LIBRARY OF PRINCETON 
 
 JAN I 4 2005 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
.*• 
 
Autobiography 
 
 French Protestant 
 
 CONDEMNED TO THE GALLEYS FOR THE 
 SAKE OF HIS RELIGION. 
 
 jtcutL \^yy\aA.Z^^J^jf^ 
 
 Sranslateb frmn i\t i,itvx\. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, 
 
 56, Paternoster Row; 6s, St. Paul's Chirchyakd: 
 AND 164, Piccadilly 
 
M EMOIRES 
 
 D'UN 
 
 PROTESTANT, 
 
 Condamnc aux 
 GALERES DE FRANCE 
 
 POUR CAUSE DE 
 
 RELIGION; 
 
 Merits par lui meme : 
 
 Ottvrage, da?is lequcl, outre le rccit dcs 
 soiijf radices de VAicteiir dcpuis 1700 
 jusqicm 171 3 ; on trouvcra di- 
 verses P articular itcs curicuscs, 
 relatives d l" Histoire de ce 
 Temps-Id, & une Descrip- 
 tion exacte des Galeres 
 Gr de Icur Service. 
 
 A ROTTERDAM, 
 
 Chez J. D. BE MAN & Fils. 
 
 M. D. C. C. LVIL 
 
 '> 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface vii 
 
 Translator's Preface ix 
 
 Autobiography i 
 
 Narrative of Messieurs Sorbier and Rivasson . 31 
 
 Autobiography Resumed 48 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Jean Marteilhe and Oliver Goldsmith . . 272 
 The Sufferings of M. Sabatier 374 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 EVERAL years ago, one of our friends at 
 Lyons discovered hidden, at the bottom of 
 an old family library, the book which we 
 here reprint. Attracted by the title, he read it, and 
 gave it to some of his friends to read ; the interest 
 it excited was so lively and so universal, that all desired 
 the republication of the narrative. 
 
 But one question had first to be solved. What was this 
 book ? Was its harrowing narrative of the odious con- 
 sequences of religious persecution authentic ? Could it 
 be accepted as a picture, sadly faithful, of the truth ? Or 
 was it merely a romance, destined to excite the reader's 
 pity on behalf of an imaginary hero? The matter was 
 investigated ; two copies of an edition later than that of 
 1757 were discovered in Holland, which furnished the 
 key to all the names, which, in the first edition, were 
 only denoted by initials. There was now no doubt that 
 these memoirs (perfectly authentic, and revised by Daniel 
 de Superville, one of the pastors who received the poor 
 fugitive) contained the real history of the sufferings of a 
 young man, Jean Marteilhe, of Bergerac* 
 
 Amidst more pressing labours, the project of reprinting 
 the book was postponed, and would, perhaps, have been 
 forgotten altogether, if the publication of M. Michelet's 
 work on the " Revocation of the Edict of Nantes," by 
 
 • See note at end of volume. 
 
viii - Preface. 
 
 fully confirming the investigations already made, had not 
 excited a more lively desire for the appearance of these 
 memoirs, unknown for the most part to the descendants 
 of those who had so severely suffered for their faith. In 
 one of the most touching chapters of his book, M. 
 Michelet, after having rapidly analysed these memoirs, 
 adds, " It is a book of the first order, distinguished by 
 the charming naivete of the recital, by its angelic sweet- 
 ness, Avritten as if bet\veen earth and heaven. Why has 
 it never been reprinted ? " We are glad to be able at 
 length to reahse the wish of our eminent historian. 
 
 If we try to revive these glorious recollections of the 
 past history of our church, it is not to excite anew those 
 religious conflicts in which our ancestors so ardently 
 engaged. We know, and we bless God for it, how the 
 times are changed. Children of the same country, yet 
 free to profess our faith publicly, we are happy to carry 
 into practice the counsel of the prophet to the people of 
 Israel, " Pray for the peace of the city in which ye dwell, 
 for in the peace thereof ye shall have peace."* But it 
 is good to remember, at all times, those lessons of stem 
 obedience to conscience, of fidelity to duty, and of 
 self-sacrifice, which, in the days of trial, our fathers so 
 courageously gave both to us and to their persecuto'rs. 
 
 Our sole desire is to revive the spirit of the fathers 
 in the children, reminding them by these salutary ex- 
 amples, that " man doth not live by bread alone, but 
 by every word that proceedcth out of the mouth of 
 God." 
 
 Henry Paumier. 
 
 Paris: October, 1S64. 
 
 * Jcr. xxix. 7, French version. 
 
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 the foregoing preface, by the French editor, 
 Httle needs to be added. By the Edict of 
 Nantes, Henry iv., in the year 1598, guaran- 
 teed to his Protestant subjects liberty of conscience 
 and of worship, absolute security to person and pro- 
 perty, and equal rights and privileges before the law. 
 The Edict continued in force for nearly ninety years, 
 though its stipulations were often violated, and, under 
 one pretence or another, the Protestants suffered frequent 
 persecutions. But on the 22nd October, 1685, it was 
 revoked by Louis xiv. The Reformed pastors were 
 commanded to leave the kingdom within fifteen days, 
 under pain of the galleys. All Protestant worship was 
 interdicted, both in public and private, and the temples 
 were ordered to be razed to the ground. The Pro- 
 testant schools were to be closed forthwith ; and ail 
 children bom after the date of the Revocation were to 
 be baptized by the parish priests, and brought up as 
 Roman Catholics. Refugees were enjoined to return 
 and abjure their faith within four months, under penalty 
 of confiscation and outlawry. Protestants attempting 
 to escape from the kingdom were sentenced to the 
 galleys. Adults who had been brought up in the re- 
 formed faith were allowed to remain " u/M it shail 
 pkasd God to enlighten thonT 
 
X Tra7islatoys Preface. 
 
 These stem and cruel enactments were at once put 
 into force, and a regular stampede from the kingdom com- 
 menced. Though every effort was made to guard the 
 frontiers, yet multitudes escaped, and reached England, 
 Switzerland, Holland, or Germany. The number of 
 fugitives will never be fully known. The estimates vary 
 widely. Probably not fewer than a quarter of a million 
 succeeded in flying from their homes, and finding liberty 
 to worship God in foreign lands. The fugitives were 
 from every class in society, and adopted every variety 
 of disguise — pilgrims, cattle-drovers, soldiers, footmen, 
 beggars. Some bribed the guards who lined the fron- 
 tiers, some crept along byways and through forests under 
 cover of the night, others, who could afford it, paid guides 
 to conduct them by intricate and unwatched passes. 
 Those near the coast concealed themselves on board 
 sliip, by the connivance of the merchants and sailors, 
 amongst bales of goods or in empty casks. INIany ven- 
 tured out to sea in open boats, in the desperate hope of 
 reaching England, or being picked up by some passing 
 vessel. The Count and Countess de Marance, with 
 forty companions, amongst whom were several aged and 
 sick persons, and pregnant women, embarked in a fish- 
 ing-boat of only seven tons burden. Driven from their 
 course by a violent storm, they were on the point of 
 perishing from hunger. For some days they subsisted 
 upon melted snow, and at last reached the English coast 
 more dead than alive. 
 
 Many of the most eminent men in France — men in 
 the first rank of the nobility — vainly implored permission 
 to quit the country. The Marquis de Ruvigny and 
 Marshal Schomberg were almost the only exceptions. 
 Admiral Duquesne, the founder of the French navy, 
 was urged by the infatuated monarch to change his 
 
Trajislator' s Preface. xi 
 
 religion. The veteran, now eighty years of age, pointed 
 to his hoary hairs, and repHed, "For sixty years I 
 have rendered unto Cresar the things that are Cesar's ; 
 let me still render to God the things which are God's." 
 As a special favour he was allowed to remain without 
 molestation. 
 
 Whilst many succeeded in making their escape from 
 the kingdom, many less fortunate were seized and sent 
 to. the galleys. Amongst these were David de Caumont, 
 —connected with the Duke de la Force, whose name 
 appears in the following narrative,— and Louis de 
 Marolles, one of the king's council. The fomier was 
 sixty-five years of age at the time of his arrest; the 
 latter, after an imprisonment of some months in the 
 Chateau de la Tournelle,* was marched to Marseilles, 
 with the great chain of galley slaves, where he died in 
 1692. Within a year after the Revocation of the Edict, 
 there were more than six hundred Protestants in the 
 galleys at Marseilles, as many at Toulon, and a propor- 
 tionate number at the other ports. " On all the roads of 
 the kingdom," says Benoit, "these miserable wretches 
 might be seen, marching in large gangs, burdened by 
 hea^7 chains, often weighing more than fifty pounds, and 
 so fixed as to give the greatest amount of discomfort 
 Sometimes the prisoners were conveyed in waggons, in 
 which case these fetters were riveted to the cart. "WTien 
 they sank down from exhaustion on their long marches, 
 the guards compelled them to rise and resume their 
 journey by blows. Their food was coarse and unwhole- 
 some, and insufficient in quantity, for the guards put 
 into their own pockets half the amount allowed for the 
 expenses of the escort, ^^^len they halted they were 
 
 • For a description of this horrible dungeon and the great chain 
 of galley slaves, see p. ib2 ct scq. 
 
xii Trmislator s Preface. 
 
 lodged in foul dungeons, or in barns where they lay upon 
 tlie bare earth, without covering, and weighed down by 
 their chains." 
 
 But it would only weary the reader to narrate in detail 
 the cruelties of the persecutors, and the sufferings of the 
 oppressed. Abundant illustrations will be found in the 
 histories of the period.* 
 
 There is little need to point the moral of the following 
 narrative. Its lessons are obvious. If this life were 
 all, these martyrs for the faith might seem to be " of all 
 men most miserable." But " after this I beheld, and, lo, 
 a great multitude, which no man could number, of aU 
 nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood 
 before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white 
 robes, and palms in their hands ; and cried with a loud 
 voice, saying. Salvation to our God which sitteth upon 
 the throne, and unto the Lamb. . . . These are they 
 which came out of great tribulation, and have washed 
 their robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, 
 and serve him day and night in his temple : and he that 
 sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They 
 shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither 
 shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and 
 shall lead them unto living fountains of waters : and God 
 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes," 
 
 * Special reference may be made to the History of the French 
 Protestant Kef itgees from the Rex'oeation of the Edict of Nantes. By 
 Charles Weiss. Blackwood and Sons. i''854. 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY - 
 
 OF A 
 
 FRENCH PROTESTANT 
 
 CONDEMNED TO THE GALLEYS. 
 
 HERE are few of my fellow-countrymen, 
 refugees in these happy Provinces,* who 
 could not bear witness to the calamities 
 which persecution has inflicted upon them in every 
 part of France. If each of them had written me- 
 moirs of all that they had suffered, as well in their 
 common country as after they had been forced 
 to leave it, and then a collection of all these 
 memoirs had been made, such a work would be 
 not only very curious, on account of the different 
 events which would be related therein, but at the 
 same time very instructive for a large number of 
 good Protestants, who are quite ignorant of a great 
 deal which has taken place since the year 1684 in 
 this bloody and cruel persecution. Divers authors 
 have written about it in a general way ; but not 
 one of them (at least to my knowledge) has 
 particularised the different kinds of hardship and 
 torture which each of my dear companions in suf- 
 fering has experienced. 
 
 * The Netherlands. 
 
 B 
 
2 AiUobiograpJiy of a FrcncJi Protestant 
 
 It is far from my design to undertake such a 
 work, only knowing imperfectly and by tradition 
 an almost infinite number of facts which many of 
 my dear fellow-countrymen daily relate to their 
 children, I shall therefore only impart to the 
 public, in these memoirs, that which befell myself, 
 from the year 1700 to 17 13, when I was happily 
 delivered from the galleys of France by God's 
 mercy, and by the intercession of Queen Anne 
 of England of glorious memory. 
 
 I was born at Bergerac, a small town in the 
 province of Perigord, in the year 1684. My parents 
 were in trade. By the grace of God they had always 
 maintained, even unto death, the doctrines of the 
 true reformed religion ; their conduct was such as 
 never to draw down any reproach upon these 
 doctrines. They brought up their children in the 
 fear of God, continually instructing them in the 
 principles of true religion, and in aversion to the 
 errors of popery. 
 
 I will not weary my reader by relating the events 
 of my childhood up to the year 1700, when perse- 
 cution tore me from the bosom of my family, forced 
 me to fly from my country, and to expose myself, 
 notwithstanding my tender age, to the perils of a 
 journey of two hundred leagues, which I made in 
 order to seek a refuge in the United Provinces of 
 the Netherlands. I shall only relate, briefly and in 
 simple truth, what has happened to me since my 
 sorrowful separation from my parents, whom I left 
 enduring the most cruel persecution. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 3 
 
 Before detailing the story of my flight from my 
 dear country, it is necessary to speak of what occa- 
 sioned it, and kindled the most inhuman persecu- 
 tion in my native province. 
 
 During the war which was terminated by the 
 peace of Ryswick, the Jesuits and priests had not 
 been able to indulge in the pleasure of dragooning 
 the Reformed in France, because the king had all 
 his troops upon the frontiers of his kingdom ; but no 
 sooner was peace concluded, than they wished to 
 indemnify themselves for the repose they had been 
 obliged to give us during the war. These pitiless 
 and inveterate persecutors then made their rage 
 felt in all the provinces of France, wherever there 
 were any of the reformed faith. I shall confine 
 myself to detailing some of the best authenticated 
 facts which took place in Perigord. 
 
 In the year 1699, the Duke de la Force, who 
 proved that he by no means shared the sentiments 
 of his illustrious ancestors with regard to the 
 reformed religion, at the instigation of the Jesuits, 
 requested permission to go to his estates in 
 Perigord, in order (as he expressed it) to convert 
 tJie Huguenots. In doing this he flattered the views 
 and principles of the court too well not to obtain 
 such an honourable and worthy employment. So he 
 set out from Paris, accompanied by four Jesuits, a 
 few guards, and his servants. Arrived at his castle 
 of La Force, about a league distant from Bergerac, 
 he began, in order to give an idea of the gentleness 
 of his mission, and the spirit of his counsellors, to 
 exercise unheard-of cruelties against those of his 
 
4 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 vassals who belonged to the reformed faith, carrying 
 off, daily, peasants of every age and of both sexes, 
 and making them suffer in his presence, and with- 
 out any form of trial, the most frightful tortures, 
 continued upon some till they died, to compel 
 them to abjure their religion upon the spot, with- 
 'out any reason but his own will. Then, by means 
 as diabolical, he obliged all these poor wretches to 
 take the most fearful oaths to remain inviolably 
 attached to the Roman religion. To testify the 
 joy and satisfaction which he felt at his happy suc- 
 cess, and to terminate his enterprise in a manner 
 worthy of the motives and counsels which had 
 caused him thus to act, he celebrated public rejoic- 
 ings in the village of La Force, where his castle was 
 situated, and made a bonfire of a magnificent 
 library, composed of the pious books of the re- 
 formed religion which his ancestors had carefully 
 collected. The town of Bergerac this time was 
 exempt from persecution, as well as several other 
 towns in the neighbourhood, but this repose was 
 only a calm which was to be followed by the most 
 terrible tempest. 
 
 Before relating what the Reformed in this pro- 
 vince had to suffer, I must amuse my reader with 
 a rather diverting scene which took place at the 
 castle of La Force, while the duke was reposing 
 after the fatigues of his successful, expedition, and 
 receiving the praise and homage of the priests and 
 monks of the neighbourhood. There was an ad- 
 vocate of Bergerac, named Grenier, who had a good 
 deal of wit, but was really a little cracked, and who 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 5 
 
 never had much reHgion, though he was born in 
 the reformed faith ; this man wished to show off 
 his wit, and to range himself among the flatterers, by 
 making a speech to the duke. He asked permission, 
 which was readily granted him. The duke seated 
 in his chair of state, having his four Jesuits by his 
 side, admitted Grenier to an audience, who began 
 in these words: — "Monseigneur, your grandfather 
 was a great warrior, your father a great saint, and 
 you, monseigneur, are a great huntsman." The duke 
 interrupted him, to inquire how he knev/ that he 
 was a great huntsman, for in reality he had no 
 great passion for the chase. "I judge of it," replied 
 Grenier, as he pointed to the four Jesuits, " by your 
 four bloodhounds, who never quit you." These 
 fathers, as good Christians, began to demand that 
 Grenier should be punished for his insolence, but 
 it was represented to the duke that Grenier was 
 not right in his mind, so he was content with driv- 
 ing him from his presence. 
 
 I resume the thread of my narrative, and must 
 explain what gave rise to my flight, and made me 
 attempt to escape from the kingdom. 
 
 The Duke de la Force, proud of the fine con- 
 versions which he had made, went to give an 
 account of them to the court. We can easily judge 
 whether he and his Jesuits exaggerated the effect 
 which their mission had produced. However that 
 might be, he obtamed permission to return to Peri- 
 gord, in the year 1700, to convert, by means of a 
 pitiless dragonade, the Huguenots in the royal 
 towns of that province. He came then to Ber- 
 ■> 
 
6 Autobiography of a FrencJi Protestant 
 
 gerac, where he took up his residence, accompanied 
 by the same four Jesuits, and by a regiment of 
 dragoons, whose cruel mission — for they were 
 allowed full license among the towns-people — made 
 a great many more converts than the exhortations 
 of the Jesuits. There were no conceivable cruelties 
 which these booted and spurred missionaries did 
 not exercise to oblige the poor citizens to go to 
 mass, make their public abjuration, and swear, 
 with horrible oaths, never to abandon the practice 
 of the Roman religion. The duke had a form 
 of this oath filled with imprecations against the 
 reformed faith, which he made them sign and 
 swear to, either by their consent or by force. 
 Twenty-two of these execrable dragoons were 
 quartered in my father's house. I do not know 
 for what reason the duke caused my father 
 to be taken to prison at Perigueux. Two of my 
 brothers and my sister, who were but children, 
 were seized and placed in a convent. I had the 
 good fortune to escape from the house. My poor 
 mother found herself left the only one of the 
 family, in the midst of those twenty-two wretches, 
 who caused her to undergo horrible tortures. 
 After having consumed and destroyed everything 
 in the house, they dragged my poor unhappy 
 mother before the duke, who, by the infamous 
 treatment to which he subjected her, accompanied 
 by horrible threats, forced her to sign his formulary. 
 This the poor woman did, weeping abundantly, and 
 protesting against the act to which she was com- 
 pelled. She resolved that her hand should join in 
 
CoftdeiiDicd to the Galleys. 7 
 
 the lamentable protestations of her lips, so, the duke 
 having presented the form of abjuration for her 
 signature, she wrote her name on it, and at the 
 bottom added the words, "(la) Force made me 
 do it"— alluding doubtless to the name of the 
 duke. They tried to make her efface these words, 
 but she persisted in refusing ; so one of the Jesuits 
 took the trouble of erasing them. 
 
 I had escaped from the house (October, 1700) 
 before the dragoons entered it. I was then just 
 sixteen years of age. It is not a time of life when 
 one has much experience, especially in getting out 
 of such a critical position as mine was. How was 
 I to escape the vigilance of the dragoons, by whom 
 the town and all the approaches to it were filled, in 
 order to stop the flight of any of the inhabitants ? 
 Nevertheless, I had the happiness, by the great 
 mercy of God, to leave the town at night without 
 being perceived, accompanied by one of my 
 friends, and after walking all night through the 
 woods, we found ourselves the next morning at 
 Mussidan, a small town four leagues from Ber- 
 gerac. There we resolved, whatever the perils 
 might be, to continue our journey as far as Hol- 
 lan'd, resigning ourselves wholly to the will of God 
 in the prospect of all those dangers which pre- 
 sented themselves to our imagination ; and as we 
 implored the Divine protection we made a firm 
 resolution not to imitate Lot's wife in looking 
 back, and that, whatever might be the result oi our 
 perilous enterprise, we would remain firm and con- 
 stant in confessing the true reformed religion, even 
 > 
 
8 AutobiograpJiy of a Frejich Protestant 
 
 at the risk of the punishment of the galleys, or of 
 death. After this resolution we implored God's 
 gracious help and mercy, and then proceeded 
 cheerfully along the high road to Paris. We con- 
 sulted our purse, which was not too well supplied. 
 Our whole capital consisted of about ten pistoles. 
 We formed economical plans to make our little 
 money last, and lodged every day at the humblest 
 inns to save expense. We had not, thank God, 
 any unpleasant adventure as far as Paris, where we 
 arrived on the loth of November. 
 
 We expected at Paris to see some of our ac- 
 quaintances who would tell us the easiest and least 
 dangerous route to the frontier. A good friend and 
 good Protestant wrote out for us a little itinerary 
 as far as Mezieres, a garrison town on the Meuse, 
 which at that time was the frontier of the Spanish 
 Netherlands, and on the borders of the formidable 
 forest of Ardennes. This friend informed us that 
 the only danger we should have to guard against 
 was on entering this town — for on going out no one 
 was stopped ; and that the forest of Ardennes 
 would favour our journey to Charleroi, six or seven 
 leagues distant from Mezieres, and that once at 
 Charleroi we were safe, for then we should really 
 be out of the French territories. He added that 
 there was also at Charleroi a Dutch garrison and 
 commander, who would protect us from all danger. 
 This friend, however, warned us to be prudent, and 
 to take the greatest precaution in entering the 
 town of Mezieres, because they were extremely 
 particular in stopping at the gates all those whom 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 9 
 
 they suspected to be strangers, and that if they 
 were found without passports they were taken at 
 once before the governor, and thence to prison. 
 
 At last we started from Paris for Mezieres. We 
 had no disagreeable adventure during the journey, 
 for within the French dominions no one was 
 stopped. The strictest attention of the govern- 
 ment was only directed to guarding all the roads 
 across the frontiers. We arrived then, one after- 
 noon about four o'clock, at the summit of a little 
 hill, about a quarter of a league from Mezieres, 
 whence we could see the whole of this town and the 
 gate by which we should have to enter it. One 
 can easily judge of our feelings of suspense and 
 dread as -;»re considered the near and imminent 
 peril which presented itself before our eyes. We 
 sat down for a moment upon the hill to take coun- 
 sel concerning an entrance into the town. In nar- 
 rowly observing the gate, we perceived that a long 
 bridge over the ]\Ieuse led up to it, and as it was 
 very fine weather, a number of the inhabitants 
 were walking about upon this bridge. We thought 
 that by mixing with the citizens, and walking 
 with them upon the bridge, we should be able to 
 enter the town with the crowd without being re- 
 cognised as strangers by the sentinel at the gate. 
 Having decided upon this stratagem, we emptied 
 our knapsacks of the few shirts which we had, 
 putting them all on, and the knapsacks into our 
 pockets. Then we cleaned our shoes, combed our 
 hair, and finally took all the precautions requisite in 
 order not to look like travellers. We had no 
 
10 Atitohiography of a French Protestant 
 
 swords, for it was then forbidden in France to 
 carry them. Thus equipped, we descended the hill 
 and betook ourselves to the bridge, walking up and 
 down there with the citizens till the drum beat for 
 the closing of the gates. Then all the inhabitants 
 hastened to return into the town, and we with 
 them, the sentinel not perceiving that we were 
 strangers. We were filled with the greatest joy at 
 having avoided this great peril, believing that it 
 was the only one we had to fear ; but we were 
 reckoning, as the saying is, without our host. We 
 could not leave Mezieres at once, the gate opposite 
 to that by which we had entered being shut. We 
 must then lodge in the town. We entered the first 
 inn which presented itself The landlord was not 
 there ; his wife received us. We ordered supper ; 
 and whilst we were at table, about nine o'clock, the 
 master of the house arrived. His wife told him 
 that she had received two young strangers. We 
 heard from our chamber her husband ask her if we 
 had a ticket of permission from the governor. His 
 wife having replied that she had not inquired, 
 " Jade," said he, " do you wish that we should be 
 utterly ruined .-* You know the rigorous prohibi- 
 tions against lodging strangers without permission. 
 I must go at once with them to the governor." 
 
 This dialogue which we overheard made us 
 shudder. The landlord soon entered our chamber, 
 and asked us very civilly if we had spoken to the 
 governor. We told him that we had not thought 
 this was necessary for lodging one night only in 
 the town. " It would cost me a thousand crowns," 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 1 
 
 said he, " if the governor knew that I had lodged 
 you without his permission. But have you a pass- 
 port to enable you to enter the frontier to\A^s ?" he 
 asked us. We replied boldly that we were well 
 furnished with papers. " That changes the whole 
 affair," said he, " and saves me from incurring the 
 blame of lodging you without permission ; but 
 still you must come with me to the governor to 
 show your passports." We replied that we were 
 very weary and fatigued, but that the next morning 
 we would willingly accompany him there. He was 
 satisfied with this. We finished our supper, and 
 though our bed was a very good one, it did not 
 induce us to sleep, so troubled were we by anxiety 
 at the peril which threatened us. How many 
 counsels we held through that long night ! How 
 many expedients did we propose with regard to 
 the answer which we should make to the governor ! 
 But alas ! they were all counsels and expedients 
 without result. Seeing nothing which could pro- 
 tect us from going straight from the governor's 
 house to prison, we passed the remainder of the 
 night imploring in prayer the help of God in such 
 a pressing hour of need, and asking him that, to 
 whatever his Divine will might think fit to expose 
 us, he would grant us the firmness and constancy 
 necessary to confess worthily the truth of the 
 Gospel. The dawn of day found us in this pious 
 exercise. We got up quickly and went down to 
 the kitchen, where the landlord and his wife slept. 
 As we were dressing we thought of an expedient 
 to avoid appearing before the governor, which 
 
12 AiitobiograpJiy of a FrcncJi Protestant 
 
 we put into practice, and it succeeded admirably. 
 It was as follows : — We formed the design of 
 leaving our lodging clandestinely before our host 
 was up and able to observe us. When he saw 
 us so early in his kitchen he inquired our reason 
 for such early rising. We said that having to go to 
 the governor with him, we wished to breakfast at 
 once, so that on leaving the governor's house we 
 could continue our journey. He approved of our 
 scheme, and ordered his servant to fry some 
 sausages, whilst he was getting up. This kitchen 
 was on the ground-floor, and close to the street 
 door. Having perceived that the servant had 
 opened the street door, we made a pretext that we 
 wished to go out for a few moments. The host 
 suspecting nothing, we went out of this fatal inn, 
 without saying farewell or paying our reckoning, 
 for the trick seemed absolutely necessary. 
 
 Once in the street, we found a little boy, of 
 whom we asked the way to the Charleville gate, 
 that by which we were to leave the town. We 
 were very near it, and as the gate was open we went 
 out without any obstacle. We entered Charleville. 
 a small town with neither gate nor garrison, which 
 is within gunshot of Mezieres. We breakfasted 
 here quickly, and then left it to enter the forest of 
 Ardennes. It had frozen during the night, and the 
 forest appeared terrible to us ; the trees were covered 
 with hoar frost and icicles. As we penetrated 
 this vast forest we perceived a great number of 
 roads, and did not know which to take to lead us 
 to Charleroi. While we were in this- embarrass- 
 
Con<leimied to the Galleys. 1 3 
 
 ment a peasant met us, of whom we asked the 
 way to Charleroi. This peasant answered us, 
 shrugging his shoulders, that he saw well^enough 
 we were strangers, and that our enterprise of going 
 to Charleroi by the Ardennes was a very dangerous 
 one, seeing that we did not know the roads, and it 
 was almost impossible that we should followthe right 
 one, as the farther we advanced, the more roads we 
 should meet ; and that as there was neither village 
 nor house in this great wood, we should run the risk 
 of so losing ourselves that we might wander about 
 for twelve or fifteen days ; that moreover the forest 
 was full of ravenous animals, and that if the frost 
 continued we might perish thereof cold and hunger. 
 These words alarmed us, and made us offer 
 the peasant a louis dor if he would serve us as 
 guide as far as Charleroi. " Not if you were to 
 offer me a hundred," he said. " I see very well 
 that you are Huguenots escaping from France, 
 and I should be putting the rope round my own 
 neck if I rendered you this service. But," said 
 he, " I will give you a piece of good advice, 
 leave the Ardennes, take the road which you 
 see upon your left ; you will arrive at a village 
 (which he named), you will sleep there, and to- 
 morrow morning continue your journey, keeping to 
 the right of this village. You will then see the 
 town of Rocroy, which you will leave upon your 
 left, and pursuing your road, always to the right, 
 you will arrive at Couve, a small town ; you will 
 pass through it, and in leaving it will find a road to 
 your left ; follow it ; it will lead you to Charleroi 
 
14 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 without peril. The route by which I have directed 
 you," continued this peasant, " is longer than that 
 by the Ardennes, but it is without any danger." 
 
 We thanked this good man and took his advice. 
 In the evening we arrived at the village of which 
 he had spoken ; we slept there, and next morninrj 
 found the road to the right ; we took it, leaving 
 Rocroy to the left. But the peasant had not told 
 us, perhaps through ignorance, that this road led 
 us straight to a gorge between two mountains, 
 which was very narrow, and where there was a 
 guard of French soldiers, who stopped all strangers 
 who had no passports, and took them to prison at 
 Rocroy. We, like poor straying sheep, walked 
 with rapid strides into the jaws of the wolf. 
 However, without seeing or knowing the inevitable 
 danger that we ran, we avoided it by the most 
 favourable chance in the world ; for, at the very 
 moment we entered this gorge, called the Guet du 
 Sud, the rain fell so heavily that the sentinel on 
 duty before the guard-house had gone into it for 
 shelter, and we passed by very innocently, without 
 being noticed, and pursuing our way arrived at 
 Couve, At that moment we were safe, had we 
 only known that this little town was not on 
 French territory. It belonged to the Prince of 
 Liege, and contained a castle garrisoned by Dutch 
 troops. But alas ! to our great misfortune, we did 
 not know this, for had we done so, we should have 
 gone to this castle at once, the governor of which 
 granted an escort to all refugees who requested it 
 to conduct them to Charlcroi. But it was God's 
 
Conc^emjicd to the Galleys. 15 
 
 will that we should remain in this ignorance, so 
 that our constancy and our faith should be put to 
 trial during thirteen years of the most frightful 
 misery in dungeons and in the galleys, as will be 
 seen in the course of these memoirs. 
 
 We arrived then, as I said, at Couve. We were 
 wet to the skin. We entered an inn to dry our- 
 selves and get something to eat. Having sat down 
 to table, they brought us a pot of beer with two 
 handles, without giving us any glasses. On asking 
 for some, the host said that he perceived we v/ere 
 Frenchmen — for the custom of that country was 
 to drink out of the pot. We at once conformed to 
 it. But this request for glasses, which seemed a 
 mere trifle and of no consequence, was, humanly 
 speaking, the cause of our ruin ; for in the same 
 room with us were two men, one a citizen of the 
 place, the other a gamekeeper of the Prince of 
 Liege. The latter noticing the observation of 
 the landlord, that he had perceived at once that 
 we were Frenchmen, began to examine us very 
 minutely, and at last made free to accost us, 
 and declared that he was quite ready to lay a 
 wager that we did not carry rosaries in our pockets. 
 My companion, who was taking a pinch of snuff, 
 showing him his snuff-box, said, very imprudently, 
 that that was his rosary. This reply confirmed the 
 gamekeeper in his opinion that we were Protestants 
 escaping from France. And as the spoils of those 
 who were arrested belonged to the informer, he 
 conceived the design of having us arrested, if, in 
 leaving Couve, we passed by Mariembourg, a league 
 
1 6 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 distant in the French territory. This was not our 
 mtention, for, following the instruction of the good 
 peasant, in leaving Couve we were to take a road to 
 the left, by which we should have avoided touching 
 upon any French territory. But who can avoid his 
 destiny ? Going forth from Couve we walked 
 along the road to the left, but perceiving in the dis- 
 tance an officer on horseback coming towards us, 
 we were afraid, as the least thing increases fear, lest 
 this officer should stop us, which made us turn 
 back and take the fatal road which led us to 
 Mariembourg. This town is small, and has only 
 one gate, so there is no passage through it. We 
 knew this, and resolved to leave it upon our right 
 and to proceed to Charleroi, keeping to the left, ac- 
 cording to our previous plan. But we did not know 
 that the treacherous gamekeeper was following us 
 in the distance ready to pounce down on us. At 
 last we arrived before Mariembourg, and as it was 
 almost dark, and we saw an inn opposite the gate 
 of the town, we decided to stop there for the night. 
 We went in ; they gave us a room, and we had a 
 good fire made to dry ourselves. We had scarcely 
 been there half an hour when a man came in who 
 we thought was the landlord. He saluted us very 
 civilly, and then asked us whence we came and 
 whither we were going. 
 
 Wc told him that we came from/ Paris, and were 
 going to Philippeville. He said that we must go 
 and speak to the Governor of Mariembourg. We 
 tliought to quiet him as we had done our host 
 at Mezieres, but in this we deceived ourselves, for 
 
Condemned to the Galleys, 1 7 
 
 he replied immediately, and sharply enough too, 
 that we must follow him thither at once. We met 
 this bad luck with a good heart, and, withoi^t show- 
 ing any fear, prepared to follow him. Speaking in 
 patois to my companion, so that the man should not 
 understand, I said that as it was such a dark night we 
 might escape from our conductor between the inn 
 and the town ; so we followed the fellow whom we 
 took for the landlord, but who was really a sergeant 
 of the town guard accompanied by a detachment 
 of eight soldiers with fixed bayonets, whom we 
 found in the court-yard of the inn. At their head 
 was the treacherous gamekeeper of Couve ; these 
 soldiers seized us in such a way that it was impos- 
 sible for us to escape. We were led to the governor, 
 M. Pallier by name, who asked us what country- 
 men we were, and whither we were going. To the 
 first question we told him the truth, but to the 
 second we prevaricated, telling him that we were 
 hairdressers' apprentices, and that we were making 
 the circuit of France ; that our design was to go 
 to Philippeville, from thence to Maubeuge, Valen- 
 ciennes, Cambrai, etc., and thus to return to our 
 own country. The governor had us examined by 
 his valet, who knew something about a barber's 
 work, and who fortunately began with my com- 
 panion, who really was one. He was convinced 
 that such was our business. The governor then 
 asked us of what religion we were : we told him 
 plainly that we were of the reformed religion, for 
 on this question our conscience would not allow 
 us to disguise the truth. Alas ! that we were weak 
 
 c 
 
1 8 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 and foolish enough not to tell the whole truth to 
 the other questions which the governor asked us : 
 for this may God pardon us ; for to be faithful fol- 
 lowers of the Christian religion we ought never to 
 lie. But such is the weakness of human nature, 
 which never performs a good work perfectly. The 
 governor having asked us whether our design was 
 not in reality to leave the kingdom, we denied it. 
 
 After this examination, which lasted a good hour, 
 the governor ordered the major to conduct us safely 
 to prison, which he did with the escort which had 
 arrested us. On the way from the government 
 house to the prison, the major, named M. de la 
 Salle, asked me if it were true that we were from 
 Bergerac. I told him that indeed it was. " I was 
 also born half a league from Bergerac," said he ; 
 and having asked my name and my family, he 
 exclaimed, " Why your father is my best friend ; 
 be comforted my children," he added; "I will get 
 you out of this unhappy affair, and you will be 
 free after two or three days." Thus discoursing 
 he arrived at the prison. The gamekeeper asked 
 the major to have us searched, that he might have 
 his reward, believing that we had a great deal of 
 money ; but all our capital consisted of about one 
 pistole, which the major told us to give to him 
 without having us searched. The major, who was 
 touched with compassion at our unhappy fate, and 
 w ho wished to be of service to us, feared lest we 
 had much more money, which circumstance would 
 have been to our detriment, as it would have been 
 a sign that we wished to escape from the kingdom, 
 
Con(lemned to the Galleys. 19 
 
 for it is well known that wandering apprentices are 
 not overburdened with cash. Besides, he feared 
 that the wicked gamekeeper, of whom hef had a 
 perfect horror, because he caused us to be arrested, 
 would receive from our spoils too lucrative a 
 recompense for his perfidy. The major then, fear- 
 ing this, would not have us searched, but kept the 
 little money which we had given him, to remit it 
 afterwards to the governor. The gamekeeper see- 
 ing that we were not searched, had the impudence 
 to tell the major, " That was not the way Hugue- 
 nots were treated when they fled to Holland. I 
 shall know how to find their money," said he, at- 
 tempting roughly to search us himself. " Rascal," 
 said the major, " if you are not off at once, I'll have 
 you well thrashed. Do you think you are going to 
 teach me my duty .'' " At the same time he drove 
 him from his presence. Such was the reward which 
 this wretch received for all the trouble he had taken 
 in causing us to be arrested, added to which, a few 
 days after, the Prince of Li^ge, at the solicitation 
 of the Dutch Governor of the Castle of Couve, 
 dismissed him from his service, and banished him 
 from his dominions, on account of this wicked and 
 treacherous action. A fit recompense for this 
 worthless and cunning fellow. 
 
 We were now placed in a frightful dungeon. 
 With tears in our eyes, we asked, " What crime 
 have we committed, sir, that we should be treated 
 as criminals who have deserved the gallows and the 
 wheel ? " " These are my orders, children," said the 
 major, much affected, " but I will take care you 
 
20 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 don't sleep here ! " He went immediately to give 
 in his report to the governor, telling him that he 
 had caused us to be very strictly searched, and that 
 he had only found about a pistole on us, proving 
 clearly enough that we had no design of leaving 
 France, without reckoning other proofs which we 
 had given him to the same effect, and that he 
 thought it would be just and right to set us at 
 liberty. But, unfortunately, it Avas the evening of 
 the day on which the courier left for Paris, and 
 while we were being conducted to prison, the gover- 
 nor had written to the court about our detention. 
 Owing to this mischance, he could not now liberate 
 us without an order from the court. The major was 
 mortified at this obstacle, and entreated the gover- 
 nor to release us from this terrible and infamous 
 dungeon, and to grant us the gaoler's house for our 
 prison, promising to place a sentinel at the gates to 
 watch us, and that he would be responsible, even to 
 his head, that we did not escape. The governor ac- 
 quiesced, and we had not been an hour in the dun- 
 geon when the major returned to the prison with a 
 corporal and a sentinel, to whom he consigned us. 
 He gave orders that we should have full liberty, 
 within the gaoler's house, and chose himself a bed- 
 room for us. Moreover, he gave the little money 
 which we had given up to him to the gaoler, 
 ordering him to provide us wfth food as long 
 as the money lasted, not wishing that we should 
 appear to be criminals fed by the Government, 
 He told us, with deep regret, that the gover- 
 nor had already written to the court about our 
 
Condt^nned to the Galleys. 2 1 
 
 detention, but that he would do his best with the 
 governor that owx proces-vcrbal ^o\x\^ be favourable. 
 The major's kind treatment consoled us a little. 
 
 Soon after, the governor sent our proch-verbal 
 to the court ; it was strongly in our favour. But the 
 declaration we had made that we were of the 
 reformed religion, prejudiced the Marquis de la 
 Vrilli^re, the minister of state, so strongly against 
 us, that he would pay no attention to the remarks 
 contained in \\\\'s, proch-verbal, which indicated that 
 we had no intention of leaving the kingdom, and 
 he ordered the Governor of Mariembourg to prose- 
 cute us and condemn us to the galleys for being 
 found on the frontiers without a passport. Mean- 
 while the cure of Mariembourg was to use every 
 effort to bring us back within the pale of the 
 Roman Catholic Church. If he succeeded, after 
 we had been instructed and had made an ab- 
 juration, by the favour of the court, we might be set 
 at liberty and brought back to Bergerac. The 
 major had these instructions of the Marquis de la 
 Vrilliere read to us. "■ I shall give you no advice," 
 he said to us, " as to what you ought to do ; your 
 faith and your conscience must decide you. All 
 that I can say is, that your abjuration will at once 
 open the door of your prison, and that unless you 
 make it, you will certainly go to the galleys." We 
 replied, that we placed our whole confidence in 
 God, and that we resigned ourselves to his holy 
 will ; that we did not expect any human help ; and 
 that by God's grace, which we should never cease 
 to implore, we would never deny the Divine and 
 
22 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 true principles of our holy religion ; that he must 
 not believe it was through obstinacy or infatuation 
 that we continued steadfast ; that it was, thank 
 God, through a firm conviction of the goodness of 
 our cause, and that our parents had taken all pos- 
 sible care to instruct us in the truth of our religion 
 and the errors of the Roman faith, that we might 
 boldly profess the one, and avoid falling into the 
 dangers of the other. We thanked him very affec- 
 tionately for all the pains he had taken to be of 
 service to us, and assured him that not being able 
 by any other means to testify our gratitude, 
 we would always pray to God for him. This 
 good major, who was in his heart a Protestant like 
 ourselves, though outwardly a Roman Catholic, 
 tenderly embraced us, confessing that he felt less 
 happy than we did, and left us weeping bitterly, 
 entreating us not to think it unkind of him if he 
 did not see us again, for he had not the courage to 
 do so. 
 
 Our pistole which had been given to the gaoler 
 was exhausted. They gave us a pound and a half of 
 bread a day, the king's bread, but the governor 
 and the major, by turns, sent us every day enough, 
 to eat and drink. The cure, who hoped to make 
 proselytes of us, and the nuns of a convent in the 
 town also, sent us occasionally things to eat ; so 
 that we in our turn fed the gaoler^and his family. 
 
 The cure came to visit us nearly every day, and 
 gave us a controversial catechism to prove the 
 truth of the Roman religion. We opposed to this 
 the catechism of M. Drelincourt, which we had. 
 
Confienined to the Galleys. 23 
 
 This cur6 was not very clever, and having found 
 us quite masters of the subject, he soon desisted 
 from his enterprise of converting us, foi^" having 
 given us the alternative of discussing by tradition 
 or by Holy Scripture, and we having chosen the 
 latter, our friend found himself quite out of his 
 depth, and, after three or four conferences, he gave 
 up the attempt altogether. He then confined him- 
 self to tempting us with temporal advantages. He 
 had a young and beautiful niece, whom he brought 
 one day under the pretext of a charitable visit. 
 He promised her to me in marriage, with a large 
 dowry, if I would conform to her religion, making 
 sure that if he gained me my companion would 
 soon follow my example. But I had such a great 
 dislike to all priests and their families, that I re- 
 jected his offer with contempt, which so greatly 
 enraged him, that he went at once to declare to the 
 governor and the judge that he had no longer any 
 hope of our conversion ; that we were obstinate 
 fellows, who would listen to neither proof nor 
 reason ; and that we were reprobates under the 
 influence of the devil. 
 
 Upon his deposition it was resolved to commit 
 us for trial. The judge of the place and his 
 registrar came to interrogate us judicially in 
 the prison, and two days after our sentence 
 was read to us, the substance of which was as 
 follows : — " That being found upon the frontier 
 without passports from the court, and that being of 
 the pretended reformed religion, we were suspected 
 and convicted of having intended to escape from 
 
24 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 the kingdom, against the ordinances of the king", 
 who has forbidden it ; and, as a punishment, we 
 were therefore condemned to be taken to his ma- 
 jesty's galleys, to remain there in penal servitude 
 for life, with confiscation of our property, etc." 
 
 Our sentence read, the judge asked us if we 
 wished to appeal to the parliament of Tournay, in 
 the jurisdiction of which the town of Mariembourg 
 is situated. We replied that we would only appeal 
 from his iniquitous sentence to the tribunal of God ; 
 that all men were against us ; and that we looked 
 to God alone, in whom we reposed our confi- 
 dence, and who was a righteous Judge. "Do not, 
 I pray you," said he, " attribute to me the rigour of 
 your sentence ; these are the king's orders which 
 condemn you." " But, sir," said I, " the king does 
 not know if I am suspected and convicted of in- 
 tending to leave the kingdom ; and the ordinance 
 does not state that for professing the reformed 
 religion one is sent to the galleys, it is only a con- 
 viction of the intention of escaping from the king- 
 dom which condemns to this kind of punishment ; 
 but you, sir, have introduced into the sentence, 
 suspected and convicted of having intended to escape 
 from the kingdom ; not only having no proof of this, 
 but not even having examined if there was any.'* 
 "What would you have.-'" said he. "It is a 
 formality required to obey the king's orders.'* 
 " No longer call yourself a judge, then," said I, 
 " but simply an executor of the king's orders.'* 
 " Appeal to the parliament," said he. " We will do 
 nothing of the kind," we replied, " for. we know 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 2^ 
 
 well enough that the parliament is devoted to the 
 king's orders, and that it will not examine the 
 proofs in our favour any more than yofl have 
 done." " Very well," said he, " then I must appeal 
 for you." We knew this before, as no inferior 
 judge can carry into execution a sentence which 
 involves corporal punishment without its being 
 ratified by parliament. " Therefore prepare," said 
 the judge, " to start for Tournay." " We are ready 
 for anything," we replied. 
 
 The same day they shut us up again in the 
 dungeon, and we only left it to set out for Tour- 
 nay, with four archers, who put fetters on our 
 hands, and bound us together with cords. Our 
 journey on foot was very painful. We went by 
 Philippeville, Maubeuge, Valenciennes, and thence 
 to Tournay. Every evening they placed us in 
 the most frightful dungeons that they could find, 
 giving us only bread and water, neither bed nor 
 straw to rest on ; and if we had deserved the 
 wheel or the gallows, we could not have been 
 treated more cruelly. At last, arrived at Tournay 
 we were confined in the prison of the parliament. 
 We had not a sous ; and as no charitable person 
 entered this prison to assist the prisoners, as is the 
 custom in so many gaols, and having only a pound 
 and a half of bread a day, we soon nearly died of 
 hunger. The cure of the parish obtained the con- 
 sent of the parliament that our act of indictment 
 should not be revised till he had exercised his 
 mission upon us, hoping, as he said, to convert us. 
 But the cure, either by idleness or to constrain us 
 
26 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 by famine, only came to see us every eight or 
 fifteen days, and then he spoke so Httle to us about 
 rehgion, that we had not even the trouble of de- 
 fending ourselves ; and when we wished to tell 
 him our sentiments upon the truths of the re- 
 formed religion, he cut us short. " Another time," 
 said he, and off he went. Meanwhile we became 
 so thin and attenuated, that we could no longer 
 stand, and were obliged to lie down upon a little 
 damp straw, filled with vermin, close to the door of 
 our cell, through a hole in which our bread was 
 thrown to us as if we were dogs, for if we had 
 stayed farther away from the door we should not 
 have had the strength to go and take it, so weak 
 were we. In this extremity we sold to the turnkey, 
 for a little bread, our coats and waistcoats, as well as 
 a few shirts which we had, only reserving the one 
 which we wore, and which soon fell into rags. In 
 this state, the most miserable which can be ima- 
 gined, we saw no one but the cure, who sometimes 
 paid us a visit, rather to mock us than to show us 
 any compassion. The object of his mission was to 
 ask us if we were not weary of suffering thus, and 
 to tell us that we were not to be pitied, since our 
 deliverance and welfare depended upon ourselves 
 and our renouncing the errors of Calvin. At last, 
 his discourses were so wearisome to us that we did 
 not deign to answer him. 
 
 Such was our situation in the prisons of the 
 parliament at Tournay during nearly six weeks ; 
 at the end of which, one morning, about nine 
 o'clock, the gaoler threw us a broom through 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 27 
 
 the door, telling us to sweep out our dungeon 
 well, as they were just about to bring two 
 gentlemen to keep us company. We askdS him of 
 what they were accused. " They are," said he, 
 " Huguenots, like you ;" and then he left us. A 
 quarter of an hour afterwards the door of our cell 
 opened, and the gaoler and some soldiers armed 
 with swords and muskets, led into it two young 
 gentlemen covered with lace from head to foot. 
 As soon as this escort had thrust them into our cell 
 they shut the door and went away. We recognised 
 these gentlemen as being two of our fellow-towns- 
 men, sons of well-to-do citizens of Bergerac, with 
 whom we had been very intimate, having been 
 schoolfellows together. They on their part did 
 not recognise us, for the misery in which we were 
 made it absolutely impossible for any one to do 
 so. We were the first to salute them, calling 
 them by name. One was named Sorbier, the other 
 Rivasson. But they pretended to be nobles : 
 Sorbier called himself Chevalier, and Rivasson 
 Marquis, titles which they had assumed to facilitate 
 their escape from France. I think my reader will 
 be interested in hearing their story ; but before 
 relating it I must continue the account of what 
 occurred upon their entrance into our cell. Hearing 
 themselves addressed in our patois, they inquired 
 who we were ; we told them our names and our 
 country. They were very much astonished, and 
 told us that our relatives and friends, during the 
 six or seven months since we had left Bergerac, 
 hearing nothing of us, believed us to be dead or 
 
■28 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 assassinated on the road. Indeed, since our deten- 
 tion we had not been allowed to write. Then we 
 all four embraced each other, shedding abundance 
 of tears at the sad situation in which we found 
 ourselves. These gentlemen asked us if we had 
 anything to eat, for they were hungry. We gave 
 them our wretched morsel of bread intended for the 
 whole day and the pitcher of water for our drink. 
 " Good God !" they cried ; '* shall we be treated in 
 this manner.-* and cannot we by payment have some- 
 thing to eat and drink V " Certainly," said I, " for 
 money ; but there is the difficulty ; we have not 
 seen a coin for nearly three months." " Oh, oh ! " 
 said they, " if we can have what we want for money, 
 it is all right." At the same time they cut the 
 seams of their belts and trowsers and the soles of 
 their shoes, and nearly 400 louis d'or fell out. I 
 confess that I never felt greater joy than the sight 
 of the gold caused me, for I foresaw that we should 
 eat a good meal and no longer languish in hunger. 
 Our friends now gave me a coin, requesting me 
 to try and get something to eat. I knocked with 
 all my strength at the door. The gaoler came 
 and asked us what we wanted. " To eat," I said 
 to him, " for money," giving him the louis d'or 
 at the same time. " Very well, gentlemen," said 
 he, " what would you like to have .■* Will you 
 have soup and boiled beef .''" " Yes, yes," said I ; 
 "a good thick soup, and a lo-lb. loaf, and some 
 beer." "You shall have it all in an hour," said he, 
 "In an hour!" I replied. *' What a long time!" 
 The two gentlemen could not help laughing, at 
 
CondciMied to the Galleys. 29 
 
 my eagerness to get something to eat. At last 
 the long-desired hour arrived. They brought us a 
 thick cabbage soup, a dish of boiled beef, and a 
 lO-lb. loaf. The two gentlemen ate very little ; 
 but as for my companion and myself, we fell upon 
 the soup in such a ravenous manner that I suffered 
 greatly in consequence, having so long been ac- 
 customed to a spare diet. An apothecary was sent 
 for, who gave me an emetic, without which I 
 should probably have died. 
 
 When I had recovered, they asked me through 
 what bad luck we had been reduced to this miserable 
 condition. I told them all which had passed since 
 our departure from Bergerac up to the present time, 
 just as it is written in these memoirs. They began 
 to weep on account of their own weakness, confess- 
 ing to us that they had resolved to abjure their 
 religion rather than be condemned to the galleys. 
 " What an example, gentlemen," said I, " do you 
 bring us here ! We should wish rather never to 
 have seen you than to find you holding sentiments 
 so opposed to the education which your parents 
 gave you, and to the faith in which you have been 
 instructed. Do you not tremble for fear of the 
 just judgments of God, who declares that those 
 who know their Master's will and do it not, shall 
 be beaten with more stripes than those who are 
 ignorant of it T " What would you have us do .''" 
 they replied. " We cannot make up our minds to 
 go to the galleys. You are very fortunate in 
 having courage to do so, and we praise you for it ; 
 but speak no more about it — our resolution is 
 
30 A iitobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 taken." We could do nothing but lament and 
 sigh over their weakness, and pray God to bring 
 them to a better mind. We asked them to tell us 
 their adventures since their departure from Ber- 
 gerac, and the way in which they had been arrested, 
 which Rivasson did as follows. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 31 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 MESSIEURS SORBIER AND RIVASSON. 
 
 jY friend Sorbier and myself (said Rivas- 
 son) escaped from the Duke de la 
 Force's great persecution by flying into 
 the country, where we remained concealed ; and as 
 the duke at his departure left very strict orders 
 against us, we saw no other way to avoid falling 
 into our enemy's hands than by flight into Holland. 
 For this purpose we sent for a famous and expe- 
 rienced guide from Amsterdam, who gained his 
 livelihood by these perilous enterprises ; for if 
 these guides are captured they are hanged without 
 mercy. He was cunning and adroit, very prudent, 
 and had the map of all the roads and bye-ways at 
 his fingers' ends. He was generally called the 
 Gasconnet, for he was, in fact, of Gascon origin. 
 The Gasconnet having arrived at Bergerac, we 
 made arrangements for our departure. Our 
 parents, who consented to our flight, gave us as 
 much money as they could, that we might not 
 suffer want in foreign countries. We dressed our- 
 selves as officers going to rejoin their regiment near 
 Valenciennes. The Gasconnet passed as our valet. 
 In this way we crossed France without the least 
 
32 Autobiography of a French Protcstmit 
 
 obstacle. The Gasconnet went on foot and we on 
 horseback ; but as a precaution he rarely kept close 
 to us on the road; he directed us to the inns where 
 we were to dine or sleep, in which places he never 
 failed to meet us. Thus we arrived at Paris, where 
 we stopped a few days to see the curiosities of 
 that fine city. One day at Versailles we met an 
 officer of our acquaintance who had married a 
 Protestant lady of Bergerac, though he was a 
 Papist himself. This lady had two brothers, re- 
 fugees abroad ; and as the king's agents had 
 confiscated their property because of their escape? 
 this captain, named De Maison, was petitioning the 
 court that it might be made over to him. We 
 greeted him ; he treated us to good cheer, and so 
 succeeded in gaining our confidence that we told 
 him the secret of our flight from the kingdom. He 
 applauded our design in order to extract from us 
 all the particulars of our enterprise, which we can- 
 didly related to him. We separated from him at 
 Paris, when we started for Valenciennes. 
 
