THE 
 
 PASTOR CHIEF; 
 
 '% OR, 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 
 
 A TALE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 *'ll'\' lucet in tenkbris." 
 
 Vaudois Motto. 
 
 ON THE MASSACRE IN PIEDMONT. 
 
 Avenge, O T<ord ! thy Rlau<;hter»d saints, whose botifs 
 Lie scatter'd on the, Alpine mountains coM ; 
 E'en them, who kept thy truth so pure of old, 
 When all our fathers worshipp'd stocks and atoAes, 
 Forget not : in thy book record their tjroans 
 "Who were thy sheep ; and in their ancient fold 
 Slain by the bloody Piemontese, that roU'd 
 Mother with infiint down the rocks. Their moans 
 The ^ales redoubled to the hills, and thty 
 To Heav'n. Their martyr'd blood and aehee «ow 
 O'er all ih' Italian fields, where still doth sway 
 Thp tripl*" Tyrant : that from these may prow 
 A hundred fold, wr»o having learned thy wav, 
 Early may fly the Babylonian woe. 
 
 Milton. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 CUNNINGHAM & MORTIMER, ADELAIDE STREICT. 
 TRAFALGAR SQUARE.
 
 k 
 
 C. WUlTINi;, BEAUfORT HOUSE, STRAKD.
 
 TO 
 
 . JOHN HUGHES, ESQ., M.A. 
 
 OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD, 
 
 AND OF DONNINGTON PRIORY, BERKS, 
 \ 
 
 THESE VOLUMES ARE DEDICATED, 
 WITH SINCERE REGARD. 
 
 ^ 
 
 A 2 
 
 22028G2
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In venturing to lay the following tale before 
 the pubHc, it is with a diffidence of its merits, 
 which renders me most sohcitous to entreat in- 
 dulgence : to account for some parts which may 
 seem overstrained, by historical references, and to 
 pay the tribute of gratitude to those sources from 
 whence I was enabled to draw the interesting 
 facts which induced me to choose a subject to 
 which I deeply feel my inabihty to do justice. 
 
 The story was first suggested by reading Mr. 
 Gilly's interesting narrative of the Waldenses; 
 and the pleasure I derived from perusing it, was 
 continued on meeting with Mr. Acland's account 
 of the glorious recovery of the Valleys, by tlicir 
 pastor, Henri Arnaud: a man whom every bio- 
 
 a3
 
 VI PRErACE. 
 
 grapher agrees in designating as alike remarkable 
 for " his piety in tlie things of God and his 
 judgment in those of earth." 
 
 According to the latter author, this extraor- 
 dinary person, after conducting the affairs of his 
 people with a skill wliich would have adorned a 
 higher station, and subsequently (on their return 
 to the valleys) serving the Duke of Savoy in the 
 war with France, with the greatest zeal and fide- 
 lity, was persecuted by this prince, and falsely 
 accused of a desire to inspire the Vaudois with a 
 rebellious intention of forming a separate repub- 
 lic of their own; in consequence of which, he fled 
 to Wirtemberg, where he died in the peaceful 
 fulfilment of liis pastoral office. 
 
 But, as his end is differently mentioned, or 
 silently passed over by other historians, I have 
 ventured to avail myself of the discrepancy to in- 
 troduce an incident more suitable to the creation 
 of my imagination. In other instances, though 
 deeply sensible of the difficulty of blending fiction 
 and historical truth, without compromising the 
 dignity of the latter, I have adhered as strictly
 
 PREFACE. VU 
 
 as possible to the path pointed out by the most 
 eminent historians ; nor have I deviated from it, 
 but in one other circmnstance, when, with the 
 bold consciousness of an author's licensed power, 
 I have ventured to shorten by some years the life 
 of the wife of Victor Amadeus, who was yet Hving 
 in 1720. 
 
 In a translation of Bresse, entitled " Authentic 
 Details of theWaldenses," I met with such interest- 
 ing particulars as confirmed my desire to illustrate 
 the history of this interesting people; and I am 
 greatly indebted to the kindness of friends for 
 the sight of some curious old works relating 
 to them, now difficult of access. These documents 
 gave me a greater insight into the habits, opinions, 
 and expectations of this primitive sect, who build 
 their belief of being the remnant of the true church, 
 on the scriptural prophecies of part of the Revela- 
 tions, whose accomplishment they declare may be 
 traced in the annals of their history. According 
 to Boyer they profess to have first received the 
 tenets of their faith from the inspired lips of St. 
 Paul himself, who is supposed to have visited
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 Spain from Italy, and going tliitlier by land, 
 must have passed through the Piedmontese val- 
 leys. From this earhest dawn of Christianity, 
 they have kept free from the corruptions of every 
 other sect. 
 
 To this day they have preserved a sort of Cate- 
 cliism in the vulgar tongue, dated 1100, called 
 the " Holy Lesson," which is even now studied 
 by them as articles of faith ; and treatises are ex- 
 tant among them, dated the ninth century, prin- 
 cipally by Bishop Claude of Turin, in wliich 
 their divines disown the errors of the church of 
 Rome. This firm adherence to their oritrinal 
 form of worsliip in a later age, drew upon them 
 repeated and violent persecution. Tlie first open 
 war denounced against them was under Pope In- 
 nocent the Eighth, in the fifteenth century, who 
 assigned as a cause, the necessity of extirpating 
 a people whose records were stained with the per- 
 petration of every crime; but this calmiiny was 
 not only refuted by their own sect, and disproved 
 by the evidence of their pure and moral lives, 
 but also by the confession of their adversary.
 
 PEEFACE. IX 
 
 Claudius de Seissel, Archbishop of Turin, who 
 in the year 1500 declared in a book he wrote, 
 that " they lived in the world without reproach, 
 observing the commandments of God." 
 
 Tliese poor people endured thirty-three differ- 
 ent wars, and yet maintained their position in 
 the inheritance of their forefathers, till the year 
 1686, when they were formally expelled by the 
 orders of Victor Amadeus, on pretence of non- 
 compHance with his laws. These various perse- 
 cutions are recorded by Perrin, Boyer, Gilles, 
 and Leger. The two latter detail horrors from 
 the repetition of which imagination shrinks; and 
 they mention in glowing language, the gallant 
 defence these poor people made under their brave 
 leaders, Jayer and Gianavello, at Lucerne and 
 Rora, in 1655; with descriptions of the fearful 
 deeds of violation, mutilation, and empalement 
 inflicted on them, the names of the sufferers, 
 and the eyewitnesses of their martyi'dom. The 
 curious work of Leger is illustrated by draw- 
 ings, which give a painful identity to the scenes 
 described.
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 A renewal of these barbarities occurred in tbe 
 last war under Victor Amadeus, and was nobly 
 withstood, till, treachery being Tinitcd to violence, 
 the Vaudois fell into the snare laid for them, 
 and Tuiderwent a captivity whose horrors exceed 
 behef, and are related at full length by Boyer. 
 
 It is this period of their history that I have 
 chosen for the subject of my tale ; and if the hair- 
 breadth escapes, and miraculous dehverances, it 
 delineates, border too much on the improbable, 
 I would entreat my readers to refer to the notes 
 at the end of these volumes, or to the works 
 above mentioned, and there see, that fiction has 
 not exaggerated the records of history; and then, 
 remembering the experience its annals give us of 
 human nature, consider, whether vnth the proofs 
 we have there, of the vast power of rehgious ex- 
 citement to nerve the mind +o the most surprising 
 efforts, it is extraordinary, that the enthusiastic 
 devotion and belief of these peasants should have 
 enabled them (facihtated, too, on the other hand, 
 by the weak prejudices of their bigoted adver- 
 saries) to perform the glorious enterprise by wliich
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 they regained possession of their valleys, and 
 triumphing over every obstacle by their energy, 
 obtained the rights and concessions granted to 
 their forefathers? 
 
 The astute poUcy of Victor Ainadeus, to which 
 their interest was sacrificed, is mentioned by se- 
 veral historians ; and the ambitious views of Louis 
 XIV., who recognised no law but his own will in 
 his imperious dictation to nations, is too well 
 known and generally described to render it ne- 
 cessary to quote the authors from whom I received 
 my impressions of his character. 
 
 " Moslieims Ecclesiastical History,'^ " Smol- 
 lett's Continuation of H/ane,^' and Mr. James's 
 dehghtful work on the " Life and Times of Louis 
 XIV." furnished me with many interesting par- 
 ticulars relative to the Vaudois, and to that period; 
 while the flight of Yjctor Amadeus at the time of 
 the battle of Turin, and the generous refuge 
 afforded him in the Piedmontese valleys, is au- 
 thenticated by Bresse and Boyer. 
 
 The history itself seemed to me replete with 
 useful tendency, proving the power of Faitk and
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 Perseverance, and holding out an example to in- 
 cite tlie exercise of those energies wlaich were 
 bestowed for great and noble purposes. It only 
 remains for me to add my desire, that I 
 have not in my feeble attempts to illustrate it, 
 dimmed its lustre ; and trusting in the hope sug- 
 gested by the Vaudois' own motto, that " Light 
 shines out of darkness," fervently wish that its 
 rays may cast a brightness over this production, 
 and that the kindness of my readers will admit 
 iny apology for these first endeavours at obtaining 
 their notice.
 
 THE PASTOR CHIEF; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Amidst the dark woods wliich clothe the steep 
 mountains surrounding the little valley of An- 
 grogna, you may distinctly trace the ivy-clad 
 remains of a once proud Castle. The narroAv 
 windows and ponderous doors buried in deep 
 embrasures, indicate at once the severity of tlic 
 climate, and the rude disposition of the nation 
 and age, that required such strong fortifications. 
 In spite of these it was evident, tliat even the 
 iron hand of time had pressed less heavily on Iti« 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 THE PASTOE CHIEF; OK, 
 
 arcliitecture, than that more ruthless one of Avar- 
 like violence, inflamed by the false doctrines of 
 bigotry and superstition. 
 
 No traces of cultivation are discernible in its 
 immediate environs, and the mournful accents of 
 the restless wind, that howls through the iin- 
 tenanted apartments, seem alone to record the 
 loss of their former inhabitants. Ruin and de- 
 solation had not always marked those splendid 
 halls, and where the moss grew unheeded in 
 its verdant beauty, and the owl broke the si- 
 lence of the night by his waihug cry, the feet of 
 the young had once beat time to the loud strain 
 of gay music, and their voices echoed the 
 joyous feelings of their careless hearts. But 
 wilder sounds now usurped their place, and ere the 
 bat and the owl had established themselves in the 
 dwelling-place of the Counts of Solara, the cry of 
 the persecuted Vaudois, and the groans of their 
 murdered lords, shrilly sounded through its walls. 
 Durincf almost unnumbered centuries, the 
 ancient buildhig liad belonged to the fam.ily of 
 Solara, who, originally of Roman extraction,
 
 THE ESCArE OF THE VAUDOIS. 3 
 
 boasted tliey could trace tlieir descent from the 
 days wlien the Apostles boldly bore testimony to 
 their crucified Lord amid the clamour of heathen 
 superstition, and when, in spite of the opposition 
 of flUse sects, the earher converts took refuge 
 in the valleys of Piedmont. Here, untainted 
 by the delusive doctrines which in later ages 
 sprung up with surprising vigour, they had 
 maintained, from generation to generation, their 
 simple and primitive tenets and morals, endur- 
 ing with heroic fortitude, the oppression of the 
 Papal dominion, until the edict of Nantes at 
 length afforded them rest and protection. 
 
