse a vivre dans Voisivete, a prendre les places les plus honorahles dans une assemblee, a avoir de plus belles maisons, de plus beaux habits, et une table mieux servie que les autres ; et a se croire digne des plus grandes recompenses, s'ils peuvent citer quelque fait glorieux d'un de leurs ancetresr ^ He painted their ruinous pomp, their haughty pretensions, their pride, and their shameful idleness, " leur faste ruineux, la morgue de leurs pretentions, leur orgueil in- sidtante, et Voisivete honteuse dans laquelle ils croupis- soientr He concluded with an affecting description of the situa- tion of the people, of their general misery, the depression of the agriculturists— crushed to the earth by the regime fiscal, — weighed down by the oppressions of the nobility, and ruined by their hard-heartedness {durete). The cahier he presented, justified but too well the representations of the speaker. It complained of "the injustice, the rapine, the vexations, endured by the peasants from their Lords (Seigneurs). " ^ot content with forcing them to labour upon their account, under pretence of droits de charriages, aides, et journees, levy- ing contributions, establishing their seigneurial mills and ovens, and exacting three times their lawful dues ; they wrest from the miserable communes their wood and 1 In fact, if we only consider the finer clothes, and more splendid conduct and deportment of this or- tables than other people ; and be- der, one should be tempted to be- lieving themselves worthy of the lieve that their nobility consisted highest rewards if they could only only in idleness, in occupying the quote a noble deed done by one of most honourable places in public their ancestors, assemblies, in having finer houses. 216 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. pastures, and taking advantage of their forest laws {dr^oits de chasse), they ravage the vineyards and liarvests of those who have tlie misfortune to displease tliem.'' " Si quelqu'un refuse de se preter d ces exactions, Us apostent des gens inconnues pour lui susciter une querelle, oil il est outrage, hattu, pille, sans moyen et sans espoir d'en avoir justice r ' But the evils of such individual oppressions were light in comparison to those arising from the tallies. These taxes were everywhere levied with extreme rigour and the most signal injustice, being raised upon the com- mune instead of upon the individual : and an exemption being easily obtained by any of the rich who had interest to procure the most insignificant place under government — they fell with their whole weight upon the poor. The picture drawn of the misery thus occa- sioned is frightful. " Wretches, finding themselves, in order to pay the impost, deprived of the little stores they had hoarded up for the winter — have been known to ex- pire with grief, {ont expire de doideiir) ; others, yielding to the most horrible despair, have murdered their wives and their children, and then poignarded themselves. Others dragged to prison, without receiving that assistance which humanity cannot deny even to the greatest crimi- nals, have there died of hunger. Some have fled their country, abandoning their families, being unable to endure the sight of their misery. While those who escape these extremities of distress languish in poverty so excessive, that having neither oxen, horses, nor other means, they are obliged to harness their own bodies to the plough.'' The assessment by communes added the last dismal feature to this horrible description. "A * And if any one refuses to lend quarrel, and he is outraged, beaten, himself to these exactions they set pillaged, without hope or means of unknown people upon him to pick a justice. 1561.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 217 wretch who, with great exertion, has paid his appointed share {sa cotte part), and now believes himself at rest, may be assigned and constrained {contraint par corps), to acquit that of one of his neighbours, and after a short delay be on that account thrown into prison, '' barharie si atroce qu'on ne congoit pas comment elle a pu tomher dans des tStes humaines."^ The orator for the Nobility, in his harangue, justified the accusation of pride at least, which had been pre- ferred by De I'Ange. He claimed for his order, as for the King, a divine right, an origin from God himself ; — " qui avoit estahli une classe priviUgee au soutien du trone et dj la defense de la societe entiereT'^ He joined, however, with the orator for the Tiers Etat in his attack upon the clergy and magistrature ; and concluded by presenting four cahiers, where, mingled with various suggestions equally wise and benevolent for the relief of all classes, we meet with the following requests : " That it might be forbidden, under pain of a fine of five hundred livres, for any man qui rHetoit nolle dextraction to denominate himself in any act noble ou ecuyer ; and that any one ennobled (ennobli,) until the fourth generation might be prohibited from wearing cap, shoes, girdle, or scabbard of velvet, or any ornament of gold in the hat— nor his wife be suffered to entitle herself demoiselle,^ or wear robe of velvet, or gold border to her chaperon. The harangue of Quentin for the Clergy, was a mixture of the basest adulation of those in power, and the bit- ' A barbarity so atrocious that it leged class to support the throne is hard to conceive how it could en- and defend the Avhole society, ter into the head of any human ^ Madame was a title appropria- being. ted, pa?' excellence, to the wives of the haute noblesse and knights of * Who had established a privi- the order alone. 218 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. terest invectives against the Reformed. He called them ''rehelles, macldnateurs dinsolites et execrahles sacrt- mens, licencieux, et profuges libertins et licencienx — les mots de la hi de Dieu s'ensuivent. Garde toi hien de jamais fa'ire amitic, d'estre confedcre, ou contracter ma- riaqe avec eux ; garde toi quails hahitent en ta maison, — I^'aye auciine compassion deux, hats les, frappe les jusques d la mort^ dc"^ When he spoke of those contributions towards re- lieving the burdens of the country, which, it was ex- pected, would be demanded from the Clergy, he thought proper to express himself thus: "Sire," said he, "we require of you, as something that neither can, nor ought to be refused, that you abstain from accepting anything of the clergy, under any name or title whatsoever ; be it either as gift, gratuity, benevolence, or otherwise. Cer- tainement semhle comme est la verite^ que le Prince ne pent (sain et sauve sa conscience) les demander ; ni les eccksiastiques (la leur aussi sanve) les accepter.^ The orator appears, however, to have been a very imperfect interpreter of the sentiments of his order ; for the cahier of the Clergy was drawn up with singular moderation. The harangue went far beyond what the times would bear, and excited such a torrent of mingled indigna- tion and ridicule, that the unhappy speaker died, it is said, of mortification in the course of a few days. When we consider the unfavourable circumstances under which the deputies to the States-General of Or- 1 Rebels, machinators of unknown sion upon them, beat them, strike and execrable sacraments and licen- them down even to death, tious libertines. The words of the law of God apply ; take heed lest ^ It is an undoubted truth that the thou make friendship with, or con- Prince cannot (with a safe consci- tract confederacy or marriage with ence) demand such ; nor the ecclesi- them : take heed that they inhabit astics (with safe conscience) offer not in tliiue house, have no compas- them. 1561.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 219 leans were chosen ; the demands contained in the cahiers testify, in a very remarkable manner, to the degree in which a spirit of reformation, political as well as reli- gious, had at that time diffused itself. With respect to religion, we find demanded a general council in a place of security, where all might be at liberty to declare their opinions ; and where all controversies might be decided by a reference to " the Word of God, as contained in the text of the Hofy Scriptures." That all ecclesiastical benefices should be conferred by election; pluralities abolished ; the age when monastic vows might be offered, namely, thirty years for men, and twenty-five for women, settled ; a regulation of Saints' days and holidays ; and, as a remedy for the abuses arising out of the excessive riches of the clergy, that all ecclesiastical possessions should be divided into three parts — one to be allotted to the maintenance of religious ministry; a second for the support of the poor; a third for the repair of sacred edifices. With regard to general affairs, regulations are proposed to simplify law proceedings, and restrain the venality of judges — to regulate military service — to restrain duels — to check mendicity by the establishment of almshouses, the funds for which to be supplied partly by the mo- nastic orders, partly by levying a species of poor-rate ; " Ouvrir des ateliers oil les mendians seront employes d la reparation ou des places de guerre, ou des grands ckemins ; foj^mer dans toutes les pa7visses un bureau de charite, ou tout ceux qui jouissent d'une certaine aisance verse- raient leur superfiu afin de faire suhsister les indigents!'^ ' To open workshops where all bureaux of charity in all the parishes, beggars may be employed, either in in which all those who enjoy a cer- the reparation of the strongholds, or tain well-being may deposit their su- repair of the high-roads ; to form perfluity. 220 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE, [1561. They demanded that free schools, supported by the ecclesiastical revenues, should be opened in every part of tlie kingdom, where reading and writing should be taught, and the children instructed in the truths of the Christian religion. "This last demand was borrowed," says Gamier, " from Geneva, but tended so visibly to the public advantage, that it might, nokuithstanding, have been adopted luithoiit dange7\" The Tiers Etat, upon the subject of education, added this demand : " That it may please the King to erect in every University throughout the kingdom, a chair of morals and politics; and to assign pensions for the professors upon the richest bene- fices of the province. Upon the subject of the debt, we find the Tiers Etat re- commending economy and retrenchment of useless offices : '' Le Roi a le droit incontestable a son avenement au trone, de siipprimer tel nombre qu'il lui plait des offices de sa maison, et de reduire les gages de ceux qu'il tient hien conserves, sans faire injustice d personne'^ ^ They add, that as for the Princes of the blood, et Seig- neurs de haut sang, who received pensions from the Crown, " Les Tiers Etat a tine si haute opinion de leur amour pour la patrie qu'ils ne font aucune doute qu'ils ne previennent les desirs du Roi et ne donne Texemple de desinteressement." ^ A most important demand was added — That an exa- mination into the accounts, state of the finances, and con- duct of the officers entrusted with their management, ' The King has the unquestioned ^ The Tiers Etat has so high an right, on coming to the throne, to opinion of their love for their coun- suppress such offices of his house- try, that tlicy have not the slightest hold as he may please, and to reduce doubt that they M'ill prevent the in- the wages of those retained, Avithout tentions of the King, and set an ex- doing injustice to any one. ample of disinterestedness. 1561.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 221 should be immediately entered upon; and that a Com- mittee, consisting of four deputies from each of the great provinces, should be appointed to receive a report of the examination: '' Afin que la nation sache au V7xd, la somme cV argent qui a 6t6 leve su?^ elle, et r usage qui en a ete falter' Upon the subject of commerce, the demands are chiefly directed against monopolies and unjust privileges, and to preventing the frauds of the Italian bankers. One demand marks the disordered state of society: the King is en- treated to restore to the people the right of carrying fire-arms for their individual defence — especially to the merchants, "who, in the long journeys they are often obliged to take, find themselves without defence, in the midst of a wood, or upon an unfrequented road, frequently leaving there both fortune and life." The demands of the Tiers Etat were contained in three hundred and fifty articles, and were closed by one, which, if granted, might have changed the destiny of France for centuries. After enumerating the abuses, the malversa- tions, the crimes without number which afflicted the state, "the result of a crowd of evils which have accumulated till they have corrupted the whole mass of society,'' they add, " N'en accusons que notre negligence a recourir cl la souveraine remede c'est a dire aux Etats-Gtneraux. . . . Nous supplions done humhlement sa Majeste de statuer, et ordonner que desormais, les Etats-Generaux se tiendront tons les cinq ans ; sans que la guerre ni aucune autre cause puisse dtranger cette ordre, et de voidoir hien assigner des ce moment le jour et le lieu de la prochaine tenue''^ ' In order that the nation may ^ " We accuse our own negligence truly be made acquainted with the in not having had recourse to the so- sum of money levied, and the use vereign remedy ; that is to say, to which has been made of it. the States-General. . . . We there- 222 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. None of the cahiers presented took the slightest notice of the petition of the Protestants. No attempt was made to legislate upon their subject, save that a remission of all punishments whatsoever upon account of religious offences was almost universally recommended. Neither had any means been proposed, save those of retrenchment, for the liquidation of that debt, — immense for the time, — which pressed so heavily upon the govern- ment. The Chancellor, therefore, re-assembled the deputies, and, representing the urgent necessities of the King, re- quested that, while the Council were occupied in consi- dering the cahiers, the directors of the finances might lay a circumstantial report of the state of the revenue and amount of the debt before the Chamber, in order that de- liberation might be had upon those means best calculated to relieve the government, without too much oppressing the people. The Orders, accordingly, nominated a committee to re- ceive the report. The debt, trifling as it may appear to us, was considered, and was enormous for that period. It •amounted to 43,483,000 livres, having accumulated in the short space which had elapsed since Henry the Second had ascended the throne, — he having found 1,700,000 crowns in the treasury. This immense sum had been mostly lavished in wanton extravagance, or bestowed upon the most unworthy favourites. The total annual revenue amounted to 12,2.50,000 livres ; the annual ex- penditure to 22,600,000. The interest upon the debt was 12 per cent., the common rate of interest at that time. fore humbly entreat his Majesty to any other cause shall prevent this ; ordain, that* henceforward the States- and that he will at this moment ap- General shall be assembled every point the day and the place whereon five years, and that neither war nor and wherein they shall next be held. 1561.] MEETING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 223 Such an expose of the state of the finances seems to have filled the deputies with equal surprise and dismay. The report, it is said, was at first received in speechless astonishment. They declared themselves incompetent, without an appeal to the nation, to decide upon the measures necessary in such an emergency, and, ranging themselves at once with the dissidents, demanded to be sent back to the electoral assemblies. The government found itself under the necessity of complying. On the 31st of January the States were closed by the Chancellor. The proposal which concludes his harangue shows how uncertain and confused were his ideas of representation. He said, that since the deputies demanded to be sent back to their constituents for fresh powers, the King consented, "and would convoke them anew, — not by bailliages," " car dans la detresse oil nous sommes il est hon d'epargner les frais qu'entraine ces nomhreuses assemhlees '' ' — but by governments ; each of the great governments sending one deputy for each Order, to meet at Melun the 1st of May. Thus terminated this very important Assembly. It should be mentioned that, during the sitting, the principal ministers of the Reformed churches, encouraged by the changes which had taken place, had assembled at Orleans, and, under the auspices of the King of Navarre, been introduced to the Council of government, where, in the name of all the churches dispersed throughout the kingdom, they presented to the King a petition, remon- strating against the measures which had been taken to exclude the Protestants from the provincial states — and thus depriving them of their due share of influence in * For in the present distress it was desirable to avoid the expense of so numerous an assembly. 224 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. the General Assembly. They also once more demanded temples, and the liberty of exercising, undisturbed, their religious ceremonies. This petition was received, but the consideration thereof postponed till a more convenient opportunity. 1561.] CATHERINE REGENT. 225 CHAPTER II. CATHERINE REGENT. — THE TRIUMVIRATE. THE DUKE OF GUISE IN PARIS. The year 1561 is marked by the dawn, too soon ob- scured, of just views, enlarged principles, and a righteous administration of affairs. The progress made by De FHopital and Coligny in establishing a wise and merciful system of government, and in pacifying religious diffe- rences, proves how much may be effected by virtuous exertion, in the course even of one short twelve-months. Common views and principles had united these great men in ties, which subsequent events might weaken, but could never entirely dissolve; and they now heartily co-ope- rated in the great design of restoring health, tranquillity, and vigour to a distracted and sinking state. The two leading objects which occupied their attention were, to establish toleration by relieving the Protestants from their civil disabilities, and from the pains and penalties which oppressed them; and, by a severe and equal administration of justice, to restrain those disorders among the lower classes, which kept the country in per- petual confusion. A third object — great as it is in ours, yet far less important in their eyes — was to ensure a permanent representation to France. The steps taken by the Chancellor, in pursuance of his grand design of establishing toleration, are gradual and timid, and mark the difficulties which lay in his way. On the 7th of January we find a secret order directed to Q 22G THE RErORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G1. the Parliament of Paris, commanding the release of all prisoners in confinement on account of their religion. This order is accompanied with a recommendation to keep it a secret for fear of exciting scandal. Towards the end of the month an edict is openly issued to the same effect as the private order. This is to be remarked as the first public act of legislation favourable to the Protestants. This is followed in April by one still more favourable. In this it was forbidden, under pain of death, to employ the injurious appellations of Papist or Hugonot; or to violate the security of private houses under pretence of preventing religious assemblies. Persons imprisoned on account of religion were to be set at liberty ; goods, houses, and lands to be restored; lastly, those banished on account of religion, to be allowed to return and resume their estates; '' fourvu qu'il vecussent a Vex- terieur comme Catholiques.''^ These measures were not effected without difficulty; the Parliament of Paris met every proposal for qualifying the laws upon religion, with the most determined oppo- sition; and it was vain to expect that the Edict of April would be registered. The Chancellor, therefore, somewhat irregularly, addressed the ordonnance at once to the in- ferior provincial courts, by which expedient he procured the immediate relief of the Protestants, though not, as he fondly expected, the tranquillity of the country. Encouraged by this protection, the Reformed began to excite attention by their numerous and frequent assem- blies. " They discovered themselves frankly about re- ligion," says Castlenau ; - " they assembled in houses, where they baptised, celebrated the Lord's Supper, and ' Provided they lived externally ^ Castlenau, Memoirs, as Catholics. 1561. CATHERINE REGENT. 227 marriages, aud oiFered prayers, according to the manner of Geneva — very different from those of Augsburg, which many thought it would be better to admit into France, if there was a necessity for either, rather than to allow the entrance of the sect of Calvin — who had, said they, more ignorance and passion than religion. Soon after the assemblies became so large, that private houses could no tcontain them/' He adds, " The minis- ters were, for the most part, ignorant, and grossiers, with little knowledge or doctrine, beyond that of the prayers and catechisms printed at Geneva. The most learned and clever had been banished or executed" What a lesson against persecution ! ^ '- The rapid increase of the churches under this relaxation of the penal enactments in force against those of the religion, and the un- wonted spectacle of assemblies meet- ing in private houses and barns, or sometimes even in the market-places, to unite in prayer and celebrate the ceremonies of their religion undis- turbed, seems to have excited the jealousy of the priests and monks almost to desperation, and to have driven the lower orders, incited by their example, to the wildest and most furious excesses. Houses in which the religious assemblies were held were attacked and levelled to the ground, the congregations driven about, insulted, pillaged, beaten, imprisoned, murder under the most revolting circumstances of cruelty ensuing. To do justice to the cause of the Reformed would require wider limits than I have allowed myself here ; but those who ^^^ll take the trouble to examine the minute and detailed chronicle of these events preserved in l^eza (Histoire des Eglises) will admit the truth of what I affirm, that the moderation of the Religious was astonishing ; that out of hun- dreds and hundreds of instances only one or two can be found in which they were the least to blame— or were guilty even of imprudence — ex- cept so far as their perseverance in the celebration of their religious cere- monies is to be considered such. In every instance, with these few ex- ceptions, they were the passive vic- tims of the most outrageous violence to which the populace, incited by their priests and their monks and too often countenanced by the civil authorities, gave way. We read of priests armed with their arquebuses, leading on the populace and firing upon the Religious, who, in obe- dience to the edicts, invariably attended their assemblies unarmed — of men literally torn into pieces, — bodies disinterred and dragged about the streets with impunity — of houses set on fire filled with women and children — of the pa- tients in the hospitals being tor- mented by their fellow-patients — " d'autant que ceux de I'eglise Ro- maine tourmentaient cruellement les pauvres maladcs de I'Hotel Dieu qui etaient de I'eglise Rc'forme'e, etant irrites et animes par leurs piecheurs a ce faire," writes Beza. The Catholics themselves were often massacred under a mistake, exclaiming in vain that they went to mass, and were good Catholics. We read of a poor priest at Beauvais murdered in a popular disturbance, Q 2 228 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G1. The Protestants on tlicir side were, in some few in- stances, guilty of imprudence, by openly insulting the Ca- tholic processions, and still more by giving way, in spite of all their ministers could do to prevent it,^ to their rage for image-breaking, which they exercised to the scandal and horror of all good Catholics, who looked upon this destruction of sacred representations, as the most blasphemous impiety, and as a crime far more enormous, than the utmost cruelty exercised upon their fellow-creatures. Even their grave historians never hesi- tate to balance the iconoclasm of the Protestants, against the murders committed by the Catholics.^ The difficulties arising from obstinate prejudice and ignorant brutality, time and resolution would doubtless have overcome; but those proceeding from the intrigues of a profligate Court, where all were intent upon personal aggrandisement, and ready to sacrifice to that considera- tion every principle of public integrity or private virtue, proved insurmountable. And Coligny and De I'Hopital were doomed to behold the fair edifice of justice, they were with such pains erecting, finally ruined by this unworthy cause. Such being the lamentable efiect of Court intrigues, it is necessary that their progress should be developed with an attention, otherwise ill-bestowed upon such a subject. The Queen-Mother, guided by no fixed principles, or where the Cardinal de Chatillon nar- ^ q^^q oj-,iy murder is recorded rowly escaped with life. This hap- upon tlic part of the Hugonots in this pened at Easter, when instead of year, tliat of the SieurFumel, and this celebrating mass at the head of his says Bcza, — " Advint non point pour clergy arrayed in his pontifical robes, sa religion mais ])0ur ses tyrannies : which he had long laid aside, he ceux de la Religion nefaisait la guerre was engaged within his palace ad- qu'aux images et autels qui ne saig- ministering the Lord's supper — la naient point, au lieu que ceux de la ceiie — assisted by Calvinist ministers. religion Komaine re'pandaient le sang, The mob was excited almost to mad- avec toute cspece de cruaute plus que ness by this. barbare." ' See Beza. 1561.] CATHERINE REGENT. 229 rather impelled but by one motive, a hungry and insa- tiable desire of rule, being of " the Italian religion," to borrow a phrase of the times — that is of no religion at all— one to whom the terms, duty, obligation, responsi- bility, public spirit, were unmeaning sounds, was ill calculated to reform or amend a Court, or set an example to an aristocracy. On the contrary, her love of intrigue encouraged to intrigue; her duplicity excited to trea- chery ; and her temporising policy to open defiance. No confidence could be placed in her professions, nor in the permanency of resolutions, resting on views of self-inte- rest alone. If she protected the Protestants and favoured the views of the Chancellor to-day, it was done but through fear of the Guises, or through jealousy of Na- varre; thinking to deprive him, by this means, of the exclusive support of that formidable body. When, on the other hand, she upheld the Guises, and appeared to support the Catholic ascendancy, her own security, against the pretensions of Navarre to her virtual regency, was the sole motive. Lavish in her professions and promises to both sides, she must, however, be considered, during the course of this year, as mainly influenced by the ad- vice of Coligny. He had found means to govern the master-spring of her mind, by representing the immense advantages she might reap by encouraging the professors of the Reformed religion, which, under her fostering care, would, undoubtedly, in a short time, become predominant. He spoke of the vast treasures of the Catholic clergy which such an event would throw into her disposal : trea- sures which, after supplying the modest necessities of the Reformed ministers, would afibrd ample means for liqui- dating the debt, and liberating her from her financial difficulties. It was only necessary to advert to England to prove that such expectations were no idle dream; and 230 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. it appears certain that at this time she was resolved to follow that example. But she became the victim of her own weak and tem- porising policy; and her falsehood and dissimulation laid the foundation of that power which, after driving France into a civil war, lay for forty years like an incubus upon the energies of the kingdom. This power was that of the high Catholic party, headed by the house of Guise and supported by Spain. It began under the Triumvirate in 1562; it expired with the League at the end of the century under the victorious arms of Henry the Fourth. For the present, however, the influence of the Duke de Guise appeared rapidly on the decline. The manifestation of public opinion in favour of Navarre, during the meet- ing of the States-General, had diminished his importance and cooled his friends. Navarre, insolent in prosperity, pursued his advantage, and, in concert with Coligny and ]\Iontmorenci, urged the Queen to withdraw every mark of favour from the ambitious strangers ; and he succeeded in wTesting from Guise those keys of the Grand Master, of which he had so unjustly deprived another. But this success was followed by a second — a fatal victory — the consequences of which proved most important and unfor- tunate. Still further to depress the faction of the Lorraines, the provincial states of the Isle of France, now assembled in Paris to instruct their deputies for the assembly of J\Ielun, were instigated to demand the restitution of those im- mense sums lavished by Henry II upon his favourites, in order that they might be employed to liquidate a debt of which they w^ere the principal occasion. The individuals, thus singled out to refund their ill-gotten wealth, were the Duke de Guise, the Marechal de St. Andre, the Duchess de Yalentinois : and wliat will appear extraordinary, when 1561.] THE TRIUMVIRATE. 231 the source from whence this humiliating demand took rise is considered, the Constable himself. It is said the design was to ensure the more close adherence of the Constable to the party which he at present espoused, by making him feel his own weakness and dependence. But if such were the aim in view, most miserable was its failure, and its consequences disastrous to a degree altogether unforeseen. The Guises and Montmorenci, those ancient and impla- cable enemies, now found themselves suddenly engaged in a common interest, and began in consequence to enter into negotiations for mutual assistance. The Mar^chal de St. Andre, aided by Madelaine, the second wife of the Constable — whose jealousy had been excited by the influ- ence which his illustrious nephews possessed over his mind, to the exclusion of that of her own brother— undertook the difficult task of reconciling the long animosities of Montmorenci and the Duke de Guise, being, it is said, secretly aided in his undertaking by the Queen-Mother, now become jealous of the union which existed between the Constable and Xavarre. The fears, the ill-temper, the envy, the religious preju- dices of the severe and narrow-minded old man were worked upon ; and in spite of the efforts of Coligny and of the Marechal de ^lontmorenci — who vainly represented how great was the degradation of exchanging the place of umpire between the contending factions for that of parti- san, the ]\larechal de St. Andre succeeded in effecting not only a reconciliation, but in forming a species of league of- fensive and defensive, between these once bitter enemies ; a league which, to the unparalleled misfortune of France, subsisted during the remainder of their mutual lives. This fatal reconciliation was effected at Easter. The Duke and Constable together attended mass, and kneeling 232 THE REFORMATION IN ElUNCE. [15()1. at the same altar, partook of the sacrament. The day was concluded by a magnificent entertainment, given by Montmorenci to the Duke de Guise, the Marquis de Join- ville his son, yet a child, and to St. Andre. This mon- strous coalition is well-known in French history, under the name of the Triumvirate. A name bestowed upon it by the Protestants ; marking at once its despotism and its cruelty. At present, however, it appeared anything but formidable, the confederates possessed little apparent influence ; the reconciliation was in general a secret ; and the parties for the present separating the Duke de Guise retired to his estate at Nanteuil ; and tiie Constable to Chantilli. It appears that some lingering scruples of honour still hung about Montmorenci, and made him deem it requisite before he openly united with the Duke de Guise, that a reconciliation, at least apparent, should take place between him and Conde. The sentence against the prince had already been reversed with a facility equal to that with which it had been obtained. The Chancellor, on the requisition of the Prince, declared that he knew of no information against him. The privy council pro- nounced him cleared, and admitted him to his usual place among them. The Parliament of Paris revised the sentence passed against him by their President, and at the demand of his advocate Robertet, '' il fut ainsi ordonne — Toutes les pieces furent revists, les plus fortes furent trouves fcmsses ; et qiielques tins de temoins ay ant desavoues leiirs depositions, le proces, vu, et les temoins recolles il fut declare innocerit par V arret du jour ISme Juin, 1561.''^ Thus was the prince, without further * This Avas decreed, all tlic pieces avoAved their depositions, lie was were reconsidered — the most impor- declared innocent by the arret of the tant were declared to be false ; and 13th of June, sonic of the witnesses having dis- T.'tVa^etK.ar'^. a.eo. £.Eyza,cu)'ffe. .s-.r EIJ GRAVED BY PERMISSION OF HIS GRACE THE DUIIE OF SUTHEREAM-D FROM THE OBJGIITAL IN HIS POSSESSION". IoTiaoTi;Ricliard_ BentleT; 1847. 1561.J THE TRIUMVIRATE. 233 ceremony, absolved by the very men who had sentenced him under an illegal commission. But the animosity of Conde against the Duke de Guise was in no degree abated, he still burned with impatience to revenge his disgrace. However, at the solicitation of the Constable and Queen-Mother, he for the present con- descended to submit to the ceremony of a reconciliation in form. As the summer advanced, the Court — now at Fontain- bleau, presented an unusual spectacle. Where, not many years before, the execution of a Lutheran had been a favourite exhibition, Calvinism had become a fashion and a rage. The princes and nobles who had adopted the Reform, and who lately esteemed it a favour to be allowed to carry about with them a minister mingled with their other servants, to preach as it were clandestinely, now brought them publicly forward ; and it became a mode for all the rank and beauty of the Court, to attend upon their services. The Queen, not daring to assist at these assem- blies in person, yet encouraged them as far as possible; and allowed the Bishop de Valence to preach before her with his hat upon his head, " according to the manner of Geneva." The Catholic observances began to fall into contempt, the butchers' shops were allowed to be kept open during Lent, and at most tables it became a custom to serve meat upon days of abstinence. Even the royal children were encouraged to make a jest of the dresses and ceremonies of the ancient religion. Marguerite de Valois,^ in her memoirs, takes great credit to herself for her conduct upon this occasion, being then between seven and eight years old ; '' I made great efforts to preserve my religion at this time, when the whole Court was infected with heresy ; resisting the impressive per- ' Mem. dc Marguerite de Valuis. 234 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [loGl. suasions, (persuasions iiiiprcssives) of iiuiny ladies and seigneurs of the court, and even of my brother D'Anjou since King of France ; whose infancy had not escaped altoo'cther from the influence de la malheureuse hu- gonoferie. He was always calling upon me to change my religion ; often throwing my heures into the fire ; and constraining me to take the Ilugonot psalms and prayer books in their stead, the which I carried to my governess, whom it had pleased God to preserve to me— she was a Catholic. She often took me to that good man the Car- dinal de Tournon, who would exhort me to sujffcr all things for my religion; and would give me new heures, and chaplets, in the place of those which my brother D'Anjou had burned. Some would blame and abuse me, saying it was childish folly, and that it was plain I had no understanding ; que tout ceux qui avoit de V esprit, oyants prescher le Christ eetoit retires de Vahus de cette higoterie. Mais que fetois aussi sotte que ma gou- vernante. Et monfrere D'Anjou y adjoutoit les menaces, disant que la Reine ma mere me jeroit fouetter} These proceedings irritated the Constable almost to madness. All his pride as descendant of \X\q, first Chris- tian Baron ; all the prejudices of a man of narrow and severe temper — accustomed during his whole career to insult and trample upon the sect now rising into reputa- tion — were aroused. He suffered himself to be transported to acts of the most childish intemperance and rage. Being persuaded to attend when the Bishop of Valence was preaching to the Queen and a large assembly of ladies and gentlemen, he burst into an ungovernable fury, and broke out into loud and vehement reproaches, not a little ' For all those who had any sense fool as my gouvcrnante. And my having once heard Christ preached, brother of Anjou would add menaces, had abandoned the abuses of this saying that the Queen-Mother would bigotry, but that I was as great a have nie well whipped. 1561. J THE TRIUMVIRATE. 235 to the discomfiture of the minister. Another time crossing the hall of the palace, and finding a large assem- bly listening to the like discourses, he, in a tempest of passion, called upon his people to fling that preacher out of the window— a fate the Bishop narrowly escaped. Qu'on me cliasse ces marauds, qvJon me pende ce damn6 ministre ! — was the cry with which he broke up the meet- ings wherever he found them assembled : defacing the places of worship : tearing up the benches and flinging the fragments out of the windows. The Calvinists re- venged themselves by laughing at his violence, and giving him the soubriquet of le Gapitaine hrusle-hanc — (Captain burn-the-bench.) Such examples on the part of their superiors, served to confirm in the lower classes the disposition to riot, tumult, and disobedience. We find on the one hand the Protest- ants, in some places, refusing to pay tithe, and occupying the churches left vacant by the conversion of the congre- gations, while every day fresh instances occurred of the exasperation and animosity of the Catholics. The sacre of the King took place at Eheims, upon May the 15th, and the chiefs of all parties being on that occa- sion assembled, the opportunity was seized upon once more to deliberate in a sort of general Council of govern- ment, as to the best means of restoring tranquillity.^ The Cardinal de Lorraine loudly declaimed " against the sin to God and man of allowing liberty of conscience to these opinions — condemned by all the councils, and by the uni- versal church. Every place," he said, " was filled with dis- cord and confusion, owing to the audacity of a contuma- cious sect, Avho dared to arrogate to themselves the right of believing and teaching according to their own fancies : and thus a kingdom, the first-born child of the church, ' Davila, Guerre Civile di Friinciu. 236 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. was in danger of being separated from tlie Apostolical faith in Christ, at the caprice of a few seditious spirits." Petitions from the Protestants loaded the table, praying for a Council ; complaining of persecution, and asking for temples. These petitions were now far too powerfully seconded to be treated with contemptuous neglect : even the Cardinal de Lorraine agreed in sentiment with the Queen-]\Iotlier, and bending before the force of opinion, acceded in some measure to these demands. It was decided to grant the request for a national Council by immediately calling together an assembly of the clergy, at which the Protestant divines should be at full liberty to appear ; and where, before the King and Queen in person, they might explain and defend their doctrine. A general Council, Avith authority to reconcile opinions, it was now on all sides considered vain to expect. It is true, the Pope had answered the representations of all Christendom, by once more opening that of Trent ; but it was plain little satisfaction could be the result of an as- sembly, at which the Protestant divines, upon the slender security of a Catholic safe-conduct — would hardly think it safe to appear ; and where, even if they should present themselves, it was doubtful whether the King of France possessed influence sufficient to obtain for them that pati- ent and equitable hearing, without which it was folly to expect they would submit to the decisions of the Council. Not to ofiend the Pope however, unnecessarily — jealous to the extreme of all, but more especially of national coun- cils — it was resolved by advice of the Cardinal, who observed, '^ que le mot chociue plus que la chose" to avoid the name of Council by substituting that of Colloquy. And under the name of the Colloque of Foissy, the as- sembly which resulted from these determinations is gene- rally known. 15()1.] THE DUKE OF GUISE IN PARIS. 287 The deputies for the States being upon the eve of reas- sembling, it was thought best to separate the clergy from the other orders, and call them together at Poissy, under the pretext of deliberating upon ecclesiastical abuses. To this assembly, it was thought the King might, without occasioning much scandal, introduce some of the principal Calvinist divines ; and allow them to confer in his pre- sence with the Catholic theologians. Should the Catholics obtain the victory in argument, as the Cardinal — sanguine as to the effects of his own eloquence — calculated, and their opponents be driven to recantation, the affair might be considered as settled. And even should the Protest- ants continue obstinate, they would be at least deprived of their usual boast, namely, that of all the richly en- dowed bishops and divines of the Catholic church, not one could be found hardy enough to encounter them in dis- pute. By arguments such as these, desirous himself, it is said, to display before such an assembly, that learn- ing and eloquence of which he was justly proud, he recon- ciled the Catholics to this very great concession. With respect to the civil disabilities and penal enact- ments upon religious matters, it was resolved to debate the subject once more, in a solemn assembly composed of the Parliament of Paris, and the Council of government united ; where it was hoped some conclusion might be arrived at, which would serve for the present to maintain peace between the parties — while enactments thus so- lemnly authenticated, it was expected, would meet with more respect than had attended the edicts and ordon nan- ces lately promulgated. This solemn meeting took place in June; shortly before which time, the Duke de Guise had returned to Paris. The following passage of Brantome gives a hint of the vacillating policy pursued by the Queen ; and affords a 288 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15()1. striking description of the species of influence wliich the magnificent Princes of the house of Guise ah'cady began to exercise over the lower orders in the capital : ' " After the sacre of King Charles, ]\I. de Guise took leave of the King and Queen, who begged him much to stay, and went to Guise, intending to pass his time among his friends. (I was there with him.) He had not been there fifteen days, when the Queen sent to him, praying him to return, for that he was very much wanted. He excused liimself on his private affairs, and his resolution of being less at Court than formerly; saying, he should always be ready to expose his life for the King's service Upon this, the F^te Dieu approached, and an alarm was given to the King and Queen that the Hugonots intended to trouble the feast ; on which their Majesties went to Paris .... and immediately advertised M. de Guise, praying him to come with all speed,^ for they had need of him more than of any man in France. I saw three couriers arrive in one day, coup siir coup .... and this is what I then heard him say, ' Si c'etoit pour autre sujet je ne partirois pas ; mats puisqiC il y va de thonneur de Dieu, je m^y en vais et qui y voudra entreprendre fy mourrais ne pouvant mieux mourir!^ In short, we set out, and travelled with so much speed — he on his horses and we on ours — that in two days we arrived at Paris being precisely on the vigil of the feast, but too late that evening to attend the King ; so we remained to sleep at the Hotel de Guise . . . Those who were with him may remember it as well as I, et plait dj Dieu fusse je ainsi sain et gaillard qu! alors." " The next day, early in the morning, the news spread ' Brantomc, Homines Illustres, ^ If it were on any other account, Vie Guise. I would not go; but since the honour ^ It is probable they feared dis- of God is concerned, I will be there, turbances on account of the proces- and if necessary, there am ready to sions of that day, which were par- die; for where can I better die? ticularly obnoxious to the Reformed. 1561.] THE DUKE OF GUISE IN PARIS. 239 through the city that M. de Guise was arrived. I need not say how the populace, who had been a little dis- heartened, rejoiced and gathered courage. The most part of the nobility about the Court — save a few who followed the King of Navarre, and the Hugonot guard of the Prince de Conde — came to his levee, and in such numbers, that it was quite a fine sight, and showed that he was still loved and honoured in France. He, having saluted and thanked them most courteously, " car il etoit trhs court ois, et tres propre pour gagner le cceur de tout le moncle, outre ses talens et vertus^^^ mounted his horse to go to the King. There I saw him, with his own fair and assured manner, (tjelle et asseuree fagon,) quite different from any other prince then in France. He was mounted upon a black jennet, called le Moret, a fit horse for such an occasion; for he was most superb, with great housings of black vel- vet, embroidered in silver ; M, de Guise himself clothed in a pourpoint et chausses of crimson satin, (he always loved crimson — I could name the lady who gave him that colour,) a scarf and cloak of black velvet, bound with the same, and his cap of black velvet, with a large well-placed plume of scarlet feathers, (he always loved feathers.) — Sur tout line helle et bonne epee au cote, for that morning he commanded three to be brought to him, of which he chose the best ; for as I heard him say, for the honour and service of God, well would he fight that day. In short, fair was he to behold, and well was he appointed — this great man and great Prince, towering among some five or six hundred gentle- men, most like a grand and noble oak, the monarch of the grove, rising amid surrounding trees."" " Passing through the town, the people flocked around * For he was very courteous and world, to say nothing of his talents formed to gain the hearts of all the and virtues. 240 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. him with so great a press, tliat it was a full hour before he arrived at the King's lodgings; the passages being choked with the crowds who applauded his coming with loud clamour and extreme noise, testifying their confi- dence and assurance in him lie carried it before the King of Navarre that day, for he had a suite of double his number of gentlemen volunteers, besides disbanded captains, who acknowledged him always at Court as well as during the last wars, for their general. " To conclude, the processions, as well of the Court as of the to^vn of Paris, w^ere terminated very devoutly, with- out disorder or tumult; and every one said, had it not been for M. de Guise, we should have seen both violence and bloodshed ; but he had prepared himself well, and spoken to the principal men of the town . . . ' si que si ron eut hransU le moins du monde . . . on auroit tres hien jouG de mains, et les Hugonots s'en fussent trouv^s tres mauvais marcliands!^^^ ' So tliat if there had been the gonots would have found themselves slightest commotion, there would badly off. have been pretty work, and the Hu- ir)6l.] MEETING WITH PARLIAMENT. 241 CHAPTER III. MEETING WITH PARLIAMENT. PROCEEDINGS OF NAVARRE. — TRIUMVIRATE. STATES OF PONTOISE — OF ST. GERMAIN. The presence and influence of the Duke de Guise may be detected in the resolutions of the grand Council formed of the Parliament of Paris and the Government united. It was upon the 18th of June, that the Chancellor an- nounced to the Parliament that the King would depute the Princes of the blood, and the members of his Privj Council, to enter into deliberation with the above-named high Court as to the means to be adopted for pacify- ing the disorders on account of religion.^ On the 23rd the sittings began ; present, the King of Navarre, the Card, de Bourbon, the Princes of the blood, the Constable, the Admiral, the Dukes and Mar6chals of France, and the Archbishop of Paris. The sittings were stormy, the results unfavourable. The cause of toleration found little support in the halls of justice. Those courageous spirits who once bravely stood forward in defence of freedom had disappeared, and the few who secretly detested the blind intolerance of the Par- liament were held silent by suspicion and fear. '* I feel," says one,' writing to a brother lawyer, " that there are many here who fear such a turn of for- tune as occurred in Henry the Second's time; and I ap- prehend that a dread of falling into the like inconve- niences will restrain many from speaking according to their conscience; chat echmide craint Teaii chmidr ^ Add. to Le Laboureur. '^ Lettres of Jacques de Boudin. R 242 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. After a debate ^vliicli lasted twenty days, upon the 11th of July the edict, known as the ' Edict of July,' was issued. The preamble,^ after declaring the anxiety of the go- vernment to maintain the connnunity in peace and quiet- ness, strictly prohibits, under pain of the gallows, all people, de se provoqiier jx^r injures et outrages, et n'emou- voir ni etre cause daucun trouble ou sedition^ ni agresser Vun V autre de fait ou de parole, ni f aire force ni violence les uns aux autres, dans les maisons ni ailleurs, sous quelque pretexte ou couleur que ce soit, de religion ou autre. All societies constituted for religious or other purposes, were forbidden, or preachers to use in their sermons scan- dalous invectives tending to excite sedition, All public meetings or conventicles, with or without arms — all private ones for the administration of any sa- craments but such as are observed by the Catholic church, forbidden on pain of confiscations de corps et Mens. The judgment in cases of heresy, as by the edict of Romoran- tin, left in the hands of the Church, the pains to be in- flicted being, however, limited to banishment. A general abolition of the punishments to this date incurred for causes of religion. All, with the exception of gentlemen and the servants of princes and great lords, forbidden to carry arms. Such were the provisions of an edict, the whole of which in its original form may be found in Beza, and which that author qualifies as — un edit qui depuis a causS de grands maux — I'edit de Juillet. This edict must be considered as a somewhat retrograde step on the part of the government ; and, authorised as it was by the solemn deliberations and proceedings of so ' Gamier : from the Proces Verbal . 1561.] MEETING WITH PARLIAMENT. 243 august an assembly, it greatly disappointed the Protes- tants. On the other hand, the Parliament considered it too favourable, and refused after all to register it, except provisionally ; the government at the same time secretly consoling the Protestants with the assurance, that its pro- visions should be still less observed than those of any which had preceded it. It appears somewhat strange that this above-mentioned extraordinary Council should have been had recourse to when the deputies for the States-General were upon the eve of re -assembling, and it marks the total want of all fixed constitutional principles in France, of which the following proceeding affords a yet more striking example. On the 1st of August the deputies for the two lay- Orders met at Pontoise, that of the Clergy having already assembled at Poissy. The States of Pontoise consisted only of twenty-six deputies, namely, thirteen from the Noble, ten from the Tiers Etat ; whose first care was to secure the fruit of their former efforts. The demands contained in the cahiers presented at Orleans had, it appears, during the recess, been discussed in the Council, and for the most part granted. After being accepted by the King, it had upon former occasions been customary simply to publish the demands in their original form, as declaring the will of the nation, now confirmed by the royal authority, this proceeding having been always regarded as sufficient to pass them into laws ; but De I'Hopital upon this occasion — owing probably to the irregular manner in which the cahiers had been prepared — thought proper to adopt a very singular mode of proceeding. Having reduced the contents of the various cahiers into a series of enact- ments — well known in French legal history as the Or- donnances d Orleans — he resorted to the unprecedented R 2 244 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. step of subjecting these ordonnanccs of the highest legis- lative to the control of the administrative body, and presented them to the Parliament for registry. 'La mar die que prenoit le Chancelier etoit inconnue dans noire histolre. Jusques alors les demandes de la nation^ approuvees et consenties par le Eoi, avoient paru porter un carOjCtere assez auguste pour n' avoir pas hesoin d'etre soumises aux formalites d\in enregistrementJ"^ So little does the importance of this subject seem to have been understood, that we find the Parliament so far from acknowledging with satisfaction the new and extra- ordinary power offered to them, that they for some time decline all interference ; while the assembly at Pontoise, instead of vindicating their authority, only refuse to enter upon business till the registry is effected. The Parlia- ment at length appear to perceive their advantages, and even insist upon a further power of limiting and modify- ing the ordonnances laid before them. But this was far from being the intention of De I'Hopital. After a long dispute he carried his point, and the ordonnances were at length registered without modification. The first subject discussed in the States when they pro- ceeded to business was the regency. The deputies still asserted their right to nominate the Regent; the Queen- Mother, in answer to their demands, contented herself with sending down for their consideration the last ar- rangement entered into with Navarre, and agreed to by all the Princes of the blood. It differed little from the one preceding it, except in somewhat enlarging the powers granted to Navarre, and after a short debate the de- ' The step taken by the Chan- by the King, had borne so august a cellor was unprecedented in our his- character as to render it unnecessary tory. Till then, the demands of the to subnjit them to the form of being nation, approved and consented to registered. Garnier. 1561.] THE STATES OF PONTOISE. 245 puties consented to ratify the agreement with a salvo for the rights of the States.^ This negotiation was conducted by Coligny and D'An- delot ; and this, when we consider how earnestly Coligny had advocated the rights of Navarre in the States of Orleans, affords a remarkable proof of the dependence placed by the Admiral upon Catherine's sincerity, and upon her adherence to the cause of religious liberty, ever his main object. It is said, indeed, that the States, in return for their condescension, required and received a promise on the part of the Queen that she would establish tole- ration. The cahiers of the assembly are remarkable for the ex- cessive animosity they display against the clergy, and for the partiality shown to the Reform. They represent the inefficiency of penal enactments to restrain the spirit of religious reformation ; and affirm, " that perseverance in such measures for one year longer mil light a flame which * A demand made by the States to be granted to a son of France, upon this subject is worth noting : They also denied to the Queen-Mo- " tliat in future, in case of minority ther* or council of regency, the right or incapacity of the crown, the Princes to engage the nation in any new war of the blood, each in his degree of without the approbation of the States, affinity, should be held responsible These demands came from the No- to assemble the States-General with- bility. The Tiers Etat contented in three months of such incapacity themselves simply with requiring,— arising ; under pain, failing this obli- " que soit pendant la minorite du Roi, gation, to be reputed tiaitors to the suit apres gu'il seroit parvenu a Voge, King and to the nation ; and that de gouverner par lui meme, les Etats should three months expire without Generaux continuassent a etre convo- such convocation, the provincial as- gnes tons les deux ans ; et que cefut la semblies should be empowered to desormais un regie fixe et inviolable.''^ proceed to election: and that the Who can read this without regret; States-General so chosen, should who but must lament the fatal cir- assemble on the fifteenth day of cumstances which rendered such sug- the fourth month, to censure or ap- gestions vain: obscuring the hope prove what, in the interim, might for a moment held out to France of have been done, and to appoint a a representative government and re- council of regency. They demanded ligious liberty. And who can ob- further that the States should be con- serve without admiration the great vened, either by the reigning King, and wise Coligny, doubtless the or by the depositories of his autho- prime mover in these proceedings I rity, whenever an appanage was about The quotation is from Gamier. 246 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. 110 power under Leaven can extinguish." They demand that every preceding edict u})on the subject shall be an- nulled— more especially that of July, as contrary to the requisition of the majority of the States assembled at Orleans — that churches should be allowed to the Ke- formed — and finally they petition the King to summon the principal Protestant divines to Poissy, to enter into a formal conference with the bishops ; and that the acts of such conference should be carefully collected to prevent evasion. If the bishops rejected this conference the two Orders protested, they would hold them responsible, and seek satisfaction at their hands in time and place for all the evils their obstinacy would entail upon the country. When the subject of the debt was entered upon, the hostility entertained against the Clergy was still more signally displayed; the two orders showing a very deter- mined resolution to imitate the example of some other countries, and strip that body of a considerable portion of the wealth which ensured to them so formidable a pre- ponderance in society. The deputies for the Nobility having declared, as had been done at the States of Orleans, that neither their own order, nor that of the Tiers Etat, were in a condition to bear any additional share of the public burdens, proposed to appoint a committee to decide upon the real amount of the debt which would remain, after resuming all sums that under the form of peculation or unseasonable donations had been abstracted from the treasury. The deficit they proposed to divide into three parts, two of which to be liquidated by the property of the Church, deducting for this purpose a due proportion from the endowments of every benefice exceeding four hundred livres; the third by a general tax upon the com- munity. Such were the proposals of the Nobility. But the Tiers Etat laid the axe to the root of the tree, and, 1561,] THE STATES OF PONTOISE. 