 De Maison wished us a successful journey, and 
 professed great friendship for us on parting. But 
 the treacherous fellow took the road to Versailles ; 
 and in order to gain favour with M. de la Vrilliere, 
 minister of state, and thus have a better chance of 
 obtaining what he was soliciting from the court, he 
 discovered our flight to this minister, with the 
 exact route which we were to take as far as Mons, 
 where we hoped to be in safety, it being a town of 
 the Spanish Netherlands with a Dutch garrison. 
 The minister did not fail at once to despatch a 
 
Conttemned to the Galleys. 33 
 
 courier to Ouievrain, between Valenciennes and 
 Mons. Ouievrain belongs to France ; ai>d here 
 there is a bridge across a little river which forms 
 the boundary of France and the Spanish Nether- 
 lands. As there was no garrison in this place, 
 the minister ordered the mayor to have this bridge 
 guarded by peasants, with orders that when two 
 officers and their valet, who said they belonged to 
 the regiment of La Marche, and were going to join 
 their garrison, presented themselves there, they 
 should be arrested at once and led to prison at 
 Valenciennes. The Mayor of Ouievrain assembled 
 his well-armed peasants and placed a guard of 
 twenty-five men at the head of the bridge on the 
 French side. We were in perfect ignorance of what 
 was going on at Ouievrain. Our guide assured us 
 that we had no danger to fear there ; and he was 
 right in one sense ; for had it not been for the 
 treason of the perfidious DeMaisonwe should have 
 passed through without any obstacle. 
 
 Well, in the obscurity of the evening we arrived at 
 this fatal bridge. The sentinel of the guard cried out, 
 " Who's there .''" " Officers of the king," we replied. 
 " Of what regiment .''" he asked. " Of the regiment 
 of La Marche." " Halt, then," said the sentinel. 
 At the same time the whole guard, with guns 
 pointed at us in good order, barred the entrance to 
 the bridge. Our guide, surprised at this unprece- 
 dented opposition, encouraged us, saying that our 
 safety depended on passing this bridge, for once on 
 the other side of the river, we were imdoubtediy 
 saved, for we should then be on Spanish territory, 
 > n 
 
34 Autobiography of a French Protestaiit 
 
 where France could in no way molest us. Ani- 
 mated with this hope, we then seized our pistols. 
 The guide having jumped on my horse behind, we 
 fired several pistol shots at the peasants without 
 however wounding any of them ; nevertheless a 
 panic seized them ; each fearing for his life, they 
 fled precipitately, leaving us masters of the bridge, 
 which we now crossed. Our guide congratulated 
 us, assuring us that we were now as safe as if we were 
 at Amsterdam. As part of the town of Ouievrain 
 is situated on that side of the river where we now 
 were, we entered an inn to lodge for the night. We 
 supped very merrily, and we all then went to bed 
 in an upper room. Next morning our guide got up 
 very early, as was his habit, and putting his head 
 out of the window to see what sort of weather it 
 was, beheld more than one hundred armed peasants 
 who surrounded the house. Surprised at this 
 apparition, he came to wake us in great alarm. 
 When we heard this terrible news, we jumped out 
 of bed, and when I looked through the window 
 and saw what the guide had told us of, I felt in- 
 clined to break the poor man's head, thinking that 
 he had betrayed us, and led us into the jaws of the. 
 wolf But the poor fellow fell on his knees, im- 
 ploring my mercy, and swearing that we should be 
 soon convinced that it was not his fault, and that 
 certainly some recent change in these states must 
 have taken place. 
 
 During this conversation, the landlord of the inn 
 came up to our chamber and informed us that 
 these peasants who surrounded the inn were about 
 
Coitdenmcd to the Galleys. 3 5 
 
 to arrest us by the order of the king, "What 
 king?" said I. "Of the King of France," replied 
 he. " How, of the King of France ? " I inquired, 
 " we are not in his dominions." The landlord per- 
 ceived at once our ignorance of what had occurred 
 during the last four or five days, viz., that the 
 French, by the consent of the King of Spain, had 
 taken possession of the whole Spanish Netherlands 
 in one day and at the same hour ; that they had 
 entered all the towns, and driven out the Dutch. 
 This event happened in 1701, as everybody knows. 
 Our landlord told us of it, and we at once con- 
 fessed that our guide had not been in the wrong. 
 We took counsel to consider what could be done in 
 such imminent danger. We determined to ask 
 the commander of these peasants, from our window, 
 what he wanted. He was the mayor of the village. 
 On demanding his business, he replied, " To arrest 
 you, gentlemen, by order of the King of France, 
 and take you prisoners to Valenciennes." " But 
 here we are in the district of Mons,". said we. 
 " Yes," said the mayor ; " but lately everything is 
 changed, and the French are at Mons as well as at 
 Valenciennes, and I must obey the orders of the 
 King of France, to conduct you to Valenciennes." 
 " You will do nothing of the kind," said we ; " and 
 you will only have us as dead men, after selling 
 our lives very dearly." " You will die then of 
 hunger, gentlemen," he replied, " for w^e shall not 
 take you by assault ; but no food will be given you 
 till you surrender." We fired some pistol shots 
 upon the peasants, but without effect, for they took 
 
36 AiitobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 refuge in the lower part of the house, so that we 
 were obliged to suspend our operations, seeing no 
 enemy to attack. 
 
 In this extremity, upon reflection that we must 
 yield sooner or later, we thought it best to know 
 what was the nature of the order of the king for 
 our arrest, so we called the mayor and assured him 
 that he had nothing to fear, that he could come up 
 alone and unarmed to our chamber to show us his 
 orders, to which he consented, and came up to the 
 top of the staircase and opened the lettre de cachet 
 which contained the king's orders. But when he 
 began to read, my friend Sorbier very imprudently, 
 and contrary to our word of honour given to the 
 mayor not to do him any injury, fired a pistol-shot 
 at him, which happily only pierced his hat which 
 he held in his hand, and burned and rent in 
 pieces the king's lettre de caeJiet. The mayor de- 
 scended, or rather tumbled down the steps, much 
 faster than he had come up, and excited by my 
 friend's act, which I avow was a most unworthy 
 one, as he, too, thinks at present, the mayor swore 
 to give us no quarter nor favour. 
 
 He posted his men in such a manner that it was 
 impossible for us to force a passage through. After 
 having skirmished for nearly an hour without any 
 results, we began to reflect that s^eeing no way to 
 save ourselves, we must negotiate to obtain the most 
 favourable capitulation under the circumstances. 
 For this purpose we called for the mayor, who came 
 to the foot of the stairs, fearing a second insult. We 
 told him that being in the district of Mons, he must 
 
Con<Umned to the Galleys. 37 
 
 send an express to the governor of that town (who 
 was a Spaniard — there was only a French com- 
 mandant for the French garrison), and that if this 
 governor thought it right to have us brought to 
 that town we would yield, otherwise we would 
 rather be cut to pieces, or die of hunger, than sur- 
 render. 
 
 The mayor reflecting that as we were in the 
 department of Mons, it was, in some sense, his 
 duty to inform the governor of our arrest, de- 
 spatched an express with all haste. The governor, 
 vexed that the French had given such orders with- 
 in his jurisdiction, without asking his permission, 
 sent a detachment of ten horsemen, under a lieu- 
 tenant, who commanded them, to Quievrain. The 
 lieutenant was very civil to us, and, according to 
 his orders, discharged the mayor from his commis- 
 sion to take us to Valenciennes, and conducted 
 us to Mons himself. The governor was most 
 friendly to us, assuring us that he would only 
 surrender us to France by the order of the King 
 of Spain, and that he would send a courier imme- 
 diately to petition his Catholic Majesty in our 
 favour. Meanwhile, we were well guarded. The 
 French court was not backward in urging that of 
 Madrid to surrender us into its power. But 
 through the governor's solicitation the balance 
 turned in our favour ; the King of Spain consented, 
 indeed, that we should be given up to the King of 
 France, but on the condition that we should not 
 be rigorously treated, only punished by a few 
 months in prison, after which we were to be sent 
 
38 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 back at liberty to the place of our birth. And it was 
 arranged that the Governor of Mons should have 
 us sent to the castle of Ham, in Picardy, to be im- 
 prisoned there for a short time, according to this 
 convention. 
 
 Our guide was not included in the convention ; 
 but it was agreed that he was to share our fate. 
 The governor haying received these orders, com- 
 municated them to us. You can well imagine the 
 joy with which we heard this decision. The 
 governor sent us with an escort of six horsemen 
 to Ham. We were placed in the hands of the 
 governor of this place, who gave us the castle for 
 our prison, and was so kind to us that we dined 
 every day at his table, and our guide ate with his 
 servants. 
 
 We expected to remain prisoners in this castle 
 a few months, according to the convention. But 
 we were sadly deceived when, at the end of three 
 weeks, the governor received orders of the court to 
 send us, under a good escort, to the prisons of the 
 parliament at Tournay, till we should take our trial 
 there. The good governor, with whom we had 
 contracted a great friendship, was so sensibly 
 touched by our misfortune, that he could not ade- 
 quately express to us the grief which he felt. He 
 took us aside, and told us that he consoled himself 
 with the thought that we had two doors of escape 
 open to us from this trouble. The first, that we 
 had only to become Roman Catholics ; as to the 
 second, it was contrary to his duty to tell us what 
 it was, but that we should find it out in time, and 
 
Conifiinncd to the Galleys. 39 
 
 perceive how willing he was to be of service to us. 
 We understood very well that he meant to give us 
 an opportunity to escape on the road, which was 
 confirmed by the way he afterwards acted, and that 
 we had only to profit by it. Before leaving Ham, 
 my friend and I held counsel together as to 
 whether we should try to escape or change our 
 religion. We decided on the latter course, con- 
 sidering the dangers we should run in trying to 
 escape from France, our previous experience of 
 which made us tremble. In a word, our courage 
 and our faith abandoned us, and we formed the 
 firm resolution of allowing ourselves to be led like 
 lambs to Tournay, and then to make our abjuration. 
 The day after this resolution, the Governor of Ham 
 chose from among his garrison, which was com- 
 posed of a company of pensioners, the escort 
 which he gave us, and which consisted of an old 
 and decrepit sergeant and three soldiers, of whom 
 one had only one arm, and the other two were 
 completely lame. He particularly charged the 
 sergeant not to let the guide escape. " As to these 
 two gentlemen," said he, " they have no notion for 
 making the attempt, it is a pure formality con- 
 ducting them with a detachment to Tournay. They 
 would go themselves without an escort, as it is to 
 their own advantage." After these instructions, he 
 embraced us, wishing us every possible good fortune 
 on our journey. " Profit, gentlemen," he said, " by 
 any opportunities which appear advantageous to 
 you, and let me hear from you if you can. I shall 
 with pleasure receive good tidings of you." We 
 
40 Autobiography of a French Protest ant 
 
 very well understood what was hidden beneath 
 these words, but our determination was fixed to 
 become Roman Catholics. The governor gave us 
 each a good horse, whilst our lame guards walked 
 with the guide, who was manacled and bound with 
 cords. In fact, Sorbier and I performed this jour- 
 ney as if it were a party of pleasure. We often 
 made our horses gallop to the right and the left, 
 and out of sight of our guards, who did not trouble 
 themselves about it, for all their attention was 
 turned upon the poor guide. You see how easily 
 it would have been for us to have escaped without 
 trouble or risk, but we never thought of it. It was 
 not the same with our guide ; he never lost an 
 opportunity, whether in the road or in the inns 
 where we lodged, when he thought he should not 
 be overheard by the guards, to supplicate us with 
 clasped hands and tears in his eyes to have com- 
 passion upon him and upon ourselves, and to profit 
 by the frequent opportunities which presented them- 
 selves for all three of us to escape. 
 
 " I cannot do it alone," said he, " bound and 
 manacled as I am ; but if you will only aid me a 
 little, I shall be able to make myself master of the 
 sergeant, and as to the other three soldiers, they 
 would submit at the least threat you made to them. 
 Reflect, gentlemen, if I am brought to Tournay, 
 I shall be hanged without mercy/' We paid no 
 heed to his supplications, for, having no desire 
 to make our own escape, we did not wish to make 
 ourselves more guilty by facilitating his. Passing 
 through Valenciennes, we were led by a soldier of 
 
Condajincd to tne Galleys. 41 
 
 the guard to the governor's house, as is the custom 
 in garrison towns. M. Magaloti, the governor, 
 having heard our case, said, " That is only » trifle, 
 gentlemen ; you will wash it all away with a little 
 holy water, and by going to mass." Then, perceiving 
 the guide, he at once recognised him. " Ah ! it is 
 you, Gasconnet, is it .'' " said he. " You have been 
 a long time spinning your rope." And then, 
 addressing our sergeant, he said, " My friend, you 
 and your detachment are not fit to conduct that sly 
 rogue to Tournay. Last year he was condemned to 
 be hanged in this town, but the rascal escaped from 
 our strong prison the night before the execution. 
 It will be best to strengthen your detachment by a 
 few grenadiers, for I am afraid he will escape from 
 you." The sergeant, piqued at this remark, replied 
 that he had conducted quite as cunning fellows 
 as Gasconnet, and that the Governor of Ham had 
 considered him quite capable of undertaking this 
 expedition. " Very well," said M. de Magaloti ; 
 " only take good care of him." 
 
 The next morning we started with our usual 
 detachment for Tournay, which is seven leagues 
 from Valenciennes. As it was too long a distance 
 for our escort on foot to perform in the day, 
 we arrived in the evening at St. Arnaud, a little 
 walled town, two leagues from Tournay. Here, 
 just at the end of our journey, the Gasconnet 
 succeeded, by a clever trick, and without any 
 assistance on our part, in making his escape 
 during the night. Our escort made ineffectual 
 efforts to recapture him, and then came to us very 
 
42 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 crestfallen and downcast, not knowing what to do. 
 They proposed that we should do as we liked ; as 
 for them, they had no wish either to go to Tournay 
 or to return to their garrison, fearing to be sum- 
 moned before a court-martial, and to receive a 
 severe punishment. But we, who were as eager to 
 go to Tournay as they were to avoid it, dissuaded 
 them from this resolution, and wrote at once an 
 exaggerated declaration in their favour, which we 
 signed. They were content with this, and so were 
 we, and they brought us this morning, as you see, 
 to this prison (said M. Rivasson), where we hope 
 not to make a long stay. 
 
 Such was the story which M. Rivasson related to 
 us. I will continue the remainder of it up to their 
 deliverance at Lille, of which we were witnesses. 
 Two days after the arrival of these gentlemen in 
 our dungeon, they were summoned to appear 
 before the parliament. They were questioned very 
 leniently. After which the president asked them if 
 they wished to change their religion, and to become 
 good Roman Catholics. They did not hesitate to 
 say that they desired it with all their hearts. 
 " Very well," said he ; " you shall be instructed in 
 order to make your abjuration, after which we will 
 proceed to your deliverance." They were then 
 sent back to our dungeon, delighted at having 
 taken this step, which promised them in a short 
 time not only their liberty, but some recompense 
 from the court as the price of their abjuration, 
 which several of the councillors of the parliament 
 had led them to expect. They never ceased con- 
 
Condsanned to the Galleys. 43 
 
 gratulating themselves in our presence, and we did 
 not cease to detest their cowardice and their 
 apostacy. But a few hours had passed sincC their 
 return to our cell when the chaplain of the parlia- 
 ment entered, and after having highly praised their 
 pious intention, put into their hands a catechism, 
 telling them that their release depended on their 
 diligence in learning it by heart, and then took leave 
 of them. Day and night they studied, till at the 
 end of three days they ceased their studies by a 
 fatal mischance for them ; for two huissiers of the 
 parliament came to take them before the Criminal 
 Court. The huissiers put fetters on their hands, 
 which we thought augured no good ; but they were 
 not affected by it, persuading themselves that it 
 was only a formahty of justice. They appeared 
 then before the assembly of the parliament, when 
 the president at once addressed them : " Gentle- 
 men, three days ago, you promised before this 
 assembly to abjure your errors, and to embrace the 
 Roman Catholic religion ; in consequence of which 
 we promised you your deliverance. We do not 
 wish to deceive you. We are no longer in a 
 condition to be able to set you at liberty. It 
 is this," said he, showing them a lettre de cachet, 
 " which prevents us. The court orders us to prose- 
 cute you rigorously for breach of the ordinance 
 which prohibits attempts at escape from the king- 
 dom, and you are very fortunate that there is no 
 mention made of your imprudent conduct at 
 Quievrain, where you fired a pistol-shot at the 
 lettre de cachet containing the order for your arrest. 
 
44 Autobiography of a French Protcstajit 
 
 The king's orders command us to condemn you to 
 the galleys, without any reference to the action 
 which you committed at Quievrain, for in that case 
 the punishment would have been still more severe. 
 Thus, gentlemen, whether you make your abjura- 
 tion or not, it is the king's wish that you should be 
 condemned to the galleys for life. It is, however, 
 free to you to make your abjuration ; we shall 
 indeed praise so pious an action, but at the same 
 time we declare to you that it will not save you 
 from going to the galleys." Upon which these 
 gentlemen replied that if such was the state of 
 affairs, they would give up the design of making 
 their abjuration. "Good Catholics!" replied the 
 president, and he ordered them to be taken back to 
 their cell. We beheld our former would-be prose- 
 lytes return with an air of extreme consternation, 
 making pitiful lamentations, and remorseful reflec- 
 tions upon their weakness in every respect. The 
 parliament expedited their prosecution, and in less 
 than a week their sentence was read, condemning 
 them to the galleys for life. The day after four 
 archers came to conduct them to Lille, in Flanders, 
 where the chain of galley slaves assembled. It was 
 a strange and pitiful sight to see these gentlemen, 
 all laced and in scarlet coats, manacled and bound 
 with cords, traversing on foot, between the four 
 archers, the large town of Tou'rnay, which they 
 could scarcely get through on account of the 
 large concourse of people assembled in the streets 
 to see this tragic occurrence, for every one 
 firmly believed that these two gentlemen be- 
 
Condwnned to the Galleys. 45 
 
 longed to the highest nobility in France. Thus, 
 on foot, were they conducted to Lille, five 
 leagues from Tournay. They were placed ^in the 
 dreadful dungeon of the galley slaves, in the 
 town of St. Pierre, which frightful prison I will 
 describe in its proper place. These gentlemen, 
 however, did not remain there long. The Jesuits 
 of Lille (for these fathers know everything) came 
 to visit them, and having asked them whether they 
 would become, Roman Catholics, if in such case 
 they could obtain their pardon from the court, they 
 consented at once. Upon this the Jesuits requested 
 the provost of Lille, who had charge of the 
 galley slaves, to give these gentlemen up to their 
 convent, to be instructed there and make their 
 solemn abjuration, guaranteeing that after this 
 ceremony they would deliver them back to prison. 
 The provost willingly consented. Thus these weak 
 and lukewarm souls again fell into apostacy. 
 
 They were three weeks with the Jesuits. These 
 fathers, after having instructed them in the prin- 
 ciples of the Roman religion, and having made 
 them utter the most horrible blasphemies against 
 the reformed faith, and the most fearful impreca- 
 tions against Calvin and his doctrines, obliged them 
 to make a public and very pompous abjuration, 
 having invited to it the elite of the garrison of 
 Lille, and all the persons of consideration in the 
 town. After this they brought them back to 
 the prison, not to the dungeon of the galley 
 slaves, but into a comfortable and well fur- 
 nished room, which cost six pistoles a month 
 
46 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 with board, all at the expense of the Jesuits, or, 
 rather, of those people of distinction in the town 
 among whom these good fathers made a collection 
 for that purpose. Next they petitioned the court 
 for their pardon, thinking to get it by main force. 
 But they were deceived in this, for the king flatly 
 refused, and ordered that the sentence should be 
 rigorously carried out. The Jesuits did not rest 
 here. They moved heaven and earth to obtain 
 the pardon. Their solicitations reached Madame 
 de Maintenon. To this lady they exaggerated, 
 saying that these gentlemen belonged to one of 
 the highest noble families in Perigord, that their 
 offence at Quievrain, which had so incensed the 
 king, was rather an act of youthful folly, than a 
 premeditated design to insult his majesty, and 
 finally that these two gentlemen were the two best 
 Catholics in France. This lady, thus persuaded by 
 the Jesuits, asked their pardon from the king, who 
 granted it to her with an infantry lieutenant's com- 
 mission for Rivasson, and one in the dragoons for 
 Sorbier ; but, at the same time, with this restriction 
 towards the latter, that he should remain in prison 
 six weeks after the pardon, while his friend was set 
 at liberty immediately. It appeared that the most 
 guilty was the best rewarded, for a lieutenancy of 
 dragoons is worth more than one in the infantry ; 
 but perhaps the king considered' Sorbicr's audacity 
 fitting to the dragoons — at least such was the judg- 
 ment passed upon the affair at Lille. Rivasson 
 kept his friend company during his six weeks in 
 prison, although he was free to go, out when he 
 
Condimned to the Galleys. 47 
 
 wished ; but he desired to show this mark of gene- 
 rosity to his friend, which everybody praised and 
 approved of. When the six weeks had expired, 
 they were set at hberty, visited their friends and 
 benefactors, and setoff for their regiments. After- 
 wards we learned that they were both killed at the 
 battle of Hekeren. Such was the end of these two 
 gentlemen, whose honourable death, in my opinion, 
 is the only glorious incident in their history. 
 
 Persons of talent and penetration who read this 
 narrative may find food in it for just and useful reflec- 
 tion, in considering the conduct of MM. Rivasson and 
 Sorbier, and the judgments of God, who sooner or 
 later punishes scandalous crimes, especially that of 
 apostacy, which is the most atrocious of all those 
 which can be committed against his Divinity. For 
 myself, I am content with writing dov.-n the facts 
 simply and truthfully, leaving to each of my 
 readers to form his judgment as he pleases. I now 
 resume the thread of my narrative, as regards my 
 dear companion in suffering and myself. 
 
48 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 [The Autobiography Is here resumed.] 
 
 ORBIER and Rivasson prevented us from 
 dying of hunger, as I have already said. We 
 II knew that they had plenty of money, and 
 the fear that we should be again reduced to starva- 
 tion after their departure, made me supplicate them 
 with clasped hands to leave us three or four louis 
 d'or. I told them that I would write out an order, 
 so that my father would repay them at Bergerac. 
 But they were so hard-hearted that they would 
 only leave us half a louis, which I gave back to 
 them when we met in the prisons of Lille, in 
 Flanders, a few days before their release. We 
 economised this half louis d'or extremely, eating 
 nothing but bread. However, we had no time 
 to spend it in the parliament prison, for we were 
 transferred to the prison of the town, named 
 Le Befifroi, for the following reasons : 
 
 The river Scheldt traverses the town of Tournay. 
 On the south side of this river stands the parliament 
 house, and this side is in the diocese of the Arch- 
 bishopric of Cambrai ; the other part of the town,. 
 to the north of the river, is in that of the Bishop of 
 Tournay. I have already said that the cure of the 
 parish in which the prison was situated sometimes 
 came to visit us, rather to see it our opinions on 
 religion were changing, than to exhort us by good 
 reasons to renounce them. The Bishop of Tournay 
 having heard of the indifference, or, rather, the 
 neelirence and ignorance of this cure in converting 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 49 
 
 us, sent one of his chaplains to visit us. This chap- 
 lain was a good old priest, who had more honesty 
 than theology — at least so it seemed to "us — for 
 after having told us that he was sent by the bishop, 
 he added, " it was in order to convert you to the 
 Christian religion." We replied that we were 
 Christians, both by baptism and by our faith in 
 the Gospel of Jesus Christ. " What ! " said he, 
 " you are Christians 1 And what are your names .-'" 
 taking his tablets, in which our names were written, 
 out of his pocket, thinking he had made some 
 mistake. We told him our Christian names and 
 surnames. " It is you indeed ! "said he, "to whom I 
 am sent ; but you are not what I thought, for you 
 say that you are Christians, and his lordship sent 
 me to convert you to Christianity. Repeat to me, 
 if you please, the articles of your faith." " Very 
 willingly, sir," said I, and at the same time I re- 
 peated the Apostles' Creed. " What I " cried he, 
 *' you believe that ? " and having replied in the 
 affirmative, '* And I too," said he ; " his lordship 
 the bishop has been trying to make an April-fool 
 of me," — for that day was in fact the ist of April, 
 1701. He took leave of us very quickly, much put 
 out that his bishop should have played such a trick 
 on a man of his age and character. My readers 
 may judge whether this good ecclesiastic had 
 studied and examined the different sects of Chris- 
 tianity. However that might be, we saw him no 
 more. But the next day the bishop sent us his 
 grand vicar, M. Regnier, a very different kind of 
 theologian from the good old chaplain. He found 
 
 E 
 
$0 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 us better instructed in the evidences of the reformed 
 reh'gion and in the errors of the Roman Church 
 than he had expected, for which reason he took the 
 matter all the more to heart, determined, as he 
 said, to convert us. Scarcely a day passed that he 
 did not visit us. He was an acute rhetorician, full 
 of sophistry, wishing only to argue from tradition, 
 as we did only from Holy Scripture ; thus it was 
 impossible to come to any conclusion, so that he 
 always retired without having made any progress 
 in his object. In other respects he was a very good 
 man, full of probity and Christian charity. I 
 remember that having noticed that we were in 
 want of linen and clothing, and even of necessary 
 food, he secretly gave us linen without wishing us 
 to know that it came from him; and being the 
 Holy Week, during which the bishop bestowed 
 charity on the prisoners, the grand vicar came to 
 the parliament prison, and visiting all the prisoners, 
 of which there was a large number, he gave them 
 each two coins from the bishop. He then came 
 to our cell, and after requesting us, on the part of 
 the bishop, to accept his generosity, as a mark 
 of esteem and distinction, he made us a present- 
 of four louis d'or. We felt some difficulty in 
 accepting them, but as he begged us so kindly to 
 take them, representing to us that his lordship 
 would consider our refusal as a mark of pride, it 
 was impossible for us to refuse, and in truth this 
 assistance came very opportunely to help us in our 
 great necessity. 
 
 I have said before that the cure of the parish 
 
Condemned to the Galleys, 5 1 
 
 sometimes came to visit us. One day he found the 
 grand vicar with us. He was much offended at 
 this, asking him how he dared to come iffto his 
 parish to perform duties which only belonged to the 
 cure of the place. The grand vicar replied very 
 modestly that he came there for the same reasons 
 as he did, to bring back the lost sheep into the 
 Saviour's fold. "I can bring them back well 
 enough without you," answered the cure rudely, 
 " and his grace of Cambrai will never allow you to 
 intrude into his diocese. I order you in his name 
 to leave the place at once, and never venture to 
 return to it." The grand vicar in fact departed, 
 and did not return ; but having told the affair to 
 his bishop, the latter requested the procureur- 
 general of the parliament to transfer us to the 
 prisons of the town, which were in his diocese : 
 this request was at once granted. 
 
 Here we were then in the prison of the Beffroi, 
 where we were much better off than in that of the 
 parliament. Many Protestants, respectable citizens 
 of Tournay, had permission to visit us. They 
 "greased the paw," as the expression is, of the 
 gaoler, who at their solicitation opened our cell- 
 door every morning that we might take the air in a 
 small court-yard close by for several hours, often 
 till the evening. There our zealous friends fre- 
 quently came to see us, consoling us as much as 
 they could, and exhorting us to perseverance. The 
 grand vicar, Regnier, often met them there, but 
 without taking the least offence at it ; on the con- 
 trary, he was very civil to them ; and when, out ot 
 
52 Antobiogj'apJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 respect, these charitable persons were about to 
 retire, he at once and very kindly begged them to 
 remain and listen to our conversation; and I make 
 bold to say that these good Protestants were 
 delighted to hear the manner in which, by God's 
 grace, we were able to defend ourselves in these 
 controversies, as well as by the gentleness and be- 
 nignity with which the grand vicar explained to us 
 his pretended evidences in favour of his religion. 
 Often after an hour or two of discussions which 
 settled nothing, he had a bottle of wine brought in, 
 and we drank together as good friends, without 
 speaking of controversy. Finally, after having dis- 
 cussed all the points by which we thought to prove 
 to him the errors of the Roman religion, he pro- 
 posed to us a plan of conversion to decide our 
 disputes. " We will dispense with our belief," said 
 he, " in the greater part of those doctrines which 
 seem to you to be errors, such as the invocation 
 of saints and of the Virgin, respect for images, 
 belief in a purgatory, faith in indulgences and 
 pilgrimages, if you will only submit to believe 
 faithfully in transubstantiation and the sacrifice 
 of the mass, and will abjure the errors of Calvin." 
 But we gave him to understand that we saw the 
 slippery step which he proposed to us, and that we 
 should never be the dupes of it. After this he 
 gradually diminished his visits, so that he only 
 came to see us every week or fortnight, and at last 
 he let us quite in peace, and since then neither 
 priest nor monk has come to trouble us, which has 
 given us much pleasure. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 5 3 
 
 , One day, about nine in the morning, our gaoler 
 put five persons into our cell, and then retired. 
 We looked at each other, and soon reqognised 
 three of these gentlemen as being from Ber- 
 gerac, but we did not know the other two, who 
 burst into tears on embracing us, as each of the 
 three first did, caUing us by name, and appearing 
 to know us intimately. Surprised at not knowing 
 these two persons, who did not cease to embrace 
 us, and to lament our condition as much as their own, 
 we asked Sieur Dupuy, who was one of the three, 
 who these two persons unknown to us were. " One," 
 said he, " is Mademoiselle Madras, and the other 
 Mademoiselle Conceil, of Bergerac, your good friends, 
 who have exposed themselves to the perilous jour- 
 ney of escaping from France with us, in men's 
 attire, as you now see them, and who have endured 
 the fatigue of this painful journey on foot with a 
 firmness and constancy extraordinary for persons 
 brought up in refinement, and who previous to this 
 expedition would not have been able to walk a 
 league," We saluted these two ladies, but repre- 
 sented to them the impropriety of their remaining 
 thus disguised, and continuing in the same cell with 
 five young men, which our enemies would certainly 
 magnify into a scandalous crime. I begged them 
 to allow me to acquaint the gaoler with their dis- 
 guise, which could in no way serve them at present, 
 and that they ought now to declare their names and 
 sex, and confess the truth with firmness and con- 
 stancy. The gentlemen were of my opinion, and 
 the ladies consented. I called the gaoler, and 
 
54 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 having told him about it, he made these ladies leave 
 our cell, put them into a private room, and told the 
 judge, who gave them clothes suitable to their sex. 
 We have not seen them since, for they were con- 
 demned for the remainder of their days to the 
 convent of the " Repentants," at Paris, to which 
 they were taken at the same time that their three 
 companions in suffering were condemned to the 
 galleys for attempting to escape the kingdom. 
 
 After mingling our lamentations and regrets with 
 those of these three gentlemen, named Dupuy, 
 Mouret, and La Venue, we begged them to tell 
 us the history of their flight, which Dupuy did as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Nothing particular occurred to us after our 
 departure from Bergerac ; with a good guide, we 
 crossed France without any accident or obstacle 
 till we came to the passage of the Scheldt, two 
 leagues from Tournay, where we were arrested 
 through the treachery of a wretched peasant, in 
 whom both our guide and ourselves had trusted to 
 convey us across the river. 
 
 " When we arrived near the river Scheldt, which 
 separates France from the Spanish Netherlands, 
 our guide took us for the night to the house of a 
 peasant of his acquaintance, who made it his busi- 
 ness to convey the refugees across the river in 
 a little boat. This peasant was delighted to see 
 what a windfall had come to him, for we agreed 
 each to pay him in advance two louis d'or to take 
 us over the river. He gave us something to eat 
 whilst we waited for a fit time to cross, as just then it 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 5 5 
 
 was not safe on account of the patrols who were 
 walking along the banks of the Scheldt. The 
 peasant noticing a gay mantle of good material 
 which M. Mouret wore, coveted it, and asked him 
 for it. Mouret said he would not give him that 
 mantle for anything in the world, because it be- 
 longed to his father, who was a refugee at Amster- 
 dam, and he was looking forward to the pleasure of 
 bringing it to him. The peasant made many 
 entreaties for this mantle, but Mouret constantly 
 refused him. This fatal mantle, indeed, was the 
 cause of our ill fortune ; for the peasant, out of 
 spite at this refusal, formed the resolution of having 
 us arrested, in which he succeeded only too well, 
 and this is how he managed it. 
 
 " He amused us in his house till about midnight, 
 after which he told us to follow him to the place 
 where the boat was. We did so, our hearts full of 
 joy at the prospect of being so soon in safety. This 
 villain led us to an inn, which was not far from his 
 house, telling us tliat we must still wait a little 
 longer while he took his boat to the spot whence 
 we were to cross the river. We were all in a room 
 of this inn ; our guide, who was with us, suspected 
 nothing, no more than ourselves. The peasant 
 remained absent a good hour, at the end of which 
 he entered the room, and, taking the guide aside, 
 went out with him, and made him cross to the other 
 side of the river. Then he returned accompanied 
 by a score of armed peasants, who arrested us and 
 brought us here." 
 
 Such is the story of the detention of these gentle- 
 
56 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 men. But whilst I am upon this subject, I must 
 relate how this peasant, named Batiste, received 
 the just reward of his perfidy in the town of 
 Tournay. 
 
 At that time a great deal of smuggling took 
 place, almost daily, between the towns of Ath 
 and Tournay. Batiste and one of his comrades, 
 hearing that a tradesman of Tournay was coming 
 from Ath with a cart laden with smuggled 
 goods, determined to waylay and stop him. They 
 pointed their muskets at his head, and threatened 
 to take him to the custom-house, where his goods 
 would be confiscated. He offered them ten pistoles 
 if they would let him go on his way. This was just 
 what these vagabonds wanted. They received the 
 money and went off. But it happened that the cart 
 was stopped by the douaniers at the gates of Tour- 
 nay, and its contents confiscated. The tradesman, 
 now that he had lost his goods, thought only of 
 vengeance upon these two peasants who had 
 robbed him on the high road. He denounced 
 them to M. Lambertie, the Grand Provost of Flan- 
 ders, who sent to arrest these two wretches, and 
 they were brought to the prisons of the Beffroi, but 
 not into our cell. The provost had known for 
 some time that Batiste was a villain capable of 
 committing all sorts of crimes, and he suspected 
 him of favouring the Protestants in the passage 
 of the Scheldt, in order to get money from them, 
 a crime punishable with death. Hoping, there- 
 fore, to get him convicted for robbery and 
 violence against the tradesman, and have him 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 57 
 
 broken alive upon the wheel, he summoned him 
 and questioned him very strictly. But Batiste, 
 who was a cunning rogue, knew his lesspin very 
 well, and cleverly defended himself against the 
 accusation of highway robbery, alleging that every 
 one ought to act as he had done, that the laws 
 promised a reward to all informers, and that, in 
 truth, he and his companion had no other intention 
 than that of merely informing against the trades- 
 man, but that he, of his own accord, without 
 being asked, had tempted them by his present of 
 ten pistoles, and that out of gratitude they had 
 allowed him to continue his way. The provost was 
 disappointed in his hope of being able to condemn 
 this bad fellow to death, for his defence had such a 
 plausible air, that they were obliged to give up 
 prosecuting him for the crime. But a circum- 
 stance occurred connected with this affair which I 
 must now narrate. 
 
 Soon after the arrest of the three gentlemen and 
 two ladies, of whom I have already spoken, they 
 underwent their trial before the magistrates of the 
 town of Tournay ; and whilst they were waiting 
 for the parliament to confirm their sentence to the 
 galleys, a space of five or six weeks, they were left 
 in our cell. During this time the gaoler often came 
 to smoke his pipe with us, and one day, in the 
 course of conversation, Dupuy told him the story 
 of their capture through the perfidy of Batiste. 
 He told him, too, how this wretch had mentioned 
 the names of several of their fellow-countrymen and 
 acquaintance whom he had taken over in his boat> 
 
58 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 praising them very much for having paid him so 
 well ; also how, before having them arrested, he 
 had sent his good friend the guide over the river, 
 either through friendship, or, what is more probable, 
 lest the guide should accuse him for his wicked 
 practices. However that might be, Batiste, ac- 
 cording to the laws of France, deserved death, 
 had he committed no other crime than that 
 of taking the guide across the Scheldt. Now it 
 happened that the provost, in descending to the 
 chamber where he held his tribunal, spoke to the 
 gaoler, enjoining him to guard Batiste very strictly 
 in one of the strongest cells, while he sought proofs 
 of certain crimes of which the wretch was suspected. 
 The gaoler told him at once that he could have 
 certain proofs that Batiste had often taken persons 
 of the reformed religion across the Scheldt, who 
 were flying from the kingdom, informing him of 
 what Dupuy and his companions, who were still 
 in prison, had said. The provost was delighted 
 to get such a deposition. He soon after came to 
 our cell, and told those gentlemen that at ten o'clock 
 the next morning he would cite them to appear 
 before his tribunal, to tell the truth upon their oath 
 on the subject of this Batiste, by whose means they 
 had been arrested. "But, gentlemen, I exhort 
 you," he added, " not to cherish in your hearts any 
 sentiment of vengeance against this wretched man, 
 but to tell the pure truth when you are asked." 
 After this he retired. The three gentlemen at 
 first appeared delighted at the idea of being able to 
 avenge themselves on Batiste by declaring all they 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 59 
 
 knew. At first I was of the same way of thinking, 
 but then, having reflected upon the consequences 
 of their deposition, I changed mind, and tgid them 
 so, as follows : — 
 
 " It is certain, gentlemen, that if you tell the 
 whole truth on the subject of Batiste, he will be 
 hanged without mercy; but, I pray you, let us 
 consider two things which will result from it. In 
 the first place, it will do you no honour among our 
 friends, and will be a subject of reproach on the 
 part of our enemies, for both one and the other will 
 conclude that there was love of revenge in your 
 action, for every one is naturally inclined to speak 
 evil of his neighbour. In the second place, you will 
 commit an act of injustice in having this rascal 
 hanged, for then you will cause the death of a man 
 who, according to Protestants, has not committed 
 any crime in facilitating the escape of our brethren ; 
 for when any one performs this service for us, we pay 
 him as meriting a recompense, not for his trouble, 
 but for the risks which he runs in rendering us this 
 service, which is regarded by the Papists as a crime 
 worthy of death, and by the Protestants as a virtue 
 worthy of a reward. However sincere and truthful 
 your deposition may be, it will expose you to this, 
 which, if you take my advice, you will avoid." 
 " But," exclaimed they, " are we to perjure ourselves 
 to save this man's life, and avoid the two dangers 
 which you have shown us .? " " No," said I, " for no 
 reason in the world ought you to perjure your- 
 selves." " What is to be done then ? " said they. 
 "It is that which embarrasses me," I replied. "How- 
 
6o A iitohiography of a French Protestant 
 
 ever, I have an idea in my head, but I do not know 
 whether it can be carried into execution, not being 
 sufficiently acquainted with the laws of civil and 
 criminal procedures. I have been told that the 
 witness borne by a man condemned to the galleys 
 is invalid, and no magistrate nor judge can force 
 him to give any testimony upon oath. In your 
 place, then, I should try to avoid bearing witness on 
 oath, alleging as a reason to the grand provost what 
 I have just said, that a galley slave is incapacitated 
 from performing such an act. If I am wrong, and 
 they can, according to law, force you to tell the 
 truth upon oath, well, then you must tell the truth. 
 To my mind that would be a proof that you ought 
 to do so; at least this course of conduct will prevent 
 you from being accused of desiring vengeance, since 
 it will be seen that you only bear witness against 
 Batiste because you are forced to do it" 
 
 This advice was approved and followed. The next 
 morning, at ten o'clock, the gaoler and two huissiers 
 came to conduct these gentlemen before the provost 
 and his councillors assembled. In the criminal 
 dock, bound and fettered, sat the miserable Batiste, 
 more dead than alive, at the sight of those on whom 
 his life depended, and who had so great reason to 
 revenge themselves for the treachery he had been 
 guilty of The provost first asked him if he knew 
 these gentlemen. He first said he did not. " We 
 will make you know them well enough," replied the 
 provost, asking these gentlemen at the same time if 
 they knew the criminal. They answered that they 
 recognised in him the man who had caused their 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 6t 
 
 arrest. " Lift up your hand," said the provost, 
 "and swear before God and the Law to answer 
 the truth to the interrogations put to you." They 
 rephed boldly that they would do nothing of the 
 kind, for that, by their sentence to the galleys, they 
 were placed out of the world, and that they were 
 not obliged to bear witness, still less to take an oath. 
 The provost said to them with a less gentle air, 
 " What ! you say you make a profession of the 
 truth, and you refuse to tell it ! " " We make pro- 
 fession, sir," replied Dupuy, " of the Gospel, but 
 we are not obliged to have a man hanged when 
 the laws excuse us." " What virtue ! " said the 
 provost, raising his eyes to the sky. Then turning 
 to Batiste, who was delighted to hear his enemies 
 defend his cause instead of taking vengeance on 
 him, the provost said, "Wretch, kiss the footsteps 
 of these honest people who have taken the rope 
 from your neck. Through you they are condemned 
 to the galleys ; you shall keep them company." 
 Then rising from the judicial bench, he broke up 
 the assembly, and each of the prisoners was led 
 back to his cell. Sentence was pronounced against 
 Batiste and his companion ; they were condemned 
 to the galleys for life for highway robbery upon the 
 tradesman. 
 
 The sentence of these three gentlemen being now 
 confirmed, six archers came to conduct them to 
 Lille, where the chain of galley slaves assembled. 
 They were bound, two and two together, by theif 
 hands, and then all the five together; and fate 
 willed it, or perhaps it was an order of the provost, 
 
62 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 that Batiste should be tied to Dupuy, Thus bound, 
 at ten o'clock in the morning they took them out of 
 prison to lead them to Lille. The whole town of 
 Tournay knew what had taken place, and the 
 generous and Christian action of these gentlemen 
 which had saved the life of their perfidious and 
 treacherous enemy. A concourse of people as- 
 sembled before the Befifroi ; the streets, too, were 
 filled with crowds to see, as they said, virtue bound 
 to crime. Each uttered hootings and horrible 
 imprecations against the villain and traitor Batiste, 
 and wished every kind of blessing to these three 
 gentlemen. 
 
 Thus, for the second time, were we deprived of 
 our fellow-prisoners, which much afflicted us. Their 
 piety edified, and their conversation cheered us. 
 It was a long time since the grand vicar had been 
 to see us ; at last he came after the departure of 
 these three gentlemen. " I came to see," said he, 
 " if our former conversations have not caused you 
 to make some reflections favourable to your con- 
 version." We told him that all the reflections we 
 had made justified us more and more in those 
 sentiments which we had already expressed to him. 
 "If such be the case," said he, " my visits are use- 
 less, and I shall only come to learn if I can be 
 useful to you in anything ; but Ijis lordship the 
 bishop must now fulfil his promise to the pro- 
 cureur, and allow you to be taken back to the prisons 
 of the parliament." At these words we turned 
 pale for fear of returning to that hideous dungeon 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 63 
 
 where we had suffered so much. " I see," said he, 
 "you fear to return there ; if you Hke, I will beg the 
 procureur to leave you here, and that, wken the 
 parliament has completed your prosecution, he will 
 not have you transferred to its prisons, and I will 
 come and tell you his answer to-day." We told 
 him how grateful we were to him for his kindness, 
 for we feared the parliament prisons as we did 
 fire. The same day he came and told us not to 
 disturb ourselves — we should not be removed. We 
 thanked him for his great kindness towards us. He 
 went away much moved with compassion for us. I 
 saw him even shed tears. Some days after a parlia- 
 ment councillor came to see us in prison, and told 
 us that we had been very strongly recommended 
 to him, and that he would see if he could not some 
 day rescue us from our sad plight. We could not 
 imagine whence came this recommendation, unless 
 our parents, to whom we had written since we had 
 been in the Beffroi, had procured it through persons 
 of consideration among their friends. But, as we 
 had heard nothing of our parents, this did not seem 
 likely, so our suspicions rested on our good friend, 
 the grand vicar, who had assured us, in a manner 
 which appeared to us most sincere, that he ardently 
 desired to see us at liberty. However that might 
 be, this councillor remained a good hour with us, 
 questioned us about our route, at what place we 
 had been arrested, and in what way. We satisfied 
 him upon all these points. He made us repeat 
 the occurrence at Couve, and he asked us if we 
 could prove that we had lodged at an inn in that 
 
^4 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 town. We replied that nothing was easier than to 
 .verify it, upon which he said, " Take courage, my 
 lads ; I hope you will get out of this affair. To- 
 morrow I will send a lawyer to you, who will give 
 you a requisition to sign ; sign it, and you will see 
 its effects." After which he departed, and we only 
 saw him again seated among our judges in the 
 court, where we appeared a few days after. 
 
 The day after his visit, the lawyer of whom he had 
 spoken came to our prison, and read to us the 
 requisition which he had drawn out, and which we 
 signed. This requisition, addressed to our judges 
 in the parliament, was to the effect, that for pro- 
 fessing the reformed religion we were not liable to 
 the punishment which the law pronounces against 
 all who try to escape from France without the per- 
 mission of the government, and that we offered to 
 prove how we were not escaping from the kingdom, 
 because we had already left it, and returned to it 
 again, having passed through Couve, a town of the 
 Prince of Li6ge, where there was a Dutch garrison, 
 under the protection of which we could at once 
 have placed ourselves had we had any design of 
 escaping from France, and have been sent under 
 their escort to Charleroi. This requisition was 
 placed on the table of the criminal court of the 
 parliament. 
 
 Two days afterwards three huis^iers of the parlia- 
 ment came to take us before the president, who, 
 showing us the requisition, asked us if we had signed 
 and presented that document. We replied that we 
 had, and that we prayed the venerable assembly to 
 
Con<^mned to the Galleys. 65 
 
 regard it favourably. The president said that they 
 had examined it, and perceived thereby that we 
 wished to prove that we had passed by Couv^ ; but 
 this was quite useless, as it was a well-known fact 
 that we could not reach Mariembourg without pass- 
 ing through that town. "But," said he, "you have 
 another thing to prove, without which the first is 
 null and void ; you must prove that, when at 
 Couve, you were fully informed that that town was 
 outside the French territories." This was a ques- 
 tion which certainly we had not expected. How- 
 ever, we replied boldly enough, and without hesita- 
 tion, that we knew it perfectly well. " How could 
 you know it .'' " said he ; "you are young lads who 
 have never before left your firesides, and Couve 
 is more than two hundred leagues from your home." 
 As far as I was concerned I did not know how to 
 reply, for if I said we had learned it at the frontier 
 it would be impossible to prove it. But my com- 
 panion at once said that he knew it before he left 
 Bergerac, because, having served as a barber in a 
 company of the regiment of Picardy, which, at the 
 time of the peace of Ryswick, was garrisoned at 
 Rocroy, he had witnessed the arranging of the 
 boundaries in that part of the countr}^ that from 
 thence his regiment was transferred to Strasbourg, 
 where he joined the reformed religion, and that if he 
 had wished to escape from France, either to go into 
 Holland or Germany, it would have been very easy 
 to have done so when in the service. " If you have 
 been in the service, and left it, you ought to have 
 your discharge." " So I have, my lord," said he ; 
 
 F 
 » 
 
66 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 and, taking out his pocket-book, he produced the 
 said discharge, printed and in due form, and handed 
 it to the president, who sent it round among the 
 assembly, after which the register attached it to the 
 requisition ; we were then taken back to prison. 
 
 To make this matter clearer, it is as well to say 
 that in truth my companion, Daniel le Gras, had 
 been a barber in the regiment of Picardy, and that, 
 after the peace of Ryswick, he had become a Pro- 
 testant at Strasbourg, but he had never been at 
 Rocroy nor its neighbourhood. He asserted this 
 fact in our defence, leaving the parliament to in- 
 vestigate whether it was true that this regiment had 
 been at Rocroy at the peace of Ryswick. This 
 they did not take the trouble to do, for our patron 
 the councillor had gained several votes in our 
 favour, and the majority, indeed, was inclined to 
 acquit us. 
 
 Two hours after our return to the prison, the 
 gaoler ran quite out of breath into our cell to con- 
 gratulate us upon our approaching deliverance. A 
 clerk of the parliament had come to announce it to 
 him, having seen with his own eyes the resolution 
 of the assembly, which fully absolved us from the 
 accusation of attempting to escape from the king- 
 dom. Our good friends of the town at once came 
 in crowds to congratulate us, and we thought the 
 fact so real that we expected oyr release every 
 hour. However, it was nothing of the kind, though 
 it was true that the parliament had acquitted us. 
 But as we were state criminals, the parliament 
 could not set us at liberty without the orders of the 
 
Con^cvincd to the Galleys. dj 
 
 court. The procureur-general then wrote to the 
 Marquis de la VrilHcre, minister of state, acquaint- 
 ing him that we had perfectly proved oer inno- 
 cence of the offence of attempting to escape from 
 the kingdom, and that the parliament awaited his 
 orders for the destination of the prisoners. The 
 minister replied that he was to be careful that these 
 proofs were not equivocal, and to examine them 
 well. The parliament, unwilling to contradict it- 
 self, wrote that the proofs were complete and un- 
 answerable. A fortnight passed before the final 
 orders of the court arrived. They came at last to 
 deprive us of the flattering hope of our approach- 
 ing deliverance, and to leave us no longer in doubt 
 about our fate, for the parliament, having sum- 
 moned us before their full assembly in the criminal 
 court, the president asked us if we could read, and 
 on our replying in the affirmative, he said, giving us 
 the letter of the Marquis de la Vrilliere, "Read this, 
 then." Owing to its brevity, I have always remem- 
 bered its exact words, which were as follows : — 
 
 *'Ge.ntlemen, 
 
 "Jean Marteilhe, Daniel le Gras, leaving been found 
 upon the frontiers without passports, his majesty decides that they 
 shall be condemned to the galleys. 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, etc., 
 
 "The Marquis de la VRiLLii;RE." 
 
 " Here, my friends," said the president and 
 several of his councillors, " is your sentence, which 
 has emanated from the court, and not from us ; we 
 wash our hands oi it. We pity you, and we wish 
 you the mercy of God and of the king." 
 
68 A iitobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 After this we were taken back to the Beffroi, 
 and the same evening a councillor and a registrar 
 of the parliament came to the prison, and having 
 made us enter the gaoler's room, the councillor 
 told us to "kneel down before God and the Law 
 and to listen to the reading of our sentence." We 
 obeyed, and the registrar read it, the substance, 
 after the preamble, being as follows : — 
 
 " The said Jean Marteilhe and Daniel le Gras 
 having been suspected and convicted of professing 
 the pretended reformed religion, and of attempting 
 to escape from the kingdom in order to profess 
 freely the said religion, for punishment of which 
 crime, we condemn them to serve as convicts in the 
 king's galleys, for life," etc. 
 
 The reading of this sentence being finished, I said 
 to the councillor, " How, sir, can such a just and 
 venerable body as the parliament make the conclu- 
 sion of this sentence (suspected and convicted) agree 
 with their decision to acquit us.''" — as in fact they 
 had done. "The parliament," said he, "has acquitted 
 you, but the court, which is superior to parliamen^ts, 
 ^ipondemns you." " But where, sir, is justice, which 
 ought to direct both tribunals .-'" " Do not go on so 
 fast," said he ; " it is not for you to fathom these 
 things." We were forced then to be silent and bear 
 our wrongs with patience. I begged the councillor 
 to give us an authentic copy of our sentence, which 
 he promised to do, and subsequently did. 
 
 Three days later the archers of the grand provost 
 came to take us, and after we had been bound 
 and had fetters put on our hands, they brought 
 
Con(lcmncd to the Galleys. 69 
 
 tis to Lille, in Flanders, where the chain of 
 galley slaves assembled. We arrived at that town 
 in the evening, exhausted with the fatigue of 
 walking these five leagues, and much inconveni- 
 enced by our bonds. They took us to the town 
 prison, where the tower of St. Pierre is set apart 
 for the galley slaves, on account of the thickness 
 of its walls. On entering the prison the gaoler 
 searched us all over, and as, either by chance or 
 prearranged design, there happened to be two 
 Jesuit fathers there, they took from us our books 
 of devotion and the copy of the sentence, and 
 never returned either the one or the other, and I 
 overheard one of these fathers say to the other, 
 after having read this sentence, that it was a great 
 imprudence of the parliament to give authentic 
 copies of such documents. 
 