 Proudly had this race preserved themselves 
 from any Romish connexion, till, in the mid- 
 dle of the seventeenth century, the last Court 
 of Solara while travelling in the vicinity of Na- 
 ples, beheld the beautiful Olivia of Castelluzzo, 
 and, forgetful of the customs of his forefathers, 
 persuaded her to flee from the restrictions of pa- 
 rental authority, and to share the privations of 
 his mountain home. 
 
 Few were the days he passed with this lovely 
 b2
 
 4 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 bride, and these "were imbittered, to both, by- 
 regret for the violation of their duties. 
 
 After one year, wliich but for this would have 
 been of unmixed happiness, she died in giv- 
 ing; birth to an infant c-irl, destined in after 
 yearv':, to recall to the father's heart the memory 
 and the form he had so fondly loved. 
 
 With her latest breath, the dying mother 
 blessed the child so dearly purchased, and recom- 
 mended her to that Hoi V Virgin for the nesrlect of 
 whose worship, she firmly believed herself, now 
 suffering — no arguments having prevailed to 
 wean her from the rchgion in which she had 
 been educated. 
 
 The anguish of the Count of Solara, was be- 
 yond control. Himself an only child, with- 
 out any relation to share or console his grief, his 
 path lay before him in all the gloom of uninter- 
 rupted solitude ; while the l)nght being who had 
 illuminated it, with the ray of affection, had 
 sunk for ever in the darkness of the grave. Al- 
 though his countrymen and the Vaudois were 
 united to the holy tic of a similar faith, the con-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOI?. 5 
 
 stitutional character of their nation prevented 
 their sympatliizing fully with the warmer pas- 
 sions of his Italian origin, or understanding the 
 strength of a fascination that had drawn one of 
 their sect to tolerate and witness the worship of 
 a strange altar. With such feelings it was not 
 to be expected that the death of the young Coun- 
 tess di Solara, or the sorrow of her survivor, 
 should excite any very strong sympathy. One 
 friend, however, the Vaudois Pastor of the ad- 
 jacent valley, entered into his deep dejection, and 
 while he pitied his grief, restrained its violence 
 and directed its course, till it sought and found 
 refuge in that harbour, ^vhich religion alone 
 affords to the sad wreck of human affections. 
 
 In the exercises of devotion and in the educa- 
 tion of his daughter, who was christened by the 
 aianie of Anima, according to the ritual of the 
 
 Vaudois church, in the tenets of which slie was 
 strictly instructed, the count recovered, though 
 he could not forget the loss of his beloved Avife. 
 Far difierent were the fecHngs of her father, 
 
 the Manpus of Castelluzzo. The rage which
 
 6 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 burst fortli on finding that his youngest and fa- 
 vourite cliild, on whose beauty and talents his 
 ambitious views of future aggrandizement were 
 builtj had fled from his paternal roof to the arms 
 of an accursed and despisedVaudois, had just begun 
 to subside into softer sentiments when the news of 
 her death awoke a fresh and bitterer agony, and 
 the idea that she had probably died a convert to the 
 faith whicli he abhorred, weighed upon his mind, 
 till its powers concentrated in a gloomy hatred 
 of the Vaudois. To gratify this, he would have 
 instigated the severest measures against them, 
 had they not been protected by ancient treaties 
 between the kings of France, and the reigning 
 house of Savoy, which guaranteed the rights 
 of the valleys of Pragela and Angrogna. Aware, 
 however, that the issue of this ill-fated marriage 
 still existed, he determined that when once Anima 
 should have reached the age of reason, nothing 
 should withhold her from his power, or from the 
 cloister where he had resolvecl she should ex- 
 piate her mother's crime, and if possible, redeem 
 her soul from purgatory by constant acts of
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 7 
 
 prayer and penance; and he enjoined on his 
 two remaining daughters, "who had been edu- 
 cated in strict adherence to the church of 
 Rome, the execution of his favourite scheme, 
 should death interrupt his own projects, to find 
 and convert his grandchild. The elder of 
 these, early chose to devote herself to a mo- 
 nastic life, and the second, a woman of bril- 
 liant talents but devoid of personal advan- 
 tages, formed an alliance with a near rela- 
 tion of the reigning Prince of Savoy, Victor 
 Amadous II. 
 
 To her the marquis principally confided the 
 schemes he had formed for the yoimg Anima di 
 Solara, and to her he pom'ed forth his invectives 
 ao:ainst the bein<? who had seduced the darHnor 
 of liis heart from her allegiance, till sinking 
 beneath the violence of his grief, he made her 
 swear, on his deathbed, that no obstacle should 
 prevent her from executing his last commands. 
 
 As if to favour this scheme, death deprived 
 the unfortunate Anima, at the age of fifteen, of
 
 8 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 parental protection, and she found herself with- 
 out a friend to support her, except the same 
 pastor who had comforted her father in his hour 
 of sorrow, who had shared with him the cares 
 of her education, and wdio at length had con- 
 signed him to that grave wdiich, according to 
 their simple protestant ritual, no tapers illumi- 
 nated and no pompous effigy adorned, but where 
 the flowers which the hands of filial piety 
 had strewn, bloomed not the less fragrantly for 
 the tears with which the orj)han bedcAvcd them. 
 The last of her race, she was like the wild rose, 
 wliich, when the stern blasts of winter have 
 swept all its companions from the earth, will 
 sometimes rear its delicate head, seeming to 
 Avhispcr to the mountain echo, " Where arc 
 they?'' and the cclio alone rcphcs — " Where arc 
 they?" 
 
 Strong as had Ix'cn the friendship which the 
 pastor of Angrogna had felt for the Count of 
 Solara, it was yet warmer towards the child, 
 whom he regarded as an almost sacred trust,
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 9 
 
 confided to his cfirc and protection tlirougli the 
 vicissitudes of a Hie threatened by miusual dan- 
 gers, 
 
 Tlie httlc Anima, early attracted by the bene- 
 volent aspect of her aged protector, had first won 
 his love by the sprightly graces and natural 
 lovehncss of childhood, and in riper years by 
 the sweetness of her character. She was the 
 lif'ht and fife of all around her; those whom 
 her beauty won at first sight, were arrested by 
 the still greater i'ascinations of her mind, and 
 she seemed too fair, too bright for the rough path 
 of Hfe that lay before her. 
 
 The attractions of Anima were enhanced by 
 the strong contrast afforded by her friend and 
 constant companion, Arnaud's only daughter. 
 Both in the bloom of youth, both lovely and 
 amiable, were yet most different. 
 
 The dark beaming eye of her southern origin, 
 true index of the strong fechngs within, the elas- 
 tic gait, the sparkling smile, and more than all, the 
 sprightlincss of mind, and poetry of feeling and 
 imagination, characterized the one; while in the 
 
 b3
 
 10 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 otlier, a determination of purpose and loftiness 
 of cliaracter, derived from a sense of the deep 
 injuries of licr native land, inspired almost awe, 
 wliilc it won admiration. 
 
 Eacli was in turn tlie support of tlic otlier ; 
 tlie world, with its vanities and cares, penetrated 
 not the recesses of their Alpine valleys to disturb 
 the purity of their girlish conferences, but a 
 more powerful passion had found its way, and 
 left a sting behind. 
 
 It was the earnest wish of the pastor of the 
 Alps that Anima should fmd a more perma- 
 nent, if not a kinder protector than himself; for 
 to his experienced eye, the horizon was charged 
 with clouds which threatened to break over his 
 protestant flock, and as he became aware of old 
 age creeping upon him, he felt for the helpless 
 lamb who must seek a stranger's care at the very 
 time, perhaps, when even the firmest ties of na- 
 ture would be insufficient to withstand the dread 
 torrent, once more likely to inundate these val- 
 leys. 
 
 To seek after worldly advantages would have
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 11 
 
 been contrary to the pastor's character and liis 
 pure and spiritual pursuits; he only desired a 
 rnind congenial to that of his vrard, and a heart 
 devoted to the Vaudois cause; and both these 
 were united in his friend, and former pupil, 
 Walter Durand : nor was it without pleasure that 
 he perceived that the young man was not insen- 
 sible to her attractions. But who shall presume 
 to guide the course of those strong affections 
 which influence the destiny of man. Arnaud, 
 while wisliing to give a bias to Walter's affec- 
 tions, Httlc thought whose path of life would be 
 blasted by the withering breath of disappointed 
 love. 
 
 Unacknowledged, even to herself, the still 
 poison had crept into the bosom of his child — his 
 Marie. From infancy she had been tlie com- 
 panion of Walter, the sharer of all his thoughts ; 
 nor was it till she heard the pastor talk of him 
 as the husband of another, and that other licr 
 dearest friend, that she discovered liow neces- 
 sary he had become to herself: nor even then could
 
 12 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 slie analyze tlie feelings wliicli tlie words of her 
 latlier had first brouo-lit to lio-lit. 
 
 Educated in his earlier life by the pastor, 
 Durand's mind had been nourished from the best 
 and purest sources of knowledge which the scanty 
 library (the national property confided to the 
 Barbes or pastors) afforded. The means Indeed 
 were small, and not calcidated to impart much 
 classical lore, yet they were sufficient to refine 
 and elevate a mind which nature had fitted to 
 receive the precious seed. 
 
 An orphan, whilst yet a child, he enjoyed but 
 little inheritance beside the sword of honour pre- 
 sented to his grand sire by Gustavus Adolphus, 
 the documents of an imstaincd pedigree, and the 
 memory of virtuous parents. 
 
 To carve out his own fortune was then the 
 destiny and desire of young AValtcr; and for this 
 purpose he resolved to follow his I'amily ])rofcs- 
 sion, and, taking service in the French army 
 hoped, by emulating the brave officers whose 
 valour Hke that of Bayard had raised them to a
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 13 
 
 proud eminence, to adorn the stock from whence 
 he sprmig. 
 
 But alas ! prejudice had turned the current of 
 popular favour, and success was incompatible with 
 the maintenance of opinions his ancestors had 
 stoutly preserved, and in which he gloried. No 
 exertion could overcome the obstacles which bigo- 
 try threw in the path of his success; and, thwarted 
 in his most ardent hopes, the young man returned 
 to his nati\'e land, to behold with indignation 
 the same S3^?tem of persecution under which he 
 Avrithed, carried out yet more grossly amongst his 
 dearest and carhest haunts. 
 
 From these painful observations the tolls of the 
 chase afforded a momentary dissipation, and in 
 hairbreadth escapes and wild adventures, the 
 eager hunter sought vent for the raging passions 
 which boiled within his breast. 
 
 Some years older than Marie, Durand was 
 dearer for this to one whose reflective mind ena- 
 bled her to sympathize in the deep purposes of 
 manhood, which the state of the coimtry now 
 roused in the In-casts of the Vaudois, whose sense
 
 14 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 of present evil was rendered still more acute by 
 tlie remembrance of past injmies. 
 