247 instead of requiring a contribution, demanded at once that the whole possessions of the Church should be re- sumed. They laid down in their cahier as a principle that " as the possessions of the Church have no other origin than the liberality of Kings and ancient barons, those who enjoy them are properly but administrators ; and it lies always in the King and the order of Nobility, who have founders' rights (droits de fondateurs ) to determine their application and uses. They therefore demanded, qyJen laissant pour toute propriete fonciere aux ecclesias- tiques une maison dans le parv'is de I'eglise^ that the en- tire remainder of the temporal revenues of the Church should be sold at public auction. These were valued at 4,000,000 rent, and were expected to produce a capital of 120,000,000. From this sum it was proposed to take 48,000,000, which placed at interest at twelve per cent, would produce for the clergy a revenue of 4,000,000, without loss or deduction, 72,000,000 remaining at the disposal of the King ; of this, after deducting 42,000,000 for the liquidation of the debt, there would remain 30,000,000, which, placed at interest, would aiFord a revenue of 2,000,000, which would be more than suffi- cient for the pay of the whole army and repair of the fortresses." Yarious and great advantages to commerce, agriculture, and society in general, were enumerated as the effects of this scheme, the difficulties of carrying it into execution being, as usual, overlooked. In the nature of things, it could not have produced all the benefits that were anticipated, but the object of the proposal was, in fact, chiefly to depress the power and consideration of the Clergy;^ the dread of such power being the sole remaining sentiment which prevented Catherine from ' Garnier, from Proces Verbal des ^ See Gamier, p. 325, vol, xxix. Etats. 248 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. heartily co-operating with Navarre and Colignj in effect- ing a change in tlic national religion. It is evident this measure must have answered the intended purpose, and must have ruined for ever the temporal power of the Church of France ; for though the nominal revenue it is true would have remained at present the same, its perman- ence would have been rendered extremely precarious and dependent ; to say nothing of the facility with which the Keformed ministers might have been gradually substi- tuted for the Catholic clergy, without any invasion of the rights of property. The King appointed the great hall of St. Germains for receiving the cahier, the prelates assembled at Poissy being invited to attend. The contempt into which their body was rapidly falling, was here again displayed. It had been usual for the Cardinals upon all occasions of cere- mony, to take precedence as heads of the first order of the state, even of the Princes of the blood. But now the Princes of the blood resisted this privilege, as derogatory to their high pretensions, and the Cardinals were obliged to yield. The Cardinal de Bourbon took his place as Prince of the blood ; the Cardinals de Chatillon, and d'Armagnac, walked after the Princes ; those of De Tour- non, Lorraine, and Guise quitted the assembly. The orator for the Tiers Etat affected to imitate, in his mode of speaking, the peculiar manner then in vogue among the Calvinist ministers, and inveighed violently against the Clergy. They at last bent to the storm, and, to conciliate public opinion, consented to undertake alone the discharge of 1.5,000,000 of the debt; stipulating, only, that they should be allowed to levy it in their own manner : the Admiral and D'Andelot, we are told, persuad- ing the two remaining Orders to consent by a general impost on fermented liquors {les boissons) to defray the 1561.] STATES OF ST. GERMAINS. 249 remainder. One fact connected with this arrangement must not be forgotten. The Queen-Mother, who had entered into a solemn engagement with the two lay- Orders to permit the exercise of the Reformed religion throughout the kingdom, and as a gage of her sincerity to educate her children in that persuasion, now, in order to induce the Clergy to accede to her wishes, formally but secretly pledged herself to maintain the Catholic religion exclusively. " The overthrow of the monarchy,^^ says a French author, "seemed the necessary consequence of such perfidious contradictions, et pen sen fallut que Veffet ne repondit a la caused ^ The business of the States thus concluded, all eyes were turned upon the approaching Colloquy. The Queen-Mother and her council, having decided to take this important step, had been at the same time anxious to shelter them- selves, as far as in them lay, from responsibility ; and had provided that the demand of the States should receive the sanction of the Parliament of Paris. The following clause had been therefore inserted in the Edict of July : — ■ Eesolved, " That the Prelates of the kingdom being assembled, safe-conducts shall be sent to the ministers of the religion called the New, in order that they may in secu- rity appear, and be heard in their confession of faith : — that the endeavour may be made to convince them by the word of God, as it has been explained by the Doctors of the first five hundred years after our Lord." This resolu- tion was the more willingly acceded to by all present, be- cause the Cardinal de Lorraine "promised and assured them, that he would vanquish the said ministers by argu- ment, and require no other arms."^ Nevertheless, the deputies from the faculty of the Sorbonne, on the first rumour of the intended Colloquy, ' And the effect fell little short of the cause. - La Place. 250 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. presented themselves before the Council to represent the inconveniences that might arise from the projected con- ferences; but they were coldly answered that the thing was determined upon, and dismissed without any other satisfaction. Safe-conducts were now dispatched to the principal Reformed ministers ; and Poissy, five leagues from Paris, appointed as the place of conference. But before the assembly could meet, Catherine, by advice of the Bishop of Valence, wrote a letter to the Pope to explain her situation and justify her proceedings; the contents of which would appear to shew that she was anxious to secure for herself the reputation of a profound theologian, as well as that of an enlightened politician. After recapitulating at length the fruitless efforts which had been made to arrest the progress of the new opinions, she says, "The numbers of those who have separated from the Romish church are so great, that they are no longer to be restrained by the rigour of laws, or by the force of arms. The party having become so powerful, through the multitudes of the nobility and magistracy that have adopted it, that it is become formidable in every part of the kingdom. But, by the grace of God, there are found among them neither libertines, anabaptists, nor partisans of opinions that are regarded as monstrous. All admit the twelve articles of the Symbole, in the manner in which these articles are explained by the seven (Ecu- menic Councils.^ On this account many zealous Catholics are of opinion, that they ought not to be cut off from the communion of the Church ; and that they might be tole- rated without danger ; which might prove a first step ' This is an error on the part of properly but five CEcumenic Coun- Catherine, or the Bishop de Valence, cils. See note on the Abrege de who assisted, it is supposed, in the Thou, vol. iii. composition of this letter ; there were 1561.] STATES OF ST. GERMAINS. 251 towards the re-union of the Greek and Latin Churches. Should your Eminence not approve of this suggestion ; they are of opinion — so urgent is the evil — that recourse must be had to extraordinary measures, in order to recal those who have separated from, and retain those who still adhere to the Church. To accomplish the first of these objects they believe no better method will be found, than frequent conferences between the Doctors on either side ; and for the second, that all subjects of scandal should be removed. As for instance, that God having especially forbidden the use of images, and St. Gregory having dis- approved of if, that they should absolutely be banished from all places destined for divine worship, and that cer- tain prayers and exorcisms, not in the essence of the sacrament of baptism might be omitted. These pious persons are persuaded, Holy Father, that among all Chris- tians without distinction, communion under both kinds should be re-established. Many are scandalised at seeing the faithful communicate without those general prayers which ought always to precede this awful sacrament. They would desire that, following the ancient custom, the bishops should, the first Sunday in every month, assemble those who wish to approach the holy table, where, after having sung the Psalms in the vulgar tongue, all should make a general confession, and hear the explanation of various parts of Holy Scripture relating to the Eucharist." After remonstrating on the use of the Latin tongue in religious services, and the introduction of what were called messes basses, where the priest communicated alone, the people merely assisting as spectators, the Queen concludes, " These are the evils which it appears necessary to remedy ; it being well understood that these worthy people have no desire to diminish the authority of the Sovereign Pontiff, nor that the ministry of the Church 252 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. should be abolislied on account of the errors of her minis- ters," &c. This letter, and the reports which reached Home,' must have given Pius the Fourth good reason to appreliend that another kingdom was on the eve of escaping from the au- thority of the triple crown. In his perplexity, he had recourse to a measure very prudent, and unfortunately in its event but too successful. He resolved immediately to dispatch a legate into France, under pretence of presiding at the approaching conferences ; and he chose for this pur- pose Hyppolite d'Este, one of the most accomplished states- men of his time. The man selected was neither a haughty prelate, nor a gloomy bigot, nor perhaps a very learned theologian; but a man of the world, gentle, wily, insinu- ating, and formed by his very nature to conduct delicate negotiations ; and, perhaps, it is not too much to say, that France to this very hour may rue his success in this. " S'accommoder au temps, et ne point se precipiter, est le moyen par lequel on advancer a beaucoup mieux les affaires, que par toute autre remede violente: ce que fai si bien experimented qii assurement je puis dire, qu^ayant travaille jusqu' a present avec douceur, et sans me hater, fai plus profit e, que les autres n'ont fait par leur aigreur, et par leur trop grande precipitation."^ Such are his own expressions. The Cardinal de Ferrara was nearly allied to the royal family of France. He possessed 60,000 crowns ecclesi- astical revenue in that kingdom, holding, besides, the ' Catherine, to prevent however by which affairs are better advanced theintelhgenceof the Colloquy reach- than by violent remedies; an expe- ing Rome prematurely, had had re- rience I have so often made, that I course to the expedient of robbing may truly say that, having laboured her own couriers, and those of the Avith patience and gentleness, I have foreign ambassadors, in the moun- done more than others by their tains of Savoy. harshness and too great precipita- ^ To accommodate to the time, tion, — Negociations divers d'Hyppo- and precipitate nothing, is the means lite d'Este, p. 3. 1561.] STATES OF ST. GERMAINS. 253 office of Protector of France at Rome, by virtue of which he levied five per cent, upon all " expeditions consistori- aks/' which he rigidly exacted. His instructions were to prevent anything being settled at the Conference, and to provide that all should be referred to the Council of Trent. The Pope answered the Queen's letter in gentle terms, representing, that as he had already resolved to summon a council, chiefly with a view to remedy the disorders of the Church of France, a national council was unnecessary ; but that, being satisfied by her representations that the council she proposed was merely provisional, he had de- puted the Cardinal de Ferrara to preside at it ; and begged of her to await his arrival some few days, and consult with him on all matters connected with the Church. Catherine was far from showing so much complaisance. Already the Protestant divines began to assemble at Poissy. They came in number about ten or twelve, of which the prin- cipal were, Theodore Beza, Peter Martyr, Augustin Mar- lorat, Jean Raimond, Martin, et Franc^ois Morel ; the most part being from Geneva, but one or two from Ger- many. On the part of the Catholics, besides the King and the Court, were assembled, the Cardinals de Lorraine, de Tournon, de Bourbon, d'Armagnac, and de Guise, the most eminent bishops and theologians, and several doctors of the Sorbonne. Another person, far from insignificant, was likewise brought to St. Germains by the rumour of the Colloquy. This was Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, whose religious feel- ings, as she advanced in years, had increased in serious- ness and fervour. Being made aware of the favourable disposition manifested by Catherine towards the Reform, and that she felt embarrassed with regard to the arrange- ments for lodging the ministers, whom she dared not at present receive in the Castle of St. Germains, Jeanne 254 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. quitted Navarre and came to Court. Here she opened licr house for their reception, and exerted herself in every possible manner in their favour ; and it was with her that Beza resided while he remained at Poissy. The Queen of Navarre brought with her her son, at that time little more than seven years of age, but remarkable, even then, for his sprightly repartees, his engaging man- ners, his quick and penetrating intellect. Calvin had refused to appear at this Colloquy, and had nominated Theodore de Beze, or Beza, to represent him. Beza belonged to a noble family of the Nivernais, and had been educated at Bourges by the same Melchior Valmor, who is supposed to have converted Calvin. His youth had been one of licentious indulgence, which, un- fortunately, some early poetical publications had rendered notorious; but at two-and-thirty a dangerous illness had occasioned serious reflections. He embraced the Reformed religion, sold his benefices, married, and retired to Geneva. Here Calvin, who soon became aware of his merits and abilities, received him. After some years probation, he was associated with himself in the ministry, and looked upon as his successor; somewhat to the surprise and in- dignation, it must be confessed, of the other ministers, who regarded Beza at first as little more than a wit and man of the world. But these sentiments were of short duration. His piety and regularity were unques- tionable; in erudition he surpassed them all; and the elegance and facility of his style, the beauty of his person, and the grace and politeness of his manners, served to recom- mend, in a remarkable degree, the doctrine he taught ; and rendered him particularly useful in the conduct of those negotiations with foreign princes, in which the Reformed churches were so frequently engaged. He no sooner ap- peared at St. Germains, than his manners and accomplish- 1561.] STATES OF ST. GERMAINS. 255 ments threw into the shade all the other ministers who accompanied him. Beza reached St. Germains on the 23rd of August. The next day " he preached," he tells us, " in the hall of the Prince de Conde, where a very great and notable au- dience were assembled, without either tumult or scandal. The same evening he was called, after nightfall, into the chamber of the King of Navarre. Here he found the Queen- Mother, the King of ^N'avarre, the Prince (de Conde), the Cardinals de Bourbon and Lorraine, the Duke d'Estampes, and Madame de Crussol." ^ It was now that the Cardinal de Lorraine was introduced to Beza, being anxious to gage the powers of his future antagonist. Addressing him in the midst of the company, he prayed him to remember his French extraction, and that the gifts with which it had pleased God to endow him, belonged to his country ; so that his return ought to restore that peace to France which his departure had destroyed. Beza answered with modesty, ' That effects too great were attributed to one so insignificant as himself.' He then presented a petition to the Queen-Mother, con- taining four or five articles relating to the terms of the conference. These were: 1st, That at the Colloquy the bishops should be admitted as parties, and not as judges. 2nd, That the King in person should preside, accompanied by the Queen-Mother, the Princes of the blood, and the members of the Council of State. 3rd, That all questions should be determined by a reference to the Word of God, as contained in the canonical books of the Old and New Testament; and should any diflSculty arise in the ex- pounding of passages, that recourse should be had to the Hebrew text for the Old, and to the original Greek for the New Testament. 4th, That secretaries should be ap- ^ Beza, Hist, des Eglises. 256 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. pointed to take a proces verhaV of all that might be conceded by either party. Catherine replied, with some coolness, that it was her interest, as much as his, that the conference should be equitably regulated, and that she should herself assist at it, and take care that proper per- sons were appointed to collect its acts. Beza and Lorraine had afterwards frequent private con- ferences.^ The Cardinal was not without hope that the Calvinist divine might be found accessible to the tempta- tions of ambition or avarice, and he longed to obtain the credit of so important a conversion. On one occasion, Lorraine began, " I am glad to see and hear you. I adjure you, in the name of God, to confer with me; that I may hear your reasons, and you mine. You will see that I am not so black as I am painted." Beza thanked him, and begged him to continue in such sentiments; on which the Dame de Crussol said, (for she was free in her words,) "That it would be better to bring pen and paper, to make the Cardinal sign what he should say and confess ; for," added she, " to-morrow he may say just the con- trary." " She guessed rightly," says La Planche ; " for the next morning it was reported that the Cardinal had si- lenced Beza in argument, at which the Constable rejoiced ; and the Queen was forced to tell him that he was very ill-informed." * Gamier. ^ Hist, des Cinq Rois. 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POTSSY. 25' C--X\LA3QiV\ J> THE COLLOQUV OF TOISSV. CHAPTER lY. COLLOQUY OF POISSY. ASSEMBLY OF NOTABLES.— EDICT OF JANUARY. On the 9th of September the Court left St. Germains and arrived about noon at Poissy, where the refectory of one of the largest convents had been prepared for the im- portant conference. Opposite to the entrance door, and within a splendid balustrade, was placed the King, with the Duke of Orleans and the King of Navarre on his right ; on his left the Queen-Mother, the Queen of Navarre, and the Princess Marguerite, then quite a child. Behind their chairs sat the Princes, Princesses, the Knights of the Order, and gentlemen and ladies attached to the Court; forming a brilliant circle, adorned as they were with all the magnificence — the gold and silver brocades, rich VOL. I. s 258 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [I5G1. silks, velvets, and profusion of feathers and jewels com- mon to the dress of that period. On either side, and within the balustrade, were arranged the Princes of the Catholic Church : six cardinals, and thirty-six bishops, ar- rayed in their splendid ecclesiastical habits of gold, purple, and crimson : behind them, on lower benches, were a number of the most celebrated doctors of theology : the area was crowded with spectators. Silence being commanded, the King arose and addressed the prelates in a few words ; he said, " that he had there assembled them for two objects. First, to effect some reform in the Catholic Church ; and, secondly, with the hope to terminate those disputes which had arisen with respect to matters of faith, by bringing all men to unan- imity of opinion." The Chancellor then harangued the assembly. After a summary of the troubles which had afflicted the king- dom during the last reign, he said, that no remedy it had been thought would prove so effectual against these evils as to call together the most learned doctors of the new, in order that they might confer with those of the ancient religion, and might thus either be convinced of their errors, or convicted of obstinacy and pertinacity in ad- hering to them. That safe-conducts, therefore, had been transmitted to the ministers of the pretended Reform, (la religion pretendue Reformee,) inviting them to repair to St. Germains ; in consequence of which they were at this moment assembled, and waiting till it should please the Council to give them audience. He finished his speech with enumerating the advantages possessed by a National over a General Council. This part of his harangue gave offence to the Cardinal de Tournon, and he demanded a copy of the words in writing, that he might consider and answer them ; but De THopital, aware 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POISSY. 259 that he might be brought under an ecclesiastical censure for the sentiments he expressed upon general Councils of the Church, evaded the request by saying, that he spoke as usual without preparation, and that he had not his speech set down in writing. A signal was now made to the Captain of the Guards to introduce the Reformed Ministers. They entered in their simple black gowns and Geneva bands, escorted by a splendid group of two-and-twenty of the first gentlemen of the Court, and were ranged out- side the balustrade which separated them from the rest of the assembly. Beza then addressed the King. He began by entreat- ing him not to take it amiss, if, called to an enterprise far beyond his strength, he had recourse before proceeding further, to the great Father of lights for assistance and support in this important moment of his life. Then fall- ing upon his knees, while all his colleagues reverently followed his example, he began an earnest and humble prayer to God ; — and as he proceeded, the hearts of all present were melted. He enumerated, without bitterness, the past afflictions of his brethren and sisters in the faith, and their present and manifold sufferings and perils. He enlarged upon the hopes to which the accession of a young King, surrounded by wise councillors, gave rise : and he prayed to the Almighty Father of them all, to strengthen by His grace, the first beams of light and consolation which had risen upon the long darkness of forty years. He pleaded his own readiness to receive in candour and humility, any new instruction which this conference might lay open to his soul, as well as his constancy to defend those truths, to the knowledge of which it had pleased God to call him. And he prayed the All-wise to purify his lips and his heart, and to inspire him with words such as s 2 2G0 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G1. might best maintain tlic truth in Christ, and contribute to the repose of his afflicted country. This prayer— still more, perhaps, the softness yet deep earnestness of the tone and manner witli which it was de- livered, inclined all hearts to look upon him with favour; and the spectators scarcely could bring themselves to be- lieve, that the men who inspired them with so much admiration were the same detested and impious heretics whom, only the evening before, they had regarded as little less than monsters. Beza then, rising from his knees, commenced his argu- ment, of which Catherine, in a letter to the Bishop of Rennes, then ambassador at the Court of Vienna, thus speaks : ^ " He began his remonstrance, and continued it long, in gentle and moderate terms ; often submitting, that, if from holy Scripture it could be proved that he erred in any matter, he was ready to yield to truth; but, falling at last upon the subject of the Lord's Supper, he forgot himself in a comparison so absurd, and so offensive to all present, that 1 was upon the point of commanding him to be silent. But considering, that as it is their cus- tom to take advantage of everything for the confirmation of their doctrine, they might turn this interruption to their own advantage, I suiFered him to proceed." The harangue of Beza was, in ^»^ th, on every other point pru- dent and moderate. He rapidly enumerated the diiFer- ences that lay between the two religions; occupying him- self rather in defending his own opinions, than in attacking those of his adversaries, and carefully avoiding every ex- pression that might engender heat or bitterness. This discourse, in matter, method, and eloquence, was far be- yond the age, and was listened to in profound silence, and with the deepest interest, until, when he came to give an * Mem, de Castlenau, additions of Le Laboureur. 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POISSY. 261 account of the opinions held by himself and his brothers upon the subject of the Eucharist, he allowed himself to say, " that though he admitted the very body and blood of Christ were, in the sacrament, received through the Spirit by the faithful ; yet that he believed the real body and blood of Christ to be as far from the real bread and wine as the heavens were from the earth." * At these words there was a general murmur throughout the assembly. The Cardinal de Tournon endeavoured to interrupt the daring speaker, but, after a moment's pause, Beza was allowed to proceed ; and, calmly resuming his discourse, concluded the subject he had entered upon. When he ended, the Cardinal de Lorraine could not forbear exclaiming, " Plut a Dieu que cet liomme eut ete muet, ou que nous eussions 6te sourds."^ But the Cardinal de Tournon, outraged at once in all his principles and prejudices, and looking upon the obnoxious declaration as the most daring impiety, rose from his seat, and, in a voice rendered im- pressive by the tremulousness of age and great emotion, conjured the King, in the name of those prelates there as- sembled — and whom respect for him with difficulty kept in their places— to lend no ear to such scandalous and horrible words. " Strange ! that a Calvinist minister should be al- lowed to blaspheme at pleasure in the presence of a most Christian King, sworn to n^ 'iitain, in every single point, the holy Catholic faith ; that faith in which his royal pre- decessors had most happily lived, and in great comfort and constancy died;'' and he besought him, "at least to suspend his judgment until this most scandalous oration had been fitly and fully answered.'^ The next day Beza published his harangue, and with it an explanation, in which, though he did not retract, he endeavoured to soften the obnoxious expressions. ' De Thou. 2 Would God that man had been mute, or we deaf. 2G2 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. The second conference was appointed for the IGtli of September, and was held before the same assembly of princes, nobles, and ladies — anxious to see how the Cardi- nal de Lorraine would extricate himself from the con- test. The Cardinal was not inclined to enter the lists too hastily. He had demanded some days to prepare his answers, and had not disdained to assist his own elo- quence and learning by the erudition of Despense, a profound theologian, and one maintaining very temperate religious opinions.^ This harangue is much celebrated, and is worthy of his unrivalled talents. He controverted the principle laid down by the Chancellor,— upon the authority of the Council of Nice, it is true, but which had occasioned such general indignation — that Kings and Emperors preside at Councils as moderators and judges; maintaining, by a crowd of quotations from Scripture, and the earliest tradition, that in spiritual matters, Em- perors and Kings are sons, not lords ; members, not chiefs of the Church; and that to Bishops alone, by virtue of their ordination, belonged the interpretation of the divine word, the direction of consciences, and the regulation of all matters of faith and discipline. He went on to say that the Bishops being, by order of the King, for these purposes assembled, certain men had presented them- selves, who, having separated from the communion of the Catholic Church, desired to be restored to it, provided their errors could be proved and their doubts dissipated. He should endeavour, therefore, to answer not all their ob- jections — an endless and hopeless attempt — but to address himself to two principal points, upon which, if they were once brought to acknowledge themselves mistaken, it would afterwards be easy to arrange all minor questions. These ' Garnier, xxix. 235. 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POISSY. 263 were the authority of the Church in matters of faith, and the real presence in the sacrament of the Altar. He then proceeded to discuss these subjects with so much eloquence and perspicuity, and, in the judgment of the Catholics present, to determine them so unanswerably, that when he had finished his harangue, the Bishops, with one accord, arose from their seats, and, surrounding the Cardinal de Tournon, decided by acclamation, that there was room for no further dispute, since no man of good faith could by possibility resist such arguments. And the King was implored to command the ministers immediately to sign the confession of these two articles, on pain of being driven ignominiously from his presence. Beza surprised, but in no way confounded, at this man- ner of settling a question, saw he had no time to lose, and, bending his knee to the King, said, " That having perfectly understood the arguments just recited by M. le Cardinal de Lorraine, and being prepared to answer them article by article, he besought his Majesty to allow him to reply without the smallest delay.'' This cou- rageous demand raised the spirits of his friends; the Council decided that it was only just and ought to be granted; but the Cardinal having already spoken two hours, the reply was deferred to a future day. In the interval the Cardinal de Ferrara arrived. Pius the Fourth was well aware of the difficulty of gaining admittance at that moment for a Legate into France; but he trusted that the peculiar facilities afforded to the Cardinal by his circumstances and connexions, would enable him to gain permission to enter the kingdom, and attend the Court — whether admitted or not in his legatorial capacity. The event answered his expectations. Though the Cardinal was insulted at Lyons, and again at St. Germains, even under the eyes of the King, by the pages 264 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. and valets of the Court; though libels and caricatures were exhibited at his expense ; (" on hnprima a son vitu- pere une ejffigie du feu pape Alexandre Sexte son grand pere, et la vie et la mort de sa mere Lucrece Borgie ; " and tliough petitions were presented from the States assembled at Pontoise and from the University of Paris, against the exercise of his authority as Legate ; he was allowed to remain. But, he laid down the ensigns of his legatorial office, and appeared simply in the character of a friend, courtier, and mediator. Openly, he sided with no party, whether Bourbon or Guise, Catholic or Pro- testant, but employed himself indefatigably in sound- ing the understandings, and penetrating the secret in- terests of those in action before him. He did not oppose the conferences as had been expected, but contented himself with intimating that the King and his brother were too young to assist at such disputations, and would be better represented by their mother ; and that the crowd of spectators could only serve to lengthen the dispute by rendering the disputants more unwilling to acknowledge themselves overcome. He therefore advised the Queen to dismiss the assembly, and to select five or six bishops, — leaving the others to return to their dioceses — who should confer in some private place with an equal number of doctors of theology and Reformed ministers. The Queen adopted his advice, well pleased to get rid of the Cardinal de Tournon and some of the more violent prelates. While these matters were in debate, the Cardinal de Lor- raine had prepared a snare to entrap and confound Beza. It is well known that the Confession of the Lutherans ' They printed in contempt of and the life and death of his mother, liim a figure of the hite Pope Alex - Lucretia Borgia. La Place, ander the Sixth, his grandfather, 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POISSY. 265 on the subject of the Eucharist differed considerably from that of the followers of Calvin, and indeed very nearly ap- proached that of the Catholics themselves. This difference had occasioned a schism in the Reformed churches. The Cardinal had taken secret measures to bring half a dozen Lutheran divines from Germany into France, in order to engage them in a public contest with Beza. Various ac- cidents had deranged his scheme : one of these doctors had died of a contagious fever at Paris ; and the rest, for various reasons, had returned home without even presenting themselves at St. Germains. Accident, how- ever, enabled him to execute his design in another manner. A certain jurisconsult, named Baudoin, well acquaint- ed with Calvin, pointed out two works of that Reformer, which appeared to offer great advantages. Calvin, in his anxiety to unite the Reformed churches, and conciliate those princes who adhered to the Confession of Augsburgh, had, in one of these works, expressed himself on the sub- ject of the Eucharist in terms which his sentiments would not, perhaps, strictly justify ; the other book contained a confession of forty ministers of the Duchy of Wirtemberg to the same effect. From these two works the Cardinal ex- tracted a formula of faith ; and handing it to Beza, said, " Were he as anxious for peace as he wished to appear, he could have no objection to subscribe to a doctrine taught by his own brethren, and consigned in their public writ- ings ;'' and presenting the two works, " he begged he would assure himself that no alteration in the expressions had been made, and summoned him to declare upon the follow- ing day whether he would adopt the formula, or not.'' The embarrassment of the ministers was great. It was impossible to sign the formula, at the risk of being dis- avowed by their own churches; on the other hand, they 266 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. felt that a refusal would afford the Cardinal a pretext for breaking up the conferences, and would throw a stigma upon Calvin as the author of this paper; a paper the pub- lication of which, though written in a spirit of concilia- tion, he had in fact ever afterwards regretted. The address of Beza extricated them from this dilemma. When called upon for his answer, he said, that before he and his brothers declared their opinion upon this formula, they wished to know whether it was presented by the Cardinal in his own name alone, or in that of the Assembly of the clergy, as a means of reconciliation. The Cardinal answered, that it had not been necessary to consult the Assembly. Beza asked whether the paper contained the CardinaFs own confession, and whether he were himself ready to sign it. The Cardinal, indignant to find himself thus questioned, replied angrily, that they appeared to forget who he was ; that they ought to know that he borrowed his opinions from no one, least of all from their divines. Beza quietly replied : — '' If the matter stand thus, how can this paper produce conciliation'? And to what purpose shall we at- tach our signature to a writing, that neither you, nor any of your bishops will subscribe '? " The controversy, therefore, continued in its original state, only with some increase of bitterness on both sides. Jaques Lainez, a Jesuit, attached to the Legate, and who had introduced himself among the Catholic doctors, losing all decency, abused the ministers as *' apes, foxes, wolves, and serpents," and conjured the Queen with tears to ter- minate a conference which scandalised the whole Chris- tian world — one in which neither she, the King, nor any of their counsellors, could by possibility be judges, and which ought to be referred to the Council of Trent. To this attack the reply of Beza was temperate and 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POISSY. 267 witty ; and so, without further satisfaction to any of the parties assembled, the Colloquy closed. The Queen was now half inclined to dismiss the Re- formed ministers, and abandon the hope of reconciliation, but she was prevailed upon by those about her to make one more effort. The Bishops of Valence and Seez, Des- pence, and one or two others, for the Catholics ; Beza, Peter Martin, and Marlorat, for the Protestants, met, by her order, in a private house at St. Germains — not to dispute, for they pretty nearly agreed in opinion, but to arrange some common formula in which both communions might unite. One was at length composed, drawn up in the terms used by the Church of Eome, but these terms modi- fied by certain propositions, which restrained their sense, and when the Queen showed the paper to the Cardinal de Lorraine, he vowed he had never believed in any other man- ner. Unfortunately, however, the faculty of theology exa- mined it with more scrutinising eyes, and indifferent as to who might or might not be implicated in the censure, they condemned it as heretical, captious, and insufficient, upon which the conferences were finally broken up. The ministers for the most part prepared to return home, but Beza still remained in France. Encouraged by the Queen-Mother, he was allowed publicly to preach in the open court belonging to the castle of St. Germains^ which, large as it was, could scarcely contain the crowds assembled to hear him. The other ministers were dismissed with honour, and retired, if not victorious, yet greatly encouraged by what was considered this great advance in liberality — the permission to argue on nearly equal terms with the defenders of the ancient Church. Numerous were the sonnets and epigrams composed upon this occasion by the fertile genius of the Hugonots. The following has been preserved : — 2G8 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1561. D'un visage hypocrite envcrs cliacun user, Etonner I'miivers du feu de purgatoirc ; Fermer avec pardons de renter la gueule noire ; Et du pouvoir de Dieu sans vergogne abuser — D'un coneile aposte, la mensonge abuser, Aux idoles fumeux bailler dc Dieu la gloirc, Reniettre a tons sermons la besace en memoire ; Et des gestes farceurs tout le monde amuser : Tels fui-ent peres saints ! vos divins artifices ; Pour vous faire batir tant de beaux edifices, Orne's de toutes parts, de joy aux pre'cieux — Aux mailles de tels rets, et a tels pentieres, Vous prites des comte's, et des duches entiercs — Vous approchant des rois beaucoup plus que des cieux. Thus vanished every hope of reconciliation built upon conformity of opinion, and it became necessary to try the more practicable measure of preserving peace by tolera- tion and liberty of conscience. Though the termination of the Colloquy in this un- satisfactory manner was, undoubtedly, a severe disap- pointment to those who had trusted by such means to pacify the kingdom, yet there appeared no reason to de- spair of reaping by another method the fruit of their exer- tions. The Queen-Mother seemed still sincerely devoted to the cause, and still resolved to depress the Guises and restrain the high Catholic party. Of her two contradic- tory promises, her intention appears at this time really to have been to keep the one conveyed to the two lay-orders of the States by means of the Admiral : in conformity with which promise, she had already taken steps to educate her son in the Reformed religion. She had removed him from the superintendence of Cipierre, (placed over him by the Duke de Guise,) and consigned him to the Prince de la Roche sur-Yon,who, though nominally a Catholic, favoured, it was well known, the Reformed opinions. The Duke de Guise had for the present abandoned the field, and was re- siding either at his castle of Joinville or on the frontiers ; 1561.] COLLOQUY OF POISSY. 269 while the Cardinal cle Lorraine had shewed a temporising disposition at the Colloquy. Encouraged by these cir- cumstances, the party now in authority — of which the Chancellor, Coligny, and the Prince de Cond6 must be considered the moving spirits — set themselves earnestly to work to overthrow the Edict of July, and to substitute one in its place which might lay the sure foundation of future tranquillity. The edict of July had indeed proved worse than use- less. It was found that the Protestants, encouraged by the example of the Court, disregarded its enactments to- tally; so that its provisions served only to furnish an excuse for the disorderly fanaticism of the Catholics. To restore anything like peace, it had become absolutely necessary to legalise the Protestant assemblies, and esta- blish liberty of conscience ; and so deprive both parties of those apologies for violence furnished by the late mea- sures till now pursued. As a preliminary step, the mem- bers of both religions residing in the larger towns were commanded to give up their arms. To this command the Protestants unwillingly submitted, for they knew themselves to be surrounded on every side by their ene- mies ; but their ministers persuaded them to consent upon the assurance that their safety should be provided for. They were accordingly placed openly under the protection of the police; but unfortunately it increased the ill-humour of the Catholics to behold the watch and marechaussee of their towns now actually occupied in attending the Hugonots to and protecting their religious assemblies. At the same time, their priests inveighed without ceasing against the evil administration of affairs. Fresh tumults and disorders ensued. One Jean de Han, a popular preacher, being arrested, we see the mob of Parisians forcing their way to St. Germains, filling the courts of 270 ^ THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G1. the palace, and obliging the King to release their favou- rite. In tlie Fauxbourg St. ^ledard, on occasion of the preaching of a Reformed minister, a very alarming dis- turbance took place, and it is liard to say whether the Protestants or the Catholics shewed the most violence and intemperance. And now, while the lower orders of society filled Paris with noise and confusion, principles tending to the subversion of the monarchy were gravely debated in the theological faculty. John Tanquerel, Bachelor in Theology, advanced in a public thesis, what seems to have been considered then as a new and unheard of pre- tension, at least in France, but which became ordinary enough afterwards — namely, that the Pope, as vicar of Jesus Christ, might depose Kings and rebel Princes at pleasure. The Chancellor denounced the proposition, and Tanquerel was obliged to disavow it ; but this interference of De I'Hopital irritated the Pope to such a degree, that he charged the Cardinal de Ferrara to offer Charles a bull, giving power to alienate 100,000 crowns church property, if he would shut up the Chancellor " entre quatre mu- r allies r But things had gone too far for proceedings, such as this last, to be endured. The violence of the Pope, and of the party who supported him, only confirmed the Queen and the Chancellor in their opinion, of the necessity of giving to the Hugonots a legal existence ; and making use of their party as a barrier for the throne itself against the usurpations of Rome. It was an enterprise, however, of no small difficulty, to annul the Edict of July, confirmed as it had been in so solemn a manner ; and to effect this, measures of extra- ordinary solemnity were again had recourse to. An assembly of deputies from the principal parliaments, was 156S.] ASSEMBLY OF NOTABLES. 271 convened, to deliberate once more upon a remedy for the universal distraction. On the 7th of January, 1562, this Assembly of Notables, consisting of the above de- puties, with the Princes of the blood, and great officers of the crown, met at St. Germains. De I'Hopital— at length, as he fondly believed, arrived at the completion of his great design, to end contention by an equitable adjustment of rights, and place the religious of all persua- sions equally under the protection of the law — rose from his seat with a grave, and serene aspect, to make his last effort in support of so noble and righteous a cause. Once more he recapitulated the ineffectual attempts made by preceding Kings, to confine the freedom of thought by penal enactments. Again he described the rapid increase made both in reputation and numbers, by the professors of these long condemned opinions. He gave a summary of all the various edicts, either compul- sory or indulgent, which from time to time had been issued — all equally vague, imperfect, and ineffectual — " terror, clemency, menaces, exhortations, caustics, emol- lients, all have been tried in succession, and all in vain.'' " The ministers, of the Crown are blamed,'' he says, " for holding the King in a perfidious neutrality. It is averred that he ought at once to be placed at the head of one party, in order that he might extinguish with one mighty effort the other. These daring politicians are afraid to name Civil war; but it is plain that to civil war such opinions inevitably lead. ^' I ask them, have they con- sidered in what they would embark the King ? Do they reflect upon his agel — And whether he could readily find a military chief willing to incur, under such circumstances, the responsibility of such an execution '? — It is difficult, in the universal dissimulation which prevails at present, 272 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G!^. to (listinguisli tlic friends of one party from those of the other— (lillicult to know on whom we may rely.— Will men ])C found ready to engage an enemy, in whose ranks they may find a father, a brother, a friend 'i — To ravage castles and estates, hereafter perchance their own ! — And even should the result l>e a complete success, what would ensue 1 The desolation and ruin of the entire kingdom ! exposed naked and without defence to the fury of ambi- tious neighbours. Let us deprecate such remedies, and seek one more analogous to the nature of the evil — an evil which, being purely moral, will never yield to mere physical applications." lie then besought them not to waste time in discussing the merits of the two religions, but to find the means of tranquillising the public mind by taking away the subject matter of dispute. " Ought the new religion to be tole- rated, according to the demand of the Nobles and Tiers Etat assembled at Pontoise '? Or must it be regarded as a thing impossible that men of different opinions should live in peace in one society ; — in other words, that a heretic is incapable of fulfilling the duties of a citizen ? These, gentlemen, are the questions you are called upon to decide." The debate which ensued was long and vehement ; but the Protestants had the advantage in the Assembly. De- serted by the Duke de Guise, the Catholics found them- selves the weaker party ; and though the argument was maintained by the Cardinal de Tournon, the Marechals de Brissac, St. Andre, Termes, and the Constable himself— who treated his nephews with an excess of harshness which they found it hard to bear — the Chancellor triumphed : and after ten days' debate, on the 17th of January, 1.562, an edict, in the preparation of which the Queen-Mother had taken a large share, was at length agreed upon. 1562.J EDICT OF JANUARY. 273 This edict is the celebrated Edict of January, the pal- ladium and charter of the Protestants. The privileges it conferred were, as we in our happier times should deem, but scanty at the best ; yet did they hail the gift with an enthusiasm of joy, which, when the provisions of the enactment are regarded, marks the moderation of their wishes and expectations, and the honest sincerity of their hearts. Alas ! moderate as was the boon, — moderate as were these wishes and expectations, they were doomed to be miserably disappointed. This edict of peace, the result of such persevering efforts — of such sincere and virtuous endeavours in the cause of justice, — proved but the sig- nal for open rebellion against the laws on the part of the Catholics, — and became to the unhappy members of the Reformed churches, only a source of frustrated hope, irritating disappointment, and final despair. D'Aubigne, exulting in this Edict as the climax of suc- cess, crowns, as he says, the first book of his History with its provisions. " Non dehattus de parti en parti, mats seulement accorde par la plus celebre assemhlee de grands qui ait ete en France plusieurs annees devant et apresT ^ THE EDICT OF JANUARY. " Charles, by the grace of God, King of France, to all those who these present letters shall see, health ! Every one hath seen and known how it has pleased the Lord, for many years until now, to permit that this our king- dom shall have been afilicted with divers seditions, trou- bles, and tumults of our subjects, all raised and nourished by diversity of opinions upon religion and scruple of con- ' Not contested between party which France for years before and and party, but granted by the most since had seen, celebrated assembly of worthies ^ D'Aubigne. Hist. Univ. VOL. I. T 274 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. science, against whicli to provide and hinder the encrease of tliis conflagration many are the assemblies and convo- cations which have been made, of the greatest and most notable persons of our realm, &c/' After representing the perfect inefficiency of all former provisions to restrain an evil which from day to day had increased, and more especially the inutility of the rigorous enactments of the Edict of July, the preamble thus concludes : "The execu- tion of the above Edict having proved, therefore, difficult and perilous, and these troubles and disorders having in- creased more than before, to our great regret and dis- pleasure, we have esteemed that the best and most useful remedy that we could apply would be (by the infinite grace and goodness of the Lord and with his aid) to find some means of pacifying by gentleness the bitterness of this malady, and reconciling the wills of our subjects to a union. Hoping that with time, the assistance of a good, holy, free, and general or national Council, and the virtue of our coming majority, conducted and directed by the hand of the Lord, — hereafter to establish that which will most redound to his honour and glory, and to the repose and tranquillity of our people and subjects. Therefore, aided by the good and prudent counsel of the Queen, our very honoured mother {tres honor ee mere)^ of our dear and well beloved cousins, the Cardinal de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, Due de Montpensier, and Prince de la E-oche- sur-Yon, princes of our blood, and our very dear and well- beloved cousins, the Cardinal de Guise, the Duke d'Au- male, the Duke de Montmorenci, Constable, peers of France, the Duke d'Estampes, the Marechals de Brissac, and de Bourdillon, the Sieurs d'Andelot, de Sansac, and de Cipierre, and other good and great personages of our privy council, we have advised, for the i^ublic welfare of this our kingdom, to enact and command as follows." 156S.] EDICT OF JANUARY. 275 The principal provisions of the edict thus announced were, — first, The Protestants were commanded to restore to the Roman clergy all ecclesiastical property, whether churches, cloisters, sacred vases, or ornaments, of which they might have deprived them ; to abstain, under pain of death, from any interference in the payment of tithes, from breaking or defacing any cross or image, and from the public or private exercise of their religion within the towns. On the other hand, all pains and penalties on account of religion contained in preceding edicts, more especially in that of July, to be suspended till the decision of a ge- neral Council — Religious assemblies to be allowed luithout the towns, under protection of the magistrates ; the con- gregation attending, unarmed, except the gentlemen wear- ing the sword and dagger, and an honourable place to be reserved for the magistrate when he shall see fit to attend. Synods to be held, but not without permission from a magistrate, who shall have the right to assist thereat. No enrolment of men at arms, or general levy of money to be made, nor general imposition, even for purposes of charity ; — marriage not to be allowed within the degrees of consanguinity, prohibited by the Catholic church. — Every minister to present himself by a certain day before the nearest judge to swear to the observation of these articles ; and to preach no doctrine contrary to the true word of God as declared by the Synod of Nice, and in the canonical books of the Old and New Testament ; nor to use expressions derogatory to the Catholic church ; nor to itinerate from village to village. The Catholic preachers were in like manner commanded to abstain from invectives and offensive expressions. " These being things which have served until now, rather T 2 27G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. to excite the pcoi)le to sedition tlian to persuade them to devotion." Articles for the prompt suppression of disorders, of libels and placards exciting to disorder, and for the punishment of all who shall in any manner violate the public peace, conclude the edict. This edict is a history in itself, at once a justification of the Hugonots, and a refutation of all the ambition, worldliness, and unnecessary violence with which they have been unjustly charged. The almost affecting moderation of its provisions — the sincere and honest desire to avoid contention — and the single-hearted purpose to preserve a conscience void of offence, and to obtain with as little scandal as pos- sible to others, that which to their faithful and be- lieving hearts was the greatest of all earthly objects, — the power to worship the God of truth in spirit and in truth, — breathes through every line. It remains, and will for ever remain, a monument to the disinterestedness and Christian gentleness of the great and good men who prepared it. " If we have our religion," the Admiral was known to have said, " what do we want more ;'"' and in that spirit is every enactment conceived. Alas ! and again alas ! over that beautiful France, and that animated, chivalric, and ardently devoted race, — devoted to high thoughts, sometimes not wisely, but too well, — who at this turning point of their eventful history were precipitated into the wrong path ! Through what seas of blood ! what confu- sions, obstructions, miseries, and crimes ! late — but not too late, to recover their lost way. This edict, justly styled the Edict of Pacification, of which the terms are so temperate, the indulgence granted so moderate, and the general provisions so wise, excited 1562.] EDICT OF JANUARY. 277 the greatest opposition. It was registered in the Parlia- ments of Eouen, Bordeaux, Grenoble, and Toulouse, for the Protestants were strong in the provinces to which these belonged ; but in Burgundy, Tavannes, who com- manded there as lieutenant-general, set the example of open disobedience to the government. " The registry of the edict," says his Memoirs, " was virtuously prevented by the Sieur de Tavannes, who opposed it flatly, for which he obtained much honour."^ At Aix, where the Catholics were in force, not only did the first Consul oppose the registry, but he pointed his cannon and prepared for a siege, in case the government should think proper to enforce it. In the parliament of Paris the opposition was so vio- lent, that suspicion began to arise that some new and secret influence was at work fomenting it. The King of Navarre being despatched on the part of the King to re- monstrate upon the subject, was thought to conduct the aflair with so marked a coldness, that it alarmed the Queen, and every efibrt was made to ensure the registry before a new and more perplexing difficulty than any yet presented, should find time to develope itself. Catherine promised certain pecuniary advantages, threatened, flattered, and cajoled by turns. The Parliament was informed that their delay kept the public mind in continual agitation, and that seditions and insurrections would be the infal- lible consequence. They answered, then it would be ne- cessary to renew the ancient edicts. Their refusal to register was confirmed by the solemn expression, nee possumus, nee debemus. A scene which has a very theatrical air terminated the dispute. On the 31st of March a general commission was given to the Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon, to procure ' Mem. de Tavannes. 278 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. the registry by any means. He went accordingly down to the Chamber, and pointed out the aljsokite and imme- diate necessity for obedience ; declaring that the delay was throwing the provinces into confusion, and that the par- tisans of the new opinions, resolved to submit no longer to insupportable rigours, were arming and marching on the capital to seek justice for themselves. In short, that the Parliament had only to choose between the edict and civil war. While the Assembly hesitated, the Marechal de Montmorenci, Governor of Paris, came down, dispatched by the Queen, with advices that divers bodies of horse and foot were advancing upon the capital ; that she was totally ignorant whence they came, or by whom raised ; but that it was the earnest petition of the Catholic inha- bitants that they might be rescued from destruction by the immediate publication of the edict. He added, that the Hugonot bourgeoisie and the university were now in arms, excusing themselves for thus defying the King's authority by the absolute necessity of enforcing the publication of an edict, which would alone confer on them a civil ex- istence ; and which being secured, they promised to give every proof of submission. While the Prince was yet speaking, certain of the King's officers hastily entered the chamber, to report that a troop of 400 or 500 men, armed de toutes pieces, filled the courts, demanding to speak to the President, and threatening to cut him in pieces if the edict were not registered. This scene, how- ever got up, had its due efiect. Montmorenci retired to address the multitude,^ and the Parliament registered the edict provisionally, " en ohtemperant a la volonU du Roi; et jusqu' d ce quil en fid autrement ordonner^ Thus did religious toleration, to a certain extent, be- ' Gamier, Hist, cle France. ^"^ingj iin^l until it was ruled otlier- * Yieldiu"- to the authority of the wise. 1562.] EDICT OF JANUARY. 279 come the recognised law of the land, and the efforts of Be THopital and Coligny were so far crowned with suc- cess. Time, and a steady perseverance in the same sjs- tem, would, no doubt, have smoothed all remaining ani- mosities, — allayed the angry and contemptuous feelings of both parties, — accustomed them to live in peace and good neighbourhood, and proved the falsehood of a maxim, till then generally adopted, that " two religions cannot with safety be allowed to exist in the same State." In all probability the Protestants would have in time obtained the ascendancy in point of numbers ; any other ascendancy seems, in this instance, not to have been con- templated. At all events, more just notions of rights and liberty, more enlarged sentiments, more generally diffused knowledge would have accompanied the peaceful estab- lishment of the Reformed religion in the kingdom. But to the lasting misfortune of France, an event occurred, which, trifling as would have been its importance under other circumstances, sufficed in the present instance to blast all the opening prospects of peace and happiness : and by that mysterious and sad fatality, which seems at times to wait upon human affairs — the man who had neither energy nor ability to be of service to his country, possessed sufficient power to ruin her. So much easier is it in this world to effect evil than good, and so small is the capacity necessary for mischief. 