 After this examination they led us to the dun- 
 geon of the galley slaves in the tower of St. Pierre, 
 one of the most frightful prisons I have ever seen. 
 It is a spacious dungeon, but so dark, although 
 it is on the second storey of the tower, that the 
 unfortunate persons there imprisoned never know 
 whether it is day or night, except by the bread 
 ,and water which is brought to them every morning ; 
 and what is worse, neither fire nor light is allowed 
 them. One has to lie down upon a little straw 
 torn and gnawed by rats and mice, of which 
 there are great numbers here, and who ate with 
 impunity our bread, because we could not see them 
 'to drive them away. On arriving in this cruel 
 ■.dungeon, where there were about thirty villains of 
 
70 A7iiobiography of a FrcncJi Protestant 
 
 every kind, condemned for divers crimes — we 
 could only know their number by asking them, for 
 we could not see each other — their first compli- 
 ment was to demand money from us, under the 
 penalty of tossing us in a counterpane. Rather 
 than experience this game, we preferred giving 
 them two crowns, to the amount of which these 
 wretches taxed us without mercy. It was performed 
 two days after upon a wretched new comer, who 
 endured it rather through want of money than of 
 courage. These fellows had an old counterpane of 
 coarse cloth, upon which they stretched their victim, 
 then four of the most robust convicts each took a 
 corner, and raising it as high as they could they 
 then let it fall down upon the stones which formed 
 the flooring of the cell ; this was done as often as 
 the poor wretch's sentence decreed, according to 
 his obstinacy in refusing the money for which they 
 had taxed him. This horrible punishment made 
 me shudder. The miserable victim had good 
 reason to cry out, there was no compassion for 
 him. Even the gaoler, to whom all the money 
 which this execrable game produces goes in the 
 end, did nothing but laugh. He looked through 
 the hole in the door and cried to them, " Courage, 
 comrades." The poor wretch was so bruised by his 
 repeated falls that they thought he would have 
 died. Nevertheless, he recovered. A few days 
 after, I had, in my turn, a terrible experience 
 to undergo. 
 
 Every evening, the gaoler, accompanied by four 
 great rogues of turnkeys, and the guard of the 
 
Condaujicd to the Galleys. 7 1 
 
 prison, came to visit our dungeon to see if we were 
 making any attempts to escape. All these men, to 
 the number of about twenty, were armed with 
 pistols, swords, and bayonets. They examined the 
 four walls and the floor very minutely, to see if we 
 were making any holes there. One evening, after 
 they had paid their visit and as they were retiring, 
 one of the turnkeys remained the last to lock the 
 door. I addressed a few words to him, and as he 
 answered me amiably enough, I thought I had 
 conciliated him a little, and made bold to ask him 
 for the bit of candle which he held in his hand, 
 that we might rid ourselves of the vermin which so 
 tormented us, but he would do nothing of the kind, 
 and shut the door in my face. I remarked aloud, 
 not thinking that the fellow was near enough to 
 hear me, that I was sorry I had not snatched the 
 candle from his hand, as I easily could have done. 
 He overheard me, however, and reported me to the 
 gaoler. 
 
 The next morning, when all my companions were 
 awake and singing their litanies as usual — which if 
 they had neglected, the priests would have given 
 them no alms, as they were accustomed to do 
 every Thursday — and I was sleeping on my bit of 
 straw, I was suddenly awoke by several blows from 
 the flat side of a sword. I started up and saw the 
 gaoler, sword in hand, the four turnkeys, and all 
 the soldiers of the guard, armed to the teeth. I 
 asked them why they ill-treated me thus. The 
 gaoler only replied by giving me twenty more blows 
 of the sword, and the turnkey with the candle-end 
 
'J 2 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 j^ave me such a terrible box in the ear that he 
 knocked me down. Having got up again, the gaoler 
 told me to follow him, and perceiving that it was 
 to do me more injury, I refused to obey him until 
 I knew by whose orders he treated me thus, for 
 that if I deserved it, the grand provost alone 
 could order me to be punished. Then they gave 
 me so many blows that I fell down a second time. 
 The four turnkeys now took me up, two by the 
 legs and two by the arms, and carried me out of 
 the dungeon, dragging me like a dead dog down 
 the steps of the tower into the court-yard, where 
 they opened the door of another stone staircase 
 which led underground. Then they pushed me 
 down these steps, of which there must have been 
 twenty-five or thirty ; at the bottom they opened a 
 cell with an iron gate, called " the dungeon of 
 the sorceress." They forced me in here, shut the 
 door on me, and went away. I could see no more 
 in this horrible dungeon than if I had my eyes shut* 
 I groped a few steps to find a little straw, and then 
 sunk down to my knees in water as cold as ice. I 
 turned back and leaned against the door, where the 
 ground was higher and less damp. By groping 
 about I found a little straw, upon which I sat, but 
 I had not been there two minutes, when I felt the 
 water coming through the straw. I then firmly 
 believed that they had buried me alive, and felt 
 that this dungeon would be my tomb if I remained 
 there twenty-four hours. Half-an-hour after the 
 turnkey brought me some bread and water. I 
 rejected his pitcher and his bread, saying, " Go tell 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 75 
 
 your butcher of a master that I will neither eat nor 
 drink till I have spoken to the grand provost." 
 
 The turnkey went away, and in less than aw hour 
 the gaoler came alone with a candle in his hand, 
 armed with nothing but a bunch of keys ; and, open- 
 ing the door of the dungeon, he told me, quite 
 kindly, to follow him up-stairs. I obeyed. He led 
 me into his kitchen. I was dirty, covered with 
 blood, which had run from my nose and from a 
 contusion on the head, which these barbarous turn- 
 keys had given me when they let me fall and 
 dragged my head down the stone stairs. The 
 gaoler washed off the blood, put a plaister on my 
 bruise, and then gave me a glass of Canary wine, 
 which revived me a little. He reprimanded me 
 slightly for my imprudence about the turnkey's 
 candle, and, after having made me breakfast with 
 him, he led me into a cell in the court-yard which 
 was dry and light, as, he said, he could not put me 
 back with the other galley slaves after what had 
 happened, " But let me have my comrade with 
 me," I said to him. " Patience," said he, " that will 
 come in time." I remained four or five days in this 
 cell, during which time the gaoler sent me my 
 dinner from his table. One day he proposed to 
 place my comrade and myself in a chamber in the 
 prison where there was a good bed and every 
 necessary comfort, for two louis d'or a month. We 
 were not very well provided with money. How- 
 ever, I offered him a louis and a half up to the time 
 w^hen the chain started. He refused, but afterwards 
 changed his mind, for a few da)'s after we were 
 
74 AutobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 placed in a large good room, with comfortable beds, 
 where we were well fed without its costing us any- 
 thing, as I will presently relate. One day he told 
 me that my comrade had entreated him to bring 
 me back to him, and that he had promised to do 
 so. " Very well," said I, " but why not bring him 
 down to me .-' " " No," said he, " you must return 
 with the other galley slaves to the tower of St. 
 Pierre." I saw that he wished to oblige us to give 
 him the two louis a month to put us into a room ; 
 but, consulting our purse, and considering that if 
 the chain did not start for two or three months, we 
 could by no means afford it, I kept strictly to the 
 offer that I had made him, so that he put me back 
 into the tower with the others. My companion, 
 who thought me lost, was delighted to feel me near 
 him. I say feel, for we could not see, we had no 
 light for that. 
 
 One morning, about nine o'clock, the gaoler came 
 to open our dungeon, and calling my companion 
 and myself, told us to follow him. We thought that 
 he was going to put us into the chamber for one 
 louis and a half; but we were soon undeceived, 
 for when we were out of the dungeon he said, 
 " It is M. Lambertie, Grand Provost of Flanders, 
 and who is master here, who wishes to speak 
 with you. I hope," said he, addressing me, "that 
 you will tell him nothing about what happened 
 recently." "No," said I ; "when I have pardoned 
 I forget, and do not seek revenge." Thus speak- 
 ing, we arrived at an apartment where we found 
 M. de Lambertie, who gave us a most gracious 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 75 
 
 reception. He held in his hand a letter from 
 his brother, a good gentleman of Protestant origin, 
 who lived three leagues from Bergerac. My father 
 had procured this recommendation for us. M. de 
 Lambertie told us how sorry he was not to be able 
 to procure our release. " For any other crime," 
 said he, " I should have sufficient influence and 
 friends at court to obtain your pardon, but no one 
 dares to exert himself for those of the reformed 
 religion. All that I can do is to make you com- 
 fortable in this prison, and to keep you here as long 
 as I can, though the chain is just starting for the 
 galleys." Then he asked the gaoler what good 
 and comfortable chamber he had empty. The 
 gaoler mentioned two or three which he rejected, 
 and said, " I not only desire that these gentlemen 
 have every comfort, but, also, that they enjoy some 
 recreation ; and I therefore order you to place them 
 in the alms room." " But, sir," said the gaoler, 
 " there are only civil prisoners in that department, 
 who have liberties which we dare not give to con- 
 demned criminals." " Well," replied M. Lambertie, 
 " I command that you give them those liberties ; it 
 is your business, and that of your turnkeys, to take 
 care that they do not escape ; give them good beds 
 and all they desire for their comfort, putting it all 
 to my account, and not daring to take a sous from 
 them. Go, gentlemen," said he to us, "to this alms 
 room, it is the largest, the best ventilated, the most 
 cheerful in the whole prison, and, besides having 
 good cheer, which will cost you nothing, you can 
 make some money there. I order," said he to the 
 
76 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 gaoler, "that you make M. Marteilhe provost of 
 that room." We thanked M. de Lambertie as well 
 as we could for his great kindness. He told us that 
 he would often come to the prison to inquire after 
 us, and see if the gaoler performed his orders with 
 'respect to us, and then he retired. 
 ' We were placed in the alms room, and I was 
 ■installed provost, to the great regret of my pre- 
 decessor, who was removed elsewhere. This alms 
 room was very large, and contained six beds of 
 twelve civil prisoners, who were generally people 
 of some consideration and respectability ; and be- 
 sides these were one or two young scapegraces, 
 pickpockets, or prisoners for some light offences, 
 whose business it was to make the beds, to cook, 
 and keep the room clean. They slept upon a mat- 
 tress in a corner of the apartment ; they were, in 
 fact, our valets de chavibre. The provostship with 
 which I was invested, was a sufficiently onerous 
 .employment. He who possesses this office in the 
 alms room has to distribute all the charitable 
 .donations which are made to the prison. They are 
 generally considerable, and are all brought into 
 this room. There is a box which hangs by a chain 
 from the sill of the window to receive the charity of 
 .the passers by. The provost, who has the key of 
 this box, opens it every evening to take the money 
 ;out and to distribute it to all the prisoners, as well 
 to the civil (if they wish it) as to the criminal. 
 Besides this, every morning the turnkeys go with 
 carts or barrows throughout the town to collect the 
 pfferings of bakers, butchers, brewers, and fish- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 77 
 
 mongers. They go also to the different markets, 
 and all that they collect is brought to the alms 
 room to be divided and distributed in all the apart- 
 ments and cells by the provost, in proportion to the 
 number of prisoners in each, of which thcgaoler 
 gives him a list every day, and of which the total 
 when I arrived there was from five to six hundred. 
 
 Although I had become the distributor-general of 
 these alms, I was unable to remedy one abuse which 
 prevented any of this charity reaching the prisoners 
 condemned to the galleys. The gaoler received 
 their share of the money from the box, to use it, he 
 said, in making soup for them ; but, alas ! what 
 soup that was ! It was generally composed of bad 
 and putrid pieces of beef which he cooked for them 
 with a little salt, the very smell of which made me 
 sick. Six weeks after we had resided in this happy 
 apartment, M. de Lambertie came to see us, and 
 told us that the chain was to start to-morrow for 
 Dunkirk, where were six of the king's galleys, but 
 that he had got us exempted from going, passing 
 us off for sick ; we must therefore remain that day 
 in bed till the chain had started, w^hich we did, 
 ?ind this procured us the blessing of remaining in 
 this comfort three months longer. After which 
 another chain set out, and with this we went, as I 
 will now narrate. 
 
 In January, 1 702, M. de Lambertie came to see 
 us, and told us that the chain would start the next 
 day — that he could still procure our exemption 
 from joining it, but that he must warn us (so that 
 we might have the choice of going or remaining) 
 
 »f 
 
78 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 that this would be the last chain which would go 
 to the Dunkirk galleys — that all the subsequent ones 
 would go to Marseilles, a journey of more than three 
 hundred leagues, which would be much harder and 
 more painful for us — that we should be obliged to 
 do it all on foot, with the chain round our necks ; 
 moreover, he should have to go himself into the 
 country in the month of March, and would no 
 longer be able to render us any service at Lille. 
 He advised us, therefore, to start with the chain 
 which to-morrow began its journey to Dunkirk. 
 This chain was under his orders as far as that 
 town ; he would have us conveyed apart from the 
 other galley slaves in a cart, as comfortably as 
 possible, the distance being about twelve leagues. 
 
 These plausible reasons of M. Lambertie decided 
 us to choose the latter alternative. This good 
 nobleman kept his word, for, instead of chaining us 
 to the twenty-five or thirty galley slaves who com- 
 posed the band, and who went on foot, he put us 
 into a cart, and every evening they gave us a good 
 bed. The officer of the archers who guarded the 
 chain made us take our meals at his table at Ypres, 
 Furnes, and other places which we passed through, 
 so that we were taken for people of great distinc- 
 tion. But, alas ! this comfort was only a smoke . 
 which soon disappeared ; for the third day after 
 our departure from Lille we arrived at Dunkirk, 
 where we were all placed in the galley, L' Hcnreuse, 
 commanded by the Captain de la Pailleterie, who 
 was the head of the squadron of six galleys which 
 were in the port They put us at once each on 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 79 
 
 separate benches, by which means I was parted 
 from my dear companion. The very day of our 
 arrival, they administered the bastinado to an 
 unfortunate convict, for what offence I know not. 
 I was terrified at witnessing this punishment, which 
 takes place without any form of trial and im- 
 mediately. The next day I was upon the point of 
 receiving the very same treatment which had 
 caused me so much horror, and that through the 
 malice of a great rascal of a convict who was at 
 the galleys for robbery. I had, happily, not 
 replied a word to all his insulting speeches, but to 
 his demand for money I replied that I would only 
 give it to those who did not ask for it. I had 
 already paid for five or six bottles of wine for those 
 on my bench who had not asked me. This wretch, 
 who was named Poulet, told the sons-coviitc (under 
 ofBcer) of the galley that I had uttered execrable 
 blasphemies against the Virgin Mary and all the 
 saints of Paradise. This sons-coviite, who was a 
 brutal barbarian, as all his class are, credited 
 Poulet's story, and came to my bench, telling me 
 to begin to strip at once to receive the bastinado.' 
 One can judge of my emotions. I did not know 
 that Poulet had spoken to him. Besides, I had 
 neither said nor done anything which could draw 
 down on me this punishment. I asked my com- 
 panions on the bench why they were going to treat 
 me thus, and if it was the custom to make all new 
 comers pass under this ordeal. They, as surprised 
 as I was, told me they did not understand it. 
 Meanwhile the sous-co?nite went to the quay to 
 
8o AutobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 give in his report to the major of the galleys, who 
 was there, and in whose presence the execution 
 of the bastinado always took place. While thep 
 this so?ts-comite was on the plank which connected 
 the galley with the quay, he met the first coniite^ 
 to whom he said that he was going to speak to the 
 major to have the bastinado given to a new comerj 
 a Huguenot, who had poured forth horrible blas- 
 phemies against the Catholic Church, the blessed 
 Virgin, and all the saints. The comite asked him 
 if he had heard him. He said. No ; but that Poulet 
 had given the information. " Very good testi- 
 mony !" replied the comite. This first comite was a 
 tolerably honest man, and very serious for a man 
 of his profession. He came up to my bench and 
 asked me what reason I had had to blaspheme 
 against the Catholic religion. I replied that I had 
 never done so, and that my religion even forbade 
 such a thing. Upon which he called Poulet and 
 asked him what I had said and done. This rogue 
 had the impudence to repeat the same things 
 which he said to the soiis-comite, who was present, 
 as the first comite had made him return with him; 
 Not wishing to receive Poulet's deposition, he 
 questioned the six galley slaves on my bench, then 
 those on the bench before and behind. These, 
 from twenty to twenty-eight persons, all testified 
 to the same thing, that I had never uttered a word 
 good or bad when Poulet had grossly insulted 
 me, and that all that I had said was that I 
 would not treat those who asked me to do so. 
 This testimony having been given, the head comite 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 8 1 
 
 severely belaboured the wicked Poulet, had 
 him bound with* a double chain to the criminal 
 bench, and strongly reprimanded his under coinite 
 for having decided so promptly upon the informa- 
 tion of this rascal. Thus was I delivered fpom the 
 bastinado, which is a frightful punishment. 
 
 The manner in which this barbarous punishment 
 is inflicted is as follows: — The unfortunate victim is 
 stripped naked from his waist upwards ; then they 
 make him lie upon his face, his legs hanging over his 
 bench, and his arms over the bench opposite. Two 
 convicts hold his legs and two others his arms, his 
 back is bare and exposed, and the coniite, who is 
 behind him, every now and then strikes with a whip 
 a muscular Turk, who is also stripped, to urge him 
 on to scourge the back of the poor victim with all 
 his strength, which he does with a coarse thick 
 rope. As the Turk knows that there will be no 
 mercy for him if he spares, in the least, the poor 
 wretch who is to be so cruelly punished, he applies 
 his blows with his whole force, so that each cut 
 raises a bruise an inch in height. Those who have 
 to suffer this punishment can rarely endure more 
 than ten or twelve blows without losing the power 
 of speech and motion. This docs not hinder them 
 from continuirjg to strike the poor body, which 
 neither moves nor utters a cry till the number of 
 blows ordered by the major are accomplished. 
 Twenty or thirty blows are only for slight offences ; 
 I have seen fifty, eighty, and even a hundred given; 
 in such cases the victims scarcely ever recover. 
 After the poor patient has received the appointed 
 
 G 
 
 •f 
 
82 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 number, the barber or surgeon of the galley comes 
 to rub his lacerated back with strong vinegar and 
 salt, to make the miserable body regain its sensi- 
 bility, and to prevent gangrene from coming on. 
 Such is the cruel bastinado of the galleys. 
 
 I remained about a fortnight on the galley where 
 I had first been placed. As with the rest of man- 
 kind, there are some comites who are more mali- 
 cious and cruel than others. By the side of my 
 galley was one, the comite of which was a very 
 demon. He always had the bourrasqtie, or cleaning 
 out of his galley, done every day, instead of only 
 every Saturday, as all the others did. During 
 this boJtrrasqne, strokes from the whip fell like hail 
 upon the galley slaves, and this exercise lasted two 
 or three hours. I used to see this cruel treatment, 
 because the distance from one galley to the other 
 was not great. The convicts on my bench con- 
 stantly were saying, "Pray God that in the dis- 
 tribution which will shortly be made of the new 
 comers you may not fall to the galley La Palme :" 
 the name of that commanded by the wicked comite. 
 I trembled with fear. We new comers were about 
 sixty in number. The time for distributing us in 
 the six galleys arrived. They took us first to the 
 arsenal, where we had to stop, and -^ere examined. 
 We were then divided into classes, the strongest 
 and the weakest together. Six lots were thus 
 made, and the six cojnitcs drew for us as in a lot- 
 tery. They had placed me in the/first class, and I 
 was at the head of a lot. The comite to whom I 
 had fallen told us to follow him to his galley. 
 
Co7idemned to the Galleys. 83 
 
 Curious to know my fate, and ignorant that this 
 man was a comite^l prayed him to tell me to what 
 galley I had fallen. "To La Palme," said he. I 
 made an exclamation deploring my bad fortune. 
 " Why," said he, "are you more unfortunate; than 
 the others ? " " Because, sir," said I, " I have 
 fallen to a galley whose comite is a perfect fiend." 
 I did not know that I was talking to this very 
 comite. He looked at me with a frown. " If I 
 knew," said he, " who told you that, and I had them 
 in my power, I would soon make them repent of it." 
 I saw that I had said too much ; but the evil 
 was done, and there was no remedy. However, 
 this wicked comite wished to show that, with regard 
 to me, he was not such a demon as he was accused 
 of being. He led his lot to his galley, where he at 
 once showed a mark of his favour toward me, for as 
 I was young and strong, the argoiisifi* had put. an 
 iron ring round my leg, and a chain of excessive 
 weight and thickness. The comite perceived this, 
 and, with a rude and brutal air, said to this argonsin, 
 that if he did not take off that enormous chain he 
 would complain to the captain — that he would not 
 allow him to spoil the best subject for the oar 
 he had in his lot. The argonsin at once took off 
 the thick chain and put on me one of the lightest 
 which he had, and which the comite chose himself. 
 He then ordered the argonsin to go and chain me 
 to his (the comite s) own bench. I must mention 
 that the comite eats and sleeps on a bench of the 
 galley, upon which a table standing on four little 
 * Under officer charged with guarding the galley slaves. 
 
 •t 
 
84 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 iron pillars is erected ; and this table is both long" 
 enough for him to take his meals at and also to 
 spread his bed upon, surrounded by a tent of 
 coarse cotton cloth ; so that the convicts of this 
 bench are under the table, which can easily be 
 removed when they want to" row or perform any 
 other manoeuvre. The six convicts of this bench 
 compose the domestic establishment of the coinite. 
 Each has his special employment in waiting upon 
 him ; and when the coinite takes his meals or is 
 seated on his table (for it serves both as bed-room 
 and dining-room), all the convicts of this bench, and 
 of the benches on each side, always stand up, with 
 heads uncovered, out of respect. It is the great ambi- 
 tion of all the convicts in the galley to be on the 
 bench of the coinite and soiis-comite, not only because 
 they eat the remnants of their meals, but principally 
 because they never get any stroke of the lash there 
 while they are rowing or performing other manoeu- 
 vres ; so these benches are called " reserved seats." 
 I, then, had the privilege of being on this bench ; 
 but it did not last long, which was owing to ray 
 own fault, for feeling the remains of worldly pride, 
 I could not dance attendance as the others did ; 
 for when the coinite \\3.s at table I laid down or 
 turned my back upon him, my cap on my head, 
 pretending to look at the sea. The convicts often 
 told me that he would take offence ; but I let them 
 say so, and went on still in my own way, content- 
 ing myself with being the slave of the king, without 
 being that of the coinite as well. Nevertheless, I 
 ran the risk of falling into disgrace with him, which 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 85 
 
 is the greatest misfortune that can happen to a con- 
 vict. The comity however, demon as he had been 
 painted to me, was very reasonable. He inquired 
 of the convicts of his bench if I ate with them the 
 remains of his meals, and hearing that L would 
 never taste them, he said, " He has not forgotten 
 his former good living ; leave him alone." 
 
 One evening, after he had gone to bed in his tent, 
 he called me to his bedside, and speaking in a 
 whisper, that the others, might not hear, he told me 
 that he perceived I had not been brought up as a 
 vagabond, and that I could not submit to cringe to 
 him like the others — that he did not esteem me less 
 for it, but that for an example he should put me in 
 another bench, and that I might reckon, in all the 
 labour and fatigue of the galley, on never receiving 
 a blow from him "or his sous-comites. I thanked 
 him for his kindness as well as I could ; and I can 
 truly say that he kept his word, which is a great 
 thing, for while we were rowing or making manoeu- 
 vres, he would not have regarded his own father, 
 and would have belaboured him like any one else. 
 In a word, he was the cruellest man, in the exercise 
 of his authority, I have ever seen ; but, at the same 
 time, when not in a passion very reasonable and just 
 in his judgment. There were five of the reformed 
 faith in his galley. He treated us all equally ; not 
 one of the five ever received the least ill-treatment 
 from him. On the contrary, when the opportunity 
 presented itself he rendered us service. This I 
 have experienced, as I shall relate at the proper 
 time. 
 
86 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 The captain of our galley, the Chevalier de Lan-- 
 geron Maulevrier, held the most Jesuitical senti- 
 ments. He hated us extremely ; and never failed 
 when we were rowing, with our bodies naked, as 
 was the custom, to call the comite and say to him, 
 " Go and refresh the backs of those Huguenots 
 with a salad of strokes of the whip." But these 
 blows always fell upon some one else. This cap- 
 tain was very magnificent and extravagant in his 
 table, for the five hundred francs a month which 
 the king gave to each of the captains for their table 
 was not half enough for him. The captains have 
 generally for their pantry or provision-room, which 
 is in the hold of the galley, a cabin-boy or waiter ; 
 a convict generally holds this office. It is a very 
 desirable occupation for him who can get it, for 
 he is then exempt from rowing, and from all other 
 fatigue, and makes good cheer in the captain's 
 kitchen. Now it happened that M. de Langeron's 
 waiter had stolen fifty or sixty pounds of coffee, 
 which the steward missed from the store-room. 
 He told the captain, who, without any form of 
 trial or examination, at once ordered that fifty 
 strokes of the bastinado should be given to this 
 poor rogue of a waiter, and that he should be 
 placed on the criminal bench, which was punctually 
 carried into effect. After this the captain 
 ordered the comite to find him an honest waiter 
 among the convicts of the galley. The comite 
 cried out at the word honest, sayiiig that it was 
 impossible for him to guarantee the honesty of 
 any of these malefactors ; but that he knew one 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 8/ 
 
 galley slave, of advanced age, and scarcely capable 
 of rowing, for \^hose honesty he could answer, 
 " but," said he, " I know that you will not have 
 him." " Why not," said the captain, " if he is as 
 you describe ? " " Because," said the comUe, " he 
 is a Huguenot." The captain frowned and replied, 
 " Have you no other to propose to me t " " No," 
 said the eojnite, " none at least that I can answer 
 for." " Well," said the captain, " send him to me ; 
 I will try him." This w^as done. He was a venera- 
 ble old man, named Bancilhon, whose candour and 
 integrity were imprinted on his countenance. The 
 capt'ain asked him if he would serve him as waiter. 
 The air and prudence with which he replied pleased 
 the captain, who had him at once installed by his 
 steward in the pantry. The captain soon became 
 so fond of his waiter that he liked no one else. 
 He even entrusted his purse and his expenses to 
 him. When the money was exhausted, Bancilhon 
 brought him the bills and memoranda of how the 
 money was spent And so great confidence had 
 the captain in him that he often tore up these me- 
 moranda in his presence without looking at them, 
 and threw them into the sea. The captain's ex- 
 treme confidence in Bancilhon, and the great eco- 
 nomy which he practised to his master's profit, soon 
 made for him many jealous and mortal enemies. 
 The captain had two stewards, a purveyor, and a 
 cook, who took their meals at the second table. 
 
 These men often wished to regale themselves 
 with champagne and other delicacies entrusted to 
 the care of Bancilhon, who as often refused them, 
 
 *P 
 
88 Autobiography of a French Protesta7it 
 
 being forbidden to touch them except for the cap- 
 tain's table. Upon which they both conceived such 
 a hatred against him, that they determined to ruin 
 him. To effect this, they planned that on a day 
 when the captain was going to have a dinner party, 
 and there would be hurry and confusion in the 
 party, they would steal some piece of plate {with 
 which article the captain was well provided) and 
 accuse Bancilhon of the robbery. The matter 
 being thus arranged between these four, one of 
 the stewards, either out of good will to Bancilhon 
 or to supplant his colleague, secretly communicated 
 the plot to Bancilhon, telling him that he would 
 take his part if it were necessary. Bancilhon, in- 
 formed of the hatred of these men against him, 
 resolved not to wait for the storm which sooner or 
 later would ruin him, and decided that he would 
 rather row all his life on the slaves' bench than 
 remain thus exposed to their malice. With this 
 determination, with his bills in his hand, he went 
 to the captain one morning while he was in bed, 
 and begged him instantly to discharge him from 
 the burden of his office, protesting that his age, 
 which was enfeebling his memory and his sight, no 
 longer permitted him to profit by his kindness. 
 The captain, very much surprised, told him that 
 there must be some other reason which induced 
 him to make this request, and that he wished to 
 know immediately, under penalty of his indignation. 
 Bancilhon, not being able to excuse himself, con- 
 fessed the truth, and told him that Moria, the 
 second steward, had discovered the plot to him. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 89 
 
 " Call these gentlemen to me immediately," said 
 the captain. 
 
 This being done, he threatened to throw them all 
 at once into the sea, if they did not confess the 
 truth. They very soon confessed, begging for par- 
 don a thousand times. " Well, gentlemen," said 
 he, " I shall not impose any other punishment than 
 to declare to you that from this moment if anything 
 is missing of which Bancilhon has the charge, you 
 will all three be responsible." They exclaimed at 
 this, saying that in such conditions Bancilhon could 
 ruin them at any moment. " He is an honest 
 man," said the captain, "and you all a set of 
 rogues, who deserve to be thrashed and put in 
 chains." These fellows retired quite confused, and 
 never after attempted to supplant Bancilhon, who 
 continued the favourite servant of M. de Langeron, 
 whose kindness to him was reflected upon us other 
 four Protestants in the galley. 
 
 This same year, 1702, in the month of July, we 
 went with our six galleys to the fort of Ostend. 
 From thence we cruised, when the sea was calm, 
 along the coast of Blankenbourg and L'Ecluse, in 
 Flanders. Then we returned towards Nieuport, 
 and the entrance of the channel. 
 
 One day we perceived from the heights of Nieu- 
 port, at the distance of four or five leagues in the 
 offing, a squadron of twelve Dutch vessels of war, 
 stopped by a calm. We went to reconnoitre 
 them, and seeing that one of their ships was about 
 a league distant from the others, all six galleys 
 advanced abreast to cannonade it. The captain of 
 
90 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 this ship was certainly a great simpleton, for when 
 he saw us coming up to him, as the galleys are 
 low in the deck, and do not appear at a distance to 
 be very large, he said, boastingly, to his crew, " Let 
 us prepare our tackle to haul these six boats on 
 board." His head surgeon, who was a French 
 refugee, named Labadoux, who knew the strength 
 of the galleys better than he did, made bold to tell 
 him that if he allowed the galleys to approach his 
 vessel they would take it, owing to the great num- 
 ber of men they carried. Notwithstanding this 
 advice, the captain made no effort, either to defend 
 himself by his artillery, or to approach the squad- 
 ron, which he might have done by having his vessel 
 towed by his boats, in which case we should have 
 been between two fires, and obliged to relinquish 
 our prize. At last, by hard rowing, we approached 
 this vessel, making the chamade, a cry which galley 
 slaves raise to terrify the enemy. In truth, it is a 
 terrible thing to see on each galley three hundred 
 naked men, who all row in good time and shake their 
 chains, the noise of which is mingled with their yells 
 and shrieks, and makes those who have never before 
 witnessed such a sight shudder. Thus was it with 
 tlie crew of this ship ; so frightened were they at 
 the sight, that they all rushed down to the bottom 
 of the hold crying out for quarter, so that the 
 soldiers and sailors of the galleys had no trouble in 
 boarding and seizing the vessel, which had fifty-four 
 guns. The crew, indeed, was tdo weak to resist, 
 being composed of only one hundred and eighty 
 men in all. She was called the Unicorn of Rotter- 
 
Condemned to tJic Galleys. 91 
 
 dam. We quickly towed her off, in sight of the 
 other ships of the squadron, who could not follow 
 us for want of wind, and we brought her into the 
 port of Ostend. We made no other expedition 
 during the remainder of the campaign, and refturned 
 to winter in the port of Dunkirk. 
 
 The year 1703 also passed without our doing 
 anything but alarming the English coast in the 
 channel by firing cannon-shots, and this only when 
 the weather permitted it, for it must be quite calm 
 for the galleys, and every winter we went to dis- 
 mantle at Dunkirk. 
 
 In the year 1704 we were at Ostend, watching a 
 Dutch squadron which cruised off this harbour, and 
 when it was calm we worried their vessels by firing 
 heavy cannon at them, being out of the range of 
 their artillery, which was much less than that of the 
 galleys. Their ships not being able to move in a 
 calm, we always chose such days for these expedi- 
 tions, and whenever a little breeze arose we returned 
 to Ostend. One day, when Admiral Almonde was 
 cruising with five Dutch men-of-war off Blanken- 
 bourg, he met a fisherman of that coast, to whom 
 he gave some ducats, on the condition that he 
 would go at once to Ostend, and tell the com- 
 mander of the galleys that he had just met five 
 large Dutch vessels, returning from the East Indies, 
 so heavily laden, and their crews so invalided, that 
 tliey would scarcely be able to make for any Dutch 
 port. This fisherman, following his instructions, 
 came to Ostend to make his report to our com- 
 mander, accompanying it with several incidents 
 
 •f 
 
92 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 which seemed plausible. Among other things, he 
 said that he had been on board these vessels and 
 made a good thing of it, having sold all his fish 
 there. One easily believes what one wishes. Our 
 commander fell into the trap, and, as the tide 
 flowed, about ten o'clock in the evening our six 
 galleys put to sea in search of this rich prize. 
 
 There was a little easterly breeze, rather fresh. We 
 rowed all night, and in the morning at daybreak 
 we saw our six Indiamen, which, immediately they* 
 perceived us, pretended to put on all sail, proceed- 
 ing, all five in file, one after the other, so that we 
 could not see which was the rear guard and which 
 the admiral's. These ships were well masked, 
 their stern ornaments covered up, their port- 
 holes closed, their topsails lowered, — in fact, they 
 were so well disguised as merchant vessels return- 
 ing from a long voyage, that they quite deceived 
 us, and we really took them for five ships returning 
 from the Indies. All our officers, sailors, and 
 soldiers, felt nothing but joy, in the firm hope of 
 enriching themselves by this great booty. Mean- 
 while we continued to advance and to approach 
 this fleet nearer, which only put up all sail to make 
 us believe that they were afraid, and to draw us 
 more surely within range of their guns, with the 
 design of giving us a warm reception ; for though' 
 they seemed to crowd all sail, they found means 
 not to advance by dragging a large double cable 
 behind their ships. Our six galleys rowed with all 
 their might, in line of battle, and with perfect con- 
 fidence that the Indiamen were so heavy that they 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 93 
 
 could not make way. Being within range, we 
 discharged our artjUery at them. The vessel which 
 formed the rear guard replied by firing a small 
 cannon from below the quarter-deck, which did not 
 reach half way to us, and which encourag;ed us 
 more and more. We still advanced, pouring forth 
 a terrible fire from our artillery, which they 
 endured with' constancy. At last we found our- 
 selves so near to the rear guard ship that we 
 prepared to board it, axe and sabre in hand, when, 
 all of a sudden, their admiral made a signal. 
 Immediately their rear guard veered round 
 upon us, the others did the same, so that in a 
 moment we were surrounded by these five great 
 ships, which, having had all this time to prepare 
 their guns, opened their ports and poured upon us 
 a terrible fire, which cut down the greater portion 
 of our masts and rigging, and made great slaughter 
 among our crews. 
 
 We now perceived that these pretended Indiamen 
 were nothing less than good and formidable men- 
 of-war, which by their stratagem had allured us be- 
 yond the sand-bank which lies two or three leagues 
 from the coast, and which large vessels, that draw 
 much water, cannot pass, while galleys can easily 
 do so. Perceiving that we were thus taken in, and 
 fearing worse than we had already suffered, our com- 
 mander gave the signal for instant flight towards 
 the sand-bank, which our enemies could not prevent 
 us from reaching. But they escorted us thither in 
 line of battle, with such a terrible fire that we ran 
 the greatest peril in the world of being all sunk. At 
 
94 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 last the proximity of the sand-bank saved us. We 
 regained Ostend by force of our oars, very much 
 battered, having had more than two hundred and 
 fifty men killed in the combat, and a great number 
 of wounded. Arrived at Ostend, the first thing to 
 be done was to seek for the fisherman who had so 
 much deceived us. If they had found him, he 
 would have been hanged immediately, but he had 
 not been foolish enough to wait for us. 
 
 Our commander was not much praised by the 
 court ; everybody spoke of his credulity, but, above 
 all, of his imprudence in risking the loss to the 
 king of six galleys of three thousand souls (for 
 these galleys have five hundred men each). I say 
 his imprudence, for when we were within sight of 
 the enemy, and he was holding a council of war 
 with the other five captains, he insisted that they 
 were Indiamen. One of the captains, however, M. 
 de Fontete, strongly suspected that it might be 
 a trick, and said he thought it would be well to 
 make sure by sending our brigantine to recon- 
 noitre the fleet. But the commander telling him 
 it was fear of the cannon-shots which made him 
 think so, M. de Fontete replied without hesitation, 
 " Now, gentlemen, let us attack the enemy at once, 
 and you will see if I am afraid." Words which cost 
 us a great deal of blood, at least, to the com-- 
 mander's galley, for when he had given the signal 
 to retreat, M. de Fontete, stung with the reproach 
 which the commander had madje to him at the 
 council of war, did not retire from the battle, acting 
 as if he had not seen the signal to retreat ; and the 
 
Condem7ied to the Galleys. 95 
 
 five galleys having retired to the sand-bank, the 
 commander, seeing this galley in danger of being 
 sunk, exclaimed, " Does Fontete wish to challenge 
 me to be as brave as he is ? Come," said he to his 
 comite, " row up again to the enemy." The ivomite, 
 who seemed to foresee his death, fell on his knees 
 before him, entreating him not to go, but the com- 
 mander, pistol in hand, threatened to break his 
 head if he did not execute his orders immediately. 
 The poor comite obeyed, and rowed out again to 
 take the order to M. de Fontete to retire. The 
 commander thus placed himself again in the midst 
 of the enemy's fire, and the first ball which 
 struck the galley carried off the head of the poor 
 comite. The commander being near enough to 
 make M. de Fontete hear him, cried out to him to 
 retire, which he did at once, and, by means of the 
 sand-bank, escaped, as well as the commander, 
 from the pursuit of the Dutch. During the 
 remainder of the campaign, he had no desire to 
 undertake new expeditions : that of the five sham 
 Indiamen had quite cooled our courage, and we 
 were in great fear of Vice-Admiral Almonde, who, 
 with his feints and stratagems, we imagined to be 
 everywhere, as the following fact will show. 
 
 I have already said that in 1702 we took a Dutch 
 man-of-war, named the Unicorn of Rotterdam. I 
 have also spoken of one Labadoux, a French 
 refugee, who was surgeon on board this vessel. 
 The ship having been brought into Ostend, the 
 crew were put into the prisons of the town. Laba- 
 doux, to avoid going to the galleys as a refugee, 
 
g6 Autobiography of a French Protestmit 
 
 took his place as a soldier in the commander's 
 galley, but soon after he deserted to return to Hol- 
 land. He was taken and brought back to the 
 galley, where he was chained down till his trial 
 could take place. The council of war questioned 
 him to know whither he designed to escape. " To 
 Holland," said he, "to bear arms against France." 
 The commander, surprised at this reply, said to 
 him, " If you had replied that you were deserting 
 to remain in France, you would only have been 
 condemned to be a convict ; but now you are your- 
 self putting the rope round your neck." "Yes, sir," 
 replied he ; "I declare here to the council, as is the 
 truth, that I have deserved, according to the king's 
 commands and the laws of war, to be hanged, and 
 if you sentence me otherwise you will commit an 
 injustice." The conmiander, perceiving that it was 
 fear of the punishment of the galleys which made 
 him prefer death, said to him, " And I, to punish 
 you more rigorously, remit the sentence of death 
 which you desire, and condemn you to the galleys." 
 And to the galleys he was in truth condemned, but 
 he only remained there a little more than a year. 
 
 Admiral Almonde knew and esteemed Laba- 
 doux, who had been surgeon on board his ship. 
 Labadoux found means of writing him a letter, in 
 which he represented to him that, having been 
 taken by the French upon the Unicorn, they had 
 forced him to serve aS a soldier in the galleys, by 
 the threat of making him work as a convict, and 
 having deserted in order to return to Holland, his 
 legitimate country, he had been arrested and con- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 97 
 
 demned to the galleys for life, which punishment he 
 was now suffering, with a hope, however, that the 
 favour and good-will of the admiral, whose aid he 
 implored, would procure his deliverance. 
 
 We were in Ostend after the expedition of which 
 I have just spoken, when one evening a boat, carry- 
 ing an express, arrived. This express brought a 
 letter from Admiral Almonde to the commander of 
 the galleys, praying him to release Labadoux, con- 
 sidering the great injustice they had already done 
 him by obliging him, as a prisoner of war, to bear 
 arms on the side of France. The admiral con- 
 cluded that if Labadoux was not given up imme- 
 diately, he would be obliged to take other measures 
 which might not be so agreeable, by Avhich he 
 probably meant that he would come and burn the 
 galleys in the fort of Ostend, which was easy 
 enough to do, and which at that time we greatly 
 feared. This letter had its effect. Never before 
 had a convict or a Turkish slave been released from 
 the galleys except by the king's warrant. How- 
 ever, the commander of the galleys, either through 
 fear of the threats of Admiral Almonde, or because 
 he was glad to find an opportunity of obliging him, 
 set Labadoux at liberty the same day in the follow- 
 ing manner. He called him alone into his cabin, 
 and told him that, in order to please Admiral 
 Almonde, he was going to give him his liberty, 
 but that this must be done as if he had escaped, 
 and that he, the commander, would facilitate the 
 thing that very evening in the dusk, by ordering 
 the argousin to forget to chain him on his bench ; 
 
 H 
 
 •> 
 
98 AiitobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 that Labadoux was to keep outside the galley 
 seated on his oar ; the boat of the galley would then 
 come and take him ofif, landing him on the side of 
 the town which leads to L'Ecluse, in Flanders. 
 This plan was perfectly carried out. Labadoux, 
 with whom I was very good friends, requested, after 
 this conversation with the commander, to go to the 
 galley La Palme. He came, and after embracing 
 me, took leave of me, telling me in what manner he 
 was to be released that very evening. After the 
 boat had landed him, the argousin, coming to see 
 if all were chained, found, as he knew very well he 
 should, that Labadoux had escaped. He informed 
 the commander, who stormed against the negligence 
 of the ar-gousin in the presence of the crew and the 
 officers. He had him put in chains for twenty- 
 four hours only, and sent several detachments to 
 the opposite side of the town from that at which 
 Labadoux had landed to pursue him. The next 
 day no more was said about it. From this circum- 
 stance the impression can well be understood which 
 the request, or rather the threat, of Admiral Al- 
 monde made upon the commander of the galleys. 
 
 It was during the following campaign that 
 the allies laid siege to Ostend. Our six galleys 
 were ready armed in the port of Dunkirk, and 
 M. le Chevalier Langeron, my captain, was made 
 head of the squadron, his predecessor being raised 
 to the dignity of Grand Master of the Knights of 
 IMalta. Our new commander received, one evening, 
 a despatch from the court, with orders to go as 
 soon as possible with his six galleys to Ostend to 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 99 
 
 strengthen the garrison, this town being threatened 
 with a siege. We immediately started thither, and, 
 having sailed all night, morning found us before 
 Nieuport, three leagues from Ostend. vVe per- 
 ceived along the coast a great number of people 
 with waggons and horses heavily laden escaping 
 from Ostend. We sent the boat on shore to gain 
 intelligence from these people, who told us that the 
 army of the allies was within sight of Ostend, and 
 that the town would be invested that very day. 
 
 Soon after we saw an extremely large naval 
 armament advancing- from the north, and crowding 
 all sail to cut us off from the channel of the sand- 
 bank which is between Ostend and Nieuport We 
 were more than an hour in advance of them, and 
 could easily have entered Ostend before the fleet 
 arrived there. But our commander reflected upon 
 the extreme peril to which we should be exposed in 
 that port, which is only protected from the army 
 on one side, added to which the fleet could very 
 easily send fire-ships among us, which might have 
 destroyed us ; besides that the allies, if they took 
 the town, would take the galleys also, which would 
 vex the king extremely. Everything considered, 
 and a council of war having been held, it was 
 resolved to return to Dunkirk, which Ave did, rowing 
 as hard as we could. The Chevalier de Langeron 
 was praised and rewarded by the court, because he 
 had not executed its orders. Ostend was besieged 
 by land and sea, and was obliged to surrender at 
 the end of three days, not for want of a sufficient 
 garrison, but because there was too large a one, for 
 
 *> 
 
1 00 A 2itobiography of a Fi'cnch Protestant 
 
 Count de la Motte, who was in the neighbourhood 
 with a camp of twenty-two battahons and several 
 squadrons of cavalry, threw himself with all his 
 troops into the town, which was a great blunder, for 
 the allies, only having attacked the place by firing 
 bombs, red-hot shot, and shell, so many people, 
 pressing one upon another in this little town, could 
 neither move nor obtain shelter from these infernal 
 machines, which rained down upon them ; so they 
 were obliged to surrender on condition that they 
 might depart sword in hand, and not take arms 
 again for a year. During the three days that they, 
 bombarded the town, we went at night, without 
 light or fire, creeping with our six galleys among 
 the allied fleet, trying to seize some transport 
 or gunboat, but we did not succeed. No retreat 
 now remained to us but the harbour of Dunkirk. 
 Here we passed all the summer, only venturing out 
 in calm weather, or with an east, north, or north- 
 east wind, for if a west or south-west wind had 
 caught us at sea, we should not have known where 
 to run into. We always disarmed in the month of 
 October for the winter, and in April we armed 
 again to enter on the campaign. 
 
 The following year, 1707, we had many hardships 
 to endure. As there was a great deal of east wind 
 we cruised all over the channel. We took a small 
 English privateer, and burned one belonging to 
 Ostend, on the coast of England. We were one 
 day in very great danger of perii^hing with two 
 galleys. Being in the port of Dunkirk in the finest 
 weather possible, with not a cloud on the sky, 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. lor 
 
 M. de Langeron, who was impatient to go and visit 
 the English coa'^t, called all the most experienced 
 pilots to ask them their advice about the weather, 
 and if they saw any sign of its soon changing. 
 They were all agreed that the weather wa* settled, 
 and promised to continue fine. Great precautions 
 were always necessary when we put out, now that 
 Ostend was in the hands of the allies, for if a storm 
 from the west or south-west had overtaken us at sea, 
 and we had missed the port of Dunkirk, we should 
 have been obliged to run to the north, or to run 
 aground on the coast of some province belonging 
 to the allies ; for in bad weather the galleys cannot 
 keep at sea. 
 
 We had on board our galley as pilot, a fisherman 
 of Dunkirk, named Peter Bart. He was brother of 
 the celebrated Jean Bart, Admiral of the North ; but 
 Peter was only a poor fisherman, much given to dis- 
 sipation and drunkenness — indeed he drank gin like 
 water. But otherwise he was well acquainted with 
 the coasts, and a great observer of the weather, for 
 I have never known him to be wrong in his prognos- 
 tication as to what wind and weather we should 
 have two or three days hence. This pilot, however, 
 had no great credit with the other pilots, nor with 
 our commander, because he was nearly always 
 drunk. They summoned him, however, to this 
 council to give his advice. He spoke very bad 
 French, and expressed his opinion to be quite op- 
 posite to those of the other pilots. " You want to 
 go to sea," said he to our commander : " I promise 
 you a good storm to-morrow morning." They 
 
102 Antobiograp/iy of a French Protestant 
 
 laughed at his opinion, and, notwithstanding all his 
 entreaties to remain in shore, the captain would not 
 consent. So our galley and that of M. de Fontete 
 put to sea with such calm, beautiful weather, that 
 we might have held a lighted candle at the top of 
 the mast. 
 
 We cruised along the shores of Dover, making 
 our guns roar along the coasts during the night, 
 after which we returned to the French coast to the 
 roadstead of Ambleteuse, a village situated between 
 Calais and Boulogne. There was a cove here be- 
 tween two cliffs, which sheltered the vessels which 
 anchored in it from the east and north-east winds. I 
 do not know what fancy took our commander, who 
 persisted in anchoring in this cove. M. de Fontete was 
 wiser, he remained in the open roadstead. Directly 
 Peter Bart saw the movement we were making to 
 go and anchor in this cove, he shrieked out like a 
 madman that we should beware of doing so. They 
 asked him the reason. He assured them that at 
 sunrise we should have as violent a storm from the 
 south-west as we had ever seen in our lives, and that 
 the entrance of this cove being exposed to this wind, 
 we should not be able to get out of it, nor to avoid 
 running upon the rocks of which the cove was full, 
 when the galley would be broken to pieces and not 
 even a cat could be saved. They laughed at him 
 and his counsel, and we entered this fatal cove a 
 little before dawn. We cast out two anchors, and 
 every one thought of taking a littl-e sleep. Peter 
 Bart, however, wept and sobbed at the approach, 
 as he said, of inevitable death. Day at last dawned, 
 
Condemned to iJie Galleys. 103 
 
 the wind blew from the south-west, but so softly that 
 we took no notice ^f it. But as the sun rose higher 
 the wind increased, which awakened attention to 
 Peter Bart's prophecy. We were about to make 
 an attempt to go out of the cove, when a most 
 furious tempest arose, so suddenly, that instead of 
 M'eighing our anchors we were obliged to cast out 
 two others to sustain us against the violence of 
 the wind and waves, which were driving us upon 
 the rocks, which the retreat of the waves made 
 visible every instant, quite close to the stern of 
 the galley. The worst of all was that the anchor- 
 age in this cove was good for nothing, and that 
 the four anchors we had cast were dragging, 
 and could find no hold, so that we were clearly 
 driving upon the rocks. The commander and all 
 the pilots seeing that our anchors could not hold, 
 tried to row towards the anchors so as to relieve 
 them ; but immediately we dipped the oars into the 
 sea, the huge waves carried them away far from us. 
 Then every one knew that shipwreck was in- 
 evitable ; each one' cried, groaned, and prayed. 
 The chaplain exposed the Holy Sacrament, gave 
 the blessing and absolution to those who felt a real 
 contritidn, and had neither time nor opportunity to 
 go to confession. The most singular thing in this 
 great calamity, was to hear these wretched con- 
 victs, condemned for their crimes, cry aloud to the 
 commander and officers, " Come, gentlemen, we 
 shall soon be equal, for it won't be long before 
 we shall all drink out of the same glass." Judge 
 what contrition and repentance they had for their 
 
 > 
 
104 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 crimes ! At last, in this horrible extremity, when 
 every one was expecting that instant death which 
 was visible to all eyes, the commander caught sight 
 of Peter Bart, who was weeping and lamenting. 
 " My dear Peter," said he, " if I had believed you, 
 we should not have been in this desperate plight 
 Have you no expedient to save us from this in- 
 evitable peril?" "What good is it," said Peter, 
 " for me to counsel or to act if I am not listened 
 to? Yes, I have, by God's grace, a means of 
 escaping from this perilous position. Now, I 
 declare to you that if my own life was not in- 
 volved in it, I would leave you all to drown like 
 pigs, as you are !" This impertinence was readily 
 pardoned him, in the hope that he might save our 
 lives. " But," added he, " I must stipulate not to 
 be contradicted or opposed in any manoeuvre which 
 will appear ridiculous to you at first ; you must 
 obey my commands, or you will all perish." 
 
 The commander at once gave orders, by beat of 
 drum, that Peter Bart was to be strictly obeyed, on 
 pain of death ; after which Peter asked the com- 
 mander if he had a purse of gold. " Yes," said he, 
 " here it is, dispose of it as if it were your own." 
 Peter, after taking out four louis d'or, gave 'it back 
 to him. Then he asked the sailors of the galley if 
 there were four among them quite prepared to do 
 what he ordered them, promising that each should 
 receive a louis for drink-money. More than twenty 
 presented themselves. He selected four of the most 
 determined, whom he put into the large boat, called 
 the caiqne, which is always kept on board the 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 105" 
 
 galleys when they go to sea. He made them take, 
 an anchor in this &oat, but the cable remained in 
 the galley to be told out as they got farther from 
 us. This being done, the boat was let down into 
 the sea with its four men and the anchor. /-Peter 
 ordered them to take it from the stern of the galley, 
 and cast it upon the rock upon which we were 
 driving. At this order every one shrugged their 
 shoulders, not being able to understand what this 
 anchor could do from the stern of the galley, as it 
 was from the bozus that it ought to be held. The 
 commander could not help asking him what was 
 the use of this anchor. Peter replied, " You will 
 see, please God." The four sailors succeeded, 
 though with great difficulty, and in danger of being 
 swamped, and cast the anchor against the rock. 
 Then Peter, seizing the commander's hand, ex- 
 claimed, "We are saved, thank God !" But still no 
 one understood his manoeuvre. 
 
 Peter now lowered the yard-arm, to which he 
 fastened the large sail, which he jreefed, tying it with 
 such knots that when he pulled the sheet of the 
 sail the knots would loosen, and the sail be at once 
 unfurled. The yard-arm was then hoisted up again, 
 and he ordered four men with axes to be ready to cut 
 the four cables of the anchors which were cast from 
 the bows of the galley when he commanded them ; 
 then he hauled in and tightened the cable of the 
 anchor which he had cast from the stern against the 
 rock, and told a man with an axe to be ready to cut 
 it at his command. This done, and everything being 
 prepared in the manner that I have described, he. 
 
 'i> 
 
ro6 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 ordered the four men at the bows to cut the cables 
 of the four anchors. As soon as the galley was 
 released at the bows she began to turn, because she 
 was held firmly by the anchor at the stern, and if 
 they had given her time she would have turned right 
 round. When Peter saw that the galley had turned 
 sufficiently to take a quarter wind into her sail, he 
 drew the sheet of the sail. Immediately the knots 
 were loosened, and in a twinkling the sail was un- 
 furled and took the wind. At the same moment 
 the cable of the stern anchor was cut, and Peter, 
 himself holding the helm, made the galley fly out 
 of this fatal cove like an arrow from a cross-boAv. 
 Thus by God's great mercy, and through the skill 
 of Peter Bart, we were saved from this great and 
 manifest peril of being dashed upon the rocks of 
 this cove, and once more found ourselves in the 
 open sea. 
 