 Tlieir religion was a crime, a bar to success in 
 every profession, an obstacle even to domestic 
 enjoyment. The doors of learning were closed 
 against tliem, and the declaration of their tenets 
 forbade all mihtary promotion, even if earned in 
 the service of their oppressors. Condemned to 
 waste their strength in tilHng an unprofitable soil, 
 its hard-earned produce was exposed to the ca- 
 pricious taxation of Savoy ; and too often under 
 the pretence of lev^dng the mijust tribute, were 
 their dwellings invaded by ruthless soldiers, who, 
 whether pertaining to the forces of France or 
 Savoy, ahke asserted their right of quartering 
 themselves on them, and of exercising a brutal 
 violence which they dared not resist. 
 
 Noble in spirit, but degraded to the condition 
 of slaves, hard necessity alone restrained the hands 
 which burned to break their fetters, and but for 
 the support of their sincere devotion, their liearts 
 would have iDurst beneath the galhng yoke wdiich 
 they were unable to shake offi
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 15 
 
 Some of tliG older inhabitants indeed, soured 
 by adversity, whispered that the time was come 
 for action, and many a young cragsman, as he 
 pursued his wild prey on the mountain heights, 
 exercised his strength to the uttermost in fond 
 anticipation of a more important game. 
 
 Levelled by oppression and confiscation of pro- 
 perty to a common station, it was the mind alone, 
 \vith the memory of better days, that preserved 
 the difference of caste, and raised above the herd 
 of peasants, who ahke were nerved by hardship, 
 and purified by self-denial, the few master spirits 
 who rose, as it were, to the surface — embryo 
 leaders in a future great cause. 
 
 The evening on which this story commences, 
 a party of peasants had assembled on the ridge of 
 Vachcre, where a few huts of stone formed the 
 temporary abode of some hardy mountaineers, who 
 endeavoured durinir the summer months to force 
 the bare hills of rough slate to produce a scanty 
 crop of hemp or corn ; whilst the Women occupied 
 themselves in tending the silkworms, which they 
 hoped would prove a source of future profit, tlie
 
 16 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 intervals, of following the plough, Avere filled up 
 by the men in pursuing the game which abounded 
 on the heights above, whence they frequently 
 brought back the coveted spoils of the chamois, 
 or the still wilder bonquetin, an animal the most 
 daring and active of its species, sometimes mis- 
 taken for the ibex, and admirably calculated in 
 make and shape for the region it frequents, 
 and sometimes the loup cervier, whose destruc- 
 tion formerly, entitled them to a government 
 reward — a fee, however, which had lon<j- been 
 withheld. 
 
 The labours of the day were over, and the 
 young men had elevated in front of the princi- 
 pal dwelling a sort of target, against which they 
 were exercising" their skill and the ranije of their 
 rifles with the excitement of emulation. 
 
 As success crowned each effort, a shout of 
 triumph acknowledged it, and the women drew 
 near to applaud and stimukite them to reaction. 
 
 " Well done, Jean Frache !" was the cry, as 
 his ball repeatedly pierced the mark; ''there is 
 but one who could ha^^'e excelled thv last shot !"
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 17 
 
 " And he," replied tlic successful marksman, 
 " would fain leave us for foreign service !" 
 
 "Ay! and prove," cried an old man from 
 among tlie spectators, " tlie noble stock from 
 whence lie sprung; but Providence retains him 
 here for a better cause ; he is too good for the 
 flat countries of the Papist mange-rotis, and born 
 and bred in these valleys, he Avill testify the 
 superiority of their soil." 
 
 Again the sliarpshooting was renewed, and 
 then succeeded a game requiring more mus- 
 cular strength, in which the competitors strove to 
 hurl an iron bar of considerable weight against a 
 stout pile of wood; but one after another tried in 
 vain, nor, though they put forth their utmost 
 strength, could any approach the mark. Again 
 Jean Frachc was the nearest to success, but 
 falUng short of the actual point , lie retreated, ex- 
 claiming, with disappointment, that the distance 
 was too great, and adding — 
 
 " No human arm, not even that of your 
 favourite Uurand, could accomplish it ; and I
 
 18 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 defy any to Imii this bar beyond tlie spot I 
 readied." 
 
 " See, here he comes !'^ cried another, as the 
 figure of a young huntsman was seen on the 
 crags above, over which he leaped, disdainful of 
 the easier path hewn in the rocks through 
 stunted bushes and chestnut-plants which led to 
 the heights, where he had been following the 
 chase; " he will soon try if it be impossible." 
 
 Not over pleased, Jean Frachc, however, sub- 
 mitted to the trial with as good a grace as he 
 could assume, and all turned to Durand, begging 
 him to join their sports. 
 
 At first the young man refused, urging the 
 lateness of the hour, the length of route yet 
 between him and 'Angrogna ; but when they 
 pressed him to make but one effort to settle their 
 doubts, he laid aside his hunting implements, 
 and stripping himself to the waist, displayed a 
 frame whose round and sinewy proportions de- 
 noted the strength acquired by constant exercise. 
 
 For a moment he stooped to raise the bar which
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 19 
 
 the others had tottered beneath, and poising it iii 
 his'grasp,hcnt backwards to collect the strength of 
 every nerve ; then, hurhng it far before him, 
 watched it, as it whizzed through the air, and 
 dashing against the pile of wood recoiled with 
 the force of tlae blow, while with a spring like 
 that of the Avild animal on its prey, he rushed to 
 catch it at a rebound, and flung it far beyond the 
 mark. 
 
 " Now find it, friends," he cried, panting with 
 the exertion; and, with swollen muscle, he again 
 resumed his hunting-dress, without waitinir to 
 hear the applause the feat excited, and pursued his 
 way with a hurried step, but not ere he had ap- 
 proached the elder group, and whispered, " The 
 French are at hand, bid these youngsters dis- 
 perse, and retire quietly to your huts, unless you 
 would provoke their insults." 
 
 It was enough, the evening amusement was at 
 an end ; all were about to profit by the advice, 
 when the hoarse voice of a man was heard cry- 
 ing, " Yes, children, you do well, the day of 
 vengeance is at hand, prepare for the execution.
 
 20 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 and the Philistines will again flco before tlie 
 people of the Lord." 
 
 " It is Le Bonquetin," said Jean Fraclie, " liis 
 words are prophetic;" but ere the speaker came 
 in sight, an uncouth being approached them. 
 
 It was a stunted youth, whose appearance was 
 yet that of premature old age ; his features 
 wizen, his head preposterously large, covered with 
 red and matted hair, round, vacant eyes, whose 
 fixed expressionless stare declared the idiocy of u 
 wavering mind. 
 
 Pulhng his fmger from his mouth he pointed 
 to the ridge, and muttered some unintelligible 
 sounds, but " Soldats^' seemed their burden, and 
 then, bursting into an infant's piteous wail, ran 
 for protection to the crowd. 
 
 At this moment, a strange figure leaped the 
 fence surrounding the spot: a man long past the 
 prime of lii'e, whose appearance denoted the 
 fantastic s])irit which animated it. Ilis large- 
 boned and muscular frame, thickset rather than 
 corpulent, took from his height, which little ex- 
 ceeded the common standard. His hair, grizzled
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 21 
 
 with age, sliadowed a forehead high but wrinkled 
 and scarred in former conflicts. His eyebrows 
 Siiaggy, and ahnost meeting above the ])iercing 
 gray eyes, gave a ferocious expression to a coun- 
 tenance marked by strong features, wliilst the 
 large mustache and bushy whiskers, together 
 Avith the remains of a former uniform Avliich was 
 superadded to the mountaineer's usual hunting- 
 dress, indicated the profession of arms he had 
 followed in his youth. 
 
 He drew the disgusting object towards him 
 witli a tenderness of manner strangely at va- 
 riance with the general indications of his ap- 
 pearance, and bent on him a gaze of kindness, 
 which showed that tJicj-e had centred all the 
 tenderness of a nature changed by persecution, 
 and warped from its original tendency. 
 
 " Hush ! hush ! poor Pierre," said he sooth- 
 ingly, as he led the Cretin away, " I know, 
 and thou art safe." After tliis the whole party 
 quietly and rapidly dispersed. 
 
 Alas ! poor Pierre, he was the idiot offspring 
 of the husband of Le Bonquetin's sister, a stout
 
 22 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 mountaineer who had fallen at Rora in the mas- 
 sacre of 1663, leaving his widow to her bro- 
 ther's care, which, however, had been unavail- 
 ing to preserve her from the barbarities perpe- 
 trated by the troops of Charles Emanuel of 
 Savoy. She died in giving birth to this child, 
 raving in madness caused by the horrors she had 
 both witnessed and experienced. Her babe was 
 the last memorial of a whole race swept away in 
 thac dark tide of persecution. What wonder 
 then, that ho was so dear to Onfroi Vigano, or, 
 (as he was more generally termed among the 
 mountaineers) Le Bonquetin, an appellation 
 bestowed on him in compliment no less to liis 
 daring exploits in the chase, than in memory of 
 the courage and activity which had signaUzed 
 his bearing when, in the days of his youth, he 
 had nobly fought beside Giavanello, and shared 
 with him the honour of keeping at bay, both 
 at Rora and Lucerne, the troops of the Mar- 
 quesses of Ilcnri and Angrogna. 
 
 In the blood-stained annals of that dreadful 
 period were recorded, with the hero's deeds of
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 23 
 
 valour, the torture and destruction of all they 
 held dear; and while the memory of those 
 horrors pressed even to distraction on Vigano's 
 brain, yet the last remnant that "was left to him 
 of the past, in his unhappy nephew, was fondly 
 cherished; and the evidences of a once kindly 
 nature thus revealed, gave him an interest in the 
 eyes of his countrymen, wliich the stern ferocity 
 of his manners otherwise might have repelled ; 
 and Le Bonquetin, though somewhat dreaded, 
 was a general favourite amoni? the mountaineers.
 
 24 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 At the foot of one of the rugged mountiiius 
 that form a, principal feature in the scenery of 
 Piedmont, rushes a small hut rapid stream, in 
 whose clear waters you may count every pebble 
 which breaks its progress, and gives a romantic 
 sound to its murmuring waves as they glide on 
 to a point where they are intercepted by sharp 
 rocks. For several yards its windings may be 
 traced, till lost amid the unclicckcd luxuriance 
 of the wild vines and brambles, connected witli 
 the adjacent wood. 
 
 It was summer, and the setting sun illuminated 
 the distant trees, and gave a richer hue to their 
 foliage ; while the shades of evening deepening
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 25 
 
 over the shore and reflecting every image iu 
 lengthened shadows on the opposite height, gave 
 diversity to a scene that might otherwise have 
 seemed monotonous : so still, so fair it lay in a 
 silence only broken by the soft gurgling of the 
 waters ; every bird had sought its rest, the chamois 
 even had ceased to leap the heights above ; nei- 
 ther the distant low of cattle, nor home return- 
 ing peasants, disturbed the silence of a spot which 
 seemed fitted for the ancient Ghebirs' worship of 
 the bright luminary he adores. 
 