280 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. CHAPTER V. LEAGUES OF THE TRIUMVIRATE AND NAVARKE WITH SPAIN. CONDe's NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE GERMAN PRINCES. STATE OF PARIS. It has been related that the King of Navarre's conduct when deputed to negotiate with the Parliament of Paris, upon occasion of the registration of the Edict of January, had been marked by a very suspicious coldness — the cause of this was not long a secret. During the winter, an intrigue had been carrying on, and had at length been brought to a successful conclusion, which resulted in a coalition so thoroughly monstrous, as to leave — not only the unnatural union of the Constable with the Duke de Guise, but the most unprincipled coali- tions that have been recorded in history, far behind it. This coalition was formed between the King of Is^'avarre and the Princes of the house of Lorraine — between men, till now opposed upon every principle, moral, political, or religious — separated by contending interests, and by the memory of the most unpardonable insults, and the deepest injuries — and the consequences were disastrous as their cause was base and vicious. This ruinous abandonment of his principles and his party, on the side of Anthony of ^^avarre, may be con- sidered as the first of that long train of evils which Spanish influence entailed upon France. This influence had been gradually but alarmingly increasing during the three last years, and its efiects display in the most 156S.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN. 281 vivid light, the mischief of those unnatural alliances with foreigners, which are among the worst consequences of civil dissensions. The late proceedings of the French government had occasioned, it must be remarked, very serious anxiety to the Catholic powers — more especially to the Pope, and to the King of Spain. The first began to anticipate the escape of another kingdom from the rule of the Catholic church ; while the King of Spain, both tyrant and bigot, meditating at once the establishment of despotism, and the extermination of heresy within his own territories — regarded with excessive jealousy the increasing reputation of a sect, so obnoxious on account both of its religious and political principles, and in dominions so closely bor- dering upon his own. Philip, as the champion of Catholicism, had long exercised, as I have before said, a very undue influence over the Catholic party in France. The jealousy now excited by the indulgence granted to the Protestants, through the late proceedings, had afforded the King of Spain a specious pretence for interfering, more openly than he had as yet presumed to do, in the internal affairs of the government. During the ministry of the Guises, the closest understanding had existed between the two Courts, and their measures had been influenced by Spanish maxims of state ; but it was now that the Catholic party in general first presumed to set the example of appeal- ing to a foreigner against the measures of their own legitimate and existing government — and the first act of those proceedings which may so justly be qualified as treason, took place during the July or August 1561, and emanated from the Catholic clergy. A priest named Arthur Desire was about that time intercepted on a journey to Spain, whither he was the 282 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. bearer of a certain petition, which originated it is said in the Sorbonne, with the connivance of the Cardinal de Lorraine. In this petition, Philip was implored, in the name of the Clergy of France, to lend his assistance against the increasing power of the Protestants — not suf- ficiently repressed, it was said, by a King minor, or by inefficient councillors — and to him, as to a most powerful and religious Prince, the dignity, lives, and fortunes, of the first order of the kingdom, were most especially recommended. It appears that other applications of a like nature had been before made, which had encouraged Philip at the time of the Colloquy, to express his dis- satisfaction loudly, and to add menaces to his com- plaints—menaces not to be lightly disregarded. Re- ports obscure, but alarming, were very generally diffused throughout Germany and Italy ; while the opening of the Council of Trent gave rise to innumerable speculations, political as well as religious, " with which/' says a contemporary, "the fertile genius of the Italian writers fed the restless mind of the public." Formidable principles were in some of these laid down. It was averred, " that, since the Fathers of the Council of Trent were not possessed of means powerful enough to carry their decisions into effect, a Catholic league should be formed, in order to constrain such Princes as might have separated from the Church, again to submit to her autho- rity, and to punish by extermination all such as should refuse to obey her decrees."^ The King of Spain was proposed as the fit head and chief of this new crusade ; and it was very generally re- ported that troops were actually being enrolled at this very moment, and for this very purpose, in Spain and Italy. Catherine, terrified at these rumours, despatched ' Dc Thou, Bezti. 1562.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN. 283 ambassadors to make explanations to Philip, to endeavour to cover with specious political pretences the measures she had adopted, and to remonstrate against the design of introducing Spanish soldiers into France. "When the Queen/' says De Thou, "understood that Philip of Spain was wonderfully incensed at her, for having con- sented to the Colloquy of Poissy ; and at what had there taken place ; she sent to him Jaques de Montberon, Seigneur d'Argence, to justify her.'' "It was with ex- treme difficulty, and only by the intervention of the Queen Isabella, that he could obtain an audience. He was referred by Philip to the Duke of Alva, who, having heard the excuses which were made, replied sternly, that the King his master was indeed sensibly afflicted to find, in a kingdom situated so near his own, and one with which he was so closely connected, the interests of reli- gion treated with so much indifference. It had been, and was still, his desire, that those severities adopted by his father-in-law, Henry, at the Assembly of Wednesday, and those which Francis, his brother, had, when better advised, exercised at Amboise, should be once more put in force against the sectaries — and he besought the Queen-Mother earnestly to consider the real interests of the kingdom and of the young children committed to her charge, and to apply a timely remedy against a daily increasing evil. Otherwise the greatest dangers would arise to France, dangers almost equally formidable to Philip himself, and the prospect of which he could not overlook. Therefore, having consulted well upon this matter within himself, and among his most faithful councillors, he had resolved to adventure all he possessed, and life itself, if necessary, in crushing this common pestilence. To tliis, the inces- sant complaints and prayers of the people, the nobles, and the clerical orders of the kingdom of France incited 284 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. liim — complaints and prayers, to wliicli, unless he were also wanting to himself, he could not be inattentive. More- over, that his intention of introducing foreign troops into her kingdom ought not to displease the Queen — for that, in a cause like this, the soldiers of Spain ought not to be regarded as foreigners, seeing that the question at issue was equally interesting to both countries — being the pre- servation of the religion of their ancestors, and the asser- tion of the royal authority — finally that the forces he proposed to send would not be under the command of Philip, but would carry on the war under the orders of the King of France himself, and subject in everything to his good will and pleasure/' Such was the only answer to be obtained from Philip. D'Argence shortly afterwards returned to France, where he made it clearly appear, not only by his own testimony, but by that of the Bishop of Limoges, the resident am- bassador, that the Catholic nobility of France maintained the closest union with the Court of Spain. StiU, the Catholic party wanted that sanction to their resistance, which could alone be afforded by a chief enti- tled from his rank and circumstances to an influential voice in the government. So long as the legal adminis- tration remained united and resolved to maintain the Edict of January, so long might it rely upon the support of that mass of general opinion which usually attends established and legitimate authority. To divide the king- dom with any chance of success, it was necessary first to divide the government — and the means did not escape the penetration of those able men Prosper, St. Croix, ambas- sador for the Pope, Perronnet de Chantonnai, and Manri- quez, for Spain, and the Cardinal de Ferrara — they found them in the selfishness and weakness of Anthony of Na- varre. 1562.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN. 285 The claims of this Prince to authority, rivalled, if they did not exceed, those of the Queen-Mother, and could he be induced to throw the weight of his influence into the scale with the Catholic party, — which, in numerical force, still greatly exceeded that of the Reformed, — there was little doubt but that, aided by the talents of the Guises, a successful struggle might yet be maintained for the supremacy, and that long tyranny be re-established now upon the eve of destruction. To reconcile Navarre, therefore, with the house of Lor- raine, and restore him to the bosom of the Catholic church, was the object to which the wily legate, (for such had been the effect produced upon all by the gentleness and appa- rent impartiality of the Cardinal de Ferrara, that even the Protestants had desired the confirmation of his lega- tine powers,) devoted the best efforts of his subtle and insinuating genius. He began by cultivating the most friendly relations with the chiefs of the Reformed party, and it was through the Cardinal de Chatillon that he obtained an introduction to the King and Queen of Navarre : he laid the attention of Jeanne asleep by adroitly flattering her in her religious opinions,' and cultivated every occasion of intercourse with Navarre, until he finally accomplished his object. He saw in Anthony one whom ambition and the love of distinction alone had led to place himself at the head of a powerful dissident faction ; and that the cause in which he was engaged had for him little interest. He perceived that it was regarded only as a means to enhance his im- portance in the eyes of Spain, and favour his negotiations on that leading subject of all his thoughts and wishes. ' He even went so far as to ac- till exjilained, excited very severe company her to some of her reli- animadversions at Rome, gious assemblies ; conduct which, 2SG THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [l5G2. tlie lost kingdom of Navarre. — That wliat little serious- ness there had once existed in his religious convictions had been almost entirely destroyed by the differences of doctrine which, at the Colloquy of Poissy, he was first made aware, existed among the Reformed churches, — while his attachment to tlie Chatillons, and even to the Prince de Conde himself, had yielded to feelings of jealousy, upon discovering how much their popularity and influence in the party exceeded his own. A man thus disposed is already on sale, and the price was not diffi- cult to find. Anthony had charged D'Argence when in Spain, with a private negotiation of his own ; he was to endeavour to form some arrangement for the restitution of the lost kingdom. When the proposition was made however to the Duke of Alva, he received it with expressions of the most undisguised contempt and ridicule — asking what favour at such a time like this, such an one, a favourer of heresy (fauteur d' heresie), could presume to expect from his Catholic Majesty ; adding, that if he wished to recover the possessions of his ancestors, it was for him first to prove his good faith and conduct, by renouncing at once the cause of heresy in France, and entering into a war of extermination against the sectaries, to pursue to utter destruction his brother, the Chatillons, and all their ad- herents.^ This reply having been communicated to Navarre, the Legate offered his mediation, and that of the Pope, in the business ; and under these auspices the negotiations were once more resumed, and a commission to consider his claims was finally nominated in Spain, at which the Duke of Alva presided. Having haughtily laid it down as a principle, that his master was under no obligation of restitution, or even of 1 De Thou. 1562.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN. 287 remuneration to the Count de Vendosme (for by that title alone was Navarre recognised at the insolent Spanish court), Alva proceeded to say, " that though the King his master held Spanish Navarre by an unquestionable title, having received it from his ancestors,^ tuho being just Princes could do no turong, nevertheless in his zeal for true religion, he was willing, could the Count de Vendosme be induced to add the weight of his influence to so noble a cause, to offer as a recompense for such services, and as a free gift, the island of Sardinia, to be his in full sovereignty, so soon as heresy should be extirpated in France." " For the King of Spain would never make so great a sacrifice, unless he could rest assured that it would not tend to the spiritual destruction of his poor subjects. And it there- fore was necessary that a Prince, who till now had opened his house to every heretical preacher, should give earnest of his repentance, by some signal service rendered to the Church." The beauty and fertility of the island of Sardinia were painted in the most glowing colours by the Legate. Maps and delusive descriptions of its rich productions were laid before Navarre ; to his imagination it appeared an island of the Hesperides — a splendid remuneration for what he had lost — and his good faith and consistency soon yielded to the temptation. As a further inducement, directed at once to his ambition and to his softer passions, it was proposed that the Pope should dissolve his marriage with Jeanne, and depriving her of her dominions on the score of heresy, should confer them upon Navarre, who in her place was offered the hand of Mary Stuart, the loveliest and most accomplished woman in Europe, and with a kingdom for her dowry. This temptation, however, was resisted ; and it is said, that the love borne by Anthony to his young and most promising son, and his reluctance * Garnier. 288 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. to deprive Iiini by such a step of his inheritance, saved the mother from destruction. A satirical poem of the time alludes to this ailair, and gives a very just idea of the sort of reputation wliicli Anthony of Navarre en- joyed :— Cepcndant par cautole, ct inille beaux portraits, Qu'on apporte a propos, on lui grave les traits, La grace, et la bcaute de la reiiic d'Ecossc, Jcune, fraisclie, gentillc, a fin que par la nocc Faite d'clle ct dc lui puisse etre converti A leur religion ct tenir leur parti ; Ainsi ils abusent de sa nature aisee Pour leur servir un temps d'ombre, et puis de risee.' Mary of Scotland was not refused out of any remaining inclination for his wife. Jeanne was earnest and uncom- promising in her character ; and, it appears, had thought it necessary to adopt some of the ungraceful stiffness in small matters, which too often marks the sincere devotee. She wearied Anthony at present with repre- sentations made, it is said, with more zeal than gentle- ness, till, to cut the matter short, he ordered her to return to Navarre, leaving with him his son whom he designed to educate in the Catholic religion. This stroke was infinitely painful to his Queen, and at her departure, says the Legate in his letters,^ " she made a long and severe remonstrance to the Prince her son, to persuade him never to go to mass, on any account whatsoever, — saying, that if he disobeyed her in this she would disinherit him, and he need regard her no longer as his mother. This has not prevented the King of Navarre from retaining him, that he may be properly instructed in the doctrine of the Church." Beza tells us, that upon Catherine endeavouring to per- suade Jeanne to accommodate matters with her husband, ' Mem. de Castlcnau, ' Lcttres du Card. Ferrara. 1562.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN 289 she replied, " That sooner than go to mass, if she had her kingdom in one hand and her son in the other, she would throw them into the depths of the sea, pour ne lid en estre emfpescliementr After her departure Henry was placed under the care of a rigid Catholic. These variations in his religious education may pos- sibly have been of infinite service to France, by preserv- ing her future master from that narrow sectarian spirit which may justly be considered as the most dangerous error which can attend the religion of Kings; who ought to regard all their subjects with a true Catholic spirit, looking upon all, of every persuasion, with an equal eye, so long as their loyalty to the state and their adherence to the rules of good living are equal. The secession of the King of !N"avarre was soon made public; he took the first occasion to quarrel with the Queen-Mother, retired from Court, broke with all his Pro- testant connexions, and took up his residence at Paris.' The following passage from Castlenau paints the tran- quillising effects of the edict of peace, and the disastrous changes occasioned by that defection which rendered it ineffectual. "The Edict," says he, "was verified and at length published in the Parliaments. Then the minis- ters of religion began to preach more boldly, here and there — some in the fields, others in gardens, openly in every place whithersoever affection or passion led them, or where they could find shelter, as in old ruined build- ings, or even barns f being forbidden to build temples, or * Mem. de Castlenau. circulars to the churches, recom- ^ These representations of the au- mending certain rules and regula- thor are coloured hy his prejudices ; tions in consequence of the Edict, — though a man of great fairness, he rules equally Avise and reasonable, is still a Catholic. He forgets to By them the Calvinists were recom- tell us that the principal Protestant mended to conform implicitly to the ministers and deputies addressed Edict, and restore to the Catholics VOL. I. U 290 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. establish any manner of church. The people curious of novelties, flocked from all parts, as well Catholics as Pro- testants ; some to see the methods (fafons) of this new doctrine, some to know and mark those who were of the Reformed religion." " They discoursed in French, quoting no Latin and few texts of scripture; preaching ordinarily against those abuses of the Church which no prudent Catholic could defend — often they proceeded to invectives. And after their sermons, they prayed and sang psalms in the French rhythm, {rythne Frangois) with music and nu- merous good voices, by which many were much edified, so that the number increased every day. Much was there spoken of the correction of abuses, of giving alms, and things similar— fair in appearance, so that many Catholics ranged themselves with this party ; and it is to be believ- ed that had the ministers been more grave and learned, and of a better life for the most part, they would have had more followers. But they would administer the sa- crament after a fashion of their own, without preserving that modesty which many Protestants, such as those of Germany and England, preserve, who have their Bishops, Primates, Deacons, &c., who retain the surplice and orna- ments of the Catholic church with long robes; which makes them more esteemed than the Protestants of France, Geneva, and Scotland, who, covering their passions with a pretext of religion, have fallen foul on matters no ways injurious. " And now, either led by the force of example, imita- tion, or the desire of improvement, the Bishops, Doctors, all of which they might at any time certain there had been some sei- have deprived them, and never to zures of churches and cloisters ; go armed to their prayer-meetings. hut upon the publication of the The circular and a protocol to this Edict of January they were all re- eifect are preserved in the Memoires stored, de Conde ; sec also Beza. It is 1562.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN. 291 CuY^s, Friars, and other Catholic pastors, began to consi- der well the methods of these new preachers — so desirous and ardent to advance their religion — and thence began to take more care to watch their own flocks, and attend to the duties of their charge. Some, in emulation of the Protestant ministers, began to study in the holy writings, {es saintes lettres) and fearing the said ministers would have the advantage over them by their frequent preach- ings, they began also to preach more often than had been customary, advising their auditors to beware of here- sies, and warning them that nothing is more dangerous in a republic than novelties in religion, &c. "But when the Catholics were advertised that the King of l^avarre had been detached from the Protestant party, and was now rather adverse than favourable to them, (having united with those of Guise, the Constable, and the Marechal de St. Andre,) they began to be bolder than before : for the report of this confederation becoming public, the Catholics began to insult the Protestants with disdainful words ; and seeing them come out of the towns to go into the fauxbourgs and villages where their preach- ings were held, and return wet and dirty, they laughed at them; and the women were not exempt from scan- dalous tales, as whether they went moved by religion, or to meet their friends and lovers, and so forth. And if any dispute arose about matters of religion, suddenly it was accompanied by words of rage and contempt; and from thence they came to blows, and the Protestants were often beaten, being in less numbers than the Catholics; and had it not been for the fear of the magistrate, it would have been yet worse, for the Catholics could not endure their preachings and assemblies."^ Nevertheless the ministers continued to preach, and ' Mem. de Castleiiau. u 2 292 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. the Protestants to attend in great numbers, in spite of those disorders which took place in many towns of the kingdom. At Cahors, Sens, Amiens, Trojes, Abbeville, Toulouse, ]\Iarseilles, and Tours, there were great dis- orders, and many of the Reformed were massacred. Such were the outrages committed by the lower classes of the Catholic party. But the spirit of insubordination displayed by the higher — and of encroaching interference on the part of Spain, were still more significant, and showed that the hour was now approaching when civil restraints and obligations would be alike discarded, and the royal authority itself prove ineffectual to avert that struggle for unjust supremacy on the one hand, and for very existence upon the other, which it was evident must speedily divide the nation. The attack began in the Council of Government, and was made by the Spaniard, his intention being to separate the Queen from her Protestant friends and councillors, and to drive from the cabinet men who, in advocating the cause of liberty of conscience, maintained that not less important one, of national independence. The King of Navarre was therefore given to understand that as the first test of his sincerity it was expected upon the part of Spain that he should contribute to drive those ''pestes,'' the Chatillons, from Court; and when his agents represented that such a thing was impossible, for that even his dignity as first Prince of the blood, and Lieuten- ant-General of the kingdom, in no manner entitled him to exclude any one from the Council, the Duke of Alva angrily asked how he could then pretend to a recompense if he were incapable of so slight a service. It was at length agreed that the Spanish ambassador should himself demand the dismissal of the obnoxious noblemen before the assembled Council, and be seconded by all the Catholics 1562.] LEAGUES WITH SPAIN. 293 present. The Queen was secretly apprised of the intend- ed measure ; and Coligny, but too well aware of what might be expected from her timidity and irresolution, chose to save her honour and that of his country by a timely retreat. Under pretence of urgent private busi- ness, he demanded and obtained permission to retire to his estates ; and the last of his long train of baggage mules was quitting St. Germains as the equipage of the Spanish ambassador entered by an opposite gate. His prudence, however, did not save Catherine from the ignominy of the request, or rather command. She felt the humiliation bitterly, and replied with unusual spirit, " That it ap- peared to have been forgotten in Spain that her son and herself were answerable to no one for their actions ; and that her character must have been strangely blackened in the eyes of her son-in-law before he would have hazarded a step so contrary to his usual conduct with regard to her : that the Admiral and the Seigneur D'Andelot were absent on their private affairs, and that the Cardinal de Chatillon had retired to his diocese in obedience to her express desire that bishops as well as governors should in these unquiet times betake themselves to their respective charges.'^ It was true that Catherine had, before this, made an effort to break up the Catholic confederacy, by obliging the most influential members of it, more especially the Cardinal de Tournon, and the Marechal de St. Andre, to retire on the above pretence to their provinces. The Cardinal de Tournon had submitted in silence, but the Marechal de St. Andre taught her, upon this occasion, what species of obedience was henceforward to be expected by the King from his most loyal Catholic subjects. He replied, that the law of residence, good in itself, must, like other regu- lations, become subservient to circumstances — that in his 294 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. opinion the attitude of the capital from which the Court was but a few leagues removed, was more menacing than that of any other city in the kingdom — that the shock which a collision between the multitudes of both persua- sions there assembled must occasion would be terrible — ■ and that he thought the Queen at such a moment would do better by assembling the friends of the King around his person than by scattering them all over his dominions. Stung to the quick by this insolent reply, Catherine gave way to the most violent reproaches. St. Andre answered coldly that he had not to learn that his presence was highly unacceptable but that he was bound to her chil- dren by a solemn oath made to their father of glorious memory — who having, among numerous favours, invested him with the office of Grand Chamberlain, had exacted from him a promise, that he would never either relinquish this office, nor abandon his family — that death alone there- fore should divide him from the person of the King. If the Queen, however, disapproved of the manner in which his Lieutenants administered the affairs of his province, she had only to dispose of his government elsewhere. An order being likewise dispatched to the Duke de Guise to repair to his government of Dauphin^, met, if possible, with a more contemptuous refusal. He received it at Saverne, on the borders of Lorraine, where he had gone upon his retreat from Court. Here he had been occupied in negotiating large levies of mercenaries with the German Princes on his own account, and also in endeavouring to destroy the relations held by the Prince de Conde with those courts, and thus deprive him of that countenance and assistance he had reason to expect from the German Pro- testant powers— more especially from the Duke of Wir- temberg — in the event of being driven by necessity to arms. This he had endeavoured to effect, by inflaming those 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 295 jealousies which already subsisted between the Lutherans and the followers of Calvin, and in this he was well se- conded by the Cardinal de Lorraine. The prelate strove to persuade the Duke of Wirtemberg, that he was himself far from opposing religious reform, being ardently desir- ous that abuses should be done away, and the system amended;^— and that his object was solely to resist the monstrous errors of Calvin and Zwingle, by which proceeding he not only served God, but all reigning Princes, the tranquillity of whose estates was endangered by the pernicious political opinions of these sectaries. " In fine, he yielded so many points, and approached so near Lutheranism, that Brennius, one of the most emi- nent of the Wirtemberg divines, did not scruple to attend one of his sermons ; and the Duke promised to send an ambassador and some theologians, if not to Trent, where the Council was at length re-opened, at least to some neighbouring town, whence deputies from that Council might be sent to confer with them." The result of these intrigues was such as they intended, and occasioned, on the part of the German Protestant Princes, so great a cold- ness for the cause of their brethren in France, that Conde found himself, when the struggle began, almost entirely without support from that quarter. The brothers of Lorraine were thus occupied when the commands issued by the Queen to the Duke, directing him to retire to his government, were contradicted by a letter from Navarre, demanding his friendship, and ordering him on the obedience due to himself, as Lieutenant-General of the kingdom, immediately to call together his compagnies d'ordonnance and as many friends as he could assemble, and march without delay for Paris to defend the Catholic religion. The Duke hesitated not a moment which party ' De Thou. 296 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. to obey — he quitted Saverne, passed two or three days at Joinville, with his mother Antoinette de Bourbon, and then with his wife and children prepared to set forward for the capital. The crisis rapidly approached, and the Queen, driven to extremity, turned her eyes as a last refuge upon the Prince de Conde. It is not to be supposed that a spirit, active and intel- ligent as his, had been insensible to the signs of the ga- thering storm, or negligent of the means for prudent pre- paration. To defend the Edict of January to the last extremity — an Edict obtained with so much difficulty — founded upon the plainest principles of justice — and neces- sary to the very existence of his friends, his religion, and himself, was the determination of this brave and high spirited man — and they must deny the right of resist- ence, even in the extremest case, who blame the generous resolution. But Conde, though subsequent events have weakened the force of this justification, had a plea to urge, in the eyes of many, yet more unquestionable, namely, the duty of defending the legal and established government, against the tyranny of a violent and unprin- cipled faction. To him Catherine had appealed in her distress — and there cannot be a doubt, however much his taking up arms was afterwards qualified as rebellion — that it was done at first at her suggestion, and for the King's defence. The Prince had for the last few months resided almost entirely in Paris, and anticipating the result of late events, had been busily occupied in strengthening his party, and endeavouring to establish for it a secure footing in the capital— for this purpose, he had excited the min- isters to make every effort for the diff'usion of the Reform- ed opinions, had been circulating tracts and catechisms, attending conventicles, &c. And, latterly, as the aspect 1562.] STATE OF PARIS. 207 of affairs darkened, he had encouraged the people to attend their assemblies armed ; and, evading that clause of the Edict which forbade collections of money for any purposes save those of charity, had engaged his friends to double and treble their contributions, though still under that pretence. The money thus obtained was spent partly in the purchase of those works of Calvin, which were adapted for circulation among the lower orders, and partly in furnishing with arms such members of the University and bourgeoisie as were without. " Part," says Garnier, who does not like him, ''in subsisting vagabonds and un- known people, who served to fill their assemblies, and were ready for any business upon which he chose to em- ploy them." Catholic historians stigmatize such precautions as fac- tious and rebellious preparations ; yet it is admitted by all, that the hope, as well as desire of the Prince and of the Admiral, had been, and still was, to carry out and to maintain, without effusion of blood, those great changes which the state of the country demanded. They trusted by presenting an imposing attitude to overawe the capital into tranquillity, which example would have preserved the peace of the provinces, but the unprincipled defection of Navarre confounded all their calculations, and the Prince de Conde had the mortification to discover how baseless were the hopes he had entertained. No sooner was this base defection publicly made known than the example was followed by multitudes of those whom fashion or interest had attached to the party of Anthony. The crowds that by thousands had attended the Reformed assemblies disappeared — the ministers preached to empty benches, whilst the vast population of Paris, no longer repressed by the strong hand of au- thority, seemed ready at the first signal to burst into 298 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. the most violent disorders. Conde found himself sur- rounded by enemies, witli a train amounting at most to but 400 gentlemen, supported by 400 of the old French Infantry, brought him by D'Andelot. To these might be added 300 of the young and petulant stu- dents of the University, and 300 or 400 at most of the bourgeoisie, the greater part unarmed. Yet was the Prince resolved to dispute the ground foot by foot, and inch by inch with his adversary. lie knew that though weak in Paris, he was strong in the provinces ; he was in possession of exact reports of the force that could be collected, whether in men or money, by 2,500 churches; and there was scarcely a city in the kingdom where the relative force of his party did not exceed that in the capital. As soon, therefore, as he received the intelligence of the return of the Duke de Guise, he took measures to maintain his po- sition if possible, and sent orders for a body of from 5,000 to 6,000 men to march up and reinforce him from the churches of Picardy and Champagne. They arrived in small parties, and were concealed in various parts of the town, and at the same time a secret petition was presented from the members of the Reformed church to the Queen, praying to be allowed to resume their arms to defend themselves against a seditious and insolent populace. On the other hand, the munici- pality on the part of the Catholics, informed her that a report was current through the city, that the Hugonots were plotting for the destruction of the town, and suppli- cated to be allowed to arm. The Queen refused both petitions ; but, aware that the fatal moment was rapidly approaching, she quitted St. Germain s, and in order to con- vey the King somewhat further from the scene of the con- flict, retired to Monceaux. She took the King of Navarre with her, alluring him by the charms of one of her ladies ; 1562.] STATE OF PARIS. 299 and was accompanied also by the Legate, whom she looked upon as a species of protection against the violence of the Catholics. Thus Paris remained a prize for that enterprising leader who should first venture to lay his hand upon the prey. Such was the state of affairs when a most audacious breach of the public peace, committed under the eyes of, and apparently with the approbation of one of the first men in the kingdom, lighted the long prepared train, and the civil war began. ^ ' The Massacre of Vassi has been called the cause of the civil war : it was perhaps the spark which liglited the flame. But in this, as in most great public evils, many causes must have contributed, and lain as it were in preparation, before one mistake could have occasioned so great a mischief. The firebrand expires, which does not fall where the materials of combustion lie. Nevertheless it is certain that Beza, in his detail of the affairs of the churches in the several tOAvns during this time, almost invariably describes both parties as gradually learning to become reconciled to each other, and the Catholics as submit- ting to the Edict of January, until the outrage of Vassi gave them cou- rage to break out into acts of riot and insubordination. 300 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. CHAPTER YL MASSACRE OF VASSI. CONDE ABANDONS PARIS. LETTERS OF THE QUEEN. — TRIUMVIRS CARRY THE KING TO THE CAPITAL. Ox\ Sunday the 1st of March 1562, the Duke cle Guise, attended by his family and by the Cardinal de Guise, left Joinville for Paris. It appears that during his stay at Joinville, his mother Antoinette de Bourbon, had com- plained of the insolence of the Hugonots, who presumed to hold their preachings at Yassi, close upon the gates of her castle.^ "The Duke began to mutter," says the histo- rian, " et d s'animer dans son courage, mordant sa harhe;"^ as was his custom when he was angry, and " such were the dispositions," says De Thou, whose account has been Relation dans les Me'moires de Condc. Biting his lips. 1562.] MASSACRE OF VASSI. 301 chiefly followed, " which seemed to prepare the miserable event that ensued." The route of the Duke unfortunately lay through Yassi, where he arrived early in the morning, followed by his numerous and splendid train. His design, if design he had, appears to have been to disperse the Hugonots if assembled, but not to oifer violence to any person in par- ticular. As he entered the town he heard a bell ring- ing, and asking what that was for, he was answered, it was to call the Protestants to meeting. Upon that a loud and confused cry of joy was heard among the crowd of valets, lackeys, and other attendants travel- ling with him. " It seemed like the cry of a body of military adventurers rejoicing in the prospect of plunder."^ As the Duke proceeded, he was met by some of the princi- pal officers of the place, who to prevent disturbance begged of him to pass the building where the assembly was being held, without stopping ; but while he was in discourse with them, several of his people had approached the meeting- house, (it was a barn which the Hugonots had purchased, and might hold about 1200 people,) and had begun to abuse those assembled, " calling them dogs and rebels to God and to the King." High words were returned by the Hugonots, and the afiray began. A shower of stones was thrown by the Duke's servants, who soon tore down the door of the chapel, and rushing furiously in, sword in hand, fell upon the assembled multitude, striking down and massacring all they met. A dreadful confusion ensued. The women and children rent the air with their shrieks and cries, vainly endeavouring to escape, the men called loudly for help. A few only put themselves on their defence, for they were all, in obedience to the edict, unarmed. The tu- mult was so great that the noise reached the Duchess de Guise who travelling in her litter was a short distance in ' De Thou. 802 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. advance of the rest ; and she instantly dispatched an express to her husband to entreat him to spare innocent blood. Iler messenger found the Duke standing at the door of the barn, endeavouring, some say, to allay the dis- order, but at the moment a stone unfortunately struck him on the face ; and his people seeing the blood stream from his mouth, and glad of an excuse for further vio- lence, now set no bounds to their fury. In spite of his prayers and menaces, the carnage was horrible, the rage of the murderers being only appeased when not a crea- ture remained in the chapel. — Sixty were left dead upon the spot and more than two hundred wounded or made prisoners.' The interior of the chapel was entirely defaced, and even several houses in the neighbourhood were torn down. " Though," continues De Thou, "all this had passed without design on the, part of the Duke, yet had he several of the prisoners brought before him, and reprimanded them severely for having occasioned a tumult by their seditious assemblies:" they alleged in their defence the Edict of January. '' Detestable Edict," cried the Duke, putting his hand to his sword, " this shall break it."^ He was not, however, so indifferent to public opinion as to neglect to furnish himself with the mate- rials for his justification, and he ordered evidence to be collected on the spot, with design to prove that the dis- turbance had originated with the Protestants. A curious anecdote connected with this tragedy is pre- served by Beza.^ " While they were pillaging and defacing ' D'Aubigne makes the number ces tigres et lions plus qu'enrages of dead amount to 300, and adds an travers de ces paiivres brebis, qui " tlie priests were diligent to point ne faisaient aucun resistance y etant out to the soldiers those who were le Due de Guise I'epee nue, avec escaping over the roofs." Beza as- I'ainee La Brosse, lieutenant de sa sures us that the part taken by the compagnie." The old print from Duke de Guise was very different Montfaucon represents him as stab- from the one assigned him by De bing a woman. Thou. — " De'slors la porte e'tant ^ Davila, Guerre Civile di Francia. forc^e, la tuerie commen^a frappant ^ Beza, Hist, des Eglises. 1562.] MASSACRE OF VASSI. 303 the chapel, a large Bible used in the service, was brought to the Duke ; he, holding it in his hands, calling to his brother the Cardinal of Guise, sajs, ' Here, brother, look at the title of one of these cursed Hugonot books/ — ' There is not much harm in that,' sajs the Cardinal, looking at it, ' for it is the Bible of the Holy Scriptures.' The Duke, confused at this, fell into a greater rage than before ; 'Comment sang Dieu la Sainte Ecriture ! the Holy Scripture ! It is fifteen hundred years since Jesus Christ sufibred death and passion, and but one since this book has been printed. — Do you call it the Gospel '? Pa?' la mort Dieu tout rHen vaut rienJ This extreme fury dis- pleased the Cardinal, who was heard to say, ' My brother is in the wrong.' While the Duke paced the barn, pluck- ing his beard, pour toute contenance" Whether this massacre were premeditated or not re- mains a disputed point. The truth appears to be, that though to put down the Edict of January, and with it the public exercise of the Reformed religion was the express purpose of the Duke in coming to Paris ; yet, that he was as far from planning, as from desiring, an outrage violent as this.^ It is certain that he constantly disavowed it to his most intimate friends, and persisted in declaring his innocence on his death-bed. " At his death," says Bran- tome, "he made confession concerning this massacre, praying God to have no mercy on his soul if he were the author of it, mahing light of the matter, it is true. Yet, because blood had been shed, he confessed himself to God and asked his pardon, for I heard him."^ * Mem. de Castlenaii. Massacre of St. Bartholomew no - Davila agrees with De Thou. subject for confession or repentance, He acquits the Duke of all design, uses this expression, — that the Duke and affirms that the first stones were marching to Paris to join the King of thrown by the Hugonots. On the Navarre, in order to put down the other hand, Tavannes, who had a Edict of January, " commence par different opinion concerning mas- Vassi ou il arrive a Fheure de sacres ; inasmuch as he thought the presche." — Mem. de Tavannes. oM TllK UEl'OllMATlON IN TllANCE. [1662. Designed or not, this daring infraction of the Edict oc- curring so near Paris, and under the eyes of one of the principal men in the king(h)ni, })roduced the most disas- trous effects.' It served immediately as a signal in innu- merable places for tlie populace to renew the ancient dis- orders and barbarities. " Cette licence," says D'Aubignd, ''donna le hransle a Gahors, a Sens, d Auxerre, d Tours.'' In these towns from a thousand to twelve hundred persons were put to death with circumstances of atrocious cruelty by the mob, instigated in most places by their priests. At Tours three hundred being shut up in the church for three days, were afterwards carried to slaughter " on the bank of the river, and there butchered in different ways ; little children being sold for a crown." A woman of ex- quisite beauty having moved even her murderer to com- passion, another undertook her, and to shew his resolu- tion, " took a pleasure in seeing this flower of beauty fade away under his blows." ^ A young infant born upon the spot, was, we are told, thrown into the river with its un- fortunate mother, and even these monsters shuddered as the innocent being floated down the stream, " raising its right arm on high, as if invoking vengeance from heaven."^ It is unnecessary to enter into a repetition of the horrors which ensued in other places — " Tons marques dinsignes * D'Aubigne, Hist. Univers. avoir langui quelque temps. Plusieurs 2 The Catholics in Paris shewed sont demeures impotens outre ceux the most indecent exultation upon desquels on n'a pu savoir les noms. this occasion ; their preachers, says Et avons bien voulu conter ici ex- Castlenau, maintaining that it was presse'ment les personnes, tant pour no cruelty; the thing having arisen montrer la ve'rite' du fait, que pour tlu-ougli zeal for the Catholic reli- mieux manifester Finiquite' de Tar- gion; alleging the example of Moses, ret donne' depuis a Paris contre ces who commanded the people of God pauvrcs gens ; et si c'est sans occa- to kill the idolaters of the golden sion que ceux do la religion prirent calf. But thurs in bitter and melan- les armcs defensives contre une telle choly resentment Beza speaks of it. et intole'rable tyrannic de ceux de — " S'ensuivent les noms de ceux Guise. — Hist, des Eglises. qu'on a pu rcmarquer, tant des tue's ^ This massacre with all its cir- que des blesses, dont les uns mouru- cumstances is represented in a print rent sur le champ, les autres, apres in Montfaucon. 1562.] MASSACRE OF VASSI. 305 antes''' — D'Aurillac, Nemours, ko,} A distinction must be made between these and succeeding massacres, adds the historian, "for these first occasioned the taking up of arms ; and this taking up of arms occasioned innumerable other massacres." All these atrocities, however, united, seem to have oc- casioned less sensation than did the massacre of Vassi. Those were probably regarded as the effects of popular animosity, but this was looked upon as an act of pre- meditation, and had been committed under the eyes of one of the first men of the kingdom. The Protestants were thunder-struck — their pulpits rang Avith invectives — the action was stigmatised as one of unprecedented cruelty, and the Duke de Guise execrated as a second Herod. The Catholics, on the other hand, manifested the most indecent and extravagant exultation. Beza and Francour were commissioned by the churches to carry their complaints to the Council of Government, at that time with the King at Monceaux.^ They repre- sented the horror of this, and the consequent massacres, wherein no less than 3000 persons had perished, " poig- narded, stoned, beheaded, strangled, burned, starved to death, buried alive, drowned, suffocated," while the Council at the dreadful recital remained for some mo- ments silent with dismay and commiseration. The King of Navarre alone attempted to defend what had been done, as necessary and right ; and Beza persisting in his com- plaints and petitions for justice, he began to excuse the massacre of Vassi, by saying, that the tumult origi- nated in the Protestants throwing stones at the Duke de Guise, — adding, " Princes were not made to have stones thrown at them with impunity."'^ Beza replied, "If the ' D'Aubigne, Histoire Univer- ^ Mem. de Castlenau, additions of selle. Le Laboureur. ^ Hist, des Eglises, by Beza. VOL. I. X 30G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G!^. fact were so, the Duke in liis own justification ought to point out the autliors of the outrage," and added, " It is in trutli, Sire, becoming the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to receive — and not to return, blows. Yet your IMajesty may be pleased to remember that it is an anvil which has worn out many hammers : ' c'est une enclume qui a usee heaucoup cle marteaux.'" No sooner did the news of this massacre reach the Prince de Cond6 at Paris, "than regarding this little storm as the sure presage of a greater,"^ he began to make serious preparations for defence; and, in concert with the gentlemen around him, he determined to lose no time in arousing his friends, and warning the churches of their approaching danger. " The most part of which, reposing upon the public faith, had lately been more intent upon establishing the exercise of their religion, than upon pro- viding the means for its defence."^ This intelligence, how- ever, adds La None, " marvellously excited those among the provincial noblesse who belonged to the Religion. They speedily prepared their arms and horses, and con- tinued anxiously watching the turn affairs would take.''^ The Duke de Guise had not immediately proceeded to the capital ; he had turned aside to Nanteuil, one of his country seats, where he had been joined by the Constable and the Marechal de St. Andre. Conde gave instant notice to the Queen of this portentous re-union ; upon which she, making one expiring effort to avert the ap- proaching disasters, wrote to Guise desiring his immediate presence at Monceaux — attended at most by only twelve gentlemen — while the King of Navarre, at her express de- sire, dispatched orders to the Duke to lay down his arms. But Guise was not so easily to be diverted from the design he meditated. He excused himself from attending upon * Memoires de La Noue. ' Ibid. ^ Ibid. 1562.] MASSACRE OF VASSI. 307 the King under the plea of being engaged at that moment in entertaining his friends at home ; and aware that ab- solute disobedience to a command so positive could be held only as tantamount to a declaration of war, he re- solved without more delay to join his friends ; he assem- bled, therefore, a troop of between twelve and fifteen hundred gentlemen, and accompanied by Montmorenci and St. Andre, quitted Nanteuil and reached Paris on the 26th of March, 1562. The Duke made his entrance by the Porte St. Denis^ — a gate long appropriated to royal processions — followed by a train which might have done honour to the magnificent days of Francis the First or his son. On his right hand rode the Constable, on his left the Marechal de St. Andre —1200 gentlemen on horseback, the flower of the Catholic nobility, followed. He was received by the Pr^vot des Marchands,^ and other public authorities, with much pomp ; the streets being, crowded with the common people, who welcomed him with the loudest acclamations — they hung upon his horse, they kissed his clothes, while the air rang with the cry of Vive Guise defenseur de la foi ! Arrived at his hotel, a deputation from the municipality waited upon him to express their satisfaction at his return, and to ofier him any sum of money which he might need for the defence of religion. The Duke, who made a show of the greatest moderation, replied, that such offers ought to be made to the King of Navarre. For himself, he was but a simple soldier, come by that King's command to serve the state in any manner in which he might be pleased to employ him : — he even went so far the next morning as to dispatch a complimentary message to the Prince de Conde with the offer of his services— the full value of which civility Conde was at no loss to understand. ' Lacretelle. '^ Lett res de Pasquier. X 2 308 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [ITjCy^. And now Paris presented the singular and alarming spectacle of two rival chiefs in one city, surrounded by armed and hostile followers — each resolved to maintain his position, though each apparently afraid to begin the con- test for supremacy — and of two separate Councils of Government, composed of the leading men of either party, and each claiming to be the one alone legitimate. That to which the Prince de Cond6 adhered, met at the apart- ments of the Chancellor, and was attended by the Bishop of Valence, the Cardinal de Chatillon, and Madame de Crussol, an ardent Ilugonot, and confidante of the Queen- ]\Iother. The other, which assembled at the Constable's hotel, was attended by the Duke de Guise, his brothers, the Cardinal de Guise, the Duke d'Aumale, and the Marechals St. Andrd, Brissac, and Termes. To attend these coun- cils, the Prince de Conde might be seen traversing the streets followed by three or four hundred Hugonot gentle- men ; while Guise never moved but surrounded by a multitude of the lower orders, ready at the first signal for every species of violence. Upon one occasion a collision seemed inevitable. Passing through the Rue Crenelle St. Honor6 the rivals suddenly encountered — Conde attended by his usual train, the Duke followed by an immense crowd, whose cries rent the air, The danger to Conde was imminent ; a sign from the Duke, and he, with his followers, must have been torn to pieces by the multitude, and so the quarrel have been terminated. The Prince was well aware of his danger, but with his usual high spirit, refused to give ground an inch. The two parties watched the movements of their chiefs, — but the magnanimity of Guise upon this occasion saved his rival. The Duke restrained his followers ; saluted the Prince with respect, who returned the courtesy, — and the day ended in tran- quillity. 1562.] MASSACRE OF VASSI. 309 It was impossible that things should long continue in this situation. Of this every one was aware ; but the remedy was difficult to find. Catherine, in her alarm and perplexity, was for some time uncertain what course to pursue. At length she dispatched the Cardinal de Bourbon to supersede the Mar^chal de Montmorenci as Governor of Paris, hoping that his connexion with both parties might enable him to effect something like an accom- modation.^ Soon afterwards she entreated the King of Navarre to follow, in order to add weight to the Cardinal's authority. But this last measure was the most ill advised that she could have by possibility adopted. Immediately upon his arrival in their neighbourhood he united him- self with the Triumvirs, and thus decided the contest in their favour. The Queen was soon aware of the false step she had taken, and, to remove farther from the scene of contention, carried the King to Fontainbleau. Navarre arrived in Paris in any character rather than that of a moderator between the parties. He came on Palm Sunday, in time to manifest his adherence to the Catholic faction, by joining the religious processions of that day, and thus disappoint any hopes his brother might have entertained of his support. The Duke de Guise, however, was in some danger at this ceremony. Certain gentlemen of high rank, as we are told, among the Hugonots, did not think it inconsistent with their honour to offer to seize this occasion to do justice on the hutche7^ of Vassi, pro- vided the Church would sanction the enterprise.^ But the ministers absolutely refused to listen to any such pro- posal, and exhorted them to wait in patience for that justice which had been promised. * The Marechal de Montmorenci it impossible for him openly to main - found it impossible to determine up- tain the other. He was not a man on any decided course of action: his of sufficient decision for the occasion., principles forbade him to support the ^ Gamier, Hist, de France, one — while his filial piety rendered 310 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. The first step taken ])y tlie Cardinal de Bourbon had been to command the rival Princes immediately to quit the capital — a command equally disregarded by both. When Navarre, however, arrived, every effort was made to dis- lodge Conde and secure the field to his antagonist. A proclamation was accordingly issued, commanding all, not domiciliated in the town, immediately to leave it. The followers of Conde, being mostly from the provinces, were alarmed at this proclamation, and began speedily to disperse, while the Prince was given to understand that any who might still remain would be arrested. He found liimself, therefore, constrained to give way, and most unwillingly to abandon the hope of reaping any fruit from his long exertions. " Champing the bit," and complaining bitterly of the Admiral, who had failed to support him at this critical moment, he retired to Meaux, whence he wrote to Coligny, " que faide de courage ne Vavoit contraint d'ahandonner Paris, mais faute de forcesr^ lie conjured him to join him without delay with such troops as he could collect — for, added he, " Cesar a passe le Rubicon, a saisi Rome, et les Hendards commencent dejd a hranshr par la campagne!^^ • That not want of courage, but fait entendre au Cardinal de Bourbon, want of sup])ort had constrained him son frere envoye de nouveau pour to al'andon Paris. Gouverneur en la ville de Paris, que ^ Csesar has passed the Rubicon, si Ic Due de Guise, pour laisser la ville has seized upon Rome, and his stan- hors de soup^on de tonte emeute, dards are already waving in the field, sortait par une porte il sc retirerait — Beza gives a somewhat different aussi par I'autre: sur cette de'libe- account of these transactions. He ration il departit de Paris en la complains that the rich members of compagnie de 900 a 1,000 che- the Church at Paris were so back- vaux. II se rendit a Meaux le lende- ward in their contributions, that the main, oii arriva aussi L'Amiral et tot Prince was greatly in want of money apres D'Andelot, avec bonne troupe — that Conde made every exertion, de gentilshommes, bien marris de in vain sending courier on courier to n'avoir pu joindre le Prince dans the Admiral, to beseech him to join Paris, d'autant que le Prince ne fut him in Paris — but after all represents pas plustot sorti, que bonnes et fortes the Prince as abandoning the city gardes furcnt mises aux portes — avec before it was necessary — " Pour plusieurs compagnies levees dans la revcnir au Prince," he adds, "ayant ville."— Beza Hist, des Eglises. 1562.] CONDE ABANDONS PARIS. 311 Conde thus compares himself to Pompey, when quit- ting Eome he abandoned the field to C^sar. His departure from Paris was by many considered as a step equally fatal with that taken by the Roman gene- ral. But La JSfoue defends the Prince on the score of the utter impossibility of maintaining his ground. He tells us that, after the defection of Navarre, most of those who had appeared to favour the party of the Pro- testants fell away, while the strength and audacity of the confederates had increased in proportion : he enumerates those powerful bodies who, in Paris, might be consi- dered as devoted to the Triumvirs — the judicial, with scarcely an exception — the clergy, as a matter of course — the municipal, dreading change — the higher members of the university, and the whole of the populace. To meet this host of adversaries, Conde could mus- ter at most but 300 gentlemen his friends, 400 students of the University,' and a small portion of the bour- geoisie, entirely unaccustomed to arms. " What were these against such an infinity of people '? sinon un petit mouche contre un elephant, I think the novices and lay-brothers of the convents alone, with bludgeons and cudgels, could have held them in check. They made, however, a good stand in spite of their weakness, till the arrival of the Lords and Princes of the league con- strained them to throw up the game. It was, doubtless, a high and generous design, to endeavour to establish the gospel in Paris, but with such a poverty of means it was impossible."