 We now had to run for the nearest port to obtain 
 shelter from this furious tempest, which continued 
 with greater violence than ever. Dunkirk was the 
 only one to the leeward that we had. The diffi- 
 culty of reaching it did not disquiet us ; we were 
 only twelve leagues from it, and the furious wind 
 which was blowing, being from the south-west, was 
 favourable to us, and took us there in less than three 
 hours, with only one small sail. But our officers 
 were still in the greatest anxiety, fearing lest the 
 tempest should so drive us as to force us to pass 
 Dunkirk. Then we should have- had to run to the 
 north, and, by reason of the bad weather, been 
 obli"-ed to run aground on the Dutch coast. This 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 107 
 
 was what the convicts ardently wished, but what 
 the officers and the* rest of the crew exceedingly- 
 dreaded. 
 
 We ran then into the roadstead of Dunkirk. Our 
 galley had left all her anchors in the cove of Aip»ble- 
 teuse, but M. de Fontete, who followed us, gave us 
 two which we cast in this roadstead, where the 
 anchorage is very good and sound. Here we were 
 obliged to remain for six hours, till the tide was 
 high enough for us to enter the harbour. During 
 these six hours we were constantly between life and 
 death. Waves, like mountains, continually covered 
 us. We had to take great care to keep the hatch- 
 ways well closed, otherwise the hold would in a 
 moment have been filled with water, and we should 
 have sunk. Every one was at prayer, as well in 
 our galleys as in the town of Dunkirk, where the 
 inhabitants saw us in this great danger. The Holy 
 Sacrament was exposed in all the churches, and 
 they ordered public prayers to be offered for us. It 
 was all that they could do to help us, for no boat, 
 neither small nor great, would have been able to 
 leave the harbour to render us assistance. Another 
 difficulty and danger threatened us. The harbour 
 of Dunkirk is formed by two long and high jetties, 
 which extend nearly half a league into the sea. 
 The heads of these jetties form the entrance to the 
 port. This entrance is difficult for vessels which 
 must approach it from the south, because of a bar 
 of sand in front of it, which makes it necessary 
 to keep quite close to the southern shore, and by 
 very careful steering to turn sharp round between 
 
io8 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 the heads of these two jetties, the space between 
 which is narrow, and, consequently, very difficult in 
 rough weather, especially for galleys, which are of 
 extreme length and cannot easily be turned. All 
 these difficulties greatly puzzled us ; moreover, the 
 heads of these jetties were quite covered by the sea, 
 on account of the horrible tempest which was still 
 increasing, and we only saw the entrance in the in- 
 tervals between the retreat of the waves. But what 
 was to be done } We must enter the harbour or 
 perish. All our pilots quite lost their presence of 
 mind. They went to awaken Peter Bart, who was 
 quietly sleeping on a bench, soaked through as he 
 was by the waves which swept over him. He had 
 given orders that he should be awoke when it was 
 high tide, as it now w^as. Our commander asked 
 him if he knew any way to enter the port without 
 being lost. " Yes," said he ; " I will bring you in just 
 in the same way as I enter with my boat when I 
 return from fishing — at full sail." "What," said 
 the commander, " enter at full sail ! we shall perish 
 undoubtedly ;" for a galley never enters a port at full 
 sail because of the difficulty of managing it by helm, 
 for it is by the oars that it is steered. " But," said 
 Peter, " you cannot steer because of the heavy sea." 
 •" It is that which puzzles me," said the commander. 
 ■*' Leave me to act," said Peter ; " all will- be well." 
 Meanwhile we were all more dead than alive, 
 wet to the bones, having neither eaten nor drank 
 for two days, because we could ^ave neither bread, 
 wine, brandy, or anything, in short, not daring 
 \o open the hatchway lest the galley should fill 
 
Condemned to tlic Galleys. 109 
 
 with water. Beside^ this, the apprehension of -the 
 approaching peril took away the Httle courage that 
 remained to us, for we knew that we must enter by 
 that narrow mouth between those two pier-heads, 
 and that if, unfortunately, the galley touched tfiem, 
 however little, she would be dashed into a thousand 
 pieces and not a soul would be saved. Peter 
 Bart was the only one who showed that he had 
 no fear, and who laughed at the panic which 
 had seized us all, officers as well as the rest. He 
 told the commander, however, that he could not 
 prevent the galley from breaking her prow against 
 the Ouai de la Poisonnerie, where the harbour 
 entered, because entering at full sail with such a 
 strong wind they would not be able to stop her. 
 *' What matters that?" said M. de Langeron ; " it is 
 only wood ; the carpenter will repair the damage." 
 Peter then quickly prepared for his operations. 
 He veered the cables, arranged the sails, and, 
 ordering a perfect silence, he kept quite close to 
 the southern shore as far as the mouth of the 
 harbour, and steered so skilfully, that he, turned 
 sharp round into the entrance between the two 
 jetties. He then lowered his sails, but the galley- 
 was impelled with such force inwards, that two or 
 three thousand sailors and other seafaring people 
 whom the mayor of the town had sent on to the 
 jetties to help us, and who every minute threw ropes 
 to stop us, could not succeed, the thickest ropes 
 breaking like thread ; and at last the galley broke 
 her nose against the quay, as Peter had foretold, 
 M. de Fontete's galley observed and made the same 
 
I ro A iitohiography of a Frmdi Protestant 
 
 manoeuvre as we had done, and entered the port 
 successfully. Peter Bart at once took leave of the 
 commander, who wished by all means to retain 
 him in his vessel, promising him double wages. 
 " No, no," said Peter, " not if you would give me a 
 thousand francs a month ; I have had enough of it ; 
 you will never catch me again ;" and then he went 
 off. We scarcely left Dunkirk harbour again all 
 the year, and we dismantled early for the winter. 
 
 In the month of April, 1708, we rearmed, and 
 during the w^iole campaign we merely cruised about 
 the English coast, only alarming the enemy suffi- 
 ciently to make him keep his troops on the alert ; 
 but as soon as any large coastguard ship appeared, 
 we escaped as quickly as possible to the French 
 coast. This lasted till the 5th of September, a day 
 which I shall never forget by reason of the event 
 which then occurred, and of which I bear the marks 
 of the three great wounds I then received. I must 
 now relate this story, which may interest the reader, 
 for it is a very curious one, and, like all which is 
 contained in these memoirs, perfectly true.* 
 
 At the beginning of the summer of 1708, Queen 
 Anne of England, among a large number of men- 
 of-war which she sent to sea to cruise along the 
 coasts, possessed a guard-ship of seventy guns, which 
 was commanded by a concealed Papist, whose in- 
 tentions towards his country were very hostile, as 
 experience afterwards proved. This captain was 
 
 * Some doubt has been expressed as to the following statement re- 
 specting Captain Smith. It is, however, fully confirmed by authentic 
 documents. See Charnock's Naval Biography, etc — Ed. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 1 1 
 
 named Smith. Ngt belonging to any squadron, 
 but being alone and at liberty to execute his treason, 
 he sailed to Gottenburg in Sweden. There he sold 
 his ship, whether to the King of Sweden or to pri- 
 vate individuals, I know not ; however that^may 
 be, he sold it and received money for it, and having 
 dismissed the crew, he went in person to the court 
 of France to offer his services to the king against 
 England. The king gave him a warm reception, 
 and promised him the first vacant captainship, 
 advising him, however, to go to Dunkirk and wait 
 for it, serving meanwhile as a volunteer in M. de 
 .Langcron's galley, where he would give orders that 
 he should be treated with honour and respect. 
 Captain Smith saw that this advice was really his 
 majesty's comma7id. He obeyed, and was received 
 very politely by the Chevalier de Langeron, and 
 entertained at his expense. 
 
 Captain Smith took part in all the expeditions 
 which we made to the English coast. He much 
 wished to make a descent there that he might dis- 
 tinguish himself by burning a few villages, but it was 
 dangerous to attempt it. There were coast-guards 
 all along the shore, and at short intervals bodies of 
 land troops, which our sailors feared like fire. 
 Captain Smith, burning with hatred against his 
 country, always had his head full of projects to injure 
 the English. Among other schemes he sent to the 
 court, one was proposed to burn and pillage the 
 little town of Harwich, situated at the mouth of the 
 TharrACs, provided the six galleys at Dunkirk were 
 placed under his command. The king approved of 
 
112 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 this project, and gave orders to M. de Langeron to 
 follow Captain Smith's commands for this expe- 
 dition, and ordered the master of the admiralty to 
 provide him with everything that he might require. 
 M. de Langeron, though with repugnance at finding 
 himself obliged to submit to the orders of a foreigner, 
 obeyed apparently with a good grace, and told 
 Smith that he had only to command the prepara- 
 tion and departure of the galleys for this expedition. 
 Smith took on board all that was needed from the 
 master of the admiralty — combustible materials, 
 and everything that was necessary for the sack 
 of Harwich, with a division of soldiers to assist. 
 
 All being ready, one fine morning, the 5 th of 
 September, we put to sea with the best weather 
 possible for the galleys. A soft breeze from the 
 north-east favoured us so well that with very- 
 little sail we arrived at the mouth of the Thames 
 about five o'clock in the evening, without rowing 
 at all. But Smith, thinking that it was too early, 
 and that they might be able to discover us 
 from the shore, which would spoil everything, or- 
 dered us to retire farther out to sea to await the 
 night, before making the descent, which we did. 
 We had not been lying-to more than a quarter of 
 an hour when the sentinel on the watch at the top 
 of our mainmast called out, " Ships." " Where 
 from } " they asked. " From the north." " In what 
 direction ? " ' " Towards the west," said he. " How 
 many sail .'' " " Thirty-six," said he. " Of what 
 sort .•* " " Thirty-five merchant vessels, and a frigate 
 of about thirty-six guns, serving as an escort," re- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 113 
 
 plied the sentinel. It was, in truth, a merchant 
 fleet, sailing from fhe Texcl to the Thames. 
 
 Our commander at once held a council of war, 
 at which it was decided that, instead of under- 
 taking the Harwich expedition, we should \j^ and 
 make ourselves master of this fleet, which would be 
 more to the king's interest than burning Harwich ; 
 for the opportunity of seizing so rich a booty did 
 not present itself every day, while the expedition to 
 Harwich could be undertaken at any time. The 
 commander alleged all these reasons to Captain 
 Smith, who protested against the conclusion of the 
 council of war, asserting that he must follow the 
 orders of the king, and not turn aside to any other 
 enterprise, and also that we should have to steer 
 towards the south to allow this fleet to enter the 
 Thames without perceiving us. But the council of 
 war kept firm to their resolution, being secretly 
 glad that they had an opportunity of causing the 
 failure of the Harwich expedition, on account of 
 the jealousy they felt at being obliged to obey the 
 commands of Smith. 
 
 After the decision of the council, at which each 
 captain received the commander's orders to attack 
 the fleet, we hoisted fresh sail and rowed with all 
 our might to meet it ; as it was coming towards 
 us, and we hastening towards it, we were very soon 
 near each other. 
 
 Our commander's orders were, that four galleys 
 should invest and take possession, if possible, of 
 the merchant ships, which are generally without 
 means of defence, while our galley, which was the 
 
 I 
 
 •1 
 
1 14 AiUobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 head of the squadron, was to join with that of the 
 Chevaher de MauviUers, in attacking and over- 
 coming the frigate which served as an escort. 
 
 Following these directions, the four galleys 
 sailed to surround the merchant vessels and cut 
 them off from the mouth of the Thames, and we 
 with our consort made straight for the frigate. 
 She, seeing our manoeuvre, perceived that her fleet, 
 or at all events the greater part of it, was in 
 imminent danger. She was an English frigate, and 
 the captain in command one of the bravest and 
 most skilful of the age, as he proved himself to 
 be on this occasion. Having given orders to the 
 merchantmen to force on all sail, and gain as quickly 
 as possible the mouth of the Thames, to avoid 
 falling into the hands of the French, he added 
 that, as to himself, he reckoned on giving so much 
 work to the six galleys that he hoped to save 
 them all, and that, in a word, he was going to sacri- 
 fice himself for them. He thereupon spread all his 
 sails to the wind and turned at our two galleys 
 which were about to attack, as if he were coming 
 to attack them himself. 
 
 The galley which was to serve as our consort 
 was half a league behind ours ; either she did not 
 sail so fast, or her captain designed that we should 
 bear the first brunt of the attack. 
 
 Our commander was not much disturbed by the 
 approach of the frigate, as he thought with his 
 galley he was strong enough tcv master it. The 
 result, however, proved, as will be seen, that he 
 was wrong in his conjectures. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 115 
 
 The frigate coming, as I have said, towards us 
 and we towards it^ it will easily be perceived that 
 we were soon within range. We fired at the 
 frigate, which did not reply by a single shot, which 
 made our commander say in a joke, that the 
 captain of this frigate was evidently tired of being 
 an Englishman, and was going to surrender to us 
 without fighting, but he soon changed his tone. 
 We advanced so rapidly towards each other, that 
 our galley was soon within musket shot, and our 
 musketeers already began to play upon the frigate, 
 when all of a sudden she veered round as if she 
 were about to flee from us. The flight of an 
 enemy generally increases courage, and it had this 
 effect upon our crew, who began to cry out to the 
 men on board the frigate that they were cowards 
 in trying to avoid the battle, but that it was now 
 too late, and if they did not strike their flag and 
 surrender at once, they would sink the ship. The 
 Englishmen took no notice of this, but they were 
 preparing to enact, as will be seen, a bloody tragedy. 
 
 The frigate, which was feigning flight, turned 
 her back upon us, and now gave us a chance 
 of boarding her, for the manoeuvre of a galley 
 which is about to attack and board a ship is to 
 bring her bows to bear against the stern (which 
 is the weakest part of the ship). The whole 
 strength of a galley is in her bows, and here she 
 has the greater part of her artillery ; she there- 
 fore endeavours to force her bows into the enemy's 
 stern, firing her five guns, and her crew then 
 scramble on board. The commander of the galley 
 
 > 
 
1 1 6 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 at once ordered this attack, bidding the pilot to 
 steer straight at the frigate, that we might force 
 our bowsprit into her. All the soldiers and 
 sailors appointed to jump on board, were standing 
 ready with naked swords and axes in their hands, 
 when the frigate, anticipating our manoeuvre, 
 evaded, by a clever stroke of the helm, our prow, 
 just as it was about to strike into her stern, and we 
 suddenly found ourselves with her broadside upon 
 us, against which we shaved so closely that our 
 oars were broken to pieces. 
 
 The coolness and courage of the English captain 
 were admirable ; he had foreseen what would occur, 
 and was all ready with his grappling-irons, by means 
 of which he seized our galley and hooked her on 
 to his broadside. Then he gave us a taste of his 
 artillery. All his guns were charged with grape-shot. 
 Every man on board the galley was as exposed as 
 if upon an open bridge or raft. So close were the 
 frigate's guns to us, that not a single shot was 
 without effect, and a frightful carnage ensued. 
 Moreover, the captain had placed in the rigging 
 a number of his men, with barrels full of hand- 
 grenades, which they rained down upon us like 
 hail, with such good aim that all our crew were 
 disabled, not only from attacking, but even from 
 making any defence; those who were neither killed 
 nor wounded, lay flat down to pretend that they 
 were so, and the terror was as great among the 
 officers as among the crew. The 'enemy perceiving 
 this, added to our discomfiture by sending forty 
 or fifty men on board our galley, sword in hand, 
 
Condemiied to the Galleys. wj 
 
 who cut to pieces any of the crew they could lay 
 their hands upon^ only sparing the convicts, who 
 made no attempt at defence. After they had 
 hacked about like butchers, they returned to their 
 frigate, continuing to pelt us with their guns and 
 grenades. 
 
 M. de Langeron seeing himself reduced to this 
 condition, and that not a person on board except 
 himself seemed able to stand, hoisted with his own 
 hands the flag of distress, thus calling all the 
 galleys of the squadron to our aid. 
 
 Our consort was soon with us, and the four 
 galleys which had already attacked and forced the 
 greater number of the merchantmen to strike their 
 sails, seeing this signal, and the peril of their com- 
 mander, quitted their prizes to come to his assist- 
 ance, and turned away from the Thames, so that the 
 fleet, hoisting their sails again, escaped up the river. 
 All the galleys now rowed with such speed, that in 
 less than a quarter of an hour all six surrounded 
 the frigate, which was soon no longer in a con- 
 dition to fire either cannon or musket-shot, and 
 not a man of the crew appeared upon the deck. 
 Twenty-five grenadiers out of each galley received 
 orders to board the frigate. They had not much 
 trouble in mounting, as there was no one to dis- 
 pute their way, but once on the deck they found 
 some one to speak to. The officers were en- 
 trenched under the quarter-deck, and poured such 
 a murderous fire on these grenadiers that they soon 
 discovered that the enemy had not yet surrendered. 
 But the worst of all was that this deck was com- 
 
 > 
 
1 18 Autobiography of a Frejich Protestant 
 
 posed of a grating of iron ; the greater part of 
 the crew were between decks, under this grating, 
 through the apertures of which they struck at 
 the legs of the grenadiers with pikes and swords, 
 so that they soon obliged them to jump back 
 into their galleys. Another detachment was now 
 ordered to board, but they too came down much 
 quicker than they had gone up. This grating had 
 at last to be broken through with axes and other 
 strong instruments, in order that the crew might be 
 forced from between decks ; this was done, not- 
 withstanding the heavy fire from the officers, and 
 the blows of the pikes, which killed and wounded 
 very many. By force of numbers the crew were 
 at last obliged to leave the middle-deck, and were 
 made prisoners. But the officers were still en- 
 trenched under the quarter-deck, and poured forth 
 their shot unceasingly. They, too, had to be over- 
 come, which was not done without loss. 
 
 The whole crew of the frigate had now sur- 
 rendered, with the exception of the captain, who 
 had shut himself up in his cabin on the quarter- 
 deck, firing different guns and pistols which he had 
 with him, and swearing that he would not sur- 
 render so long as a breath of life remained in him. 
 The officers, who had already descended into our 
 commander's galley as prisoners of war, gave a 
 terrible report of their captain, who, they said, 
 made every one tremble. He was, they said, 
 determined to set fire to his frigate rather than 
 surrender ; this was a danger more terrible than 
 any which we had yet undergone, for at any 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 119 
 
 moment we expected to be blown up in the air 
 with the frigate. The captain was master of the 
 stern-cabin, from whence is the entrance to the 
 powder-magazine ; he could, consequently, set fire 
 to it in a twinkling, and, the frigate exploding, 
 the six galleys would share her fate. There were 
 more than three thousand men in the six galleys, 
 and all were shuddering for fear of instant death, 
 in so great danger were we. In this extremity it 
 was resolved to summons the captain with civility 
 and politeness to surrender, promising him the best 
 treatment possible, but he only replied by firing 
 his guns. 
 
 An extreme remedy was now resorted to, which 
 was to capture him dead or alive. A sergeant, with 
 twelve grenadiers, was ordered with fixed bayonets 
 to go and break through the door of the cabin and 
 force him to surrender. The sergeant at the 
 head of his detachment soon broke through the 
 door, but the captain who was waiting for him, 
 pistol in hand, at once blew out his brains, so that 
 he fell down dead. The twelve grenadiers, seeing 
 this, and fearing the same fate, fled, and it was not 
 possible for the officers to make any other soldier 
 advance, for they said in their defence, that only 
 being able to enter one by one into the cabin, the 
 captain would kill them all one after the other. 
 Gentle means must, then, again be employed to 
 take him. The captain, who had only been re- 
 sisting so long in order to give his fleet time to 
 enter the Thames, and perceiving by the lights of 
 these ships that they had all entered, no longer 
 
 •f 
 
I20 Autobiography of a FrencJi Protestant 
 
 turned a deaf ear to the summons that he should 
 surrender. But to give still more time to a few 
 laggards in the fleet to escape, and that the night 
 might completely hide them from the pursuit of 
 the French, he still feigned a delay, saying that he 
 would only surrender his sword into the hands of 
 the commander of the galleys, who must come on 
 board the frigate to take it. A truce was arranged, 
 while this message was taken to the commander, 
 who sent his second in command to the English 
 captain, representing to him that it was not the 
 duty of a commander to quit his post. 
 
 The captain, who had nothing more to do to place 
 the fleet in safety, now gave up his sword. They 
 brought him down into the galley to our commander, 
 who was surprised to see a very little man, quite 
 deformed, and hump-backed. Our commander 
 complimented him, telling him that it was the 
 fortune of war, and that he might console himself 
 for the loss of his ship by the kind treatment 
 which he would show him. " I have no regret," 
 replied he, " for the loss of my frigate, since I have 
 succeeded in my design, which was to save the fleet 
 entrusted to my care. Moreover, I had resolved 
 from the moment I saw. you to sacrifice my ship 
 and my own person for the preservation of the 
 property which I had undertaken to defend. You ' 
 will still find," added he, speaking to the com- 
 mander, "a small quantity of lead and powder, 
 which I had neither time nor opportunity to give 
 you ; it is the most valuable thing you will find in 
 the frigate. As for myself, if you treat me as a 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 121 
 
 man of honour, I, or some other of my nation, will 
 some day perhaps ^ave the opportunity of acting 
 in the same way towards you." 
 
 This noble independence quite pleased M. de 
 Langeron, who, returning him his sword, said very 
 civilly, " Take back this sword, sir, you deserve 
 only too well to wear it, and you are my prisoner 
 only in name." Soon after our commander had 
 occasion to repent that he had returned his sword 
 to him, for the captain being introduced into the 
 cabin of the galley, and seeing there the traitor 
 Smith, whom he immediately recognised, and upon 
 whose head the price of ;!^i,ooo sterling was set in 
 England, " Traitor," said he, " you shall receive 
 death from my hand, since the executioners in 
 London cannot give it you," and at the same time 
 he rushed upon him, sword in hand, and would 
 have thrust it through his body, but the com- 
 mander seized him by the arm and prevented the 
 blow, to the great regret of the captain, who pro- 
 tested that he would rather have taken Smith than 
 the six galleys. Captain Smith, who was greatly 
 offended at this occurrence, represented that the 
 captain and himself ought not to be in the same 
 galley, and begged the commander to place his 
 prisoner on another vessel ; but the commander 
 replied that this captain being his prisoner, Captain 
 Smith must go to another galley, and his prisoner 
 remain with him, which was done. We manned 
 our prize, which was called the Nightingale. The 
 name of this brave captain has escaped me. 
 
 We at once left the mouth of the Thames with 
 
 > 
 
122 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 our prize, but we had to go out of our way and 
 profit as much as possible by the darkness of the 
 night to evade four hght-decked ships which came 
 out of the Thames to give us chase. They could 
 not overtake us, and we arrived at Dunkirk three 
 days after, without any accident. 
 
 I said that I should never forget the date, 5th of 
 September, 1708, when these events occurred, and 
 when I received three great wounds and escaped 
 death, as by a kind of miracle. It happened 
 thus : — 
 
 The frigate, having seized us with her grappling- 
 irons, we were exposed to the fire of her artillery, 
 and our bench, fen which were five convicts and 
 a Turkish slave, happened to be just opposite to 
 one of the guns of the frigate, which I perceived 
 to be loaded. Our broadsides were touching, con- 
 sequently this gun was so near to us that by raising 
 myself a little I could have touched it with my 
 hand. This unpleasant neighbour made us all 
 tremble ; my companions lay down quite flat, 
 thus thinking to escape its fire. On examining this 
 cannon, I perceived, from the manner in which it. 
 was pointed, that its discharge would bear directly 
 upon our bench, and that, lying down, we must 
 receive it upon our bodies. Having made this 
 observation, I determined to stahd straight up on 
 my bench. I could not get away, I was chained 
 to it ; what else could I do .^ I must resign myself 
 to pass under the fire of this cannon ! As I was 
 attentive to all that was passing on board, the 
 frigate, I saw the gunner, with his lighted match 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 123 
 
 in his hand, begin to touch the gun at the bows 
 of the frigate with the fire, and then go from gun 
 to gun till he came to the one which pointed 
 upon our vessel ; I then Hfted up my heart to God, 
 and uttered a short but fervent prayer, as a man 
 who expects the stroke of death. I could not take 
 my eyes off this gunner, who kept gradually 
 approaching our gun, as he applied his match in 
 succession to the others. Now he came to this 
 fatal gun ; I had the courage to watch him put 
 the portfire to the gun, still standing straight up, 
 and commending my soul to my Saviour. The 
 cannon fired ; I was suddenly stunned and thrown 
 prostrate, not upon the bench, but in the centre of 
 the galley, as far off as my chain could extend. 
 Here I lay, stunned and unconscious, stretched 
 across the body of the lieutenant, who was killed, 
 for I know not how long, but I imagine it must 
 have been a considerable time. At last, however, I 
 regained my senses. Raising myself from the lieu- 
 tenant's body, I returned to my bench. It was 
 night, and I saw neither the blood nor the carnage 
 which was upon the bench, by reason of the dark- 
 ness. I first thought that my comrades were still 
 lying down, for fear of the cannon. I did not know 
 that I was wounded, feeling no pain, and I said to 
 my comrades, " Get up, lads, the danger is over." 
 But I received no answer. The Turk on the 
 bench, who had been a janissary, and who boasted 
 that he was never afraid, remaining prostrate like 
 the others, I said, jokingly, " What, Isouf, this is 
 the first time you have been afraid ; come, get up," 
 
124 AutobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 and at the same time I took him by the arm to 
 help him. But oh ! horror ! which makes me 
 still shudder when I think of it, his arm, separated 
 from his body, remained in my hand. With terror 
 I let fall the arm of this unhappy fellow, and 
 perceived that he, as well as the four others, were 
 literally hewn in pieces, for all the shot from the gun 
 had fallen upon them. I sat down upon the bench. 
 I had not been long in that attitude when 
 I felt something cold and damp streaming down 
 upon my body, which was naked. I put my hand 
 to it and felt directly that it was wet, but could not 
 in the darkness distinguish if it was blood. But I 
 soon found that it was, and streaming from a large 
 wound which went quite through my left shoulder. 
 I felt another on my left leg, below the knee, as 
 deep as the one in my shoulder, and a third, nearly 
 a foot long and four inches broad, in my stomach. 
 I was losing an immense quantity of blood, without 
 being able to get assistance from any one, all 
 around me being dead, as well in my bench as in 
 the two adjoining ones, so that of the eighteen men 
 who were in those three benches, I alone had 
 escaped with my three wounds ; and all this 
 slaughter had been caused by one cannon ! This 
 will easily be understood when I mention that 
 these guns were charged up to the muzzle, first 
 with cartridge-powder, then a long tin box, in size 
 varying according to the calibre of the gun, filled 
 with large musket-balls and old pieces of iron. 
 When they fired these guns the box broke, the 
 balls and grape-shot spread in an incomprehensible 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 125 
 
 manner, and caused a fearful carnage. I was then 
 obliged to wait for assistance till the combat was 
 over and order could be restored, for everyttiing on 
 board the galley was in a frightful state of disorder. 
 No one knew who was dead, wounded, or alive ; we 
 heard only the piercing cries of the wounded, of 
 whom there were a large number. 
 
 The coursier, which is the deck or gangway pass- 
 ing down the middle of the galley from one end to 
 the other, and is about four feet broad, was so 
 encumbered with dead bodies that we could not 
 pass over it. The rowers' benches were for the 
 most part equally full of the bodies, not only of 
 convicts, but of sailors, soldiers, and officers, either 
 dead or wounded, so that the living and unhurt 
 could scarcely move, either to throw the dead into 
 the sea, or to help the wounded. Add to this the 
 darkness of the night, and that we dared not light 
 either torches or lanterns, fearing to be seen from 
 the coast, and lest the ships of war which were in 
 the Thames should pursue us, our galley was in 
 a terrible state of chaos and confusion, which lasted 
 far into the night, when the combat being ended 
 by the surrender of the frigate, things were 
 arranged as best they could be. The other five 
 galleys helped us, replacing our dead and wounded, 
 as well as the oars and equipments which we had 
 lost, for they had not endured nearly so much loss 
 or injury as we had done. They worked diligently, 
 but as silently as possible, to put us into order. 
 
 I say silently, and without light, for we saw lights 
 proceeding from the Thames, and heard several 
 
126 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 signal guns which we thought proceeded from ships 
 of war which were coming to look after us. 
 
 The first thing done on board our galley was to 
 throw the dead into the sea, and carry the wounded 
 into the hold. But God knows how many wretches 
 were thrown into the sea as dead who were not 
 really so, for in this darkness and confusion they 
 took for dead those who had only fainted, either 
 through fear or loss of blood from their wounds. I 
 found myself in this extremity, for when the argou- 
 sins came to my bench to unchain the dead and 
 wounded, I had fallen down in a fainting-fit, and 
 lay motionless and unconscious among the others, 
 bathed in their blood and my own. These argou- 
 sins at once concluded that all belonging to this 
 bench were dead. They only unchained them and 
 threw them into the sea, without further examining 
 whether they were dead or alive ; it was quite 
 enough if they did not hear them cry out or speak. 
 These obsequies were so hastily performed that a 
 bench was emptied in a moment. All my four 
 comrades who were slain were frightfully mangled. 
 I was the only one who was whole, but buried and 
 prostrate in this carnage, making no movement nor 
 sound. They unchained me to throw me into the 
 sea, judging me to be dead. Now it must be 
 remembered that I was chained by the left leg, and 
 that it was in this leg I was wounded. One argou- 
 sin seized me by this leg, to drag me up, while 
 another was unfastening the bolt of the iron ring 
 which held my chain. The latter, happily for me, 
 put his hand upon my wound, which caused me so 
 
Co?tctenmed to the Galleys. 127 
 
 great pain that I raised a great cry, and I heard the 
 argoiisin say, " This man is not dead ;" and yjiagin- 
 ing at once that they were going to throw me into 
 the sea, I exclaimed (for this pain had brought 
 back my consciousness), " No, no ; I am not dead." 
 They took me down to the bottom of the hold 
 among the other wounded, and threw me down 
 upon a cable. What a strange place of repose for 
 a wounded man, agonised with pain ! 
 
 We who were wounded were all cast pell-mell 
 into the hold, sailors, soldiers, officers, and con- 
 victs, without any distinction, laid down upon the 
 hard boards, and receiving no help or relief, for, 
 on account of there being so many wounded, the 
 surgeons could attend to but few. As to myself, 
 I was three days in this terrible place without 
 having my wounds dressed, only a little cam- 
 phored brandy being applied to stop the bleed- 
 ing, without any bandage or further treatment. The 
 wounded died like flies in this horrible hold, where 
 there was a stifling heat and dreadful stench, so 
 that gangrene set in on most of our wounds. In 
 this state we arrived, three days after the battle, 
 in the roadstead of Dunkirk. The wounded 
 were at once landed and carried to the naval 
 hospital. We were hauled up out of the hold with 
 ropes and pulleys, like cattle, and taken to the 
 hospital, more dead than alive. The galley slaves 
 were separated from the free men and placed in 
 two large wards containing forty beds each, and 
 we were all neck-chained to the foot of our beds. 
 At one o'clock in the afternoon the head surgeon 
 
128 Autobiography of a FroicJi Protestant 
 
 of the hospital came to examine and dress our 
 wounds, accompanied by all the surgeons of the 
 ships and galleys which were in the harbour. I 
 had just been strongly recommended to the head 
 surgeon, and this is how it came about. 
 
 Since the year 1702, when I was taken to the 
 galleys at Dunkirk, I had been recommended by 
 my relations at Bordeaux, at Bergerac, and at 
 Amsterdam, to a rich and celebrated banker, named 
 M. Piecourt, who had a house at Dunkirk, and 
 frequently resided there. He was a native of 
 Bordeaux, a Protestant by birth and at heart, but 
 outwardly a Papist. He was quite a man of the 
 world, generous as a friend, and his purse was 
 always open to please and oblige the great nobles, 
 by whom he was much caressed and flattered. IM. 
 Piecourt, then, perceiving that he was solicited 
 from so many different quarters in my favour, and 
 by people whom he highly valued, thought that 
 I was worth the trouble of any service he might 
 render me, and that if he could obtain my release 
 he would, at all events, greatly oblige some of his 
 best friends. He spoke in my favour to the 
 Chevalier de Langcron, my captain, who, out of 
 consideration to him, as he was his great friend, 
 granted me several indulgences. But wishing to 
 carry his good offices still further, he one day 
 begged my captain to have the kindness to order 
 that I should be brought to him the next day, 
 which was Christmas day, at eight o'clock in the 
 morning. He chose this time that his wife might 
 not know of it, for she was a bigoted Papist, and 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 29 
 
 that morning she would remain in church till noon. 
 In the course of the evening M. de Langerott came 
 to his galley (in winter these gentlemen do not live 
 on board) to order the argousin to take me himself, 
 without a chain, to M. Piecourt's, and to wait at the 
 street-door, or in the hall, till I had finished my 
 business with him. This was done. 
 
 M. Piccourt made me enter his room, telling his 
 servants that he could see no one while I was there. 
 He began by exaggerating the desire which he had 
 to render me any service in his power, adding that 
 he had devised a scheme for my release which 
 would certainly succeed if I would leave it in his 
 hands. I thanked him for his kindness, and told 
 him that I would do all that he directed me, pro- 
 vided it could be reconciled to my conscience. 
 " Conscience," said he, " will have a little to do with 
 it, but so little that you will not feel it ; and what 
 you think is wrong you can atone for when you get 
 to Holland. Listen," said he. " I am a Protestant, 
 Hke you. I have good reason, on account of my 
 fortune, to play the hypocrite before the world. I 
 don't believe there is any great harm in it when one 
 does not apostatise at heart. This, then, is the 
 scheme I have devisfed to set you at liberty. M. de 
 Pontchartrain, the Minister of Marine, is a friend of 
 mine, and will refuse me nothing. You will onK- 
 have to sign a declaration which I will send to him, 
 and in which you will promise, when you are set at 
 liberty, and in whatever country you may be, to live 
 and die a good Roman Catholic ; you will have no 
 ceremony to perform, no one will even know what 
 
 X 
 
130 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 you have promised, and you will not become a 
 scandal to your brethren in the faith. If you 
 will do this, I can assure you that within a fort- 
 night you shall be released, and I will take care 
 to send you safely over to Holland without the least 
 danger. What do you think of it?" said he. "I 
 think, sir," replied I, " that I was deceived in 
 believing you to be a good Protestant. You are a 
 Protestant, but we must take away the word good. 
 I am very 'sorry, and I pray you to pardon me, 
 when I venture to take the liberty to tell you that 
 you are nothing at all, though you may believe 
 yourself to be a Protestant. What, sir ! do you 
 think that God is deaf and blind, and that the 
 promise which you propose that I should make, 
 concealed from the eye of man, would not greatly 
 offend him, as much and even more than if I made 
 it to a simple cure .'' For I have only to do it 
 before the chaplain of my galley, and he would at 
 once procure me my release. Do not deceive your- 
 self, sir," I continued, "the light which you possess 
 concerning the truth condemns you, for you know 
 as Mrell as I do, and even better, that if the con- 
 fession which we make to God in our hearts is not 
 confirmed by that of our lips, instead of being a 
 virtue it becomes a crime." 
 
 He then urged several reasons for relaxing the 
 strictness which the Gospel prescribes. I refuted 
 them all as my faith and my conscience dictated to 
 me. I then told him that I did not think that my 
 relations, who had commended me to his kindness, 
 had petitioned him to procure me my release at the 
 
Co7idemned to tJie Galleys. 131 
 
 expense of my conscience. "Certainly not," said 
 he ; " very far from that ; and I would nofe^for a 
 great deal that they should know of it." He 
 embraced me, with tears in his eyes, desiring and 
 praying God that he would grant me grace to per- 
 severe in sentiments so worthy of a confessor of the 
 truth. " I do not love you so much," said he, " on 
 account of the recommendation I have received 
 regarding you, but out of pure respect for those 
 excellent sentiments which you profess ; and you 
 may reckon that I shall watch for 'opportunities to 
 render you services." He then offered me as much 
 money as I needed. I thanked him as well as I 
 could, and then took leave of him, and returned to 
 my galley. Since then M. Piecourt frequently came 
 to see me on the galley, always offering me his 
 services. 
 
 It happened, then, that having heard how our 
 galley had lost many men at the capture of the 
 English frigate, he ran at once to the harbour to 
 inquire about me. He learned that I was severely 
 wounded, and had already been taken to the hos- 
 pital. He went immediately to the head surgeon 
 of tliis hospital, who was his friend, and commended 
 me to his care as warmly as if I had been his own 
 son. I can indeed say that, after God, I owe my 
 life to this surgeon, who undertook, contrary to his 
 usual custom (for he never did anything but give 
 orders), to dress my wounds himself. At the first 
 visit which he made to our ward,'he took his tablets 
 from his pocket, and asked who was called Jean 
 Marteilhe. I replied that it was I. He approached 
 
132 Autobiography of a FrcncJi Protestant ■ 
 
 my bed, and asked me if I knew M. Piecourt I 
 said that I did, and that he had had the kindness 
 to procure me all the indulgence possible during the 
 six or seven years that I had been at the galleys. 
 " The manner," said he, " in which he has com- 
 mended you to my care proves the truth of what 
 you say, I shall with pleasure attend to his request. 
 Let us see your wounds." The principal was that 
 in the shoulder, very dangerous on account of its 
 situation. He at once took off the only bandage 
 which the surgeon of the galley had applied, and 
 whose negligence had caused my wounds to gan- 
 grene. He summoned this surgeon, and reproached 
 him for being such a butcher as to have treated me 
 thus, and that if I died, as he feared I should do, 
 he would be my murderer. 
 
 The galley surgeon made the best excuse that he 
 could, and begged the head surgeon to allow him 
 to dress me. This he refused, and declared to all 
 the others that I was his patient, and that he would 
 not allow any one to dress me except himself He 
 took, indeed, so great care of me, and used so many 
 remedies, that, humanly speaking, I may say he 
 saved my life. Quite three-fourths of our wounded 
 died, the majority of whom were not wounded so 
 dangerously as I was. The large number of men 
 who died at the hospital, both of the crews of the 
 galleys and of the convicts, made some think that 
 the English frigate used poisoned balls. But I 
 believe, with all reasonable people, that it was a 
 calumny caused by the hatred which the French 
 bear to this nation. The opinion of the head 
 
Co7i^cvmed to the Galleys. 133 
 
 surgeon, who was the most skilful in all France in 
 his profession, was that this great mortality arose 
 from the shot of these guns being dirty and rusty, 
 and tearing the wounds which they made, added to 
 the carelessness of the galley surgeons in their 
 manner of dressing the wounds. 
 
 In less than two months my wounds were healed, 
 but the surgeon made me remain a month longer 
 in the hospital to regain my strength ; and as the 
 director of the hospital, to whom I was also recom- 
 mended, ordered the brethren of the order of St, 
 Francis, who served this hospital, to give me all 
 that I asked for which was not injurious to my 
 health and to the healing of my wounds, I was fed 
 and cared for like a prince. 
 
 At the end of three months I was sleek and fat 
 as a monk, and the head surgeon having written 
 out and given me a certificate that, owing to my 
 wounds, I was rendered incapable of rowing or of 
 doing other hard work in the galleys, I was sent 
 back to the galley to my usual bench. 
 
 In the ensuing campaign, in 1709, the galleys 
 armed in the month of April. "There are six con- 
 . victs to each oar ; the strongest and most vigorous 
 is always strokesman, and has the hardest work. 
 He is of the first class, the next is second class, and 
 so on till the sixth class. This last has scarcely 
 any work, so the weakest and feeblest on the bench 
 is placed there. Now before I was wounded I was 
 of the first class, and the comiie, whether by inad- 
 vertence or otherwise, had left me in his list in this 
 class, the work of which I could not penorm, by 
 
13-;. '^ utohiography of a French Protestant 
 
 reason of the weakness of my arm, which was 
 abnost useless, as I was scarcely able to put my 
 hand to my mouth. I placed myself then, of my 
 own accord, in the sixth class, waiting to pass 
 through the test. This test is terrible, for the first 
 time the galley puts to sea, to discover whether the 
 comict is not feigning to be maimed, and thus 
 endeavouring to exempt himself from the hard 
 work of the oar, the comite overwhelms the poor 
 wretch with strokes of the lash till he is ver)* nearly 
 dead. 
 
 We sailed out of the harbour, then, for the first 
 time that }'ear, and after the comite (who always 
 stands on the prow of the galley till she is out in 
 the open sea) had directed the starting of the 
 galley, he visited each bench to see if the rowers 
 were well classed. He held a thick cord in his 
 hand, lashing those who were not rowing according 
 to his fancy. I was in the sixth bench from the 
 stem, and as he had begun his inspection from the 
 bo\»', and was much excited, striking on all sides, 
 before he came to my bench, I expected, in the 
 greatest state of amxietj' in the world, that he would 
 treat me pitilessly. He arrived at last before our 
 bench, and stopping v^ith a ferocious air he ordered 
 the strokesmen to cease rowing. Then addressing 
 me, " Dog of a Huguenot," said he, " come here." I 
 dragged my chain to approach the coursier upon 
 which he was standing, my heart trembling with 
 fear, and firmly believing that he had ordered me 
 to come near to him that he might flog me the 
 better. I approached him, cap in hand, in a sup- 
 
Conettmrud to the Galleys. 135 
 
 pliant posture. " Who ordered you," said he, " to 
 row ? ■' I replied that, being maimed as he could 
 see by my scars (for I was naked to the waist, as 
 one always is at the oar), and ha\'ing only the use 
 of one arm. I was employing it as well as I could 
 to help my comrade on the bench. ^ That was not 
 what I asked you," replied he ; " I ask you who 
 ordered you to row ? "" " My dut}*,"' replied L 
 " And I," said he, " command you not to row, nor 
 any other of my crew who is in a similar condition, 
 for \i those who are wounded in battle are not 
 released according to the law, I will not have them 
 to row in my galley." Mark that he said this so 
 that the other galley slaves might approve of it, 
 and that they should not think that he fa\'oared the 
 Reformed. After ha\-ing spoken these words, which 
 I listened to as if an angel of heaven had appeared 
 to me, so delighted T\-as I, he called the argousitt, 
 and said to him, " Unchain that incapable dog, and 
 put him down in the store-roonL" This is the place 
 in the hold where all the \-ictuals are kept The 
 ctrgvtisin then unchained me from that fatal bench, 
 where for seven long years I had suffered so much, 
 and made me descend to this store-cabin. The 
 stev^-ard of this cabin was a comnct with whom I 
 had contracted a friendship for the last two or three 
 years, although he \4-as a Papist He was about 
 twent}.--three years of age, a good-looking fdlow, 
 and the son of a gentleman of Limousin ; he was 
 at the gaUej"^ rather on account of a youthful mis- 
 demeanour than for gross crimes. His name was 
 Goujon. \Mien poor Goujon saw me introduced 
 
136 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 into the store-room, he threw himself on vay neck. 
 " My dear friend," said he, " is it, indeed, true that 
 we shall add to the title of friend that of com- 
 panion ? " We congratulated each other, whilst the 
 galley proceeded on her way, without the aid of 
 our arms ; and, as we had plenty of time for con- 
 versation, he told me his history, which till then I 
 only knew imperfectly. 
 
 The galleys, during that day and the following 
 night, cruised about in the Channel, after which 
 they returned to the roadstead of Dunkirk. As 
 soon as we had anchored there, the coniite, seated 
 on the table of his bench, called me to him. " You 
 have seen," said he, "what I have done to relieve 
 you. I am delighted to have found this oppor- 
 tunity to show you how I esteem you, and all those 
 of your religion, for you have done no harm to any 
 one ; and I consider that if you are damned on 
 account of your religion, you will be punished 
 enough in the other world." I thanked him as 
 well as I could for his kindness. " I am somewhat 
 perplexed," continued he, " as to how I shall man- 
 age this affair so as not to make an enemy of the 
 chaplain, who will never suffer me with impunity 
 to favour a Huguenot. However, I have thought 
 of an expedient which will, I hope, succeed. M. de 
 Langeron's secretary is dead, and lie is anxious to 
 find another. , I will propose to him that you should 
 take the office, and will do it in such a way that I 
 am sure he will accept you ; you will then not only 
 be exempt from work, but even respected by every 
 one, and I shall be protected from the censure of 
 
Condc7nncd to the Galleys. 137 
 
 the chaplain. Go away," said he, "to the store- 
 cabin ; you will soon be called." I did sq^ The 
 comite went immediately to speak to M. de Lan- 
 geron. He described to him how he had a man on 
 tlie sixth bench, but that he would rather have a 
 sheep there, for this convict was maimed of one 
 arm ; he had put him to the test by severe blows of 
 the lash, but as he really was incapable of rowing 
 he had removed him from the bench because he 
 embarrassed and prevented his comrades from row- 
 ing. Upon this M. de Langeron asked him how I 
 had been maimed. " By the wounds," replied the 
 comite, "which he received at the capture of the 
 Nightingale at the mouth of the Thames." " How 
 comes it, then," said the commander, " that he has 
 not been released like the others .-' " " Because," 
 said the comite, " he is a Huguenot." Mark that it is 
 tlie law to release all those who are wounded in a 
 battle, however heinous the crime for which they 
 have been condemned to the galleys, except the 
 Reformed. " But," added the comite, " this fellow 
 knows how to write, and is very well behaved, and I 
 think if you want a secretary he would be just the 
 man for you." " Call him," said the commander. 
 I was summoned at once. Directly he saw me he 
 asked me if I was not M. Piecourt's friend ; I told 
 him that I was. " Well, you shall be my secre- 
 tary," said he ; " send him to the store-cabin, and 
 remember that no one is to give him orders but 
 myself" 
 
 Here I was, then, installed as the commander's 
 secretary. I knew that he liked neatness. I had a 
 
138 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 little red coat made (a convict is obliged to wear 
 that colour) ; I got also some finer linen ; I had per- 
 mission to let my hair grow ; I bought a scarlet 
 cap ; and, thus polished up, I presented myself to 
 the commander, who was charmed to see me in this 
 costume, which I had purchased at my own expense. 
 He ordered his steward to give me at every meal 
 a plate from his table, and a bottle of wine a 
 day, which was done throughout the campaign of 
 1709, and I can in truth say that I wanted nothing 
 except liberty. I was night and day without a 
 chain, having only a ring round my ankle. I had a 
 good bed and perfect rest, while all the others were 
 working at the oars, I was well fed, honoured and 
 respected by the officers and the crew, and espe- 
 cially loved and esteemed by the commander and 
 his nephew, the major of the six galleys, whose 
 secretary I also became. I had, indeed, at certain 
 times, very much to write, but I was so exact about 
 it that I sometimes passed whole nights writing 
 that I might complete my work sooner even than 
 the commander expected. 
 
 In this happy state I continued till the year 1712, 
 when it pleased God to submit me to a trial, great 
 in itself, and all the more bitter because nearly four 
 years of ease had accustomed me to prosperity. I 
 shall say nothing here about the y^ars 1710, 1711, 
 and the greater part of 17 12, except that the galleys 
 remained unarmed in the port of Dunkirk, France 
 being so denuded of everything connected with her 
 navy that she could not even arm a boat, so that no 
 event worthy of notice occurred till October, 17 12, 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 39 
 
 when our great tribulations, and those of our sufifer- 
 ing community, took place. But before I proceed 
 to this, I must relate the history of my friend, 
 Goujon. 
 
 Goujon was a native of Serche, in Limousin, the 
 son of rich and noble parents. He was the 
 youngest of three brothers. One was a captain in 
 the regiment of Picardy, and the other an ensign in 
 the king's musketeers ; Goujon himself had also an 
 inclination for a military life. They were just 
 levying a new regiment in his province, called the 
 regiment of Aubesson, which was joined by the 
 majority of the youth of the district, nearly all the 
 officers belonging to Limousin nobility. M. de 
 Labourlie, an uncle of Goujon's, was lieutenant- 
 colonel of the regiment ; Goujon joined it as a 
 cadet ; he was magnificently equipped by his father, 
 who provided him with all the money necessary to 
 cut a good figure. 
 
 The regiment being complete, was quartered at 
 Gravelines, a small town four leagues from 
 Dunkirk. Goujon had been well-educated ; he had 
 studied and learned all those accomplishments 
 which befit a young nobleman, and he well- 
 sustained the honour of his family. Being magni- 
 ficently equipped, young, and well-made, and having 
 plenty of wit, he soon gained the friendship and 
 consideration of all ; and as he frequented all the 
 society of Gravelines, it was not long before he 
 loved and was loved by a young lady, who quite 
 merited his attachment This lady was the only 
 daughter of an old officer, a pensioner of the king, 
 
140 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 and who was immensely rich. These young lovers 
 were passionately attached to each other. Goujon 
 flattered himself that the lady's father would joy- 
 fully give her to him in marriage. In this hope 
 he made his request, but was much surprised, not 
 only to be flatly refused, but to be ordered by the 
 old officer never to see nor to hold any communi- 
 cation with his daughter again. He most strictly 
 forbade his daughter from ever seeing her lover 
 again, on pain of being shut up in a convent. 
 
 This misfortune so greatly afflicted the two 
 lovers, that not seeing any means of bending the 
 old man, they formed a project of escaping to some 
 place where they could be married without obstacle, 
 and which having been decided upon, Goujon made 
 all his preparations for the elopement. A post- 
 chaise was to be ready outside the town, on a day 
 fixed, when the young lady was to escape from her 
 father's house and go to a certain spot on the 
 ramparts. The difficulty was how to get out of the 
 town, which could only be done under cover of the 
 darkness, and the gates of the town were always 
 closed at night-fall. But Goujon thought of an 
 expedient, which proved less successful than he had 
 hoped. There was an old breach in one part of 
 the ramparts which they had neglected to repair ; 
 Goujon was well acquainted with it, as he had 
 often ascended by it when he was too late to enter 
 by the town gate. There was, indeed, always a 
 sentinel at this breach, who was forbidden, under 
 pain of death, to allow any one, whoever it might 
 be, to pass. But as there were no troops in 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 141 
 
 Gravelines except the regiment of Aubesson, all 
 the soldiers of which knew and loved Goujoji, who 
 besides always gave money to the sentinel when he 
 passed through this breach, he persuaded himself 
 that whatever soldier was stationed there he would 
 find the same facility and be able to pass through 
 with his lady. He went then to the rendezvous; 
 the young lady had kept her appointment ; he led 
 her straight to the breach, when a rough sort of a 
 sentinel who was on duty there, a new recruit, who 
 had even been the servant of Goujon's father, 
 hearing some one approach, cried out, " Who goes 
 there ?" "A friend," replied Goujon, The sentinel, 
 who recognised his voice, cried out to him not to 
 approach any nearer unless he wanted a bullet 
 through his heart. Goujon, calling him by name, 
 spoke kindly to him, and promised him money to 
 drink his health if he would let him descend by 
 the breach. The sentinel, who kept to the letter of 
 his orders, replied, that for all the money in the 
 world, he would not risk being hanged. Goujon con- 
 tinued to. advance, but the sentinel having again 
 warned him to retire, took aim, but his gun having 
 missed fire, Goujon, furious with rage, sprang upon 
 the soldier, seized him in his arms, and threw him 
 from the top of the rampart into the moat below. 
 
 The sentinel, though he was not hurt by the 
 fall, yelled and screamed. Close by was one of 
 the town gates, and beside it an office of the 
 custom-house, in which a dozen clerks, all citizens 
 of the town, were amusing themselves. Directly 
 they heard the sentinel in the ditch cry out, they 
 
142 A titobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 sprang to arms, and hastened to the place where 
 Goujon was, some armed with pistols and others 
 with swords, crying out, " Help, for the king's sake." 
 Goujon, seeing this storm approach, and not being 
 able to save himself without exposing his mistress, 
 who would have been dishonoured for her whole 
 life if he had abandoned her, took the most 
 generous course. " Escape quickly, mademoiselle," 
 he said to her, "and regain your home, whilst I 
 favour your retreat by holding these people at bay. 
 She at once escaped without being perceived. 
 Goujon, however, was surrounded and attacked by 
 these twelve clerks ; he drew his sword and used it 
 too well for four of these unfortunate fellows, 
 whom he slew, and wounded several others, not 
 without receiving several wounds himself. 
 
 Not far off stood a little public-house, where a 
 sergeant of Goujon's company happened just then 
 to be, who, hearing the cries and the sound of arms, 
 went out and asked what was the matter. Goujon, 
 recognising his voice, cried out, " It is I, my 
 friend La Motte, whom they are assassinating." 
 La Motte, sword in hand, ran at one of the clerks 
 who had a pistol in his hand which he discharged 
 at La Motte, who at the same moment plunged his 
 sword into the clerk's body, and both fell do\vn 
 quite dead. During this massacre the nearest 
 guard hearing the cry, " Help, for the king's sake," 
 had given the alarm to the whole garrison, which 
 was at once under arms and hastened to the scene 
 of the combat. Goujon had fallen down through 
 weakness caused by loss of blood, which was 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 143 
 
 flowing from four wounds. The major, who had 
 come up with the nearest guards, had all the 
 dead and wounded, as well as those who were 
 unhurt, taken to the hospital. All the officers of 
 the regiment, and especially the lieutenant-colonel, 
 in order to save Goujon, warmly espoused his side 
 of the affair against the clerks ; accusing them 
 of rebellion and wishing to assassinate the king's 
 soldiers. They even suppressed the fact of the 
 sentinel having been thrown down from the 
 rampart by Goujon, which was the real cause of all 
 this slaughter. Besides, twelve citizens against two 
 soldiers was an unfavourable sign for these clerks, 
 and one by which they profited to save Goujon ; 
 and notwithstanding the injustice towards the seven 
 clerks who remained, they proceeded against them 
 with extreme rigour. 
 