 Two figures now appeared. One, that of a man, 
 whose himting-dress, soiled and torn in various 
 parts, denoted the roughness of his late occupa- 
 tion, though on closer inspection it revealed a 
 more minute attention to its general equipments 
 than was customary with the Alpine followers of 
 the chase, and indicated a desire to please by 
 softer arts, or perhaps the civilization of a gentler 
 mode of hfe and higher caste than theirs. By his 
 side was suspended a stout couteau de chasse, of 
 which the horn handle and tough blade showed 
 it to be no slight weapon of defence; and in his 
 VOL. I. C
 
 26 THE PASTOE CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 hand T\-as a long rifled carbine, an heirloom, 
 "which ere this had been tried on nobler prey than 
 the fleet chamois its owner had lately pursued, 
 regardless of the perilous paths and fearful chasms 
 over which the excitement of his sport had led. 
 It is true, no booty hung on the muscular shoulder 
 of the young hunter to testify his success, but the 
 yet reeking frontlet and shining horns of the 
 prey he had taken were suspended to his belt, 
 and these he was unfastening to lay at the feet of 
 the female who met him, whose fragile appear- 
 ance contrasted with his own stalwart frame. 
 
 Ethereal in her delicacy, the light buoyant 
 spirit which danced in her dark eye, with a bril- 
 liancy which rivalled the gazelle's, and the elastic 
 step w^ith which she advanced towards liim, showed 
 how w^elcome was his return. 
 
 " And is this all the spoil thou hast brought, 
 faint-hearted huntsman, after thy long absence?" 
 said she, tauntingly addressing him, " no chamois 
 hide for winter use ? no venison for the pastor's 
 evening meal ? Shame on thee, Dm-and, for thy 
 sloth,'' — but as she spoke, she raised the trophy
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 27 
 
 » 
 
 her ■w-oixls contemned, and tlie arcli smile wliicli 
 lit up her countenance more tlian repaid tlie 
 yoimg man, who gazed on her with passionate 
 admiration. 
 
 At length he replied — " Blame me not, Anima, 
 I have been no idler in the chase, nor shrunk 
 from the wildest path in search of some tribute 
 for thee; nor, when my object was gained, and 
 the gasping chamois lay at my feet, did I stagger 
 beneath the burden I longed to bring to thee, 
 but," he continued with an altered tone, and an 
 expression wherein fierce indignation mingled 
 with deep regret, " that tribute was required by 
 urgent want ; such want, Anima, as may it never 
 be thy fate to witness !" 
 
 His change of manner awoke her curiosity, and 
 she eagerly inquired to what he alluded. 
 
 " How shall I wound thy gentle heart?" he 
 answered, " by describing the scenes I have be- 
 held, or terrify thy imagination with the fore- 
 bodings such tales must awaken ? Alas ! the timid 
 animal has not more cause to flee from the hunts- 
 man's hot pursuit than the Vaudois peasant from 
 
 C 2 
 
 e
 
 28 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 the sworn prince and protector, to wliom he has 
 paid a too faithful allegiance, and whose emis- 
 saries wrinw from his necessities the crust he toils 
 to procure, leaving him and his starving family to 
 cry aloud to Heaven for vengeance with the last 
 expiring groan of famine ! 
 
 " Chance directed my steps to a hut, where 
 such violence had been but lately perpetrated, 
 nor could I rcfiisc the booty I had destined 
 for thee, to the victims of Savoy's persecu- 
 tion. Would that it had been mine to give 
 a stronger aid ! — Would that the contents of this 
 weapon," he added, clenching the carbine with a 
 firmer grasp, " had been in time to rescue the op- 
 pressed and find another mark than tliat at which 
 it was aimed !" 
 
 A third person soon joined them, and watched 
 the speaker with serious attention; but his words 
 had caused such visible alarm in the fail- creature 
 he addressed, that forgetting, in anxiety for her, 
 the deep thoughts which stirred his sold, he 
 sought to dissipate her fears by changing the sub- 
 ject; and tracing his morning route, he told the
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 29 
 
 dangers lie had passed. And tliougli at times a 
 sudden outburst revealed tlie impetuous feelings 
 ■which could not be repelled, he gently led her 
 thoughts from the dark current of liis own, and 
 she smiled once more, gazed confidingly in his 
 face, and banished each gloomy impression which 
 had for a moment dimmed the brightness of 
 her beauty. 
 
 He spoke of peril, and she shuddered; of his 
 prowess, and she smiled; of the Alpine path he 
 had trodden, the game he had pursued, and the 
 rosy dawn he had watched on those heights, and 
 contrasted it with the glories of the setting sun, 
 whose light now c»s:tended over the mountains, 
 and in dying lent fresh beauty to their peaks. 
 
 "Yes!" said she, " 'tis beautifvil, indeed, but 
 not to my mind so lovely as the bright morning 
 light which will succeed; for the one seems to 
 frown at the day which is gone, while the other 
 welcomes with smiles its successor's birth. Nay," 
 she added, "those blood-red clpuds, which will 
 shortly eclipse its hues of gold, seem portentous 
 of evil to the young day which will arise. To-
 
 30 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 morrow," slie continued with a smile, " I chal- 
 lenge you to meet me on yonder golden peak and 
 salute the rising morn, instead of rudely perse- 
 cuting the chamois and wilder bouquetin." 
 
 The young man answered not the joyous in^i- 
 tatlon, as he was wont; but with a more serious 
 aspect, said — " Anima, Heaven grant your words 
 may not be ominous; but even as yon setting- 
 sun sinks beneath the dusky cloud, so are these 
 Alpine valleys sinking beneath the power of their 
 oppressors !'.' 
 
 " But even thus," interposed the last person 
 who had joined them, " even thus, these Alpine 
 valleys, from their last glimmering ashes, will send 
 forth a light to cheer the surrounding mountains, 
 and wiU testify that the fire of devotion hghted 
 their possessor's path to another world, bright, 
 pure, and, though dimmed, unquenched." 
 
 At this moment, one of the last rays lit up 
 the speaker's face, and revealed the expression 
 which her enthusiasm had kindled, beaming forth 
 with a majesty which declared from how deep a 
 source it sprung.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 31 
 
 He whom slie addressed, liowcver, cauglit not 
 tlic inspiration from licr lips, but answered with 
 averted eye. 
 
 " Tlie hearths of our unforgotten ancestors will 
 be dyed in blood once more, and" — 
 
 " Shame on thee, Durand,'^ said the girl, 
 " Nobly they preserved our faith, and boldly will 
 we maintain it." 
 
 " Would that the time were come !" — he re- 
 turned, miconsciously grasping his carbine. — 
 " Meantime, while the power of the mighty pours 
 the tide of oppression over our valleys, the heart 
 sickens and the spirit refuses to assist the hands 
 to labour; the struggle of contention, the bold 
 contest of man with man were far preferable to 
 this. There are lands, Marie, in the tropic zone, 
 where human strength and human blood are sold 
 for money, and their exertions swell the luxuries 
 of the rich ; the power of their youth is spent in 
 the acquisition of produce they must never taste, 
 and the casket of their dearest possessions is rilled 
 by their tyrant's violence. We, too, arc sold; 
 we, men of iron Hth and limb, of the purest and
 
 32 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 hardiest old Christian stock, are sold — sold to in- 
 crease the pomp of the Hccntioiis Lonis, whose 
 minions snatch from our mouths the hard-earned 
 subsistence, and whose soldiers violate the sanc- 
 tity of our hearths, and then laugh at our indig- 
 nation ! And our pastor bids us suffer, and be 
 still ; and preaches the meek lesson of submission 
 to bold hunters and crao;smen smartinor beneath 
 undeserved aggression, with hearts burning, and 
 hands ready for self-defence. What said thy 
 father but yesternight, Marie, when the envoy 
 from Savoy brought heavier restrictions on the 
 few rights left to us, and confirmed our fears with 
 accounts of fresh persecutions in the valleys ? ' Be 
 still and submit.' Still and submit ! — As well bid 
 the sea beyond those mountain-tops cease from 
 its raging, or stop the headlong avalanche in its 
 pareer, as tell lis to bear in quiet these accumu- 
 lated ills. Ills to which no fettering allegiance to 
 Louis can enforce the submission of men, who, 
 distinct in their genealogy and their faith, own no 
 tic of brotherhood with his savage Provencals, 
 and, in whom, obedience would be dastardy.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 33 
 
 deserving the persecution wliicli lias so .lately 
 drenched the mountains of Cevennes in blood. 
 No ! it is time to profit by the sad warning of our 
 brethren in faith, and yet nobly lift up the hand of 
 might in defence of our rights and ourfamiHes I" 
 
 A pause followed, and neither broke the silence 
 of thoughts too deep for words; till Marie ob- 
 served that the sun had now wholly sunk, and 
 the darkened sky announced that the hour of the 
 evening meeting was come, and they must obey 
 the pastor's summons. 
 
 It was an impressive scene that opened on the 
 eyes of the young party as they reached the sum- 
 mit of the acclivity, and looked down a deep 
 gorge between hanging rocks, whose rugged 
 points, emerging from the wild vine, glittered in 
 the evening rays. About half way down the 
 mountain was a mossy sward, some fifty feet wide, 
 sheltered by wooded rocks, which shelved down 
 to that same brook they had just left so placid on 
 the other side, now dashing and foaming over 
 the rocks that broke its current. Yet not alone 
 the waters' rush disturbed the stillness of the hour, 
 
 c 3
 
 34 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 but the footsteps of several Vaudois peasants, leap- 
 ing from the heights above or hurrying up the 
 ascent beneath. 
 
 Tliese were the protestants of the early chiu'ch 
 coming to perform their evening sacrifice; and 
 beautiful was it to see the hoary head of old age 
 and the comehness of youth, met in no consecrated 
 building, whose stately pillars and storied aisle 
 attested the pride of human skill, but beneath 
 the glorious canopy of heaven, resplendent with 
 the indescribable brilliancy of a thousand hues, 
 and, within the massive enclosure of the Alpine 
 rocks. All now was still — one deep clear voice 
 alone rang clear through the hushed multitude, 
 and accompanied by many a silent prayer, as- 
 cended on the wings of Faith. It was again a 
 beautiful sight — that prostrate crowd, that scenery, 
 and the venerable form of the old man, who, 
 with simple and energetic devotion, poured forth 
 the suppHcation of the Vaudois flock for dcHver- 
 ance from the yoke of tyranny, and for protection 
 in the hour of need. 
 
 The appearance of Arnaud was calculated to
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 35 
 
 inspire attention and respect. His figure, rather 
 above tlie common height, was such as might 
 have reahzed the imagination of the first apostoHc 
 preacher of Christianity, and the holy subjects of 
 liis constant meditation had given an elevated 
 expressionto liis countenance, which awed, rather 
 than commanded, all beholders. It might have 
 been deemed stern, but Christian love had softened 
 even the resentment which his country's sufferings 
 hadawakened, and lent a milder lustre to the bright 
 eye which beamed from beneath a bushy and 
 thick set brow. His age did not in truth bear 
 proportion to its signs, for deep thought and 
 ardent anxiety, rather than years, had ploughed 
 the furrows on his cheek, and prematurely changed 
 the hue of the once dark and clustering locks. 
 