^ The Admiral had, during the last month, remained at Chatillon,^ plunged in the profoundest melancholy, and avoiding the sight of every human being — sadly reflecting upon the disappointment of all his hopes, and upon the * Memoires de La None. * Gamier and D'Aubigii^. 312 TII1<: REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [150'2. horrors of that civil war wliich he had vainly endeavoured to avert. He still continued, however, earnestly to depre- cate an open rupture, and flattered himself that it might yet be avoided. At Chatillon were assembled his brothers, with Genlis, Briquemaud, and several of the leading Pro- testant gentlemen, who vainly endeavoured to vanquish his reluctance to taking any decisive step, by representing the dishonour of deserting the Prince, and the crime of permit- ting the massacre of so many innocents who looked up to him for protection. But the crime and the dishonour of bringing down upon these unhappy victims the miseries which would ultimately attend upon an ineffectual resist- ance, were for ever present to his mind. He demanded, what he, and his small number of friends could effect in Paris, except, indeed, to hasten the bloody catastrophe 1 Where were their arsenals 1 their ammunition 1 their resources 1 Could war be carried on without means '? Should they not rather wait in patience for better times, under such shelter as the laws afforded, and resting upon the public faith, than justify persecution by having recourse to violence.' The wife of the Admiral ^ was present at these discussions, and at the conclusion of one evening when they had retired to their chamber " This notable Seigneur," says D'Aubign^ " two hours after he had bade his wife good night was awakened by her heavy sighs and sobs — he, asking the cause, she at length thus spoke — ' It is with great regret, Sir, that I trouble your repose by my anxieties, but seeing the members of Christ thus cruelly torn in pieces, shall we who are of his body remain insensible '? — You, yourself, Sir, feel these things with equal sensibility, though nature has given you the strength to conceal it — but blame not your ' D'Aubigne, Histoire Universelle. j'ai apprise de ccux qui cstoient de ^ D'Aubigne — Avho says he gives la partie — but as a fact that I have this relation, not as a fabulous orna- been told by the very persons con- ment, "maiscomrae une histoire que cerned." 15G2.] CONDE ABANDONS PARIS. 313 faithful wife, if with more confidence than respect, she pours the flood of her tears and sorrows into your bosom. Here we repose peacefully and securely, while our brothers are lying some in dungeons — some in the bare fields exposed to the mercy of the elements — some expiring under the most cruel tortures. This bed is to me a tomb, while they have no tomb — these hangings reproach me while they lie uncovered upon the earth. Shall I sleep quietly, while my brothers are sinking round me, closing their eyes in the sleep of death '? — I do well remember all those excellent reasons with which you have stopped your brothers' mouths ; but would you deprive them, too, of heart and hope, and leave them without courage as without reply 1 Alas ! such prudence is but the prudence of this world — such wisdom towards men is not wisdom towards God. He bestowed upon you Sir, the genius of a great captain — will you refuse the use of it to his chil- dren 1 — You hav^ confessed to the justice of their cause. — Is not the knightly sword you bear pledged to the defence of the oppressed 'I Sir, my heart bleeds for our slaughtered brethren — and their blood cries to God and heaven against you, as the murderer of those it might have been in your power to have saved." " Since," replied the Admiral, " the reasons which I have this evening alleged against an ineffectual resistance have made so little impression upon your mind, lay your hand upon your heart and answer me this question. Could you, without murmuring against providence and the husband to whom heaven has united you, receive the news of a general defeat '? Are you prepared to endure the opprobrium of your enemies — the reproaches of your friends — the treachery of partisans, the curses of the people — confiscation, flight, exile — the insolence of the English — the quarrels of the Germans — shame, nakedness, hunger^ 314 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. and what is worse, to sufier all this in your children '? Arc you prepared to see your husband branded as a rebel, and dragged to a scaffold ; while your children, disgraced and ruined, are begging their bread at the hands of their ene- mies 1 I give you eight days to reflect upon it ; and when you shall be well prepared for such reverses, I will be ready to set forward, and perish with you and our mutual friends." " The eight days are already expired !" she cried, " Go, Sir, where your duty calls you. Heaven will not give the victory to our enemies. In the name of God, I call upon you to resist no longer, but to save our brethren, or die in the attempt." The Admiral mounted his horse the next morning, took the road to Meaux, and joined with his followers the party of the Prince. He found him perplexed what measures to adopt — sur- rounded by gentlemen, violent in debate and divided in opinion — all loud in their condemnation of the abandon- ment of Paris, and giving him already a foretaste of the rewards of his generous patriotism. Paris lost, it is obvious their next object ought to have been to secure the person of the King, and thus preserve to their party the inestimable advantage of ranging on the side of legitimate government — while to their adversa- ries would have attached the stigma of rebellion. The occasion was favourable. The Queen had for some time resolved to throw herself into the arms of their party, as the only means of preserving the power fast escaping from her hands, and she had kept up a constant, friendly com- munication with Conde. Fontainbleau, to which place she had retired, was an open town, where Cond6 could easily come to her assist- ance, and she had written to him in urgent terms, conjur- ing him to save the mother and the son.^ Of these letters, ^ Bezu, Hist. Mem. Conde. 156,-».] LETTERS OF THE QUEEN. 315 which Conde carefully preserved for his own justification, four have been handed down to us, and are as follows : — ^ Mo:s Cousin, [^O The Baron de la Garde has repeated to me what you said to him, dont, mon cousin, fai este et suis si as- seuree que je ne m^asseure plus de moi meme, et que je nouhlieray ce que feray pour le Roy mon fils et moi. And as he is returning for a reason that he will tell you. I shall not make a longer letter praying you to believe all he shall say on the part of her, of whom you may be as secure as of your owm mother, and who is your good cousin, Catherine. The superscription. To my Cousin the Prince de Conde. My Cousm, [2-] I have spoken to Ivoy^ as freely as if it were to yourself, assuring myself of his fidelity, and that he will say nothing but to you alone, et que voiis ne m'alleguei'ez jamais, et aurez seidement souvenance de conserver les enfants, la mere, et le royaume, comme celui a qui touclie et qui se peut assurer ne sera ouhlie. Burn this letter immediately. Your good cousin, Catherine. Mon Cousin, [^-l I thank you for the trouble you take to send me news of yourself, and as I hope to see you soon, I will ^ They are without date, but were by the hand of Catherine, and will written, not from Fontainbleau, but serve as a testimony to posterity, Monceaux. These letters were pre- that this Prince undertook the war scnted by Conde in justification of for the defence of religion, and at the his proceedings, to the Imperial Diet express desire of the said lady." at Frankfort, November 1562; a step ^ Afterwards under the name of by the way, which Catherine never Genlis, one of the principal Hugonot forgave. leaders. Beza says, " they were all signed 316 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. not make a long letter, only begging you to rest assured that I shall never forget what you do for me; and if I die before I have an opportunity of acknowledging it, I will leave the obligation upon my children. I have told the bearer something to tell you, which I pray you to believe; and I assure myself that you will understand that all I do is for the maintenance of peace and tran- quillity, which I know you desire as much as your good cousin, Catherine. MoN Cousin, [^O I see so many things that displease me, that if it were not for the confidence I have in God, and assurance in you, that you will aid me to preserve this kingdom, and the service of the King my son, I should be still more unhappy — but I hope we shall remedy all with your good aid and counsel, and because I have explained myself at length to the bearer, I will make no repetition at present, begging you to believe what he will say to both of you on the part of your good cousin, Catherine.^ Conde made use of these or similar letters, to raise his friends, and a letter of much the same import was ad- dressed to the Count de la Rochfoucault, and sent by De Mergey, a gentleman attached to that eminent nobleman, who found the Count at his castle of Yerteil.^ " He re- ' The first husband of Madame de de la mere et de Vevfanty This ex- Duplessis Moiiiay Ic jeune Feu- pression, met with in all the Hugonot quieres, was, she tells us in her Me- histories, was probably a verbal one; moires, the bearer of some of these it is not found in the letters, which letters, and was commanded by the are written, it will be seen, with much Queen-Mother "d'allertrouver Mon- caution, and are couched in arnbi- seigneur le Prince de Conde et I'as- guous terms, and, as it will be ob- surer de sa bonne volonte vers lui served, always refer for explanation et ses affaires, le priant durant la to the bearer, jeunesse de son fils d'etre protectmr ^ Mem. de Mergey. 1562.] LETTERS OF THE QUEEN. 317 ceived it (says De Mergej), as he was walking in his great hall ; and after leaning some time in profound meditation on one of the windows, he turned to me, and asked what I thought he ought to do ? I replied, that he must take counsel from himself. He answered, he was well resolved what to do, but he wished for my opinion. I said. My opinion, then, was, that he ought to do as the Queen and the Prince commanded him, since the service and liberty of their Majesties was in question. He replied, such was his determination ; and returned to the hall with a smil- ing countenance, where he began immediately to write to his friends in Gascony, Perigord, Poictou, &c. to come to him in order to join the Prince — so that in fifteen days he took the field, with near 300 gentlemen and their trains — and with this fine troop he found the Prince at Orleans." It seems difficult to determine why the Prince and Co- ligny hesitated so long in taking advantage of the favour- able dispositions of the Queen. It is thought by many that they distrusted her, and hoped she would save them from the equivocal measure of apparently seizing upon the King's person, by openly placing him with her- self in their hands. Great reluctance to be the first to commit a breach of the public peace, had its share in their delays and irresolutions.^ It is certain they remained inactive at Meaux during five or six days, deliberating upon what was next to be done, " and to celebrate the Lord's Supper, for it was Easter."^ The Admiral had been little satisfied at first with the strength of their party — which he asserted would, if not reinforced, be dissipated at the first rencontre — but such numbers of gentlemen soon joined them, that in four days they formed a very ' La None mainly attributes the ^ Mem. de La Noue. delay to the scruples of the Admiral. 318 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. considerable botlj. It was now debated wlietlier as a first step it would not be best to seize Orleans, in order to secure a proper asylum for the Queen-Mother. This pro- posal gave rise to fresh controversies, during which the golden opportunity for securing the royal persons was lost. This fatal mistake La Xoue accounts one of the leading errors committed by his party at the beginning of the war — the neglect to occupy Paris with a sufficient force before the arrival of the Duke de Guise being another. The Triumvirs were less scrupulous ; warned by the Nuncio of the Queen's dispositions in favour of their enemies, they hesitated not to frustrate her intentions by open force. '' I arrived here (at Paris)," says St. Croix, ^ " to re- present to the King of Navarre and the other leaders, the necessity of visiting her Majesty immediately, and hin- der Valence, who is perpetually at her ear, from per- suading her to take some extraordinary step. The Constable entered so fully into my sentiments, that the resolution was taken to set out after dinner. M. le Connetable has just assured me that he is entering his litter to join the Queen with the other noblemen, and that they hope to make her change her resolution of re- tiring to Orleans.'' The Triumvirs and the King of Na- varre, attended by their compagnies d'ordonnance, and some of their friends, accordingly left Paris, and rode with the greatest speed to Fontainbleau, where the Queen yet remained hesitating whether to take refuge at once among the Hugonot forces, or make her retreat to Blois. She was confounded when she found herself thus invaded, and turning indignantly to Navarre, the only one of the party who presumed to enter her presence, asked with what design he came, attended by so many men-at-arms, and what he wanted. He replied, that they were all faith- ' Lettres de Prospere St. Croix. 1562.] TRIUMVIRS CARRY THE QUEEN TO PARIS. 319 ful servants of the King, who, alarmed at the danger to which his sacred person might be exposed when such crowds of armed men were in the field, and with very doubtful designs, had come, at the peril of their lives, to escort him in safety to his capital. Catherine asked whether these faithful servants were not the same who, during so long a period, had been holding secret counsels,^ and, to gratify their ambition and personal enmities, been devising schemes, which would finally precipitate the state into an abyss of ruin. She said, that though it might please them to deprive her of that regency with which she had been entrusted by the States-General, she still hoped they would not separate the mother from her children ; and added that, as touching ^N'avarre, he might continue as he had begun, to govern in concert with his new friends, but that he need not hope for the counte- nance of her name, or that of her son, to any of his measures. She, for her own part, intended to remain at Fontainbleau with her children — unless, indeed, she were carried away by force. Navarre somewhat daunted by this address, retired to consult with his confederates. His scruples were ridiculed by the Duke de Guise, who laughed at the idea of resist- ance on the part of the Queen — adding, " besides, we have no occasion for her, she may remain here or quit the kingdom, as she likes, the thing is indifierent." After a short consultation Navarre returned to Catherine and in- formed her that as Lieutenant- General of the kingdom, he held himself responsible to the nation for the person of the King, whom it was his duty to conduct to a place of safety, but that he did not pretend to control her own personal movements. The Queen, whose political existence depended upon maintaining her close relations with her ^ Gamier and Davila. 820 THE REFOFxMATTON IN FRANCE. [156^. son, was afraid to ofTer furtlicr o])position. Tlie equipages were hastily prepared ; the furniture, whicli in those days followed the Court, taken down — the Constable, it is said, in his impatience, swearing at and striking the servants who were employed about the King's bed; and Catherine, silent with grief and indignation, and holding her son, who was shedding tears, by the hand, allowed herself to be conducted to IMelun, vainly hoping for a rescue from Conde. During the whole journey she preserved an air of gloomy indignation, at which the Duke de Guise was little troubled, saying, that a public benefit was equally a benefit, whether obtained by force or by persuasion/ The next day the King and his mother were carried to the Bois de Yincennes, and on the following, March 28th, they entered Paris. Arrived at Paris, the Queen found herself at first the object of the greatest possible distrust, but she was not long before, in appearance at least, she united her in- terests with those who surrounded her. Her conversion has been attributed by some to a conversation which, listening behind the tapestry, she chanced to overhear. The ]\Iarechal de St. Andr6 was advising his friends to dispose of her by means of a sack and the river. Others have, with apparently better reason, supposed that the discovery upon which side the greatest power lay, decided her. Interest and fear are motives always sufiicient to account for her actions. But whatever the cause to which we may attribute the change, it is certain she soon learned to regard the Hugonot chiefs as her bitterest enemies, and she henceforward persecuted them and their party with the most unrelenting animosity. ' In confirmation of Catherine's ing at the bottom of the garden at desire to escape, De Thou tells us Melun to facilitate her evasion, there was a boat bv her orders wait- 1562.] TRIUMVIRS CARRY THE QUEEN TO PARIS. 321 In six days the Prince and the Admiral had, as we have said, collected a force at Meaux larger than they had cal- culated upon raising in a month. La None denies that this was the effect of diligence or premeditation on the part of the chiefs. " T, having been present, can affirm that it was not so. It is certain, however, that the greater part of the nobility having heard of the massacre of Vassi, urged partly by good will, partly by fear, had determined of themselves to come to Paris, imagining that their protectors might have need of them. Thus the most eminent set out from the provinces, some with sixteen, twenty, or thirty friends, carrying their arms concealed, and lodging in the hostels or in the fields, paying their way till they joined the principal body. Many have as- sured me that these motives alone put them in motion ; and I have heard the Prince and the Admiral confess the same."^ Having thus collected what they thought a sufficient force, the Prince began to act, but unhappily too tardily to ob- tain his important object. On the 26th he, attended by the Admiral, marched to St. Cloud, where he was joined by 300 horse ; but here he received the intelligence that the King was in the power of the Triumvirs, and already on his way to Paris. " The Prince," says Davila,^ " on hearing this news, checked his horse, and remained some time in doubtful deliberation what course now to pursue, — his mind filled with reflections upon those difficulties to which this event would expose him ; but the Admiral coming up, who was some little way behind, the Prince sighed heavily, and saying 'We have plunged in, we must drink or die,' turned his horse's head and took the road to Orleans." ' Mem. de La Noue. ' Davila Guerre Civ. VOL. I. y 322 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1/562. CHAPTER VII. CONDE SEIZES ORLEANS. GENERAL RLSING OF THE HUOONOTS. STATE OF THE COUNTRY. NEGOTIATIONS. It is useless to enlarge upon the importance of the ad- vantage which had thus been suffered to escape,~authority, — reputation of justice,— legality, and all those flattering appearances which wait in such a contest upon the name of King. From this moment the Ilugonots, branded as rebels, were deserted by public opinion ; and their cause may be considered as lost before the contest began. Paris abandoned, and the still greater object defeated of get- ting possession of the King's person, it was resolved imme- diately to seize upon Orleans, pom-' y dresser tine grosse tete, and to collect a large force there as upon a central point, in case it should be necessary to have recourse to arms. The confederates now amounted to 1000 gentlemen, and about as many more common soldiers, plus armes^ says La None, de courage que de corcelets.^ They had intended to take peaceable possession of Orleans, and had dispatched D'Andelot the day before to learn the disposition of the town. He reported unfavour- ably, and sent word to the Prince to advance with all ex- pedition to support him, as there was every appearance of a contest : upon which the Prince set forwards with 2000 horse, including servants, first at a round trot, but the ' Rather armed by their courage than by their cuirasses. 1562.] CONDE SEIZES ORLEANS. 323 movement being accelerated by the general impatience, the advance took the air of a flight, and the whole party, with the Prince at their head, galloped at the top of their speed to the gates of the town, the best mounted running over the others. The road was covered with servants thrown, horses lamed, portmanteaus, cloaks, hats, and boots, "so that the passers by," says La Noue,^ "imagined all the madmen of France were assembled together, sweeping over the earth like the winds of Languedoc/' Un hon ordre n'eust pas valu ce desordre. The Prince entered the town at eleven o'clock, amidst the acclamations of the Reform- ed, who made the streets resound with their hymns of rejoicing, and their cries of Vive VEvangile, The Ca- tholics awaited their fate in trembling and in silence, but they were speedily reassured by the conduct of the Prince ; he shewed every disposition to protect them, and even offered to retain their present governor, Monterud, in his situation. This, however, was refused by that gen- tleman, he saying, ''que la oil il y a un Prince du sang il n'etait raisonnahle qiCun simple gentilhomme commandastr Orleans, distant but thirty leagues from Paris, situated upon the banks of the Loire, in the midst of a fertile country, and offering, from its central position, the most perfect facility for maintaining general communications, held forth every recommendation as a centre of union for the Hugonot confederacy. It speedily became the refuge for the wives and families of such of the nobility as had already taken the field, and for such ministers as popular violence had driven to seek shelter under its walls. The Princess de Cond^ with her eldest son, and Theodore Beza, were among the most eminent of the refugees. The first care of the Admiral upon arriving in Orleans was to endeavour to give a form and consistency to tlie ' Memoires Je la None. Y 2 324 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. materials lie Ibiind under his hands, and to ensure stability and co-operation by forming a regular Union for the defence of religion. For this purpose a deed of asso- ciation was drawn up, to remain in force until the ma- jority of the King; and which, after taking an oath to maintain it, was signed by the principal gentlemen of the party, with the Prince de Conde at their head. The object of the association was declared to be, to rescue the Sovereign and Queen-Mother from the oppres- sion of the Triumvirs; and to secure the free exercise of the Reformed religion according to the provisions of the Edict of Januar}' . The Prince was nominated chief of the Union, under the title of Protector and Defender of the Protestant Religion ; and to him the members of the confe- deracy swore obedience, so long as he should govern by the advice of his Councils. Of these there were three. The first, composed of the higher nobility alone, was strictly executive; its business being to conduct negotia- tions and military expeditions, and generally all matters that required secrecy and celerity. The second Council was composed of the ministers of religion, elders and officers of the second rank, and was to be employed upon matters that admitted of long and open deliberation. The third, a general Council composed of all such mem- bers of the Union as had no seat in the higher Councils, was to assemble only at stated intervals, to give its ap- probation or consent to matters regarding the association in general, such as the acceptance of terms, new internal regulations, &c. &c. The inclination of the Admiral for republican forms is very discernible in these arrangements; and it is no slight proof of the moderation and sincerity of Cond^ that he submitted to them cheerfully. The principal members of the first Council were at the commencement as follows : — The Prince, the three bro- 156??.] GENERAL RISING OF THE HUGONOTS. 325 thers Chatillon, the Prince de Porcian, the Count de la Rochefoucault, the Viscount de Rohan, Montgommeri, (he who had unfortunately slain Henry the Second,) the Count de Grammont, Duras, Soubise, Mouy, and the two brothers Genlis and Ivoi. In order to enforce the difficult point of exact military discipline in an army composed wholly of volunteers, and where the officers had a most precarious authority, Coligny suggested the plan of attaching a minister to each company, who should recite prayers aloud morning and evening, preach the Word of God, and retain by his exhortations both chiefs and soldiers in a strict attention to good morals and Christian principles. Coligny found the same advantage which Cromwell in later days ob- tained from thus cultivating religious enthusiasm among his soldiers. Never was there a braver or for some time a better conducted body of men than was this little army.^ The gravity and severity natural to Coligny, tended in no small degree to increase the effect of the regulations he had laid down. He possessed a manner that imposed, we are told, upon every individual among his followers. " II tenoit en bride, comnie un censeur, les appetits immoderes des jeunes gens, seigneurs, et gentils- hommes Protestants ; par un certain severite qui lid etoit naturel et bienseant."- In order to raise money, various expedients were pro- posed. The first and most obvious was to levy a general contribution upon the churches, whose number amounted at this time to 2150. Couriers were, therefore, imme- diately dispatched to each, calling for supplies in men and ' The Casuques blanches, as they derate passions of the young men, were called, from the white surcoats whether lords or gentlemen, in check, they wore. by a certain gravity which was natu- ral to him, and which became him ' He held as a censor the immo- well. Mem. de Castlcnau. 326 rilK UEFOllMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. money. Beza, and tlic ministers assembled in Orleans, seconding the demand by every argument in their power. But the succours thus obtained were of course very limited ; for it being evident that the war would rapidly spread over the whole kingdom, it became incumbent upon every congregation to husband its resources in order to provide for its own defence. A second expedient wa?, therefore, suggested, namely, to seize upon the public monies in every place where their party should have the upper hand, and appropriate them to the service of the Confederacy— this was in many places done, but always with a declaration that the money was intended for the King's service. The last expedient they had recourse to, but one which afforded by far the most abundant sup- ply, was the plunder of the churches, monasteries, rich abbeys, and religious houses, of those vast treasures in reliquaries, images, crosses, vases, and candlesticks, which the piety of ages had accumulated. Even the very bells and the lead of the roofs were to be melted down to supply ammunition for the Hugonot army. These last measures were particularly agreeable to the commoner sort among the religious — as it afforded an opportu- nity for destroying the objects of an idolatry which they abhorred, and of impoverishing a magnificent and luxu- rious clergy whom they detested; but it carried with it the disadvantage of greatly increasing the popular exas- peration. This destruction of sacred things being regarded by the world in general as blasphemous and barbarous in the last degree. Brantome, however, whose feelings are entirely those of a courtier and a soldier, and who, — in spite of his devotion to the house of Guise, delights in the character of the Admiral, — defends and almost ap- plauds the measure ; and seems to consider the abundance ' Braiitonie, Homnies lllustres, Coligny. 1562.] GENERAL RISING OF HUGONOTS. 327 of specie which it was the means of throwing into circu- lation, as a benefit in itself sufficient to exonerate Coligny from the charge of having occasioned the ruin of his country. " I heard the question discussed," says he, '' by two good Catholics one day in the chamber of the Queen- Motlier, and they decided that this good civil war [cette bonne guerre civile) had been so far from impoverishing, that it had very much enriched the kingdom of France: discovering as it did, and bringing to light such an infi- nity of treasures hidden under ground as it were in the churches, converting them into good and fair monies in such quantities, that more millions of gold were stirring in France, than one had been used to see livres of silver. As a gentleman {cle par le monde) might testify, if he chose, who of the silver railing of Tours, given by our good King Louis the Eleventh, made a cask-full of testoons. As did many other Lords by other treasures and relics, all coined, observe, with the head and effigy of our little King Charles then reigning. I do not intend to say that it was handsome or right thus to spoil the churches to enrich individuals; but this I know, that I have seen gentlemen — who, ruined by their debts contracted in the Italian wars, traversed the country with two horses and one little lacquey, — so well mounted during the civil wars, that they would ride with six or seven good horses, et brave Gomme le hatdrd de Lupe. Good ransoms squeezed they out of the usurers, if by chance they caught them, mak- ing the crowns fly out of their purses, ay, and would if they had been buried in their bones. And thus the brave nobility of France were restored to affluence by the grace of this good civil war, no well invented and intro- duced, jt^ar ce fjrand Monsieur TAmiraiy^ ' One other means adopted should be adverted to — the having recourse 328 THE REFOUMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. While the llugonots thus kid the foundation of a Union wliich, with some variations, subsisted during a cen- tury and a half in France — the Triumvirs, before matters had proceeded thus far, had prepared themselves for the war they had resolved upon, by entering into a close alliance with the King of Spain, and the other Ca- tholic princes. The following atrocious paper, long considered apocryphal, has been authenticated by M. de Capefigue,^ and leaves no doubt as to the extent to which these men, indifferent to the best interests of their country and insensible to the commonest claims of humanity, had already pledged themselves to the ancient enemy of France. The paper is entitled, " Som- maire des Glioses premierement accordles entre les Dues de Gidse^ grand maitre^ pair de France^ Be Mont- morenci Connetahle, et Mai^^chal Saint Andre, 1562 ; it is to be found signed, in the original, in the MS. Colbert. Bibl. du lloi. "Imprimis. In order that the affair may be conducted with the greater authority, it is determined to yield the superintendence of the whole to King Philip the Catholic, and, with one consent, to constitute him chief and leader {conducteur) of the enterprise. The Duke de Guise will declare himself also chief of the lioman confession {confession Romaine), and will assemble valiant men at arms, and all those of his suite. The Emperor, and the other German Princes, who still adhere to the Catholic religion, will take care to stop the passages which lead to France during the ex- pected war, lest the Protestant Princes should send forces that way. In the meantime the King of Spain will send for aid to the foreign Protestant the Trinmvirs set the example— and princes. This stop occasioned many he found tliat tlie government was scruples upon the part of Coligny, asking assistance from the Po])e, and and he shewed the greatest reluctance the King of Spain, his objections to calling in foreigners to engage yielded to necessity, in these domestic quarrels ; but when ' Histoire de la Reformc en France. 1562.] GENERAL RISING OF HUGONOTS. 329 a portion of his army (exercite) to tlie Duke of Savoy, who on his side shall make as large a levy of soldiers as can conveniently be done in his estates. The Pope, and the other Princes of Italy, shall declare the Duke of Ferrara chief of their army, who shall join the Duke of Savoy ; and, to augment their forces, the Emperor Ferdi- nand shall give orders to send some companies of infantry and German horse. In France, for good and especial reasons, it will be desirable to follow another course, and on no pretence to spare the life of any one who has for- merly {autrefois) made profession of this sect; and the commission to extirpate all those who profess the new religion shall be given to the Duke de Guise, who shall have in charge entirely to efface the name, family, and race of Bourbon, lest from them should in future some one arise to avenge these things (qui poursuive en vengeance ces chosesj, or restore this new religion. " Things thus ordered throughout France, and the king- dom restored to her entire ancient and pristine position; sufficient forces being assembled, it will be necessary to invade Germany, and, with the aid of the Emperor and the bishops, render and restore her to the Holy Apostoli- cal See; and should this war prove more difficult or long {plus fo7^te ou longue) than the Duke de Guise de- sires, in order that it may not be conducted lukewarmly or weakly for want of money, the Duke de Guise, to ob- viate this inconvenience, will lend to the Emperor, and the other ecclesiastical princes, all the money that he shall have amassed from tlie confiscation of so many, either nobles, bourgeois, or rich men, as shall have been killed in France on account of their religion, which will amount to a large sum." Tlie perfect justification of the measures adopted by the llugonots and the party of the Prince rests upon 330 THE REFOKMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. this now well aiitlienticated paper. To offer a single observation upon it would be superlluous, I will only remark that the aecession of the King of Navarre to the faction would, most likely, in some degree, have modified the article with regard to the Bourbon Princes, though the reader will observe that the Cardinal de Bourbon is not excepted. It is more than probable that this terrific association frightened both Anthony and Catherine into a confederacy, which had become so formidable. They both, however, appear to have soon adopted and with little difficulty the principles upon which the coalition was based. The Duke de Guise was now entire master of Paris, and the city was speedily organised under his direction, so as to become not only entirely devoted to him, but one of the most efficient of the engines which he em- ployed. The character now imprinted upon its popula- tion of barbarity, fanaticism, and devoted attachment to the house of Guise was maintained nearly to the end of the century. The first step taken in defiance of the Edict of January — still in force— was to forbid the exercise of the Reformed religion in the fauxbourgs of Paris. The Constable sup- pressed the meetings with his usual violence, tearing down the temples, dispersing the congregations, and driving the Reformed ministers out of the city. The Protestants, who had now dignified the King of Navarre with the title of '' caillette qui toiirne sa jaquette" continued to honour the Constable with the old one of brush banc The halles extolled the Duke de Guise as their de- liverer from sectaries and heretics, while the different bodies, namely, the Corps Municipal, the Confreries, and the Parliament^ to strengthen their party, or rather fac- tion, adopted the most violent measures. The 16th of J\Iay, 1562, an ordonnance was issued by 1562.] GENERAL RISIiNG OF HUGONOTS. 331 the King of Navarre to all captains and lieutenants of each quarter (who were themselves chosen by the bour- geoisie), to nominate ensigns, corporals, and sergeants — and to command that all the inhabitants of their dixaines, of the ancient Catholic religion, do, as well masters as servants, in the name of the King, equip themselves in such arms as they have, and, in case they have not, to provide the same, also that all chefs d'hostels et cham- hrelans shall assist at the rnonstres et revues. Another ordonnance — " De par le Roi et Monsieur de Brissac,'' — now governor of Paris — commands all those notorious {notoirement diffames) as belonging to the new religion, to quit the town in twenty-four hours — sur peine de la hart — and all such as are even suspected of heresy, to appear in person, within twenty-four hours, before the Archbishop of Paris, or his vicars, to make their confession of faith/ Care was also taken by an arret of the Parliament, to prevent the possibility of any one of suspected opinions being elected to any of the municipal offices within the town. There was some difficulty in carrying into execution the order which commanded the Hugoiiots to abandon the town. Their numbers were formidable, and the lieu- tenant civil refused to act unless under an arret of the Parliament. But this being deemed still insufficient, re- course was had to the populace. The Hugonots were informed that the mob had got a list of the names of those who had been commanded to quit the town, and were resolved to pillage {piller et sacager) all those who refused obedience ; while to maintain the lower classes in a due state of excitement, nothing was neglected — pro- cessions, preachings, every possible means was made use ' From papcr.s examined by M. Capefigiic. 332 'HIE REFURMATlOiN IN IRANCE. [1562. of, till the capital became devoted to the high Catliolic party, with a blind fanaticism which mocks description. The Council, properly so called, which had followed the King to Paris, must henceforward be considered as forming one government, with the Triumvirs and Na- varre, and discussions immediately arose among its several members as to what should next be done. The Duke de Guise declared unequivocally for war; while De Tllopital, supported in secret by tlie Queen, strenuously enforced the necessity of an accommodation; and was indefatigable in his endeavours to traverse the designs of the Triumvirs. But he was not long suffered to continue his opposition. The Council of government having, after the seizure of Orleans,' declared itself a council of war, he was excluded ; and the faction having still further strengthened itself by the admission into the Cabinet of Yillars, d'Escars, Maugiron, and La Bresse, — men devoted to the Constable and to the Duke de Guise, — the government remained entirely in their hands. As is usual in such cases, manifestoes to declare and de- fend the motives of each party in taking arms preceded an open rupture. On the 8 th of April, the first manifesto of the Prince de Conde was published. " Though," began the Prince, " it was rather the part of his adversaries, than his own, to justify their conduct in taking up arms, and occasioning those miseries which now threatened France, yet, to prevent misrepresentation, he had resolved to de- clare the motives which had determined him to call to- gether his relations, friends, and servants," to assist the King and Queen in their necessity {en leur hesoing), and to maintain the authority of the Edicts." He protested before God, the King, and all princes and potentates, allies of the crown, that the consideration of what was ' Davila. ^ Mem. de Conde, Boza, Hist, deb Eglises. 1562.] GENERAL RISIiNG OF IIUGONOTS. 333 due to God and to the kingdom,-— and the desire to restore the King to liberty, and maintain his edicts in their full vigour, had alone induced him to take up arms, and there- fore he prayed all good and loyal subjects of his Majesty to lend him their assistance in a cause so good, so just, and so holy.. "And because," he went on to say, "the States- General had made a large contribution of monies to dis- charge the just debts of the crown; he protested, with re- gard to those his enemies who had undertaken a civil war de gaiete de coeiir, that if they dared to lay their hands upon these sums, one day or other they should be made accountable." He declared, also, that he would yield to no man living in loyalty and obedience to the King, — but that prince, being now in the power of his enemies, and consequently his lawful councillors intimidated, — he was not one to suffer them to set their feet upon his neck, under pretence of any commands or letters patent issued in the King's name, until his Majesty was restored to his rightful authority. Finally, he protested, with all the company there assembled, that should the King, being freed from this coercion, be pleased to command both parties to disarm and retire to their houses (though his own rank might exempt him from such conditions), yet in his earnest desire for the peace of the country, he would obey, so soon as his adversaries should have set him the example — provided always that he might have assurance that the Edict of January would be maintained inviolate (inviolablement gard6). But that if such conditions were rejected; and that his enemies, refusing to liberate the King and his Council, persisted in abusing his name and authority, in order to trample upon his subjects, he for his part neither could, nor would, endure it; but all the evils, miseries, and calamities which miglit thence arise, were not, there- 334 THE REFORMATION TN FRANCE. [1562. fore, to be imputed to liiin, ])ut to those wlio were alone the origin, and the true cause/' ' This protestation having been despatched to Paris upon the 10th of April, the Prince, equally anxious to justify his proceedings in the eyes of Europe, and more especially in those of the Protestant Princes of Germany, followed it upon the same day with missives, as Beza calls them, to the Elector Palatine, and other Princes of the persua- sion, the one to the elector being to the following effect : — " Monsieur mon Cousin, " Since it has pleased God to reduce the affairs of the kingdom to such a pass, that the enemies of the Christian religion and of the public peace have violently seized upon the persons of the King and of the Queen-Mother, in order that they may the more easily execute their atrocious designs against the poor faithful servants of Christ, {leiir furieiix desseins sur les pauvres fideJes) and carry out the dismal tragedy begun at Yassi; I should esteem it a thing far unworthy of the profession [of religion] I have made, and of the rank in which it has pleased God that I should be born ; if in this hour of ne- cessity I did not make opposition (je ne m' opposois vivement). Having, therefore, .... summoned all the principal and most eminent Nobles and Lords of France to take up arms and rescue their Majesties from cap- tivity; I have thought it a thing not to be kept secret (scellee) from you, .... believing that you will hear it with pleasure, and will share our joy when it shall please the Lord to give us the upper hand. And as I fear that they (His enemies) have already made you believe what is contrary to the truth {le i^ehours de la vcrite) in order to shake your virtuous constancy in support of the gospel * Beza, Hist, des Eslises, Mem. de Conde'. 1562.] GENERAL RISING OF IIUGONOTS. 335 and its followers— disguising their own evil intentions ac- cording to their usual custom — I have sent you the de- claration and protestation that I have made, in order that you may judge the equity of my cause; which is the com- mon cause of this kingdom and of all Christendom, now threatened with the like contagion. I therefore, my cou- sin, beg of you, as affectionately as is possible, that you will demonstrate to the King and Queen, and to the faith- ful of this kingdom, I'effet de vos bonnes intentions, as every one hopes and expects from you, . . . which things my gentleman, bearer of this, will more amply make you understand, as well upon my own part as that of my nephew, the Prince de Porcian, &c., &c. Ecrit a Orleans, le 10 Avril, 1562.'^ The answer of the Prince Palatine is inserted at full length by Beza, " Comme temoignage tres digne de la magnaniniite et pietS de ce Prince entre tons ceux de son temps." ^ It was in effect as follows : — Beginning, " Tres illustre Prince et clier Cousin, "A certain messenger has brought me two letters from you, full of wisdom, statement of facts, greatness of cour- age, and good affection Now, having understood by your two letters, .... and by your declaration, . . . that the affairs of France are already in extreme danger, et accessoire, and that all good people are in much pain upon that account, I have grieved the more, {aidant plus ete contriste) as I have learned, not only by your letters, but by those from other Princes of France, that there is little hope or appearance of restoring a good under- standing. Now I, who fain would console you, want con- solation myself ; for it is long since I have been so grieved for any accident which may have befallen my- ' Bcza, Hist, des Eglises. 83C THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. self, as for the calamity and desolation at present in France, voire pays doux. But I beg of you to take cour- age, and to shew yourself of virtue, recollecting in what a situation, and in what an era we have been placed in the world, .... and what great perils and inconveniences, — more than it is possible to number, attend upon all go- vernments, — and especially upon such as have admitted within their circle the church of Christ: as by your means and solicitation it has begun to be done in the kingdom of France, thanks be to God, therefore — and to you great honour and praise. " Now above all things I entreat, and lovingly pray you according to the duty of your calling [devoir de voire voca- tion) and the fear of God which is in you, with the singular prudence and courage with which you are so abundantly adorned, — surpassing so many others, — that you will have in nothing so great care [que voiis n' ayez rien en iel soin ei recominendaiion) as the true advancement and conserva- tion of the gospel, which shines and resounds at this pre- sent in France, (luii ei resonne pour lejourdliui en France) and also the necessity of the command of God, which is to believe in the only — only, I say — Son of God — unique Sa.uveur de V humain lineage and that you will have regard to the tender age of your most Christian King, and to the reputation and authority of the Queen- Mother ; the which, for her singular piety and prudence .... must not only be the comfort and defence, but the ornament, of your kingdom of France. " For these being safe, it will be easy to find means to heal and replace things in their ancient repose and tranquil- lity, .... by holy and just conditions, such as you, in your prudence, shall judge necessary for the conservation of the church of Christ, and the liberty of the state and kingdom. 1562.] GENERAL RISING OF HUGONOTS. 837 " for I doubt not (in such case) that the all- powerful God, who is the protector of the widow and the orphan, .... will aid and assist you by his holy angel, so that it will not be necessary to decide by arms the differences which have arisen ; the event of war being as uncertain as it is grievous and lamentable." He then cites the religious wars of Germany, as ex- amples of the calamities and disorders consequent upon an appeal to arms, des quelles guerres fai horreur de tenir plus long propos, and exhorts him and the assembled Princes to seek, by every means in their power, the re- establishment of peace : promising, in rather vague terms, — in common with the other Protestant Princes, — de pourchasser tons saints et homietes moyens lesquelles festimerai et7^e avantageux pour la prosperite de voire Roi ires Chretien et de la Reine sa Mei^e. He terminates with an exhortation, should a civil w^ar be necessary, to re- member, when fighting for the church, ainsi que dit Judas Machabte, — // est aise d'encloiTe et mettre un grand nomhre entre les mains de peu de gens. For, that it is as easy for God to deliver with many as with few. " Vic- tory comes not from a large army ; mais la force pro- cede de Dieur Assuring the Prince of his good wishes, et pouvez attendre de moi toutes faveurs et plais'irs honnetes, je ne tromperai point votre esperance, he concludes ; Ecrit dEydelherg ce 27 Mai, 1562, Wolphgang Comte Palatini The first manifesto of Conde was met upon the part of his adversaries by a letter, sent for registry to the Court of Parliament, in which the King was made to declare the report of his captivity '^fansse et mensongere .... the King and Queen having come of their own free will to Paris, and being there at as full liberty as they could de- sire." Another arret followed, maintaining the provisions ^ Beza, Hist, des Eglises. VOL. I. Z 338 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. of theEdict of January tlirougliout France, Paris excepted : but this article was added, and entirely deprived the Hu- gonots of any security they might have derived from the concession. " Vu la necessite du temps et pour provi- sion seulementr In spite, however, of these declarations, professedly upon the part of the King and Queen-Mother, the deputies dis- patched from Orleans in order to acquaint the King with all that had been done, had an audience of the Queen in the presence of the Chancellor ; when she appeared ex- tremely well satisfied with the measures taken by the Prince, and made very particular enquiries as to the strength in men and money possessed by the churches. Upon the 21st of April the answer of the Parliament of Paris to the manifesto of the Prince, was communi- cated to him. The terms are respectfully couched ; but the substance left nothing to hope from the equity of that influential body. They beg the Prince to disbelieve all reports as to the captivity of the King, because le Roi de Navarre voire frere aine would not have permitted such wrong to have been done : and they exhort the Prince not to believe any in- jurious reports against the King of Navarre and the Car- dinal de Bourbon ; " for if their magnanimity and fidelity were not universally acknowledged, it might offend them very much ;" with more upon the same subject, and in the same strain. With respect to religion, they content themselves with the most disheartening expressions ; holding out no se- curity for the maintenance of the Edict of January, but rather leading to the inference, that, as the Edict of July had been abrogated, there was no reason why this of January should not be abrogated also. 1562.] GENERAL RISING OF HUGONOTS. 339 ISTothing, in short, could be more unsatisfactory than this missive from the Parliament, which may be found at length in Beza. The Prince, hearing that proclamation had upon the preceding day been made in the squares of Paris, sum- moning all the gentlemen of the kingdom to take up arms to combat the seditious {les sklitieux et maiivais Chretiens), and perceiving that it was the determination of his adversaries to force him into a war, published his second manifesto, dated the 25th of April. ^ In this he begins by contrasting the obedience and loyalty he had displayed with the conduct of his adver- saries, shewing that, at the simple command of the King, he had immediately quitted Paris with his friends, under the expectation that his enemies would do the same ; and adds that he would have been equally ready to lay down his arms, if he could have had the least reason to believe that they would have followed his example. He goes on to say that inasmuch as the ears of the King were abused with false and calumnious reports, he felt obliged to publish this his second declaration, addressed not only to the King and European Potentates, but to the Parliament of Paris, whom he besought to enregister it with the preceding one ; " that the King when he came of age might judge, qui hi auront voulu faille humble service en cet endroit!' He again repeats, that the cause of the troubles lay with his enemies, who refused to submit to the reasonable conditions to which he had himself consonted — a thing not to be wondered at, as " they had never ceased to disturb the tranquillity of the kingdom, to further their ambitious schemes, et out voulu toujours remuer menage et faire nouvelles entreprises" — and he instances, in proof of * Bez. Hist, des Eglises. z 2 340 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. his assertion, wliat had passed in the reigns of the last three Kings, more especially in that of Francis the Second, " instigating the young King against his own subjects — and sullying his memory with such acts of cruelty, que chacuii aiirait horreiir dJen parler." He contrasts their government with that of the last few months under the King of Navarre — when all things were becoming peace- ably settled, until their restless ambition had given rise to fresh troubles and rendered a civil war imminent. And he again affirmed, that their animosity against the Edict of January merely arose from the effect it had produced in pacifying the kingdom ; and that even now, when with an appearance of moderation they proposed to allow of its being maintained in every part of France, save in the city of Paris, it was well known that pro- position was only made with intent gradually to put the Edict down throughout the kingdom — the Constable hav- ing been overheard to say in open Parliament, " Let us manage this, and we will soon settle the rest." He said that to assert that the people of Paris could not be made to endure the Edict was absurd, as it was well known that the Prince de Porcian, and afterwards the Marechal de Montmorenci, \vith ten or twelve arque- busiers, had been able to maintain the town in perfect tranquillity until the arrival of the Duke de Guise had thrown everything into confusion, and various companies of soldiers been raised by him, without even the pretence of authority from the King. Added to which, the inter- cepted letters clearly shewed what their designs were, not only to break up the association now assembled at Orleans, but afterwards to execute their long projected plans against both great and small : the barbarity of which might be judged of from the cruelties lately exer- cised at Paris in the presence of the Constable; and from 1562.] GENERAL RISING OF HUGONOTS. 841 the horrible massacre of Sens, an archbishopric belonging to the Cardinal de Guise. As for the Queen's invita- tion to Court, he treated it with the contempt which it merited ; asking what security she could offer to others who was herself bond fide a prisoner; or what reliance could he place upon her assurances " dautant que ses en- nemis le possedent ahusant de sa facilitef He added, that he should take care how he placed himself in the hands of those whom he designated as rebels and enemies to the King, having nothing in view but their own aggran- disement — men who were levying soldiers at this moment in direct defiance of the resolutions of the States-General, and were thus arming the King against his own subjects — desquels avant cette helle entreprise, il aurait He fidele- ment, et de bonne volonte obei et sei^a encore desormais. He accused them of running the King into ruinous and ex- orbitant expenses ; and of risking the welfare of the king- dom in general by withdrawing the garrisons from Metz and Calais to assist in their nefarious designs ; and con- cluded by saying, that they justified all these measures by the high ofl&ces they occupied in the state, but he would tell them, such offices were never conferred to give men the liberty of taking up arms on their own private au- thority — of breaking the King's edicts at their good pleasure — and assuming to themselves more than even the brothers of the King had ever in former times ventured to do. He again demands that, as the only means of pacify- ing dissension, they shall be compelled to retire to their estates — and asserts, that the Queen — lying under bodily fear — finds it impossible, under such circumstances, to enforce the measures necessary to preserve the kingdom dhine si graiide inline. As for the image-breaking, of which his party was so heavily accused, particularly at Tours and Blois, he can only say that he has given orders 342 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [156^^ for all offenders to be searched out and punished, as ■well on that account as for the slightest infraction of the Edict of January. Finally, he summons all the high courts of Parliament, and the cities and communities of the kingdom, seriously to weigh the effect of this his declaration, and prepare to render an account of their proceedings before the King's Majesty, as he hopes and in- tends to do one day himself. Praying that all, laying aside prejudices and private affections, may look only to the preservation of the state in this emergency — " lending him aide et secours en une cause si sainte, oa il est ques- tion du hien et honneur de leur Roi^ This second declaration was sent to the Parliament of Paris with other letters upon the 29th of the month. " The above papers shew but too plainly,'' continues Beza,^ " that on both sides, that is to say, both at Paris and Orleans, they were preparing to take up arms, while they were already actually skirmishing and fighting in various parts of the kingdom — yet they not the less con- tinued to plead this cause in writing. Some apparently endeavoured to keep their adversaries asleep, others were most sincerely desirous to pacify these troubles by equi- table and gentle measures — which, I can assure you before God, was the intention at least of the Prince and all the great Lords of his Council. The ministers of religion used all the instances, exhortations, and means in their power to prevent the having recourse to arms : though it is true they ceased not to exhort the Prince and his followers, not to abandon the great duty of the preservation of their Church.'^ The Queen now herself wrote to Conde by the Abbe de Saint Jean de Laon, a creature of the Cardinal de Lorraine, to which letter the Prince replied in the fol- lowing manner : • Hist, des Eglises. 