 The council of war undertook this affair, and gave 
 sentence very precipitately. It justified Goujon, and 
 praised him as a man of honour, for having, in the 
 king's service, slain four citizens out of twelve who 
 had attacked him ; and sentenced the seven clerks 
 who remained — three to be hanged, and four con- 
 demned to the galleys for life ; for which fate they 
 were to draw lots. The whole town exclaimed 
 against this sentence of the council of war. The 
 magistracy took the affair to heart, and went in 
 a body to the governor to protest against the in- 
 justice of this sentence. A delay of thirty days 
 before the sentence should be carried into execu- 
 tion was granted, and meanwhile, the whole affair ' 
 was to be referred to the king, and Goujon confined 
 
144 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 in the town prison till the decision of the court 
 was known. 
 
 The magistracy drew out a proces verbal, in which 
 the whole affair was truthfully and minutely repre- 
 sented. They did not forget to insert Goujon's 
 crime in assaulting the sentinel, and throwing him 
 off the rampart. It was moreover proved that the 
 clerks taking the king's side, and being peaceably 
 disposed, had, before using any act of hostility, 
 implored Goujon, in the king's name, to lay down 
 his arms, but that Goujon had replied very disre- 
 spectfully, " that the king and all his family might 
 go about their business." This imprudence cost 
 Goujon very dearly, for the king, who was fully 
 informed of it, would never pardon him. The court, 
 after due examination, ordered that the sentence of 
 the council of war should be annulled, and that the 
 magistracy should pronounce the final sentence, 
 which acquitted the clerks, and condemned Goujon 
 to be hanged, leaving him the option, if he preferred 
 it, on account of his rank, to be shot at the foot of 
 the gallows. 
 
 The consternation, which this sentence caused 
 throughout the regiment, may well be imagined. The 
 lieutenant-colonel, Goujon's uncle, was in despair. 
 He at once hastened to the governor, imploring him 
 not to carry out the execution of this sentence, and 
 to grant him at least a delay of twelve days. The 
 governor granted it to him, and the lieutenant-colonel 
 immediately travelled post to solicit the pardon of 
 his nephew at court. He threw himself at the 
 king's feet, beseeching him with clasped hands to 
 
Condemned to the Galleys, 145 
 
 pardon Goujon, trying to touch his majesty on his 
 most sensitive points. But the king, offeffded at 
 Goujon's insolent disrespect towards himself and the 
 royal family, remained inflexible. The lieutenant- 
 colonel was not disheartened, he moved heaven and 
 earth, and petitioned Madame de Maintenon, who 
 every one knew had immense power over the king. 
 She took the affair to heart, and notwithstanding 
 the monarch's repugnance to pardon Goujon, she 
 obtained his forgiveness so far, that Goujon's sen- 
 tence was remitted to servitude for life on board the 
 galleys at Dunkirk ; the king added his command 
 that he should never more be spoken to about him. 
 
 The lieutenant-colonel returned with all diligence 
 to Gravelines, bringing with him this commutation 
 of the sentence of death. He went to the governor, 
 to whom he delivered Goujon's sentence, with the 
 king's orders that he should be conducted to the 
 galleys, well guarded, and that ii he escaped, his 
 head and that of the commander of the garrison 
 would have to answer for it. 
 
 Fearing lest the garrison should form a design 
 to rescue Goujon, either in the town or on the road, 
 they pretended that Goujon had received a mil 
 pardon from the king on the sole condition of 
 serving as a soldier in the Chevalier de Langeron's 
 company at Dunkirk. The lieutenant-colonel ac- 
 cordingly went to the prison, where he found Goujon 
 with two Capuchins, who were exhorting him to 
 prepare for death on the morrow. The lieutenant- 
 colonel immediately exclaimed, " Courage, my 
 nephew, you shall not die. I have obtained your 
 > L 
 
146 Aiitohiograpliy of a French Protestant 
 
 complete pardon, and the king has ordered you to 
 serve as a soldier in M. de Langeron's company. 
 This punishment is nothing, as we shall soon obtain 
 you an officer's commission. To-morrow two archers, 
 merely for form's sake, will come to take you to 
 Dunkirk, and there you will be free, but as a common 
 soldier." 
 
 The next day two archers, who had orders how 
 to act, came to the prison. With much civility to 
 Goujon, they told him that they were all three going 
 to ride to Dunkirk, not as if they were conducting 
 a prisoner, for in fact he was not one, but as if they 
 were going on a party of pleasure, Goujon, who 
 believed all this, was quite content with his fate ; 
 the officers of the regiment, equally deceived, came 
 in a crowd to the prison to congratulate Goujon, 
 and to wish him a pleasant journey. Then he 
 mounted his horse with the two archers, and they 
 set out. At some distance from the town, in a deep 
 and narrow road, one of the archers turned suddenly 
 on Goujon, pistol in hand, telling him he would 
 blow out his brains if he made the least resistance, 
 the other archer meanwhile tied his legs under the 
 horse's belly, and put irons on his hands. The dis-' 
 tress of the young man may easily be imagined, 
 for he thought they were going to kill him. Having 
 asked the archers his destination, they brutally 
 replied that he would know when he arrived there. 
 In this condition they arrived at Dunkirk, con- 
 ducted Goujon to the galleys, and delivered him 
 to the argoiisin, who made him take off his laced 
 clothes, and put on a red jacket. Then they cut off 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 147 
 
 his hair, the most beautiful I ever saw in my life, 
 and chained him to a bench. However, thii. recom- 
 mendations in his favour which came to our cap- 
 tain from all quarters soon mitigated his sufferings. 
 The captain ordered that he should be placed in the 
 store-cabin, to distribute the victuals to the band of 
 galley slaves and to the crew, and exempted him 
 from every other kind of labour. He was unchained 
 also night and day, and had only a ring round his 
 ankle as a mark of servitude. I soon made his 
 acquaintance ; he was a young man of great talent, 
 and most agreeable in conversation, 
 
 Goujon and I remained friends and comrades in 
 the store-cabin till the year 1712, in the month of 
 July, when he escaped from the galleys. The 
 manner in which he succeeded is curious enough. 
 I have already said that Goujon had influential 
 relations and friends who were interested in his 
 misfortunes, and unceasingly endeavoured to pro- 
 cure his deliverance. His father, a venerable old 
 man, threw himself at the king's feet with his two 
 other sons, imploring his majesty's clemency for 
 his son at the galleys. He expressed, with much 
 force, the aff"ection of a father for his children, 
 promising the monarch that, old as he was, he would 
 cheerfully go at the head of his three sons to shed 
 his blood in his service. He spoke in such a touch- 
 ing and pathetic manner, that all those who were 
 present were melted to tears. He could not, how- 
 ever, move the king, who constantly refused 
 Goujon's pardon, which shows that injuries done 
 to the great are spots of the deepest dye, which 
 
148 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 cannot easily be effaced. Notwithstanding the 
 ill-success of this last step, they made yet a new 
 attempt to obtain Goujon's liberty. They gained 
 over Marshal de Noailles to their cause ; he had 
 just returned from the siege of Gironne, which he 
 had taken with much glory. 
 
 The king, to whom he came to render an account 
 of his conduct, received him most graciously. The 
 opportunity was favourable to ask and obtain some 
 favour from his majesty. But M. de Noailles con- 
 fined himself to asking for the pardon of Goujon. 
 The king told him that he was sorry to refuse him, 
 but that he had sworn never to grant it. Goujon, 
 who was informed of this, saw very well that he 
 could not obtain his release as long as the king 
 lived, and consoled himself with the hope that his 
 own death, or that of the king, would deliver him, 
 some time, from this slavery. Notwithstanding 
 his pitiable condition, he enjoyed some pleasures. 
 His father sent him everything he needed, and his 
 friends in the regiment, officers as well as soldiers, 
 often came to visit him — -for everybody is allowed 
 to enter the galleys. 
 
 In May, 17 12, a sergeant of grenadiers of the 
 regiment of Aubesson, then in garrison at Nieuport, 
 came to see Goujon, to whom he was greatly at- 
 tached. After several complaints on the subject of 
 his slavery, and on his little hope of ever being re- 
 leased from it, the sergeant said to him, " I come 
 here, sir, expressly on the part of your friends in 
 the regiment, to inform you that if four grenadiers 
 and myself, all men of courage and experience, can 
 
Condeiimed to the Galleys. 149 
 
 procure your liberty, either by open force or other- 
 wise, you have only to tell us the meauis by 
 which we can serve you, and you know that we are 
 all five at your disposal, at the risk of our lives. 
 We are aware in the regiment that you often have 
 occasion to go into the town. If you think that we 
 might carry you off then, I protest to you that no 
 danger would hinder us from doing so. Reflect 
 upon what I have the honour to tell you, and reckon 
 upon our discretion and courage. It would be 
 useless for you to ask me who those are who will 
 undertake the work, you can guess without my 
 telling you. I shall come, from time to time, to 
 talk over and consult with you on the resolutions 
 which you may think fit to take." 
 
 I was present at this conversation ; Goujon and I 
 were so intimate that \\q had no secrets from each 
 other. Charmed with the proposal, he thanked the 
 sergeant for his kindness, but said that such a 
 perilous enterprise demanded time and reflection ; 
 that he would well consider it, so as not to under- 
 take anything which was not certain of success; and 
 that as soon as he saw any opportunity of escape 
 he would let him know, so that they might devise 
 together all necessary measures. The sergeant 
 then took leave of us, and from that moment Gou- 
 jon thought of nothing else than of planning some 
 means of escape. The thing was not easy. It is 
 true that he often had occasion to go into the town 
 on account of his business, which was to distribute 
 the victuals to the galley slaves ; but he never 
 went alone, the argousin always chained him to a 
 
150 Autobiography oj a French Protestant 
 
 Turk, and gave him as a guard a man named 
 Guillaume, who was very strict, and to no other 
 guard would the arg07isin intrust Goujon. " I must 
 mention that it was strictly forbidden to allow any 
 couple of convicts, who went into the town on 
 business, to enter the public-houses, either to buy 
 or sell, under the penalty of three years to the 
 galleys for the guard, and a thousand crowns fine 
 to those who allowed them to enter their houses. 
 The privilege, therefore, which Goujon enjoyed of 
 going into the town could not serve him in the 
 execution of his design. It was impossible to carry 
 him off in the street in broad daylight, and in sight 
 of a large number of soldiers, and of the crews of 
 the galleys. Besides, the town was filled with a 
 numerous garrison, which had guards and sentinels 
 everywhere ; in short, the thing did not appear 
 practicable. There was only one way to succeed, 
 which was to bribe the guard largely, and so obtain 
 permission from him to enter a public-house. This 
 Goujon determined to try, persuaded that if he 
 could obtain this favour from his guard, for only 
 once, he should easily attain his object. Having 
 formed this project, he wrote to his father to beg 
 him to send him a large sum of money which he 
 required for a matter of importance. The good 
 man did not fail to send it to him, and he had no 
 sooner received it than he began to take measures 
 to carry out his daring plan. 
 
 One day, in the month of June, when it was very 
 hot weather, Goujon was in the town with Guill- 
 aume, his usual guard. After having performed 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 151 
 
 -%. 
 
 several errands connected with his business, while 
 they were passing through a narrow bye-street, and 
 opposite to a public-house, Goujon seeing that his 
 guard was faint with thirst, and being also very 
 thirsty himself, he begged to ask for a pot of beer 
 to be brought to the door that they might refresh 
 themselves. Guillaume, who saw in this nothing 
 contrary to his orders, willingly accepted it. The 
 landlady brought them a pot of beer into the 
 street, and seeing that fatigue made them look for 
 something to sit down upon, she said to them, 
 " There is a bench in my hall, make use of it, and 
 come under the doorway if you like, where, being 
 as visible as in the street, I shall not be compro- 
 mised." They did not want much asking. Goujon 
 treated his gjiard and the Turk very liberally, and 
 after having passed two or three hours, he asked 
 the landlady what he owed. She told him that it 
 was thirty sous. " Here, my good woman," said 
 he, " is a crown of five francs, I will make you a 
 present of the rest." This woman, who was not 
 very rich, felt so much obliged by this generosity 
 that she offered to let him enter her house when- 
 ever he liked. " No," said Goujon to her, " I do 
 not wish to expose either you or my guard, it is a 
 duty which I shall always observe." Upon this 
 they went out to return to the galley. But before 
 they reached it Goujon put a crown into Guillaume's 
 hand, out of gratitude, he said, for the permission 
 which he had given him to refresh himself at this 
 public-house. Guillaume was so delighted with 
 this present that h.e was quite beside himself. 
 
152 A iitobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 These guards have very small wages, and for the 
 last three years they had not been paid, nor 
 had any of the crew, so that this crown was a 
 treasure for him. He at once told Goujon that in 
 future he would give him more liberty, for that by 
 taking certain precautions there could be no danger 
 for any one. 
 
 Goujon was much pleased at this adventure, 
 which he related to me in all its particulars, and 
 which greatly raised his hopes. It was not long 
 before he went to the town again. He felt how 
 necessary it was for him to conciliate these people 
 more and more, and not to allow their good-will to 
 cool down. After having performed his pretended 
 business they went to breakfast at this public- 
 house. The landlady made them enter her vesti- 
 bule, and gave them what they wanted, while the 
 servant stood as sentinel at the street-door to 
 observeif any suspicious persons made their appear- 
 ance. After breakfast the landlady, probably in 
 her own interest, said to them, " Gentlemen, we 
 shall always be under apprehension lest any one 
 should discover you in this vestibule. There is a 
 way by which we can avoid this ; I have a room 
 quite at the end of the house. You can remain 
 there in quiet ; and Avhen you come here you will 
 only have to be careful as you go in, and as you 
 come out, to see if any one in the ^treet is watch- 
 ing you." Goujon, not wishing to show the joy 
 which this proposal gave him, did not reply ; but 
 Guillaume, who, besides the hope that he would 
 come oftcncr and enjoy the more good cheer, was 
 
Concifinned to the Galleys. 153' 
 
 still reckoning on Goujon's generosity, said at once 
 that it was a very good idea of the landlady, and 
 that they must see the room. It was foun(i»-to be 
 very convenient. Guillaume, for his own security, 
 Goujon, for the execution of his design, readily 
 agreed to accept it. " I do not wish," said the 
 latter to the landlady, " that in order to oblige us, 
 you should ruin yourself. Your room might be 
 occupied by others, who come here to spend their 
 money, when we arrive, and it would not be just 
 that you should be deprived of such profit. Let us 
 arrange in a manner fair to both parties ; let me 
 this room by the month, so that it may be always 
 at our disposal when we come to your house." 
 " Ah ! Monsieur Goujon," said Guillaume, " how 
 clever you are ; nothing in the world could be 
 better." Goujon, always liberal, gave the landlady 
 twenty francs a month for the room, which he paid 
 in advance ; and gave the same sum to Guillaume, 
 telling him that as he ran the same risks as this 
 woman, it was but fair that he should have the 
 same profit. He also gave a piece of money to the 
 Turk, lest he should tell tales to the argousin. 
 After which they returned to the gallc)% all well 
 content with the events of the day. Guillaume 
 and Goujon arranged to go next day and take pos- 
 session of this room. So Guillaume went by Gou- 
 jon's request to order a good dinner, and the next 
 day they went and enjoyed themselves perfectly. 
 They continued to go there frequently till towards 
 the end of July, when Goujon's project was carried 
 into execution. 
 
154 Autobiography of a French Protestmit 
 
 The sergeant of grenadiers, whose name was La 
 Rose, did not fail to come from time to time to see 
 Goujon, who told hirti all that had taken place. 
 " What most embarrasses me," said La Rose to him 
 one day, " is, that I do not see any means by which 
 I and my four grenadiers can get into the room of 
 which you have spoken. For the landlady will 
 never allow any one to enter while you are there, 
 for fear of being betrayed ; and, besides, your 
 guard for the same reason would strongly oppose 
 it." " Do not trouble yourself about that," said 
 Goujon ; " I have thought of this difficulty before 
 you, and have provided for it. When the right 
 time comes I will communicate to you the plan 
 which I have formed, and the measures it will be 
 necessary to take in order to succeed. Leave to 
 me the care of making all arrangements. I only 
 ask from you and your four faithful grenadiers 
 constancy in your resolutions, and firmness and 
 courage in their execution." 
 
 The sergeant assured him anew that he might 
 rely upon them. After which he returned to his 
 garrison. Guillaume and Goujon often went to re- 
 gale themselves at their mother's (thus they called 
 the landlady), and they became so much at home 
 in this public-house, that the hostess regarded them 
 as if they belonged to her family. At last Goujon, 
 thinking that it was time to carry his project into 
 execution, gave his last orders to La Rose, who had 
 come to see him. After telling him that the time 
 had come to put his courage to the proof, he gave 
 him the plan of the enterprise in writing, so that he 
 
Co7t4fm7icd to the Galleys. 155 
 
 might forget nothing, and fixed the day and hour 
 that he was to be at Dunkirk with his four grena- 
 diers. This plan, which he showed me, charmed 
 me as much by its ingenuity as by the means 
 which he had taken to prevent the shedding of any 
 blood, as will be seen. The day fixed for Goujon's 
 abduction having arrived, the sergeant and the four 
 grenadiers did not fail to come to Dunkirk, after 
 having each learned by heart the part they had to 
 play. Goujon being ready to set out for the town, 
 embraced me with tears in his eyes. " Pray God 
 for me, my dear friend," said he ; " to-day will be 
 an epoch of happiness to me, or the end of my life, 
 for if anything arrests my flight, and I have a 
 sword in my hand, I will die in the defence of my 
 liberty." This farewell alarmed me. I entreated 
 him, by our warm friendship, to abandon his enter- 
 prise, and patiently to await his release till a less 
 dangerous opportunity should present itself " No," ^ 
 said he, "the die is cast. I have a presentiment/ 
 that the issue will be favourable, which decide/ 
 me to wait no longer." He embraced me again^^ 
 wiped away his tears, and then went to be chained 
 to his Turk, that he might go to the town under 
 the guardianship of Guillaume. 
 
 The signal which Goujon had given to the ser- 
 geant was that he would pass about nine o'clock 
 in the morning before the town-hall, and that if 
 everything was favourable for the execution of his 
 project he would take his handkerchief out of his 
 pocket, and then the sergeant was to follow in due 
 order the directions which he had given him. 
 
156 AiLtohiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 Accordingly he passed by the appointed place, 
 pretended not to see the sergeant who was there 
 watching for him, gave him the signal agreed upon, 
 and went to breakfast at the public-house with his 
 usual escort. About ten o'clock, whilst they were 
 at breakfast, two of the grenadiers passing before 
 the public-house with their knapsacks on their 
 backs, one said to the other, " Comrade, we must 
 drink a glass of brandy here." They entered the 
 bar, and after the landlady had poured them out a 
 glass and they had sat down, one asked the other 
 if he had not seen their other two comrades and 
 the sergeant ; he replied he had not. " What a 
 bother they are with their plague of a Goujon," said 
 the first, " it will be their fault if we cannot get back 
 to our garrison to-day." The woman, who had heard 
 Goujon named, curious to know if they were speak- 
 ing of him who was then in her house, asked them 
 if they knew this Goujon whom they had just men- 
 tioned. " Know him ! I should think we did ! " 
 said they. " He was a cadet in our regiment, and 
 had the misfortune some years ago to be condemned 
 to the galleys for an affair of honour. But, thank 
 God, he is just going to be released. Our lieu- 
 tenant-colonel has so long petitioned the court for 
 his deliverance, that at last he has been pardoned 
 and received a lieutenant's commission. It is about; 
 this affair that our sergeant has conre to Dunkirk ; 
 the lieutenant-colonel has sent him to carry this act 
 of pardon to the master of the galleys, that he may 
 at once release this M. Goujon, and we other four 
 grenadiers have profited by this opportunity to 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 57 
 
 come into the town to buy provisions for our mess. 
 The sergeant, in the execution of his commission, 
 went to the galley where Goujon is to obtain his 
 release, but not finding him there, as he had been 
 sent to the commissariat in the town to purchase 
 provisions, our sergeant, who in vain searched for 
 him there also, separated from us that he might go 
 and seek for him to tell him this good news." 
 "What!" said the landlady, "is Goujon going to 
 be released ? " " Yes, indeed," said they, " and he 
 would be free now, if we had found him in his 
 galley." 
 
 The woman fell into the trap, and ran to tell 
 Goujon all that had passed. The ston,- had so 
 much appearance of truth, that Guillaume also 
 believed that Goujon was about to be set at liberty. 
 Goujon, pretending to be in transports of joy, 
 asked if these two grenadiers had gone out. " No," 
 said the landlady, "they are still at the bar," 
 Guillaume, firmly believing all he had heard, and 
 no longer seeing any danger in being found at 
 a public-house, was the first to exclaim that they 
 should be asked to come in. The landlady at 
 once went to ask them. These two fellows, who 
 had learned their part very well, threw themselves 
 at once on Goujon's neck and congratulated him 
 upon his happy release, telling him all the par- 
 ticulars of it, as well as the search which the 
 sergeant was making to find him. They drank 
 several glasses to Goujon's health, and all testified 
 to the joy they felt. Meanwhile, the other two 
 grenadiers were preparing to come upon the scene 
 
158 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 of action. They, in their turn, passed before the 
 pubHc-house, and, as if they had come there quite 
 by chance, one said to the other, " Just look into that 
 pubHc-house, comrade, and see if our people are 
 perchance in there." Looking in at the door he 
 called out, " No, they are not in there." " I don't 
 care where they are, then," said the other ; " don't 
 let us trouble ourselves any longer looking for 
 them." The landlady, who saw by their uniforms 
 that they belonged to the same regiment as the 
 others who were within, asked them who they were 
 looking for. " For two of our comrades," replied 
 they. "You shall see them in a moment, gentle- 
 men," said she, " they are in my house ; have the 
 kindness to come in and follow me " Having in- 
 troduced them into the room where Goujon was, 
 the embraces and congratulations recommenced. 
 *' To make our joy complete, we only want the 
 sergeant," said Goujon. " If one of you would go 
 and look for him, it would give me much pleasure." 
 The grenadier who undertook this commission, and 
 who knew well enough where he was, was not long 
 before he returned with him. As yet the plan had 
 succeeded very well', the greatest difficulty was 
 over ; it only remained to complete the undertaking 
 with the same success, and to remove every obstacle 
 out of the way. 
 
 The hostess was a widow, and had only one 
 servant, who might have cried out, spread the 
 alarm, and rendered the adventure perilous and 
 sanguinary. Goujon, who had foreseen this incon- 
 venience, in order to avoid it, said to the grena- 
 
Condemned to the G alleys. 1 59 
 
 diers that as they had come too late for breakfast 
 he would treat them to some oysters. They de- 
 clined in order to look less suspicious, aij4 said 
 that they must go back to Nieuport, and that if 
 they enjoyed themselves any longer here, they 
 would be too late to reach it that evening. But 
 Goujon at last persuaded them, telling them it 
 Avould not take long, and at the same time calling 
 the servant, to whom he gave some money, told 
 her to go and buy some oysters at the fish market, 
 which was quite at the other end of the town. 
 
 Soon after she was gone, they called the hostess to 
 bring some wine. When she had brought it, 
 Goujon said to her, " Mother, you must drink to 
 my happy release." " With all my heart, my son," 
 said she ; and just as she had the glass at her 
 mouth, and the others, too, were raising their full 
 bumpers, Goujon gave his signal. At the same 
 instant the sergeant, with fixed bayonet, sprang 
 upon the landlady, threatening to strangle her if 
 she cried or made the least resistance. From the 
 other side a grenadier rushed upon Guillaume, 
 threatening him in the same way, and another 
 upon the Turk, who laid down under the table. 
 They placed the landlady, who had fainted with 
 fright, upon a bed, and commanded Guillaume to 
 lie down without making the least resistance ; this 
 he did, after imploring for quarter upon his knees, 
 and remained as still as if he were dead. Each 
 one having his appointed duty, the two second 
 grenadiers quickly emptied their knapsacks. In 
 them was a complete costume, everything that was 
 
l6o Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 necessary to dress Goujon from head to foot. 
 Having provided themselves also with a small 
 anvil, a hammer, and a driving bolt, they had soon 
 uijchained him and dressed him like an officer, 
 with a sword at his side, for the sergeant had 
 brought one under his arm, saying that it was for 
 an officer of the regiment who had commissioned 
 him to buy it for him at Dunkirk. This being 
 done, Goujon, with the sergeant and two grenadiers, 
 went out and quickly reached the Nieuport gate. 
 The other two remained a few minutes after them 
 to watch their three patients, the hostess, the guard, 
 and the Turk, and then, one saying to the other 
 that they would take a little more brandy, they 
 went to the bar, swearing that if either of them 
 made the least movement, they would come back 
 and stab them all three. In this way these two 
 grenadiers got out at the door and hastened on the 
 road to Nieuport, where they joined their com- 
 rades. Their three victims had no desire to move. 
 Fear made them think that the three grenadiers 
 were still in the house. They remained in this 
 attitude till the servant came in with the oysters. 
 Finding them all lying on the ground, and pale as 
 death, she inquired what had happened to them, 
 and told them that there was no one at the bar or 
 in the house. Then they began to breathe freely 
 and to take courage. Guillau;ne, getting up 
 quickly, fled to Nieuport, where there was the 
 right oi sanctuary in the churches as there is every- 
 where in Brabant and Flanders. When he arrived, 
 he took reluge with the Capuchins, where he found 
 
Condenmed to the Galleys. l6l 
 
 Goujon, the sergeant, and the four grenadiers, who 
 had also sought safety there. 
 
 Meanwhile, I was very anxious and curious to 
 know how it had fared with my friend Goujon, for 
 whom I feared greatly, knowing that in enterprises 
 of this nature, in which there are so many dangers 
 to guard against, the least thing often causes them 
 to fail. In this perplexity I sat upon the prow of 
 the galley, always looking towards the quay, when 
 I saw Goujon's Turk coming, carrying his chain 
 upon his shoulder. This was quite enough to 
 make me certain that Goujon was already far 
 away, which greatly relieved the anxiety which I 
 felt on his behalf The argousin who was standing 
 on the quay, seeing the Turk coming with the 
 chain upon his shoulder, eagerly asked him where 
 Goujon was. " Well," said the Turk, " he is far 
 off — more than five hundred grenadiers, with 
 bombs, cannons, and other arms, came to carry him 
 off from us." Fear had so disturbed the brain of 
 this poor Turk that he had become quite foolish, 
 and continued so all the rest of his life. The 
 argousin, not being able to get anything reasonable 
 out of the Turk, saw that he had lost his senses, 
 and that Goujon had escaped. Upon which, fear- 
 ing to be summoned before a council of war, he too 
 fled to Nieuport, and took refuge also with the 
 Capuchins. The commander of the regiment of 
 Aubesson wrote to the court to obtain the pardon 
 of the sergeant, the four grenadiers, and of Goujon. 
 The commander of the galleys, likewise, wrote for 
 the pardon ot his argousin and of the guard. As 
 
 M 
 > 
 
1 62 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 in these cases of sanctuary it is not generally 
 refused, the pardon of all was granted, with the 
 exception of Goujon, whom the king would never 
 hear mentioned, much less pardon. He was obliged 
 to escape secretly and in disguise from the town of 
 Nieuport, and some days after he wrote to me 
 from Bruges, telling me that he should remain in 
 that town till his father had settled his destination ; 
 but of this I never heard. I was suspected of 
 having connived at his escape. They insinuated 
 this to M. de Langeron, but he liked me too well 
 to listen to such accusations. Any one else would 
 have received the bastinado, for it is a law of the 
 galleys that if any one knows of the intended 
 escape of his comrade or any other convict, and 
 does not inform the argoitsin, he is to be bastinadoed 
 without mercy. Moreover, if a convict escapes 
 from a bench, the five others on that bench, and the 
 twelve on the two adjoining benches, all receive the 
 bastinado. This is a politic law, and makes each 
 watch to prevent the escape of another, but it is 
 very unjust, as a man can escape without any of 
 his neighbours knowing it. But there is no justice 
 for a galley slave, at least very little. 
 
 After the flight of Goujon they added to my 
 secretaryship the office of distributor of the victuals 
 to the band of galley slaves, which I exercised till 
 the 1st of October, 17 12, when th^y took us away 
 from Dunkirk to conduct us to Marseilles. Before 
 I come to this removal, I must relate an event 
 which placed me and others of our brethren in 
 extreme peril of dying under the bastinado. It 
 
Co7idcmned to the Galleys. 163 
 
 must be known that our brethren of the French 
 churches in the United Provinces sent from time to 
 time a remittance of money to the Reformed who 
 suffered in the galleys of France. This money 
 generally passed through Amsterdam, whence a 
 banker sent it to one of his correspondents in the 
 places where the galleys were. One of my relations 
 at Amsterdam, an elder of the Walloon Church, 
 charged me with the commission of receiving it. 
 This office is a very perilous one, for if it is found 
 out, you risk being bastinadoed to death, unless 
 you reveal the name of the banker who has received 
 the money, and in such case the banker would be 
 utterly ruined. 
 
 The missionaries from Marseilles, who have 
 always persecuted us to the utmost, never found 
 any opportunity of renewing and increasing our 
 suffering which they did not embrace with ardour. 
 Knowing that our brethren in foreign lands sent us 
 money from time to time, to prevent us from dying 
 of hunger, and persuading themselves that if this 
 resource was taken from us they would overcome 
 us by famine, proposed to the court to give orders 
 to the galley-masters at Marseilles and Dunkirk, 
 and to the majors and other officers of the galleys, 
 to watch if any merchant or banker remitted money 
 or letters of exchange to any of the Reformed 
 galley slaves. The court did not fail to send these 
 orders, and commanded that they should be 
 rigorously carried out, and proceedings taken 
 against the merchants or others convicted of acting 
 contrary to them. The missionaries, of course, 
 
164 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 narrowly watched that no help reached us. Their 
 greatest attention was given to find out what 
 bankers or merchants furnished us with money 
 through correspondence with foreign countries, that 
 they might so severely punish them that no other 
 would afterwards dare to expose himself to a like 
 fate. But by the grace of God they never suc- 
 ceeded in making this discovery, although these 
 remittances came to us very often. I ought to add, 
 also, thanks to the fidelity of the Turkish slaves, 
 who served us wonderfully well, out of pure charity 
 and kindness. 
 
 In speaking of the fidelity and affection which 
 the Turks bore to us, I must mention the example 
 of the Turk who served me on these occasions at 
 Dunkirk. I have said that I was commissioned to 
 receive these remittances, and to distribute them to 
 our brethren. I was chained to my bench, without 
 having the liberty to go into the town. This was 
 through the malice of the chaplain of the galleys, 
 who prevented us from having this privilege, which 
 the other convicts, condemned for their crimes, could 
 have at any time by paying a sous to the argousin 
 and a sous to the guard who went with them. How, 
 then, was this money to be received .■* M. Piecourt 
 sent it me once or twice by his clerk. But the orders 
 of the court having been renewed with great threats 
 towards the master and the officers who neglected 
 to watch, M. Piccourt's clerk no longer dared thus 
 to expose himself His master having told me 
 this, begged me to find some one of great fidelity 
 whom I could send to him to take the money at 
 
CotK^emned to the Galleys. 165 
 
 each remittance. I knew nothing then of the affec- 
 tion and faithfulness which the Turks bore us. 
 Nevertheless, I opened my heart to the Turk on 
 my bench, who joyfully undertook to render me 
 this service, putting his hand upon his turban, 
 which is with them the sign of the outpouring of 
 the heart to God, and thanking him with all his 
 soul for the favour which he had shown him in 
 giving him the opportunity to exercise charity at 
 the peril of his blood, for this Turk knew well 
 enough that if he had been taken in the act of 
 rendering us any service, he would have been 
 bastinadoed to death, to make him confess what 
 banker had paid us the money. This Turk, then, 
 whose name was Isouf, served me in this way very 
 faithfully for several years, without ever accepting 
 the smallest reward from me, alleging that if he did 
 so he would cancel all his good deeds, and that 
 God would punish him for it. This good Turk was 
 killed at the battle in the Thames. It was he 
 whose arm I took up in my hand, as I have already 
 narrated. I was much grieved at his death, and 
 did not know to whom to apply to serve me in 
 such a perilous employment. But I had not the 
 trouble of seeking, for ten or twelve Turks came to 
 petition me just as one petitions for a lucrative 
 office in the world. It must be known that when 
 the Turks have an opportunity of exercising charity 
 or other good works, they communicate this joy to 
 their papas, as their theologians are called (whose 
 whole learning consists in being able to read the 
 Koran), asking them their advice about the good 
 
1 66 Autobiography of a Fre?ich Protestant 
 
 works which they have undertaken to perform ; and 
 though I had urgently begged Isouf not to tell 
 any one about the service he was rendering me, he 
 could not, on account of the principles of his 
 religion, help telling the affair to his papas, as I 
 heard after his death. 
 
 These good people, seeing that I did not know 
 whom to trust, came one after the other to beg me 
 to make use of them, showing so much good feeling, 
 and professing so much affection for 'those of our 
 religion, whom they called their brethren in God, 
 that I was moved to tears. I accepted one named 
 Aly, who danced for joy at obtaining an employ- 
 ment so perilous for him. He served me for four 
 years, till the time when we were removed from Dun- 
 kirk, and he behaved with indescribable zeal and 
 disinterestedness. This Turk was poor, and several 
 times I tried to make him accept one or two crowns, 
 assuring him that they who sent us this money de-- 
 sired that those who so kindly served us should have 
 some share in it. He always firmly refused, saying, 
 in his figurative style, that this money would burn 
 his hands ; and when I said once that if he did not 
 take it I should employ another, the poor Turk was 
 like one in despair, beseeching me with clasped 
 hands not to shut him out from the road to heaven. 
 These people are called barbarians by Christians, 
 but in their conduct they often put/to shame those 
 who give them this name. We must distinguish 
 these Turks from those who, although of the same 
 religion, have not the same manners. These latter, 
 the Turks of Africa, from Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli, 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 167 
 
 etc., are cruel, traitorous murderers and assassins; 
 but the Turks of Asia and Europe, especially those 
 from Bosnia and the frontiers of Hungary and 
 Transylvania, and also from Constantinople, of 
 whom there are a great many in the galleys of 
 France, who have been made slaves by the 
 Imperialists, and sold to the French to man their 
 galleys, — these Turks are generally well-made, fair 
 in feature, wise in their conduct, zealous in the 
 observance of their religion, honourable and charit- 
 able in the highest degree. I have seen them give 
 away all the money they possessed to buy a bird 
 in a cage, that they might have the pleasure of 
 giving it its liberty. When they are taking their 
 meals, all those who pass by, whether Christians or 
 Turks, friends or enemies, are invited to partake, 
 or, at least, to taste their food, and if they refuse it 
 is the greatest affront they can offer to them. 
 
 They never drink wine nor spirits, nor eat pork, 
 because their religion forbids it. As to the African 
 Turks, who are generally called Moors, they get 
 drunk like brutes, and commit, when they can, the 
 most horrible crimes. The Asiatic. Turks detest 
 these Africans, and never associate with them. 
 Thanks to God's mercy, and the fidelity of Isouf 
 and Aly, nothin.^ unpleasant happened to me in the 
 reception and distribution of the remittances with 
 which I was charged during several years. But at 
 Marseilles it happened very differently to one of 
 our brethren who had a similar office. 
 
 The missionaries, not content with watching till 
 they could catch some one in the act of paying 
 
 > 
 
1 68 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 money to the Reformed in the galleys, often came to 
 examine and search these poor confessors of the faith, 
 and took from them, without ever returning them, all 
 their money, books of devotion, and letters. These 
 examinations were performed with great strictness, 
 and the missionaries having perceived, or fancied, 
 that the Reformed, expecting these visits, gave their 
 property to the Romish convicts, or to the Turks 
 on their bench, to take care of, determined, in order 
 to surprise them better, to keep the day and the hour 
 of this search quite secret. At the time appointed 
 a gun was fired, which was the signal for the under 
 officers of the galleys to throw themselves upon the 
 poor Reformed, each having his man in view, and 
 to search them most severely, not without strokes 
 of the lash. In this way they often surprised us 
 also at Dunkirk. But since Bancilhon had become 
 M. de Langeron's waiter and attendant, our com- 
 mander showed good-will to us all, and when he 
 received, as was frequently the case, orders from the 
 court to have us searched, he warned Bancilhon 
 beforehand, saying to him, "Bancilhon, my friend, 
 the cock has crowed." We were then at once on 
 our guard, and when we were searched they found 
 nothing. 
 
 But to return to Marseilles, one of our brethren, 
 named Sabatier, who had the charge of receiving 
 and distributing the remittances, /eceived them 
 without any obstacle by the help of his faithful 
 Turk ; but he had also to distribute the money to 
 the other brethren in their separate galleys, which 
 the good Turk was obliged to do with great pru- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 169 
 
 dence and discretion. Sabatier folded the portion 
 of money which was to go to each galley in the list 
 of those who were to share it, which he sentjby the 
 Turk to a brother in each galley. As the Turk was 
 necessarily obliged to go often to Sabatier's bench 
 to receive these commissions, the argousin or the 
 comite perceiving it, suspected what was going on, 
 and having acquainted the major of the galleys with 
 the fact, he gave orders that the Turk should be 
 watched when he came from Sabatier, and that 
 when he left his galley he should be seized and 
 examined, which did not fail to take place ; for the 
 Turk having received the little packet to take to 
 one of the galleys, he was seized, the money was 
 found on him, with the list of those among whom 
 it was to be divided. The Turk was asked from 
 whom he had received this money. He would not 
 tell, but there was no need of his deposition. It 
 had been seen that it had come from Sabatier, who 
 openly confessed that he had given the packet to 
 the Turk. The master of the galleys was delighted 
 when he heard of this discovery, hoping that they 
 would at last discover the banker who paid the 
 money to the Reformed. As the master had the 
 gout, he could not go to Sabatier's galley that he 
 might make him confess by the torture of the bas- 
 tinado what he so passionately desired to know, 
 so he ordered Sabatier to be chained to a Turk, and 
 brought by a guard into his presence, which was 
 done. He first spoke amiably enough to Sabatier, 
 telling him that as he made so great a profession of 
 telling the truth, he hoped he would do so now. 
 
I/O Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 Sabatier replied that he would boldly speak the 
 truth about everything which concerned himself, at 
 the risk of enduring the most cruel tortures, and 
 even at the peril of his own life. " Very well," said 
 the master, " if you confess the truth, you will not 
 be harmed." 
 
 He asked him first if this packet and the writing 
 in which it was wrapped up came from him. " Yes, 
 sir," replied Sabatier. Then to whom he was send- 
 ing the packet. Sabatier replied that he was send- 
 ing it to one of his brethren in the faith to distribute 
 the money to several others who were in this list. 
 
 " For what purpose is this money .'' " the master 
 inquired. 
 
 Sabatier replied that it was sent out of charity 
 to help them in their miserable slavery. 
 
 "From whence does this money come to you.^" 
 asked the master. 
 
 " From Geneva, sir," replied Sabatier. 
 
 " Do you often receive it in this way ? " 
 » " From time to time, when our friends think that 
 we are in want of it." 
 
 " In what manner do you receive it .-' " 
 
 " Through a banker of Geneva, who remits it to a 
 banker at Marseilles." 
 
 "Who is the banker who pays it to you .-* " asked 
 the master. 
 
 " So far, sir," said Sabatier firmly, " I have been 
 able to tell you the real truth. I have promised to 
 tell you all that concerns myself, and if you find 
 w^hat I have said and done criminal, punish me for 
 it as you think proper ; but to denounce a man 
 
CondQiDied to the Galleys. 1 7 1 
 
 who has only acted out of kindness and to do us a 
 favour, and whose ruin I know my deposition would 
 cause, is what I will never do." " 
 
 " What ! wretch, you dare to refuse to tell me 
 what you confess to know yourself? You will either 
 expire under the lash or tell me," said the master, 
 
 " Make me die," said Sabatier, " by the most 
 horrible tortures, I shall never tell it." 
 
 The master, transported with rage, ordered the 
 guard who had brought Sabatier, to beat him with a 
 stick in his presence. The guard, who had known 
 Sabatier for several years, deeply touched by his 
 unhappy fate, replied, " Sir, he is a brave man ; I 
 cannot strike him." " Rascal ! " said the master, 
 "give me your stick;" which the guard having 
 done, this cruel man made Sabatier approach his 
 own chair, and then broke the stick upon his body, 
 Sabatier not making the least complaint in the 
 world, nor changing his position to avoid the blows 
 of this furious master. Then, not being able to beat 
 him any longer, as his strength failed him, he ordered 
 Sabatier to be led back to the galley, and com- 
 manded the major to give him the bastinado till he 
 died or confessed the name of the banker who had 
 paid him the money, which took place immediately 
 without any form of trial. Sabatier endured with 
 constancy this more than barbarous treatment, and 
 as long as the power of speech remained to him 
 during this punishment he continued to call upon 
 God, praying him to grant him grace to resist 
 even unto the death, which he was momentarily 
 expecting, and to receive his soul in His divine 
 
1/2 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 mercy. Speech and motion having failed him, they 
 still continued to strike to the utmost his poor 
 mangled body. The surgeon of the galleys, watch- 
 ing if he still breathed, said to the major that if 
 they continued to strike him now ever so little, he 
 would certainly die, and his secret with him, but if 
 they tried to make him revive, they might begin 
 again to force him to confess what they wished to 
 know. To this the major assented. They rubbed 
 his mangled back with strong vinegar and salt. 
 The pain which this application caused made him 
 revive, but so weak was he that they could not 
 recommence his punishment without killing him at 
 the first blow. They thought it best therefore to 
 take him to the hospital, that he might regain suffi- 
 cient strength to undergo a second punishment. 
 But he was so long hovering between life and death, 
 that either the lapse of time made them forget him, 
 or that even his executioners dreaded exercising 
 such a punishment for a cause which did them no 
 honour, and he was not again exposed to this tor- 
 ture. He recovered, but was always so sickly and 
 weak in the head, that during the few years he 
 lived afterwards, he could not carry on the simplest 
 conversation, and his voice was so low that he 
 could scarcely be heard. Such is an instance of 
 the unparalleled cruelty of these missionaries of 
 Marseilles!* ^ 
 
 Through the mercy of divine Providence I had 
 been, without any danger, the distributor of the 
 money which M. Piecourt remitted to me. To aid 
 * See Note at end of volume. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 173 
 
 ' ■*. 
 
 me in this anxious duty I had the help of my 
 honest and faithful Turk, Aly. I generally knew 
 pretty exactly the time when this remittance would 
 be sent, and despatched Aly alone (for the Turks 
 are allowed to go anywhere without guards) to M. 
 Piecourt, who gave him the money to remit to me, 
 with a receipt which I had to sign, and which Aly 
 took back with my letters for Holland. But it 
 happened that M. Piecourt had the misfortune to 
 be embarrassed in his affairs, so that our remittance 
 was intrusted to another Dunkirk banker, a M. 
 Penetrau. This gentleman two or three times paid 
 me the money with similar punctuality and pre- 
 caution, and, as my Turk was so well acquainted 
 with his commission, with equal safety and facility. 
 Moreover, the chaplain who belonged to our galley 
 was very reasonable with regard to us. Speaking 
 of the chaplain reminds me that I must relate 
 some particulars with regard to those W'ho exercise 
 this office in the galleys. 
 
 These chaplains are secular priests of the society 
 commonly called " of the Mission," or " of St. 
 Lazarus." It was founded by Vincent de Paul, a 
 simple priest, who by his pious reputation became 
 the confessor of the queen, the mother of Louis xiv. 
 He was then charged to hold missions in the 
 country for the instruction of the peasants and 
 common people. This gave rise to the establish- 
 ment of this society, which, small at first, increased 
 in time, had branches in the most important towns 
 in France, and acquired divers privileges and pre- 
 rogatives, among them the nomination of the 
 
174 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 village cures, and of the military, naval, and galley 
 chaplains. They had insinuated themselves so 
 well at court, that the ministry regarded them as 
 oracles, and the Jesuits only with envy and jealousy. 
 Notwithstanding their cunning, the Jesuits had never 
 foreseen the future greatness of the Lazarists, of 
 which they had themselves been the principal in- 
 struments. In supporting this society they had 
 thought only to increase the number of their own 
 partisans. But abandoning the instructions of their 
 founder, the Lazarists concealed their ambitious 
 views under a cloak of humility. They knew how 
 well a humble exterior and an air of mortification 
 had served the Jesuits ; they, therefore, imitated 
 them in their dress and behaviour, and even sur- 
 passed them in the coarseness of their robes and in 
 their negligent and almost dirty appearance. This 
 so imposed upon the public and upon the court, 
 that they obtained the care of the chapels and 
 royal palaces, the administration of a number of 
 seminaries, and the possession of immense wealth, 
 which they now enjoy. So powerful and formid- 
 able were they in my time at Marseilles, that if 
 any of the king's officers displeased them they soon 
 obtained a warrant to have them disgraced. In 
 this way they were so feared and apparently so 
 respected that all submitted to their tyranny. 
 
 These fathers, then, having the spiritual direction 
 of the galleys, placed chaplains in them, men like 
 themselves — cruel persecutors of any of the 
 reformed religion they might meet with there. 
 But our chaplain having just died when the six 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 175 
 
 galleys passed fj;om the Mediterranean to the 
 Channel, M. de Langeron, on account of the 
 distance, which acquitted him from the necessity 
 of waiting for the nomination of the missionaries, 
 and who, moreover, would not be without a 
 chaplain on board his galley, took at Rochefort a 
 monk of the Dominican order. This chaplain at 
 first treated us as badly as he could, but in time he 
 relented and conformed to our captain's way of 
 acting, which had much changed to our favour. 
 To the ill-treatment which at first we had endured, 
 succeeded obliging acts towards us all, and espe- 
 cially towards me, since I had become M. de 
 Langeron's secretary, an employment which often 
 gave me the opportunity of conversing with this 
 chaplain. During the three last years that I re- 
 mained at Dunkirk, where the galleys were always 
 disarmed, scarcely a day passed that he did not come 
 to the galley, when we passed an hour or two 
 together, without speaking of religion, or at least 
 very little about it. He was a learned man and a 
 good preacher, and as I often, by means of my 
 friends, received religious books from Holland, 
 among others several volumes of the late M. 
 Saurin's sermons, he asked me one day if I had 
 not some sermons of our authors to lend him. 
 Though this request appeared to me suspicious, 
 I nevertheless hazarded lending them to him, and 
 offered him a volume of M. Saurin's works, which 
 he punctually returned to me. It was so much to 
 his taste, that I then lent him all the books I had, 
 even the " Legitimate Prejudices against Popery," 
 
 *» 
 
176 Autobiography of a FrencJi Protestant 
 
 by M. Jurieu, which, as well as the others, he care- 
 fully returned to me. One day, in conversation, 
 he asked me if we Reformed did not receive money 
 from Holland. I thought it best to reply nega- 
 tively on this subject, for fear of the consequences 
 which might ensue. It will be seen by the sequel 
 that it is not without a motive that I have written 
 so much about this chaplain. 
 
 I now come to the danger which I incurred my- 
 self in the distribution of the remittances. I have 
 said that M. Penetrau, the banker of Dunkirk, now 
 conducted the business. This gentleman one day 
 planned to ruin me. He received an order from 
 Amsterdam to pay me one hundred crowns. But 
 he happened to be embarrassed in his affairs, and 
 in order that his Amsterdam correspondent should 
 not discover this, he wished to find a plausible pre- 
 text to excuse himself from paying me this sum. 
 Although he knew he was about to sacrifice me 
 that he might maintain his credit, he went to our 
 chaplain and declared to him that he had an order 
 from Holland to pay me one hundred crowns, but 
 as the prohibition of the court made him afraid to 
 meddle in such affairs, he wished first to ask his 
 permission. He thought that the chaplain, far from 
 granting it, would at once forbid it. By this means 
 he would have got out of his embarrassment, and 
 I should have been exposed to an examination, 
 which would not have taken place without a furious 
 bastinado to make me confess Who the bankers 
 were who had paid me the money before. The 
 chaplain understood the consequence which this 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. lyy 
 
 affair might hav^p been, and looking fixedly at 
 M. Penetrau, he said to him, " I am sure, sir, this is 
 not the first time that you have made similar pay- 
 ments without asking permission, and that your 
 correspondents in Holland are not so imprudent as 
 to intrust you with such a commission at random, 
 and without being certain by experience that you 
 will well perform it. But, however that may be, as 
 it seems to depend on my permission, I willingly 
 grant it to you." Penetrau was much disconcerted 
 by this reply, which he had not expected. He 
 replied to the chaplain that his permission would 
 not secure him from danger, and that he should 
 see the master of the galleys and ask him for his. 
 The chaplain was annoyed at this reply, and said 
 sharply, " What, sir ! after you have given me to 
 understand that my consent would decide you, you 
 dare to tell me that you will apply to the master ? 
 You can do as you please. But remember that if 
 you mention a w^ord of it to the master, or to any 
 one else, I have a veiy long arm, and I shall know 
 how to reach you and make you repent of it." 
 
 Penetrau, utterly vanquished, and not knowing 
 what to do, confessed that he was a little out at 
 elbows, and that although one hundred crowns 
 would not bring him to extremities, he did not 
 possess them at the moment ; but that if I would 
 wait a fortnight, and meanwhile not write to Hol- 
 land to say I had not received this sum, he would 
 pay me without fail at the end of that time. The 
 chaplain told him that he had done well to confess 
 the matter to him, and that he would forgive the 
 
 N 
 
178 Atitohiography of a Frciich Protestant 
 
 expressions he had previously used. " But," con- 
 tinued he, " I wiL not run the risk of being your 
 dupe ; to ensure your punctuality, make me out a 
 bill for the one hundred crowns, payable in fifteen 
 days, which money I will remit to the person to 
 whom you have to pay it, and I will procure you a 
 receipt. You can make yourself quite easy about 
 this convict, I will pledge you my word that he 
 will not write to Amsterdam before the bill is due." 
 Penetrau, quite pleased that the matter had taken 
 this turn, readily drew out the bill, and at the same 
 time gave the chaplain the letter which he had for 
 me. That same day the chaplain came to the 
 galley, and called me into the stern-cabin. He at 
 once said to me, with a serious air, " I am surprised 
 that a confessor of the truth dares to lie to a man 
 of my character." 
 
 I was taken quite aback by this speech, and told 
 him that I did not know what he meant. " Have 
 you not told me," said he, " that you do not receive 
 money from Holland, nor from any other place } 
 I hold in my hand that which convicts you of this 
 falsehood," and at the same time he showed me the 
 bill which M. Penetrau had made out for him. 
 " Do you know that .''" said he. "Yes, sir," I said, 
 " I see that it is some money which belongs to 
 you." " It does not belong to me," said the chap- 
 lain, "but to you." And then he related to me 
 all that had passed between Penetrau and himself, 
 and giving me the letter of advice, again re- 
 proached mc for having lied. I took the liberty to 
 tell him that he was no less guilty than I was, for 
 
Condemned to the G alleys. 1 79 
 
 knowing very well^that it was not a thing which I 
 could confess, he had obhged me to deny it by 
 asking me. He agreed to this, and told me to 
 make myself quite easy, and that in a fortnight he 
 would bring me the one hundred crowns. This he 
 did punctually to the day, and in counting them 
 out to me offered me his services. " Write to your 
 friends in Holland," said he, " that they can address 
 their remittances to me, and be assured that I will 
 pay them punctually to you, by which means you 
 will avoid all risk." I thanked him for his kindness, 
 which, however, I did not think I ought to make 
 use of. This reserve on my part did not prevent 
 our always remaining good friends. 
 
 There were five of the reformed faith in the 
 galley ; the chaplain never molested one of us ; on 
 the contrary, he showed us a thousand kindnesses. 
 The Jesuits and the chaplains of the other galleys 
 determined to punish him for having dared to show 
 more humane and Christian sentiments than they 
 did. So, to revenge themselves, they addressed a 
 memorial to the Bishop of Ypres, in which they 
 accused the chaplain of being a heretic, of loving 
 and favouring the pretended Reformed, and of 
 leaving them in peace instead of forcing them to 
 enter the pale of the Roman Church. The bishop 
 cited our chaplain to appear before him to give an 
 account of his conduct. In consequence of this 
 command, he went to Ypres and presented himself 
 to the bishop, who told him that he had been ac- 
 cused of favouring the Reformed in his galley, and 
 that he left them in a quiet security without trying 
 
1 80 A iitobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 to convert them. " My lord," said the chaplain 
 with firmness, " if your highness orders me to ex- 
 hort them, to press them to listen, and to conform 
 to the Roman Church, that is what I do every day, 
 and no one can prove the contrary ; but if you 
 enjoin me to imitate the other chaplains, who 
 cruelly persecute these poor wretches, I shall to- 
 morrow set out for my convent." The bishop 
 replied that he was content with his conduct, and 
 encouraged him to persevere in it, and then cen- 
 sured the other chaplains for their method of 
 conversion. 
 