 Some passages were read, and listened to, with 
 the serious attention that a deep value of the 
 privilege, of which bigotry would fain have de- 
 prived them, well merited; and then the con- 
 gregation was dismissed, their hearts full of the 
 holy feelings the ceremony liad engendered. 
 
 Some had many a weary mile before them ;
 
 36 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 tlieir path lay across dark and dangerous re- 
 gions, but these could not deter the Vaudois 
 from discharging so dear a duty, the performance 
 of which was attended by so many difficulties: 
 for it was only by night, and after a day of labour, 
 that they could hold their meetings undisturbed. 
 
 The light of day had now wholly disappeared, 
 nevertheless several persons remained in commu- 
 nion with the pastor, and most of these were elder 
 mountaineers, whose sinewy frames had waxed 
 strong in athletic exercise during many a long- 
 year of hardship, or younger men, whose ardent 
 spirits were chafing beneath a sense of oppression, 
 and who longed to exert the active strength they 
 both gloried in, against the overbearing agents of 
 the court of Savoy. 
 
 " Friends," said Henri Arnaud, to those 
 around him, " once more we have met in 
 prayer and peace : blest privilege, whose Hmits, 
 alas, may be already fixed ! but, if you have 
 entered into the spirit of long suffering and for- 
 bearance this evening's lecture inculcated, the 
 moment is at hand to prove its effect l)y remem-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 3 7 
 
 bering tliat our afflictions are from a power 
 above that of man, against wliose weapons wc 
 may not rebel, but bow in childlike submission. 
 The bitter draught is sent from God, and it is 
 not for us to quarrel with the hand which 
 ministers it, but, beheve me, the effects will be 
 salutary; and though invisible here, they will be 
 apparent in the bright hght of eternity !" 
 
 A shudder, more of indignation than of fear, 
 ran through the circle at the import of these 
 words, and an indistinct murmur showed how 
 unpalatable was the doctrine of forbearance lie 
 preached. 
 
 Arnaud, however, continued, " A nicssengcr 
 from Savoy arrived last night with fresh requi- 
 sitions from his court and that of France. Some 
 arc, indeed, hard to comply Avith, some impos- 
 sible; but as far as we can, children, we will sub- 
 mit, ay — submit," repeated the speaker, with a 
 tone of dignified authority, which showed that 
 the decision sprung from no weakness of pur- 
 pose. " Submit, not to the Avord of princes, Ixit 
 to the will of (rod!
 
 38 THE TASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 " In the first place, liis highness imposes 
 heavier taxation, to be paid monthly at the 
 fortress of La Tour, even the tithe of our pos- 
 sessions; and should that fail in making tip the 
 stipulated sum, the deficiency is to he made good 
 in corn or provision; or in default of this, our 
 dwelhngs will be confiscated to the Duke of 
 Savoy, and subjected to the inquisition of his 
 emissaries." 
 
 " Say rather," cried an indignant voice, " the 
 imrestraincd licence of his soldiery !" 
 
 " Nay, my son," continued the j)astor, " forestall 
 not our misery, but prepare to meet it with more 
 cheerful hope. The next order has been com- 
 plied with already, only our oppressors forgot 
 when they ordered iis to raze our churches, that 
 our Divine Master had prepared himself ' a 
 huilding not made with hands, ^ in which we may 
 still and ever worship him, and pour forth our 
 gratitude for thousand blessings left ! One more 
 remains to be told — but how shall I declare the bit- 
 ter, the iniquitous decrees, which I feel is already
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 39 
 
 rejected unheard; for I know that the Vavidois, 
 who patiently paid, ^vith the sweat of his brow, 
 the Tax his prince demanded, will firmly refuse 
 to liis oppressor the sacrifice of his helpless ofi"- 
 sprlng to a Romish Baptism !" 
 
 At these words a wild cry rose from the 
 assembly, and resounded from rock to rock ; the 
 valleys echoed it, and proclaimed to the slum- 
 berers in their homes that the war cry had awoke, 
 and would not again be hushed. 
 
 The pastor spoke once more: " My children, if 
 we refuse obedience, penalties hitherto unexpe- 
 rienced are threatened, a devastating army will 
 sweep through our valleys and once more bathe 
 them in bloodshed and flames, and the babes 
 whom -we have refused to surrender to their 
 papal ceremonies will lie murdered beside their 
 mothers !" 
 
 "Better torture than apostacy; better death 
 here than punishment hereafter!" shouted Du- 
 rand, and the response passed from lip to lip in 
 ansAver to that black edict of perscciition.
 
 40 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 " Vaudois, ye are right!" exclaimed the pas- 
 tor, with gleaming eyes. " Blessed are the hearts 
 that in danger and in death still cling to the 
 banner of their faith; blessed the worthy chil- 
 dren of those forefathers who centuries ago pre- 
 served the same tenets amid torture and famine, 
 and bequeathed them us to defend to the last 
 drop of our blood. But while we arc firm, we 
 must bo forbearing, and let the first act of 
 aggression be on the oppressor's side. We con- 
 form not to their will : no, we buy not our safety 
 with oiu- children's souls, but yet we will pati- 
 ently await their dread vengeance !" 
 
 A dissentient murmur rose at these words, and 
 one voice above the rest spoke the feelings of the 
 multitude, in its own indignant renunciation of 
 the proposed submission. 
 
 " It is too late now," was the cry, " to talk of 
 endurance. The dying reptile will turn against 
 the foot that crushes it, and shall the hand of the 
 brave be still, while the oppressor wrenches his 
 dearest possession from liis home, and pollutes
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 41 
 
 his heartli Avith his Hfc blood and disgrace ? No ! 
 the arm given by a merciful Providence for the 
 protection of the weak, must not remain inactive ; 
 and with the strenoth of Gideon in the hour of 
 need, we will up and smite the tyrant who has 
 no right of compulsion over this free land." 
 
 As he spoke, Durand raised his hand on high, 
 and with an eye flashing with anticipated suc- 
 cess, challenged his companions to dissent from 
 his words. A shout, long, loud, and repeated, 
 answered the appeal, and threatened vengeance 
 to Savoy; but the pastor with uplifted hand 
 commanded silence. 
 
 Then turnim; to Durand with a look he 
 had never witnessed before, and which might 
 have befitted the expression Moses wore when he 
 broke the golden calf, bade him by his f lith, by 
 the love he owed his countrymen, to repress 
 his untimely violence, nor stir, nor speak, till 
 they had conferred in private. 
 
 Not easily could the young man restrain the 
 fiery impatience of his exasperated spirit, l^ut 
 there was that in the master mind of the aged
 
 42 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 pastor wliicli enforced obedience, and tliougli 
 chafing at tlie curb, liis bursting wrath was awed 
 into silence. 
 
 Again the pastor bade his flock be still, for 
 there was time to consult and decide on their 
 best course ere the edict should be enforced; and 
 for this purpose he appointed a meeting on the 
 same spot the following night. 
 
 The party then dispersed; and the moon, whose 
 silvery Hght danced on the waters beneath, Hghted 
 the sad pilgrims home to relate to the gray headed 
 parent the news of that evening meeting, or to 
 wliisper a hope, they dared not cherish, to the 
 trembling wife, and sigh over the sleeping infant 
 at her breast, for whose sake the dark tide of 
 desolation would soon inundate their valleys. 
 Meanwhile the heavens smiled and the moon 
 shone with unclouded lustre, over the beating- 
 hearts and despairing bosoms of the inhabitants 
 of Angrogna. 
 
 Heedless of the advance of night, the pastor 
 with his family did not retire to rest, for the mes- 
 senger from Victor Amadous had not only brought
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YArDOIS. 43 
 
 tidings of vital importance to tlie general welfare 
 of the inhabitants of the valleys, but also letters of 
 deep interest to his o'wn household. Madame de 
 Saony had ■v\T:itten to assert the claims of relation- 
 ship over her niece, IVIademoisclle do Solara; and 
 her letter, backed by the order of the duke, directed 
 that the latter should be conveyed under the safe- 
 guard of his passport to the confines of the valleys, 
 where an escort would meet and convey her to 
 the care of her aunt. The time for her departure 
 was mentioned; and every means used to ensure 
 comphance. 
 
 It was Arnaud's business to communicate these 
 unexpected tidings, but conscious of the agony it 
 would inflict, it was not till he had sought some 
 degree of composure in the privacy of prayer that 
 he could attempt to deal the blow. Tlien, strength- 
 ened by the aid he had so earnestly sought, and 
 in some measure reHeved by shedding a few tears, 
 which anguish for others ■\\T:ung from his bosom, 
 he entered the little apartment where Durand 
 and Marie awaited liim with Anima, and sum- 
 moning the former to him, revealed at once the
 
 44 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 stern decree wliicli bliglitcd each fairy vision and 
 each experienced joy. 
 
 " My son," said he, grasping the young man's 
 hands in his, as, on hearing the connnunication, 
 Durand vehemently declared no force should tear 
 the loved one from their arms, " by your father's 
 memory I command you to hear me, and to 
 forego this vain, this frantic opposition. Recollect 
 their strength and ovirs, the folly of a struggle 
 which could not rescue and must lose, not only 
 ourselves but the common cause, the lives and 
 liberties ofall in these valleys; then ask yourself if 
 you have a right, for the sake of this one tender 
 lamb, however dear, to endanger the safety of 
 the whole flock. Unprovided with arms, or any 
 means of defence, impoverished by oppression and 
 weakened by want, how can we hope to maintain 
 a successful opposition against the well-armed and 
 disciplined troops whom Victor can command to 
 punisli our non-compliance — against the mighty 
 armies of France, infuriated by the demon of 
 of bigoted persecution, the spirit of antichrist, 
 now hovering on the borders of these valleys? Nay,
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 45 
 
 ray son, not thus must we endanger tlie precious 
 deposit of our faitli !" 
 
 " Endanger !" exclaimed Durand. " Is not that 
 deposit our safeguard? Will not God defend us 
 for its sake ? Is not liis power the same as when 
 the walls of Jericho sunk before the trumpet's 
 blast, and the men of Amalek fled before the 
 sword of the Lord and of Gideon?" 
 
 " True, my son," replied the pastor, "buttliat 
 was in their country's cause, not for their own 
 individual interest. This sacrifice must be made, 
 because it is the will of God, and readily, because 
 in the sovereign's voice that will is declared, and 
 perhaps in mercy to her whom we could not de- 
 fend, in the dark storm which is already gathering 
 in the distance, and will ere long break in fearful 
 violence on our devoted heads. Then, when the 
 shriek of our massacred brethren, of our violated 
 women, pierce ovir ears, how should wc reproach 
 ourselves with the shortsightedness which with- 
 held her from the sanctuary of refuge he had 
 prepared, to share horrors we may be incapable of 
 guarding her from. No, Durand — Anima must
 
 46 THE PASTOE CHIEF; OR, 
 
 go — our love for lier were best sliown in accele- 
 rating her departure, and veiling from lier sight 
 the aniTuish which could but increase her own. 
 This night — -this very night; naj, no remon- 
 strance, for it must be so — she goes, and I — I 
 alone will dehver her to the care of her new at- 
 tendants, because I alone feel strength to subdue 
 the selfish grief, the expression of which would 
 only add fresh agony to what she must experience." 
 