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS. 343 " Madame, " The thing that grieves me the most in the world is to see that you do not from all sides receive that obe- dience, que vous veux toute ma vie pointer, — and that there are those who look rather to the satisfaction of their own wishes, than to seek the means of accommo- dation and restoration of peace to this kingdom All must and ought to know, Madame, who it is that pre- vents jour being quite at your ease and exempted from those sorrows which infinitely afilict the most devoted of your servants, who little expected to see such things in their day. And to shew you that what I have till now done has had no other source but the fidelity I owe you, and that I have been moved by no private interest, I send you with this a memorial signed by my hand, in which I have put down the means which I esteem would be the best for restoring that peace which your Majesty so much desires, and for extinguishing all private animosity, my letter will not need therefore on this account to be long. I supplicate God who holds the hearts of Kings and of all men in his hands, that he will be pleased to restore all your subjects to such obedience — cfte nous puissions en href rendre graces cle vous voir, Madame, fort contente comme je le desire. — From Orleans, 1st May 1562." The propositions thus submitted to the Queen-Mother were few in number, and mark the moderation of the Prince and his party ; they are couched in the most tem- perate terms : " In the first place,'' begins the paper, " the said seigneur Prince would shew to their ]\Iajesties, that before the enterprise of those who began to take up arms, and who now hold their said Majesties in captivity ... all this kingdom was beginning to enjoy good repose {un bon 344 Tin: REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. repos) upon the subject of religion ; each party holding themselves contented through the Edict of January : which Edict was promulgated with the advice of the Princes of the blood, the Lords of the Council, and a notable com- pany of Presidents and Councillors of Parliament, in which place it has since been registered. And without tlie observance of it, it will be found impossible to main- tain tranquillity among the subjects of the King, as ex- perience has proved." He therefore demands that it shall be observed without restriction or modification, until the determination of a free Council, o-r until the majority of the King {auxquel le dit sieur Prince et ceux de sa compagnie aimerait mieux mourir que d' avoir failli d'obcir") — only stipulat- ing, that in case the King shall then see fit to forbid the exercise of their religion, every one should be at liberty, " with all humility and submission, to demand permission to quit the kingdom and retire elsewhere." Also that equal compensation should be made immediately to all parties on either side for any injuries or outrages they may have received since the troubles began — and that all edicts and ordonnances, promulgated since the King and Queen might be justly esteemed in a state of cap- tivity, should be repealed — Casse's. He next insists 7i07i pour etre mu d'aucune haine ou passion, but merely to ensure the free agency of the King and Queen, — the authority of the government, and the maintenance of the edicts, — that she should either separate herself from those around her, and with her son proceed to some place at equal distance from Paris and Orleans, where the chiefs of both parties might pre- sent themselves before her, and render an account of their conduct : — or, that, remaining herself in the Louvre, she should command all who had taken up arms — more espe- 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS. 345 cially the Duke de Guise and the Marechal de St Andre — to lay them down, and retire to their respective estates ; pledging those of his party, and himself, (though by his rank as Prince of the blood exempt from such obligations), to immediately follow such example ; and he offered on his own part, to give up, not only the Marquis de Conti, his eldest son, but all his children into the Queen's hands as pledges of his sincerity. He ends, as usual, by casting the whole guilt of the civil war upon his adversaries should they refuse ces douces et raisonnahles propositions} To these proposals the Triumvirs replied by a publi- cation in the name of the King, and which was registered by the Parliament.^ The young prince was herein made to declare that he and his mother came to Paris by their own consent, and were there at perfect liberty. He offer- ed to confirm the Edict of January in all places, with the exception of Paris : this being followed by a promise from the Triumvirs, to quit the Court with their friends, on the following conditions ; 1st — That in conformity to his oath taken at the altar, the King shall declare, by a perpetual edict, that he will never authorise any diversity of religion in his state, nor church, nor preachings, nor sacraments, nor assemblies, nor ecclesiastical ministers — but wills and intends that the one only Catholic religion, apostolic and Roman, shall l)e permitted in France, and all others re- jected and reprobated. 2nd — That no officer of the crown shall be permitted to continue in his charge without making a public profession of his adherence to the above religion. That all who had taken up arms without the au- thority of the Lieutenant-General of the kingdom, should, on his first requisition, lay them down ; and that all who ' Beza, Hist, dcs Eglises, Mem. ^ Gamier, Hist. France, Beza de Conde. Hist, dcs Eglises. 34G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. were at present iu arms should be declared rebels and public enemies to the King and kingdom. Finally, that the King of Navarre, as representative of the Sovereign, should alone retain the power of assembling a military force, which should continue armed as long as he might deem it necessary for the security of the state. Upon these conditions — which were proposed in all humility, as the sole means to prevent the subversion of the monarchy — they declared themselves ready, not only to retire from Court, but to retreat to the remotest corner of the world, bearing away as their only recompense the reflection that by such a sacrifice they should have secured the ancient estate and religion of France, and thus in part repaid the obligations they lay under to its sovereigns. " By an ad- ditional article they professed that they required nothing similar on the part of the Prince de Cond6 — desiring rather that his Majesty should retain him at Court, in order to withdraw him from the dangerous society in which he was at present to be found." It is unnecessary to remark that these propositions, carrying — as they did in some points, an appearance of fairness — were such as it was impossible for the Hu- gonots, with the slightest pretence of prudence, to accept. The King of Navarre, in whose hands as Lieutenant- General of the kingdom, the whole military force of the kingdom was to be vested, was devoted to their enemies, and to consent to disarm under these circumstances, was to yield themselves, bound hand and foot, into their power. As to the Prince himself, the way in which mention was made of him was intended only to excite the jealousy of his party. To this, and another declaration to the same effect, Conde answered by a long and extremely able reply. In answer to the affirmation made in the name of the King and his mother that they were at perfect liberty, he 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS. 347 asked, " Was it bj their orders, then, that the Triumvirs came to Fontainbleau 1 Did thej shed no tears on being carried awaj '? had not the Chancellor been driven against the Queen^s wishes from the Council — and did the Queen herself never lie down with the apprehension that she might be strangled before morning ? and, when she ap- peared to command the Prince to lay down his arms, did she not in truth dread his obedience as the greatest mis- fortune which could by possibility befal her'? Was it not a fact that the flourishing state of the Prince's affairs had been the reason why great additional respect and con- sideration had been lately shown her? As for the condi- tions which the Triumvirs were pleased to annex to their submission — was it for them to prescribe the terms of their obedience '? And after the nation, assembled by its deputies at Orleans and Pontoise, had demanded temples and a civil existence for the Protestants — and the sove- reign authority had decided on their condition by a re- gistered edict — did it become a foreigner like the Duke of Guise, et deux petits compagnons, like Montmorenci and St. Andre, to demand, or rather to decree, the abolition of the Religion, save under conditions annexed by their good pleasure ? With respect to the article which tended to mark as rebels and infamous all those who had taken up arms without the permission of the King of Navarre, it was no point to be discussed in writing ; the explanation should be demanded by the Prince in the proper place, at the point of his lance, and at the head of 10,000 men. In the conclusion to this very spirited and clever de- fence, which may be found at length in Beza, it was again required that these, and all other papers issued by the contending parties, should be inscribed on the registers of Parliament, in order to afford the King, when he should arrive at age, the means to decide between them. 348 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. CHAPTER VIII. TOWNS THAT JOIN THE HUGONOTS. THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. — ARRET OF THE PARLIAMENT OF PARIS. The situation of his affairs justified the high-toned defiance of the Prince de Cond^. His first manifesto had been followed by so general a revolt, " that," says Bran- tome, "all the best towns in France were taken — and when it was asked at Court which towns had fallen into the hands of the Ilugonots 1 it was answered — Say rather, which have escaped." Thirty-five large cities, among which Blois, Tours, Dieppe, Havre de Grace, Montauban, Nismes, Orange, Lyons, and Grenoble, — La Rochelle, with the districts of the Yivarets, the Cevennes, the Venaissin, in fact, almost the whole of the south of France are enumerated in the Memoires de Cas- tlenau, as among those which immediately declared them- selves. "In which," says he, "the Hugonots spoiled the churches, and broke the images, throwing them everywhere upon the ground with the greatest animo- sity."^ This universal insurrection is mainly to be attri- buted to the violence and cruelty of the Catholics them- selves. The pages of De Thou and D'Aubigne are stained with the records of their atrocious barbarities, ex- ' The passion for iconoclasm is images which ornamented the front represented in the following anec- of the great church of Saint Croix; dote. The Prince endeavoured, at the man, not deterred from his oc- Orleans, to put a stop to this irritat- cupation, coolly turned round and ing species of devastation, and ac- said, " Monsieur ayez patience que tually levelled his arquebuss at a j'abbatte cette idole, puisque je man who was busy defacing the meurs si tot apres." 1562.] TOWNS THAT JOIN THE HUGONOTS. 349 ercised without remorse, upon every age, sex, and condi- tion. At Sens, we see the people headed by their Arch- deacon, and, as it is supposed, with the privity of their Archbishop, the Cardinal de Guise, instigated by the con- tinual ringing of the cathedral bells, to one indiscriminate slaughter. The very gardens and vineyards of the Hugonots are defaced and destroyed. The bodies of the victims thrown into the Yonne, are floated to Paris ; the King, walking on the edge of the Seine, perceives one of these objects, and asks, " What is that V " Sire," a gentle- man has the courage to answer, " it is one of the slaugh- tered inhabitants of Sens coming to demand justice."^ France can now be considered but as one vast scene of bloodshed and devastation. The details alone can convey an adequate idea of that worst of human cala- mities, a religious civil war — but to this, the limits of this work cannot extend, and a few striking anecdotes must serve as specimens of the almost universal barbarity. In Guyenne, where the fury of Montluc had irritated the Hugonots to the last degree, the revolt was, with the exception of the city of Bourdeaux, universal. The perusal of the Memoirs of Montluc must be consulted to form a just impression of his atrocities. The streets of Cahors actually streamed with blood — D'Aubign6 says, in one place to the depth of a foot. Wherever he passed, the trees loaded with dead bodies, bore witness to the hasty indifference of his executions — " Je fas cruel alors ; je depechois ces cartons de charognes, de prisonniers il ne ^en parloient point en ce temps Id, En ces guerres civiles ilfaut venir a la rigiieur et d la cruaut6 "" — after the de- feat of Duras, I was informed, that sixty or eighty Hugo- ' Hist Univ. D'Aubigni, De Thou, was no talk of prisoners in those 2 Me'm. de Monthie. days. In civil wars there is no help ' I was cruel enough then. I for it, one must have recourse to despatched these carrions. There cruelty. 350 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. nots had retired to the Giroiidc. I cauglit them, and hung seventy round the pillars of the market-place — on pouvait connaitre par let oil fetois passe, car par les ai^hres sur les chemins on t7Viivoit les enseignes :''^ — such are the ex- pressions, and such the incidents recorded in his extra- ordinary ^lemoirs. At the taking of Monsegur, " I took eighty or a hun- dred soldiers, and went round the walls ; et qui en sautait par-dessus il efoit mort.- The slaughter lasted ten hours, and more, and we took only fifteen or twenty prisoners, whom we hung up ; the King's officers and the Consuls hav- ing their chaperons round their necks," — The streets and the walls were covered with dead bodies, and at Pamiers, forty women were killed at once by the Spanish reinforce- ments, who, under D. Louis de Carvajal, had joined ^lontluc. ''Which made me angry," says he; "old soldiers ought not to kill women, mais plusieurs mauvais gar^ons furent despeches, qui servoient a combler un puits qui estoit au chateau"^ " The cruelty was excessive ;" says the Hist, de Cinq Rois, " even to killing infants in the arms of their mothers, and the mothers after them."^ ' Every body knew the way I tion! Having understood from several, took, for the trees on the road-side and more especially from our beloved were hung with my colours. son Charles, Cardinal d'Armagnac, ^ And those I made jump off Avith what desire and very great af- were dead before they came to the fection thou dost defend the Catholic bottom. religion, and with what care and dili- ^ But many a good for nothing gence thou dost strive to repress the fellow was killed.whose bodies served vices of heretics, and to restore to to fill up the castle-well. its first state the observation of the * A letter from the Pope, the vicar Christian faith, — works of a most and vice-gerent of Chri'it, to this true Christian and Catholic, and, ferocious savage, was well calculated without doubt, excellent gifts con- to inflame the almost insane fanati- ferred by heaven — we cannot, and we cism in Avhich his excesses originat- ought not to neglect to render thanks ed, and is inserted to shew the spirit to God who has on thee conferred so which actuated the then Catholic clear and sovereign an understanding. Church. and rejoice with all our heart at thy *' Very noble and Avell-beloved son, great piety. More especially con- health and the apostolical benedic- gratulating thee because that, after 1562.] TOWNS THAT JOIN THE HUGONOTS. 851 In Toulouse, during a bloody contest which lasted three days, and terminated by the defeat of the Hugonots, we find the members of the High Court of Justice issuing from the chamber of Parliament in their scarlet robes, and causing proclamation to be made in their presence, "That all good Catholics and faithful subjects of the King should take arms against those of the Religion; seize them dead or alive, pillage and slay without mercy/' The proclamation is not confined to the town but circulated in the surrounding villages ; and the Tocsin ( Tocseing old French) sounding from every steeple of the city, and answered by the churches for three or four leagues round, gives the signal for indiscriminate slaughter. Toulouse at that time contained a very great number of persons attached to the Reform ; of which immense mul- titudes perished upon this occasion. The prisons were filled instantly; many persons being murdered at the doors there being not places to contain them ; the river in a few hours was covered with dead bodies, and the streets strewed with victims, flung from the windows, and despatched with stones or the arquebuss. The scene having so happily fought under many nourahle deeds than the deeds them- kings and virtuous princes, and in so selves, so excellent and illustrious, divers countries, thou art now called recently done by thee in imitation of to maintain, with still greater glory, our most illustrious and beloved son, honour, and reputation, the war of the the King of Navarre, and many other King of kings, Jesus Christ, and fight sovereigns and illustrious lords of the fight of the Lord of lords. For France. And this is what we now this thou mayest assure thyself, that signify to thee, in order that if be- his eternal favour will never fail thee, fore Ave have much loved, esteem- seeing that so gloriously and triumph- ed, and praised you for your excel- antly thou defendest his good cause. lent and magnanimous courage — your We know well that thou hast no Christian good-will and holy afi'ection need of our exhortation to persevere towards God we may further incite in and pursue what thou hast so thee thereto; and we declare that happily begun, but that thou hast for this cause thou shalt find us, with laid the foundation of thy virtue on the aid of God, ready to do in all the holy and ardent afi^ection that things what shall be in our power, thou hast for the honour and glory Given at Rome at St. Peter's, under of God. And our persuasion cannot the ring of the holy Fisherman. Of more excite thee to virtuous and ho- our Pontificate year the 3rd." 352 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. was concluded bj the arrival of ]\Iontluc — ."he came," he says, ''j-tour disposer de des mcchans traitres h Dieu, au Eoij et a leiir patrie. "We immediately began to do justice, and I never saw so many heads fly off their shoulders at once as on that day."^ In one instance alone did the proceedings of a Protes- tant chief rival those of the Catholics.^ It was in Dau- phin(^ where the Baron des Adrets, at the head of the Ilugonots, emulated the savage Montluc. Des Adrets was a Catholic gentleman, whom personal resentment against the Duke de Guise, had driven to embrace the party of the Protestants — Enraged at what he considered an in- stance of unjust partiality on the part of the Duke, he had retired to his estates in Dauphine, where Mouvans and ]\Iontbrun had relinquished the command to him.— He began with the assassination of La Motte Gondrin, who commanded in the province.^ — He next proceeded to ' Memoires de Montluc. of gentlemen, and others of this pro- * Memoh-es de Conde, tome iii. vince, and found the people already page 317. Beza, De Thou, much moved by the thoughts of ^ Letter of Des Adrets to the Queen- the persecutions and outrages [that Mother: — "Madame, All the peo- they had long endured from M, de la pie of this county of Dauphine, and Motte Gondrin, ennemi toute outre of the neighbouring provinces, as de religion, and advancement of the well gentlemen as others, have felt glory of God, who even two days so much indignation at the cap- before had miserably caused three tivity, Avherein the majesty of the men of ours to die. His house was King and your own finds itself at besieged, and we could not hinder, present reduced, that we have all but the people, thirsting for the agreed, with arms in our hands, to blood of this man, killed him, of deliver you from the dominion of which, Madame, I would inform those who by force and violence have you, as is done more amply by the usurped it, and to replace in your memoirs hereunto joined, &c. It hands that administration which by remains for me now, Madame, to every law, divine and human, belongs tell you that we hope in a few days to you. And those of this country to take the route to Paris, and to hearing I was at Lyons have prayed join all the other provinces of France, me to assist them, and have appoint- — who, compassionating the im- ed me their chief in this praisewor- prisonment of their King, are re- thy and holy enterprise, in order to solved to rescue him from the hands pursue the means the most expedient of the oppressors who detain him, — to conduct it to a happy termination. replace him in those of your Ma- Madame, we came last Monday to jesty, the legal guardian of his per- this town, a good and notable troop son and of his estate. Praying you, 156.^.] TOWNS THAT JOIN THE HUGONOTS. 353 Lyons, carrying slaughter and devastation on his way; the city was taken, mass abolished, the churches plun- dered, and the massacre of the Catholics was a horrid retaliation on the proceedings at Toulouse. — Des Adrets then entered Burgundy, where he was successfully opposed by Tavannes— and retiring to Dauphine, completed the subjugation of the province, and was by the Parliament of Grenoble, appointed governor in the place of La Motte Gondrin. He demolished the convent of the Grande Chartreux, and afterwards entered les Forez, where he took the remarkably lofty tower of Maugiron. The garrison of this place were for the most part put to the sword, but some few were reserved, to afford the Baron after dinner, the diversion of making them leap from the top of the highest tower. One of these victims alone escaped. Three times did this man take the run preparatory to the fatal leap, and as often did he pause at the brink of the pre- cipice ; "Des Adrets impatiently reproached him with his cowardice, in thus three times failing in resolution. " M. le Baron," said the man, turning to him with the greatest coolness, ''Qiielque brave que vous soyez,je vous le donne en dix.'''^ — Charmed with his presence of mind, Des Adrets spared him. Des Adrets justified his cruelty on the principle of reprisals, rendered necessary by the conduct of the Catholics, whose atrocities in that quarter were excessive. The recitals of De Thou are enough to make the blood run cold. At Limoges they inflicted every possible torment upon the Hugonot inhabitants, even to Madame, very humbly to observe tete que je veux obliger en fera that we take arms only for this piir- toujours foi du contrairc, Madame, pose — which, being effected according je supplie, &c. A Valence, ce 29 to our desire, we shall be always Avril, 1562." ready to depose them on the first ' Brave as you are, I give you ten command of your Majesty. Many to try it in. may peradventure endeavour to per- ^ De Thou, suade you of the contrary : Mais ma VOL. I. A A 354 THE REFORMATIOxX IN FRANCE. [156^. roasting some alive by slow fires. The commander of the place was put into a cage of wood, and exposed to all the insults of the populace ; after which he was put to death with inventions of torture only to be rivalled by the American savages. ])es Adrets determined upon a system of reprisals, " being assured," as he said, " that the Catholics had ventured first to begin such enormities, having too easily persuaded themselves that no one would dare to pay them in kind." It is just to add, that far from receiving a letter of approbation from the leading divines of his party, as Montluc had done from the Pope, the proceedings of Des Adrets excited the detestation of all upon his side, and that he was at length on that ac- count superseded, and, in great indignation at such treat- ment, went over to the Catholics. In Champagne and Picardy, the disturbance was less than in the other provinces, the greater part of the Hugonots having joined the standard of Conde, at Orleans. But wherever the Catholics were the stronger in the towns, the same system of unsparing slaughter was pursued, and Amiens and Abbeville shared the fate of Sens.^ In Normandy the Hugonots made themselves masters of Rouen, Dieppe, Havre, and Bayeux f in all these towns the Catholic religion was abolished, and the inha- bitants who professed it disarmed or driven out. Rouen shut its gates against the Duke de Bouillon, though of the Protestant persuasion. The Parliament thought it prudent to abandon the place, and a Council was ap- pointed in their stead. The King of Navarre, as Lieu- tenant-General, had convoked the Ban and arriere ban * The Prince de Conde demanded Reformed from pillaging churches, justice for these massacres ; but and breaking images, even under his Gamier is not ashamed to say, that eyes, he had no right to complain, as he had not made a point, or had Gamier, Hist, de France, not credit enough, to prevent the ^ Sec Beza, De Thou, &c. 1563.] THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. 355 in the province; but the people in the principal towns tore the ordonnances in pieces, and refused to admit the King's messengers within their gates. At Mans, Blois, and Tours, the same scenes were enacted. Almost the last city, which on this occasion raised the standard of revolt, was La Rochelle. A considerable army had by this time assembled under the walls of Orleans. The charge held by D'Andelot, of Colonel-general of the French infantry, had enabled him to secure the majority of the Captains of the old French bands. The Colonels of the Churches, appointed with the approbation of Catherine, and through the instrumen- tality of Coligny, had long been employed in secretly en- rolling numbers of those disbanded soldiers with which France literally swarmed. The Baron de Grammont brought up the Gascon bands — St. Auban those of Provence and Dauphin^. Thus constituted, the Hugonot army amounted to between 2 and 3,000 cavalry, and 6 and 7,000 infantry. On the other hand, the Catholic chiefs found them- selves at first in considerable embarrassment. The situ- ation of every individual province seemed to call for the presence of a separate army — and they found it difficult to raise even one — strong enough to cope with that of the Prince, and to defend Paris. Their whole force con- sisted of some hasty levies of militia, such few regi- ments as had not been disbanded after the peace of Cateau, and the garrisons of Metz and Calais, which were withdrawn, and the defence of those important places committed to raw and inexperienced recruits. It was determined, without hesitation, to call in the aid of foreign mercenaries, and the Colonels Freulich and Count Rochendolf were dispatched, the one to the Swiss A A 2 3i}6 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. Catholic Cantons, the other to Germany, to make levies of Swiss and lansquenets.^ But such was the state of the finances, that even the funds to provide the bounty- money, and one month's pay in advance necessary for tlie enrolment of tliese bands, were with the greatest diffi- culty provided. The revenue was anticipated— treasure there was none — and the deposits made by the Clergy to defray their share of the debt, were not accessible, having been paid to a treasurer of their own. In this dilemma the Duke de Guise found his only resource in the devotion, or, properly, fanaticism of the Parisians. Proposals for a Joan were opened — the Cardinal de Lorraine, and the frere lean de Han, preached incessantly in recommendation of ameasure — "so necessary for the salvation of religion," and with such effect, that the money, low as was public credit, was raised and was delivered to the two Colonels. But to provide the means for carrying on the war was a difficulty yet unconquered, and the Triumvirs found themselves under the necessity of adopting measures yet more questionable, and of applying for aid to their allies, the Pope, the King of Spain, the Duke of Savoy, and the Italian princes — allies so profuse in their offers of assistance at the commencement of their enter- prise, but which assistance it was now found must be purchased at the expense of concessions, equally dan- gerous and humiliating. The Duke of Savoy, in return for his neutrality, and for 4,000 Piedmontese troops which entered Dauphine, demanded the restitution of the four places still held by the French in Savoy — alike the keys of his duchy, and the sole trophies retained by France of former victories. These were Turin, Triers, Chivas, and Villeneuve, which had all been fortified at an immense expense, and being now evacuated, and the fortifications imperfectly ' Gamier, De Thou, D'Aiibigne, Beza, &c. 1562.] THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. 357 destroyed, served henceforward to defend the country they had been intended to control. The King of Spain was petitioned to contribute his assistance in money — nothing being wanted but funds to enlist innumerable soldiers in France — which measure also would have been doubly serviceable by obstructing the levies of the Prince — but Philip, whose object was interference, affected to consider the proposal as an insult to the Spanish army, and confined himself to dispatching 2,000 horse and 8,000 foot, maintained at his own expense, to join the Catholic forces. Some of the most valuable privileges of the Galilean Church were sacrificed to the Pope, in return for the paltry contribution of 2,000 crowns. The Legate was proceeding, in addition, to demand the dismissal of De I'Hopital, but was stopped by the exclamations of Cathe- rine, and this last degradation, though the dismissal after- wards took place, was* spared to the government. By means such as these was the army raised, with which the Triumvirs at length took the field. While their preparations were making, Catherine, who depre- cated a rupture, and vainly flattered herself, that things might yet be restored to their former situation — and she, as arbiter between the parties, resume the autho- rity she had lost — was indefatigable in her attempts at negotiation. De TAusespine, Vieilleville, Yillars, were successively dispatched to Orleans, but their endeavours were ineffectual. The Hugonots persisted in demanding the Edict of January and the dismission of the Guises, as the price of their submission ; while the Duke de Guise insisted upon the revocation of the Edict and the imposi- tion of the Catholic oath of conformity, as the condition of his departure. The Admiral, equally anxious with the Queen to avert an open rupture, the evil consequences of which he too 358 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. clearly anticipated, made at this time one final effort to soften the mind of the Constable, and recal him from his disgraceful alliances. The following letter bears date May the 6th, when the armies were preparing to march.' " jVlONSEIGNEUR, *' Though the bearer of this letter solicited me much to write to you, when he first came unto me, yet it appeared to me useless so to do, fearing that my letters might prove as unacceptable, as those remonstrances which my brother M. le Cardinal de Chatillon and myself, have from time to time had the honour to make. I have, however, this time, been content to undertake it, having always loved, honoured, served, and respected you as a father; never wishing to remember things in you, which, from another, could not have been for- gotten. For, though I might have all the right upon my side, I would be content to waive it rather than contest a point with you. " My Lord, I entreat you to consider the troubles of this kingdom and the calamities into which it must inevitably fall, unless by the interference of God (Si Dieu fiy met la main). And I appeal to all just men to declare who are the real cause. And, for yourself, I entreat you to con- sider in whose hands you are ; and whether those with whom you are now allied be not the same who have ever sworn and pursued your ruin andthat of your whole house. I appeal to your experience during your imprisonment, and throughout the reign of the late King. The most able men may once be deceived, but to persist in error is con- temptible. " I entreat you, Sir, to consider whether the enmity those persons bear to my brothers and to myself, be not ' M^m. de Castlcnau, additions of Lc Labourcur. 1562.] THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. 359 chiefly on your account. At the beginning of the reign of Henry the Second, how well we were all together ! It was your injuries, and the discontent you had reason to entertain against them, which alone divided us. I know not, Sir, whether you are the last to perceive that it is you who will be held responsible for the evils about to ensue ; and that you are about to bequeath the detes- tation of all classes, — but more especially that of the no- bility of this country,— as a lasting inheritance to your house : and this only that you may aggrandise enemies, whose greatness will be founded upon your own destruc- tion, that of your connexions, and that of the principal nobility of the kingdom, — which, however, it must be con- fessed, before that can happen, will lie completely in ruins. For all this company here assembled have taken their re- solution, that, as they have no wish to give law to the Roman Church, neither will they receive law from her. '* We have transmitted our proposals for the pacification of these troubles, by the Abbe St. Jean ; but the answer we have received demonstrates that the ratoniere (rat- trap) still exists, of which the Cardinal de Lorraine spoke, before the death of the late King. God will finally judge our several intentions, and I protest before him, not one of the company now in this town assembled, have taken arms either against the King and his authority, or against the members of the Roman Church ; but solely to maintain the monarchy, and to defend those of our religion from violences committed, in defiance of the will and intention of the King and Queen and of the States-General of this kingdom. " In conclusion, I beg you to consider, that it cannot be just to receive the law from those who are, in all respects, parties interested ; and that we neither can nor will receive it, but from the King. Sir, your good judgment will re- 360 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. solve you better than I can ; but I pray you to reflect, that among all the griefs which afflict myself and my brothers, the first is, to see you involved in such a confederacy. As for myself, having no object l)ut the service of God and the King, I have found it easy to make my decision. " Monseigneur, je me recommande tres humhlement d voire bonne grace, et prie notre Seigneur vous garder en sante, tres bonrie vie et longue, voire ti^es humble et tres obeissant,'''' " Chatillon.'' All attempts at negotiation proving vain, both armies at length took the field. The Triumvirs leaving Paris under the command of Brissac,^ put themselves at the head of their forces, consisting of 4,000 cavalry, the flower of the French nobility, and 6,000 infantry, no- minally commanded by the King of Navarre, but entirely directed by the Duke de Guise. No sooner had the intel- ligence reached Orleans, than the Prince and the Admiral quitted the city and formed an entrenched camp at Vas- sodun, about four leagues' distance, where they awaited the advance of the enemy, who came forwards in high spirits, and nothing was talked of but a battle. This event the Queen still sedulously laboured to prevent ; she proposed a personal interview with Conde, confiding much in her own powers of persuasion, and more in the support her arguments would receive, from the approach of an army superior in numbers to his own. The place of conference was fixed at Thoury, in La Beauce, and the circumstances of this first meeting of the French gentlemen, since the fatal occasion which had divided them, are feelingly described by La None. It had been agreed that one hundred gentlemen armed with their lances should attend on either side ; but that no other troops should approach within ten leagues of the place of meeting, and that 1 Brissac had divided Paris into sections. — Garnier, De Thou, D'Aubigne'. 1562.] THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. 361 thirty light horse of each party should, before the con- ference, clear the country, which was, indeed, to use La Noue's -phro.se— rase comme la mer) At the hour ap- pointed, the Queen arrived on horseback, accompanied by the King of Navarre, and was met by the Prince and the Admiral. While they discoursed together, the two at- tendant squadrons composed of the first noblemen of each army, halted some hundred paces from each other ; the one commanded by the Marechal de St. Andre, the other by the Count de la Rochefoucault. And now an affecting scene took place ; nature for a moment resumed her rights. " After these gentlemen,'^ says La None, who was present, " had for the space of half an hour stedfastly contem- plated each other — one seeking with his eyes a brother, another an uncle, a cousin, a friend, an ancient com- panion — they asked leave to approach, which was granted with reluctance ; for strong apprehension was entertained that they would fall to blows. But far were they from such feelings ; on the contrary, there was nothing but sa- lutations and embraces from men who could not forbear ex- changing such marks of friendship with those formerly so closely united to them by the tenderest bonds of affection. And this in spite of the different colours each party bore ; the troops attending upon the King of Navarre, being clothed in casaques of crimson velvet, with crimson banners ; and those of the Prince de Conde, in white, with white banners. The Catholics, who thought the cause of the Religious lost — exhorted them to consider what they were about, and not plunge into this miserable and hope- less quarrel. They answered, war was as abhorrent to the Hugonots as it could possibly be to them ; — but that it was the only means left to escape the fate of their slaughtered brethren. In short, all urged peace, and the ^ Mem. de La Noue. 8G2 TlIK REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. necessity of persuading the great ones to an understanding. While many standing apart, and considering these things more deeply, deplored the public discord, and the evils that must thence ensue. But when all at last began to re- collect that should their chiefs not agree, these affectionate caresses must at one little signal be exchanged for bloody murders — Avhen with visor lowered, and eyes blinded with fury, even the brother would not spare the brother — the tears sprang to their eyes. I was there on the side of the Religious, and I declare I had a dozen friends in the oppo- site party that I loved as my own soul, and who bore me an equal affection ; yet, honour and conscience would have engaged us all not to fall short of our obligations Private friendships were warm then, but have since been deadened by the miseries which followed, and by the dis- continuance of communication In brief, the Queen and the Prince having conferred about two hours, separated without coming to any agreement, and all the rest retired extremely sorrowful that there had resulted no better effect." The terms of this negotiation having been communicated to the Council of Union at Orleans, the Prince wrote to the Queen that it was impossible to come to an understand- ing unless the Triumvirs retired. The old answer was returned, that the Protestants must first lay down their arms. These negotiations were in fact only a repetition of proposals which the commonest prudence forbade the Hugonots to accept.^ The King of l^avarre had treated Cond^ with the harshest severity at the conference. The Prince was deeply wounded by this unkind ness,^ and the following letter acccompanied his answer to the Queen-Mother's proposals. It is dated June 13, 1562. ^ Beza, Hist, des Egliscs. ' Mem. de Conde. 1562.] THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. 363 " Sir, — Though I have long anticipated the disasters uow fast approaching, yet, I confess, the reality far exceeds any expectation I had formed. My conviction of the innocence of the Reformed Churches, of your own good dispositions, and of the rectitude of my own actions, had persuaded me, that when you compared the authors of these troubles with me who have the honour to be your brother — and whose entire obedience you have till now experienced — you would be moved to listen to the claims of natural affection rather than to the persuasions and artifices of those who can alone maintain themselves by the ruin of you and yours. In fact, Sir, I have not yet lost this hope, however unfavourable appearances may be, and this has led me to write this present, plu- tdt avec larmes de mes yeux qu'avec Vencre de ma plume, For what can by possibility happen to me more grievous in this world, than to see him bearing down upon me with lance in rest, for whose safety and honour I could peril my life against the universe ; and to believe that you would seek the life of one, who draws it from the same source as yourself — and who never has spared — and never wishes to spare it either to save or serve you ! " Sir, consider, I pray you, if you please, what are the occasions which move you to so strange a proceeding. If it be on account of religion — what man can judge better than yourself, whether ours be such as that, upon that score, all the rights of nature, equity, and humanity are to be towards us less regarded than towards the most execrable of mankind? If your conscience can- not approve of the articles of our faith, still less can your nature, I feel assured, approve of the extreme cruelties ex- ercised against us — much less suffer you to become their chief and principal author. If the state and great- ' Rather with tears than with ink. 3G4 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. ncss of the crown be urged against us, whom, Sir, after you and your descendants, docs that concern more than myself? Judge, if you please, who regards them most, he who offers to submit to every thing reasonable, pro- vided the authors of these troubles a])sent themselves 1 or those who would expose all to ruin .... rather than restore that peace by their absence, which, by their pre- sence, they have destroyed 1 And say, should they succeed in their design of ruining and defeating those who oppose them, reflect in what security this crown will then stand of which you are Lieutenant- General. " Are your own greatness and reputation in question *? Remember who, but two years ago, sought to deprive you at once both of them and of life ! Whether they be changed since, I know not, and time will shew .... but, Sir, you must allow me to doubt how they can be your friends, who have, for the second time, seeking your brother's destruction, endeavoured to make you the instrument of their ill-will. "Now, Sir, this I have said, in the hope that either through affection for me, or at least from regard to the honour of God and welfare of your country, you wdll well reflect upon these things before you take arms against one, who is by natural duty your second self — and who, by the grace of God, will never fail in this duty, — and who would rather embrace death than behold the issue of this com- bat, on whichever side victory may incline. " But, if instead of listening to reason, the authors of our miseries persist in their designs — unrestrained by that authority which it has pleased God to bestow upon you ; then, gentlemen, we hope, by the aid of him whose honour we maintain, to see such a termination as may teach them the value of such enterprises and such coun- sels, — and give you reason to estimate not only my affection, 1562.] THE ARMIES TAKE THE FIELD. 365 but that of all this company, which, after God and the Ma- jesty of the King and Queen, is entirely dedicated to you." This appeal appears to have had considerable effect both upon Navarre and upon the Queen-Mother, and in conse- quence, the conferences were renewed at Talcy. They served, however, but to prove the ill-faith of the Trium- virs — to confirm in the Hugonots the distrust that was be- ginning to be felt against the Queen-Mother, and finally to convince them^ " that words were a remedy too feeble for the present evils ;" or, as D'Andelot said, " Que tant de parlemens ne sont que piperies, le meilleiir remede pour Hre d' accord, est nous mener a demie lieue d'eux. Car nous ne serons jamais hons amis que nous n'ayons un peu escrime ensemble.^^^ It was resolved, therefore, the truce having expired, to march that very night, and surprise the royal camp at Talcy, from which the Triumvirs were at that time absent, and where Navarre alone was in command. Accordingly, public prayers having been made " according," says La None, " to the custom at that time among the Religious, the army marched upon this magnanimous enterprise, with an ardour which I never saw equalled/^ The Admiral commanded the advance (avant garde), consisting of 800 lances, 2,000 arquebusiers, and two large bodies of pikemen. The Prince followed with the main body {hataille), consisting of 1,000 horse, and the remainder of the arquebuserie ; the whole force might be in amount about half that of the Catholic army. They had calculated upon reaching the enemies' quarters about three o'clock in the morning, but their guides misled them, ' Mem de La None. arc brouglit witliin half a league of 2 That all these parlementations each other, and have had a good are nothing but swindling baits, and scrimmage together. that we shall never be agreed till we ^ Mem. de La Noue. 3GG THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. tlieir marcli was retarded, and an hour after sun-rise, they were still a league from the enemy. Convinced, by the continual firing of the artillery, that their design was discovered by the royal army, they halted, and finally abandoned an enterprise, which, but for this unfortunate accident, would in all probability have been completely successful. The two armies remained the greater part of that day in presence — in battle-array ; in the evening, the Prince retired to Langres, a short league's distance, and the King of Navarre sent immediate orders to the Triumvirs to join. The next day the armies again faced each other, and some slight skirmishing ensued, but the positions they occupied being equally dangerous to both parties, " and there being," says La None, " a sort of necessity upon each, to take some of the adjacent towns in order to carry on the war, they separated, as if by mutual con- sent. The Catholics marched to attack Blois — the Hugo- nots to recover Beaugency, of which they had been frau- dulently deprived by a breach of promise on the part of Navarre, and which was important, as being the only town in the possession of the Triumvirs which commanded a passage over the Loire. Both towns were taken, and at both, great disorders were committed ; at Beaugency, the town was pillaged, and the garrison, but the garrison alone, put to the sword. Blois surrendered to the Duke de Guise. The place was immediately evacuated, and the inhabitants made no resistance, yet was the town sacked, the Protestants in it slaughtered or drowned without mercy, their women brutally outraged and then murdered. From Blois the royal army proceeded to Mer, where the same barbarities were renewed, the carnage was dreadful, and the pillage lasted nine days. These cruelties occasioned the most extreme pain 1562.] ARRET OF THE PARLIAMENT OF PARIS. 367 to Conde, and he wrote to the King of Navarre to com- plain of them, but received for answer, " that war obliged men to tolerate disorders." Thus was the sword drawn from the scabbard, and the contest so anxiously deprecated, began in all its horror. But the excesses of military violence, dreadful as they are, must, by their very nature, be limited in extent, and modified by numerous circumstances ; it remained for the more reflective wickedness of a grave, legal body, to fill the measure of sorrow and iniquity, and complete the miseries of France. On the 13th of June, that fatal arret was published by the Parliament of Paris, — Le Maitre being First Presi- dent, which, it may safely be said, has been never ex- ceeded, and rarely paralleled, in the sanguinary annals of human legislation. By it the whole Protestant popula- tion was, by one stroke of the pen, proscribed, and all Catholics commanded to arm in every parish, and at the sound of the tocsin to courir sus, and kill their fellow- citizens and neighbours without mercy, and without fear of being called to any account. By this horrible edict, one half of the population was at once armed against the other, and every corner of the kingdom filled with blood. Then, in the rural villages, till now living in peaceful seclusion, ignorant of the crimes and the miseries around them, might be heard the clang of the dreadful bell, sum- moning to indiscriminate slaughter.^ Then might be heard from Christian pulpits, on every sabbath day, the dreadful arret read hj the pastor to his congregation, which commanded them to mas- sacre and pillage their unoffending brethren, neigh- bours, and acquaintances ; whilst thus exhorted, the • D'Aubigne, Dc Thou. 368 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. peasantry abandoned their la])ours, and gave themselves up without remorse, to all the excitements of robbery, slaughter, and every species of outrage. Headed by the most brutal and violent of their, then, ignorant and semi- barbarian class, they divided themselves into parties, wandering over the country, and carrying desolation wherever they went. At Ligneul-sur-Indre, one of these parties, after stran- gling some of the inhabitants, put out the eyes of the minister, and then burnt him at a slow fire. At Cormeri, Loches, and Aye, they exercised the most horrible cruelties, not only against the Hugonots, but against all whose doctrine was in the least suspected. Men of rank were not ashamed to assist in such atro- cities ; and even the poet Ronsard, whose sweet verses had charmed the leisure of Mary Stuart, and delighted all the accomplished of his age, might be seen heading an infuriated mob, signalised by its sanguinary barbarity. De-Id commenchrent toiites so?ies de sacrileges, vo- leries, assassinats, paillardises, incestes, avec un licence dehor dee de mal faire, says Castlenau ; "50,000 persons are said to have perished in these disorders," but it is evi- dent that it was impossible that anything like an ade- quate calculation could be made. I feel that I may expose myself to censure in this age of refinement for admitting the relation of so many horrors into my work. I can only say it is as painful to write as it can be to read them; but the truth of history is a sacred thing. The only matter which has all along made me uneasy has been the fear lest, out of regard to the humane feelings of modern times, I may have too much softened the details of the awful picture, ' Mem. de Castlenau. De Thou. D'Aubigne Histoire Universelle. Beza Hist, (les E^lises. 1562.] ARRET OF THE PARLIAMENT OF PARIS. 369 and done injustice to a theme which, exposed in its terrible truth, would have been insupportable. Deep as the colouring I have employed may appear, it gives but a faint representation of the ferocity of the times. It may be thought perhaps by some that this relation is made in a spirit of hostility to the Catholic church. I repel the imputation — I will yield to no man in that respect for liberty of conscience, which claims brother- hood with every member of the Christian body; and the grand Roman Catholic church, with all her sins upon her head, I can still reverence for her antiquity, and for the pious martyrs and confessors who have adorned her annals — but I raise my feeble voice and call upon that church to account to the world for her stewardship, and to tell us, what — during the long succession of centuries in which the dispensation of Christian truth had to her alone been committed — she had effected for mankind. To tell us why the Reformation found society in a state which the historian shudders to describe ? Was it — or was it not, — because, arrogating to herself to be wise above what was written, she had separated her children from their Lord and Master, by withholding his Gospel word — and passing that light which was to illuminate the earth through a medium of her own — which ob- structed and distorted its beams. Let us pause a mo- ment to reflect upon the result. Let us contrast the advancement made in knowledge, humanity, morality, during the short period which has elapsed since the Reformation — with the progress made in the long course of years before! The barbarity of the six- teenth with the refinement, imperfect as it is, of the present century. Let us compare the state of countries now actually existing — according as they lie under the discipline of one or the other system ; Spain and Eng- VOL. I. B B 370 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. land — Scotland and Ireland. The Revolution as carried out in France— or our own, though effected a century and a half earlier ! Contrast the proceedings of Elizabeth of England, and Philip the Second of Spain, at the same period, and in pursuit of much the same objects. Ought not the Roman Catholic church to ponder these things ? To reflect upon the many centuries when she had the Christian world under her sole direction, and ask herself what society had become ? She must claim no credit for the improvement since, for she has still perse- vered in the endeavour to keep the general mind in ignorance, and retain the key of knowledge in her own hands. Deeply impressed with the picture, I have, alas ! too faintly delineated, I raise my feeble ineffectual voice, and beseech her to Reform herself. If general report lie not, one bearing a liberal and noble spirit now, by the bless- ing of God, is invested with the triple crown, — Let all enlightened Catholics support his efforts — may they shake off the yoke under which they have so long laboured, and suffer themselves to be blinded no longer. Let them labour to enlighten and educate their members, especially their inferior members. Let them review and consider their own history. — Not, indeed, as represented by their own historians, who have in so many instances furnished a fresh example of that sacrifice of truth to expediency which has been the bane of the Roman system — but as displayed in the fads of the case — which, if they will dare to inquire, they may easily learn, and draw their own conclusions. Oh! that this artless pen had power! — not to excite Catholic and Protestant to hate and despise each other — God forbid ! — but to teach the Protestant to cling to the noble prerogative of his calling — liberty of conscience 1562.] ARRET OF THE PARLIAMENT OF PARIS. 371 for all! — and the Catholic to reflect and compare. Oh! that Ireland, in all the perplexity of her affairs, — mise- rably increased by the wretched education her Catholic population have been receiving at the hands of their priests, might be the first to profit by a new and better system. I entreat the indulgence of my reader for this short interruption of my narration. The subject has been forced upon my reflection by the enquiries necessary to my undertaking, and I hold myself responsible to a Higher Power for the expression of my own earnest convictions — insignificant as my convictions may be to others. This earnestness may also plead my excuse if, in my fear to injure my cause by omissions, I have at times repeated myself. B B 2 372 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. CHAPTER IX. SIEOF. OF ROUEN. DEATH OF NAVARRE, — NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE GERMAN PRINCES. GERMAN AUXILIARIES ARRIVE IN FRANCE. ** When this war began/' says La Noue, " the chiefs and captains in the Hugonot army, still recollected the fine military order which prevailed in the wars of Francis and Henry, his son : the soldiers, too, retained the me- mory of it, which kept them to their duty ; and still more power had the continual remonstrances and preachings of their ministers, who admonished them not to employ their arms for the oppression of the poor people. The zeal of religion was then strong among them, so that without constraint each one was held by himself in subjection, — more especially the nobility, who shewed themselves worthy of the name they bore — for, marching through the country, they neither pillaged nor ill-treated their hosts, contenting themselves with little, and they who had means, paying honestly. No one was seen flying be- fore them from the villages ; no cries nor complaints were heard, in short, c'etoit un desordre hien ordonne. "If a crime were committed in any troop, the guilty person was banished or delivered into the hands of jus- tice ; his very companions would not intercede for him, so great was their detestation of wickedness, and love of virtue. In the camp of Yassodun, where the Prince de Cond6 remained fifteen days, the infantry displayed the same sentiments. " I remarked three or four notable things in the Hugo- 1562.] SIEGE OF ROUEN. 373 not armj, First, throughout this great multitude, the name of God was never blasphemed. Second, not a pair of dice or a pack of cards in the camp. Third, no women accompanying. Fourth, no pillaging or foraging, each being content with his allowance of provisions. Lastly, evening and morning when guard was changed, public prayers were made, and the singing of psalms re- sounded through the camp, in all which matters we can- not but remark a spirit of piety unusual in those accus- tomed to war. "Many were astonished at this fine order, and I remem- ber my brother, M. de Teligny and myself, discoursing with M. I'Amiral, applauded it much. ' It is a fine thing,' said he, ' moyennant qu'elle dure, but I fear this people will soon be tired of their virtue, de jeune hermite, vieux diahle} I know the French infantry well, and if the pro- verb fail, 710US ferons la croix cL la chemin^e! We laughed then, but experience shewed he was prophetic." La None goes on to remark, " how even so early as the taking of Beaugency, a decline of discipline was percep- tible, the inhabitants were cruelly pillaged, and this example was followed on other occasions." He adds in his quaint way, "thus was born, Mademoiselle de la Pi- coree (pillage), who has since risen in dignity. She is now Madame, and if these things continue, will speedily be- come Princesse .... the evil soon became general, in- creasing till the whole body was infected, though M. TAmiral spared no pains to remedy it, for he was impi- tieux, and none need expect, by frivolous excuses, to escape, if guilty, for they were worth nothing to him." This decline in morals was not confined to the army alone, and violence and crime, if we may believe Catholic ' M^m. cle la Noue, Bcza, Castleuau. 374 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. historians, soon diffused themselves among the general Ilugonot population. After the capture of Blois, the success of the Catholic arms was rapid and decisive. Tours, Bourges, Angers, Poictiers, with numerous other towns, were recovered, and the Ilugonots found themselves deprived of most of their conquests as suddenly as they had been acquired. Large bodies of Swiss and German mercenaries had by this time joined the royal army ; so that the Prince, finding it impos- sible to keep the field before a force so greatly his su- perior, was constrained to retire within the walls of Orleans. Here he found himself exposed to all those vexatious annoyances that await the leader of a volunteer army. Ilis forces, small as they were, rapidly diminished ; the first excitement over, the ardour of his followers began to abate ; and when they discovered, that, in place of a rapid and brilliant termination of their efforts, they must pre- pare for a long and tedious war, discontents and mur- murs filled the camp.^ An arret of the parliament of Paris, published about this time, increased the general dissatisfaction, and at one moment threatened to dissolve the Union. With the exception of the Prince de Conde, who, it was pretended, was forcibly detained in the Hu- gonot camp, the chiefs of the party were one and all arraigned; and no one appearing in their behalf, were ' The plague was at this time son in the town. The pestilence was raging at Orleans, and carried off not confined to Orleans ; at the hos- numhers of the poor fugitives, who, pital of the Hotel Dieu alone, at driven from their pillaged and burn- Paris, more than eighty thousand ing houses, had taken refuge there. persons, he says, died. " Comme si Beza says ten thousand persons perish- Dieu eut voulu menacer le royaume ed, but very few of the soldiers. A d'une totale mine, frappant ainsi sur general fast and humiliation was or- les uns et les autres." I can find no dered by the ministers; upon which, account of the nature of the sick- he affirms, the plague almost imme- ness, nor of the weather during tliis diately ceased, so that, on the 7th of summer of 1562. — Beza, Hist. November, there was not a sick per- des Eglises. 1562.] SIEGE OF ROUEN. 