 I have now reached the end of the residence at 
 Dunkirk of myself and my brethren in suffering, 
 and must begin the description of a new kind of 
 pain, fatigue, and fearful torture, which we were 
 made to suffer from the ist October, 17 12, when 
 they removed, or rather smuggled us off, from 
 Dunkirk, till the 17th January, 1713, when we were 
 placed on board the galleys of Marseilles. 
 
 Every one knows that in that year, 17 12, the 
 Queen of England made peace with France, and 
 among other articles it was stipulated that the 
 English should occupy the town, fortifications, 
 and port of Dunkirk, till they had demolished 
 the fortifications and filled up the harbour. Con- 
 sequently the English came to Dunkirk in the 
 month of September, with about 5,000 men, and 
 took possession of the town, forts, and citadel, which 
 the French garrison evacuated.' But the French 
 navy was reduced to such a deplorable condition 
 that they could not even fit out the galleys to put 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 8 1 
 
 to sea. Thus Fr^uice agreed with the Queen of 
 England that the galleys, with their crews and 
 gangs of slaves, should remain in the harbour till 
 they began to fill it up, which could not be done 
 till after the winter. It was also stipulated that 
 nothing should leave the harbour, neither boats, 
 ships, sailors, nor galley slaves, without the permis- 
 sion of her majesty the Queen of England. 
 
 The pnglish had no sooner taken possession of 
 this port, and established their garrison in the town 
 and citadel, than they ran in crowds to the galleys 
 to gaze on those vessels, which the majority of them 
 had never seen before. Several of the officers, who 
 were French refugees, having heard that Protestants 
 were confined in the galleys for the sake of their 
 religion, immediately inquired if there were any in 
 these galleys, and learned that there were twenty- 
 two in number. These officers testified their zeal 
 for their religion by coming to embrace us, pitying 
 and weeping with us on our benches ; and they could 
 not restrain their indignation when they saw our 
 chains, and the miseries which accompanied this 
 hard and degrading slavery. They remained a 
 great part of the day with their dear suffering 
 brethren, seated very uncomfortably, neither fearing 
 the vermin nor the stench which this misery engen- 
 dered, and taking pleasure in the presence of the 
 officers of the galleys, who saw their actions in 
 caressing us, consoling us, and exhorting us to per- 
 severance. Their example attracted a large num- 
 ber of distinguished English officers, who testified 
 to their piety by actions worthy of true Protes- 
 
i82 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 tants. The soldiers also crowded down to the 
 galleys, and, according to their manner of expressing 
 their zeal, swore that if the court did not release us 
 willingly they would do so by force, sword in hand. 
 The chaplains begged M. de Langeron to give 
 orders that no one should be allowed to enter the 
 galleys, seeing the scandal, as they said, which all 
 this caused to the Roman Catholic religion. This 
 was tried, but the English soldiers still .pressed 
 eagerly to come on board, and when begged ver}' 
 civilly to retire, they only replied by placing 
 their hands upon their swords, saying that, being 
 masters of the town and the harbour, they were 
 also masters of the galleys, and that they would go 
 on board, if not with their consent, by force. So 
 they were obliged to leave the plank free for any 
 one who wished to go on board. 
 
 An English colonel, whose name I have forgotten, 
 came one day to speak to me, and told me that 
 Lord Hill, the Governor of Dunkirk for the Queen of 
 England, was probably ignorant of our detention, 
 and of the cause of our slavery, and advised me 
 to draw up a petition to him to inform him of it, 
 and to implore his good offices for our release. I 
 wrote out this petition as well as I could, and the 
 colonel took charge of it, and gave it to Lord Hill. 
 The next day his lordship sent his secretary to tell 
 me that he would use every effort to obtain our 
 deliverance ; that he was about to \vrite to the queen 
 on the subject, and that her orders, which he was 
 sure would be favourable towards us, would deter- 
 mine his actions, and he begged us to wait pati- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 85 
 
 ently for another fortnight This secretary added 
 that Lord Hill offered us his purse if we had need 
 of money. I rephed that we only needed his 
 lordship's protection, and that I was very grateful 
 for his answer to my petition, and for ttie zeal 
 which he had shown in rendering us his services. 
 I made known his reply to our brethren in the six 
 galleys, exhorting them to be circumspect with the 
 English soldiers, and to avoid all conversation 
 which might excite them to use violence in order 
 to procure us our liberty, but to tell them on the 
 contrary to wait patiently for the queen's orders, 
 for which their governor had written. Henceforth 
 all was quiet, and each of us eagerly awaited the 
 news from England. During the fortnight which 
 the governor had told us to wait (it seemed doubt- 
 ful whether he had really written to the queen), he 
 became great friends with M. de Langeron, our 
 commander. 
 
 One day his lordship told him that he could not 
 understand how the French court could have made 
 such a blunder as not to make us leave Dunkirk 
 before they entered, for the court surely could not 
 be ignorant of the horror with which the English 
 nation regarded the cruelties practised upon the 
 Protestants on account of their religion, and how in 
 all the churches of England they prayed God every 
 day for the deliverance of the Reformed who were 
 suffering in the galleys of France ; that, in a word, 
 the French court might have foreseen that the 
 English, being masters of Dunkirk, and those 
 twenty-two Protestants who groaned in irons for 
 
184 Autobiography of a FrencJi Protestant 
 
 their religion being under their standards, and in 
 sight of the EngHsh garrison, the queen could not 
 fail to deliver them, if only to avoid a riot among 
 the soldiers, who already threatened violence if 
 these unhappy slaves were not delivered. M. de 
 Langeron could not help agreeing that his court 
 had made a great mistake in this matter, and begged 
 Lord Hill to advise him what to do so as to prevent 
 accidents, adding that he knew that the king his 
 master would never consent to the release of those 
 Reformed. Lord Hill said that he knew of an 
 expedient by which all trouble and collision might 
 be avoided. " Write," said he, " to the minister 
 of your court, and request him to order you to 
 leave Dunkirk secretly by sea ; I will provide 
 hands for you, and the thing will be easy and 
 without danger." M. de Langeron did not fail to 
 follow this counsel, and he soon received orders 
 to act in concert with Lord Hill for our secret 
 removal, which took place in the following manner. 
 On the 1st of October, the feast of St. Remy, we 
 perceived a fishing-bark chained to our galley. It 
 was reported that this bark was confiscated for 
 smuggling, and that the English had taken posses- 
 sion of her. That evening the rappel was beaten 
 as usual, and every one went to bed. I was in my 
 store-cabin, sleeping tranquilly, when I was sud- 
 denly awakened by our major, armed with a pistol, 
 and accompanied by two soldiers of the galley, 
 who placed their bayonets at my thf^oat, threatening 
 that if I uttered the least cry or noise all would be 
 over with me. The major, who was one of my 
 
Condcnuicd to the Galleys. 185 
 
 friends, exhorted me in a friendly manner not to 
 make any resistance, or he must execute the orders 
 which he had to kill me. " Alas ! " said I, " what 
 have I done, major, and what is going to be done 
 to me ? " " You have done nothing," said he^' " and 
 no harm will be done to you if you are only quiet," 
 He then made me descend quickly into the fishing- 
 bark of which I have already spoken, and this 
 without either fire or light, and with great silence, for 
 fear of being perceived by the English sentinel of 
 the citadel, from which we were not very far distant. 
 On entering the boat I found in it my twenty- 
 one brethren, whom they had taken from their 
 benches in the same manner as they had taken 
 me. They chained us all down in the hold, 
 observing the strictest silence ; and though they 
 made us lie down upon our backs like cattle about 
 to be slain, each of us had a soldier of the galley, 
 who held his bayonet to our throats to prevent us 
 from crying out, or even from uttering a word. 
 The boat was now unmoored to leave the harbour. 
 It was obliged to pass by an English ship, which 
 was always stationed in the middle of the port to 
 prevent anything from going out. The ship sum- 
 moned the bark to her side, and inquired whither 
 she was going. The master of the bark, who 
 was an Englishman, replied that he was going 
 to fish for Lord Hill, from whom he showed a 
 note. The captain of the vessel took the note 
 and read it ; it was written and signed by Lord 
 Hill's own hand: "Allow this boat, which is 
 going to fish for my household, to leave the har- 
 
1 86 Autobiography of a French P rotes fajif 
 
 hour." The captain at once allowed the boat to 
 depart. All those who commanded the forts in the 
 harbour, as well as on the jetties, did the same ; 
 and at last we found ourselves in the open sea. 
 Then the soldiers left us, went on deck, and shut 
 down the hatchways upon us, so that we were at 
 liberty to arrange ourselves more comfortably upon 
 the sand, which served as ballast, in the bottom of 
 the boat. We knew that they never put to sea 
 without provisions, if only bread and water, and as 
 we had seen none on corning on board, we strongly 
 imagined that they were going to sink us, and that 
 the soldiers would escape to land in the small boat 
 which was attached to the bark. The anguish into 
 which this idea plunged us, and the terrible situa- 
 tion in which we found ourselves, can well be ima- 
 gined. Being without light in the hold, neither 
 seeing nor hearing any one, our imagination, in- 
 flamed by terror, only pictured to us, the more 
 vividly, the danger in which we thought ourselves 
 to be. In this cruel perplexity we passed the 
 night, not ceasing to address our prayers to the 
 Saviour, as those who are awaiting the stroke of 
 death. Some of us, seized with sudden fear, in- 
 creased the alarm by crying out from time to time, 
 "Brothers, we are perishing, the water is coming 
 into the bark !" At these exclamations each of us 
 redoubled his prayers, thinking that it was the last 
 moment of his life. It happened, however, that an 
 old man of seventy did not believe it as firmly as 
 the rest of us, and indeed he would have made us 
 laujrh had we been in less distressing circumstances. 
 
Condeimied to the Galleys. 1 87 
 
 • 
 
 He was seated on his knapsack, and hearing them 
 cry out that the water was entering the bark, he 
 stood up holding his knapsack in one hand eagerly 
 feeling with the other to find a nail to hang it on. 
 As he was near me, and his moving interrupted my 
 devotions, I asked him what he was doing. " I am 
 trying to hang up my knapsack as high as I can," 
 said he, " lest my clothes should get wet." " Think 
 of your soul, my good man," said I ; "if you are 
 drowned, you will not want your clothes any more." 
 " Alas ! " said he, " that is only too true ; " and 
 then he left off seeking for the nail. 
 
 We felt that our bark was sailing, but did not 
 know which way the wind was taking us. When it 
 was day they opened the hatchway, and as I was 
 just under it, by standing up I could see on to the 
 deck. I did so at once, and the first person I saw 
 was our master-at-arms, who is generally the first 
 sergeant of the four which there are in the com- 
 panies of marines. He was one of my friends; and 
 not long before I had spoken a good word for him 
 to our commander. " What, you here, M. Praire.''" 
 I said to him. " Yes, my friend," said he, with a 
 smiling air. " I don't think you slept too well last 
 night." " But where are you taking us to .' " 
 " Look," said he, " there is Calais," pointing to the 
 town off which we were ; " we are going to land 
 you there ; " adding, that we should not make a 
 long stay there, and should have to get our legs 
 ready. "But, sir," said I, "you are not able — 
 neither are all the men in the world — to make men, 
 decrepit through age, or maimed, or sick, as I am 
 
1 88 AutohiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 (I was then suffering from a fever) to walk." " In 
 that case the king, who never asks what is impossi- 
 ble, will provide, waggons for the infirm ; and I am 
 sure that, with the order of your route, there are 
 directions to provide them for you. There," said 
 he, showing it to me, " see if there is not a waggon 
 ordered for such like and for the baggage." As I 
 wished to see our destination, which he had not 
 told me, instead of looking at the beginning I 
 looked at the end, and read these lines : — " To 
 Havre-de-Grace, where they shall be given over to 
 the governor until fresh orders." 
 
 I had seen enough to satisfy the curiosity of our 
 brethren, to whom I told our destination in a whis- 
 per, lest the master-at-arms should hear me. They 
 landed us at Calais. We were taken to prison 
 loaded with our chains. The next morning the 
 argousiii — for one had followed us — fettered us two 
 and two, each by a leg, and then passed a long 
 chain through the rings of the chains which cou- 
 pled us, so that the eleven couples were all chained 
 together. Now, it must be remembered, that 
 amongst us there were old people, who, by the 
 feebleness of their age or by their infirmities, could 
 not walk a quarter of a league, even if they had not 
 been laden with chains. We had also several who 
 were sick, and others worn out with misery and 
 fatigue ; and, moreover, we had none of us walked 
 at all for a very long time. It was, therefore, 
 impossible for us to perform four or five leagues a 
 day, as our orders directed. After they had chained 
 us I called our master-at-arms and said to him. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 89 
 
 " See, sir, if it is possible for us to walk in our pre- 
 sent condition ; I entreat you to provide us with 
 one or two waggons to carry the infirm. ¥ou have 
 a right to exact them wherever you pass." " I 
 know my orders," said he, "and I shall observe 
 them." I was silent ; and we started. We had not 
 gone a quarter of a league when a small hill had to 
 be ascended ; it was impossible for us to do it, for 
 three or four of our old and sick men fell on the 
 ground, not being able to take a single step ; and 
 as we were all held by one chain, we could not 
 advance, unless we had been strong enough to drag 
 them on. The master-at-arms, and the soldiers of 
 our escort which he commanded, exhorted us in kind 
 words to take courage and to redouble our efforts ; 
 but against the impossible nothing can be done. 
 
 The captain was much embarrassed, and did 
 not know what to do. We all sat on the ground 
 to give time to those who had fallen down to 
 rest and to resume the march if they were able. 
 But this did not help us out of our difficulty. T 
 told the captain that, in the extremity in which we 
 were, of two pieces of advice which I would give 
 him, he must take one. " Either shoot us," said I, 
 " or, as I have already said, provide us with wag- 
 gons to carry us. You will permit me to observe 
 that, having never served except at sea, you cannot 
 know what the king's orders are on an expedition 
 by land. In the orders which he gives for a march, 
 whether of soldiers, recruits, or criminals, it is 
 understood that when those who are to be con- 
 ducted are quite unable to walk, their conductors 
 
190 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 ought to find them conveyances, which they take in 
 the king's name, in the towns and villages where 
 they are to be found. You, sir, are in this case. 
 Send a detachment of your soldiers to the nearest 
 village to take as many waggons as you require to 
 carry the infirm ; and, to show our submission to 
 his majesty's orders, we will give you six francs a 
 day for the hire of a waggon, which will be a clear 
 profit to you, for in the king's service waggons can 
 always be had gratis, so these six francs will be 
 yours." Some of the soldiers, who knew more than 
 the captain, confirmed what I said, which decided 
 him to take my advice. The peasants provided 
 two waggons as far as the first resting-place for the 
 night, and so from place to place as far as Havre- 
 de-Grace. 
 
 The master-at-arms was a good sort of man, but 
 not particularly clever. . They had made him take 
 an oath at Dunkirk neither to tell us, nor any one 
 else, the place to which he had orders to take us. 
 The fear lest some of the garrison of Aire, which 
 made expeditions between Calais and Boulogne, 
 should carry us off, had made them take this pre- 
 caution. One day, on the road, this captain, who 
 always rode on horseback, came up to the waggon 
 in which I was, and engaged in conversation with 
 me. While speaking on indifferent subjects, I 
 asked him the place of our destination. Seeing 
 that he evaded the question, I said it was useless 
 his doing so, since I knew it as well as he did. He 
 defied me to tell him, which I did immediately, 
 repeating to him what I had seen in the directions 
 
Condcmiicd to the Galleys. 191 
 
 for our route, which he had shown me before we 
 landed at Calais, The good man not having re- 
 marked that I had looked at the last article' in the 
 document when he had shown it to me, was so 
 astonished to find that I knew as much as -he did on 
 this subject — as not one of his company knew the 
 secret — that he asked me, with great simplicity, 
 whether I was a sorcerer or a prophet. I replied, 
 that I was too honest to be a sorcerer, and too 
 great a sinner to be a prophet. " Besides," said I, 
 " there is not one of us who does not know as much 
 as I do ; and you are making a great secret of a 
 thing which is quite public among us." I laughed 
 at him a little for his pretended circumspection. 
 We had, however, no reason to complain of him 
 during our journey ; he was very particular in 
 giving us our rations at every lodging ; but not 
 being able to act beyond his orders, he could only 
 lodge us in prisons, or in stables in those places 
 where there were no prisons. 
 
 At last we reached Havre-de-Grace, where we 
 had a better and more comfortable lodging than 
 any we had had on the road. It happened that 
 there were in the town a great many new converts 
 to Romanism, who, notwithstanding their apostacy, 
 were still zealous in favour of the reformed religion. 
 These gentlemen anticipating our arrival, and 
 knowing that we were to be given into the charge 
 of the Master of the Marine, went to beg him to 
 show us some compassion, reminding him that 
 these poor chained prisoners had formerly been 
 their brethren in the faith, who had by their firm- 
 
192 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 ness and constancy borne testimony to the religion 
 of their fathers, adding, that if he would have the 
 kindness to treat them well, they would be greatly 
 obliged to him, and would be responsible that they 
 did not abuse the relief he granted them by 
 endeavouring to escape. As those who had under- 
 taken this deputation were the richest merchants 
 in the town, the governor replied to them very 
 graciously, adding that out of consideration to them 
 he would treat us as well as he possibly could. " I 
 have the orders of the court," said he, " to confine 
 them in a place of security, but as these orders do 
 not specify that it must be a prison, I shall try and 
 give them a more comfortable lodging ; and as the 
 court simply directs me to give them bread and 
 beans, you can rely upon their having the same 
 food as is served up to my table. You will have 
 perfect liberty also to see them and assist them." 
 Matters were thus happily arranged when we 
 arrived at Havre. They made us alight before the 
 royal arsenal, where the governor had prepared a 
 large room for us, belonging to the ropery, with 
 mattresses, pillows, and counterpanes for us to 
 sleep upon. On entering this room, which was on 
 the ground floor, we found there the governor and 
 our protectors. These gentlemen embraced us 
 with tears in their eyes without fearing to commit 
 themselves in the presence of the governor, who 
 appeared quite affected by it. Whilst this was 
 going on the officials of the custom-house arrived 
 and asked the governor's permission to search us. 
 He granted it, and they examined us at once, but, 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 193 
 
 of course without finding anything. But perceiv- 
 ing among our clothes a small box with a lock and 
 key, in which we kept all our books of ckvotion, 
 they asked to examine that. I had the key of this 
 box, and I would not give it to them, fearing the 
 fire for our small librar)t But the governor said to 
 me, " Give them the key, my friend, and fear no- 
 thing ; these gentlemen must do their duty." I 
 gave it them with trembling ; one of the officials 
 opened the box, and only seeing books, he ex- 
 claimed, " Here is Calvin's library ; to the flames ! 
 to the flames ! " Seeing this, the governor said to 
 him, " Rascal, what are you meddling with ? Do 
 your duty and nothing else, or I will teach you 
 what to search for." The official said no more, 
 shut up the box, and went out. 
 
 As soon as we were installed in our new abode, 
 they took away the great chain which held us 
 all together, leaving us only bound in couples. 
 The governor was so greatly prepossessed in our 
 favour, that he was kind enough to ask us if we 
 were content with our guards. We told him that 
 we had received from them during the journey 
 as good treatment as they were able to give us. 
 " Very well," said he, " then I shall leave them with 
 you." He quartered them in a room opposite to 
 ours. Every day he sent us bread from his own 
 table. Our protectors told him that, with his per- 
 mission, they would take care to supply us with 
 food, and requested to be allowed to come and see 
 us from time to time. Thereupon the governor 
 called the master-at-arms, and told him to allow 
 
 
 
194 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 any one who wished to come into our room to visit 
 us, between nine o'clock in the morning and eight 
 o'clock in the evening, and never to interfere with 
 any of our religious exercises. The master-at-arms 
 conformed to these orders, and henceforth our room 
 was never free from persons of both sexes and all 
 ages. We had prayers morning and evening, and 
 after having read the good sermons which we had 
 with us, we sang psalms, so that our prison was 
 something like a little church. The tears and sobs 
 of these good people who came to see us, and 
 scarcely ever left us, were mingled with our songs. 
 Seeing the chains which we wore, and the resigna- 
 tion with which we bore them, they reproached 
 themselves for their weakness, and lamented that 
 they had not resisted unto death in face of the per- 
 secutions they had suffered, and the allurements 
 that had been employed to make them renounce the 
 true religion. Alas ! I must say, that it was rather 
 the sight of our misery that softened them, or still 
 more strictly speaking, the rebuke of their own 
 consciences, than our exhortations and sermons, for 
 we were not called to so worthy a ministry, and 
 were in no respect capable of exercising it. The 
 conduct of these new converts showed very plainly 
 that the Romish Church, instead of converting, 
 only makes hypocrites. The zeal of our weak 
 brethren in coming to visit us A/as, however, the 
 cause that, from the day after our arrival at Havre- 
 de-Grace, all the churches of the town were emptied 
 of the new converts, notwithstanding the prayers and 
 menaces of the cure, who complained to the gover- 
 
Conckmned to the Galleys. 195 
 
 nor. But the latter contented himself with reply- 
 ing that he could not force people's consciences, 
 and that an open heretic was worth more 'than a 
 concealed hypocrite; moreover, that this occurrence 
 had done much good, as now one could distin- 
 guish the good Catholics at Havre from those who 
 were not so. These reasons, weighty as they were, 
 did not satisfy the cure, who sometimes came to 
 see us, and always found our room full of new 
 proselytes, who did not fear to say to him, " Here, 
 Monsieur le Cure, are brave people (pointing to us) 
 and good Christians, who have had more firmness 
 than we." One can judge whether such words 
 were pleasing to the cure. 
 
 No one was able to fathom the policy of the 
 court in having us removed to Havre-de-Grace. 
 Some thought that we were to be sent to America ; 
 and I have always believed that this was the 
 original design of the ministry, for if their first re- 
 solution had been to send us to Paris to join the 
 chain of galley slaves there, what was the use of 
 sending us to Havre, which is nearly as far from the 
 capital as Dunkirk .'' Moreover, it doubled our 
 journey, as the distance from Dunkirk to Havre 
 is about the same as from Dunkirk to Paris. Pro- 
 bably, the scandal which we caused to the Roman 
 Catholics at Havre was the cause which induced 
 the court to change its intentions concerning us. 
 The cure left no means untried to get us out of the 
 town. We knew that he had written and informed 
 the court that our residence there had had an evil 
 influence on the new converts, who, since our arrival, 
 
196 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 had deserted his church. This alone, was quite 
 enough to induce the ministers to send an order to 
 the governor to send us away as secretly as 
 possible, for fear of exciting any commotion ; these 
 precautions, however, were quite unnecessary. The 
 Reformed at Havre had no intention of carrying 
 us off by force, and, as for ourselves, we were led 
 as easily as sheep to the slaughter-house. But the 
 cure had described us in such black colours, that 
 the court could not fail to take umbrage. Before 
 our departure, a singular incident occurred which 
 confirmed the master-at-arms in his idea that we 
 were prophets. 
 
 On the fifteenth day of our residence at Havre, 
 about nine o'clock in the evening, just as we were 
 beginning our supper and our guards were doing the 
 same, I felt myself touched upon the shoulder ; 
 turning round to see who it was, I recognised a 
 young lady of good position in society, the 
 daughter of one of the first .bankers of the town, 
 to whom I had lent a volume of sermons a few 
 days before. She was wrapped up in a shawl which 
 she hurriedly drew aside, and said to me hastily 
 and in tears, " Here, my brother, is your book, 
 which I return to you. May God be with you in 
 all your trials ! They are going to carry you off to- 
 night at twelve o'clock ; four waggons are ordered 
 for the purpose, and the White Gate will remain 
 open for your departure from the town." I thanked 
 her for the trouble which she had taken in coming 
 at such an hour to give me this information herself, 
 and asked her how she had been able to cfain access 
 
CorK^emned to the Galleys. 197 
 
 to our room. " That," said she, " does not affect 
 you ; it is more expedient to tell you, dear con- 
 fessors of the faith, that you are going to be taken 
 to the frightful prison of the Tournelle, at Paris, to 
 be joined to the great chain which leaves that city 
 every year for Marseilles. I wished to announce 
 these sad tidings to you, that you might not 
 remain in anxious uncertainty about your destina- 
 tion, and that you might prepare yourselves to 
 suffer, with constancy, this new trial." Having said 
 this, she departed as invisibly as she had entered, 
 without any of our guards perceiving her. This 
 young lady evidently obtained permission from the 
 guard of the arsenal to enter by his house, which 
 communicated with the ropery where we were con- 
 fined. We continued our supper v^ery quietly ; after 
 which, instead of lying down upon our mattresses 
 to go to sleep as usual, we began to pack up our 
 little luggage. Whilst we were thus employed, our 
 captain, according to his custom, came into our 
 room to chat with us for an hour while he smoked 
 his pipe, and seeing us arranging our baggage 
 instead of preparing our beds, he asked us what we 
 were doing. " We are getting ready to start at 
 midnight, sir," said I ; "and you had better do the 
 same." " You arc riiad," said he. " I tell you," 
 I replied, "that precisely at midnight there will be 
 four waggons at the gate of the arsenal to take us 
 out by the White Gate, which will remain open on 
 purpose, and you will continue to conduct us as far 
 as Paris, and deliver us up there at the prisons of 
 the Tournelle, to join the great chain for Mar- 
 
iqS Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 seilles." " I tell you," answered he, " that you are. 
 mad, and that there is not a word of truth in what 
 3'ou have just said. I took the governor's orders at 
 eight o'clock, as I always do, and he told me that 
 there was nothing new." " Very well, sir," said I, 
 ." you will see." As we were finishing this conver- 
 sation the governor's servant came in, to tell the 
 captain that his master wished, at once, to speak to 
 him. It was not long before he came back, making 
 great exclamations ; clasping his hands, he said 
 to me, " In God's name, tell me whether you are 
 sorcerers or prophets ! still, I cannot help thinking 
 that God favours you, for you are too devout and 
 too honest to ask the help of the devil." " No, 
 sir," said I, " we are neither the one nor the 
 other, and there is nothing but what is quite 
 natural in that which surprises you so much." " I 
 cannot understand it at all," said the master-at- 
 arms, " for I have heard from the governor's own 
 lips, that no one in the town knows anything about 
 your departure, except himself; and whatever you 
 may say, you won't take away my firm belief that 
 God is with you." "I hope he is," said I, and 
 we continued to prepare for our departure. 
 
 How the young lady became acquainted w^ith 
 this secret, we learned afterwards from her father, 
 whom we saw in the prison at Rouen, to which 
 town he came expressly to give lis the amount 
 of a collection which had been made for us at 
 Havre, to procure us some alleviations on our pain- 
 ful journey to Paris and Marseilles. He told us 
 that his daughter was engaged to be married to 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 1 99 
 
 the governor's secretary. The governor having 
 received the letter from the court tiie evening 
 before our departure, his secretary saw the order 
 which concerned us, and knowing the affection 
 which his daughter bore us, he ran at once to 
 tell her the news. 
 
 At midnight the four waggons came to take us. 
 We smiled at the mysterious secrecy they observed 
 in our removal. The iron was taken from the 
 wheels of the waggons, and the shoes from the 
 horses which drew them, so that we might not be 
 heard passing through the street. Each waggon 
 was covered up as if it contained bales of merchan- 
 dise ; and with neither lanterns nor torches, we left 
 the town. Nothing remarkable happened to us as 
 far as Rouen. On arriving there, we were conducted 
 before the town-hall to receive the magistrates' 
 orders as to our lodging, which was, as usual, in 
 prison. But we were much surprised to be refused 
 admittance, by the gaoler, to that to which we were 
 taken. The master-at-arms showed the magis- 
 trates' order commanding him to receive us, which 
 the gaoler persistently refused to do, saying that he 
 would rather give up his office than take us under 
 his charge. We were sent to another prison, where 
 the same thing happened, and finally they sent us 
 to a tower destined for the most infamous criminals. 
 The gaoler here, who only received us under the 
 strongest protest, cast us into a fearful dungeon, 
 and, by the help of five or si.x turnkeys with swords 
 in their hands, fastened our feet to huge beams of 
 wood, so that we could not move, and without 
 
200 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 giving us either light or bread, or anything else, he 
 shut up the dungeon, and went away with his turn- 
 keys. We were both hungry and thirsty, and 
 called out as loudly as we could for nearly two 
 hours that they should bring us some food for our 
 money. At last some one came to the door, and 
 we heard them say, " Those people speak very good 
 French." This made us think that there was some 
 misunderstanding and some mystery in their conduct 
 with regard to us. We still continued to cry out, 
 and to implore them to help us for our money, and 
 that we were ready to pay in advance. Upon this 
 the gaoler opened the door, and came in with his 
 six turnkeys, and, after having examined us one 
 after the other, he asked us if we were Frenchmen. 
 We said that we were. " But how is it then that 
 you are not Christians } " said he, " and that you 
 worship the devil, who makes you more wicked 
 than he is himself.-'" We replied, that apparently 
 he wished to joke with us, but that he would please 
 us better if he would give us something to eat and 
 drink ; at the same time I gave him a louis d'or, 
 begging him to give us immediately what we 
 required for that money, and adding if that was 
 not enough, I would give him more. " Tnily," said 
 the gaoler, " you do not appear to be such as you 
 have been described to me; for during the last week 
 that you have been expected, they have spoken of 
 you as people who come from the north, quite 
 sorcerers, and so wicked and violent, that they 
 could never tame you in the Dunkirk galleys, and 
 so are sending you to Marseilles to bring you to 
 
Condemned to tJic Galleys. 201 
 
 reason ; and this is the reason why I have received 
 you with such repugnance in this prison." I easily 
 recognised that this piece of maHcious ca^imny 
 came from the Jesuits, who had spread the report 
 that we might be regarded with horror and execra- 
 tion in the town of Rouen, where there were a great 
 many good Reformed. With this idea, I began to 
 converse with the gaoler. I told him our histor}% 
 and the reason why we were going from Dunkirk to 
 Marseilles. 
 
 Just then, our master-at-arms arrived in our 
 dungeon to give us our rations. The gaoler took 
 him aside, and asked him if we were as docile as we 
 appeared to be. " Yes, certainly," said the captain. 
 " I would undertake to conduct them alone through 
 the whole of France ; and their only crime is that 
 they are Huguenots." " Is that all } " said the 
 gaoler ; " the most honest people in Rouen belong 
 to that religion. I don't like it," added he, " but I 
 like the people who belong to it ; they are a brave 
 set." And, addressing us, he said, " You are to stay 
 here to-morrow ; I shall take care to tell some of 
 your own people, who will not fail to come and see 
 you, and my doors will always be open to them." 
 He then ordered his turnkeys to unfetter us, and to 
 leave us only our usual chains, while he went to 
 procure us refreshments. Next day he kept his 
 word, and brought several persons of the reformed 
 religion to see us, who soon made the news of our 
 arrival public ; so that during the whole day our 
 dungeon, which w-as tolerably large, was never 
 empty. I have never seen such zealous people as 
 
202 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 these gentlemen of Rouen. They made us quite 
 abashed by their excessive praises of the constancy 
 of our faith. They exhorted us in so pathetic 
 a manner to perseverance, that we could not restrain 
 our tears. Their ardour was so great, that several of 
 them actually wished (after asking the permission of 
 the master-at-arms) publicly to accompany us, on . 
 our departure, for about a league from the town, and 
 help us by carrying our chains upon their shoulders. 
 This we would never suffer, both on account of 
 the humility which we professed, and to save them 
 the trouble into which it certainly would have 
 brought them. We left Rouen in the waggons 
 as before. I cannot sufficiently express the many 
 acts of kindness which our captain showed us during 
 this journey ; for besides the gratuities which he 
 received from our friends at Rouen, he was firmly 
 persuaded that we were saints favoured by God, and 
 that we had the gift of prophecy. When the 
 argousin was taking his usual precautions, such as 
 examining our chains, etc., he told him that he was 
 taking useless trouble, for that we woufd go any- 
 where voluntarily if the king wished it ; that other- 
 wise neither all his precautions, nor those of all 
 mankind, would be able to keep us. We wished ' 
 much to disabuse him on this subject, but we could 
 not dissuade him from his opinion that we possessed 
 supernatural powers. 
 
 On the 17th November, 17 12, about three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, we arrived at Paris, We alighted 
 at the Chateau de la Tournelle, which was formerly 
 a pleasure-house of our kings, but which then 
 
Condei^fted to the Galleys. 203 
 
 served as a depottfor all the unfortunate wretches 
 condemned to the gaHeys for every sort of crime. 
 They made us enter the vast but gloomy duj9geon 
 appropriated to the great chain. The dreadful 
 spectacle which here presented itself to our eyes, 
 made us shudder, and all the more so, as they 
 were about to join us to the actors who were 
 playing such a prominent part in it. I confess 
 that, accustomed as I was to dungeons, fetters, 
 chains, and other instruments of torture which 
 tyranny or crime have invented, I had not strength 
 to resist the fit of trembling which seized me, and 
 the horror with which I was struck on beholding 
 this fearful place. 
 
 Not being able to describe all its horrors, I must 
 content myself with giving a faint idea of it. It is 
 a large dungeon, or rather a spacious cellar, fur- 
 nished with huge beams of oak, placed at the dis- 
 tance of about three feet apart. These beams are 
 about two feet and a-half in thickness, and are so 
 arranged and fixed in some way to the floor, that 
 at first sight one would take them for benches, but 
 their use is a much more uncomfortable one. To 
 these beams thick iron chains are attached, one and 
 a-half feet in length, and two feet apart, and at the 
 ends of these chains is an iron collar. When the 
 wretched galley slaves arrive in this dungeon, they 
 are made to lie half down, so that their heads may 
 rest upon the beam ; then this collar is put round 
 their necks, closed, and riveted on an anvil with 
 heavy blows of a hammer. As these chains with 
 collars are about two feet apart, and as the beams 
 
204 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 are generally forty feet long, 'twenty men are 
 chained to them in file. This cellar, which is round, 
 is so large, that in this way they can chain up as 
 many as five hundred men. There is nothing so 
 dreadful as to behold the attitudes and postures of 
 these wretches there chained. For a man so bound 
 cannot lie down at full length, the beam upon which 
 his head is fixed being too high ; neither can he 
 sit, nor stand upright, the beam being too low ; I 
 cannot better describe the posture of such a man 
 than by saying he is half lying, half sitting, part of 
 his body being upon the stones or flooring, the 
 other part upon this beam. 
 
 It was in this manner that they chained us ; and 
 thoroughly inured as we were to pains, fatigues, and 
 sorrows, the three days and three nights which we 
 were obliged to pass in this cruel situation, so racked 
 our bodies and all our limbs, that we could not 
 longer have survived it, especially our poor old 
 men, who cried out every moment that they were 
 dying, and that they had no more strength to en- 
 dure this terrible torture. I may perhaps be asked, 
 " How can all those other poor wretches who are 
 brought from the four corners of France, and who 
 sometimes are obliged to wait three, four, or even 
 five and six months before the great chain starts 
 for Marseilles, endure such torture for so long.-'" 
 To this I reply, that an immense number of these 
 unfortunates succumb under the weight of their 
 misery, and that those who escape death through 
 strength of constitution, suffer pains of which it is 
 impossible to give any adequate idea. One hears 
 
Co7ideij}ned to the Galleys. 205 
 
 in this horrible cavern only groans and mournful 
 lamentations, capable of softening any other hearts 
 than those of the ferocious ofificials of this terrible 
 place. The scanty relief of uttering these lamen- 
 tations is even denied to the pitiable slaves, for 
 every night five or six brutes of turnkeys form the 
 guard in the dungeon, and they fall without mercy 
 upon those who speak, cry, groan, or lament, bar- 
 barously striking them with huge ox bones. With 
 regard to food, that is tolerably good. The " Grey 
 Sisters " bring every day at twelve o'clock, soup, 
 meat, and good bread, in abundance. The duty 
 of these sisters is to attend to the poor in Paris, to 
 whom they take food every day, and even medicine 
 if they require it. They also have the direction of 
 several hospitals, especially of those for soldiers, 
 and by their rules they are obliged to visit the 
 prisoners and relieve them. In some places they 
 are also charged with instructing the young of both 
 sexes ; whether they are capable of this, my readers 
 may judge from what I am now about to relate. 
 
 The mother-superior, who came every day to our 
 dungeon to serve out the soup to the galley slaves, 
 always stayed a quarter of an hour with me, and 
 gave me more to eat than I required. The other 
 galley slaves often laughed at me for this, calling 
 me the favourite of the mother-abbess. One day, 
 after giving me my portion, she said to me, among 
 other things, that it was a pity that we were not 
 Christians. " Who has told you that, my good 
 mother.''" said I; "we are Christians, by God's 
 mercy." "What!" said she, "you are .-^ but you 
 
2o6 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 believe in Moses ?" " Do you not believe," asked I, 
 " that Moses was a great prophet ?" " I," said she, 
 "believe in that impostor ! in that false prophet who 
 seduced so many Jews as Mohammed seduced the 
 Turks ! Oh, no, thanks to the Lord, I am not 
 guilty of such a heresy." I shrugged my shoulders 
 at this ridiculous speech, and contented myself 
 with telling her that it was neither the time nor the 
 place to discuss this matter, but I only begged her 
 to confess what she had just said, and she would 
 see that her confessor (if perchance he knew more 
 than she did) would certainly tell her that what 
 she had said about Moses was a very great sin. 
 One can judge from this whether these good women 
 were capable of instructing the young. 
 
 I mentioned that for three days and three nights 
 we were chained to the beams. . The cause of our 
 being so soon delivered was as follows : — A good 
 Protestant of Paris, M. Girardot de Chancourt, a 
 rich merchant, having heard of our arrival at the 
 Tournelle, went to beg the governor to allow him 
 to see us, and to assist us in our necessities. The 
 governor, though he was his great friend, would 
 never allow him to enter the dungeon to speak to 
 us, for no one was permitted admission except the 
 ecclesiastics. M. Girardot then could not see us 
 nearer than from the courtyard of the castle, 
 through a double grating of iron, with which the 
 windows of the dungeon were furnished. He could 
 not even speak to us, as the distance between us 
 was too great, and it was with difficulty that he 
 could see any of us, as we could only be distin- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys, 207 
 
 guished by our red jackets. But seeing us in the 
 frightful attitude in which we were placed, our 
 heads nailed down to these beams, he asked the 
 governor if there was no means of chaining us by 
 the leg, as were others of the galley slaves whom he 
 saw much nearer the windows inside the dungeon. 
 The governor told him that those whom he saw 
 there paid a certain price a month. " If you will, 
 sir," said M. Girardot, " give those poor fellows the 
 same liberty, and arrange the price with them, I 
 will pay you if they cannot." The governor told 
 him that he would see if there was any room near 
 the grating, and if there was he would do as he 
 requested. Next morning the governor came to 
 the dungeon, and from the first of us that he 
 saw asked who had charge of our expenses. They 
 pointed to me. The governor came and asked me 
 if we should like to be at the grating, chained by 
 the foot. I told him that we could ask for nothing 
 better, and then we agreed to pay him fifty crowns 
 for the time that the chain remained at the Tour- 
 nelle. I paid it at once out of the common purse 
 of which I was the treasurer. The governor at 
 once had us unbound from these frightful beams, 
 and placed us as near as possible to the grating, 
 chained by the foot. 
 
 As, for several years, we had been accustomed 
 to this kind of chaining, we found ourselves quite 
 relieved. Our chain, which was fastened into the 
 floor, and which held us by one foot, was two yards 
 long, so that we could either stand upright, sit, or 
 lie down, and considering the condition in which 
 
2o8 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 we had been upon those cruel beams, we now found 
 our situation a very tolerable one. M. Girardot 
 often came to see us, and spoke easily to us through 
 the grating, but with prudence and circumspection, 
 on account of the other galley slaves who surrounded 
 us. This rest we only enjoyed for a month, at the 
 end of which we set out with the chain on the 
 17th December. 
 
 The Jesuits have the spiritual direction of the 
 Chateau de la Tournelle. A week before the de- 
 parture of the chain, one of their novices, who, by 
 his sermons, appeared to us to be a great igno- 
 ramus, came to preach every day in the dungeon 
 to prepare these miserable galley slaves to confess 
 and receive the Holy Sacrament. This preacher 
 always took the same text, — that precept of the 
 Gospel, " Come unto me, all ye who are weary and 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He main- 
 tained, and tried to prove by divers passages from 
 the fathers, that the Saviour, in the words of this 
 text, taught that one could only come to him by 
 auricular confession. We heard his sermons, and 
 were shocked at his absurdities, but we never had 
 the opportunity of being able to speak to him, for 
 he feared our conversation as he would the fire, 
 believing that we were all very dangerous Hugue- 
 not ministers, quite capable of entrapping good 
 Catholics, as report said in Paris. This poor 
 novice, therefore, both in coming in and going out 
 of the dungeon, always made a great detour to 
 avoid us. Several Jesuit fathers, soon- after, came 
 to confess all these unfortunate wretches, and 
 
Condcmnrd to tJic Galleys. 209 
 
 brought them the Holy Sacrament, which they 
 made them take in that frightful attitude, with 
 their heads nailed down upon the beams, a proceed- 
 ing which appeared most irreverent, even to us, who 
 had not such superstitious faith in this mystery 
 as the Romanists have, and which filled us with 
 horror. I remarked that, after they had given them 
 the host, they made them drink some wine out of 
 a chalice. I asked one of them if they received 
 the Communion in both kinds. He replied that 
 they did not, and that the wine which they gave 
 them in this chalice was not consecrated — that it 
 was only a precaution which they took at the 
 Tournelle to make them swallow the host, as a 
 profane story was told, which the Jesuits pretended 
 to believe, of a wicked galley slave who had made 
 a compact with the devil that, if he would release 
 them all, he would give him a consecrated wafer, 
 which he therefore kept in his mouth for the pur- 
 pose. The galley slave gave it to him, and on the 
 journey the whole chain was set at liberty by the 
 evil one. 
 
 On the 17th December, at nine o'clock in the 
 morning, they took us all out of the dungeons, 
 and brought us into a spacious courtyard before 
 the castle. They chained us by the neck, in 
 couples, with a thick chain three feet long, in the 
 middle of which was a round ring. After having 
 thus chained us, they placed us all in file, couple 
 behind couple, and then they passed a long and 
 thick chain through all these rings, so that we were 
 thus all chained together. Our chain made a very 
 ^ P 
 
2IO Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 long file, for we were about four hundred. Then 
 they made us all sit down on the ground to wait 
 till the procureur-general of the parliament came 
 to dispatch us, and give us into the charge of the 
 captain of the chain. His name was Langlade, an 
 officer under M. d'Argenson, lieutenant of the Paris 
 police. About noon the procureur-general, and 
 three councillors of the parliament, came to the 
 Tournelle, called us all by name, read out the copy 
 of our sentence to each of us, and then gave them 
 all into the hands of the captain of the chain. 
 This formality detained us three good hours in the 
 courtyard, during which M. Girardot, who Avas not 
 idle in our cause, went to beseech M. d'Argenson 
 to recommend us to the captain of the chain, 
 which he did very strongly, ordering him to distin- 
 guish us above all the others, to procure us all 
 the relief in his power, and to bring back to him, 
 after his return from Marseilles, a certificate, in 
 which we attested that we were contented with 
 him. He also directed him to arrange with M. 
 Girardot for our comfort during the journey. 
 
 The procureur-general, having kindly granted per- 
 mission to M. Girardot to come into the courtyard, 
 he came and embraced us all with an afi"ection 
 worthy of the principles of that (Christianity which 
 influenced him. Then he talked to the captain, 
 who told him that it was necessary that the money 
 we had with us should be given over to him, be- 
 cause at the first lodging where the chain stopped 
 we should be searched, and then the galley slaves 
 forfeit all the money which is found on them. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 2 1 1 
 
 M. Girardot asked us if we would intrust our money 
 to the captain ; we replied in the affirmative ; and, 
 as our money was in a common purse which I kept, 
 I at once put it into M. Girardot's hands, who at 
 once counted it out to the captain. It amounted to 
 about eight hundred francs. The captain then 
 told M. Girardot that, as we had sick and infirm 
 people among us, it would be quite necessary that 
 we should be provided with one or two waggons. 
 He added that he could not do this at the govern- 
 ment's expense without having first severely lashed 
 those who could not walk, to be certain that they 
 Avere not feigning weakness. M. Girardot at once 
 understood what these words signified, and agreed 
 that we should pay the captain one hundred 
 crowns, so that, when we complained of not being 
 able to walk, they might put us into waggons 
 without striking us, and otherwise ill-treating us ; 
 thus, strictly speaking, these one hundred crowns 
 which he took from our common purse were to buy 
 us off from blows during the journey. 
 
 For our security, M. Girardot made the captain 
 sign a receipt, with the promise that, in giving us 
 back our money and our box of books (the carriage 
 of which to Marseilles was included in our one hun- 
 dred crowns), he would render up an account of what 
 had been spent, and receive our attestation that we 
 were satisfied with him. This done, and the cap- 
 tain having received his orders for the departure of 
 the chain, we left the Tournelle about three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, and traversed a great part of 
 Paris, tliat we might arrive at Charenton to sleep. 
 
2 12 Autobiography of a Frencli Protestant 
 
 A great number of people belonging to the re- 
 formed religion stood in the streets through which 
 the chain passed, and, notwithstanding the cuffs 
 and blows which our brutal archers gave them to 
 prevent them from coming near us, they threw 
 themselves upon us to embrace us, for we were 
 distinguished by our red jackets. Moreover, we 
 twenty-two were all together at the end of the 
 chain. 
 
 These good people, among whom were many of 
 distinction, cried aloud to us, " Courage, dear con- 
 fessors of the truth ; suffer with constancy for so 
 good a cause, while we will never cease praying to 
 God that he may give you grace to endure your 
 severe trials," and other similar words of encourage- 
 ment, very consoling to us. Four gentlemen, rich 
 merchants of Paris, accompanied us as far as 
 Charenton, with the captain's permission, who was 
 a great friend of one of them. They made the 
 captain promise to let them entertain us to supper 
 at Charenton, and to detach us from the great 
 chain, that we might be with them in private in a 
 room of the inn where the chain was to lodge. 
 We arrived at Charenton about six in the evening, 
 by moonlight. It froze terribly hard. The diffi- 
 culty which we had in walking, and the excessive 
 weight of our chains (which was 150 lbs. for each, 
 as our captain himself said), had warmed us after the 
 great cold which we had suffered in the courtyard of 
 the Tournelle, so that on arriving at Charenton we 
 were as wet with perspiration as if we had been 
 plunged into water. Here they lodged us in the 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 213 
 
 stable of an inn ; but, alas ! what a lodging ! and 
 what a rest they prepared for us to refresh \vk after 
 this great fatigue. We were chained up to this 
 stable in such a way that we could with difficulty 
 sit down, and then only on a dung-heap ; for as 
 the captain conducts the chain at his own expense 
 as far as Marseilles, receiving there twenty crowns 
 a head for each man, he spares even straw, and we 
 had none during the whole journey. Here, then, 
 they left us to rest (though such a rest was almost 
 worse than the fatigues we had endured) till nine 
 o'clock in the evening, to prepare another scene for 
 us, the most cruel that can be imagined, as I am 
 going to describe. However, our four gentlemen 
 from Paris, who had followed us to Charenton, 
 and were lodging in the same inn, had engaged 
 the largest apartment there, and ordered a supper 
 for thirty persons, reckoning that the captain 
 would keep his word with them. But how different 
 an entertainment from that which they expected 
 was the one we had to take part in, and they 
 to behold ! It makes me shudder every time I 
 think of it. 
 
 At nine o'clock, when it was bright moonlight, 
 with a very hard frost and a north wind, they 
 unfastened our chains, and turned us all out of the 
 stable into a spacious courtyard, enclosed by a 
 wall, before the inn. They arranged the chain on 
 one side of this courtyard ; then they ordered us, 
 huge whips in their hands, blows from which fell 
 like hail upon the slothful ones, to strip off all our 
 clothef and to put them down at our feet. We were 
 
214 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 forced to obey, and we twenty-two, as well as the 
 whole chain, submitted to this cruel treatment. 
 After we had stripped perfectly naked, the chain 
 was ordered to march across to the other end of 
 the court, where we were exposed to the north 
 wind for two long hours, during which time the 
 archers searched and examined all our clothes, 
 under the pretext of looking for knives, files, and 
 other tools, which might be used for cutting or 
 breaking the chains. One may judge if the money 
 that was found escaped the hands of these harpies. 
 They took anything that they fancied — handker- 
 chiefs, linen (if it was at all good), snuff-boxes, 
 scissors, etc., and kept everything, returning 
 nothing ; and when the poor wretches asked 
 for what had been taken from them, they were 
 overwhelmed with cuffs and blows from their 
 muskets and sticks. The examination of our 
 clothes being made, the chain was ordered to 
 march back to the place where they had left them. 
 But oh, cruel spectacle ! the greater part of these 
 unfortunates, ourselves included, were so stiffened 
 by the piercing cold to which we had been • 
 exposed, that it was impossible to walk, even that 
 short distance, across to our clothes. Then blows 
 from the cudgels and the whips rained down on all 
 sides ; and this horrible treatment not succeeding 
 in reviving the poor frozen bodies, which were 
 heaped one upon another, some dead, others dying, 
 the barbarous archers dragged them by the chains 
 round their necks like carrion, their bodies stream- 
 ing with blood from the blows they received. That 
 
Co7idcuined to the Gal leys. 2 1 5 
 
 evening, or the next morning, eighteen died. We 
 twenty-two were neither beaten nor draggedr-along, 
 thanks to God and our hundred crowns, which on 
 this occasion we experienced to have been well 
 employed. The archers helped us to walk, and 
 even carried some of us in their arms to the place 
 where we had left our clothes ; and, by a sort of 
 miracle, not one of us perished, neither there nor 
 during the whole route. For three times more this 
 barbarous examination took place in the open air, 
 with a cold as great and even more intense than it 
 was at Charenton. Whilst we were receiving this 
 cruel treatment at Charenton, the four gentlemen 
 from Paris saw from the window of their room 
 what was taking place in the courtyard. They 
 cried and lamented, entreating the captain with 
 clasped hands to spare us, but he did not heed 
 them ; and all that these good gentlemen could do 
 was to call out to us to commend ourselves to God, 
 as they do to victims who are about to undergo 
 the punishment of death. Since then we have 
 never seen those gentlemen, for they chained us 
 down again in the stable as before. They could 
 not have had much appetite for the supper which 
 they had prepared for us. The captain would not 
 even allow them to go into the stable to see us and 
 assist us in our sad condition, nor to bring us the 
 least refreshment ; so we had to content ourselves 
 with a piece of bread, an ounce of cheese, and a 
 very small quantity of bad wine, which our captain 
 distributed among us, 
 . Next morning we started from Charenton, Some 
 
2 1 6 A iLtobiograpJiy of a French Protcstanf 
 
 of us twrnty-two, who required it, were placed in 
 the waggons without being in the least ill-used, but 
 the other poor wretches, overcome with the suffer- 
 ings of the preceding evening, and some at the 
 brink of death, could only obtain this favour after 
 having passed under the ordeal of the whips. 
 In order to put them into the waggons, they 
 detached them from the great chain, dragged them 
 by that which they had round their necks, like dead 
 cattle, and threw them upon the waggon like dogs, 
 their naked legs hanging out, so that they froze in a 
 short time, which caused indescribable torture ; and 
 worse still, those who complained and lamented at 
 the pains they were suffering, were frequently killed 
 by repeated blows of the stick. It may well be 
 asked, why the captain did not take more care to 
 spare their lives, as he was to receive twenty crowns 
 a head for those whom he delivered up alive at 
 Marseilles, and nothing for those who died on the 
 road. The reason is clear. The captain had to 
 provide conveyances for them at his own expense, 
 and the waggons being dear, he found it did not 
 pay to hire them. For example, to take a man in 
 a waggon as far as Marseilles, Avould have cost him 
 more than forty crowns,, without his board, which 
 shows that it was more profitable to kill them than 
 to convey them in waggons. He left to the cure 
 of the first village he came to, the care of interring 
 these dead bodies, and received from him an attes- 
 tation of their burial. 
 
 Thus we traversed the lie de France, Burgundy, 
 and Maconnais, as far as Lyons, performing tliree 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 2 1 7 
 
 or four leagues a day, which is a great deal, con- 
 sidering how we were laden with our chainsrsleep- 
 ing every night in stables upon dunghills, badly 
 fed, and, when it thawed, always up to our knees 
 in mud, soaked through with rain, and afflicted 
 with vermin and the itch, the consequences of 
 this wretchedness. As to the latter, not one of 
 us twenty-two had it, though several of us were 
 coupled with those who were suffering from this 
 disease. I was chained to a man who had been 
 condemned for desertion. He was a good sort of 
 fellow. They coupled him with me at Dijon, be- 
 cause the Reformed who had been chained to me 
 had hurt his foot, and therefore was put in a 
 waggon. He was suffering frightfully from this 
 loathsome disorder, but notwithstanding its infec- 
 tious nature, I did not catch it. 
 