 In motionless silence Durand heard, and then 
 unclasping the hands in which he had bmied his 
 face, looked up with so changed, so ghastly an 
 expression, that it showed, without tlie aid of 
 words, how exquisite had been the torture inflicted ; 
 and then he faltered forth — 
 
 " Father, I submit — but oh ! let me behold once 
 more the form I fancied already mine. No sigh 
 shall declare the anguish of my bursting heart — 
 no exclamation betray the stern resolve with which 
 it burns. Let me seal but once on those dear 
 lips the feelings which henceforth must only exist 
 as for the dead, and hereafter, this life, tliis arm, is 
 yours to mould as you vnW. Behold," he con-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 47 
 
 tinned, " ray solemn pledge : by tHe deatlibed of 
 my father — by the sword and tlie renown of my 
 grandsire, I swear that I will calmly see, ay, 
 and calmly part from Anima." 
 
 A pause ensued, and then the pastor replied, 
 "It shall be so, thy word is pledged! — that 
 sacred word, none of thy race e'er broke, and 
 thou shalt share with me the few moments that 
 Mademoiselle di Solara can pass under this roof!" 
 
 Durand pressed his hand with fervent gratitude 
 and whispered — "Trust me, but pray for me; 
 when all is over, I may be able to pray too, but 
 now my prayer would be turned into sin; it 
 would be for the day of battle, and revenge, and 
 that speedily; for as the parched traveller thirsts 
 for the desert spring, so does this heart for bayonet 
 and ball — for wounds and death — for aught in 
 which to vent the bursting agony of a crushed 
 spirit! The struggle has long been hovering 
 near, and now is at hand. Then, Avlien the dark 
 hour comes, let those beware who have torn mc 
 from earthly ties, and thus strengthened me with 
 the savage desire of the bereaved tigress in her
 
 48 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 den ! Perchance 'tis best tluis. Happiness — sucli 
 happiness as I looked forward to, might have un- 
 manned this heart ; and while my destiny calls to 
 deeds of blood, her gentle nature will be safe ! — 
 but oh ! my fatlier — feel for me — with me." 
 
 " My son — I do, and see in thee, how thus 
 God forms his chosen champions; bear but this 
 bitter test, his gift, and thou provest thyself our 
 sword and shield in a less fearfid contest. x\nd 
 now, come, and help me to the hard task of break- 
 ing these tidings to their tender hearts, so that 
 they may bear the blow, nor sink beneath it. Come 
 now, I dare not delay;" and linking his arm in 
 the young man's, the pastor led him to the room 
 wdierc the two friends awaited him. 
 
 But how describe the grief this unexpected 
 blow inflicted, cutting at the root of every che- 
 rished prospect and every present joy? Marie's 
 unselfish grief! Anima's earnest entreaties to be 
 protected in some concealment where she might 
 yet enjoy in privacy the blessing of communion 
 with all to which her young affections clung ! the 
 pastor's deep struggle to maintain his firm refusal
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 49 
 
 to her lieart-searching prayers, and tlie stern com- 
 posure witli which Durand redeemed his vow, 
 while his heart was wrung with an anguish none 
 could fathom? 
 
 No delay was to take pLace in the immediate 
 surrender of ]iis ward. Arnaud, well aware 
 that all appearance of opposition would only en- 
 danger the general welfare without promoting 
 hers, and feehng he had no right to sacrifice the 
 interest of the community to individual ties, 
 steeled himself against every persuasion. He 
 sought refuge in the reflection that thus only 
 could the charge liis dying friend had bequeathed 
 him, be preserved from the horrors he perceived 
 were at hand; and he hurried on the necessary 
 preparations for her departure. 
 
 Well was it for Anima that time was denied 
 for those harrowing regrets with which wo look 
 for the last time on scenes rendered familiar by 
 every dear and early association, and which hence- 
 forth we must learn to picture under so different 
 a garb ! Well for her companions that then, at 
 least, imagination had no leisure to presage fortli 
 
 VOL I. D
 
 50 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 that future in which, she was no longer to bear a 
 part ! Well that neither knew in the last fond 
 embrace the change that must pass over their 
 hearts ere again they would meet in that dear 
 communion ! Well for us all that the veil which 
 in our shortsightedness we often desire to Kft, falls 
 over the years yet to come ! 
 
 Arnaud and Durand accompanied Anima to 
 the spot which Madame de Saony had appointed ; 
 and it was in happy unconsciousness of all around 
 her that the pastor placed Anima in the hands of 
 her new attendants, and rejoiced in his heart that 
 there is a point at which physical strength, in 
 mercy fails, before that of mental suffering !
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 51 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 When Mademoiselle de Solara recovered from 
 the fainting-fit wliicli had preserved her from 
 the last bitter moment of parting, and fomid her- 
 self in the hands of strangers, the terror and 
 distress which every fresh sensation increased, 
 threw her into a succession of hysterical fits, 
 which only yielded to intervals of stupor; and 
 the consequent exliaustion, together with the 
 exertion of rapid and continued travelhng, to 
 which she was so wholly luiused, distressed her 
 nervous system to a degree which produced 
 severe ilhicss ; and by the time she reached the 
 
 D 2
 
 52 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 Chateau de Saony, she was no longer capable of 
 either understanding her present, or regretting 
 her former condition. But though disfigured by 
 illness, and almost lifeless when borne into her 
 aunt's apartments, Madame de Saony was struck 
 by the rare beauty of her luiknown niece, 
 so different from what she expected, as well as 
 by the marked likeness to the sister she had 
 loved and lost; and it was with deep self- 
 reproach, that she witnessed the effects of her 
 own thoughtless and hurried arrangement, in 
 the total unconsciousness from which, she vainly 
 strove to rouse her, and from which at last she 
 woke, but with the scream of delirium. 
 
 Days passed, and still each endeavour to re- 
 store the sufferer was in vain. Every care was 
 lavished upon her, and the power of medicine 
 tried to its utmost ; but still IMadame de Saony was 
 doomed to gather, from the unconscious ravings 
 of her niece, the history of her hfe, and to hear 
 from the physicians' lips their fears that these 
 would only subside in the silence of death, or 
 the far more dreadful indifference of imbecility.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 53 
 
 Tlius indeed was her father's meditated revenge 
 accompHshed on the sister whose memory she so 
 dearly loved. 
 
 In the most aiFccting tones would Aiiinia address 
 her by all the names of all she loved in An- 
 £rroo"na: would summon her to her favourite 
 haunts, or sing the Vaudois hymns her pastor 
 guardian had taught her; and then breaking 
 wildly off, would shriek with sudden fear. At 
 length, after protracted anxiety, the sad scene 
 seemed drawing to its close, and Anima, worn out 
 by the paroxysms of dehrium, sunk into a state of 
 torpor, the presage of approaching death. But 
 who shall hmit nature's power in the constitu- 
 tion of youth ! To the surprise of all, Anima 
 unclosed her eyes and gazed around -svith the 
 look of restored understanding. Forgetful of 
 all that had passed since the day she left An- 
 grogna, she called in tremulous accents on 
 Marie Arnaud, and looking for a reply, perceived 
 all strange around her. 
 
 A sweet, low voice, by her side, bade her be still 
 and fear nothing, for that Marie would ere long
 
 54 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 be "with lier; and tlius from day to day tliey 
 deceived her into a hope that her early friends 
 would come. But this deception could not 
 long be continued, and when gradually rising 
 from its childlike weakness, her mind recovered 
 its tone, the reahty of her new position was pain- 
 fully forced upon her by every surrounding cir- 
 cumstance,. But Madame de Saony possessed tact 
 in an eminent de2;ree, and ^vith a strono; interest in 
 the object of success, she unremittingly bent every 
 faculty to the pm'pose of weaning her niece 
 from the memory of early associations. Every 
 thing in the Chateau de Saony, formed a con- 
 trast to the former experience of Anima's Hfe. 
 
 Poverty had deprived the inhabitants of An- 
 grogna of every luxury. Learnmg Avas entirely 
 confined to the pastor's fireside, and the plainest 
 habits characterized their fare and clothino;. 
 Cheerful and happy, because ever actively cm- 
 ployed, they desired no artificial stimulus to 
 gaiety. Simple in their wants and sufficient to 
 supply these to themselves, they were assisted, 
 but not served.
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 55 
 
 Strange, tlierefore, to Anima, appeared the 
 whole routine of her new existence. 
 
 The simple apartment which she and Marie 
 Arnaud had shared, furnished in the simplest 
 manner, and owning no ornament but the glo- 
 rious prospect the window discovered of a land- 
 scape, where nature revelled in beauty, where 
 on stupendous mountains, wild rocks, and 
 tumbhng waterfalls, the divine wisdom was 
 marked, who had consecrated the Avhole to the 
 protection of a persecuted flock — the uncur- 
 tained couch wliich for years had pillowed her 
 head in placid sleep, unbroken by fevered 
 dreams or haunting cares; hoW different was it 
 ail, from the spacious apartment she now occupied, 
 with its polished floors, its crimson draperies, and 
 gilded lamps, whose light burst in gloomy con- 
 trast with the pale moonbeams she had loved to 
 gaze on, streaming from the spangled sky — a 
 numerous body of attendants, anticipating the 
 slightest wish and waiting to administer neces- 
 saries till now unheard of! 
 
 All this Avearied and distressed her ; and with a
 
 56 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 perplexed mind she ever watched, with anxious 
 and still deluded hope, the opening door which 
 still admitted no form she yearned to see. And 
 when Madame de Saony, in kind comphance 
 with her request, banished these strange faces, 
 and imdertook to unite in herself the offices of 
 nurse, physician, and friend, she made the first 
 step in winning her niece's affections, although 
 ignorant of the helplessness of a fine lady; 
 Anima could not estimate the extent of the self- 
 denial. Nor was the aunt less assiduous, in her 
 efforts to enliven the tedious hours of returning 
 health, by varied entertainments. But after the 
 time had passed when the helplessness of the 
 invalid required actual exertion, the task of 
 attending upon her began to lose its pleasures. 
 
 Uninfluenced by deep religious feehng, Ma- 
 dame de Saony had deprecated the bigotry with 
 which her father had clung to the Romish church, 
 without seeking to instruct herself in a purer 
 faith ; while the hypocrisy of the wily priests, who 
 surrounded her remaining sister, rendered her 
 vocation contemptible in her eyes. For a time
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 57 
 
 she had tried to dissuade her from its pursuit ; 
 but her arguments were unavaihng, because they 
 sprung from the conviction of the judgment, 
 not of the heart, and Giovanna di Castehizzo, in. 
 spite of her remonstrances, became the head of a 
 flourishing convent remarkable for the rigid 
 observance of monastic rules. 
 