375 condemned, and with them every individual now in arms against the King, as "rebels, enemies of God and the King, disturbers of the public peace, &c." As such, their property was confiscated, and all officers of justice com- manded to seize upon their possessions wheresoever they might be found — those only being excepted from the sen- tence, who immediately laying down their arms, should accept the letters of absolution then published, and be con- tent with liberty of conscience and the private exercise of their religion. The effects of this measure were soon discernible. Numbers of the gentlemen who surrounded the Prince, terrified at the prospect of losing their estates, demanded permission to retire, or left the camp without it : others began to express doubts as to the justice of the cause in which they were engaged, and the spirit of disaffection spread so rapidly, that the Prince thought it prudent to dismiss the greater part of his of- ficers. Under pretence of assisting in the defence of their respective provinces, he let them depart while he, with the Admiral, the Council of Union, and a few noblemen, remained in Orleans. " Certainly," says La None, " there is no little difficulty in managing volunteers. It is a bur- den hard to be borne, and wliich often weighs down the strongest, mil le scait qui ne Va prouveeT It does not appear, however, that either the Prince or the Admiral despaired of a successful issue. It was usual for the gentlemen, who composed the most effective part of armies in that age, to retire frequently on leave to their estates, to look after their domestic concerns, collect fresh funds, and, after a certain time, reassemble at an appointed place of rendezvous. The state of their affairs, however, compelled them, though very reluc- tantly, to follow the example of the Triumvirs, and seek the aid of their foreign friends and allies, so as to 370 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. render their army effective when it should once more be collected together, and for this purpose D'Andelot was dispatclied to solicit aid from the German princes, and Briqucmaut, to our Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth, for whatever cause, was throughout this whole contest very sparing in her supplies to her Hugonot friends, and England and France being now at peace, she liesitated long before she would enter into any negoti- ation with them, whatsoever ; but at length persuaded by Throckmorton, and tempted by the offer of Havre and Dieppe as pledges for such monies as she might advance, (the possession of which she trusted to make the means of recovering Calais, still so dearly prized by the English nation,) she consented to pay in different instalments, 140,000 crowns, and to transport 6,000 men into Nor- mandy,— 3,000 of which to form the garrison of Havre, the remainder to be divided between Rouen and Dieppe. The money thus obtained was of infinite service, as it enabled the Prince to complete his levies in Germany : but no proceeding could by possibility have rendered the Hugonots more odious to the nation at large, than thus being the means of once more giving to the dreaded English a footing in France. After the fall of Bourges there was a consultation in the royal camp, whether to attack Orleans or march to the relief of Normandy, before the English forces should have arrived. The former enterprise being considered as too difficult, it was resolved to besiege Rouen ; and the army, whose proceedings were now authorised by the ac- tual presence of the King and the Queen-Mother, sat down before the place, September 28th. The Duke de Mont- pensier having before this time received a commission as Commander-in-Chief of the provinces beyond the Loire, he proceeded there with a considerable force ; and the 1562.] SIEGE OF KOUEN. 377 Mar^chal de St. Andr^ was dispatched into Champagne to oppose the passage of D'Andelot, with his German levies. It was about this time that the Cardinal de Lorraine, who had continued to exercise a great and most per- nicious influence over the councils of France, left the country to assist at the Council of Trent/— once more assembled at the almost universal desire of Christendom, in the fallacious expectation that some confession of faith might be agreed upon, which harmonising differing opinions, might again unite the great majority, at least, of the Churches, in one common belief. It is unnecessary to say that such an expectation proved groundless. Universal ignorance or a sceptical indiffer- ence would appear, upon the subject of religious dogmas a necessary condition of universal conformity — but the attempt at conciliation was not even made. The time was spent in intrigues, quarrels, and chicane, and the results proved as unsatisfactory as the beginnings had been unpromising.- The siege of Rouen is celebrated — the place was de- fended with great spirit by Montgommeri, who, leaving Orleans at the time of the general dissolution of the army, had entered Normandy with a small body of soldiers, and after a series of brilliant successes, had thrown himself into the town, with 1,500 English com- manded by the Lord Grey. The garrison consisted in all but of 15,000 soldiers of the vieilles handes, about 600 cavalry, and the milices bourgeoises ; amid the ranks of which, such was the general excitement, women might be found armed and fighting. Rouen, whose magnificent streets of towering antique ' Beza gives this reason for his parer au hasard d'une bataille, il ai- absenting himself at this juncture — nioit niieux se tenir a I'^cart qu'en Etant un des phis couaids hommes du approeher plus pres. monde, et voyant les choses se pre- ^ Fra Paolo Istoria di Coucilio. 878 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. timber Louses still attest its ancient importance, was then considered, after Paris, the richest town in France.^ It was the great mart of commerce for the northern pro- vinces, and its ruin would entail that of innumerable mercantile houses in various parts of the kingdom. On these accounts, the Queen and the Duke de Guise were alike anxious to save it from the pillage consequent upon an assault, but nothing would persuade the inhabitants to submission. In vain the Duke de Guise carried the deputies from the town to view the mines, now in a state of readiness, and the effect of which was unquestionable ; all terms were refused with the utmost contempt, except such as were founded upon those so often offered by the Prince — and on the 13th of October the assault was com- manded. The Duke headed his men in person, who, animated by his brilliant courage, " did wonders,'^ says Brantome, ''et emporthrent la place hravementy^ Standing on the breach, he recommended three things to his soldiers, " Ulionneur des dames, — the lives of all good Catholics, — and no quarter for the English, the enemies of France.'^ The defence was desperate but vain, and Montgommeri seeing the town lost, mounted a galley with all his officers and what remained of the English, and escaped to Havre. Rouen became a prey to the violence of the soldiers who dispersed themselves through the place pillaging and slaughtering without mercy, regardless of the commands and exhortations of the Duke who hurried from street to street, vainly endeavouring to arrest the disorder. On this occasion, a scene described by Brantome, gives us some idea of the modes of feeling and action in this re- markable man, and of that conduct which rendered him the general idol of the French army. Passing hastily along, he met St. Colombe, (who had by his own request, ' Garnier. De Thou. ^ Honmies Illust., Vie Guise. 1562.] DEATH OF NAVARRE. 379 led the forlorn-hope,) mortally wounded, and carried in a chair, supported by his soldiers. The Duke flew to him, took him in his arms, and tuith many tears besought him to take courage, for all would yet be well, and he should live to receive the recompense of his bravery. " Ah, Monsieur," replied St. Colombo, " all is over with me, but I die content, since you are satisfied. Preserve your rewards for my companions, they deserve them." The Duke liberally rewarded those thus recommended.^ The pillage lasted eight days, " without regard to either one religion or the other,'' says Brantome. Three days before the assault, Anthony of Navarre was struck in the trenches by a ball, which entered his shoulder ; he was carried in great agony to his quarters, where it was found impossible to extract the ball. The wound, however, speedily closed, and was not considered dangerous. The King amused himself by witnessing the games and dances of the young people in his chamber, his present mistress. La Belle Rouet, being seated by his side — his conversation as usual dwelling upon his extrava- gant prospects,^ and wearying all who visited him with his perpetual theme, the riches and beauty of Sardinia. When the town was taken he insisted upon sharing the triumph, and was carried in his litter through the breach, in a sort of procession preceded by martial music. The heat and excitement inflamed the wound, and serious apprehensions were soon entertained for his safety. His danger appears to have changed at once the whole tenor of his thoughts ; he perceived too late the treacherous intentions of Spain, and the folly of his late conduct ; and he wrote earnestly to his Queen, conjuring her to look well to herself, and provide for the security of her little kingdom. The terrors of conscience succeeded to ' Brantome, Hommus Illustrey, Guise. ■^ De Thou. 380 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. tliese anxieties, " he retired within himself/' says De Thou, " examining his past life with care, and repenting, too late, that he had sacrificed his religion to the aggrandise- ment of his kingdom," and declaring to a gentleman who came to visit him from the Prince de Conde, that if he lived it should be to re-establish the Reform. The last few days were spent in all the humiliation of abject fear. De Thou draws a curious picture of him attended by two physicians, the one Catholic the other Reformed, receiving the viaticum from the hands of a priest introduced by the first, and listening to portions of the Book of Job, and to the prayers recited by the second. He died upon the 1 7th of November, with his son's name upon his lips, leaving him to reap for his best inheritance, the bitter fruits of his father's baseness.^ His death, which a few short months before might have saved the kingdom, now produced little sensation. The Duke de Guise, at the head of a devoted and victorious army, no longer required the support of his name or authority. While the Prince de Conde, as chief of a party proscribed as rebels and enemies of the State, profited little by the rights which, as first Prince of the blood, de- volved upon him.^ He, however, assumed the title of Lieutenant-General of the kingdom ; but, in the present hostile state of public opinion, it availed him nothing. By the Queen-Mother alone was Navarre regretted ; who looked upon him as a sort of check upon the power of the Triumvirs, whose encroachments became every day more alarming.^ * The King of Navarre, among ^ Abbe Perau, Vie de Coligny. his other strangely assorted qualities, ^ The executions of Mandeville, had, it is said, such a propensity for Malorat, and De Croix, persons emi- thieving, that it was usual with his nent both in their own legal pro- attendants to empty his pockets dur- fession, in arms, and theology, were ing the night ; and, inquiring with the judicial acts of cruelty which whom he had spent the day, restore stained the conquest of Rouen. — De their contents to the right owners. ~" 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 381 While the Catholic army was thus pursuing its advan- tages, the Prince and the Admiral, cooped up in Orleans, beheld on all sides a series of reverses. A re-action almost universal had followed the first brilliant success of their party ; Tavannes in Burgundy had defeated Montbrun ; a large reinforcement which the Count de Duras was bringing up from Guyenne, had been overthrown by Montluc at Yer ; Provence and Dauphine presented pic- tures of universal slaughter and desolation ; and Brissac had obtained great advantages in the neighbourhood of Lyons. Between the rivers Seine and Loire, the Hugonots lost numerous towns, as well as in Brittany, Picardy, and Normandy ; these disasters served still further to cool the zeal of the party ; " and were the cause, says La None,' why many Hugonot gentlemen and soldiers retired to the King's camp, w^here they were very well received, and ob- tained letters of pardon, " lettres de pardonr^ 1 Mem. de La Noue. to examine the other, hut was un- At the siege of Rouen, a series ahle to recognise the face, disfigured of accidents so extraordinary hap- as it was by wounds, blood, and soil; pened to a private gentleman, that he therefore threw the bodies again they have been preserved in all the into the ditch, and covering them principal histories of the time ;* their lightly with earth, left one hand ac- singularity leads me to insert them cidently exposed. Looking back as here. Francois de Civile, a gentle- he went away, he saw the hand, and, man in the neighbourhood, was fearing the dogs might disinter the among those who defended the town. remains to which it belonged, he re- Standing in the rampart, he was turned with design to cover it more wounded by a ball, which, entering completely, when he beheld a dia- the right cheek, penetrated the neck, mond which Civile had been accus- and he fell insensible over the Avail tomed to wear shining in the moon- into the ditch, where some soldiers light on one of the fingers. He now thinking him dead, after stripping, drew his master from the grave, buried him with another body, wdiich wiped the blood from his face, and as was laid uppermost. Thus he lay he kissed it with the utmost affection, covered with earth from eleven in perceived warmth yet remaining ; he the morning to half-past six in the carried the body immediately to the evening. His faithful servant, hear- sm'geons ; but they, looking on him ing of his death, requested permis- as quite dead, were regardless of his sion to search for the body of his servant's entreaties, and refused their master, and give it a more honour- assistance in attempting to restore able burial. After drawing the first animation. The servant, however, body from the earth, he proceeded convinced that life was not extinct, * De Thou, Varillas, D'Aubign^. 382 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [156^. The last hopes of tlie party rested upon D'Andelot, who having succeeded in liis negotiations with the Ger- man princes, was now approaching the frontiers with the succours thus obtained ; and the question whether he would make good his passage, and succeed in leading them up to Orleans, was the incessant subject of conver- sation between Coligny and the Prince. I remember, says La None, hearing them discourse upon these things ; the Admiral would say, "That one misfortune is commonly followed by another, but that they must abide the third adventure, (meaning the passage of his brother,) which would restore, or, if it failed, ruin all." It was resolved, should things come to the worst, that, leaving the Admiral to stand a siege, the Prince should carried his master to the house where he liad been formerly quartered. Here he lay five days and five nights vi^ithout speaking, moving, or giving sign of life ; mais aussi ardent de fievre qu'il avoit ete froid dans sa tope. At the end of this time two physicians and a surgeon \isited him ; the wound was dressed, his teeth were separated, and a few spoonfuls of nourishing broth swallowed. The next day, after a considerable dis- charge from the wound, speech and sensation returned ; he complained of pain, and had the appearance of one suddenly roused from profound slumber, and without the slightest recollection of any circumstance that had occurred. Thus he lay con- sumed by fever, but giving hopes of recovery, when the town was taken by assault ; and, in the subsequent confusion, being mistaken for another man, some ruffians dragged him from his sick bed, and he was flung out of the Avindow. He fell upon a dunghill, and the window not being high, re- ceived little injury. Here he conti- nued to lie three times twenty-four hours in his shirt, exposed to all the injuries of the air without the slightest assistance. An old friend at last inquired for him, and was told he was lying dead on the dunghill. He found him still breathing, though too weak to speak, and making signs of great thirst. Drought and pain had, indeed, entirely dried his lips and tongue. Some beer was given him which he drank greedily ; but attempting to swallow bread, the morsel was obliged to be drawn from his throat, the passage of which was nearly closed. Abstinence and cold appeared to have had, hoAvever, a favourable effect upon his wound and fever, and he was able to be can-ied by water from Rouen, and being pro- perly assisted recovered. I saw him, says D'Aubigne, deputy for Normandy, at the National Assem- bly, forty-two years after his wound. I observed that he always added to his signature, — " Francois de Civile trois fois mort, trois fois enterr^, et trois fois par la grace de Dieu resus- cit6 ;" he adds, " the ministers (for what reason it would be hard to di- vine) endeavoured vainly to make him give up this addition to his sig- nature." De Thou relates the story very circumstantially ; Civile being still living at the time he wrote his history. 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 383 secretly traverse France, and himself endeavour to obtain fresh assistance from the German princes ; " But while they deliberated on these things, news was brought that M. d'Andelot, having overcome the principal difficulties of his expedition, had arrived within thirty leagues of Orleans, — and, in addition to this, that the Count de la Rochfoucault, with the remains of the army of Duras and three hundred gentlemen, was likewise on his road to join them. " Xow,'' said the Prince, "they have given us numerous bad checks, and have taken our rooks {rocs Bourses et Rouen) ; the next move we will be in the field, and have their knights." The good news was received with their usual gaiety by his army—" // 7ie faut pas demander si chacun saidoit et rioit en Orleans, car dest coutume de gens de guerrey^ D'Andelot had found considerable difficulty in the con- duct of his negotiations, and had been mainly indebted for his success to the exertions of Spifame, late Bishop of Nevers, and now, " a minister of the word of God, '' as Beza calls him — A man of very great abilities, qui rHavait faute d' esprit, ni de langue, ni d'experience — he having been maitre de requites, president des enquetes in the Parliament, and finally chancellor to the Queen-Mother. Intelligence having been received that, during the month of November in this year, there was to be a grand assembly of the Princes of the empire at Frankfort, to meet the Emperor Ferdinand, and proceed to the corona- tion of his son as King of the Romans ; and that the Triumvirate had sent the Sieur de Rambouillet as their ambassador there ; the Prince had dispatched Spifame in the same capacity. He began his negotiations by presenting a Confession of Faith of the French Cliurches, in order at once to ' Mem. de La None. — Beza, Hist, des Eglises. 384 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [156.9. silence the injurious reports that had been spread, througli the agency of the Duke de Guise, as to the nature of their opinions — rebut the charge of blasphemy and heresy, and endeavour to set at rest the jealousies which had been fomented between the followers of Calvin and those Protestants who adhered to the Confession of Augsburg. The paper is inserted at large in Beza's History of the Churches, and is remarkably able. Explaining with sin- gular clearness the doctrine of the Churches, and defending it with an equal union of firmness and moderation. I will only insert one sentence, as it is not the purpose of this work to enter in the slightest degree into an examination of the dogmas held by the different parties in this great contest. He is speaking of the doctrine of transubstantiation, and of the reproach of subjecting divine things to the investigation of reason, which was urged by the Roman Church against them — and after explaining how far, ac- cording to their view, the limits of reasoning extended, concludes with — ''Done il assert que le blame qu'auciins nous donnent n'est que caloinnie ; c'est d dii^e que nous mesurons la puissance de Dieu selon nos sens, a lafafon des philosophes. — Helas! toute notre philosophie est de recevoir en simplicite ce que rScriture nous montre!' This paper being presented was followed by three harangues. One of which was made before the Emperor himself, where Spifame, in support of his assertions, exhibited the four letters of Catherine to the Prince, requesting that the seal of the Empire might be affixed to them, to serve as a testimony to all posterity; which was done. The two other harangues were delivered, one to the King of the Homans in his Privy Chamber, and the other before all the Princes of the Empire. They were much of the same tenor. — An abstract only has been preserved 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 385 by Beza, which, however, contains so luminous a resume of the true grounds of this unhappy quarrel, that my sense of justice, at the risk of wearying the reader, obliges me to insert it here. He began with saying that though common report had carried the relation of the troubles and tumults of France throughout Europe — nevertheless that his Majesty the Emperor (whom he knew to be acknowledged as holding the highest dignity in all the world) might not be misled by the misrepresentations of those who endea- voured to colour these things to their own advantage — the Prince de Conde had greatly desired to explain to his Majesty and to the King of Bohemia, his son, as well as to all the Princes of the Holy Empire, the truth of the things which had taken place — hoping that the minority of the King, and the extreme misery of his subjects, might move them to take this cause in hand. He then said, that though it was no new thing for the kingdom of France to fall into the hands of children in their minority — nevertheless, it had never been seen that there was debate or dispute with regard to the govern- ment ; because that question had been always immediately settled by the States-General, who, in such cases, possessed great authority — in order that, by their advice and con- sent, it might be concluded who during the minority of the King, should have the administration of his afiairs, and the possession of his person. That it was true, when the King, Charles the Sixth, had been deprived of his reason, France had been agitated by great troubles, owing to the disputes of the Princes of the blood, who all pretended to a share in the govern- ment ; but that it had never before been seen that any foreign prince had dared to make such a pretension as was now made by the Duke de Guise and his confederates, VOL. I. c c 38G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. who, contrary to the express ordonnance of the States, had surrounded the majesties of the King and Queen with their armed forces. And that it was not for them to pretend, nor for others to believe, that this was done out of zeal for religion — their only motive being that they miglit enrich themselves out of the spoils of the king- dom, and, more especially, by pillaging and massacreing, with impunity, those who refused to obey them. In order to understand this, it was necessary, he said, to take notice, that, after the decease of Henry and of Francis the Second, our young King Charles was called to the throne in his minority ; so that, according to ancient custom, the States-General of the kingdom were summoned, in order to make certain ordonnances which were to have force until the King attained his majority — which good constitutions might be included under four heads. The first had regard to the guardianship of the King, and the administration of the kingdom, which had been given {octroys) to the Queen-^Iother, in regard to the prudence, wisdom, probity, and experience observable in her. Thus was that lady established guardian of the King and gouvernante of the realm, by advice of the States and consent of the Princes of the blood, who had espe- cially recommended her to use such good economy that the innumerable public debts, amounting to the sum of forty-three millions of francs, might be liquidated. Item, that the subjects of the King might be relieved from the burdens under which they lay so heavily oppressed ; and thus the face of the Republic, all torn and disfigured as it was, be restored, — and, finally, that she might esta- blish peace both within and without the kingdom. The second head related to the Privy Council of the King ; and it was enacted, that all Lords lying under the obligation of an oath to any foreign Prince, should be ex- 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 387 eluded therefrom: Such were Cardinals, Bishops, and other ecclesiastics, who had taken an oath of allegiance to the Pope. Moreover, that two brothers should not be allowed to sit there at once, unless thej were Princes of the blood, who as horn councillors {conseilleurs nes) were excepted from this regulation. Item, that those who had adminis- tered the finances, should render an account of such ad- ministration before being admitted. And, finally, that those who had received excessive gifts and largesses from the late Kings — in defiance of the laws and orclonnances of the kingdom — should be constrained to make restitu- tion. From which last article, as he had before stated, the civil war had taken rise. For the Duke de Guise, the Constable, and the Mar^chal de St. Andr4 finding them- selves obliged to make restitution, and till that were done being excluded from the Council, had taken up arms to obtain by force what the regulations of the States-General had denied them. He then argued that such demand of restitution was not an uncommon measure in the kingdom of France, adducing various facts of history in support of this asser- tion; among others that of the Constable Clisson, who had been driven from his estates for having enriched himself with the sum of 1,600,000 crowns. With greater reason might the States demand an account from these men — not only because of the immense subsidies levied under King Henry the Second ; but also for the vast sum of 35,000,000 he was in debt. He added that Francis the First, who had made war during thirty-five years, had left a large treasure in his cofiers, while these men, in a few months had exhausted all the resources of the kingdom, leaving it loaded with pecuniary claims and obligations. The third head related to declarations of war, and the power of putting arms into the hands of the King's sub- c c 2 388 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. jccts, which, seeing its great importance, the States had reserved to themselves. The fourth liad regard to religion. It had been decreed that henceforth none should he persecuted upon that account — that the subjects of the King, whe- tlier of the Roman or the Reformed and Evangelical Church, sliould live in perfect security as to their persons, — and that places and temples should be allotted to the Evangelical ministers for the purposes of their worship. Now most of the above articles especially touched those of the House of Guise, as well as the Constable, and the ]\Iar^chal de St. Andre. First, the Guises, in that there were four brothers of them in the Council, that is to say, the Dukes of Guise and Aumale, and the Cardinals of Lorraine and Guise ; and, secondly, the others for having accepted immense donations: they had endea- voured to oppose these regulations in every way — had succeeded in breaking up the Colloquy of Poissy, and had endeavoured to carry oif by force' the Duke of Or- leans, next brother to the King, in order, in case of the King's death, to hold the rightful heir in their hands. This enterprise having failed, they had immediately begun to plan another, and for this purpose they had absented themselves from Court, and the Duke de Guise had quitted the kingdom, in order to give the Princes of Germany reason to understand that they desired to embrace the Confession of Augsburg. But before their departure a new and solemn convocation had been held of the Presidents, Councillors, Princes of the blood, and others of the King's Council, among which were the Constable and the Marechal de St. Andre, and sundry deputies of the said States-General ; and, by their general * The relation of this attempt, which had very nearly succeeded, was omitted in its proper place. 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 389 advice and consent, an edict was issued, called the Edict of January, allowing preaching and administration of sacraments, provided it was without all walled towns {villes closes) ; and that the ministers should all take the oath of allegiance before the magistrate. Now, he added, though the Religious felt that in thus being constrained to leave the towns for the celebration of their worship, their lives were put in danger ; yet, relying upon the promises of the King of Navarre, and of the fifty-seven Councillors of the Privy Council, they had cheerfully consented. And this Edict being kept, great appearances of a perfect restoration of the public tranquillity had ensued, until the Constable and St. Andr^ having taken advantage of the King of Navarre, (to whom they had promised the restoration of his kingdom upon condition that he would drive the gospel out of France,) had sent word to the Duke de Guise that it was time to return to Court. Upon which he had set forward, attended by many horse ; and on his way, at Vassi, had committed a horrible massacre, where numbers of women and children perished. Then, having taken up arms at Nanteuil — in defiance of the express commands of the Queen — who had ordered them to disarm, and retire each one to his government, (being aware as she was of their intrigues with Spain, Portugal, and Savoy,) these men had taken possession of the city of Paris ; and after having committed the most abominable cruelties there, had seized upon the persons of the King and Queen, though resisting to tears, and led them from Fontainbleau to the castle of Melun — a strong place, where those are usually put whom it is desirable to keep in close custody — and then they had proceeded to set the whole kingdom in flames with their seditions, which until their arrival enjoyed a happy state of peace. So that in less than four months, according to the reports made, 390 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. more than 30,000 men had been massacred, drowned, or hung on the gallows. Among which, numbers floating upon the river from Sens— of those whom the Cardinal de Guise had massacred, had been pointed out to the King as he was playing upon the banks of the Seine at Paris. K the consent of the King of Navarre was alleged to justify these proceedings, it was answered he had no authority to give it, the Queen herself not having power to give orders to take up arms without the assent of the States-General. From all these things he concluded, that since the above- mentioned had used such violence with the King, as even to declare that if the King and Queen refused to follow them, they would carry them away by force — the Emperor and Princes must see that such acts committed upon a King minor and his Mother by their own subjects, were what alone had induced several gentlemen, moved by aifection and piety towards their captive King, to seek the Prince at Orleans, for the purpose of restoring their sovereign to liberty : and maintain the Edict, which had not only been authorized by the Council of Government, the Delegates of the States, and of the Courts of Parliament, but also by the above Constable and St. Andre themselves. Its infraction shewing what reliance may be placed upon their promises. He added, that the Queen herself had been the occasion of the Prince taking up arms, as she not only had by missives commanded various gentlemen to assist him in this enter- prise ; but by her own letters to the Prince had claimed his protection, which letters he again produced. Not- withstanding all the above grievances, the Prince, he said, had been always ready to lay down his arms, provided his adversaries would do the same. But, so far from that, they had used their utmost diligence to make levies, not only among the Swiss, Italians, and Spaniards, but among 1562.] NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMAN PRINCES. 391 the Germans, under the conduct of Roquendolff and the Ehingraff — declaring that thej would not disarm until the Edict of January should be entirely abolished. He concluded by humbly praying his Majesty, the Emperor, that, as he could not doubt of the facts thus stated, that he would not permit the flourishing kingdom of France to be ruined by those who, against all laws, divine and human, had there begun a civil war — but that he would deliver the King and Queen from their tyranny, and re- store to their poor subjects the protection of the Edicts : commanding Roquendolff and the Ehingraff to withdraw their troops. He also supplicated the Prince -Electors not to permit any levy of men, in their estates, but to lend their protection to a King, defenceless and a minor. The exertions of Spifame had so far availed in seconding the efforts of D'Andelot, that in spite of several vexatious delays, on the 10th of October, he had assembled consider- able forces at Bacara. For these he was chiefly indebted to the Elector Palatine, the Landgrave of Hesse, and the Duke of AYirtemberg, who, amid the interested neutrality of the majority of the German Protestant Princes, re- mained the undeviating friends of religious liberty : and not only had he succeeded in making his own levies, but he had impeded those of his adversaries, and had finally obtained the recal of those mercenaries already enlisted by the Catholics, under pain of being put under the ban of the Empire. The letters of Catherine to the Prince were, as we have said, of signal service in this nego- tiation. 392 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. CHAPTER X. d'aNDELOT crosses the RHINE. — RATTLE OF DREUX. D'AxDELOT crossed the Rhine at Strasburg, and traversed Lorraine and Burgundy, though occupied by various bodies of troops, in force superior to his own : a march, which did infinite credit to his energy and military capacity, and which he effected while labouring under a severe attack of the quartan fever, to which he was subject, and which confined him to his litter. He brought with him 4,000 lansquenets, and 3,300 of that formidable heavy cavalry the Roisters or Reiters, who henceforth made so effective a part of the forces in both armies. Brantome, whose German is not quite so good as his Spanish, tells us they were called Reiters, 1562.] D'aNDELOT crosses THE RHINE. 303 because thev were " noii- comme tons les diahles" Mailed to the teeth in black and heavy armour, furnished with large horse pistols, and drawn up in squadrons, thirty in front, to fifteen or sixteen in depth ; this cavalry proved almost invincible when opposed to the French men-at- arms, whose ranks composed entirely of gentlemen, hold- ing their long lances, and ranged in single, or at least double line, (from a false point of honour, for they con- sidered it a mark of cowardice to be found any where but in front of -the battle,) could make little resistance against the shock of these heavy squadrons. Fierce in their demeanour, brutal in their habits, intractable and insolent, their presence soon became to friend as well as foe, a source of the most cruel vexations. Insatiable pil- lagers, they moved with an immense train of ponderous waggons, in which every species of plunder was deposited : and the management of these troublesome auxiliaries soon formed a leading difficulty in the conduct of the war. Their arrival was now, however, hailed with inexpres- sible joy, and it was resolved immediately, by some enter- prise of eclat, to raise the sinking spirits of the party. To march at once upon Paris was determined^ — not with the vain hope of capturing the town — but with design to make the capital, "which they considered,'' says La INfoue, as "the kitchen in which the war was cooked," cry out a little ; — so that its implacable and fanatical population should be- gin in their turn to taste the miseries of war : to witness the destruction of their favourite country-houses; the ravage of their fields and gardens ; and to find the incon- venience of being cooped up within their walls, in com- pany with an insolent soldiery. It was thought their com- plaints would then be as loud for themselves, as their indif- ference had been great to the miseries of others, and that they would force the government to terms of acconnno- 894 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. datioii ; or at least oblige the Catholic army to come to an engagement, where those advantages might be retrieved, so unfortunately lost at Talcy. Leaving Orleans, therefore, the Prince and Coligny with what remained of their army, marched first to Pluviers to form a junction with the roisters,* " and having received them, they gave them a month's pay in advance, which they had picked up as they could here and there — Gar dest un mal necessaire mix Huguenots — ctetre toujour s sans argent.^ They then entreated them to lose no time, but to gain the town of Estampes." Estampes being taken, they approached the capital, and the consternation that spread throughout the town was so extreme, that it was thought the walls, or at least the fauxbourgs, might have been carried by a coup-de-main. But Coligny, who dreaded those disorders which the pillage of the fauxbourgs would occasion, and likewise considering that the infantry thus entangled might be easily cut to pieces, resisted the general voice, and turned aside to at- tack Corbeil which commanded the river on the south. Corbeil was so well defended by the Mar^chal de St. Andre and Cipierres, " proving," says La N'oue, " that the best de- fences of a place are brave men within," that the Admiral found it prudent to abandon the enterprise. He was un- willing, he said, to risk their two culverins — all the artil- lery which the Hugonots possessed— against " a beast which bit so hard :" and being reproached that he was afraid to attack such a bicoque, he only replied, " That he would rather be laughed at by his friends without reason, than by his enemies with." The forces decamped, therefore, and marched upon Paris, where the royal army had already arrived ; having ' Mem. de La None. Hugonots to be always sliort of ^ For it is the usual malady of the money. 1562.] D'ANDELOT crosses the RHINE. 395 abandoned their enterprises in Normandy, after investing Dieppe, and leaving a large body of lansquenets and reisters to form an entrenched camp under its walls. The very day of his arrival before the Fauxbourgs, the Prince made an attack. There was sharp skirmishing, and then a general charge, and the Catholics were driven within the trenches.^ The Parisians upon. this were so terrified, that it is thought they would have immediately opened their gates, had it not been for a strong garrison which lay in the fauxbourgs. So ex- cessive, indeed, was the alarm, that it is said Le Maistre, who as first President of the Parliament, had had so large a share in its iniquitous proceedings, actually died of terror.^ In the evening the Hugonots encamped in the neigh- bouring villages, Gentill, Arceuil, and Mont-rouge. Here Catherine again renewed her negotiations. A sus- pension of arms was agreed upon, and the next seven or eight days were employed in the attempt at pacification. The demands of the Protestants were reduced to five — somewhat modified from the former ones. The Edict of January is required for such towns as should demand it — and liberty of conscience for all. No mention is made of the Triumvirs; but the restoration of the con- fiscated estates, and for the gentlemen of the party, to be reinstated in such honours and privileges as they might have forfeited, is made an indispensable condition. During these conferences the same touching scene was repeated that had occurred at Toury, — " I relate it,'' says La None, "as showing the genius of the French nation. You might see in the field between the corps-de- garde groups of eight or ten gentlemen on either side — ' De Thou, La Noue, D'Aubigne, Gamier, Beza, Mem. de Conde'. ^ Chris topliie de Thou was appointed his successor. 39G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [156^. some conversing, some saluting, some embracing each other — so that the lioisters belonging to the Prince de Conde, who did not understand our manners, began to take umbrage, to murmur, — suspecting that they were betrayed by those who made such fine demonstra- tions. Afterwards, seeing the truce broken, and that those most ready to embrace were quite as ready to fall to with lance and pistol, they began to be reassured, and would say, * Quels fols sont ceci qui s^entre aiynent aujourdliui^ et s'entre tuent demain.^ "^ " Certainly," adds he, " difficult it is to behold relations and friends and remain unmoved : but no sooner had they harness on their back, and heard the whistling of the arquebuss, than all these courtesies were at once forgotten." These meetings between the nobility excited the sus- picions of the Catholics, as did the protracted negotia- tions the members of the Union. The Queen continued to hesitate — now conceding, now withholding, until her purpose appeared to be answered ; and the intelligence that the Duke de Montpensier had joined the royal army with a large reinforcement, followed by the imme- diate rupture of the conferences, gave the Protestants but too good reason to doubt a good faith,^ upon which it would seem the Prince had too confidingly relied. ^ What fools are these who love d'Arceuil,9Decembre, 1562 ;that the one another to-day, and cut one an- conferences were broken, in conse- other 's throats to-morrow. quence of a discoverymade by the Pro- ^ There appears, however, great testants of so great ill -faith upon the reason to suppose that Catherine partof Guise,as rendered all the secu- Avas sincere in the desire she shewed rities offered ineffectual. The Prince for peace; and we are assured by de Conde, after liis demands had been the Abbe Perau (Hommes Illustres, granted by the Council of govern- vie Coligny), on the authority of the ment, had discovered upon unques- original memoir of the conferences tionable authority, " que la derniere published at the time, entitled Dis- fois qu'il pint a la Reine se retrouver cours des choses faites par M, le au Moulin (the place of conference) Prince de Conde, Lieutenant-Gene- le Sieur de Guise, sachant que la ral du Roi, rcpresentant sa personne dite Dame trouvoit les articles pro- el tout ses pays,&c., dated, du camp poses par le dit Prince, jdus raison- 1562.] D'ANDELOT crosses the RHINE. 397 Mortified and irritated at the time lost, and at the little fruit they had as yet reaped from their enterprise, it was now resolved, in a moment of vexation, to do that which had before been deemed inadvisable, and give a cami- sade to the fauxbourgs. This attack failed, through the vigilance of the Duke de Guise, and the usual dilatoriness of the Hugonots ; who, making a large circuit to avoid observation, only arrived at the appointed place as the day began to dawn, and seeing themselves discovered, retired without eifect- ing anything. " Yet three days afterwards," says La Noue," " we were so ill-advised as to determine upon repeating the attempt, and I believe should have been beaten, but when guard was changed it was found that one of our principal officers had passed over to the Ca- tholics. '' Le premier jour on lid fit de tres grandes caresses, le second on se moquoit de lui, le troisieme il se rejjentit d'avoir ahandonne ses amis.'^ ^ This captain was Genlis, a man so high in the confidence of the Prince, that, aware he could reveal the weak points of his situation, Conde thought it no longer prudent to remain before Paris. He dislodged, therefore, the next day: which was the morning before that upon which M. de Guise, strengthened by the arrival of the Spanish rein- forcements, had resolved to attack his camp. The Prince determined upon marching into ]S^or- mandy, with the double design of obtaining for his men good winter quarters, and to receive the money, and nablcs qu'il ne voiiloit, s'avanca rien tenu lui ct ceux qui etoient ]a, jiisqu' a lui dire que s'il penso'U qiieUe (lesquels il disoit etre tous du conseil voiilut rien tenir de ce (j'clle avoit ac- du Roi) lui touclicroit la main : ce cor de, jamais il ri'y consentiroit de sa qui fut fait et execute." part; mais qu'il estimoit que ce ^ The first day he was caressed, qu'elle en avoit fait, 6to\t en intcn- the second laughed at, the third he tion seulement de separer les forces found reason to repent that he had du dit Seigneur Prince : puis ajouta forsaken his friends. — Me'm. de La que pour assurance qu'il n'en seroit None, Garnier. 898 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. form a junction with the troops daily expected to land at Havre from England. Two days after his departure, the royal arm}^ commanded by the Constable, and the Mar^chal de St. Andre — and in which marched the Duke de Guise as a species of volunteer, refusing all command but that of his own compagnie d ordonnance, — set forward in pursuit, and contrived to march on the flank of the Ilugonots for several days — till on the 19th of December, 1562, in the neighbourhood of Dreux, the armies encountered, and the first decisive battle was fought. The Battle of Dreux. " Of all the battles fought in France during the civil wars," says La None, " none is more memorable than that of Dreux ; whether we consider the experienced chiefs there present, or the obstinacy with which the field was disputed. In every point of view, it is an accident worthy of all lamentation, on account of the blood with which more than 500 gentlemen of France bathed the bosom of their common mother.'^ The field of battle was an open plain upon the confines of ^N'ormandy, but at a short distance from a broken country, where the ways are deep and hollow. The armies were separated by the little river Eure, which crosses the plain, and consisted — that of the Catholics of 16,000 infantry, and 2,000 cavalry; that of the Protestants of 8 or 9,000 infantry, and of 4 or 5,000 cavalry. It is evident, therefore, that the Constable had not chosen his field of battle well, the ground afibrding a manifest advantage to cavalry. The Hugonots were pursuing their march, and were employed in rectifying some little disorder into which their divisions had fallen, when on the night of the 18th, the Constable crossed the Eure. 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 399 Conde, who regarded a battle as now inevitable, wished to halt, and prepare to meet the enemy; but the Admiral, judging from the excessive reserve that had hitherto been shown, that this movement was in- tended as a demonstration only, was for proceeding without delay. His advice prevailed, and the dawn of the 19 th found the Hugonot army still upon their march. " I will relate,^' says Beza, " two things that occurred, which seemed sent as if from God, as pre- sages of what was approaching ; and that I can attest for true — -having seen one with my own eyes, and heard the other with my own ears. The first is, that the Prince, crossing a little river at Maintenon (he passed Maintenon upon the 1 7th) where some of the lower orders had assembled to see him go by^ — an aged woman flung herself into the river, which was deep, the rivulet having been trampled in by the passing of the cavalry, and stopping him short, laid hold of his boot and said, ' Go on. Prince, you will suffer much ; but God will be with you.' To which he answered, ' Ma mie, priez Dieu pour moi^ and went on. The other was that in the evening, the Prince being in bed, and talking with some who had remained in his chamber, held the following discourse to a minister wdio was there, and had been reading prayers (probably Beza himself), ' We shall have a battle to-morrow,' said he, ' or I am much de- ceived, in spite of what the Admiral says. I know one ought not to attend to dreams — and yet I will tell you what I dreamed last night. It was, that it seemed to me that I had given battle three times, one after the other, finally obtaining the victory — and that I saw our three enemies dead ; but that I also had received my death- wound. So having ordered their bodies to be laid one upon the other, and I upon the top of all, I there rendered up 400 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. mj soul to God/ The minister answered, as usually a sensible man would answer in such cases, that sucli visions were not to be regarded. Yet strange to say," adds Beza, "the dream seemed confirmed l)y the result. The next day the ]\Iarechal de St. Andre was killed, then the Duke de Guise, then the Constable, and, finally, after the third engagement,^ the Prince himself.'' The Constable had early in the morning drawn up his forces in order of battle. It had been the long established and uniform custom, in the French army, to range the infantry in the centre, and place the ca- valry upon the wings, which cavalry consisting entirely of gentlemen, stood drawn up in single line, armed with their long lances. The Marechal de St. Andre, however, reflecting upon the nature of the ground, and the danger to which the French gens-d'armerie would be exposed from the charges of the heavy body of reisters, had persuaded the Constable to alter the ancient order of battle. By consulting the little plan annexed, the movements of this interesting contest will be easily understood. The Catholic army was divided into five battalions, placed at equal distances, the extreme right resting upon the village of Bleville, the left on that of Pign6 — the intervals between the battalions being occupied by the cavalry. These were, to use the words of the historian,^ " Des cavaliers ranges en hem — ranged in single line — without depth, and standing at a certain distance, one man from another, to give room for the play of the lance, which was their principal arm." A company, therefore, of sixty lances occupied a con- siderable space, and could afford a very ineffectual resist- ' Gamier, De Thou, D'Aubigne, Beza, La Noue, Brantome. ^ Gamier. 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 401 ance, to an equal number of reisters, charging in squadrons, and armed with their large horse-pistols. The present disposition, in some measure, remedied this inconvenience bj affording to the men-at-arms, when broken, the facility of retiring behind the squares of infantry— and the front and angles of these squares being strengthened by arquebusiers, it was no easy matter for the reisters to penetrate between their di- visions. The Constable placed himself at the head of eighteen ensigns of men-at-arms posted on the right, flanked on his extreme right by a square of 4,000 French infantry, and on his left by 4,000 Swiss. Next came the division of Damville, his son; principally consisting of chevaux legers. Then followed a battalion of Gascon infantry commanded by Sansac : next the Duke d'Aumale with his cavalry ; next 4,000 lansquenets ; then the Mar^chal de St. Andre with seventeen ensigns of gens-d'armerie, and a battalion — namely 3,000 of the redoubted Spanish infantry — terminated the left. The Duke de Guise, as some say, resolved to bear no leading part in the first battle of so disastrous a civil war, or, as is more probable, disdaining to serve under a superior, having once himself occupied the post of Lieutenant-General of the kingdom — remained apart with his own company amounting to about sixty lances, to which were added those of La Brosse and Charni — per- haps about sixty more. These, with a certain number of gentlemen, whom he called his friends, formed a reserve which might amount to about 600 men-at-arms, with which he occupied a rising ground in the rear of the Marechal de St. Andre, retaining to himself the liberty of employing his force — when and how he should deem it most expedient. VOL. I. D D 402 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562 The army thus drawn up, was in the form of a crescent, the horns of which resting upon the two vil- lages, were covered by about twenty cannon ; it pre- sented a front almost impracticable. Beza laments the fatal security of the llugonots, which had allowed the Constable to occupy these vil- lages — but attributes it to their negligence in obtaining intelligence, though the Catholic army was but at two leagues' distance. " God," he says, " wishing to discomfit them one by the other, and not to exterminate either army, seems to have deprived the great captains upon both sides of common understanding. For as to the Prince, he did nothing that he ought to have done — whether he designed to give or refuse a battle. And as for the Triumvirate, they seem to have lost their senses : offering battle where they did — exactly before where the wide plains of La Beausse end. Their force, consisting almost entirely of infantry, and that of the Prince, of cavalry — to say nothing of the numbers of huge wag- gons which the reisters dragged in their train — it was certain that had they let the Prince pass them, and reach the town of Trion, — as was his intention — there are so many hollow ways through which he must have gone, and such a multitude of trees that would have obstructed his march, that one-third of their force would have been sufficient to have annihilated him." Whoever has visited this country, and seen the wide- spread treeless plains of La Beauce, contrasted with the country west of Dreux, will admit the justice of Beza's remark. He laments, too, that the battle was forced upon the Hugonots, as they were upon their march, and accepted, "without the different companies having received orders to prepare themselves for battle, either 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 403 by general prayer or by private prayer, or in other ways, so that several gentlemen were without their armour when the order to charge was given, and fought in the avant garde, headed by the Admiral, without harness on back or casque on head, doing, nevertheless, marvellously well." The aged Constable, tormented with cholic and gravel, had risen cheerfully from his sick-bed that morning to give battle — " I remember," says Brantome, " all the evening before, and throughout the night, he had been tormented with grievous pains ; but the next morning he mounted his horse, and was ready to march, to the astonishment of every one who had seen him so sick. All rejoiced when they saw this generous old man show so resolute a countenance — fit example for the rest ; and I remember — for I saw and heard it, M. de Guise came to meet him, and to bid him good morning ; asking, how he found himself? He being in complete armour, save the head, answers, 'Bien, Monsieur, voilct la vraye me- dicine qui m' a guerie, qui est la hataille qui se pre- sente, et se prepare, pour Vhonneur de Dieu et de notre Roir The Marechal de St. Andre, Brantome tells us, on the contrary, felt himself depressed by strange forebodings. " The morning of the battle, he came before it was day to seek M. de Guise in his chamber, and entering, asked Trenchelion, who was coming out, at what M. de Guise was employed '? He told him he had just heard mass, and had taken the sacrament, and that he was going to breakfast before he mounted his horse. 'Ah, Dieu !' cried he, for I heard him, ' how unhappy am I ! not to have done as much, and better prepared myself — for my ^ Tolerably, sir, there is the medicine which has cured me, which is giving battle for the honour of God and of our King. D D 2 404 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. heart tells me I shall have this day something — I know not what.'"' The Hugonot army began, as we have said, its march at break of day. The Admiral, as usual, leading the advance, and preceding the Prince, who commanded the main body, by about an hour. The road they were obliged to take led them in front of the Catholic army, the left division of which being concealed by some thick- ets, had been passed unperceived ; when a sudden turn of the road brought them at once in front, and at no great distance from the division of the Constable, and a combat became inevitable. " The Hugonots immediately prepared for battle, while the cannon on both sides began to play, and conti- nued to do so," says La None, "for two whole hours, during which time each side remained perfectly still, without any of those skirmishings which usually precede a great engagement; each one reflecting within himself, that the men about to advance were neither Spaniards, English, nor Italians — but Frenchmen ; among whom there might be one of his dearest companions, relations, and friends. This gave a certain horror to the thing, although it in no manner abated their resolution." The Constable began the attack. Deceived, it is said, by the disorder into which his cannon had thrown a body of reisters, he imagined the whole Hugonot army was already broken ; and quitting his position, advanced precipitately, rolling his cannon before him. This move- ment brought him in front of the Admiral, and left the battalion of Swiss posted on his left exposed unsupported to the attacks of the Prince de Conde, who, either igno- rant of the existence of, or disregarding the large division which remained unmolested under the command of St- ' Brantome, Hommes Illustres, 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 405 Andr4 directed all his efforts against the Swiss, while the Admiral was engaged with the Constable. Ordering Davenets and Mouj to attack them in front, he and his gens-d'armerie, setting spurs to their horses, and followed by the reisters, charged furiously against their left flank, which they penetrated in various places, without, how- ever, making them give ground. Damville perceiving their situation, was flying to their assistance with his companies of gens-d''armerie and chevaux legers, when he was met by another body of reisters ; his brother, Montberon, was killed by his side, and in an instant his gens-d'armerie were overthrown, and his chevaux legers put to flight. Rallying as he could, he was forced to retire upon the left wing, which remained still immov- able in its original position. The Duke d'Aumale, following his example, was thrown into equal disorder, and, falling under his horse, dislocated his shoulder. Thus the whole of the cavalry forming the left of the Constable's division, or main- body, was thrown into irretrievable confusion. On the right the advantage was, if possible, more complete. The Admiral had met the Constable with 300 French lances, supported by 1,200 reisters. As long as the battle was confined to the gens-d'armerie the advantage was rather on the side of Montmorenci; but no sooner did the reisters bear down, firing their huge pistols — killing men and horses — and, to borrow the expression of the Duke de Guise on the occasion — wrapping the ranks in a cloud of smoke and flame — than the gallant French lances began to give way. The Constable, in vain, made the most desperate exer- tions to rally his forces. Beaten from his horse, as quickly remounted, he was at length completely sur- rounded ; and his jaw being broken by a pistol bullet— 406 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. choked with his own blood, and incapable of making himself heard, he finally abandoned the fruitless con- test, and tendering his sword to a reister, was conducted a prisoner from the field of battle. A total rout ensued ; the Barons de Rochfort, Beauvais, and Nangis, were taken prisoners, the young Duke de Nevers and Annebaut, the last of an illustrious house, with numbers of less distinguished gentlemen, being left dead upon the field. The Admiral then turned his arms against the Gascon and Breton infantry, forming the extreme right, and which now separated from the rest of the army, made no resistance, and they were driven into the river Eure. Of this whole right division, being more than half of the royal army, the Swiss alone still maintained their ground. Charged by the Count de la Rochfoucault with a body of lansquenets, they for a moment quitted their position, and suddenly advancing, drove the Germans 200 paces before them — immediately resuming it, they received with an intrepidity that astonished every spec- tator, two more desperate charges of mingled lances and roisters, headed by the Prince in person, who was filled with astonishment and admiration at their pertinacity. At length overpowered by numbers, their ranks broken, their colonel, captains, and the best of their men lying dead upon the field, they were compelled to retire; and falling back slowly, and in excellent order, they joined the left wing en pelotoiis, " carrying with them," says La N'oue, " imperishable glory as the recompense of their unparalleled resistance." ^ The Hugonots now considering the day their own, ' Henry the Fourth talking over which ought to have been employed this battle, long afterwards, with the in securing his victory — " The gene- historian Matthieu,blamed the Prince ral of an army should secure his ad- greatly for his pertinacity, and for thus vantages, il doit combattre en gros, losing'that time in forcing the Swiss, et pas en detail." 