 On arriving at Lyons, the whole chain was 
 placed in large flat-bottomed boats, to descend 
 the Rhone as far as Pont St, Esprit, from thence 
 by land to Avignon, and from Avignon to Mar- 
 seilles, where we arrived on the 17th January, 
 17 1 3, all twenty-two of us, thanks to God, in 
 good health. Of the others, many had died on 
 the road, and there were very few who ^^■ere not 
 sick ; many of these died in the hospital at Mar- 
 seilles. Thus ended our journey from Dunkirk 
 to Marseilles, a journey during which I suffered 
 more, especially after leaving Paris, than I had 
 done during the twelve previous years of my im- 
 prisonment and servitude at the galleys. God be 
 praised that henceforth I shall only have to relatq 
 
2i8 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 the events which preceded and finally resulted in 
 our precious liberty: events which have, thank God, 
 nothing tragical in them, but which may perhaps 
 interest the reader, who will see in them the deep 
 malice and inveterate hatred of the missionaries of 
 Marseilles, and the grace of God towards his 
 children, which made them triumph over their 
 implacable enemies. 
 
 They placed us twenty-two Protestants in a 
 galley named the Grande Re'ale, which served as a 
 depot for the new comers, and for the infirm of the 
 thirty-five galleys which were then in the port 
 of Marseilles. These new comers did not remain 
 there long ; they soon divided them among the 
 other galleys, but we twenty-two were not divided, 
 because they expected that the six bands of galley 
 slaves from Dunkirk would return to Marseilles, 
 and that we should all then be replaced in the 
 galleys which we had left. We increased the 
 number of our brethren who were on board the 
 Grande Re'ale, so that we were now more than 
 forty Reformed. These dear brethren received us 
 with embraces and with mingled tears of joy and 
 grief, — of joy at seeing us all safe and well, con- 
 stant, and resigned to the will of God ; and of grief 
 at the sufferings which we had endured, praising 
 Divine Providence for having sustained us in such 
 long and painful trials. 
 
 The superior of the missionaries of Marseilles, 
 named Father Garcin, happened to be in Paris at 
 the same time we were. He came to see us in 
 the dungeon of the Tourncllc, and exhorted 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 219 
 
 us strongly, by worldly promises, to change our 
 religion, for such is almost always the feext of 
 their mission. " I could obtain your release in 
 twenty-four hours," said he, " if you would only 
 recant. Think of what you are about to expose 
 yourselves to. There is every probability that 
 three-fourths of you will perish between here and 
 Marseilles at this inclement season ; and then when 
 those who survive arrive at Marseilles, they will, as 
 all the other Protestants have done, make their 
 abjuration in my presence." Father Garcin reached 
 Marseilles before we did, and the day after our 
 arrival came to see us in the Grande Reale, and 
 having summoned us all to the stern of the galley, 
 he counted us, and finding the same number as he 
 had seen at Paris — " It is wonderful," said he, " how 
 you have all escaped ! Are you not weary of 
 suffering.^" "You greatly deceive yourself, sir," 
 said I, " if you think that sufferings weaken our 
 faith. On the contrary, we experience what the 
 psalmist says, that the more we suffer afflictions, 
 the more we remember God." "Nonsense!" said 
 he. " It is not so much nonsense," I replied, " as 
 that which you told us at Paris, that all our 
 brethren in the galleys at Marseilles had abjured in 
 your presence. Not one has done so ; and were I 
 in your place I should be ashamed all my life at 
 being convicted of such a gross imposture." " You 
 are a rcasoner," he replied rudely, and departed. 
 
 Two or three months passed after our arrival at 
 Marseilles without anything particular happening, 
 but |ibout the beginning of April, the missionaries 
 
220 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 made a general exhortation to us all, to persuade 
 us to change our religion, employing for this pur- 
 pose rather worldly promises than demonstrative 
 arguments. They flattered themselves that they 
 would gain at least a few, if it were only one or 
 two, in order that they might carry into execution 
 a diabolical design which they had formed, as will 
 presently be seen. I must go back a little in order 
 to make this intelligible. 
 
 During the congress at Utrecht for a general 
 peace, we lived in hopes that the treaty would pro- 
 cure our deliverance. We knew that the Protestant 
 powers were interesting themselves warmly on 
 our behalf; but France would not hear of it, and 
 peace was concluded without any mention ot 
 us, so that all hope from man being taken away, 
 we turned entirely to God, and resigned ourselves 
 to his holy will. We were in this state of mind 
 when the missionaries began their exhortation. They 
 persuaded themselves that, having lost all human 
 hope, it would be easy for them to tempt us by 
 their fine promises, and to seduce some one of us 
 to play that part which they had so artfully de- 
 signed, — but by God's grace they did not succeed. 
 
 We knew nothing of what was taking place 
 in England in our favour, but the missionaries, who 
 knew everything, had information that Queen 
 Anne was being strongly solicited to employ her 
 good offices for us with the King of France ; and, as 
 good politicians, they were certain that if the 
 queen demanded our release, the king, for reasons 
 known to every one, would not refuse it. These 
 
Condemned fo the Galleys. 221 
 
 gentlemen were resolved to oppose in every possible 
 way our regaining our liberty, so they made the 
 king, who was always ready to listen to them, 
 believe that the heretics at the galleys were about 
 to return into the pale of the Roman Church, that 
 the king might thus have something to oppose 
 to the solicitations which Queen Anne might make 
 for our release. But not having been able to psr- 
 sua'de any of us to recant, and requiring some one 
 to do so in order to execute their project, what did 
 theje deceivers do ? They persuaded two wretched 
 convicts, who were condemned — the one for theft, 
 the other for dcoCition, both Roman Catholics by 
 birth, and who for several years that they had 
 been at the galleys had always professed that 
 religion — to pretend that they belonged to the 
 reformed faith, and then to turn Roman Catholics, 
 after which, they promised them their release. 
 These conditions were very acceptable to these 
 two poor wretches ; so they lent a wilhng ear, and 
 readily acquiesced in the proposal. We were in 
 perfect ignorance of this crafty proceeding, and 
 were much surprised one Sunday, when mass was 
 being said on the galleys, to see these two pre- 
 tended Reformed roll themselves up in their cloaks 
 and lie down upon their benches, as the real 
 Reformed were accustomed to do ; this manner of 
 acting being allowed to those who professed to 
 have no faith in the mass. 
 
 The reason of this toleration, which may surprise 
 my readers, was as follows : — After the peace of 
 Ryswick, the missionaries undertook to force the 
 
222 AutohiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 Protestants in the galleys, when mass was said, to 
 fall on their knees, bare-headed, and in the same 
 posture of devotion which the Roman Catholics 
 observed. To effect this object they had not much 
 difficulty in gaining on their side M. de Bonbelle, 
 major-general of the galleys, one of the greatest 
 and most inveterate of persecutors. They arranged 
 with him that the bastinado should be given to 
 all ■ the Reformed, till they consented to observe 
 the required posture during mass. And to make 
 this punishment the more fearful, by lasting all the 
 longer, it was agreed that the major should begin 
 at one end of the galleys (there were forty of 
 them) and give the bastinado to one or two galleys 
 a day, and thus to the other end; and then 
 begin again with those who remained obstinate, 
 and continue till they either submitted or died 
 under the lash. Bonbelle carried out this abomin- 
 able scheme, and his favourite words, in exhorting 
 these poor martyrs to obey, were these, which 
 makes one shudder with horror : " Dog," said he, 
 "down on your knees when mass is being said, 
 and if you won't pray to God in such a posture, 
 pray to the devil if you like, what does it matter 
 to us } " 
 
 All those who were exposed , to this pun- 
 ishment, endured it in a holy and courageous 
 manner, praising God in the midst of their suffer- 
 ings. Some kind souls, however, informed the 
 ambassadors of the Protestant powers at the French 
 court, who, struck with such an atrocious piece 
 of injustice, presented a memorial to the king, in 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 223 
 
 which they alleged, among other things, that it was 
 disgracefully unjust that men who were sunering 
 the cruel hardships of the galleys for refusing to 
 conform to the Romish Church, should be assailed 
 by new tortures to make them submit to it. The 
 king confessed that it was very unjust, and declared 
 that this violence had been committed without his 
 orders ; he immediately sent orders to Marseilles 
 to cease these excesses, and that reparation should 
 be made to the Reformed on the galleys, which 
 was done feebly enough, by saying that it was a 
 misunderstanding which should not occur again. 
 Since that period the Reformed have been allowed 
 to sit or lie on their benches during mass, as I 
 mentioned above. 
 
 I must now return to the two false Reformed, the 
 tools of the missionaries. These wretches having 
 lain down on their benches during mass, the comity, 
 who was in the plot, and whose duty it is to observe 
 that each does his duty, seeing them thus out of 
 their usual posture, asked them the reason. They 
 replied by swearing that they were Huguenots, 
 because their parents had been so. The comitcs 
 told the chaplains, for this scene took place on two 
 different galleys. The chaplains exhorted them 
 to return into the pale of the church. They pre- 
 tended to resist at first, but finally yielded We 
 fancied that this was a trick of the missionaries, 
 but we did not penetrate the real object of it till 
 a few days after, when the missionaries made it 
 known themselves, as will be seen. 
 
 The^ two false Huguenots having made their 
 
■224 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 public and solemn abjuration, to render this grand 
 conversion more important and attractive, received, 
 a few days after, their pardon from the court, and 
 were at once set at liberty. The day of their 
 release Father Garcin and another missionary went 
 from galley to galley to announce this favour, which 
 they said the king had granted to two of our 
 brethren. They came at last to the Grand Reale, 
 where there were, as I have said, forty of the Re- 
 formed. They ordered the argoiisin to unchain us 
 all, that we might go and speak to them in the 
 stern-cabin. We went thither, and after the most 
 flattering civilities, which these fathers had always 
 ready at hand, they began their harangues in these 
 terms : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, you know the pains and the cares 
 which we have always given ourselves for your 
 conversion, especially of late, w'hen we delivered a 
 general exhortation to you all, without, however, 
 reaping all the fruits which we had hoped from it. 
 But as God dispenses his favours as it pleases him, 
 two from among you, to whom the Saviour has 
 given grace to listen to us more fairly, have em-, 
 braced the truths which w'e have taught them, and 
 with great zeal have made their abjuration in our 
 presence ; and as we know that nothing can give 
 his majesty greater pleasure than the conversion 
 of his erring subject.s, we have not failed to tell 
 him the good news, and this is what he has ordered 
 his minister, M. de Pontchartrain, to write to us." 
 Then they read the minister's letter, the substance 
 of which was, that his majesty had been glad to 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 225 
 
 learn that two of the principal Calvinist heretics in 
 the galleys had abjured their errors, and tfi'at his 
 majesty hoped, from the information that had been 
 given him, that all the others on board the galleys 
 would soon follow their good example, in which 
 case his majesty promised them not only their 
 release, but also his royal favour as to good sub- 
 jects. We easily judged from this letter that the 
 missionaries had played this trick in order to make 
 his majesty believe that these two new converts 
 were, as it were, the buttresses which sustained the 
 others, and that, having this idea, his majesty would 
 not listen to any solicitation in our favour, suppos- 
 ing that we were all converted, or on the point of 
 being so. By such infamous deceit did these mis- 
 sionaries endeavour to impose upon the king. How 
 great, too, was the impiety of these impostors, who 
 thus recklessly played with religion, and who sacri- 
 ficed the truth to their execrable lies. But these 
 gentlemen care for nothing, provided they can 
 effect their pernicious designs. Impiety, falsehood, 
 hypocrisy, cruelty, and all the most atrocious 
 crimes, are merely peccadilloes to them, if they are 
 only used for the destruction of that which they 
 call heresy, and to satiate their hatred and ven- 
 geance against their enemies, who are only such 
 because they do not think as they do. 
 
 After Father Garcin had read M. Pontchartrain's 
 letter to us, he harangued us very pathetically, 
 exalting the king's fatherly kindness for his sub- 
 jects, which was not content with procuring them 
 merel)* temporal good, but which also extended to 
 
 Q 
 
226 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 the salvation of their souls ; that this letter which 
 he had ordered his minister to write, was more than 
 a sufficient proof of this. He then dilated on the 
 goodness and gentleness of the Romish Church, 
 which, following the example of the Saviour of the 
 world, only drew men by persuasion to embrace 
 the truths of the gospel. " And do not allege," 
 exclaimed this father, " that we persecute you to 
 make you return into the pale of the church ; far 
 from us is that system of persecuting which you so 
 often raise as an objection to us. We declare to 
 you that we detest it, and we agree with you that, 
 according to the precepts of the gospel, it is not 
 right for any to persecute others on account of their 
 religion. Reflect, then, for a time," continued the 
 father, " and yield yourselves to the royal and pious 
 solicitation of his majesty — to the gentle persua- 
 sion of the truths which we announce to you with all 
 our heart, and with a real zeal for your salvation." 
 
 Having finished his discourse, one of our num- 
 ber then spoke. He testified that we were very 
 sensible of the offers so full of kindness which his 
 majesty had made to us, through his ministers ; 
 that we should continue all our lives good and 
 faithful subjects of his majesty; and as to our holy 
 faith, that we were all resolved, with God's grace, 
 to profess it with heart and lips, even to our lives' end. 
 Here Father Garcin interrupted him, saying that 
 he could not answer for us all ; that, besides, he did 
 not ask us for an immediate answer, wishing each to 
 reflect in private upon what he had ju.st said to us. 
 
 Not being able to say anything more to these 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 227 
 
 fathers (there were two of them), we left the cabin, 
 where they remained a Httle longer, apparency to 
 see if some {q\n among us, at least, would not come 
 and declare that they were convinced. The argon- 
 sin began to chain us each to our several benches, 
 but as we were forty, a good hour passed before 
 that was done. Meanwhile, I conversed with three 
 of our brethren, waiting till our turn to be chained 
 arrived. I told them that I could not keep back 
 what was passing in my heart ; that I was anxious 
 to answer Father Garcin's imposture, who dared 
 to assert that we were not persecuted. These 
 brethren represented to me that, knowing as we 
 did the harsh and cruel character of these fathers, 
 we could only expect that our replies, however 
 humble, would result in nothing but further ill-usage. 
 " Gentlemen," said I, " we have suffered so much 
 bad treatment, which God has given us grace to 
 bear with joy for his cause, that anything more 01 
 the kind will not astonish us, and with the continu- 
 ance of the divine grace we shall still know how to 
 sufter if it be necessary. 1 beg you, therefore, that 
 we four return to the room where these fathers still 
 are, that in your presence I may give vent to what 
 I feel in my heart. I will speak, and I promise you 
 that no invective or impertinence on my part shall 
 furnish them with a pretext for ill-treating us," 
 
 They consented, and we entered the cabin where 
 these fathers still v/ere. Directly they saw us com- 
 ing they put on a cheerful air, which persuaded 
 us that they believed we had seriously reflected 
 upon their harangue, and had come to confess our- 
 
228 A7itohiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 selves vanquished. They sakited us in the most 
 amiable manner, offering us seats. I had pro- 
 mised our three brethren that I would speak, which 
 I did after Father Garcin had asked us if we had 
 reflected upon what he had said, and upon the 
 king's promise in case we abjured our errors. I 
 replied that we were fully persuaded of the kind- 
 ness and sincerity of his majesty, but that we had 
 several scruples which must be removed, and that 
 we came to them to ask them to give us some 
 explanations upon that which we were about to 
 propose to them. 
 
 I must confess that the manner I was obliged to 
 assume, in making this debut, was rather hypocri- 
 tical, and made them think that we were coming 
 to capitulate, and finally to recant. I had the 
 pleasure of seeing how easily they fell into the 
 snare which I had laid for them. I wished to make 
 them tacitly confess that we were persecuted for 
 the sake of our faith, and this is how I managed it. 
 I told this father, then, that we had seriously re- 
 flected on what had taken place, but, among others, 
 there was one great obstacle to what they called 
 our conversion, which we were now going to men- 
 tion to him, and to ask him to remove. " That is 
 just what you ought to do," cr>ed Father Garcin, 
 quite joyfully. " Speak, sir," said he to me, " and 
 you will be quite satisfied as to all your scruples." 
 
 Thereupon I continued in the same tone, and 
 said to him, " I can certify to you, sir, that, thanks 
 to God and to my parents, I have been brought up 
 and very well instructed in the principles of the 
 
Condemned to tJic Galleys. 220 
 
 reformed religion ; but I must confess to you, that 
 nothing strengthens me more in it than \.(3 see 
 myself persecuted for its sake ; for when I consider 
 tliat Jesus Christ, his apostles, and so many faithful 
 Christians have been persecuted, according to the 
 prophecy of their divine Saviour, I cannot but believe 
 myself to be in the right road to salvation, since I 
 am persecuted as they were. Thus, sir, if you can 
 prove to me that we are not persecuted, as you 
 asserted just now, I confess that you will gain con- 
 siderable advantage over me." " I am delighted," 
 replied Father Garcin, " that you have so clearly 
 made known your scruples to me, and equally 
 delighted that there is nothing so easy as to remove 
 it by proving to you that you are not persecuted 
 for the sake of your religion, and it is in this way : 
 Do you know," he asked me, " what persecution is .''" 
 "Alas! sir," said I, "my condition and that of my suf- 
 fering brethren has made us only too well acquainted 
 with it." " Pshaw!" said he, "there is the mistake 
 you make : you take cJiastisement for persecution, 
 and I am now going to convince you of this. Why 
 are you at the galleys, and what is the motive of 
 your sentence } " 
 
 I replied that, finding myself persecuted in my 
 own country, I had wished to leave the kingdom to 
 profess my religion in liberty, and that I had been 
 arrested on the frontiers, and for this condemned to 
 the galleys. " Do you not see," exclaimed Father 
 Garcin, " what I have just told you, that you do 
 not know what persecution, is ? I will explain it 
 by telli^ig you that persecution consists in being 
 
230 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 badly treated to oblige you to renounce the religion 
 which you profess. Now, in your case, religion has 
 nothing to do with it, and here is the proof. The 
 king has forbidden all his subjects to leave the king- 
 dom without his permission. You attempted to do 
 this, therefore you are being chastised for having 
 disobeyed the king's orders. This is connected 
 with the police of the kingdom, and not with the 
 church, nor with religion." 
 
 He then addressed another of our brethren pre- 
 sent, to ask him why he was at the galleys. " For 
 having prayed to God at a religious meeting," re- 
 plied this brother. "Another act of disobedience 
 to the king's orders," said Father Garcin. " The 
 king has forbidden his subjects to meet in any place 
 to pray to God, except in the parish and other 
 churches of the kingdom. You have done the con- 
 trary, and you are punished for having disobeyed 
 the king's orders." 
 
 Another of our brethren told him that, being 
 very ill, the cure had come to his bedside to receive 
 his declaration, whether he would live and die in 
 the reformed religion or in the Roman Catholic ; 
 that he had replied in the reformed ; and that, 
 having recovered from his sickness, he had been 
 arrested and condemned to the galleys. "Again 
 another act of disobedience to the orders of the 
 king," said Father Garcin. " His majesty wishes that 
 all his subjects should live and die in the Roman 
 religion. You declared that you would not do so ; 
 that is disobeying the king's orders. .Thus, gentle- 
 men, all of you have disobeyed the king's com- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 23 1 
 
 mands ; the church has no part in it. She has 
 neither taken part in nor presided at your trial ; in 
 a word, all has happened independently of her and 
 of her knowledge." 
 
 I well saw that I should have some trouble to make 
 him grant that we were persecuted for the sake of 
 our religion if I continued in this somewhat hypo- 
 critical strain. I told him with a simple air that I 
 was content with his explanation as to what perse- 
 cution was, and that now I wanted to know whether, 
 if my other doubts could be cleared up, I might be 
 released before making my abjuration, " Certainly 
 not," replied Father Garcin ; "you will never leave 
 the galleys till you have made it in its complete 
 form." " And if I do make this abjuration, can I 
 then hope to be released soon .'' " " A fortnight 
 afterwards," said Father Garcin, " on the faith of a 
 priest ; for you see that in such a case the king pro- 
 raises it to you." I then resumed my natural air to 
 tell him with the greatest seriousness how I had 
 to-day experienced the force of truth, which pene- 
 trates the most cunning falsehood. " You have 
 endeavoured, sir," said I, " by all your sophistical 
 reasons to prove to us that we are not persecuted 
 on account of our religion ; and I, without cither 
 philosophy or rhetoric, by two simple and plain 
 questions, have made you confess that it is our 
 religion which keeps my brethren and myself in the 
 galleys ; for you have asserted that if we made our 
 formal abjuration, we should be set free at once ; 
 and, on the contrary, that there will never be any 
 libertv for us if we do not abjure it." I should have 
 
232 AutobiograpJiy of a French Protcstmit 
 
 pushed still further my reflections upon his avowal, 
 to show him the absurdity of his sophisms, but this 
 father saw himself so thoroughly entrapped by his 
 own mouth, that, fury overpowering his senses, he 
 broke off the conversation with brutality and pre- 
 cipitation, calling us wicked and obstinate fellows, 
 and cried to the argoiisin to come and chain us to 
 our benches, forbidding him to give us the slightest 
 alleviation from our chains. 
 
 This incident shows the diabolical character of 
 these cunning and cruel missionaries. I now pass 
 on to the events which gained us our liberty. 
 
 The peace of Utrecht being concluded without 
 anything having been done for us, the Marquis de 
 Rochegude, a French refugee in the Swiss cantons, 
 who had been sent by Switzerland to Utrecht, to 
 petition in favour of the poor confessors in the 
 French galleys, determined to strike a last blow on 
 our behalf, which he did with an amount of trouble 
 and fatigue surprising at his great age. He left 
 Utrecht for the North, obtained from Charles XII., 
 King of Sweden, a letter of recommendation to the 
 Queen of England, others from the Kings of Den- 
 mark, Prussia, and from several German Protestant 
 princes, from the States-General of the United 
 Provinces, from the Swiss Protestant cantons, and 
 from all the powers of the sanle religion, recom- 
 mending us to the powerful intercession of her 
 Britannic majesty for our deliverance. The marquis 
 crossed the sea, and requested Lord Oxford (then 
 prime minister of England) to procure him an 
 audience of her majesty. The minister asked hira 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 233 
 
 what was the object of his mission. " I have all 
 these letters," said the marquis, " to present to, her 
 majesty," and he named them all. " Give them to 
 me," said his lordship ; " I will warmly back them 
 up." " I cannot," said the marquis, " for I have strict 
 orders from these powers to place them myself 
 in her majesty's own hand ; and if not, to bring 
 them back immediately," Upon this, Lord Oxford 
 procured him the requested audience. He pre- 
 sented all these letters to her majesty, telling her 
 from whom they came. The queen promised to 
 examine them, and give him an answer. There- 
 upon the marquis retired. For a fortnight he 
 heard nothing. At the end of that period, hearing 
 that the queen was going to walk in St. James's 
 Park, he went thither that her majesty might see 
 him. In this he succeeded, for the queen having 
 perceived him, ordered him to be called to her side, 
 and said, " Monsieur de Rochegude, I beg you to 
 let all those poor fellows on board the galleys of 
 France know that they will be released imme- 
 diately." This pious and favourable answer had 
 nothing doubtful in it. The marquis at once in- 
 formed us of it by the way of Geneva. Thus our 
 hope of help from man, which we had entirely lost, 
 revived again, and we praised God for this happy 
 event. Soon after an order came from the court to 
 the governor at IMarscilles to send up a list of all 
 the Protestants at the galleys, which was done ; and 
 a few days after, at the end of May, the order came 
 to the governor to release one hundred and thirty- 
 six of the Protestants ; a list of whose names was 
 
234 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 also sent. We did not understand what was the 
 pohcy of the court, which did not release all, as there 
 were altogether more than three hundred suffering 
 for the same cause. The others were not released 
 for a year after. 
 
 The governor having received this order, com- 
 municated it to the missionaries, who were furious, 
 saying that the king had been surprised and over- 
 reached, and that to release us would be an eternal 
 blot upon the Romish Church. At the same time, 
 tliey prayed the governor to suspend the execution 
 of his orders for a fortnight, that they might send 
 an express to the court to get them reversed, and to 
 keep them secret till they received the answer they 
 expected. The governor, who could refuse nothing 
 to these fathers without drawing down their hatred 
 upon him, granted their request, keeping the order 
 to release the one hundred and thirty-six Pro- 
 testants secret. But, from the day after, we w^ere 
 secretly informed, by degrees, of the names of those 
 in the list. I was kept in great suspense, as I was 
 the last mentioned, and did not hear for three days 
 that my name was there at all. Imagine the afflic- 
 tion of our poor brethren whose names were not in 
 the list. They comforted themselves, however, 
 with the hope that their turn would come, since the 
 Queen of England hatf asked arid obtained the re- 
 lease of us all. But what docs not one suffer between 
 fear and hope ! Vox three weeks one hundred and 
 thirty-six of us were in this state of suspense ; 
 for we had learned that the missionaries had 
 written to the court to obtain the reversal of these 
 
Coiidciiuicd to the Galleys. 235 
 
 orders, and to prevent our release. We knew by- 
 sad experience the power of these gentlemen, and 
 that they were scarcely ever refused. Our fear, 
 therefore, was not without foundation. We could 
 not sleep either by day or by night. The mis- 
 sionaries' express arrived at last at Marseilles ; but, 
 to their great astonishment, it brought no answer, 
 neither good nor bad, which made the governor 
 judge that the king wished his orders to be carried 
 out. However, the missionaries, not losing all 
 hope, petitioned for a week longer, to wait for an- 
 other express, which they had despatched after the 
 first. This express arrived with the same silence. 
 
 Meanwhile we had not been able to keep secret 
 tliat we knew about this order, though the mis- 
 sionaries constantly came to the galleys and told 
 us that we were quite out of our reckoning, and that 
 we should certainly not be released. After the 
 arrival of the last express they were quite con- 
 founded ; still they did not the less employ their 
 malice to oppose our deliverance. They asked the 
 governor in what manner he was going to release us. 
 The governor replied his orders were, " Perfect 
 liberty to go where they liked." They strongly 
 exclaimed against this article, and warmly main- 
 tained that heretics like us, spreading themselves all 
 over the kingdom, would pervert not only the new 
 converts, but even good Catholics : so that they 
 persuaded the governor to declare that it was a 
 condition that we left the kingdom immediately by- 
 sea, never to return to it on pain of being sent back 
 to the galleys for life. This was another instance 
 
236 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 of their cunning and malignant policy, for how 
 could we leave by sea ? There was not a ship 
 in the harbour to take us to Holland or England. 
 We had not the means to engage one large enough 
 to carry so many people, for that would have cost 
 a considerable sum, which we did not possess. 
 This the missionaries foresaw, and were delighted 
 that it seemed to leave us without any resource. 
 
 It is the custom when galley slaves are to be 
 released, to announce it to them some days before. 
 One day, then, the argousin of the galleys received 
 an order from the governor to conduct us, one 
 hundred and thirty-six, to the arsenal at Mar- 
 seilles. The governor having called us each by our 
 name, declared that the king granted us our liberty, 
 at the solicitation of the Queen of England, on 
 condition that we left the kingdom by sea at our 
 own expense. We represented to the governor 
 that this condition was very burdensome to us, 
 and almost impossible to effect. " That is your 
 affair," said he ; " the king is not going to spend 
 a sous for you." " That being the case," said we, 
 " order, sir, if you please, that we may be allowed 
 to sock for some way of leaving by sea." " That 
 is quite fair," said he, " and immediately gave 
 orders to the argousins to allow u§ to go along the 
 harbour with a guard, to look for a passage, as 
 often and whenever we liked. Still the mis- 
 sionaries, to place more obstacles in the way of 
 our deliverance, invented another project. This was 
 to make us all declare wlure we wi-shed to go. 
 Their design was this : they knew that we all had 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 237 
 
 our relations or acquaintances out of the kingdom 
 — some in Holland, others in England, otfiers in 
 Switzerland, or elsewhere. They thought he who 
 says to Holland, will be told to wait till there are 
 Dutch ships in the harbour to take him ; the same 
 to him who will go to England ; and as to those 
 who say they want to go to Switzerland, they will 
 be told that they must be taken to Italy, but they 
 expected that these latter would be quite the mino- 
 rity. According to this plan it would have been 
 almost impossible to have got out of their clutches ; 
 but by God's gracious permission, who had de- 
 termined on our deliverance, these malicious mis- 
 sionaries were foiled in their attempt, for having 
 made us all come to the arsenal to exact this de- 
 claration from each of us, which we knew nothing 
 about, they made us ascend a gallery, at the end of 
 which was the office of the commissary of the navy, 
 who was sitting there with two of these reverend 
 fathers. This gallery being very narrow, we were 
 obliged to stand there in file, one behind the other, 
 waiting to hear what they had to announce to us. 
 Fortunately, he whose name was at the head of the 
 list of the one hundred and thirty-six, had his rela- 
 tions at Geneva. He was called for, and being asked 
 where he wished to go, he said, " To Geneva." 
 He who stood behind him thought that all of us were 
 to say the same, " To Geneva," and turning round 
 he said to the next, " Pass on the word, and let all 
 say To Geneva." This was done, for the commissary 
 having called out to several and hearing them all 
 answer " To Geneva," he said, " I think they all 
 
'238 Aiitohiography of a French Protestant 
 
 want to go to Geneva." " Yes, sir," we said all at 
 once, " to Geneva." The commissary told us we 
 had now only to provide ourselves with vessels to 
 take us to Italy, for, as every one knows, we could 
 not go from Marseilles to Geneva by sea, and not 
 being allowed to pass through France, we could 
 take no other route than that by Italy, which is a 
 very great detour. However, the fact of our all 
 saying " To Geneva," facilitated our deliverance, 
 as will be seen. 
 
 We now employed ourselves in seeking for a 
 vessel to take us to Italy. One day, when we 
 M'ere much disheartened at our fruitless search, a 
 pilot of the galley La Favorite, named Jovas, told 
 one of our brethren that he had a tartane, a kind 
 of bark much used in the IMediterranean, and that 
 he would willingly undertake to convey us from 
 Marseilles to Viilafranca, a seaport in the county 
 of Nice, belonging to the King of Sardinia, and 
 consequently out of France, and that from there 
 we might go to Geneva through Piedmont. AVe 
 made a bargain with this captain to pay six francs 
 a-head for the passage, for which he was also to . 
 provide us with food. We were delighted to have 
 found this opportunity ; and Captain Jovas was 
 also much pleased, as it was a profitable freight for 
 so short a passage, Viilafranca being only twenty 
 or twenty-five leagues from Marseilles. One of 
 our brethren went with the captain to inform the 
 governor that we had arranged for our departure. 
 He was content, and said he would at once prejbarc 
 our passports. We expected to be released on the 
 
Condemned to the Galleys, 239 
 
 morrow, but these miserable missionaries placed an 
 obstacle in the way. Havinf,^ been informed that 
 we had arranged for Villafranca, they went to the 
 governor and represented to him that that town 
 was too near the frontiers of France ; that we should 
 all return thence ; and that we must be transported 
 to Genoa, Leghorn, or Oneglia. This was pure 
 malice and animosity on the part of these cruel 
 missionaries, who wished to persecute us when afar 
 off as they had done when near, for they knew that 
 the journey from Villafranca to Geneva was much 
 shorter than from Genoa or Leghorn, besides the 
 great difficulty en the roads from these latter 
 places, as we should have to cross the Alps, an 
 impossibility for us with our decrepit old men, 
 paralytics, and cripples. These heartless men 
 knew too, well enough, that, once out of France, 
 nothing could make us wish to return to it, and 
 that we had every reason to flee far away,- bleeding 
 as we were with the wounds we had received in it. 
 The governor, as well as every one else, saw that it 
 was only a cunning pretext of the missionaries to 
 torment us. But everything was obliged to bend 
 to their will. The governor therefore told us that 
 the agreement w^e had made with Captain Jovas 
 could not be carried out, on account of the proxi- 
 mity of Villafranca. 
 
 Thus we were again disappointed, and seemed 
 as far from our departure as on the first day. We 
 told this sad news to Captain Jovas, who was 
 furious with the missionaries, for indeed they are 
 hated 3nd feared by ever^'body, as well by the 
 
240 Antohiography of a French Protestant 
 
 common people as by the great. However, Jovas 
 consoled us, for either out of spite against the mis- 
 sionaries, or out of kindness to us, or for his own 
 profit, he told us that our bargain with him still 
 held good, and that he would take us for the stipu- 
 lated price of six francs a-head. even if it were to 
 the Archipelago. He asked one of us to go vA\h. 
 him to the governor to make this declaration, 
 which was done. The governor still appeared 
 quite content and delighted to get rid of this affair, 
 for he had told the missionaries that he was risking 
 his head in not executing the king's precise orders, 
 and that if the Queen of England complained of it 
 it might fare ver}- ill with him. He told us then 
 that we should be immediately released. But the 
 barbarous missionaries, inveterate in persecuting 
 us, and still hoping for some counter orders 
 from the court, invented a new trick. They 
 told the governor that Jovas's tartane was too 
 small to cany one hundred and thirty-six men 
 in its hold, and that he would be obliged to 
 allow the greater number to be on deck ; that 
 we should then make ourseh^es masters of thjs 
 bark, tlirow the captain and his crew into the sea, 
 and sail whither we pleased ; and that they could 
 not sive their consent to the souls and bodies of 
 the captain and his men being exposed to such an 
 evident danger ; that, in a word, we must be put 
 on board vessels large enough to confine us in their 
 holds. The governor saw the absurdity of this 
 pretext, but he dared not resist it ; so new orders 
 were issued by him to provide ourselves with 
 
Condemned to tJic Galleys. 241 
 
 vessels capable of confining us all in the hold. 
 Jovas, informed of this fresh obstacle, was furious 
 and indignant against the missionaries, pouring forth 
 against them a thousand imprecations in secret. 
 All the more determined to get us over to Italy, 
 he protested that if he gained nothing by it, and 
 even if he lost, he would not be prevented. Next 
 day he brought us the good news that he had so 
 arranged that he thought the missionaries could 
 not raise any more opposition. At his own risk 
 and expense he had hired two larger barks than his 
 own, each of which could easily take fifty men in 
 the hold, while his own would carry thirty-six. 
 
 Again we had to go to the governor, who, to 
 remove all pretext for any delay on the part of the 
 missionaries, sent his secretary to examine these 
 three tartanes, to assure him that they could take 
 us all in their holds. We greased, as they say, the 
 paw of this official, that he might give a favourable 
 report, which in fact he did, and it was agreed with 
 the governor that the thirty-six which Captain 
 Jovas was to take in his tartane should be released 
 in the course of two days, 17th June, 1713, and 
 that the other two barks should be dispatched 
 at intervals of three days, each containing fifty 
 men. This being settled, the missionaries, quite 
 at the end of their stratagems, no longer opposed 
 our departure, except by endeavouring to intimi- 
 date the captains of the barks. They obliged them 
 to sign a declaration, making them promise not to 
 land us at Villafranca, but at Oneglia. Leghorn, or 
 Genoa, lender penalty of a fine of four hundred francs, 
 
 R 
 
242 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 and the confiscation of their barks. The mission- 
 aries then entirely abandoned their persecution, 
 and Father Garcin was so filled with spite and 
 disappointment, that he left Marseilles for a time, 
 that he might not behold the sad and afflicting 
 sight of our deliverance. 
 
 On the 17th of June, then, that happy day, in 
 which the grace of God was so visibly manifested 
 in us by the triumph which it obtained over our 
 implacable enemies, the thirty-six men, of whom I 
 was one, who were appointed to go in Jovas's bark, 
 were brought up to the arsenal. The commissary 
 of the navy read to us the king's orders, inserted 
 and printed in each of our passports. The agree- 
 ment which Jovas had signed was also read to him. 
 This done, the commissary ordered an argousin to 
 unchain us completely, and then, giving all our 
 passports to Captain Jovas, the commissary told 
 him that he gave our persons into his charge, that 
 he might take us to his bark, and start as soon as 
 possible. We left the arsenal then, freed from all 
 our bonds, and, like a flock of lambs, followed our 
 captain, who led us to the place on the quay where' 
 his bark was. We were about to go on board, and 
 to descend into the hold, which contained nothing 
 except the sand used for ballast, /but the wind was 
 contrary for leaving the harbour, and the sea very 
 stormy, so that it was impossible to set sail. Captain 
 Jovas, seeing that we were resolutely about to enter 
 his boat, to be shut up there according to the will of 
 the missionaries, said to us, " Do you think, gentle- 
 men, that I am as cruel as those fellows, and wish 
 
Condeuincd to the Galleys. 243 
 
 to shut you up like prisoners in my bark whilft you 
 are free ? We cannot leave the harbour till the wind 
 changes, and God only knows when it will change. 
 Go all of you into the town to lodge and sleep in 
 good beds, instead of in my boat, where there is 
 nothing but sand. I have no fear that you will 
 try to escape ; on the contrary, I know that you 
 will come and entreat me to take you away from 
 hence out of the hands of your enemies. I can 
 answer for you ; and, provided I take you when 
 I am ordered, I have nothing to fear. Go wher- 
 ever you like in the town ; it is useless for me to 
 know where you lodge. Only observe the weather, 
 and when you see the wind change come down to 
 my bark to set out." 
 
 We followed the advice which our kind captain 
 gave us, and all went to lodge in different inns in 
 the town. We were not, however, without anxiety, 
 seeing that w^e could not leave till the wind changed, 
 and always feared some new obstacle from the mis- 
 sionaries. For this reason we went next morning 
 to the commissary, to beg him that he would not 
 impute our delay to any other cause than that of 
 the weather, which prevented our punctually obeying 
 the king's orders. He received us very graciously, 
 v/as pleased with the step we had taken, and added, 
 very kindly, " The king has not released you that 
 you might perish at sea ; remain in the town as 
 long as the weather prevents you irom starting, 
 but I advise you not to go outside the gates ; 
 and as soon as the weather permits, put to sea. 
 May Go^ give you a prosperous and happy voy- 
 
244 AntohiograpJiy of a FrcncJi Protestant 
 
 age!" This commissary, it must be known, was a 
 Reformed by birth. 
 
 The weather continued contrary for three days, 
 at the end of which it changed, and became favour- 
 able for leaving the harbour, but still very stormy, 
 and the sea very rough. However, we went to our 
 bark in the port. There we found Captain Jovas, 
 who said that we could indeed leave the harbour, 
 but that we should find very coarse weather at sea. 
 We told him that, if he thought there was no great 
 danger, we wished him to set out, for we would 
 rather be in the hands of God than in those of man. 
 " I knew," said he, " that you would entreat me to 
 start from here, and that you are always more 
 ready to follow me than I to take you. Let us go," 
 said he, " and put to sea under God's protection." 
 We took some provisions with us, and set sail, but 
 we soon repented not having followed our cap- 
 tain's advice, and waited for more favourable 
 weather. The sea was furious, and though the 
 wind was favourable enough for our voyage, our 
 bark was so tossed about by the waves that we 
 thought w^e should perish every moment. More- 
 over, we all suffered so fearfully from sea-sickness 
 that our captain was moved with compassion for 
 us, and, on arriving before Toulon, he anchored in 
 the roadstead, where we were sheltered from the 
 tempest, that we might recover a little. About 
 five o'clock in the evening, a sergeant and two 
 marines from Toulon came on board our bark from 
 a small boat, and summoned our captain to go with 
 them to the governor, to inform him of the reason 
 
Condosuicd to the Galleys. 245 
 
 of his voyage. We were trembling with fear, re- 
 flecting that it was specified on our passports" that 
 M^e were to leave the kingdom, without ever return- 
 ing to it, under penalty of being sent to the galleys 
 for the rest of our lives, and dreading lest we rriight 
 find a governor ill-disposed to listen to our reasons, 
 who would perhaps arrest us provisionally, and if 
 he made known our detention to the missionaries 
 at Marseilles, which town is only ten leagues off, 
 they would accuse us of disobedience to the king's 
 orders, which would bring us into great danger 
 and trouble. Captain Jovas was also much vexed 
 about it. However, he took our passports and got 
 into the soldiers' boat to go and speak to the 
 governor. The captain permitted four of us, of 
 whom I was one, to accompany him. As we were 
 rowing to the harbour, a thought struck me, which, 
 by God's grace, was very helpful to us. At that 
 time the plague was raging in the Levant, so they 
 took the precaution of furnishing all those who left 
 Marseilles, either by sea or land, with a bill of 
 health. The clerk of the office, who did not see 
 room enough for all our names in the printed form 
 that was given in such cases, and in which a few 
 blank lines were left for the insertion of the names 
 of those who required it, wrote, for abridgment, 
 " Allow thirty-six men to pass, who are going to 
 Italy by the king's orders, and who are in good 
 health." I asked the captain, therefore, to try if 
 showing this form only to the governor would not 
 be enough. He approved of this idea. Having 
 arrived- the governor asked the captain whence he 
 
246 AiLtobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 came, whither he was going, and what was his cargo. 
 " My cargo consists of thirty-six men, sir, and here 
 is their destination," showing him at the same time 
 the bill of health. The governor at once imagined 
 that it was a secret expedition of the court, the 
 object of which it was not his business to inquire. 
 
 There was, in fact, a mysterious air in this affair, 
 for we four, who were in the governor's presence, 
 having laid aside our convict clothes at Marseilles, 
 were dressed, as well as we could provide ourselves 
 at the time, in ready-made clothes, so that the 
 governor thought we were disguised. He told the 
 captain he did not want to know any more, and, 
 addressing us, added that we might rest and lodge 
 in the town as long as we liked, and offered to 
 defray our expenses if we wished. We thanked 
 him for his kindness, and retired much pleased 
 with the success of our little stratagem. We then 
 begged the captain to land our companions, that 
 they might come and sleep in the town, and 
 refresh themselves after the sickness they had suf- 
 fered in the bark. This he did ; and next morning 
 quite early we all embarked again in our tartane 
 to continue our voyage. 
 
 After three days we arrived in the roadstead of 
 Villafranca, which town, as I have said, belongs to 
 the King of Sardinia. Having anchored here, we 
 asked our captain if he would allow us to land at 
 Villafranca, to sleep for that night, and that next 
 morning we would come on board again at his 
 orders. " I will willingly, gentlemen," said he,- " do 
 you this pleasure, in the hope that you will not 
 
Condemned to tJie Galleys. 247 
 
 abuse my kindness ; for, being once in the town, you 
 are your own masters, and need not embark ^ain, 
 but if }-ou play me that trick you will place me in 
 the greatest embarrassment possible, for you know 
 the declaration I have signed, not to land you at 
 this port." We gave him our word as honest men 
 to submit to his orders, and to start again when he 
 wished us. Without the least scruple he trusted us, 
 and at once put us on shore. We lodged in four or 
 five inns close to the port. Next day, which was 
 Sunday, we prepared to re-embark ; but our captain 
 told us that he had to go and see some one at Nice, 
 which is scarcely a league distant ; that he should 
 attend mass there ; and that when he came back he 
 would take us on board. I asked him if he would 
 allow me to go with him to see the town of Nice. 
 " Willingly," replied he ; and three of my brethren 
 joining me, we all five went thither. 
 
 On entering the town the captain told us that he 
 was going to attend mass, and that we had better 
 wait for him in the first inn which we saw. We 
 walked through a long street, and as it was Sunday, 
 all the shops and houses were shut, so that we saw 
 scarcely any one. We did not perceive a little man 
 coming towards us, who, approaching us, saluted 
 us very civilly, and begged us not to take it in bad 
 part if he asked us whence we came. We replied 
 that we came from Marseilles. He did not then 
 dare to ask us if we had come from the galleys, as 
 it is oft'ering a grreat aftront to a man to ask him ii 
 he has come from the galleys, except for the sake oi 
 re!igioi|. " But I beg you, gentlemen," continued he, 
 
248 AntobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 " to tell me, did you leave by the king's order ? " 
 "Yes, sir," we replied ; "we came from the galleys 
 of France.'^ "Alas! gracious God ! " he exclaimed, 
 " are you some of those who were released, a {t.\\ 
 days ago, on account of their religion ? " We 
 avowed that we were. This man, quite transported 
 with joy, asked us to follow him. We did so with- 
 out hesitation, accompanied by our captain, who 
 was afraid of some snare for us, for he did not trust 
 the Italians, 
 
 The man led us to his house, which was more 
 like the palace of a great nobleman than that 
 of a merchant. Having entered and closed the 
 door, he embraced us with tears of joy, and calling 
 his wife and children, said to them, " Come and 
 see, and embrace our dear brethren, come out of 
 the great tribulation of the galleys of France." His 
 wife, his two sons, and his two daughters, all 
 embraced us, praising God for our liberty. After 
 which, M. Bonijoli (this was his name) begged us 
 to prepare to join in the prayers which he was about 
 to offer. We all knelt down, Captain Jovas as well 
 as the others, and M. Bonijoli offered up a prayer ■ 
 on the subject of our deliverance, the most earnest 
 and the most pathetic that I have ever heard. 
 We were all melted into tears, ^Captain Jovas in- 
 cluded, who assured us afteru-ards that he thought 
 he was in Paradise. After prayers they got break- 
 fast ready. After several pious discourses had 
 been delivered upon the powerful grace of God, 
 which had made us triumph over our enemies, and 
 given us the constancy to maintain and suffer for 
 
Condcinncd to the Galleys. 249 
 
 the truth of his holy gospel, he asked us how many 
 of us had been released ? We told him thirty-six. 
 " That agrees with my letter," said he. " Where are 
 the others ? " " At Villafranca," said we. Then 
 we told him all our story, and by what chance we 
 found ourselves at Nice. " But in your turn, sir," 
 said we, "let us know who you are, and by what 
 chance it was that you met us in the street." " I 
 am," said he, " from Nimes, in Languedoc ; I left it 
 after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and, 
 under the protection of the King of Sardinia, came 
 to establish myself in this town, where, by God's 
 blessing, I have so prospered that I have acquired 
 considerable wealth ; and, although myself and my 
 family are the only Protestants in the town, we live 
 in perfect tranquillity as regards our religion. It is 
 true that our sovereign has always protected me, not 
 suffering any of his subjects, either lay or ecclesias- 
 tical, to trouble me the least in the world. And in 
 reply to your other question, I must tell you that 
 one of my correspondents at Marseilles wrote to me 
 on the day of your release, and begged me, if by 
 chance you should pass through this town, to assist 
 you as well as I could. You have seen how I met 
 you this morning in the street, and I am sure that 
 Divine Providence arranged this happy meeting, 
 causing me to.go out of my house, which I never do 
 on Sundays." Having mutually edified each other 
 by admiring the secret ways which God uses to 
 manifest his power and impart his grace and 
 mercy to those who fear him and invoke his holy 
 name, ve discussed what would be our best plan of 
 
250 AutobiograpJiy of a French P7'otcstant 
 
 continuing our journey to Geneva. The obstacles 
 which presented themselves at first seemed impos- 
 sible to surmount. Captain Jovas produced the 
 copy of the declaration which he had signed at 
 Marseilles, and which forbade him, under the 
 penalty I have mentioned before, to land us at 
 Villafranca. 
 
 It would not have been difficult to justify what 
 he had done by the pretext of bad weather, by 
 which navigators are always excused ; still, not to 
 continue his voyage from thence to Oneglia, Leg- 
 horn, or Genoa, according to his orders, would be a 
 manifest contravention of them. It was true that 
 we could with impunity break faith with Jovas, being 
 out of the power of France ; but our honour and 
 our conscience opposed such an act. On the other 
 hand, M. Bonijoli appeared extremely alarmed for 
 us if we landed at one of those three seaports — 
 Oneglia, Leghorn, or Genoa — as from thence to 
 Geneva we should have almost insurmountable 
 troubles and difficulties on account of the numerous 
 lofty mountains to traverse, so impracticable for 
 our old and infirm people ; added to which we 
 could not find horses or mules for so large a com- 
 pany except at exorbitant prices, beyond our means. 
 The only thing that would remain for us then to 
 do, would be to freight a vessel to take us to Hol- 
 land or England, which would be far too expensive 
 for us, and cause us great delay. What, then, 
 could be done to remedy so many difficulties .'* 
 There was, it seemed, no course open to us but 
 that of breaking our promise to Captain Jovas. 
 
Condcjuncd to the Galleys. 251 
 
 But this we would not do, even at the peril of our 
 own life. This poor man, during the consultation 
 which we were holding in his presence, remained in 
 the posture of a suppliant, fearing lest our decision 
 should cause his ruin, and lest the missionaries 
 should persecute him to extremity if we took the 
 route from Nice to Genev^a. Both M. Bonijoli and 
 ourselves reassured him by protesting before God 
 that we would protect him from all risks ; that we 
 should always consider his safety before our own 
 comfort; and that, if we could find no other alter- 
 native, we should unhesitatingly re-embark in his 
 tartane. After this assurance, our captain was set 
 at ease ; but we all remained looking at each other 
 without being able to decide upon anything, when 
 suddenly M. Bonijoli exclaimed that he had thought 
 of an expedient which appeared to him safe, and 
 that he would at once try it. 
 
 At the peace of Utrecht, the King of France 
 had restored the town and county of Nice to the 
 Duke of Savoy ; but after the evacuation he left at 
 Nice a commissary to regulate matters of debt, 
 etc., which were in dispute between the court of 
 France and that of Turin. The name of this 
 French commissary was M. Carboncau. He was 
 on very friendly terms with M. Bonijoli ; for as the 
 latter was the only Frenchman at Nice, and as his 
 sons and daughters, who were perfectly well edu- 
 cated, were about the same age as the commis- 
 sary, he had become quite at home in Bonijoli's 
 house, and was on such good terms with him and his 
 family,^that he was as ii he belonged to the house- 
 
252 AiitobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 hold. It was in connection with this French com- 
 missary that M. BonijoH framed his project, which 
 succeeded wonderfully. He begged Captain Jovas 
 to give him a copy of his agreement, which he wil- 
 lingly did. He then requested us to wait a little, 
 whilst he went out, and an hour after he returned, 
 accompanied by the French commissary. The 
 commissary questioned Jovas with an air of autho- 
 rity, which his office gave him. He asked him 
 whence he came, whither he was going, and what 
 was his cargo. The captain having replied to all 
 these questions, M. Carboneau ordered him, in the 
 name of the King of France, to land his thirty- 
 six men, and to bring them to Nice, forbidding him, 
 under penalty of disobedience to the king, from 
 leaving the harbour of Villafranca with his bark 
 except by his orders. 
 
 The captain submitted, went to Villafranca im- 
 mediately, and brought back the remainder of our 
 brethren. M. Bonijoli, after having given them a 
 reception worthy of his pious zeal, lodged them in 
 different inns, at his own expense, giving orders 
 that they should be well treated. As to us four he 
 kept us in his own house, giving us the best cheer 
 possible for the three days which we remained in the 
 town. These three days were employed in satisfy- 
 ing the vanity of the commissary. He made us 
 come every morning before his house, and standing 
 in the balcony in a dressing-gown, with a list of 
 our names in his hand, he called us one after the 
 other, asked us with an air of authority, and with 
 the manner of a fop, wliich made us laugh in our 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 253 
 
 sleeves, whence we came, the names of our parents, 
 our ages, and other sniiilar useless questions, all to 
 show off his little authority, which he estimated 
 as very great, to a crowd of citizens of the tcrvvn, 
 who assembled before his house to see what was 
 going on. 
 
 M. Bonijoli had told us beforehand that the com- 
 missary was very conceited, and he exhorted us, as 
 the best policy, to submit to what he exacted from 
 us — though in truth his requirements were a little 
 extravagant, for he made us stand an hour or two 
 before him, uncovered, with a humble and submis- 
 sive air, which we were by no means obliged to as- 
 sume to him, and which we should not have put on, 
 being out of the dominions of France, but for the 
 hope that he would effectually aid us in continuing 
 our journey from Nice to Geneva. On the third 
 day of this performance, being satisfied with the 
 importance he had given himself, he sent for Cap- 
 tain Jovas. and placed a paper in his hand, which 
 he told him to read, and tell him if he was con- 
 tented with it. This very authentic document, 
 being honoured with the printed arms of the king, 
 and bearing in large letters a " De par le roi," said 
 that he, commissary and director for His Most 
 Christian Majesty, having learned that a French 
 bark had entered into the port of Villafranca, which 
 had been chased and pursued to the entrance of the 
 said port by two Neapolitan corsairs, he had gone 
 to Villafranca, and had found that this bark was 
 from Marseilles, and contained thirty-six men de- 
 livered from the galleys of France, going to Italy ; 
 
254 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 and having visited and examined the bark, as well 
 as the men, he had found that they were quite des- 
 titute of food, and that they had not the means to 
 provide themselves with any ; that, moreover, the 
 Neapolitan corsairs were waiting out at sea, in sight 
 of Villafranca, to seize this bark ; that, consider- 
 ing this, and the state of these thirty-six men, 
 without victuals or money, he, the commissar}^ 
 always attentive to the interests of the French na- 
 tion, had, in the king's name, ordered the captain 
 of this bark, named Jovas, to land these thirty-six 
 men, that they might, from thence, make their 
 journey to Geneva, which was their destination ; 
 and that, notwithstanding the protestation which 
 the said captain had made, in virtue of an agree- 
 ment which he had signed at Marseilles, engaging, 
 under heavy penalties, not to land them at Villa- 
 franca, he, the commissary, had obliged and forced 
 him to do so, in virtue of the authority which his 
 majesty had confided to him in the county of 
 Nice, etc. 
 