 Meanwhile the Baronne de Saony, having mar- 
 ried a man of influence and hio-h distinction, fol- 
 lowed him to Paris, then the most biilliant court of 
 Europe, and there the difference of their pursuits 
 soon effaced the link of nature's planting in the 
 sister's breasts. In the few visits she paid to the 
 convent of La Vierge, which was not very distant 
 from the capital, the dupHcity and sopliistry she 
 detected, increased her disgust at Giovanna's pro- 
 fession, and her regrets that her father should 
 have chosen it as the destination of her favourite 
 sister's offspring. 
 
 Only in one instance had she overcome her 
 contempt for tlie wiUing votaries of a life, which 
 seemed to her in utter variance with the real pur- 
 pose of their creation; and then, pity for the ob- 
 
 D 3
 
 58 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 ject, and respect for tlie sincerity of her repent- 
 ance, liad forced lier approbation. 
 
 Partaking of tlie gaiety of Louis tlic 14tli's 
 court, and Herself one of the prominent actors in 
 its scenes, lladame de Saony had known, inti- 
 mately, tlic mclanclioly La Valliere. She had 
 wondered at, and mourned over the infatua- ' 
 tion, wloich first led her to sacrifice principle and 
 self-respect to the monarch, who, soon trans- 
 ferred his affections to a briUiant and ostenta- 
 tious rival, and afterwards led her to endure 
 the torture of seeing those attentions, wliich 
 had been hers, lavished on another, rather 
 than exclude him from her sight. Reflection, 
 however, taught her the justness of her punish- 
 ment, and humility, at length triumphing over the 
 violence of passion, bade her seek refuge in those 
 walls, where the history of a world, whose gaiety 
 had become bitterness to her, would not penetrate, 
 and where the tears of penitence might flow un- 
 disturbed, and wash, though they could not efface, 
 the dark stain on lier soul. 
 
 The youth, the beauty, and still more the deep
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 59 
 
 dejection of this sad votary of the cloister, awoke, 
 in an unparalleled degree, the attention of a court 
 devoted to profligacy; and for a moment they 
 seemed to arrest its career of licentiousness, asto- 
 nished into admittinsf the G;reatness of a sin that 
 could demand such an atonement. The involun- 
 tary exclamation of regret wliich rang through the 
 wondering multitude, who thronged the convent 
 of Les Soeurs de la ]Missricorde, as the woman 
 wlio had possessed the vanities of this life to its 
 utmost extent, willingly exchanged them for 
 the dark garb and gloomy existence of a peni- 
 tent sinner, resounded to the chambers of the 
 palace. A pang of remorse seized on the mo- 
 narch's heart, even in the presence of the beau- 
 tiful Athenais de Montespan, and hastened her 
 fall from the elevation where she astonished Paris 
 and its fastidious courtiers with the magnificence 
 she displayed. 
 
 Never was a woman better calculated than Mon- 
 tespan for the equivocal situation to wliich her ' ' bad 
 ambition" had lifted her. Her beauty, assisted by 
 the sparkling brilliancy of her wit, enabled her to
 
 60 THE PASTOR chief; on, 
 
 sliine alike in public and in private society ; and tlie 
 festal crowds who thronged the apartments of 
 Versailles were no less fascinated by her dazzHng 
 powers, than the monarch himself was (during the 
 hours he trifled away in her boudoir) by her 
 varied talents. 
 
 Haughty, yet attractive, and of a generous 
 temper; even those who blamed her hfe, or 
 smarted beneath the sallies of her wit, were drawn 
 as by a magic wand within her circle; and no 
 one could then have anticipated the change that 
 was to succeed the light and festive tone of so- 
 cietv of which she was the arbitress. 
 
 A participator in its amusements, Madame 
 de Saony had noted the various actors of the 
 scene with silent attention; she had grieved over the 
 sins, and pitied the sorrows of La Valliere; had 
 witnessed with many, the ambitious career of 
 Montcspan, and her sudden fall. But, unlike 
 them, she marvelled not at the successor who re- 
 placed them, for she understood the versatile 
 character of the king, and well knew that he 
 needed a refuge from the passions and the con-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 61 
 
 flictlng sentiments that divided his heart; and in 
 the cahn decision of Madame de Maintenon, her 
 bigoted devotion and poHtical powers, she beheld 
 the master mind he had not found in the weak 
 and inanimate disposition of liis Spanish consort, 
 who had ended her mournful and monotonous 
 existence unrc2;retted and unmissed — her last mo- 
 ments being soothed and tended by one, who pos- 
 sessed the empire she ought to have held, over the 
 monarch's heart. 
 
 It was at the moment of the new favourite's 
 sudden elevation, and when all eyes were directed 
 to the novelty of a monarch's advances being 
 xejected by a woman of inferior station, that 
 the Baron de Saony died, and his widow re- 
 tired to her chateau in Languedoc, to conse- 
 crate to his memory the hours of solitude and 
 regret. 
 
 After a time, however, the Avish arose to re- 
 sume a life more congenial to her taste; and just 
 at the moment when the opportunity occurred of 
 fulfilling her father's wishes with regard to
 
 62 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 Anima, slic was thinking of returning to tlie 
 capital. 
 
 The arrival of her niece and her subse- 
 quent illness delayed these intentions; but in the 
 duties demanded by her new charge, and the 
 attachment she felt towards her, the desire of 
 her heart, for the constant companionship of 
 a child, had been at last gratified. As her 
 affections warmed towards this new object 
 with a tender compassion, she revolted against 
 the cruel wish of her father to immure 
 the youth and beauty of his grandchild in 
 a convent; and hoping to overcome the scruples 
 ^ of a young mind, against which the force of 
 every habit in the new leaf of her existence 
 would mihtate, determined to carry her to Paris, 
 where she behoved a brilKant marriage with a 
 Roman Catholic would be as likely to atone for 
 her mother's error, as the endless Ave Marias and 
 Paternosters, which she must otherwise spend her 
 life in repeating, under the tutelage of the lady 
 abbess of La Vierge Sainte.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 63 
 
 ISIadame de Saony Had long wished slie could 
 have inti'oduced a daughter to the vanities of 
 a world she so dearly loved; and though she 
 knew the brilHancy of the court of Louis had 
 passed away with the reign of Montespan, and 
 that its wUd frivoHties were exchanged for more 
 sober amusements, its gorgeous tilts and tourna- 
 ments for pompous processions and rchgious ce- 
 remonies, imder the bigoted but talented woman, 
 who was supposed now to fill the place of the de- 
 ceased queen, enough yet remained to satisfy the 
 utmost cravings for amusement. 
 
 Gaiety, though sobered, still existed, but 
 deprived of its licentious character; and but for 
 the dark hue which pohtical affairs had assumed, 
 and which made even the most thoughtless pause, 
 a city possessing such rare ornaments as a Sevigne's 
 grace and talents, and a Racine to pour forth 
 " the full tide of song" in celebration of the 
 noblest and most stirring subjects, could not be 
 wanting in attraction. It was with impatience, there- 
 fore, that Madame de Saony aAvaited lier niece's 
 convalescence, to introduce herto the court where
 
 64 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 she was sure of a cordial welcome, both from the 
 king, who had greatly esteemed her late husband, 
 and from her who now shared liis throne, and to 
 whom as Scarron's indigent widow she had had 
 the power of offering some trifling services — a 
 power wliich never was neglected on the one side, 
 nor forgotten on the other. 
 
 Proud of the beauty of her charge, but dis- 
 turbed by the necessity of introducing her to the 
 Abbess, from whose convent she was determined 
 to rescue her, many an embryo scheme passed 
 through Madame de Saony'smind and sunk again, 
 crushed by dread of her sister's power. 
 
 Aware, however, of the influence she had al- 
 ready gained over Anima's feelings, and justly 
 estimating the effects of a gay and splendid court 
 on a young and not powerful mind, she resolved 
 to delay her visit to Les Soeurs de la Vierge 
 Sainte, till vanity or love should have raised an 
 insurmountable obstacle to voluntarily taking the 
 vows of a cloister. 
 
 She hoped to triumph soon over her niece's 
 protestant persuasion ; but too wise to attempt it
 
 THE ESC^iPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 65 
 
 by opposition, she never even broaclied the sub- 
 ject ; or if by chance it was aUudccl to, the cold 
 expression of contempt, checked all confidence 
 from Anima: and watching her character mth 
 attentive interest, Madame de Saony did not de- 
 tect any passion there, strong enough to overcome 
 the temptations of vanity, pomp, and adulation. 
 
 All, therefore, united to faciUtate her scheme ; 
 and in the long dreary evenings of autumn, 
 when Anima's imai^ination had been excited 
 by tales of vanity or passion, her aunt, by 
 splendid descriptions of all she had witnessed 
 in the courts of kings, dressed in the pomp 
 and circumstance of life, awakened her cvu'iosity 
 to behold the scene in which they had been acted ; 
 and she too, now longed to go to Paris.
 
 6Q THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 t 
 
 " Anima," said Madame de Saony, as slie set- 
 tled liersclf in a luxurious fauteuil, in an apart- 
 ment crowded with those many articles of use- 
 less furniture and grotesque porcelains wliicli 
 generally adorned a lady's Parisian boudoir in the 
 seventeenth century, "Anima, how do you like 
 Paris? Is not my hotel, with its graceful di'ape- 
 ries and resplendent mirrors, liir more cheerful 
 than tliose gloomy halls in Langucdoc, with my 
 ancestors frowning from the walls, and the wind 
 howling through the long passages, and behind 
 the heavy hangings of arras, as if to reproach me 
 for disturbing their solitude? Here, at least we
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 67 
 
 shall fear no gliosts, not even those of departed 
 days?" 
 
 Anima sighed ; and the sigh was echoed from 
 the deep embrasiu'e of the window where she 
 stood gazing on the scene below, and which, 
 as the evening drew on, and every figure re- 
 treated from the streets, was dreary enough. 
 
 " Anima," resumed Madame de Saony, play- 
 fully, " I will not have you sigh; no one sighs 
 in Paris, and least of all should you, with youth 
 and beauty ever present, and novelty and amuse- 
 ment to guide the future. The rich heiress of 
 CastclluzzOjto say nothing of De Saony, will com- 
 mand attention here. Cheer up, for you have 
 cause ; but forty-eight hom's in Paris, and abeady 
 an obhirinf' note from the arbitress of its fa- 
 
 o o 
 
 sliions, and a permission to kis^ its monarch's 
 hand, is flattering enough to elate your spirits. 
 But tell mo, how do you like Paris?" 
 
 "But little;" was the answer, " these never- 
 ending walls exclude the fresh air, and shut out 
 the joyous sun. I think of my mountain home, 
 where the spirit and the form alike arc free ; and
 
 68 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 my lieart sinks. But say, dearest aimt," she con- 
 tinued with a tone of deep earnestness, " liave 
 you heard, know you aught of Angrogna?" 
 
 Startled at her own boldness in thus broaching the 
 forbidden theme, and overcome at the recol- 
 lections her words had conjured up of other days, 
 and of the changes which twelve short months had 
 wrought, Anima turned to her aunt, and lean- 
 ing her head against her shoulder, burst into 
 tears. 
 