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 407 dispersed over the field crying Victory ! and pillaging and pursuing the fugitives on all sides. But the Admiral casting uneasy glances towards the left, where the divi- sions commanded by St. Andre and the Duke de Guise remained immovable, repeated anxiously, "We deceive ourselves, hientot nous verrons cette grosse nuee se fondre sur nousy^ The Duke de Guise, during the whole of this time, had remained upon the hill in the rear, which he had at first occupied, " regarding,^' says Brantome,'^ " tout le jeu et per- dition de la hataiUe, le desordre et la fuite des notres, et la poursuite confuse et vauderoute que faisoient les Huguenots.^ He, turning his eyes upon all sides, com- manded us to open our ranks, and, passing to the front, began to look about at his ease ; raising himself in his stirrups, though of a grand and noble stature and well mounted." Damville, anxious and impatient, besought him in vain to fly to the rescue of his father. " My son, not yet," was the reply. " At last," proceeds Brantome, " knowing the time was come, he turns and looks yet a space, and then, in the twinkling of an eye, he cries out aloud, ' A lions ! com- pagnons^ tout est d nous ;' * and setting spurs to his horse rushed boldly forwards, and, followed by all his company, joined the division of the Marechal de St. Andre, and descended like a thunder-cloud upon the field of battle." The Hugonot infantry, which had not yet entered into action, remained still in formidable force in front of the ' We shall soon see that great tie, the disorder and flight upon our cloud discharge itself upon us. side, and the confusion in the pursuit 2 Brantome, Hommes Illustres, of the Hugonots. Guise. * Follow me, my friends, the day ^ The contest and loss of the bat- is ours. 408 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. Catholic left wing. Against tlicm the Duke de Guise directed his first efibrts. Placing his cavalry in the centre, flanked by the yet unbroken divisions of the veteran Spanish bands and the Gascon infantry,— in this order, says Davila, " Gonpasso composto e riposato'' he bore full against the Ilugonot infantry, and dispersed it in a moment. D'Andelot, that day ill of his quartan fever, had risen hastily from his sick-bed, and might be seen in his furred gown, unable to bear any other dress, hurrying from place to place, vainly endeavouring to arrest the con- fusion, and rally his forces. This fine regiment of lans- quenets, — but " hien qu'ils eussent la plus belle apparence du monder says Beza, " etant chose certain qu'il n'entra de cinquante ans en France des plus couards hommes que ceux W ^ — fled right across the field, and took refuge in a wood near the village of Bleville, and the rest of the forces were easily dispersed. This efiected, St. Andr4 putting himself at the head of his own body of cavalry, united to that of Damville, now charged the Hugonot reisters, who, their ammunition exhausted, and their spirits wearied by the extraordinary exertions they had been obliged to make against the Swiss, had retired into the same wood where the lansque- nets had taken refuge. Here D'Andelot joined them, entreating them to turn once more, face the enemy, and retrieve the fortunes of the day ; but all his efforts were useless : at last, over- powered with illness and totally dispirited, he gave up the point ; and, after a short delay, quitted the field to rejoin the main body, which he did not succeed in doing till the next morning. ' Though they made the finest had never entered France as these appearance in the world, it being cer- men. — Davila, Beza, Brantome. tain that for fifty years such cowards 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 409 The Prince in the meantime, with what remained of his gens-d'armerie still continued to maintain a desperate combat, — almost beside himself at the idea of thus relin- quishing a victory he had so lately considered his own. At length, broken on all sides, he was obliged slowly to give way, and was reluctantly retiring with his brave men-at- arms, himself in the rear rank still gallantly fighting against Damville, — who rendered desperate by the capture of his father, pursued him with the utmost vehemence — when his horse being wounded fell under him. Conde was thus taken, and forced to surrender his sword to the son of the Constable, who was burning to secure the prize as a pledge for the security of his father. While this was doing — the Admiral and the Prince de Porcian in another quarter, were using their most strenuous exertions to rally the dispersed troops, and collect a suffi- cient body to repel this second army. They succeeded in gathering together between 15 and 1600 horse, who, issuing from a wood, suddenly attacked the Duke and St. Andre, saluting them with a volley from their pistols. St. Andre's horse, completely wearied with the fatigues of the day, here fell under him. He was taken prisoner^ and a gentleman named Bobigny, (whom the rapacity of this magnificent nobleman had robbed of his property by an unjust law-suit,) riding up to him, fired his pistol in his face, and immediately quitted the field to escape the ven- geance of the man to whom St. Andre had surrendered himself, who was thus by his death deprived of an im- mense ransom. The Admiral now pursuing his advantage, marched to the village of Bl^ville ; but the Duke, hastening the ad- vance of Martigues, with the formidable Spanish infantry and the French arquebusiers, presented so formidable a front, that the roisters, after two ineffectual charges, re- 410 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. fused to persevere, and retired, in spite of the entreaties of Colignj, who thus found himself compelled to abandon this hard fought field. The night now falling rapidly, he, making a large circuit to collect such stragglers as he could, retired in good order to Neufville, two short leagues distant from the field of battle. " Nous nous retirdmes,^^ S3,js he, in his own account of this engagement, " d la vu£ des Gatholiques en hataille, au son de la trompette, avec trois cano7is que nous y anions menees"^ While the retreating trumpets of the Admiral were heard sounding through the woods, and the darkness was rapidly closing round him, the Duke de Guise, surrounded by his broken legions and slaughtered companions, remained master of this bloody field. The battle began at noon, and lasted till five o'clock : the loss was great upon both sides — that of the Catholics amounted to 8,000 killed, the Hugonots estimated theirs at 3,000 ; considered a very heavy amount in those days. Seven remarkable circum- stances are noted by La Noue, in his quaint manner, as distinguishing this battle. 1st. The pause before the engagement began. 2nd. The obstinate defence of the Swiss. 3rd. The "long patience,'' as he calls it, of M. de Guise. 4th. The long duration of the fight. 5th. The capture of the chiefs on both sides. 6th. The manner in which the armies separate, '' se desattaqv£rent ;'' the Reformed retiring " au pas et avec Finally, the courtesy of M. de Guise towards the Prince, his prisoner. ^ M^m. de Conde, T. 4, 180. We sounding, and the three cannons retired in the sight of the Catholics, we had brought with us. in order of battle, with trumpets 1562.] BATTLE OF DREUX. 411 An anecdote of a gentleman named D'Aussan shall conclude the account of this battle, as marking the high and susceptible sense of honour proper to the times. D'Aussan had acquired a reputation proverbial for courage during the wars of Piedmont ; but, upon seeing the defeat of the Constable, and the total dispersion of his forces, he was seized with a sudden panic, and, setting spurs to his horse, galloped out of the field, and never stopped till he reached Chartres. But the next day learning the event of the battle, he was seized with such excessive shame at what he had done, that, throwing himself in a paroxysm of despair upon his bed, he refused every species of suste- nance, and died in tears the fifth day. 412 THE REI'ORMATION IN lllANCE. [1562. CHAPTER XL CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE OF DREUX GUISE RETURNS TO COURT — THE ADMIRAL MARCHES INTO NORMANDY. Whex Guise returned from the pursuit, his illustrious captive was presented to him by Damville. Guise and Conde had been not only political but personal enemies. The Duke had left nothing undone to deprive Cpnd6 of his life, and Cond6 had repaid the obligation by pursuing the Duke, ever since the death of Francis the Second, with unremitting animosity. The meeting, now inevitable* between these powerful rivals was contemplated by all the gentlemen assembled with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety ; but the Duke de Guise seems to have forgotten, in the hour of victory, all those reasons for enmity and ill-will which had existed between them ; and, in the chivalric courtesy of his behaviour, men forgot the tyranny and violence lately exhibited by the factious Triumvir, and thought they once again beheld the humane and generous conqueror of Metz. " When the Prince was presented to him," says Bran- tome, " he received him with gentleness and respect, pay- ing him all honour; and, leading him to his quarters* entertained him in the best manner he could ; and as few beds had arrived, because the baggage had been plun- dered, he offered the Prince his own ; which was accepted, on the condition that the Duke himself should share it. Thus these two great rivals and adversaries lay down together, as familiarly as if they had never been enemies 1562.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE. 413 and like good friends and cousin -germans as they ought to have been All the evening the Prince was little seen, for M. de Guise advised him to remain in the garderohe, though it was but a small place. Many wished to have a look at him, but M. de Guise forbad them ; car une per Sonne afiigee rHaime guere cette vue ni visitations} I had, however, interest enough to get in, and beheld him near the fire, making great demonstrations of grief. They brought him his supper, and M. de Guise wishing to go to rest, he dismissed us all — though not till after we had sat some time round the fire talking the battle over, — Ou chacun etoit re^u pour son escot et pour son dire. " The Prince and he lay together, and the next morn- ing we all went to his levee. The Duke, as soon as he had risen, set himself to write an account of the engage- ment to the King and Queen as briefly as he could, and then went to visit the field of battle. Then the Prince rose, for he had till that time remained in bed ; most of us were, however, in the chamber, but his curtains were drawn close ; had he opened them he would have been a little surprised to see us all there." Conde afterwards related that he never once closed his eyes during that most singular night, but that the Duke slept soundly — '' comme si de rien n' etoit "^ Such was the conduct of the Duke de Guise after his victory, — justly praised by La None and Bran tome. His proceedings, during the battle itself, are more ques- tionable ; and when the relative situations of himself and Montmorenci are considered, the tranquillity with which he suffered the defeat of the Constable, exposes his own good faith to hard suspicion. ' For people in affliction don't ' As if nothing had happened. — like visits and visitations. Brantome, Hommes Illustres. 414 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. The news of the engagement reached Paris with that almost incredible celerity with which the intelligence of great events has often seemed to outstrip the relator- Numerous fugitives from the field during the early part of the day, had carried with them the report of a total rout of the Catholic army, and consequent utter ruin of the Catholic cause. The disastrous rumour soon reached the Court then at Vincennes. The remark of Catherine betrays her indifiPerence both in politics and religion, " Eh hien done ilfautprier Dieu en Frani^aisr^ But in Paris the report excited far different feelings. The populace and bourgeoisie in the greatest consternation crowded to the churches, and the streets were filled with lamenting multitudes, running to and fro in distraction and despair. But the next day the scene changed. Lopes arrived on the part of the Duke de Guise, bearing a second edition of the day's history. He entered Paris by the fauxbourg St. Jacques in a sort of triumphal pro- cession, proclaiming his good tidings as he went along. He was followed by crowds of people, now as extravagantly excited by joy as they had been before depressed by grief, and venting their exultations in the wildest expressions. Scarcely could they believe, for exceeding delight, till their young King appeared again in their town, sur- rounded by all his Court, in order to return thanks to heaven for his victory in their own magnificent church of Notre Dame. But in the midst of all this rejoicing, the heart of the Queen-Mother was heavy enough. In whatever light she considered the present position of herself and her children, it filled her with great and most just uneasiness. The capture of Montmorenci, the death of St. Andre, the defeat of Cond4 threw herself and the young King, with- * Well, then, we must pray God in French. 1562.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE. 415 out a shadow of defence, into the power of Guise — that man ever secretly hated, once openly defied, and now ex- ceedingly feared — and the Duke speedily showed that it was his intention to make the best of his advantages, and to reign unchecked and alone. In order, however, in some degree to balance this for- midable power, the Queen lost no time in bestowing the baton, vacant by the death of St. Andr^ on M. de Vieille- ville, a tried and old friend and partisan of her own, but a man of no very great ability. And if we may believe Carloix, in his Memoirs of his master,^ the King had scarcely delivered the lettres d'etat, constituting Yieil- leville mar^chal, when a courier arrived from M. de Guise, who presented two letters to the King, one of which was as follows : — " Sire, "Your Majesty has by this time been made ac- quainted with the happy victory I have achieved over your rebel subjects — the enemies of your crown — wherein I have given so good an account of them that you need at present be under no further trouble to put a fresh army on foot, for so few remain that I think they can never recover {se relever) Most of those who presented themselves in battle having been put to the sword, the rest mostly killed in their flight, with the Prince de Oond6 prisoner. But because the ancient ordonnances and sta- tutes of war endow me, as chief of the victorious army with the places of those who have died, and confer on me the nomination of those who shall succeed to them, I fail not to advise your Majesty of the death of the Marechal de St. Andre, humbly begging of you to confirm the nomin- ation to his vacant place of one of those two that the Sieur de Hanacour will name to you. They have done ' Mem. de Vieilleville. 416 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15C2. their duty so well in this battle, that without their va- liant assistance, your ]\Iajesty may believe the victory would have been in great jeopardy It is needless to add more, except to humbly entreat your Majesty de ne me vouloir frustrer de mes prwiUgeSy according to which I might have filled one up myself, for when the Admiral, yesterday, presented himself with six or seven hundred cavalry, and what infantry he could rally, to take his revenge ; fearing that my army would not fight unless commanded by a Constable or Marechal, one being pri- soner and the other dead, I proposed the creation of one, but I was answered by the nobility, captains, and gens-d'armes, and soldiers, as if with one consent, that they would have no other leader but me, calling upon me to finish what I had begun, otherwise they would abandon their standards. My presence, qualified as it is, pleasing them more than that of either Constable or Mar^chal of France. I relied on this ardent good will, and putting all to the hazard, led them forward, and with such fury that the Admiral was driven back in the greatest confusion, and has taken with all speed (ci toutes brides) the road to Orleans. Your Majesty will therefore be pleased to send me the letters patent {lettres dUat) of Mar^chal de France, signed by your own hand and sealed, leaving the name in blank, which I will fill with that one of the two whose services I most esteem. .... I assure myself that your Majesty will not refuse my request, according to his accustomed discretion in reward- ing the services and merits of every one ; and, therefore, I need trouble him no further — for should he act differ- ently, he would disgust most faithful servants de gaiUe de cceur, and not only throw cold water upon that cou- rage which is ready to hazard life, but would give men just occasion to forsake him for ever, and find a party 156S.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE. 417 somewhere else. In these hopes, founded upon the equity and duty of a great Prince, I pray the Creator, Sire, to keep you in all prosperity, and health, and long life. From the Camp of Dreux, this 21st of December, voire tres humble sujet et trds affedioime serviteur, " Francois de Lorraine.''^ This letter requires no comment. — It is a striking les- son of the species of dictation a sovereign may expect, who, from being the arbiter of the kingdom, degrades himself into the head of a party. This letter being read, the King made this remark, " Voyez si le Bug de Guise fait hien le roi?- You would swear the army were his own, and the victory due solely to his hand and conduct. No mention of God^ who by his great goodness hath given it to us. Cependant il met le marclie au point, ^ and tells me if I don't grant what he demands he will quit my service and join my enemies. I know not where he found this fundamental law of war, I never heard of it ; but I must appease his wrath, and write him a civil answer to content him. The loss of a Captain to whom my late father, the King, gave so much authority, would too greatly trouble the kingdom ;" and he wrote the following letter, " The softness of which," says Carloix, "from the master to the servant appeared as strange, as the presumption of that from the servant to the master." ^ "MoN Cousin, "I have received your letters by Hanacourt, and we ought all of us to thank God that he has been pleased in his infinite goodness so miraculously to reverse the victory which, until the arrival of the messenger, we believed to ' Mem. de Vieilleville. ^ Moreover he brings matters to a ^ See whether this Duke de Guise point, plays the King or not. * Mdm. de Vieilleville. VOL. I. E E 418 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G2 have been on the side of the enemy. Being also very sorry he did not come yesterday morning, for in that case I should not have failed to favour one of those you men- tioned, with the baton of the ]\Iarechal de St. Andre; but, yesterday, before nine o'clock in the morning, I had given it to the Sieur de Vieilleville, for reasons he (Hanacourt) will explain, and shew you d doigt de Voeil, how straitly I was obliged to it, and I cannot go back without an irre- parable stain upon my honour and conscience, although, had Hanacourt arrived in time, I would have passed him over without regard to his merits, and willingly gratified your demand. . . . However, mon cousin, in order that you may not disappoint these two valiant gentlemen in the hope you have held out, I promise you, foi de Prince, to provide for them on the first vacancy; or to create two supernumerary places in the mean time. And to render my promise more valid [pom^ valider ma parole), I send you an ample act, signed by my hand, and sealed with my seal, containing the above assurance .... and, moreover, as an earnest of my good will, in acknowledgment of their services, I send a power to honour them, and make them Knights of the order.^ As for you, mon cousin, in order to give you the means to follow up your victory, Hanacourt brings you from me a power generally to com- mand the army. And with the assurance that I commit this honourable charge to a worthy and most faithful hand, who will know how to acquit himself with honour, and to my satisfaction, I finish this, by praying God, my cousin, to have you under his holy care. Written at Paris this 22nd of December. " Signed, Charles. " Countersigned, De l'Aubespine." ' Of St. Michel, the only order then always mentioned after the highest in France ; knights of the order are nobility. 156^.] CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE. 419 The King, in truth, little better than a slave, is, we see, like a slave, compelled to lie, in order to prevaricate with his master ; for the report of the victory had been brought by Losses the day before the arrival of D' Hanacourt. The two gentlemen selected by Guise were, we are further told, the one a gentleman of Lorraine, of small extraction,^ " lifted to shew the power of the hand that raised him ;'' the other, a wealthy man, who had offered Guise an immense sum for the vacant baton. Guise bore his disappointment patiently, if that letter could be said really to convey a disappointment, which carried in it his nomination to the Lieutenant-Generalship of the kingdom — a place almost equal in power to that of the King himself. He wrote po- litely to congratulate Yieilleville upon his appointment. It will be observed that the Duke de Guise, in his letter, alludes to a second affair with the Admiral on the 20th. A combat of the nature he describes is not mentioned by the historians.^ All parties agree that Coligny found himself the next morning at Neufville with a considerable force in cavalry, far exceeding that of the Duke ; ^ but the reisters peremptorily resisted his earnest entreaties, and refused to try the fortunes of battle again. It appears, however, that he did persuade them to advance half a league in the direction of Dreux, and to remain there an hour or two, in order to collect a few more bodies of the dispersed infantry ; he then retired, and at Anet halted, in order to hold a Coun- cil of war, and proceed to the election of a chief in place of the unfortunate Conde. ^ M^m. de Vieilleville. to introduce the subject of the Lieu- tenant-Generalship. ^ Castlenau and Mergy positively 3 The Admiral was at the head of assert therewas no fresh engagement ; 3 to 4,000 cavalry and 2,000 infan- Davila and La None make no men- try. Guise had not above 200 horse, tion of it. Some suppose it an inven- and his infantry would have engaged tion of the Duke de Guise in order to great disadvantage in the plains near Dreux. E E 2 420 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. To this distinction he was himself called by the una- nimous voices of all present, and was invested by accla- mation with the unlimited command of the army. This being settled, he marched to Orleans, ' where he left the Constable in charge of the Princess de Cond^ and then in order to rest and amuse his insatiable and unreason- able mercenaries, he crossed the Loire, and entertained them, says La None, at the expense of sundry small towns of the enemy's, and in a good quarter of the country, " Ou la bride fid un peu laschee au soldat, pour se rejalre de leiir pertes^ A stronger motive for this proceeding may probably be found in the necessity of removing them from the dangerous vicinity of the royal army. From head-quarters there, every sort of means — whether of money or solicitations was made use of to persuade these mercenaries to desert the Hugonots, and take pay under the King — a proceeding for which they showed very considerable inclination. Even the French soldiers, he felt, were little to be de- pended upon : " Qui aux adversitez sont assez prompts d ■ If any judgment may be formed Defendant le Pape de Rome : of the disposition of an army, by the Dieu garde de mal le petit homrae ! popular songs current in it, the Hugonot army, at Orleans, seems ^'^ P^pe pre'voyant ce mal, to have been little dispirited, and Et sentant Monsieur I'Amiral, the Prince to have lost none of Menacer la siege de Rome— his popularity by the day of Dreux. Dieu garde de mal le petit homme ! The following verses Avere evidently „ , i i,- composed after the battle, and were ^nvoya grand nombre d ecus, sung in the camp of the Hugo- Dedans Pans a tons ees fous, jjQj|. ^ ° Qui avoient tons jure pour Rome: Dieu garde de mal le petit homme! Le petit homme a si bien fait, Qu' a la parfin il a de'fait Enfin bataille se donna, Les abus du Pape de Rome ; Pres de Dreux qui les estonna, Dieu garde ue mal le petit homme ! Et les fit fuir jusques a Rome : Dieu garde de mal le petit homme ! Le petit homme laii complot Avecque Monsieur d'Andelot, Loue' soit Dieu qui des hauts cieux D'accabler le Pape de Rome ; Nous donne ce bien pre'cieux ; Dieu garde de mal le petit homme ! Remercie soit de tout homme De'testant le Pape de Rome. Mais en centre lui s'eleva, Un Guise qui mal s'en trouva From Capefigue, Hist, de la Ref. 1562.] GUISE RETURNS TO COURT. 421 tourner leur rohe!'^ As for the Duke de Guise, shortly after the battle he quitted Dreux for Eambouillet, to which place the Queen, with the Court, had advanced from Paris to meet him. ^ "The day after his arrival, as M. de Guise as well as the Queen were going to din- ner, this wise and courteous Prince having presented the napkin, asked, if after dinner it would please her Ma- jesty to give him an audience ! ' Jesus ! my cousin,' says the Queen, quite surprised, 'What do you mean T ' I mean, madam,' said M. de Guise, ' that I wish to explain in detail, before every one, what I have been doing since my departure from Paris with the army which you gave to me in charge, in partnership with M. le Conn^table; and to present to you those good cap- tains and servants of the King who have so faithfully served him/ Accordingly, after the Queen had finished dinner, he entered with his company, and after a low reverence, comme il sgavoit tres bien son devoir, he began to discourse upon the successes which had been obtained since leaving Paris — and coming to the battle of Dreux, he represented it so to the life, you would have sworn you were still there. (In which the Queen took great pleasure.) He greatly praised the Constable, M. d'Aumale, De St. Andre, and the good La Brosse, and every one of the others, living or dead, — both French and Spaniards, — which last, indeed, had not done so much as might have been expected, yet through no fault of their own, being little engaged ; but their good and assured appearance, and their order and old military discipline were of great service. Above all, he greatly lauded the Swiss .... and one thing he did, which was thought ' Ready enough to turn their coats ^ Brantome, Guise, iii. 103, puts in days of adversity. Mem. de La the scene at Blois a niontli af- Noue. ter tlie hattle, but the date is of no importance. 422 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1562. strange — lie eulogised sundry captains and great men who had hien gentlment fui,^ of which the Queen and his intimates asked him afterwards the reason. " He said that it was the fortune of war — which might never have happened, might never happen again — and this would encourage them to do better another time. He passed such things lightly over, and enlarged upon those who had done well. His harangue lasted long, and every one was so attentive that a pin dropping might have been heard, and he spoke so, that every one was delighted. Never Prince discoursed better, or was more eloquent ; ' Non point d'une eloquence fard^e, mais naif et miUtaire, avec sa grace cle mesme!^ .... This done, he presented all the captains to the Queen, ' et elle qui pour lors estoit en ses beaux arts, en ses beaux esprits et belles graces'^ received them very graciously, and made her answer to the Duke de Guise. In this she said that the King and herself should for ever lie under obligation to him for this great victory, and to all these captains likewise. She then thanked them all with excellent grace — as she well knew how .... so that each one retired, well content both with the Princess and their General. As for me, I never heard any one speak better than the Prince, ' et en eust fait honte a M. le Cardinal son eloquent f^ere sily eust etc^''"^ The Duke de Guise lost no time in improving his favourable situation. The Lieutenant Generalship, during the imprisonment of the Constable, was confirmed to him; the government of Champagne, vacant by the death of the Duke of Nevers, bestowed upon him; and Very readily run away. her beauty, with her fine spirits and 2 Not a fine flourished eloquence, manners. but with military grace and aimpli- " He would have shamed M. le city. Cardinal himself, his eloquent bro- '* And she who was then in all ther. 1568.] GUISE RETURNS TO COURT. 423 every exertion made to recruit his army. Twenty lances were added to each company of the gens-d'armerie;^ and eighteen new companies created, the commands in which were given away according to his directions. He de- manded a new creation of thirty-two Knights of the Order, and bestowed these honours upon his own friends. Catherine rather endured than relished these proceedings : thus she writes to Gonnor, her Superintendent of the finances, "M. de Gonnor, we have made this morning thirty-two Knights of the Order ; because, forsooth, there were not enough before, and twenty captains of gens- d'armerie. You will have your share in these promotions by an addition of ten men to your company — this is to keep you in good humour, that you may not be angry when we send for money — Are we idle V In addition to all these measures, the Duke further proposed one, which, if adopted, would have done more than anything he could have imagined to weaken the Protestant Union. Well aware how greatly the late reverses would increase the anxious desire many felt to shield themselves from the terrible penalties to which they were subjected by the last Letters Patent, issued the 8th of January, by which all, without exception, who were members of the Union, were subjected to the pains of high treason, the Chancellor, at the request of Guise, had prepared others, in which the King offered his free pardon to all who would return to their obedience, and retire to their estates. But this pacific measure was obstinately resisted by the Parliament 'of Paris, whose blindness, fanaticism, and cruelty, have cast an indelible stain upon their name. They refused to register it ; and still further at the petition of the inhabitants of Paris, — issued a fresh ' By which io to be understood posicd of gentlemen and armed with the ancient cavahy of France, com- lances. 424 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. arrdt, whose provisions exceeded in severity any that had yet been promulgated. The Parliament of Toulouse mean- while hanged three of its members without ceremony, merely for being suspected of favouring the Reform, and sent deputies to make complaints against the Chancellor, upon suspicion of his being concerned in originating the proposal of the Duke de Guise. They complained of all those " qui compillent telles abolitions, lesquels sont contre Dieu, le Roy, benefice, paix, et repos du royaume; et que la Roy ne veuille pardonner au dit Parlement, si, pour le lieu qviil tient^ il ne pent en facon dM monde obeyir, accepter, ni enteriner tels edits, subreptifs et indignes d'un Roi tres Chretienr To deprive Coligny of his formidable reisters nothing- was left untried. Taking advantage of a negotiation set on foot for the exchange of 1,500 lansquenets, prisoners at Dreux, Guise addressed a letter to Molthausen, ]\Iar^chal de Hesse, the general of these mercenaries, saying, that though by the law of nations he should be justified in hanging his prisoners, as having entered France in a hostile manner without declaration of war — yet being con- vinced the Germans acted under false impressions, he was willing to pardon and release them without ransom ; provided they entered the service of the King, or imme- diately retired into Germany ; and, in case of refusal, he threatened the last extremities against every indi- vidual — officer, or soldier, who might fall into his hands. The Marechal de Hesse replied to this that he had been sent into France by his tres glofieux souverain, and ' Who invent such indemnities hold, they can by no means in the which are contrary to God, the King, world obey or accept such unpa- and the well-being, peace, and re- triotic edicts, quite unAvorthy of a jjose of the kingdom ; and pray the most Christian King. — Gamier, Hist. Queen to pardon the said Parliament France, if, in consideration of the place they * Beza. 156S,] GUISE RETURNS TO COURT. 425 two other princes of Germany, to release the King and royal family from an unworthy captivity, and that he did not intend to return with his mission unfulfilled. But that as to the threatened severities, he had only to say he should treat his enemies as he found himself treated. As an answer to this declaration the King, who with his court had proceeded to Blois, was directed to address a declaration in his own name, dated 24th Ja- nuary, 1563, to the Mar^chal, which thus begins : " We, by these presents, certify, on the word of King and Queen to the Marechal de Hessen, coronal and chief of the said men-of-war, captains, and soldiers, that we have never been detained, nor constrained in any cap- tivity, &c." The declaration goes on to summon the Germans to take their choice — either to quit the king- dom, or enter the service of the King. To this declara- tion was appended a certificate signed by the Queen- Mother, the young princes, brothers to the King, Henry of Beam — (afterwards Henry lY., then ten years of age) the Card, de Bourbon, and the Prince de Porcian.^ Catherine, to give more effect to this proceeding, des- patched copies of the declaration to several of the German princes ; and at the same time sent back, with- out ransom, the 1,500 lansquenets ; whose report of the war, it was thought, would little tempt others to en- gage in it. The fidelity of the reisters — if fidelity their adherence to the best paymaster can properly be called,— was attacked with bribes as well as menaces. On the 19th January Catherine thus writes to Gonnor, " I am always desirous you should keep a good sum for these reisters — for peace or no peace, either way as it may prove necessary. I know you have already drained many purses, but at any expense we must get out of this. ' Mem. de Conde'. — Beza. 426 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. mess (boue)J' Her letters to the German princes com- plained of the assistance given to men who only made religion a cloak for their ambition, and the Queen affirmed — what in spite of her vacillating conduct was perhaps still the truth, that she and the King desired to allow liberty of conscience to all, and had in their army, household, and council, numbers who professed the Eeformed religion. If the princes doubted the facts, she proposed a personal conference at Bar-le-duc, or any frontier town, in order that the whole of the quarrel might be laid before them, and they be enabled to judge of its merits. As for the Marechal of Hesse and his roisters, Coligny persuaded them to disregard a declaration signed, as he said, " by four boys, a woman in the power of her ene- mies, a Cardinal devoted to their antagonists, a bloody fanatic, and a trifler." The winter was stormy and rude, and the dissentions and confusions of society were aggravated by the violence of the elements. " Upon the 16 th of January," Beza says, 'Hhere was horrible lightning and thundering at Blois and Orleans, though naturally the season of the year is not sub- ject to such things. Six weeks before, at the village of Dardenay near Chartres, a heavy dark cloud had arisen which seemed loaded with burning fire-brands, from whence proceeded an impetuous tempest, by which, throughout that part of the country, all the trees were torn up by the roots, houses blown down, and the waters over- leaping the banks of the ponds and rivers— it seemed as if everything was about to be destroyed. " True it is," he adds, " such things may be referred to natural causes ; yet it appears by history, both sacred and profane, that the great God, author and governor of all these causes and their effects, makes use of such at times 1568.] THE ADMIRAL MARCHES INTO NORMANDY. 427 to constrain the most obstinate among mankind to recol- lect themselves, and meditate upon the terrible judgments of their sovereign." The horrible and more than enormous outrages com- mitted in these wars, gave cause enough for reflection, from some share in which even the Admiral himself was not altogether exempt, ''though this good and virtuous person — who was a mortal enemy of all vice if ever there existed one in the world — kept as good order as he could ; but do what he would — la guerre tirait toujours en avanty He had, as has been related, been endeavouring to amuse and employ his turbulent reisters in the capture of several towns. In the mean time the Duke de Guise, with a refreshed and recruited army, highly inspirited by their recent successes, had approached Estampes, recovered the whole of La Beauce, and was now approaching Orleans, saying, " que le terrier etant pris ou les renards se retiraient, apres on les courrait hors de France^^ The Prince de Conde had been placed in an abbey near the city of Chartres, where the King and Queen now were ; here he was kept strongly guarded, and a report was current that he was to be brought speedily to trial and would be found guilty of high treason. It was thought that the Duke intended thus to get rid of both his rivals at once, for he made little doubt that the Hugonots in Orleans would make reprisals upon the Constable for any violence offered to the Prince. Damville, however, was on the alert to prevent this danger to his father ; and the trial of the Prince, for the present, was postponed. In the meantime the Admiral saw the approach of the royal army with considerable anxiety, upon account of ' Mem. dc lia Noue. 428 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. his reisters, who now, in arrears of pay, Vere about to be exposed to all the temptations held out by the enemy. He had collected all his forces, both French and German, and quartered them, some within and some with- out the city ; while in the Council of Union anxious debates were held as to the course to be adopted. All the money in the hands of the Union had been divided among the reisters, but they were little satisfied, and were impatiently murmuring and clamouring for more; and there seemed every reason to fear that as the array of the Duke de Guise approached, they would strike their standards, and go over in a body to the enemy. After much deliberation it was at length decided, as well with the hope of diverting the Duke from the siege of Orleans — or at least, obliging him to divide his forces, — as to receive the money expected at Havre from England, and thus satisfy the reisters — that the Admiral, accom- panied by the whole of that body and a few of the French noblesse, should march immediately for Normandy ; leaving all his infantry under the command of D'Andelot, to hold out in the town till he could return and raise the siege. Speed was the indispensable condition necessary to the success of this plan, and the difficulty lay in the impossi- bility of persuading the reisters to separate from their huge train of heavy waggons, laden with plunder, which accompanied them wherever they went. This difficulty seemed insurmountable. The obstinacy of these men — their indifference to every cause in which they were engaged provided they secured their own booty — was well known ; yet such was the influence that the high reputation of the Admiral had obtained over them, that, aided by the exertions of the ]\Iarechal de Hesse, he finally prevailed. 156S.] THE ADMIRAL MARCHES INTO NORMANDY. 429 Assembling them together, he explained to them, that, by a rapid march into Normandy, they would effect a junction with the reinforcements promised by Queen Elizabeth, and receive money sufficient to liquidate all their arrears of pay. This prospect was not without its charms for these greedy and insolent mercenaries. They received the proposal with loud hoarse shouts, and with one accord declared every one among them scJielmes who should refuse to follow the Admiral — and yielding to his persuasions, they at last consented to leave their heavy waggons in Orleans ; which were laid up accordingly in the nave of the great church of St. Croix to await their return. Their diligence in which, it was thought, would be greatly expedited by this pledge for their good beha- viour remaining in the hands of their allies. Coligny, therefore, leaving D'Andelot, still sick of his quartan, with Duras, Bouchavannes, Bussy, &c., and 4,000 infantry to defend Orleans, began his march February 1st ; followed by the roisters, his own company of ordnance, those of the Prince de Porcian, and De la Rochfoucault, andt he old bands of Grammont ; calculating, that by using extraordinary diligence, he might be able to receive his reinforcements, pay his reisters, and return to Orleans in time. In order to delay his march, and enable the Duke to complete his preparations, Catherine made another attempt at negotiation. But Coligny was no longer to be duped by these empty pretences ; he replied to her advances, " That peace was what he desired above all things ; and that it would be well the Prince and the Constable should meet to treat of the affair ;'' but as to himself, he had decided to proceed on his march. ^ But that a personal interview should take place be- * Mem. de Castlenau, additions of Le Laboureur. 430 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. tween Conde and IMontmorenci was the very last thing that the Duke de Guise intended to allow. Those were times when men were actuated by feeling, rather than by calculation — by the sentiments, wrong or right, which agitated their hearts, rather than by any regard for con- sistency. These two men, he well knew, so long held asunder by the suspicions and jealousies which their enemies had taken such pains to excite, once admitted to behold each other's faces, and to hear the tones of voices endeared by ancient friendship, and a thousand recollections, were very likely at once to forget their quarrel, their opposing religion, and differing interests, and to rush into each other's arms. So thought, and so said the Princesse de Conde, a woman of wit and observation. She told her uncle, the old Constable, that his enemies, (which were the same with those of his master, and the kingdom in general,) would never suffer him and the Prince to meet. " They are like," said she " the priests who in the processions carry the chdsses containing the relics of St. Genevieve and St. Marceau. These holy men take care to walk at a great distance from each other, having a notion that, if these two blessed chdsses were once to come together, they would unite so closely that nothing on earth could ever separate them again." ^ The Admiral, therefore, pursued his march, and with such diligence, that in six days he made more than fifty leagues ; La None tells us that he had 2,000 reisters, 500 French cavalry, and 100 arquebusiers on horseback ; and for the baggage not one single cart ; only 1,200 horses, " and with this we made such speed that we often arrived avant notre renommeer He evaded the Marechal de Brissac, to whom the defence of Normandy was en- 1563.] THE ADMIRAL MARCHES INTO NORMANDY. 431 trusted, and reached Havre in safety. But no succours from England greeted him. No men had arrived, no money was there — and the reisters, disappointed in their expectations, and looking with a sort of gloomy terror upon the dark and stormy ocean before them — which to these men, from the interior of Germany, presented a strange and terrible aspect; — "ignorant,'' saysDavila, "in what quarters of the world they were," — broke out at once into a furious revolt, demanding their arrears with loud cries and menaces, and calling upon the Admiral to keep his promise — or look to the consequences. Coligny stood there in the midst of this wild and tremendous tumult, preserving the same severe and undismayed coun- tenance which exercised such extraordinary influence over men. Pointing to the black and tempestuous waves now swelled to mountain height by wintry and conflicting winds, he endeavoured to make them understand the nature of the element, and the impossibility that the Eng- lish should cross the seas at such a moment. But in vain ! They cared for nothing but their pay, and disappointed in that, they retired in sullen discon- tent to their quarters — began to hold secret councils apart, and had decided upon abandoning his standard — when just in time to avert this disaster, the winds becom- ing more favourable, the English fleet at length appeared before Havre. It brought the scanty subsidies from Queen Elizabeth, with five cornets of troops, and eight cannon. This seasonable reinforcement enabled Coligny to listen favourably to a deputation he now received from the inhabitants of Caen, a city in wealth and importance esteemed as the second in Normandy, entreating the Admiral to take them under his protection. Caen was occupied by the Duke d'Elboeuf, whose con- duct had drawn upon him the detestation of the citizens ; 432 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. and he found it impossible to prevent their opening their gates, and admitting the Admiral, accompanied by 2,000 English, to take possession of the place : shortly after which the citadel capitulated. The riches and moveables of all the neighbouring Catholic gentry had been placed in Caen for security ; and in the caisse de recette of the province the Admiral found 18,000 livres — a seasonable supply — for we hear of little money from Queen Elizabeth — and he was at length able to satisfy the demands of his roisters. The Marechal de Brissac, thrown into the greatest consternation by this occupation of Caen, wrote to the Queen, by Castlenau, to represent the danger of the dreaded English once more gaining a permanent footing in the province. He entreated that the Duke de Guise, then investing Orleans, might be commanded immediately to raise the siege, and to march with all diligence to sup- port him : urging, that Coligny and the English once defeated, the fall of Orleans must follow as a matter of course ; but already the indefatigable Admiral having accomplished his object, had set out upon his return.^ * Mem. de Castlenau, La Noue, Davila, Beza, D'Aubign^. 1563.] SIEGE OF ORLEANS. 433 W'^-S IV.l^^ CHAPTER XIII. SIEGE OF ORLEANS — DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. The Duke de Guise had sat down before Orleans the 5th of February, 1563, and now held it closely invested. In it, as the capital, the stronghold, the centre, and soul of the revolt, were assembled the Council of Union, the most able ministers of religion, the wives, children, move- ables, and treasures of the Hugonot nobility and gentry ; their precious captive the Constable, and the wife and eldest son of Cond^. The defence, as I have said, was entrusted to D'Andelot and St. Cyr, assisted by some other eminent gentlemen. The military force consisted of four- teen companies of German and Gascon infantry, with the armed townspeople divided into four companies. ' ' Davila, Guerre Civile di Francia. VOL. I. F F 434 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. Orleans, as at that time standing, was divided into two very unequal portions bj the river Loire. On one bank lay what was properly called the city ; and on the other, a large suburb called Ic Portereau, which was united to the city by a bridge, this bridge being defended on the side next the suburb by two fortified gateways, called les Tourelles ; at the other end it was closed by the gate of the city itself, defended by a massive square tower. The walls of the city were not in themselves strong, but had been put into the best possible repair by the Hugonots. There were two bastions in front of Portereau, one of which faced the camp of the Catholics ; they were both defended by some ensigns of infantry. It was not the intention of D'Andelot to attempt to maintain le Portereau to the last, yet he calculated upon its holding out about a week, when he expected to be obliged to withdraw the inhabitants and abandon it ; but it was lost the very first <^ay. The Duke, reconnoitering, without any intention of making an assault, yet " as chef advise,'' says La ^^oue, " he going with his needles and thread, had entrusted a small force to M. de Cipierre, with two little culverins, marching himself in his rear with a few men. They found the Gascons in the first bastion well prepared ; but while they were skirmishing, some soldiers brought word that the lansquenets, posted in the second bastion, ne faisoient pas trop honne ruined 500 arquebusiers were sent to attack it, ]\L de Cipierre at the same time caus- ing his artillery to play. The lansquenets took fright at the noise and mouvement, and abandoning the bastion, fled precipitately." They were followed by the Catholic soldiers, who in an instant entered the suburb, and taking the Gascons in their rear, forced them to retreat. ' M^m. de la JSoiie. Looked rather unsteady. 1568.] SIEGE OF ORLEANS. 435 This they did in good order, and desperately contesting every street and every corner, afforded time for the fugi- tives to escape, and saved Orleans. But nothing could ex- ceed the confusion which ensued. The inhabitants of the suburb rushed to the bridge, flying with their wives, child- ren, and property, to take refuge in the town. The lans- quenets were seen forcing through and trampling them under foot, regardless of everything but themselves. The bridge and streets adjoining were soon choked up by the torrents of people, and it was impossible either to shut the gate between the Tourelles or to let fall the portcullis. Numbers threw themselves into the river, and thus, or by the sword, hundreds perished ; while the alarm in the town even exceeded what the actual danger justified. Many cried out *' The isles were taken," and that the enemy were already fighting within the second gate. " Then j\I. d'An- delot, who was indeed un chevalier sans peur, rising from his sick bed, said, ' Let the nobility follow me, for we must drive out the enemy or die. They can only advance ten men in front at once, and with a hundred of ours, we may resist a thousand of theirs. Courage, AllonsF As he hurried forward he was a witness of the terror, the flight, and the universal confusion, and was saluted by a thousand lamentable cries on all sides; but he, no wise appalled, passed the bridge, and reached the Tourelles, only too iiap- py to find the Catholics had advanced no further. But it was high time he should be there, for the enemy had ar- rived at the portcullis, v/hich, however, he at last con- trived to let fall, and to secure and close the gate, which had been standing open all this time."^ '' There is little doubt," adds La None, '' but that the town might have been carried — certainly the isles — after which the town could not have held out fifteen days. * Mem. de La None, p. 16L 43G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. But a story had got among tlic Catholic soldiers, that the Tourelles were filled with gunpowder, and Avere intention- ally abandoned by the Hugonots. This tale saved the bridge ; and thus perdirent les Gaiholiques une belle occa- sion ; et ceux de la Relufion escliapperent tin grand periir The artillery had not yet come up or the Duke would have renewed the attack the same evening. On this occasion he thus wrote to Gonnor : — " Mon hon honune, je me mange les doigts quand je pense^ that had I had six cannons and ammunition for 2,000 rounds, the town would have been ours. They have only 400 good soldiers, the rest mere undisciplined townsmen, and Germans — partout tin effroi desespere^'^ The letter ends by his demanding that a train of artil- lery should be sent instantly, without which he despaired of carrying either the Tourelles or the tite du pont. But that which he despaired of obtaining without the assis- tance of a park of artillery, became his own in a few hours, through the courage of a private soldier. Curious to see what was going on in tlie corps de garde, within one of the Tourelles, this man silently placed a ladder against the wall, mounted, and applying his eye to an opening in the |)rincipal tower, remarked that the senti- nel was very comfortably warming himself before a stove within, his companions dosing and sleeping around him. The soldier softly descended his ladder and went and acquainted his fellow-soldiers with the discovery he had made, offering himself as a guide to any among them who had the courage to follow him and attempt the tower.. About thirty consented to join him. They ascended noiselessly one after the other, and as they reached the top of the wall, he silently ranged them upon the ram- My good fellow, I am ready to eat my finger ends off when I think.- Garnier. ^ All in a desperate fright. 1563.] SIEGE OF ORLEANS. 437 parts: then when the last man had mounted, uttering loud cries, and discharging a volley, he rushed at their head into the tower, while the soldiers of the guard sud- denly awakened, and unable in the darkness to distinguish the number of their assailants, fled across the bridge, with- out even giving an alarm. D'Andelot, again aroused from his sick bed, arrived too late to recover the towers; and was this time obliged to content himself with throwing up two batteries at the other end of the bridge. The Duke de Guise, the next morning, visited his con- quest, and was satisfied the town might now be carried any day he was pleased to command the assault; and it was under these circumstances that Castlenau arrived from Brissac, bearing with him orders from the Queen to raise the siege immediately, and march to the relief of Normandy, The Duke de Guise, well aware of the pur- pose of his errand, received him with his usual courtesy,* and begged him to repose till after dinner. The repast finished, he furnished him with one of his own horses, and proposed to ride towards Orleans. They visited the troops in their quarters — the Duke declaring the men were the' best he had ever commanded, and according to his usual custom, distributing his liberalities among the sick and wounded. Then he invited Castlenau to attend him to the Tourelles, from whence he pointed out the weakness of the fortifications which defended the town^ saying " If M. de Brissac saw what you now behold, he would be the last to ask me to raise the siege." The next morning the Duke called a council of war, where he invited Castlenau to explain the situation of afiairs in Normandy. He then quietly collected the votes of the officers beginning with the youngest ; who, for the most part, agreed in opinion with Brissac, and were for ' Mem. tie Castlenau, additions of Le Laboureur. 438 THE llEFOUMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. inarcliing iinmcdiatcly to his relief. The Duke then ad- dressed them, and having praised the loyalty which inclined them to adopt the sentiments of the King and Council, he declared himself of a diametrically opposite opinion to theirs. At the first glance, he said, the advice of M. le I\Iarechal de Brissac appeared good, namely to despatch an army into Normandy, defeat the Admiral, and drive the English into the sea. " For, I confess, the ruin or preser- vation of the Hugonot cause depends upon the Admiral — But to march without any preparation to encounter his cavalry, and. as Castlenau has reported, at disadvantage, and to abandon the enterprise upon Orleans, ville si eston- nee — seems to me, I confess, out of the question. The Admiral will not be so ill informed (knowing, as we do, that there are hundreds of his faction at court, as well as all over France) ; but that, in less than twenty-four hours, he will know what we have concluded upon, and provide accordingly. He is strong in cavalry ; the army before Orleans composed almost entirely of infantry ; and is it not an unheard of thing, that an army of infantry should go in pursuit of one of cavalry, having besides so many plains to pass over— La Beauce, Dreux, Neufbourg, in one of which most certainly the Admiral will wait for the King's army — pour hasarder mille ou douze chevaux pour les sahouler parmi les gens de pied, voire s'il les pourra estonner !'' . ... or if he does not choose to fight, he will cut ofi" our supplies. In a word, to raise the siege of Orleans, would, at the shortest, take six or seven days. We should have to cook bread, bring up and shoe the artillery horses, advance money to the soldiers, &c., and before that, the Admiral will be on his march to re- turn — will meet us upon one of these plains, where he may pass the King's army with all his cavalry ; leaving it to march for Normandy, while he returns to Orleans — 1568.] SIEGE OF ORLEANS. 439 thence to Paris, or worse, to Blois — from whence, to say the least, he may dislodge the King, and make himself master of the field, and the whole length of the Loire . . . My advice is, in the first place, to take Orleans, which secures the Loire and La Beauce." The captains present at once came over to this opinion, and Guise, the affair thus concluded, proceeded to open to them his plans for terminating the civil war. The last plans ever arranged by that accomplished captain may carry an interest to the reader. I will, therefore, give them as briefly as possible. He began by explaining the difficulties of conducting a civil war, " which," said he, " I imagine, ^1. de Brissac finds rather dijBferent from those of Piedmont." Orleans taken, he should advise to follow the Admiral, and force him to fight ; but for this purpose, and that they might march with every possible advantage, he would summon the ban, arriere ban, and all the nobility of France, from eighteen years of age to sixty, and collect together all the regular forces scattered throughout the kingdom. At the head of this army the King, accompa- nied by the Queen, Princes, and council of government, should put himself, et que lo7's Voii diroit eti^e la cause et I'armee du Eoi, et non celle du Due de Guise} The Admiral was with this force to be pursued, and must inevitably have been defeated; and thus, before the sum- mer was over, he trusted the King would be at peace in this kingdom, et exempt de guerres civiles sHl fut jamais. Castlenau had little difficulty in making Catherine ac- cede to such plans ; and these measures once decided upon, her impatience for the fall of Orleans, knew no bounds- She wrote repeatedly to the Duke, pressing him to fulfil his promise, and he, (who thought he detected a suspicion * And then it would be reckoned the King, and not that of the Duke bv everybody the cause and army of de Guise. — M^m. do Castlenau. 