 Having given this declaration to Jovas, he asked 
 him if he was content with it. " Quite content, 
 sir," replied the captain. " Very well," replied the 
 commissary; "you can set sail for IMarseilles when- 
 ever you like, and you have only to throw any 
 blame which they may impute to you upon me as 
 having forced you to obey me." One may easily 
 judge whether our captain was satisfied. He was 
 himself released from a much longer voyage, and 
 his money, which we paid him at once, easily 
 gained. He left for Marseilles, and in taking leave 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 255 
 
 of us he promised to inform the two other ^larks, 
 which he would meet on his voyage, to come to 
 Villafranca to receive the same treatment as he 
 had done from this kind commissar^', who had 
 condescended to invent so many false pretexts to 
 please him and us. Jovas kept his word, for the 
 two other barks came to Villafranca, and the same 
 thing happened to them as to us. Thus all the 
 one hundred and thirty-six landed at this port, and 
 journeyed from hence to Geneva. 
 
 After the departure of Captain Jovas, M. Boni- 
 joli prepared to send us off. He hired thirty-six 
 mules to carry us at his own expense as far as 
 Turin, with a postillion or guide to conduct us 
 there. We left Nice at the beginning of July. Our 
 decrepit old men gave us much trouble, scarcely 
 being able to ride. With much fatigue we crossed 
 those frightful mountains, the summit of which, 
 called the Col di Tcnda, is so high that it always 
 seems in the clouds. Here, though it was the height 
 of summer, we suffered such cold that we were 
 obliged to descend from our mules and walk, in 
 order to warm ourselves. Snow and ice always lie 
 here to a prodigious height. Lofty and steep as 
 this mountain is, there is no difficulty in ascending 
 it, for a convenient road has been made in zigzags 
 to the top. We descended on the other side "into 
 the plain of Piedmont, the most beautiful and 
 agreeable country in the world, and arrived at 
 Turin, the capital of Piedmont, and the residence 
 of his Sardinian majest}'. We lodged at difterent 
 inns, ai?d the next morning received the visits of 
 
256 AjitobiograpJiy of a French Protestant 
 
 several French Protestants, of whom a great num- 
 ber reside in the city, and who go to the neighbour- 
 ing Vaudois valleys to attend Divine service. These 
 gentlemen, to whom M. Bonijoli had announced 
 our arrival, received us with zeal and cordiality, 
 defraying all our expenses during the three days 
 which we remained in this great city, after which, 
 having prepared us mules to continue our journey, 
 they petitioned the King of Sardinia to give us a 
 passport to traverse his states as far as Geneva. 
 His majesty, Victor Amadeus, wished to see us. 
 Six of us were admitted to an audience. The 
 ambassadors of Holland and England were present 
 at it. His majesty gave us a favourable reception, 
 and for half an hour questioned us about the time 
 we had spent at the galleys, the cause of it, and the 
 sufferings we had endured. After we had suc- 
 cinctly replied, he turned to the ambassadors and 
 said, " This is indeed cruel and barbarous." Then his 
 majesty asked us if we had money for our journey. 
 We replied that we had not much, but that our 
 brethren, especially M. Bonijoli, of Nice, had had 
 the charity to defray our expenses as far as Turin, 
 and that our brethren at Turin were preparing to 
 do the same as far as Geneva. We had been in- 
 structed to reply in this manner, ^is majesty said 
 upon this, " You can remain in Turin as long as you 
 please to rest yourselves, and when you want to 
 leave, you can come to the office of my secretary 
 of state, and take a passport which I will order to 
 be made ready." We told his majesty that with 
 his permission we would start on the morrow. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 257 
 
 "Go, then, under God's protection," said this prince 
 to us, and he ordered the secretary of state imme- 
 diately to prepare us a favourable passport. This 
 passport not only gave us permission to pass through 
 his states, but ordered all his subjects to afford us 
 help and succour during our journey. Thanks to 
 God, and to our brethren at Turin, we wanted 
 nothing on our way to Geneva. 
 
 There was at Turin a young man, a watchmaker 
 by trade, belonging to Geneva, who, wishing to go 
 thither, asked to accompany us ; which, being 
 readily granted, he followed us on foot as far as 
 two days' journey from Geneva, when he took leave 
 of us, saying that he knew a footpath which greatly 
 abridged the distance. We wished him a pros- 
 perous journey. He arrived at Geneva a day 
 before us, and having related in the town that 
 thirty-six confessors, delivered from the galleys of 
 France, were to arrive the next day, the venerable 
 magistrate of that city summoned him that he 
 might confirm these tidings. The next day, 
 Sunday, we arrived at a small village on a hill, 
 about a league from Geneva, whence we saw the 
 town with a joy which can only be compared to 
 that of the Israelites at the sight of the land of 
 Canaan. 
 
 We wished to go on without stopping, so great 
 was our ardour to be as soon as possible in a city 
 which we regarded as our Jerusalem. But our 
 postillion told us that the gates 01 Geneva were 
 never open on Sunday till after Divine sen^ice, that 
 is, aboBit four o'clock in the afternoon. We were 
 
 S 
 
258 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 obliged, therefore, to remain in the village till that 
 time, when we all again mounted our horses. As 
 we approached the town, we perceived a great 
 concourse of people coming out of it. Our postil- 
 lion appeared surprised, but was much more so 
 when, arriving at the Plain-Palais, a quarter of a 
 league from the town, he perceived three carriages 
 coming to meet us, surrounded by halberdiers, and 
 an immense crowd of people of both sexes and all 
 ages, who followed them. A servant of the magis- 
 tracy now advanced towards us, and begged us to 
 alight, that we might salute with respect and de- 
 corum their excellencies of Geneva, who came to 
 meet us and bid us welcome. We obeyed. The 
 three carriages having approached, a magistrate 
 and a minister descended from each, and came to 
 embrace us with tears of joy, and with such pathetic 
 expressions, congratulations, and praise for our 
 constancy and resignation, that they far surpassed 
 what we deserved. We replied by praising and 
 magnifying the grace of God, which alone had sus- 
 tained us in our great tribulations. After these 
 hearty greetings, their excellencies gave permission 
 to the people to approach. Then was seen the 
 most touching spectacle that can be imagined, for 
 several inhabitants of Geneva ha;d relations at the 
 galleys, and these good citizens w^ere ignorant 
 whether those for whom they had sighed for so 
 many years were amongst us. As soon then as 
 their excellencies gave the people permission to 
 approach, one heard only a confused noise ; — " My 
 son ! my husband ! my brother ! are you there V 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 259 
 
 Imagine the embraces given to those of oiir party 
 who were among the recognised ! 
 
 In general, all these people threw themselves 
 upon our necks with transports of inexpressible joy, 
 praising and magnifying the Saviour for the mani- 
 festation of his grace in our favour ; and when their 
 excellencies ordered us to mount our horses again, 
 to make our entry into the town, we had the 
 greatest difficulty in doing so, not being able to 
 tear ourselves from the arms of these pious and 
 zealous brethren, who seemed to fear to lose sight 
 of us. We followed their excellencies, who led us, 
 as in triumph, into the town. They had just con- 
 structed at Geneva a magnificent building, in which 
 to lodge and board those citizens who had fallen 
 into want. Though completed and furnished, no 
 one had as yet lodged in it. Their excellencies 
 proposed to dedicate it by lodging us there. They 
 led us thither, and we alighted in a spacious court- 
 yard. All the people hastened thither in a crowd. 
 Those who had relatives among our party, en- 
 treated their excellencies to allow them to take 
 them to their homes, which was willingly granted. 
 M. Bousquet, one of us, had his mother and two 
 sisters at Geneva, who had come to claim him. As 
 he was my intimate friend, he begged their excel- 
 lencies to permit me to go with him. And, follow- 
 ing this example, all the citizens entreated to be 
 allowed the consolation of lodging their dear 
 brethren in their houses, so that their excellencies 
 were obliged to give way to their ardent hospitality, 
 and nftt one remained in the JNIaison Francaise, as 
 
26o Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 this magnificent building was called. As to my- 
 self, I did not stay long at Geneva ; for, with six 
 of our brethren, finding the opportunity of a berline 
 which had brought to Geneva the charge d'affaires 
 of the King of Prussia, and which was returning 
 empty, we made a bargain with the coachman to 
 take us as far as Frankfort-on-the-Maine. The 
 gentlemen of Geneva had the kindness to pay for 
 our carriage, and gave us money for our expenses. 
 
 We seven, therefore, left Geneva in the berline, 
 and arrived at Frankfort in good health. I must 
 not forget to mention the Christian generosity of 
 the nobles of Berne. Though we had forbidden 
 our coachman to say who we were, in order to 
 avoid the demonstrative kindness of the Protestants 
 in the several towns through which we passed, we 
 were discovered, and conducted to an inn, called 
 " The Cock." It is a place where ambassadors and 
 other noble persons are lodged at the expense of 
 the state. Having alighted, we found the secretary 
 of state awaiting us, who welcomed us in as kind 
 a way as if we had been his own children. 
 
 He told us that he was the secretary of state ; 
 and it was well he did so, for we should not have 
 known him to be such, either by his dress or by his 
 attendants, so little difference is there in this country 
 between the citizens and the nobles. He added 
 that he had orders to keep us company, and to 
 treat us with distinction all the time that we could 
 remain at Berne. We were magnificently enter- 
 tained, and the secretary, who only quitted us in 
 the evening, occupied four days in taking us to visit 
 
Condemned to the G a! leys. 261 
 
 their excellencies of Berne. We were ever>'where 
 received and caressed as if we had been the Nearest 
 members of their families. They begged us in the 
 kindest way to honour them (for so they expressed 
 it) with our presence in their town for several 
 weeks, and as much longer as we wished. But as 
 our coachman entreated us to depart, wishing to 
 return to Berlin, we remained only four days, at 
 the end of which the secretary of state prepared a 
 good breakfast for us, and in taking leave of us 
 placed twenty rix-doUars in the hands of each — 
 a present from their excellencies. We begged him 
 to express our great gratitude to them, and we 
 started in our berline, which took us on to Frankfort, 
 where we arrived at the beginning of August. We 
 were recommended by our friends at Geneva to 
 M. Sarazin, a merchant, and elder of the Reformed 
 Church at Bockenheim, about a league from 
 Frankfort— for as there is no Reformed Church \\\ 
 Frankfort, all those who belong to this church in 
 the town, whether French or German, take part in 
 Divine service at Bockenheim. 
 
 We arrived at Frankfort on a Saturday, the day 
 of preparation for the Holy Communion. We 
 alighted at M. Sarazin's house. He was expecting 
 us, and soon all the members of the consistory, 
 French as well as German, assembled there. They 
 received us with demonstrations of inexpressible 
 joy and zeal, and took us in a carriage to Bocken- 
 heim to hear the sermon of the Preparation, which 
 was preached by M. Matthieu, the French minister 
 of thi^ church. These gentlemen entreated us to 
 
262 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 receive the Holy Communion with them the next 
 day ; but we did not consider ourselves sufficiently 
 prepared, especially I, who had never commu- 
 nicated, never having had the opportunity. We 
 then returned to Frankfort, where M. Sarazin en- 
 tertained us sumptuously in his house. 
 
 Next day he took us to Bockenheim, and on 
 coming out of church they made us enter the 
 chamber of the consistory, when we partook of a 
 frugal repast with all the members of this body, 
 both French and German. These gentlemen strongly 
 urged us to remain some days at Frankfort, but we 
 begged them so much to allow us to continue our 
 journey to Holland that they consented. M. Sara- 
 zin zealously undertook to arrange our departure 
 and pay our expenses. He bought a light boat 
 for us, covered with a tent, with two men to row 
 and steer it as far as Cologne. He furnished us 
 with provisions, and ordered the boatmen to land 
 us every evening at convenient and comfortable 
 places, where we might sleep and refresh ourselves, 
 and especially to keep as near as possible to the 
 German side, where the Emperor's army was en- 
 camped on the banks of the river. The French 
 army, which was then besieging Landau, being on 
 the other side, we much feared falling into its hands. 
 M. Sarazin, before we embarked, took us to the 
 Hotel de Ville to ask the magistrates to give us a 
 passport. These gentlemen, all Lutherans, con- 
 gratulated us much upon our deliverance. They 
 went so far as to say that we were the salt of 
 the earth, a title which humiliated us by the deep 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 263 
 
 feelinf^ which we had of our own infirmities, which 
 placed an immense distance between the h(^y dis- 
 ciples of the Lord Jesus, to whom this sacred name 
 belonged, and us, who felt ourselves to be such 
 weak sinners. We testified to this by our reply, 
 giving glory to God, who alone, by his grace, had 
 strengthened our constancy and our resignation to 
 his holy will. These gentlemen appeared pleased 
 with our words, and I saw some of them who shed 
 tears : after having exhorted us to perseverance, 
 and recommended us to the care of M. Sarazin, 
 they gave us a passport for which they charged us 
 nothing. 
 
 M. Sarazin conducted us to the boat which he 
 had prepared for us, and we embarked, testifying 
 our great gratitude to this good Israelite for his 
 many acts of kindness towards us. Our voyage 
 to Cologne was rather a long one, because always 
 keeping close to the German bank, where the im- 
 perial army was encamped, we were stopped at 
 each fort and picket to show our passport and have 
 it vised. A week after leaving Frankfort we 
 arrived in good health at Cologne. There we sold 
 our boat, and the next day we left that town by 
 the ordinary passage-boat for Dordrecht, after hav- 
 ing visited some Protestant gentlemen to whom 
 M. Sarazin had recommended us, and who gave us 
 a kind reception. We made no stay at Dordrecht, 
 but started at once for Rotterdam, where we were 
 welcomed with every possible kindness by the nu- 
 merous flock of our fellow-Protestants, French as 
 well a.*^ Dutch, in that town. We remained there 
 
264 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 two days, and then proceeded to Amsterdam, the 
 termination of our long journey. 
 
 It would be impossible to describe the fraternal 
 reception given to us in that great city, so zealous 
 for the confessors of the truth of our holy religion. 
 We went in a body to the venerable company of 
 the consistory of the Walloon Church, to testify to 
 them our gratitude for the constant kindness which 
 they had shown us during so many years, by 
 helping us efficaciously in our great tribulation. 
 This pious company had the kindness to reply to 
 our thanks by the assurance of the continuance of 
 their zealous interest in us. Then they appointed 
 two of their members to go and present us to the 
 Dutch consistory, which assembled expressly to 
 receive us. The demonstrations of zeal and charity 
 which we received there are easier to understand 
 than to express. These gentlemen all embraced 
 us, their eyes bathed in tears, and delivered a 
 touching exhortation to us, beseeching us to give 
 proofs of our holy faith, in edifying the church by 
 a life without reproach, which should answer to 
 that constant profession of confessors of the truth 
 which God had given us grace to maintain upon 
 the galleys. Then this venerable company voted a 
 liberal sum to help us to procure what was neces- 
 sary for us, and thanked the deputies of the Walloon 
 Church for their kindness in presenting us to them. 
 
 We remained wandering from place to place for 
 three or four weeks, not knowing where to settle 
 ourselves, so affectionately were we .everyAvhcre 
 received. I was beginning to think how I could 
 
Condemned to tlte Galleys. 265 
 
 employ myself in a useful manner, when the 
 consistory of the Walloon Church begged me to 
 be one of the deputies which they had resolved 
 upon sending to England for two objects, the one 
 to thank her Britannic majesty for the deliverance 
 which she had obtained for us, and the other to 
 give some weight to the solicitations which were 
 being made to her majesty to obtain the release of 
 those who still remained at the galleys, to the 
 number of about two hundred. To this I could not 
 but consent. I set out, then, for London with two 
 of our brethren, and in a short time there were 
 twelve deputies, all liberated galley slaves. The 
 Marquis de Miremont and the Marquis de Roche- 
 gude presented us to the queen, who admitted us 
 to the honour of kissing her hand. The Marquis 
 de Miremont addressed her majesty in a short but 
 very pathetic harangue, praising her zeal and 
 power, in having been able to obtain the deliver- 
 ance of the confessors of the truth from the hands 
 of those who had sworn to prolong their sufferings 
 all their lives. Her majesty assured us from her 
 own royal lips, that she was very glad at our deliver- 
 ance, and that she hoped soon to release those 
 who still remained at the galleys ; after which we 
 retired. 
 
 The Marquis de Rochegude, who well under- 
 stood the politics of courts, judged it fitting to 
 present us to the Due d'Aumont, who was then 
 ambassador of the King of France at the court of 
 London. Wishing to make this ambassador desire 
 himself, to see us, he waited upon him, and told him 
 
266 A7itobiography of a Frcncli Protestant 
 
 of the deputation of Protestant galley slaves, whom 
 his most Christian majesty had released, who had 
 been sent to London to thank the queen for her 
 favourable intercession with the King of France, 
 adding that the deputies, to the number of twelve, 
 would have already come to offer their respects 
 to his excellency if they had dared to take the 
 liberty to do so. The marquis thought this step 
 might be useful towards obtaining the liberty of 
 those who were still at the galleys. The ambas- 
 sador appearing very curious to see us, it was 
 settled that the marquis should introduce us to an 
 audience of his excellency on the morrow. 
 
 His excellency received us very graciously, shak- 
 ing hands with us all, and congratulating us on our 
 release. He asked us how long we had suffered 
 the punishment of the galleys, and what was the 
 occasion of our sentence. Each replied to this 
 question separately, for the time and occasion of 
 each were different. We then heartily thanked his 
 most Christian majesty in the person of his ambas- 
 sador for the favour which he had shown us, be- 
 seeching him to deliver those who still remained , 
 captives at the galleys. We earnestly implored the 
 intercession of the ambassador on behalf of our 
 brethren, who were no more criminal than we 
 were, and who had obtained the same intercession 
 of her Britannic majesty with his most Christian 
 majesty, for the king had consented that all who 
 were in the galleys for the sake of their religion, 
 should be released, yet only one hundred and thirty- 
 six had been set at liberty, and about two hun- 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 267 
 
 dred retained. His excellency appeared struck at 
 the distinction, which he said he could not uiider- 
 stand, unless those who remained had committed 
 some other crime. We protested to the contrary, 
 each alleging the most convincing proofs. 
 
 I took the liberty of asking the ambassador to 
 give me his attention for a moment, that I might 
 prove that it was no difference in their crimes which 
 kept our brethren in the galleys. I was the youngest 
 and the least serious of the band, and I made bold 
 to plead this cause before his excellency ; but I 
 asked his permission with so much confidence 
 that I should be able to convince him, that with 
 kindness and patience he consented to listen to 
 me. I told him succinctly the cause which had 
 made me leave the kingdom ; that being bound in 
 close friendship to a young man of Bergerac, named 
 Daniel le Gras, we had started together, and had 
 both been arrested at Mariembourg, and then both 
 condemned by the same sentence to the galleys for 
 life ; that the parliament of Tournai had confirmed 
 this sentence, declaring us both convicted of the 
 same crime ; that, in a word, our two names were 
 written on the same paper which contained our 
 sentence, without any distinction either for any 
 particular crime or other disobedience to the laws ; 
 yet, nevertheless, I was released and my companion 
 remained, which very clearly proved that the court 
 of France had not released the one hundred and 
 thirty-six only, on account of any difference in their 
 crimes. The ambassador did us the justice of 
 appeariiig convinced by this example, which he 
 
268 Autobiography of a FrcncJi Protestant 
 
 begged me to write down. He said he thought that 
 the minister of marine and his secretaries had made 
 this bkmder. He assured the Marquis de Rochegude 
 that he would write to the French court, that it 
 might be made to feel that their abuse, if it Avas 
 not remedied, would appear, and would in reality- 
 be, an injustice. "And in proof that I speak 
 sincerely," said he to M. de Rochegude, "come 
 to me to-morrow, which is the post-day for France, 
 to take my letter yourself, which I will read and 
 seal in your presence, and which you can then 
 send to the post. You will see in it how I 
 have taken the subject of these poor fellows to 
 heart." Then turning to his secretary, the Abbe 
 Nadal, he said, " Here, Monsieur 1' Abbe, are honest 
 men, who, notwithstanding their religious preju- 
 dices, show their candour and their good faith." 
 The abbe only replied by an inclination of the 
 head, and afterwards showed that the approbation 
 and kindness with which his master honoured us 
 were not to his taste ; for next day, the Marquis 
 de Rochegude having gone to the ambassador to 
 take his letter as had been agreed upon, his- 
 excellency received him in the most gracious 
 manner, and told him that he had kept his word, 
 and that the letter was written, ,But having called 
 the Abbe Nadal, and asking him where the letter 
 was, " What letter, my lord .■* " replied the abbe. 
 "The letter," said the ambassador, " on the subject 
 of the confessors at the galleys." 
 
 This honourable title of confessors, which his 
 excellency gave us, made the abbe shudder ; and as 
 
Condemned to the G alleys. 269 
 
 his master still insisted in demanding where the 
 letter was, he coldly replied that it was upon his 
 excellency's desk. " Give it me, then," said the 
 ambassador. Thereupon the abbe told him that 
 he w^ished to say a word to him in private ; and 
 having whispered in his ear, the ambassador told 
 the marquis that his secretary had reminded him 
 that he had written about some matters in his 
 letter which did not regard the galley slaves, and 
 that, therefore, he begged him to dispense with 
 showing it to him, but that he might reckon that 
 it should be sent that very day. M. de Rochegude 
 saw through this, and that the abbe had dissuaded 
 his master from sending the letter. Though the 
 ambassador assured M. de Rochegude that the 
 letter had been sent, neither he nor we believed 
 it ; and our brethren were not released for a year 
 after, and then by a new solicitation from the 
 Queen of England. I have described this inci- 
 dent to show that honest people pitied us, and 
 were inclined to render us service, and that it was 
 only the ecclesiastics who hated us and thwarted 
 us everywhere. This Abbe Nadal was both chap- 
 lain and secretary to the embassy. During his 
 residence in London he gave several proofs of his 
 animosity against the Protestants. The ambassador 
 was good and moderate, and always appeared very 
 humane towards us, but the Abbe Nadal spoiled 
 him. The abbe had so gained over the officers of 
 the household, and so strongly incited them against 
 the French refugees, that scarcely a day passed 
 that th(^e honest people did not receive affront. 
 
270 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 These gentlemen were so bold that they annoyed 
 our people even in their churches ; and one Sunday 
 morning, when the minister, Armand du Bordieu, 
 was preaching at the Great Savoy (as the principal 
 French church is called), when he was in the middle 
 of his sermon, one of the duke's officials had the 
 irreverence to cry out quite loud, " You lie," and 
 then escaped as soon as he could, for this insolence 
 so excited the people that they would have torn 
 him in pieces "if they could. Another time I wit- 
 nessed the following scene with my own eyes. An 
 officer of the French embassy, being at the French 
 cafe near the Exchange, said that the refugees 
 ought to be hanged. Some one represented to him 
 that he ought to be more circumspect in his lan- 
 guage, since, by God's grace, they were in a land 
 of liberty, and protected from the persecutions of 
 France : this insolent fellow replied very brutally, 
 " Do you think, gentlemen, the King of France has 
 not arms long enough to reach you beyond the 
 sea .'' I hope that you will soon find it so." But 
 a London merchant, M. Banal, a good refugee, was 
 so excited with anger against this officer, that he 
 gave him one of the most violent boxes on the ear 
 which I have ever seen, saying, " ^his arm, which 
 is not so long as that of your king, will reach you 
 from a nearer place." The officer put his hand to 
 his sword, but all the Frenchmen who were there 
 fell upon him, gave him a great many blows, and 
 determined unanimously to throw him out of the 
 window of the second storey, which ^\•ould cer- 
 tainly have taken place had 'not the mistress of the 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 271 
 
 cafe besought, -with clasped hands, that he might 
 be allowed to go out at the door. This they 
 allowed, out of consideration for the woman, but 
 not without having thrashed him well. He ran to 
 carry his complaint to the ambassador, who, far 
 from justifying him, said that he had deserved 
 what he got from the refugees ; that he deserved 
 a second punishment from the king ; and that he 
 could not understand how the officers of the king 
 could insult anybody. These incidents truly show 
 what the Jesuits and their allies will do ; they 
 sought to persecute us in the safest asylums. One 
 may hence judge of the favour with which they 
 treated us when in their power. 
 
 I shall finish, as I have promised, my memoirs 
 with the year 17 13. Having resided in London 
 for about two months and a half, and having 
 nothing more to detain me there, I left in the 
 month of December, with the approbation of the 
 ]\Iarquis of Rochegude. Some of our brethren 
 remained to solicit the queen's aid on behalf of 
 our brethren who were still at the galleys. I ar- 
 rived in good health at the Hague, where I com- 
 municated to those persons who were interested in 
 the subject, what had happened in London, not 
 forgetting the praise which an immense number of 
 persons in that great city deserved, Englishmen as 
 well as French refugees, who had received us in a 
 most Christian and charitable manner. Besides 
 different presents from private individuals, the 
 consis1*ory of the Savoy Church defrayed our 
 expenses during our sojourn in London. 1 stayed 
 
2/2 AutobiograpJty of a FrcncJi Protestant 
 
 nine weeks at the Hague. The mhiister, M. 
 Basnage, begged me to go with him to several 
 .noblemen, who wished to obtain a pension for us, 
 which their highnesses kindly granted a short time 
 after. We had in no way deserved this benev-o- 
 lence, and it was only their Christian charity which 
 made them bestow it upon us. For my own part, 
 I cherish a gratitude beyond all expression for it, 
 and considering this generosity of their highnesses, 
 I can only admire their piety, their zeal for the 
 glory of God, and their love for their neighbours, 
 which induces them to conform constantly to that 
 holy precept of " doing good to all men, but es- 
 pecially unto those who are of the household of 
 faith." 
 
 May God himself be the rewarder of their 
 virtues, and to the end of time may he richly 
 bestow upon their republic his most gracious 
 blessings ! 
 
 Jean Marteilhe and Oliver Goldsmith. 
 (Note to p. ix.; ' 
 
 The French editors seem not to have been aware of 
 the fact that the volume had been translated into English 
 so early as 175S. The preface to the English edition 
 sets at rest all doubt as to the historical character of the 
 narrative. The translator says, "The author, indeed, 
 who is still alive and known to numbers, not only in 
 fJpUand, but London, has, from prudential motives, 
 
CondciHiicd to tJic Galleys. 273 
 
 thought proper to suppress his name ; and \Sm same 
 reasons that have induced him to conceal it equally 
 influence the translator." ''' 
 
 This statement gains additional interest from the fact 
 that the translator, who calls himself James Willington, 
 was no other than Oliver Goldsmith. Goldsmith had but 
 recently returned from his wanderings on the continent 
 of Europe, and he was endeavouring to eke out the 
 scanty pittance which he received as usher in a school 
 by doing drudgery as a bookseller's hack. The work 
 which he did in this capacity was either anonymous, or 
 under the pseudonym of James Willington, who had 
 been a fellow-student at Trinity College, Dublin. Most 
 of his biographers conjecture that he concealed his name 
 from feelings of weariness, disgust, and despair, at his re- 
 peated failures in literary composition. More probably, 
 however, he was prompted to this course from a con- 
 sciousness of latent power, and the hope of occupying 
 a place in our literature which he would not imperil by 
 giving his name to anything unworthy of himself It is 
 probable that, during his stay in Holland, he may have 
 met Marteilhe. His language seems to imply that he 
 had some personal acquaintance with him. The follow- 
 ing extract from the preface is characteristic : — 
 
 " Could the present performance teach one individual 
 to value his religion by contrasting it with the furious 
 spirit of Popery ; could it contribute to make him 
 enamoured with liberty by showing their unhappy situa- 
 tion whose possessions are held by so precarious a 
 tenure as tyrannical caprice ; could it promote his zeal 
 in the cause of humanity, or give him a wish to imitate 
 the virtues of the sufferer, or redress the injuries of the 
 
 * " The Memoirs of a Protesta>it Coiidcmtied to the Galleys oj 
 France for his Religion. Written by Himself. In two volumes. 
 Translated from the Original. Just published at the Hague, by 
 James Willington. London, 1758." Ste Works of Olner Gold- 
 smith, Vol. HI., p. 355. Edited by Pf.ter Cunningham. Mur- 
 ray's Brit^h Classics. And Life and Times of Oliver Goldsmith. 
 By John Fokster, Vol. I., p. 134. 
 
2/4 Autobiography of a French Protestant 
 
 oppressed ; then, indeed, the author will not have wrote 
 in vain." 
 
 The Quarterly Revieiu^* in a very interesting article 
 based upon this volume, and Les Foreafs pour la foi, par 
 Athajiase Coqueret, carries Marteilhe's history down to 
 a point somewhat later than that at which the present 
 narrative breaks off. " His death took place at Cuylen- 
 berg in 1777, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. 
 Mention is made of his aged widow, and it is known 
 that he had a daughter, who was married at Amsterdam 
 to an Enghsh naval officer of distinction, Vice-Admiral 
 Douglas. In 1785 their son, Mr. Douglas, and his wife, 
 came to visit their French relations in Perigord. ' It is 
 pleasing to find,' says M. Coquerel, ' that the memory 
 of Marteilhe, though lost sight of in France, was 
 respected in England, and that the honour of an alliance 
 with the martyr of the galleys was estimated as it de- 
 served.' ... It is, indeed, a good lesson for us who live 
 in an easy and tolerant age, in which the exercise of the 
 sterner virtues is more rarely called for, to be reminded 
 of the fortitude of such men as these admirable, though 
 little known, martyrs of the Reformation, who, in the 
 fine language of Sir Thomas Browne, ' maintained their 
 faith in the noble way of persecution, and served God in 
 the fire, whereas we honour him in the sunshine.' " 
 
 The Sufferings of M. Sabatier. 
 
 (Note top. 172.) _ 
 
 The foregoing narrative is confirmed, in a remark- 
 able manner, by the statements of a volume, entitled, 
 Relation des tcurme7is que Pen fait souffrir aiix Protes- 
 tants qui sont sur les Galeres de Franee. Londres, 1708 ; 
 Amsterdam, 1709. This work, which is extremely rare, 
 was written by Jean Francois Bion, a native of Dijon, 
 
 * No. 239, July, 1S06. 
 
Condemned to the Galleys. 275 
 
 and cure of Ursy, in Burgundy. Growing weafj' of tlie 
 inactive life of a country priest, he applied for and 
 obtained the appointment of chaplain in the galleys, and 
 served in this capacity on board the Superbe. Touched 
 by the courage, patience, and resignation of the suffer- 
 ing Protestants under his charge, he was led, first, to 
 (question the truth of a religion which could persecute 
 so cruelly as his own, and, ultimately,- he embraced 
 the faith which could endure persecution so nobly. 
 He says, " It was wonderful to see with what true 
 Christian patience and constancy they bore their tor- 
 ments ; in the extremity of their pain, never express- 
 ing anything like rage, but calling upon Almighty God, 
 and imploring his assistance. I visited them day by day, 
 and, as often as I did, my conscience upbraided me for 
 persisting so long in a religion whose capital errors I 
 long before perceived, and above all that inspired so 
 much cruelty ; a temper directly opposite to the spirit of 
 Christianity. At last their wounds, like so many mouths, 
 preached to me, made me sensible of my error, and ex- 
 perimentally taught me the excellency of the Protestant 
 religion. God grant it may be effectual to my sal- 
 vation." 
 
 Bion made his escape to Geneva in the year 1704, and 
 subsequently settled in London, where he kept a school, 
 and was minister of a congregation at Chelsea. His 
 narrative not only confirms the general truth of Mar- 
 teilhe's, and acquits it of any suspicion of exaggeration, 
 but it gives details more horrible by far than any which 
 this work contains. It is evident that Marteilhe enjoyed 
 special privileges and immunities, in which his fellow- 
 sufferers were not permitted to share. Of the punish- 
 ment inflicted on M. Sabatier, Bion says : — 
 
 " 'Tis certain that though there was at first a very 
 great number of Protestants condemned to the galleys, 
 the bastinado and other torments hath destroyed above 
 three parts out of four, and the most of those who are 
 still ali^e are in dungeons ; as Monsieurs Bancilhon, 
 De Serres, and Sabatier, who are confined to a dungeon 
 
276 Autobiograpl/y of a French Protestant. 
 
 at Chateau d'If. But the generous constancy of this 
 last, about eight or ten months ago, deserves a place in 
 this history, and challenges the admiration of all true 
 Protestants. 
 
 " M. Sabatier, whose charity and zeal equals that of the 
 primitive Christians, having a little money, distributed it 
 tc his brethren and fellow-sufferers in the galleys ; but 
 the Protestants being watched more narrowly than the 
 rest, he could not do it so secretly, but he was dis- 
 covered and brought before M. de Montmort, intendant 
 of the galleys at Marseilles : being asked, he did not 
 deny the fact ; M. Montmort not only promised him his 
 pardon, but a reward, if he would declare who it was 
 that had given him the money. M. Sabatier modestly 
 answered, that he should be guilty of ingratitude before 
 God and man, if, by any confession, he should bring 
 those into trouble who had been so charitable to him ; 
 that his person was at their di^^posal, but he desired to 
 be excused as to the secret expected from him. The 
 intendant replied that he had a way to make him tell, 
 and that immediately : whereupon he sent for some 
 Turks, who, at his command, stripped Sabatier stark 
 naked, and beat him with ropes and cudgels during three 
 days, at several times ; and seeing this did not prevail 
 over the generous confessor, the intendant himself 
 turned executioner, striking him with his cane, and telling 
 the bystanders, ' See what a devil of a religion this is.' 
 These were his own expressions, as is credibly reported 
 by persons that were present. The gazettes and public 
 letters give us an account of the same. At last, seeing 
 he was ready to expire, he commanded him into a 
 dungeon, where, maugre all torments, Providence hath 
 preserved him until this day." 
 
 London: kobert k, uuki, \uNri okkick coukt, fleet street. 
 
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2 PuUications of the Religious Tract Society. 
 
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Puhlications of the Religious Tract Society. 3 
 
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 English Sacred Poetry of the Olden Time. 
 
 A Selection of Sacred Pieces from Chancer to Ken. Superior 
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 elegantly bound. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
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 few years of her activity may rank with that which England has produced 
 during a corresponding period." The Reader. 
 
 " ' Lyra Americana ' contains 180 poems from various American authors 
 Some of them are of the highest merit ; and the book, as a whole, shows that 
 the genius of poetry is a rising power in the American mind. The book is 
 elegantly got up, and is a most suitable offering for the hand of refinement 
 and affection to present at Christmas." The Ilomilist. 
 
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 a brief inta|)duction from an English pen presents a lively sketch of early 
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4 PuUications of the Religious Tract Society. 
 
 literary culture of a large section of that great nation whom Englishmen 
 should ever feel gratified to remember are their kinsmen, vnth. whom they 
 are identified en all the greatest questions that can interest humanity. The 
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 From Dawn to Dark in Italy. A Tale of 
 
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 Pictorial Journey through the Holy Land ; 
 
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 Letters of William Cowper : being a Selec- 
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Publication's of the Religious Tract Society. 5 
 
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10 Pullicationfi of the Religious Tract Society. 
 
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 of London. 12mo. os. 6d. cloth boards. 
 
 " More than six hundred, extracts, from about two hundred and fifty 
 authors, make up this book of nearly seven hundred pages. The extracts 
 are well chosen for the purpose of exhibiting the progress of our literature, 
 and the peculiarities of each ^vriter. They are rendered more instructive in 
 some cases by brief comments upon them by other eminent authors. 
 Besides quoting or referring to characteristic passages of authors, Dr. 
 Angus appends a number of brief remarks, or phi-ases in frequent use, with 
 reference to the works from which they are taken. The extracts illustrative 
 of our earUest Uterature are more numerous than in other similar col- 
 lections." Athenceum. 
 
 " Dr. Angus's volumes on the English language form, we believe, incom- 
 parably the cheajiest and best compendium upon the whole subject we 
 possess. They aim at great conciseness, and are characterised by great 
 faithfulness. As a whole the design is admirably executed." Eclectic. 
 
 " Dr. Angus has done his work with singular diUgence and accuracy, and 
 illustrated every part of it with proofs of his good taste and wide reading." 
 
 Church and State Hevieic. 
 
 The Bible Handbook : an Introduction to 
 
 the Study of Sacred Scripture. By Joseph Axgvs, D.D., 
 Member of the Royal Asiatic Society. 12rao edition, with 
 Maps, 5s. boards ; 7s. half-bound ; calf, 8s. 6d. 
 The 8vo edition, with Illustrations, 10s. cloth boards. 
 
 " The ' Bible Handbook ' is an introduction to the study of the sacred 
 volume, sufficiently learned to satisfy the scholar, and sufficiently plain to 
 be suited for popular and general use. We know of few books to be com- 
 pared with it for the amount of valuable materials bearing on an intelligent 
 study of Scriptm'e which it contams, in a form at once compact and useful, 
 or that exhibits so many of the best fruits of an extensive and sound 
 erudition, with so little of its pedantry or pretensions." 
 
 British and Foreign Evangelical Review. 
 
 " It is vigorous throughout, cleai-, condensed, admirably arranged, and 
 rich in matter, as solid in character as it is devout'^n spirit." Record. 
 
 Handbook of the English Tongue. By 
 
 Joseph Angus, D.D. 12mo. os. cloth boards. 
 This work will moot the wants of the higher classes in schools, 
 and be an important aid to those who are preparing for competitive 
 examinations, or are looking forward to profession;d life. 
 
 " The student who shall njaster this volume will know his mother tongue 
 as few scholai-s knowit. Itis abook at once thorough and comprehensive." 
 
 British Quarterly Review. 
 
Publications of the Religious Tract Society. 1 1 
 
 " Dr. Angus's aim is purely practical. , . . We know not \Wiere else 
 students can find so sufficient an account of the affinities and history of our 
 language, accompanied ))y so clear ati exhibition of its structiu-e and laws, 
 all comprised within such moderate limits. He has done well in introducing 
 80 much of the Anglo-Saxon grammar as is necilful to enable the readers to 
 trace the origin of our inflexions, and study our older writers with advantage. 
 This we think a valuable feature, as also the chapter on Etymology. The 
 hints on composition, too, with the quotations from standard authors for 
 the purpose of illustration, and the Appendix of exercises and (piestions, 
 add much to the practical utility of the manual." Atheiueum. 
 
 " It is mainly eclectic ; and its merit Ues not more in the selection and 
 abundance of material than in the skilful manner in which it is condensed 
 and disposed. For the author, reading has evidently made a full man, and 
 writing, upon the whole, a very correct man. If we have any objection to 
 the book, it is that it is too full. . . . Nowhere could the English student 
 find a greater body of doctrine on the subject of the English tongue, well 
 arranged, ready to hia hand either for systematic study or for occasional 
 reference." lluaeutn. 
 
 The Elements of English History. By J. C. 
 
 CuKTis, B.A. For Schools and Families. Is. limp cloth. 
 
 The History of England to the Year 1852. 
 
 By T. MiLXEii, A.M., F.R.G.S. 12mo. Two Maps. os. 
 cloth boards. 
 
 The History of Greece. From the Earliest 
 
 Times. By Professor Stowell, D.D. 12mo. With a Map. 
 2s. 6d. cloth boards. 
 
 The History of Rome. From the Earliest 
 
 Times to the Fall of the Empire. By T. Milner, A.M. 
 12mo. 3s. cloth boards. 
 
 Ancient Empires : their Origin, Succession, 
 
 and Kesults. "With a Preliminary View of the Unity and 
 First Mii^rations of Mankind. 8vo. 6s. cloth boards. 
 
 Paley's E^'idences of Christianity. With 
 
 Introduction, Notes, and Supplement. By Eev. T. R. Bikks, 
 M.A. 12mo. 3s. cloth boards. 
 
 Paley's Horse Paulinre. With Notes and 
 
 a Su^^plementarv Treatise, entitled Hora3 Apostolicac. By 
 the Eev. T. P. BiRKS, M.A., late Fellow of Trinity CoUege, 
 Cambridge. 1 2mo. 3s. cloth boards. 
 
12 Pullications of the Religious Trad Society. 
 
 A Universal Geography : in Four Parts ; 
 
 Historical, Mathematical, Physical, and Political. By Thomas 
 MiLXER, A.M., F.R.G.S. Ten Colom-ed Maps. 12mo. 5s. 
 cloth boards. 
 
 The Analogy of Religion to the Constitution 
 
 and Course of Nature. Also, Fifteen Sermons. By Joseph 
 Bi'TLKR, LL.D. With a Life of the Author, Analysis, Xotes, 
 etc., by Joseph Angus, D.D. 3s. 6d. cloth boards. 
 
 The Elements of Moral Science. By F. 
 
 "Wayland, D.D., late President of Brown University, and 
 Professor of iloral Philosophy. Notes and Analysis by 
 Joseph Aj^gus, D.D. 12mo. 3s. cloth. 
 
 The New Biblical Atlas, and Scripture 
 
 Gazetteer. Containing Twelve superior Maps and Plans, 
 together with Descriptive Letter-press. Super-royal Svo. 
 2s. 6d. plain ; 4s. outlines coloui-ed ; 6s. 6d. on imj)erial 
 drawing paper, full coloured, and bound in boards. 
 
 The Bible Reader's Help : for the Use of 
 
 Plain Pei>ple, and the Young in Families and Schools. New 
 and Cheaji Series, containing 160 pages. 6d. limp cloth. 
 
 " A little work which can be strongly recommended to Sunday-school 
 teachers, and others who are desirous of rightly understanding the sacred 
 Sxjriptures. To the devout but unlearned man there are so many untrans- 
 lated, obsolete, theological, and peculiar words, together with olhei-s in- 
 vohing a reference to Eastern habits, that an utdettered person must often 
 be at a loss to make out the meaning of the text. Such terms are brought 
 together in this useful little volume, which will be welcomed by a large 
 number of truth-seekers, who have thus the cream of many larger works ' 
 Iwouglit within their reach." The Bookiieller. 
 
 " It is a careful compilation, and brings together, in an accessible form 
 and shape, much matter of a valuable sort. The explanations are brief, 
 clear, and generally acciu-atc." Record. 
 
 " Parents and teachers may find this booklet a pleasant assistant in com- 
 mniiicating much imi)ortant information, both about Scripture and directly 
 from it." ScutUsh School Teachers' Mwjazine. 
 
Puhlication^ of the Pidigiou^ Tract Societij. 13 
 
 |jiisi0ri:cal itntr gescriptib^ ^Inrhs. 
 
 Our Australian Colonies : their Discovery, 
 
 History, Resources, ami Prospects. By Samukl Mossmax, 
 Author of the Ai'ticlcs "Australia" and "Australasia " in the 
 Ei'cyclojHcdia Biilannica, k,c. With Maps. ' i'oolscap 8vo. 
 3s. ed. cloth boards. 
 
 " A ■work that will become a standard one, which gives, in as short a com- 
 pass as possible, a clear and well-digested account of the discovery, explora- 
 tiims, and natural histoiy of Australia; followed by an impartial description 
 of the respective colonies, their distinctive features and resources. The 
 author has had the advantage of a long and familiar ac(iuaintauce with these 
 colonies, having visited all, and resided in most of them ; and the result of 
 his labours amply proves that he has turned his special advantages to an 
 excellent account." Australian and 2iew Zealand Gazette. 
 
 " The authorship of this volume is its guarantee and endorsement. In a 
 Inief form we have all about Australia ; and to the multitude who are tuminjf 
 attention to that marvellous colony, we know of no work which could coii- 
 vey in so condensed a form what they may desire to know. The book seems 
 to be thoroughly worthy of the interesting series to which it belongs." 
 
 Eclectic. 
 
 "This volume is viTitten by one who has visited all the colonics, has re- 
 sided in most of them, and who has spared no pains to ascertaiu facts and 
 to present them to Knglish readers in a pleasant and instructive form. The 
 result is a volume which will become the handbook of all who wish to know 
 the resom-ces of Australia, who intend emigrating, or who have friends that 
 have emigrated. ... It is very seldom we have seen a work so suited to the 
 tastes of all these classes." Freeman. 
 
 " This is at once a History and a Gazetteer ; and not only this, but it goes 
 into all matters concerning soil and climate, flora and fauna, statistics of 
 population, commerce, and the land system, which can in any waj' either 
 interest the home student, or serve the intending emigi-ant. Mr. Itossman 
 writes from long and familiar acquaintance with the country and the peoi)le. 
 His book is written in a lively and pleasing style, which will make it as 
 agreeable i-eading as it is accurate intOnnation. Any clergyman who has 
 intending emigrants among his parishioners will find it a useful book to 
 recommend to them ; and, indeed, it is (luite a book to put into a parish 
 libi'aiy, or into a school library for the elder boys." Literary Churchman. 
 
 "In this volume Mr. Mossman relates the story of the discoveiy, the 
 colonization, the chetpiered fortunes and present condition of the various 
 States whicli fringe the Southern and Eastei^n shores of the Australian con- 
 tinent. He has done this well," Churchinan. 
 
14 Publications of the Itcligious Tract Society. 
 
 British North America ; comprising Canada, 
 
 British Central Noiih America, British Columbia, Vancouver's 
 
 Island, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, New Bruns'nnrk, Prince 
 
 Edward's Island, Newfoundland, and Labrador. With Slaps. 
 
 3s. 6d. cloth boards. 
 
 " Our author has gone to official sources for much of his materials, and 
 
 everything relating to statistics must accordingly be regarded as perfectly 
 
 reliable. Descriptions of the various provinces, on the other hand, are the 
 
 result of our author's personal observations ; and he always speaks \vith a 
 
 special reference to the British immigrant. The resources of British Xorth 
 
 America are onLy beginning to be known, and before many years we shall 
 
 no doubt see them properly appreciated. The intending emigi'ant could 
 
 scarcely have in his hands a more serviceable book. The author makes 
 
 what he has to say interesting, and conveys an amount of mformation 
 
 which we will look for in vain in other single volumes of similar size." 
 
 The Reader. 
 -"A manual fitted to the present times, comprising all needfid information 
 (including religious statistics) respecting those vast provinces which now 
 seem to be on the point of coalescing into one pohtical confederation," 
 
 Christian Spectator. 
 
 Egypt : from the Conquest of Alexander the 
 
 Great to Najioleon Bonaparte. An Historical Sketch. By the 
 
 Rev. G. Tkevor, M.A., Canon of York, Author of "Ancient 
 
 Eg^'pt, its Antiquities, Religion, and History." With a Map. 
 
 Foolscap ^vo. OS. cloth boards. 
 
 " Some time ago it was with no small pleasure that we had to review 
 
 Canon Trevor's useful and concise little book on the Antiquities, Religion, 
 
 and History of Ancient Egypt. The present book is a continuation of the 
 
 subject to om- own times. Canon Trevor is clearly in love with his subject, 
 
 and he treats it with a real and well-sustained enth\isiasm. And, indeed, 
 
 it seems not a little surimsing that such a grand subject for the historian, 
 
 as the history of EgyiJt since the time of Alexander, should have lain so 
 
 long unappropriated." Literary ChurchmarL 
 
 " The vohune before us is another of Canon Trevor's contributions to 
 popular historical literature, and we are glad to I)ring it before our readers 
 as a most useful volume. Its contents have all the interest of a romance. 
 The style is easy, fuU of life, and everywhere tLqged with a true Christian 
 spirit." Clerical Journal. 
 
 " The life of modem Egypt extends over one-and-twenty centiu-ies. A 
 finer theme it is not easy to conceive ; and we can testify that it is discussed 
 with clcamess, vigom-, and life. , . . The volume deserves and will receive 
 a wide cii'cidation." Freeman. 
 
 Ancient Egypt : its Antiquities, . Rehgion, 
 
 and History, to the Close of Old Testament Period. By the 
 Rev. G. Tkevor, M.A., Canon of York. Foolscap 8vo. Map. 
 4s. cloth boards. 
 
Publicxtiom of the Religious Tract Society. 1 5 
 
 " With a very humble and unpretenclinar appearance, this littlS'work is 
 really a comprehensive learned resume of a subject of growing interest to all 
 students of the Bible. It is nevertheless of such a character as to meet the 
 case of those who seek for a popular exposition of the most recent theories 
 of Egyptian history." London Quarterly. 
 
 "For a book like this we are really glad to ask our readers' notice. It is 
 a full, accurate, very condensed, and yet a very readable account of Egj-pt 
 and its history, and of the results of Egyijtian investigations so far as they 
 have yet gone." Literary Cliurehman. 
 
 " No other volume of the same extent contains so good a summaiy of all 
 that is known of Ancient Egypt. We can recommend it as a compcndiimi 
 which ought to be in the hands of all students and intelligent readers." 
 
 Athena'u/n. 
 
 India: an Historical Sketch. By tlie Rev. 
 
 G. Thevor, M.A., Lite Chaplain of the Madras Establishment. 
 
 Map. 3 s. cloth boards. 
 "Mr. Trevor has packed together an immense mass of information 
 respecting India, and withal has made a very readable work. He has de- 
 scribed the country, the various races of jieople inhabitmg it, their manners 
 and customs, and their different sovereigns, and has drawn up a very clear 
 account of the itile of the East India Company." Gentleman' is Magazine. 
 
 India: its Natives and Missions. By the 
 
 Rev. G. Trevor, M.A. Ss. cloth boards. 
 
 Russia, Ancient and Modern. By tlie Rev. 
 
 George Trevor, M.A., Canon of York. Royal 18mo. With 
 Two Maps. 4s. cloth boards. 
 
 " The design of this neat volume is to present an account of the growth 
 and present state of the Russian nation. ... A gi-cat deal of information is 
 ])rescnted in a condensed form, and the volume is well adapted to convey a 
 I)retty conect idea of an empire which challenges attention by its rapid 
 growth, and by the fact that, in every part of the world, ' it is pursuing the 
 steps of Great Britain \y\\\\ an eagerness which seems to want only age and 
 opportunity to be converted into a formidable rivalry.'" Clerical Journal. 
 
 " A popular, but verj' able work, treating of the geography, history. State 
 institutions. Church, and to\vn and country life of Russia — founded on the 
 best authorities — literallj' crammed with information— written in a verj' 
 pleasing style — and giving due prominence to the many interestingreligious 
 aspects of its sulyect. It is a book for all popular libraries, and one of the 
 best recent issues of the Tract Society." ynncon/onnii't. 
 
 The Ottoman Empire : the Sultans, the Ter- 
 ritory, and the People. By Thomas Milser, A.M. Royal 
 ISmo. With a Map. 2s. 6d. cloth boards. 
 "It conti^is an amazing amount of information, put totrether in a 
 methodical and perspicuous manner." Evangelical Christendom. 
 
IG Publications of the Religious Tract Society. 
 
 Mexico : the Country, History, and People. 
 
 Foolscap 8vo. With a Map. 3s. cloth boards. 
 " In eveiy respect worthy of a place amongst the many sound -works of 
 the same class which have been published by the Religious Tract Society." 
 
 AthemeuTTi. 
 " We took xvp the present work with anticipated pleasure, and have not 
 been — far from it — disappointed. The four concluding chapters are particu- 
 larly instructive, containing accoimts of the social and reUgious condition 
 of the country, as well as its commercial welfare and natm-al productions." 
 
 Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette. 
 " This work is in every respect a well-timed one. It offers a most useful 
 and interesting summary of the history and sociology of that wretched 
 conntry : the ecclesiastical aspect of affairs, the mines, commerce, manners 
 and customs, and natural history of the counti-y." Emjlish Churchman. 
 
 The Spanish Peninsula. A Sketch of its 
 
 Past History, Present Condition, and Futm-e Prospects. 
 Eoyal 18mo. With Maps. 3s. cloth boards. 
 " Each of these volumes (Russia and §pain) would form both interesting 
 and instructive reading for the young ; they are wi-itten as history ought to 
 be written, with the one thing needful kept distinctly in view. Cheap, well 
 pi-inted, illustrated, and neatly got up, they would be good prizes for 
 schools, or gift-books suitable for the season." 
 
 British and Foreign Evangelical Review. 
 
 Arctic Discovery and Adventure. By the 
 
 Author of " Brazil ; its People, Productions," &c. Eoyal 
 1 Smo. With a Map. 3s. 6d. cloth boards. 
 " The author, or compiler rather, of this pubhcation has performed his 
 task on the whole well and carefully, and has contrived to pack a good deal 
 cf information into a very small space." Athenannn. 
 
 Qui' Home Islands. 
 
 I. THEIR XATURAL FEATURES. 
 II. PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY. 
 III. THEIR PUBLIC WORKS. 
 By T. MiLNER, M.A., F.R.G.S. Royal Umo. Each complete 
 in itself, 2s. Od. cloth boai'ds. 
 
 Japan Opened. Compiled from the Narra- 
 tive of the American Expedition to Japan. Engravings. 
 Royal 18mo. 3s. cloth. 
 
 Brazil : its History, People, Natural Pro- 
 ductions, &c. Map and mimerous I'lngravings. Foolscap 8vo. 
 4s. cloth boards. 
 "Of this little volume we can speak with unmixed pleasure. It sketches 
 the history of Brazil, clearly, brielly, animatedly, with full knowledge and 
 caxeful accui-acy." yonconformist. 
 
Princeton 
 
 Theological Seminary, Ljb[,f,[f 
 
 1 1 
 
 012 01253 0087