440 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. of his good faith, in delaying to press a town which con- tained a rival whose liberation would at once terminate his command,) answered her with some warmth. Catherine writes in reply, " I am glad that you write to me so freely — for this sincerity assures me that you have perfect confidence in one who loves you as a brother, and who having the honour to be mother to your King, has the means of acknowledging your services. Vous savez qu'il faut aimer les amis avec leiir complexions — you must love me as I am — being that I am neither a very wick- ed person, nor any very particular enemy of any one in the world ; least of all of you. . . . You should understand better, and see that to those I love and esteem the most, I most freely communicate all I know, wish, or fear ; not through distrust, but to shew whatever I have upon my heart, that they may answer me frankly. I as- sure you I shall, as a good mother, be always advised by those so long attached to my lord and husband, and, since his death, to his children—- for which cause I love you, and shall esteem you all my life — for we will live and die to- gether. Do as much for her who will ever love you.^'^ In answer to this letter, the Duke wrote to the Queen, that the 19 th was the day fixed for the assault. That Orleans would be inevitably taken ; and that he hoped she would not take it amiss if he slew every living thing within the city, jusqa.es aux chiens et rats — and if he razed the town to the ground and sowed its foundations with salt.' In truth such a massacre would have ensued, as the bloody annals of man have rarely recorded — whether we consider the furious and exasperated temper of the Ca- tholic soldiery, or the flocks of defenceless victims shrouded within the walls. ' Original letter. Mein.de Conde'. ♦ Beza, Plist. des Eglises. 1563.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 441 " Demain" writes Catherine to Gonnor, "i/. de Guise doit faire helle peur a Orleans. ^^ ^ But oh ! never shall sun that morrow see. A catastrophe as sudden as unexpected saved the me- naced city, and changed, in one instant, the whole course of subsequent events. A French gentleman named Jean Poltrot sieur de Me- rey, had long been hanging about the Hugonot army, chiefly employed as a spy by the young Feuquieres, in which capacity he had made himself before useful during the foreign wars. Having been brought up in the house- hold of the Prince de Soubise, he became a convert to the Reformed opinions ; and being of a dark and enthusiastic temper, he soon regarded the adversaries of that faith with all the un mingled horror and detestation that be- longs to an ardent mind, excited by the spectacle of dreadful cruelties such as they had on all sides perpetra- ted. The Duke de Guise especially fixed his attention ; and, not altogether without reason, had concentrated upon himself the full force of these feelings; Poltrot being often heard to swear that he would deliver France from all her miseries, by killing him, — an enterprise he was ready to undertake at any cost. Beza says that he made his intentions known to the Prince de Soubise, who, look- ing upon it all as *' le propos dhin homme evente, le renvoya,'^ telling him to mind his own duty, and God would provide, in his own time, other means. The more this man talked of his intention the less was he believed by any one; these open and violent declarations appear- ing as the mere ravings of a madman. After the battle of Dreux, Poltrot had been sent by M. de Soubise with dispatches to the Admiral, but he begged the Admiral immediately to send him back, "d'autant qu'il etoit homme ^ To-morrow M. de Guise sliall put Orleans in a pretty fright. 442 THE REFOUMATION IN FRANCE. [15()8. de bonne service" The Admiral, liowever, at the earnest solicitation of Poltrot, allowed him to remain in Orleans, where he found him still hanging about on his passage from Selles into Normandy. Poltrot had renewed his ac- quaintance with Feuqui^res, who recommended him to the Admiral as an excellent spy ; and in this capacity Co- ligny sent him into the army of the Duke de Guise, giving him at first the sum of twenty crowns, and afterwards, on Poltrot complaining that he had no horse, 100 more for the purchase of one. AYith this money, Poltrot provided himself with a fleet Spanish gennet. He then introduced himself into the household of the Duke. " It was the custom of J\I. de Guise,'' says Brantome, " to come down from the Chateau de Corney, about a league from the trenches, where he lodged, to the Porter- eau every day, and Poltrot often accompanied him with the rest of us, seeking the favourable moment. A small river, called La Loirette, ran between Le Portereau and Corney, the bridge over which had been broken. The Duke had often been advised to repair it, but he refused, saying, the King had enough to do with his money ; so he was accustomed to cross the stream in a boat.''^ Poltrot w^as well aware that the assault was to be given on the 19th, and that Orleans must inevitably fall. He resolved to save the city, if possible, and to strike the blow he meditated upon the evening of the 18th. Mounted upon his jennet, he placed himself in ambuscade, so as to command the road leading up from the little river to the castle ; and entering into a small wood, Beza tells us,^ he dismounted, and throwing himself upon his knees, he prayed fervently to God, that if, in the design he meditated, there were anything displeasing to him, ' Bruiitoinc, Houimcs lUustrcs, ^ Bcza, Hist, des Eglises, t. ii. vie Guise. 268.— De Thou. 1563.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 443 {lid etait chose cUsagreahle) he would give him grace to change it. But if it were his good pleasure that he should proceed in it, that he would afford him strength and constancy to kill the tyrant and save Orleans from destruction. " Feeling himself strengthened after this," says De Thou, " he remounted his horse." The Duke that evening had been detained later than usual, and rode, attended only by M. de Rostaing — another gentleman, the Seigneur de Crenay, having ridden forwards to relieve any anxiety Mad. de Guise might be under upon account of the delay. Poltrot, who was slowly riding by the side of the river, seeing Crenay, asked him, " When Monsieur would come V' he answered, " That he was close at hand," and so saying, rode on. Poltrot waited till he saw the Duke coming up from the boat, then riding forward, placed himself between two walnut trees, where two roads met ; in such a position that he should not see the Duke's face, lest, as he confessed after- wards, that if he looked at him he should lose the wish {volonte) to hurt him, as had often happened to him before. The Duke having passed, Poltrot advanced, and fired a pistol loaded with three bullets which struck him in the right shoulder, and passed through his breast. The Duke bent to his horse's neck with the blow, but rising imme- diately, only said, " Don me devoit cela, mais je crois que ce ne sera rienr^ Trying, however, to put his hand to his sword, he found it useless. Then he thought that his shoulder had been carried away, and that he was mortally wounded. When he got to his quarters, and had entered his chamber, he found Mad. de Guise waiting there, little expecting to see him in this condition : perceiving she was greatly terrified, after he had kissed her, he endea- ' It was what they owed nie, but it will be nothing. 444 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [lotiS. voured to console her, telling her he brought hev piteuse nouvelle, but whatever it was they must receive it from the hand of God/ At first the surgeons augured well of the wound. Ca- therine wrote to Gonnor :■ — " Je suis si faschee que je ne sais ce que je vous dois dire^ sinon qu'il me coutera tout ce qu'a le Roi mon fils pour scavoir qui a fait cette me- chancete pour m'en venger. Ft s'il empiroit,ce que Dieu ne veuille, ou qu'il ne peut si tot commander^ je me delibtre envoyer querir votre frere {Brissac) et laisser le Mar. de Vieilleville en Normandie. Pour Vhonneur de Lieu gardez que le peuple de Paris ne s'etonne, et faites partir le canon."" Robertet, writing to the Cardinal de Guise, Feb. 19th, says, " I wish to advise you, my lord, that it is not four hours since I left your brother ; and M. Castellon and M. Vimienne the surgeons, (their names deserve to be pre- served) had assured qu''il rien aura que le mal, et qu^il nest en aucun danger de mourirT^ The danger the surgeons could not find they created, as the wound was treated according to the barbarous surgery of those days. On the Monday, says the Eveque de Eiez, the Prince fell into a continual fever, owing to his wound, which the surgeons had widened and cauterised avec un ferment d'argent tout ardent, thinking by this means to ^ This account is chiefly taken this wickedness, and have vengeance from the Pamphlet of I'Eveque de upon it. And should he get worse, Riez, published at the time, and pre- which God forbid, or that he cannot served in the M^moires de Conde, at present continue in the command, Q. iv. 245. The work is, however, I have resolved to send for your so partial to the Duke as to be of brother (Brissac), and leave * the somewhat doubtful authority, though Marquis de Vieilleville in Norman- Bcza seems to admit it in the main dy. For the love of God take care to be true. that the people of Paris are not dis- ^ I am so vexed that I don't heartened, and send off the cannon, know what to say, except that it ^ 'pij^t he would be quits for the shall cost everything the King pos- suffering, and that there was not the sesses, but I will know who has done slightest danger. 1568.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 445 destroy the effects of the poison which they imagined to be in the hidlets and poivder. Perronet de Chantonnay/ Ambassador of Philip of Spain, thus wrote from Blois, the 23rd of Feb. — " The physicians and surgeons find them- selves astonished because the entrance of the wound is larger than its exit, {jplns grande que la sortie,) from which they suspected that one ball had lodged in the cavity. They decided that it was necessary to make a larger opening, and yesterday, Monday, which was the fourth day since the affair, although it did not seem jour con- venahle et que lors la lune nouvelle sejaisoit- they advised to proceed to work without loss of time, because there was great fever and restlessness ; and after midnight they went to le dit Sieur, and told him, it was necessary to make a great incision, to which he immediately agreed, telling them, qu' Us ne cessassent de hesoigner encore qu'il criast.^ Us firent premihrement une grande taille de long, et mirent les doigts dedans, et tfvuverent tout sain et satif] en un cote, qui se commen^oit jd a f aire tine caverne et im- posthume ; lors Us firent encore une autre ouverture de travers, et ayant hien regarde trouverent qiiil n'etoit rien demeure dedans, ni entre aiicune cliose dans le creiix, ilspasserent de l\ine p)laye h V autre un linge net quails ont laisse dedans comme un seton pour netoyer laplaie,2ind though this was done the fourth day of the renouvellement de la lune, he begins to mend though he has still much fever." ^ Lettres de Perronet de Chan- collected that the same astrologer ton nay. who had foretold the death of Henry * A good day, for it was new the Second, had told him in the pre- moon. sence of the King, that he should die ^ Not to stop in their business, by a wound in the back, which at let him cry out as he might. the time shocked him, thinking it "* Brantome tells us, in his life of a mark of cowardice. This remem- Guise, that while the surgeons were brance troubled him during his V ' - . _ - isiting the wound, the Duke re- 446 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. " The Constable," says Mattliieii, " sent liim an excellent water to help him, but all was useless, the balls were poisoned." Brantome says, " He died in eight days. I must just relate this. M. de St. Just d'Allegre, being very expert in the cure of wounds by linen and fair waters, and words pronounced and meditated, was pre- sented to this brave seigneur to dress his wounds and heal him, — for he had done wonders in this way, — but the Duke would never hear of it, nor admit him, because, he said, such things were enchantments forbidden of God ; and that he would have no other remedies but those proceed- ing from the divine goodness, and those medecins and surgeons elected and ordained by it {par elle). For he loved better to die, than give himself to such enchant- ments forbidden of God. Yoilcl la religion sahite et le saint scrupule qui avoit ce hon Prince a ne vouloir offenser Dieu, liking better to die, than offend him in this. I saw it all. Nevertheless, M. de St. Just, who was my very great friend, told me that he should have cured him." The enemies of M. de Guise had probably reason to re- joice that he submitted to the methods of the physicians "ordained of God," as he styled them, rather than to those of the more humane and judicious enchanter. Finding his end approaching, the Duke prepared to die with equal fortitude and resignation. Whether the dis- courses put into his mouth by the Eveque de Riez, are literally true, may, perhaps, be doubted ; but it seems certain the last hours of this great, yet criminal man, were spent in a manner that many might be happy to emulate. " This person,'' says Beza, " finding himself surprised by death in so splendid a career of greatness, would willingly have lived longer ; nevertheless, it is affirmed that he sur- mounted this passion in his last hours, acknowledging 1563.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 447 something of his excesses {deportements) against those of the Religion, and speaking with great alFection to his family/^ He held frequent conversations with Catherine and with his Duchess ; and after recommending his children to the Queen's care, he exhorted her to make peace as speedily as possible^ — declaring that it was useful and necessary to the kingdom, and that whoever opposed it ought to be considered a public enemy. Catherine, we are told, was so afflicted during this interview, that she could say but little, and was obliged to retire.^ Turning then to his Duchess, who sat weeping by the bed, he addressed her in a long and affectionate speech,^ beginning, "i/a chere et hien aimee comjoagne^puisque Dieu veut que je m'en aille le premier, c'est hien raison cepen- dant, que fay encore le loisir, qu'd vous la premiere faddresse mon propos^ vous commimiquant de mes der- nieres affaires. Nous avons ete long temps conjoints en- semble par le saint lien defoi et d'amitie, avec une entiere ' De Thou, L'Eveqiie de Riez, and arrangement, appears unnatural, ^ The Bishop affirms that the and probably composed afterwards ; Duke had been before this very but on reflection I have been in- anxious for peace, and had on several clined to admit it. A set speech occasions urged it upon the Queen ; under such circumstances was more and that, at his entreaty, she had to be expected in those times than it sent the Bishop de Limoges and would be now. People conversed D'Oysel into Orleans. That the very less, but, we imagine, harangued day of his assassination he waited at more. It is evident that De Thou, in Le Portereau, in expectation of their his account of his death, has made return, with an answer to his pro- use of this little book, which was posals. This great desire of peace drawn up immediately after the does not exactly tally with the rest event by the express desire of Cathe- of his conduct, and may be doubted; rine. The Bishop de Riez assisted the Bishop's little book being evi- the Duke in his last moments. The dently written for the occasion. In book has for title — ReciieUdesdeniiers a moral point of view we may wish to prospos quedlt et tint feu Francois de believe it, or we shall find it difficult Guise, Lieutenant pour le Roi, pro- to look upon the act of Poltrot with nonce par lui avant son trepas a Mad. that abhorrence which the crime of la Duchesse sa femme et M. son fils, assassination should ever produce, and may be found in Mem. de Conde, ^ I had at first resolved to reject t- iv, 342. this speech which, from its length 448 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [15G3. comnninion de toiites chases. Vous savez que je vans ai tonjours aimc et cstimC autant que femme peut etre, sans que noire mutuelle amifie ait recu aucune diminution en tout le temps de notre manage, comme je me suis toujours mis en devoir de le vous faire connaUre, et vous d moi ; nous donnant toutes les contentements que nous avonspu''^ He then asked her pardon for those errors to which the frailty of his youth might have led him, and assured her in return of his own forgiveness. He recommended his children and their education to her assiduous care/ and forbade her in the most urgent terms to revenge his death, saying, that he had forgiven the authors of it. Then, taking his son, the Prince de Joinville, in his arms, whose violent distress for a moment troubled the father's equa- nimity, he addressed him in the most serious and tender terms, warning him (alas ! how vainly !) against ambition, and all its errors and crimes, and holding out his own fate as an example of the instability of human things. And he bade him beware how he stained his soul with violence or crime for the sake of any worldly distinctions whatsoever. If entrusted with great offices by the Queen, he charged him, as he himself had endeavoured to do, to acquit him- self faithfully — but above all things, he exhorted him, to avoid the company of vicious men and yet more of profli- gate women — whose commerce would degrade his soul, and cover his name with ignominy ; then exhorting him to the love of God and practice of virtue, he gave him his affec- » Since it is the will of God that you as much as woman could be; nor I shall depart the first of us, it is has our mutual affection received any reasonable that, having yet time al- alloy din-ing all the time of our mar- lowed, I address myself first to you, riage, as I have always endeavoured in order to communicate my last to prove to you, and you to me ; affairs. We have long been con- giving each other all the mutual joined in the holy bond of faith and satisfaction which it was in our friendship, with an entire commu- power to do. nion in all things. You know that ^ That they should be instructed I have always loved and esteemed in letters, says De Thou. 1563.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 449 tionate blessing and farewell. The Duke finished his discourse by turning to the spectators, and addressed them in these words : " I have desired and sought by all means in my power a good peace ; and he who does not desire it n'est point homme de hien, ni amateur du service du Eoi, et honni soit qui ne la veult} I beg of you to shew the Queen that peace is absolutely necessary to preserve the kingdom, which is so afflicted, that if it remain much longer in this state, the child will no longer inherit the fortunes of his father, nor the seigneur maintain what is his. It would be better to be a mere peasant in any other country than a noble in this. Tellement que si Dieu n'y remedie, fai piti6 de ceux qui demeurent apres moir " He then briefly alluded to the circumstances of his own life, and most solemnly justified himself from premeditation in the affair of Vassi. Towards evening the fever increased with a cold sweat ; '' and having confessed himself, (says De Thou) received the Holy Sacrament, and poured out to God some truly pious prayers ; he resigned himself to death with the utmost calmness, and surrendered his spirit Wednesday 24th of February, six days after he had received his wound.'^^ "A man," he adds, ^' the greatest our age has produced, and every way worthy of praise ; whether we regard his great military skill and fortune, or reflect upon his ex- treme prudence in the conduct of affairs. Truly it would * Is not a worthy man, nor a lover been led to expect. " A son voyage of the King's welfare, and shame on en Italie," say Brantome, " il fit him who desires it not. pendre deux soldats, I'un pour avoir o c. xi ^ T i-. 1 1 i. • 1 laronn^ un seul piece de lard, et ' So that if God do not provide a ,, . , ^ , , . ' ^ 1 -r T • .^^ , ^ 1 autre pour quclque chose legere — remedy I can only pity those who , . , ^^ .^^ i n v ° . •' J I J dont le prince se coniessa a sa mort, survive me. ^^ j^ ^j^ ^^^^^ j^^^^^^^ ^^ j,^^^.^^ ^^ p^^^ ^ A scruple seemed to hang upon sieurs autres." He excused himself his mind which shows more delicacy on the necessity of improving the of conscience, than we should have discipline of his army. VOL. I. G G 450 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. have appeared that he was born for the benefit and orna- ment of France, liad he fallen on more peaceful times — but the kingdom being split into parties, he, a man of lofty .spirit, overstepping the duty and attributes of a subject at the persuasion of his brother, the Cardinal Charles — went into extremes ; and when, by the laws of the king- dom he had legitimately no supreme command in the army or state, he took advantage of his personal qualities, splendid virtues, and universal popularity, to force him- self into the supreme authority/' This character must be taken with much allowance ; Guise was, indeed, far from being every way worthy of praise. Yet such is the power of magnanimity, courtesy, and fortitude, that we are perhaps too apt to forget, when we contemplate them in this their eminent example, the violence, cruelty, and fanaticism which darkened the last stages of his career. Poltrot was taken in a barn on Saturday the 20th, betrayed by his "contenance effrayQe'' to some soldiers who did not know him. 1,000 crowns had been offered for his apprehension. On the 21st, Catherine having arrived at the camp, he was interrogated before her ; present the Card, de Bourbon, and a few of the principal noblemen. In his answer to this first interrogation, he accused as accom- plices the Admiral, the Count de Rochfoucault, Feuquieres, Brion, and Beza. He said, 1st. That in the month of July last the Prince de Soubise brought him to Orleans ; 2nd. That Feuquieres and Brion pressed him to undertake some great enterprise : that they introduced him to the Admiral, who proposed to him to kill the Duke of Guise ; 3rd. That afterwards he went to Soubise at Lyons, and, after the battle of Dreux, returned to the Admiral, who ordered him to go and wait for him at Orleans ; 4th. That the Admiral, as he passed through Orleans on his way to 1563.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 451 Normandy a second time, pressed him to assassinate the Duke — that as he excused himself, Beza and another minister entered and encouraged him, telling him he would thereby gain paradise, dying in so just a quarrel : and that, moreover, the Admiral, saying that there were fifty gentlemen resolved upon similar enterprises, gave him twenty crowns to carry him to the Duke's camp ; 5th. That he was received by the Duke, that he again returned to the Admiral to show the impossibility of killing the Duke, surrounded as he always was : that the Admiral and Beza encouraged him again by their exhort- ations, and the latter gave him 100 crowns to buy a horse ; 6th. That he returned to the Duke de Guise, and Thursday the 18 th of February accomplished his purpose. Against La Rochfoucault he deposed, " QyJil devoit en sf avoir quelque chose, dJautant que qiiand il arrivoit en Berri il lui faisoit hon visage!''^ As for the Prince de Conde, D'Andelot, and Soubise, he acquitted them of all participation. He concluded his confession by asserting that the King, Queen- Mother, and many great lords were threatened with the fate of the Duke de Guise. This heavy accusation against him was immediately made known to Coligny, and a copy of the interrogatory dispatched to him. To his own assembled army the Admiral cleared himself without difficulty : but not con- tent with this, he answered the interrogatory by an apology, accompanied by a letter to the Queen. Both writings were drawn up in a manner that might be called unguarded, and admitted facts that could not be justified : but this very circumstance tends to acquit ^ That he must know something met him in Berri he looked favour- about the matter, because when he ably upon him. o G 2 452 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. Coligny of those graver parts of the charge, which he absolutely and invariably denied. " ^lany of his friends," says Beza, "did not approve that the Admiral should confess some points so freely, as his enemies might take occasion to found vs^hat conjectures they pleased upon them ; but the Admiral, homme rond et V7'aiment entier, s'il y en jut jamais de sa qualite, replied, that if afterwards on being confronted it should be found that he had left any thing unconfessed, it would make far more to his disadvantage ; and, therefore, he chose, whatever the consequences, to make his declaration in this form." * Coligny declared that he never saw or heard of Poltrot until January, 1563. That Brion, before that time, having deserted from the Protestant army and joined the Catholics, had been killed at the siege of Rouen, so that had he been privy to any plot — as affirmed by Poltrot, — he would, doubtless, being a deserter, have made it known to the Duke de Guise. As to Feuqui^res, when he presented Poltrot to the Admiral he had confined himself simply to recommending him as one of the best spies he knew. He further protested that the pretended conference was a pure calumny, and ap- pealed, in confirmation of his assertion, to the principles of religion he was known to profess ; principles, abso- lutely inconsistent with such language as Poltrot had put into his mouth. The charge of repeatedly exhorting him to the murder, he met by positive and direct denial ; remarking, that far from admitting the horrible principle of assassination, he had, on various occasions, shown how abhorrent it was to his character.^ He confessed, how- ' Beza, Hist, des Eglises. through his Duchess, of designs * Brantome says that Coligny against his life, more than once advertised the Duke, 1568.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 453 ever, that since the massacre of Yassi, sachant d n'en point douter — that the Duke, and the Marechal de St. Andre, had attires certain persons to kill the Prince, himself, and his brother, he, when some one said he would kill the Duke in the midst of his camp, ne Vavait point detourne, but that he declared upon his life and honour it would never be found that he had instigated any one to such a proceeding — either by word, money, or promise. With respect to the money given to Poltrot, it had for its sole object the procuring information ; but he added that he was ^^hien recors^'' that at their last interview Poltrot savanna jusqu' a hi dire that it would be easy to kill the Seigneur de Guise, but that he, the Admiral, did not observe upon this discourse, ''d' aidant quil lestimoit pour chose du tout frivole, et sur sa vie et son honneur n'ouvrit jamais la hoiiche pour Vinciter d l^entreprendre.'"^ He concluded by pointing out the inconsistencies of Poltrot's declarations, and represented the whole deposition as an effect of the malice of his enemies — more especially as they pointedly absolved the Prince de Cond6, " On salt le plan qvLon s'est tra^e, de nous separer Vun de Vaidrer ^ His letter to Catherine was as follows : — " Madame, — Two days ago I saw the interrogatory of one James Poltrot, seigneur de Merey .... In which he confessed that he had wounded the Duke de Guise ; and also charged me with having solicited, or rather pressed him so to do. And as the thing I should most dread in the world would be the execution of Poltrot before the truth is discovered, I humbly entreat your ]\Iajesty to command that he shall be safely kept. I have, however. • Inasmuch as he looked upon it ^ Every body knows the project as mere idle talk ; and upon his life they have formed to alienate us from and honour never opened his mouth each other. to incite him to undertake it. 454 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. drawn up some articles,^ in reply to such of his depositions as appeared to me to deserve an answer, which I send your ]\Iajesty by this trumpet ; and I again declare it will be found that I never sought out either this man, or any other to perform such an act. On the contrary, I have always prevented such enterprises by every means in my power. And on this very account I have often had communication with the Card, de Lorraine, and Mad. de Guise, and even with your Majesty herself, who may remember how often I have opposed such things. With this reservation, be it said, that during the last five or six months I have no longer contested the matter against those who have testified such intentions, and that, because I have had information that certain persons, whom I will name in fit time,^ had been practised upon to kill me, as your Majesty may remember I told her at our conference before Paris. But I may affirm with truth that I have never of myself sought, solicited, or practised upon any one for this purpose. . . . And, not to tire your Majesty with a longer letter, I humbly entreat, once more, that Poltrot may be well and carefully guarded to prove the truth— whatever it may be. For if he be carried to Paris, I should fear that those of the Parliament would have him executed, and thus leave me to lie under this calumny and imposture Do not imagine, however, that what I say proceeds from any regret the death of the Duke of Guise occasions me. No, far from that, I esteem it the greatest blessing that could possibly have befallen this kingdom, the Church of God, and more especially myself, and all my house. If it shall so please your ^ These articles are to be found ^ Evidently De Guise and the at large in Beza, Hist, des Eglises. Cardinal arc here intended. See No one who reads them but must his answer to the interrogatory, acquit the Admiral. 1563.] DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUISE. 455 Majesty, it shall prove the means of tranquillising this kingdom — and all this army wish it to be so understood as we informed you when we first heard of the death of the Sieur de Guise — Madame, je prie Dieu vous donner en ires parfaite sante tres heureiise et longue vier Perhaps the Admiral in his contempt of that insin- cerity which would outwardly bewail what he considered as an immense benefit, acted imprudently in so openly expressing his feelings of satisfaction upon the death of his great adversary ; it served to irritate, and it served to mislead. The multitude were but too ready to believe he effected that at which he so openly rejoiced ; forgetting ' Every one must judge for him- self of the contents of these two papers. For myself I hesitate not to declare my firm persuasion, that they affirm the exact truth of the matter. The simplicity with which the facts which bear against himself are recorded, vouches for the fidelity of those in his favour ; and when the firm and righteous character of this great man is considered, and how im- possible his bitterest enemies found it ever to fix anything upon him be- yond a vague accusation, I hope my readers in general will acquit him of the heaviest part of the charge as unhesitatingly as I do. But it must ever be regretted that Coligny had reason to confess Avhat he did : and that he allowed the bright purity of his virtue and honour to be sullied by standing neuter with regard to crime, and lowering the high tone of his principles, by ceasing to interfere for the protection of his enemies against such attempts, because he knew them to be instigating others to the murder of himself and his friends. In the view he appears to have taken of the subject, he seems to have been misled by the principle of reprisals in war, then almost uni- versal; and to have thought that the unscrupulousness of his adversaries justified a remission upon his part of that honourable line of conduct he had till then adopted. In judgino- of mdividual characters, we shall be in danger of committing great in- justice, if w^e do not compare them with the moral standard of their times. That Coligny had made great advances beyond that of his, cannot be doubted ; and, in consi- dering this his error, we must not forget the careless indiiference to human life, and the unprincipled system of assassination which were so common in his day. The great importance of a high and pure standard of morality, will be a re- flection which will suggest itself to every one upon this occasion. I hope I shall not be mistaken, and, while I would fain view with some indulgence this deviation from the narrow path of a great and much injured man, be thought in the least degree to palliate the evil principle from which it sprung. It does not appear that Coligny had the least expectation that an assassination would really take place. 45G THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. how easy it would have been to cover a guilty conscience by a few set phrases of regret. The charge preferred against the Duke de Guise was probably true, and might have been the cause why he with a magnanimous sense of justice, forbad his wife and son to avenge his death on the Admiral, to whom he certainly attributed it. 457 CHAPTER XIV. NEGOTIATIONS. PEACE. END OF FIRST TROUBLES. The grief excited by the death of the Duke de Guise was general and excessive among his party. Even Catherine, cold and calculating as she was, seems for a moment to have yielded to the sentiment. It may be taken as a proof of her sincerity, that she bestowed all his high offices upon his children — though in so doing she deeply offended the Constable, who expected, upon the death of Guise, at least to recover that office of Grand Master, of which at the death of Henry 11. he had been so un- handsomely deprived. Catherine resolved, however, to give it to the Prince de Joinville, and, moreover, to have the Constable's own consent to the measure. Three days before the Duke died, she sent the following letter to Montmorency, which, as a specimen of her style and orthography, shall be inserted in the original; it is directed : — " A. mon compere M. le Gonnetahle. " Mon compere Je vous r envoy la condre, pour V amour de ma cousine^ Mad. de Guise, qui m'a price suivant la requeste que in'afaite son mari, de vouloyr donner la grant Mestire ha son fils, ce que ne vouleus faire, que premi- h^ement ne vous le ai faist entendre d'autant que a ma requeste vous en desistes, m'asseurant que aimes trop M. de Guise pour ne trover bon que je fasse tout set que je pouse pour ses enfans — veu encore le mediant hacte que Ton n" a fait en son endroit, ayanthlece de lafa^on, et 458 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. an fay sard service au Roi monfils, s*il en avenet forteune y me semhle bien resonahle de reconestre en ses enfans, ses services, et cela sera aysample pour ceux qui serviront hien le Roy mon fils et qui havent bien servi ses peres et grands peres— je lui ai donn4 charge de vous en parler^ je desire bien que ce soit sans temoyn set que je m'as- seure que vous accordera Madame la P7incesse pour lamoiir de voire bonne commere et amye. Catherine." The Constable a prisoner, and in uncertainty whe- ther the Duke might not yet recover, was in no situation to make difficulties ; but the speedy death of Guise made him repent his acquiescence : and looking upon the whole affair as a species of fraud on his just expec- tations, he was greatly discontented ; and after the peace was signed refused to appear at Court. With regard to Poltrot, the Queen was far from acced- ing to the wish so earnestly expressed by the Admiral. Under the agonies of those horrid tortures with which the odious jurisprudence of those days visited an accused person, he varied perpetually in his declarations — at one time affirming, at others denying the privity of the Admiral.^ As a kind of sacrifice to the manes of the great personage he had slain, or rather, I should say, to the pride of his relations, and the passions of the people of Paris — Poltrot was condemned to the punishment in- flicted for high treason — " d^etre tenaille, et tir6 d quatre chevaux''^ — a sentence by historians often lightly written, and as lightly read, though it includes sufferings too ^ Pour quant a M. L'Amiral, il witnessing this execution. As a trait varioit et tergiversoit fort, tant en of the manners of the times be it ses interrogations qu'en son dire de noted, that her death from horror is lages;?e, etdesamort. Gesne,gehenne, mentioned as remarkable, not her old word for torture. presence at that most dreadful exe- ' A ladi/, her name has escaped cution — he being drawn asunder by us, it is recorded, died of horror after four horses. 1563.] NEGOTIATIONS. 459 appalling for description. Poltrot on his way to the dreadful scene retracted all his charges. In his last will, he however adhered to them, including D'Andelot with the rest — but his dying words, when past the influence of hope or fear, are better evidence than a paper which w^as probably written under an idea of the possibility of obtaining some mercy by thus charging the Admiral. The day after this execution, the body of the Duke de Guise entered Paris, passing through on the way to Joinville, where, by his own command, it was to be in- terred. The people of Paris seized upon this opportunity to manifest, by the honours they lavished upon the insensible dead, the almost passionate idolatry with which they had adored him when living. At their own expense, they decreed almost royal obsequies — the pomp of which was rendered impressive by the unfeigned grief of the spectators. After four and twenty heralds, according to the fashion of the times, clothed in tabards on which were em- broidered the arms of Paris, had made proclamation in all the public places and great squares, the companies of the milices bourgeoises, headed by their captains, and every single man a black bdtoji in his hand, proceeded to the Convent of the Chartreux outside the walls of the city, where the body was lying, and taking it up, accom- panied it to the Porte St. Jacques. Here it was met by the Chapter of the Church of Notre Dame, by the four men- dicant orders, and by the clergy of almost every parish of the city. The funeral car was drawn by six horses, covered with black velvet stoles, each ornamented with an immense cross of white satin. Six Knights of the order marched on either side, preceded by 200 archers, each bearing a torch, and attended by an innumerable mul- titude carrying torches, supplied by private individuals. 460 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. Twenty-four banners of black taifetas embroidered with the Duke's arms, waving high over head, were followed by 400 of the principal bourgeois, covered with the long black cloaks of deep mourners. At the entrance of Notre Dame the procession was met by the Bishop of Paris, who presented a canopy of black velvet, which was borne over the body by the Canons, until it reached the choir — here it was laid on a bier of black velvet, while the heart was interred in the sanctuary. The next morning a solemn service for the dead was performed, at which the members of all the high courts assisted, and a funeral oration was pronounced. These ceremonies, often interrupted by the groans, cries, and tears of the innumerable spectators, having been completed, the body was replaced on the car and conducted with the same pomp to the Porte St. An- toine, by which it quitted the city. The banners alone were retained, and hung from the roof of Notre Dame, "to wave," says our author, "among the multitudes of those which Guise had conquered from the enemies of France." Whatever desire the Duke de Guise might have professed for peace, one thing is certain — his death seemed to remove the only real obstacle to an accommodation ; and the beneficial consequences anticipated by the Admiral imme- diately ensued. A cessation of arms was instantly agreed upon ; and the Queen began her negotiations with an activity that gave at least an appearance of sincerity to her professions. She was, in fact, relieved by the nego- tiations from a situation of the greatest perplexity, for Coligny was rapidly advancing to the relief of Orleans ; w^hile the footing which the English were obtaining in France filled every heart with apprehension. Vainly had she sought in her distress for one capable of succeed- ing to the great general she had lost. " I was without a 1563.] NEGOTIATIONS. 461 man to command the army/"' says she to Gonnor ; " and have been constrained to command it myself, till the Constable was at liberty, for though M. de Brissac is come, he is so ill he cannot leave his bed, so that never V7as poor creature in greater straits, or nearer behold- ing the ruin of her children than I." The anxiety of the Queen for peace was seconded by that of every councillor about her ; for, in spite of the formidable army lying before Orleans, the progress the Admiral had made in Normandy, and his speedy return, which was now anticipated — added to the presence of an English force in France — filled every one with the most serious apprehension. The foreign faction, there is no doubt, however, were anxious the war should be continued. The Spanish Ambassador and the Nuncio opposed the pacification by every means in their power. " I have begged," writes the Nuncio, " the Ambassador of Florence, who is now here, to conform to what I have just said, and to tell the Queen that the Duke of Tuscany is not well satisfied to see the great sums which he has contributed to establish religion in the kingdom, prove of no effect ; he has pro- mised the more willingly to express this resentment, be- cause he expects in this manner to give weight to his pretext for saving 20,000 crowns yet due."^ The Queen endeavoured to content her foreign friends by the most undisguised declarations of her intended duplicity and treachery. In another letter St. Croix says, " Le Ghev. de la Senne m'a dit que si on trouve les moyens de v'loler ensuite les promesses de cet accord, on ne les tiendroient pointr In another — '•'- Sila Reine se conduit d'une mani^re conforme d ce qu'elle dit, on pourra mieux ' Lettres de Saint Croix au la Borronee, p. 233. 4G2 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. chdtier ces gens Id quand Us seront dcsarmes et disper^s^s : outre qyJil est expedient de les decrediter aupres des etr angers."^ Observe the unl)lusliing manner in which Catherine de- clares herself capable of this infamous treachery ; the cool- ness with which the Nuncio writes of it to the Cardinal ; remark that at this moment Catherine was promising in secret to Cond6 every possible advantage at the expense of the Catholics. On the part of Cond6 the desire for peace was at least equal to that expressed by the Queen ; he was already weary of the war. The death of the great adversary to the Reformed religion at once quieted those disputes and jealousies which had made it almost impossible to rely upon any professions, and he had now reason to hope, that, as first Prince of the blood, he should reassume the influence and authority justly his due, and be able in time to thus obtain still further advantages for his party. The Cardinal de Bourbon writes to Gonnor, — " Xai parle seul d un petit homme qui a si grand envie de voir un Jin d ces troubles;'^ that, accommodating him- self to anything, he desires nothing more than to perform humble and faithful service to his master and the Queen his mother." Catherine knew well how to improve such dispositions in the generous but imprudent Prince. Various con- ferences took place between the Constable and Conde, and between his Princess and the Queen, the result of which was, that without waiting for or consulting with Coligny — contrary to the wishes of the Reformed ministers, yet it must be confessed in obedience to those of his mili- tary officers, among whom was D'Andelot — the Prince, * Lettres de St. Croix, p. 218, 227. sirous that an end should be put to ' I have been talking with a cer- these troubles, tain little man who is ardently de- 1563.] NEGOTIATIONS. 463 upon the 19th March, signed a pacification, which was afterwards published under the title of the Edict of Amboise. The substance of its provisions was as fol- lows : — ^ " That all gentlemen having haute justice, ou fiefs de haut vert might exercise their religion in their houses, with their own subjects. " That, in each bailliage or senechauss6e, there should be one town assigned to the Hugonots wherein to exercise their religion, in addition to those towns in which the exercise subsisted before the 7th of ]\Iarch ; but that the Hugonots should not be permitted to occupy the churches of the Catholics, who were to have their pro- perty restored, with all liberty of Divine service as before the wars. " That, in the town of Paris, there should be no exer- cise of the Reformed religion (this title being for the first time acknowledged) ; but that the Hugonots might go there with all security, without being disturbed for mat- ters of conscience. "That all foreigners should leave France as soon as possible, and all the towns held by the Hugonots be re- stored to the King. "All subjects of his Majesty to be restored, in pro- perty, estates, honours, and offices, without regard to judgments pronounced against the Hugonots since the time of Francis the Second, which judgments should be broken and annulled, avec abolition octroyee, to all who had taken arms. " The Prince de Cond6 and all who had followed him to be reputed good and loyal subjects. No account to be given of monies belonging to his Majesty by them taken ' Mem. de Castlenau, additions of Le Laboureur ; Beza, Hist, des Eglises. 4G4 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. ill the war, nor of powders, ammunitions, or demoli- tions made by command of the Prince, des siens ou de son aveu. " All prisoners on both sides to be set at liberty with- out ransom. Forbidden to all, of whatever religion, to utter insults or reproaches, on account of what had passed, under pain of le hart : or to make treaties with foreigners, or levy money on his Majesty's subjects. " The Edict to be read and published in all the parlia- ments of the kingdom." The privileges conveyed by this Edict, it will be observed, fell far short of those given by that of January ; and it afforded little satisfaction to the Hu- gonot divines, who, it will be remarked, took a very leading part in the political, as well as civil, affairs of their community. Seventy- two of these, assembled at Orleans, drew up a remonstrance to the Prince, in which they represented that the Edict of January, being in strict conformity with the expressed desire of the dele- gates of the States-General of Orleans of 1560, and the highest authorities in the kingdom, could on no condition be abrogated.^ But the Prince was compelled to disregard this remon- strance. He despaired of obtaining the full provisions of the Edict of January, for he had found the prejudices of the Constable insurmountable. At the very first con- ference when Conde only alluded to it, the old man flew into a violent passion, declaring that as for that edict every one who had any hand in drawing it up " deserved to be flayed alive,'^ ecorche vif. There were also other and less creditable reasons which rendered the Prince tractable. Short as had been his captivity, the Queen-Mother had already contrived to ' Beza, Hist, des Eglises. 1563.] NEGOTIATIONS. 465 entangle him in those disgraceful chains of love and pleasure, which, true to the character of his race, he made little scruple of openly wearing ; and that generous spirit which violence, threats, imprisonment, and the near approach of death had been powerless to overcome, yielded to the insidious influence of those softer feelings, which, in their misdirection, have tarnished many a brighter name than his. " Ce n'etoit que reproches contre le Prince,'' says D'Aubigne, ''accuse d avoir hallene les filles de la Reine, comme il paroit depiiisP The Admiral, whose forces after his junction with the English, and with the indefatigable Montgomery, who brought up large reinforcements, amounted to 4,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry, was pressing onwards to the relief of Orleans, when a courier from Conde met him, bringing a report of the progress of the negotiations. Anxious to retard what would be so disadvantageous under the present favourable aspect of his afiairs, he hurried for- ward with his cavalry, but he reached Orleans too late — the treaty had been signed five days before his arrival ; and Conde, who considered his honour engaged to main- tain it, was deaf to all the remonstrances of Coligny. He, whose mind was intent upon one object — the maintenance of that Reform in religion to which he was so earnestly devoted — vainly pointed out the magnitude of those sacrifices that had been made. In an assembly, held the morning after his arrival, he reproached the Prince with having destroyed more churches by one stroke of his pen, than his enemies could have ruined by a ten years' war. " Because," he said, " in reducing the number of the churches to one in each bailliage, the poor people who had fought as bravely as the nobility, were left exposed to the danger either of falling once more into the Roman superstitions, or of gradually forgetting all religion what- VOL. I. HH 406 THE REFOR^TATION IN FRANCE [1563. soever. Could it be expected that poor labourers, or industrious artisans, women or old men, would make weekly journeys of twelve or fifteen leagues to assist at Divine service ? And what consistency or form could the meetings take that were to be allowed in the castles of the Seigneurs, dependent as they would be upon the caprice of individuals ? If the fief changed its master, what was to become of the church V To these remarks the Prince could only oppose the ne- cessity of saving Orleans, and his good hopes for the future. In a private conference, however, he confided to the Admiral the favourable dispositions maintained in secret by the Queen-Mother towards the Churches, and her promise to place him, Conde, at the head of the Council, and nominate him Lieutenant-General of the kingdom. He calculated, that, once elevated to these posts, he should have influence to modify the Edict ; and shewed that it was absolutely necessary to yield several points in order to ensure its registration. Even in its pre- sent form,— such was the spirit of the court of law, — this point was carried with the utmost difficulty. The Parliament of Paris made the most obstinate resistance to the registry ; and Catherine, in a letter to Gonnor, thus expresses her urgency and her anxiety upon this sub- ject : — "It must be done. Tell Messieurs de la Cour that this is no common affair. They may believe, that, without extreme necessity, we should not have granted all that is in the letter (Edict). But no more difficulty must be made, for we have published it here to-day. Assure them that the household of the King and the Court are exempted. I pray you, M. de Gonnor to tell the truth to these gentlemen, for they will be the ruin of us, Reformez les precheurs^ par ce que fentende Us sont de par trop insolentsr ' Meaning the Catholic preachers in Paris. 1563.] END OF FIRST TROUBLES. 467 The Chancellor, De THopital, who, like Falkland in our own civil wars, breathed only peace, seconded the exer- tions of the Queen. He gave, in the name of the Prin- cess, a pension to the first President, Christophe de Thou; he promised to grant some disputed arrears of salaries to the Councillors ; he wrote letters of remonstrance and persuasion to the different members of the Court ; but in spite of these efforts, and those of Losses and Gonnor, who explained to the assembly the state of the kingdom —the danger from the English on one side, from the Ger- mans on the other, the total ruin of the finances and general weakness of the government — such were the in- vincible prejudices of this body, that the only condition it could be brought to consent to, was, that if a Prince of the blood came down in person to command the registry, they would suffer it to take place " en silence'' Upon this the Duke de Montpensier was dispatched for the purpose, and the point was thus at length carried. The satisfaction of the Queen was excessive, and is thus ex- pressed to Gonnor, after bidding him inform the magis- trates comme elle etoit contente. " Tell them,'' adds she, in a postscript in her own hand writing, " whatever neces- sity my son may be in, they shall be paid.'' The Parliaments throughout the kingdom shewed a similar disposition to dispute the authority of the govern- ment, when opposed to their particular prejudices. The Parliaments of Provence and Toulouse would only consent to register the Edict in a mutilated form ; and the states of Dijon addressed a remonstrance to the Queen, which was a sort of general declaration against Reform and toler- ation. It seems difficult to account for this determined resistance of the higher courts to the measure, at a time when it was known tliat the majority of the more en- lightened classes were secret favourers of the Reformation. 4G8 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [l563. But the ties wliicli ])iiul society together were rapidly giving way under the influence of these fatal divisions ; and the authority of that government, whose oppression and cruelty had driven the Hugonots into open rebellion, was now almost as openly defied by the Catholics in support of whose claims such acts of injustice and barba- rity had been committed, — such seas of blood and tears been shed. Every one has heard of " The League," that erection of a party resolved to coerce the kingdom and the crown; but how early that spirit of insubordination against their rulers, and tyranny against their fellow- countrymen, from which it arose, began to be manifested is not, perhaps, so well known : or how soon these pro- ceedings took rise among those who, affecting to resist in- subordination and maintain the king's authority, made no scruple by the most violent and seditious means to enslave it.^ The first instance of mutual associations on the part of the Catholics occurred in Languedoc so early as this year, 1563. It was about the end of February that the Court of Parliament of Toulouse, the Capitouls, the Cardinal d'Armagnac, and JMontluc, entered into a mutual agree- ment to raise an army to be sent into Languedoc. It does not, however, appear that there was any great proof of insubordination in this ; it being, as is well known, the then custom for private individuals to levy forces at their own expense, and lead them to the assistance of their sovereign. ]\Iontluc was chosen to command this army; " and when I had accepted the charge," says he, " we set ^ Doubtless one original cause of are to be attributed. Nevertheless, these associations was the distrust it is most true that any government entertained by the Catholics of the which adopts a party gives itself a Queen-Mother. To her weakness and tyrant, duplicity many of the ensuing evils 1563.] PEACE. 469 down in writing what was necessary."^ This covenant was entitled Traite d" association faite par I'avis et con- seil des reverends peres Mess. Georges d'Armagnac Lieu- tenant de Roi, et Mess. Laurens, Card, de Strozzi . . . le Seigneur de Montluc, Cliev. de I'Ordre, capitaine de 50 hommes, les seigneurs de Terr ides Negrepelisse, dc 2d. Mars, 1563. The intentions of the subcribers are thus stated : — " To satisfy a Christian duty — for the support of the Roman Church, for the service of the King and his peo- ple, and to resist the enemies and rebels who have risen, or may in future rise against his Majesty ; to extirpate and drive from the kingdom all such rebels .... and for other good and just considerations touching the public peace, — it is useful and expedient to order that a con- federation and association shall be made between the ecclesiastical order, the noblesse, and the Tiers Etat, inha- bitants of towns, dioceses, &c. in the provinces of Lan- guedoc and Guyenne, under the good pleasure of the King and the said Court : which association shall be kept and observed according to its form by the aforesaid con- federates, and by those who shall in future join them, under pain of being declared rebels, and disobedient to his Majesty/^ .... Then follow divers directions for receiving oaths — making general levies, appointing officers, and providing arms — enjoining at the same time the strictest attention to military discipline, providing, that a report of the force should be sent to the King's lieutenants in Languedoc, Guyenne, Toulouse and Albigeois. This association it is customary for French historians to call the germ of the League. But it is far from equalling in its provisions the spirit of independence which will be ' M6in. dc Montluc. 470 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. [1563. found in the league formed by Tavannes, for Burgundy, four years later, 1567. Thus terminated the first troubles, " by an Edict," says Castlenau, " with which the necessity of the times forced the Catholics to comply, however much in secret they might murmur; for one year of cruel war had reduced the aifairs of France to such a pitch that it was almost impossible she could have survived its continuance. For agriculture, that most necessary thing to maintain the body of a republic, and which had formerly been bet- ter exercised in France than in any other kingdom, — she being like the fertile garden of the world, — was aban- doned ; multitudes of towns and villages sacked, pillaged, and burnt, were deserted, and the poor labourers driven from their homes — despoiled of their furniture and cattle, robbed to-day by one party, to-morrow by another, — fled like wild beasts, leaving all they had to the mercy of those who were without mercy. "And as to commerce — which is great in this kingdom, it, as well as the mechanical arts, was quite given up ; the nobility were divided, the ecclesiastical order op- pressed — no one was secure of his property or his life — and as for justice — the foundation of kingdoms and re- publics and all human society — it could not be admi- nistered, seeing that where there is question of force or violence the authority of the magistrate is at an end. In short, the civil wars were an inexhaustible source of all other unimaginable and enormous vices, against which there was neither curb nor punishment: and the worst was, that this very war, undertaken for religion, annihilated religion and piety. Society, like a decayed body, produced a swarm of vermin in the pestilence of an infinity of Atheists. The churches were sacked, the monasteries destroyed, the professors of religion driven 1563.] PEACE. 471 out, and what it had taken four hundred years to erect was miserably overthrown in a day.'' ' Such is the picture drawn by Castlenau, but the im- pression it leaves upon the mind is unjust. The disor- ders which desolated the kingdom would here seem to be attributed indifferently, to either party ; but he who has the patience to follow the detail of oppression and cruelty displayed in the pathetic, but most candid pages of Beza, will learn with a sort of sad surprise — how unprovoked was the attack, how long the patience of the defence, how barbarous and brutal the outrages committed by the Ca- tholics, how few the reprisals on the part of the Reformed, and these, uniformly repressed by the ministers of their religion, whenever they occurred. ' Mem. de Castlenau, additions of Le Laboureur. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LONDON : Printed by 8. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. This book is due two weeks from the last date stamped ! below, and if not returned at or before that time a fine of | five cents a dav will be incurred. ,^^ 1 9 ^933 i ■ ■' . ' «■■•■• -: , J A COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES BRITTLE DO NOT PHOTOCOPY MAV 22 192-,