 "What can this mean, dearest Anima?" ex- 
 claimed the Baronne; "you may regret the 
 friends you have left, but remember you have 
 exchanged them for nearer and dearer ties. The 
 pastor of Angrogna may have been kind, but 
 his affection could not equal that of a relation. 
 Besides, your country as you call it, is but the 
 funeral pyre of what it once was; and even had 
 your father lived, he never would have immiured 
 you amidst its barbarous customs and gloomy 
 rocks. With mc you have a mother's fondness in 
 private, and in pubhc the appreciation of merits, 
 which even had they burst into hght, in your sc-
 
 THE ESC^\TE OF THE VAUDOIS. 69 
 
 elusion could never have been duly estimated. Be- 
 lieve me, dear Anima, no desert is like that of a 
 hfc spent with uncongenial minds; and could 
 you now see your native valleys, tears, not 
 smiles, would shine on this pretty face." 
 . But Anima could not thus be evaded, and 
 with unabated emotion, she continued, " Tell me, 
 oh tell me ! are there no news from Piedmont ? 
 Were their fears unfoimded?" — She could not 
 mention the names of those she felt were despised. 
 
 " Dearest! I hear but little of these things; had 
 aught that was important occurred in the valleys 
 of these foohsli Vaudois, we must have heard; 
 but by this time they may have probably sub- 
 mitted to reason, and to the Duke of Savoy." 
 
 " Submitted ! no, they will never submit !" 
 exclaimed Anima. 
 
 " So much the worse for them," coolly replied 
 the aunt; " but the days have passed away when 
 men absurdly dro-svned their families in blood, in 
 defence of their faith, as they called it, and these 
 sectarians will be wise in proportion as the arms 
 of France are powerful."
 
 70 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 This reasoning was too cold for Anima, and 
 Avitli the energy of former days she answered, 
 "It may be romance; but that is noble romance 
 which renders danger preferable to dishonour, and 
 the claims of religion superior to those of despotism." 
 
 "Religion !" rejoined Madame de Saony; "yes, 
 if you call obstinacy and rebellion religion; but 
 politics and polemics, my Anima, arc alike un- 
 graceful topics for female discourse, and so let 
 us dismiss the uninteresting subject. I have a 
 thousand important things to discuss; and first 
 of all, your dress for to-morrow's court, so come 
 and let us begin." 
 
 Seated beside each other, the aunt and niece, 
 soon busied in the arcana of brocades and satins, 
 coiffures a la Mancini and corsages a la Grignau, 
 forgot their cares ; the one delighted to find she 
 could thus easily dispel her foes, the other 
 amused into forgetfulness of the past. 
 
 From this deeply interesting pursuit they 
 were disturbed by footsteps in the antechamber, 
 and the voice of the Seneschal announcing a 
 visiter, scared Anima from the apartment.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS . 71 
 
 The individual who entered was short in 
 stature and perfectly proportioned ; his counte- 
 nance was stern and haughty, and indicated a 
 talented and thoughtful mind. It was Michel 
 le TelHer, comtc de Louvois, the successor of 
 Colbert and Seignelai, under whose administra- 
 tion France had reached such an unparalleled 
 height of prosperity. He had arrived at the 
 helm of government at the moment it most re- 
 quired an able pilot, when the difficulty of 
 steering the vessel was increased by the female 
 interference, which all saw that it was destined 
 to receive at the hands of Madame de Main- 
 tenon. 
 
 As soon as the first feelings with which Ma- 
 dame Saony met the friend of her husband and 
 of brighter days had subsided, she anxiously 
 inquired into the actual state of Paris. 
 
 "What," she began, "is the chief object of 
 interest, and who is to be the next cynosure of 
 admiring eyes, now that Montcspan has betaken 
 herself to devotion, and her daughter to matri- 
 mony and a private Hfe? Paris serious, seems
 
 72 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 a paradox unlikely to continue ; but I hear Ma- 
 dame dc IMaintenon will have it so, and as that 
 must shorten her reign, who is the rising sun 
 that Louis adores? for between us, Le Tellier, his 
 devotion will require warmer rays to kindle its 
 ■ fire than her lectures orBossuet's orations." 
 
 " That sun," replied Louvois, " has sunk with 
 Montespan never to rise again ; but the fire which 
 her wit and Valhere's beauty could not main- 
 tain, burns steadily, fanned by bigotry and 
 superstition." 
 
 " Has then Scarron's widow transferred her 
 guidance from Louis's children to Louis himself?'' 
 
 "Guide!" retorted the minister; "she rules, 
 she reigns over him, "svith the tyranny of a mas- 
 ter mind." 
 
 " But it was always so with Louis's mistresses in 
 their first favour." 
 
 "Mistress!" exclaimed Louvois; " but this is 
 his wife !" 
 
 " Impossible !" cried Madame dc Saony; 
 " she, the indigent widow of the despised 
 Scarron, the governess of Montespan's illcgiti-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 73 
 
 mate ofFspring; she, to share the throne of 
 France, to be its monarch's bride? Louvois, you 
 invent these tales to astonish and deceive my 
 provincial ears." 
 
 " Woidd it were so, most excellent Baronne, 
 but if you remain here, you Avill soon believe in 
 the rumour which is the city's hom-ly tale." 
 
 " But had the king no friend to withhold him 
 from such madness? where was Bossuct? where the 
 Bavarian dauphiness whose influence once was 
 great, and whose proud character must have 
 detected the impropriety of such an alhance? 
 and yourself Louvois, could not you interfere?" 
 
 " Madam, there Avas no lack of remonstrance, 
 but the will of Louis is not so easily controlled, 
 and all that he would concede, was that the mar- 
 riage should be private. Yet is it well known 
 that it was solemnized ten days ago, under the 
 auspices of our Archbishop Harlai, and witnessed 
 by valets and hirelings." 
 
 " But how could Maintenon induce so proud 
 a king to forget what is due to his own dignity 
 and that of France." 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 THE PASTOr. CHIEF; OE, 
 
 " IMadam, she pursiiaclcd him that the only 
 avaihng penance for his former folUes, was a 
 union in his mature age with an immaculate 
 widow of fifty." 
 
 " And how is the court?" 
 "Dull enough; the Bavarian princess weeps 
 for the loss of her pin-money, and the change of 
 her rehgion. Mademoiselle de Montpensier 
 sighs for the faithless Lauzun, and the proud 
 arbitress of all, prays in her antechamber, or 
 preaches at St. Cyr." 
 
 " And politics?" asked Madame de Saony. 
 " Monopohzed by one female ear, it would ill 
 become mc to di^ailgc them to another; but the 
 horizon is dark also in that quarter, and only for 
 the miracles that Catinat relates from the mountains 
 of Piedmont, their page would be a blank. But 
 come to Versailles, and see what we are doing. 
 Wliois the lovely girl who fled as I entered?" 
 
 " An Italian niece whose romantic history 
 you may have heard. I have rescued her from 
 the Vaudois valleys to share the advantages of 
 Parisian society."
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 75 
 
 " Ah ! but Baronne you must keep licr origin 
 a secret. The Vaudois are detested here, and in- 
 deed it -were best they should be exterminated; 
 for troublesome and fanatical as they are, they 
 have presented unheard-of obstacles in those 
 Piedmontese valleys. But I must hasten hence 
 to fulfd many duties tliis evening, and prepare 
 for tlie necessity of appearing first in the morn- 
 ing levte of our roturiere queen." 
 
 "Zeyee/ keeps she such regal ceremony ?'' 
 
 "Ay! her antechamber is thronged with 
 the beggars and indigent priests of the Boule- 
 vards, and not content Avith these, the presence 
 of the great must feed her vanity. Adieu, 
 chamainc; Baronne, and remember that to-mor- 
 row I must see this fair savage, who is to asto- 
 nish Versailles, and change her country and her 
 faith for the charms of our court." 
 
 Dismissing the carria2:c and attendants which 
 awaited him in the j)orticre of Madame de Saony's 
 hotel, Louvois pursued his way Avith hurried 
 step and fro-wming brow to his own princely 
 mansion. The damp night-air cooled not his 
 
 £ 2
 
 76 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 feverish clieek, and ■when at length he reached 
 his own apartments, and could give vent to the 
 bitterness which his conversation with Madame de 
 Saony had roused, he exclaimed — 
 
 "Yes! destiny has crowned my amhitious 
 desires, placing me on the pinnacle I have so 
 ardently desired to chmb: wealth, rank, adu- 
 lation are mine, and I might add the wor- 
 ship of the crowd, and the undivided favours of 
 the king, hut for a woman! a weak, bigoted 
 woman ! and shall Louvois quail before this ? 
 No, even she shall ere long cringe at my feet, 
 imploring me to avert her foil from the rash 
 elevation she has attained. Yet, what can shake 
 the firm foundation on which she has erected 
 her power? The love of money, that snare to 
 most, has no influence oA'cr her. Pride of 
 station is as foreign to her character as personal 
 vanity is unbefitting her age. Look where I 
 will I sec no flaw by Avhich to imdcrrainc the 
 fortress that stands in the path of my ambi- 
 tion." 
 
 The minister covered liis face, as if to hide
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 77 
 
 the demoniacal expression -which reigned there. 
 At length he resumed his soHIoquy in an under 
 tone — 
 
 "Yes! there is one way to her destruction. 
 Crime! — which La Brinvilhers bitterly expiated, 
 Tvhy didst thou attract the eye of the multitude 
 to thy horrors? Thou that snatchedst the love- 
 liest and kindest princess that ever drew breath, 
 from the court she adorned and the friends who 
 loved her, to consign her' to a soHtary grave, 
 where is thy power, that thou shoiddst not hurl 
 from her pomp, an aged and hypocritical woman, 
 whose influence over the mind of her monarch 
 will destroy the prosperity of France and the 
 elevation of the only man who can protect it?" 
 
 He paused, and as he precipitately paced th 
 apartment, large drops stood on tlie minister's 
 brow, at length the accents burst forth. "Away 
 cursed devil ! tliat could whisper such thoughts 
 in the heart of Louvois; tine midni<>;ht coward's 
 crime is not for him ; and thou must Hve, hated 
 being, sooner than so dark a deed should stain 
 my fame. Louis! did not I Ijcsecch thee, kneel
 
 78 
 
 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 to thee, bid thee listen to the voice of reason, ere 
 thou calleclst her to thy bed and thy councils; — 
 did not I try to impeach her character and her 
 talents ? and yet thou wouldst take her to thy 
 bosom, wouldst pour into her ear the weak 
 repentance for thy licentious foUies, and receive 
 absolution from her lips, in the drawhng accents 
 of her hypocritical faith, and make her the arbi- 
 tress of thy politics, the judge of thy actions, 
 and of thy ministers." 
 
 His tone changed as he added, " Louis! 
 thou who couldst consign to the horrors of a wi- 
 thering and perpetual confinement, the friend thou 
 didst confide in, for lifting the eyes of admira- 
 tion on thy mistress, how wult thou repay the 
 man who has dared to question the merits of thy 
 wife? Wretched woman! thou or I must fliU. 
 and I must devise the means by which thou shalt 
 be the victim." So saying, Louvois ceased from 
 his perambidation, and the thoughts too deep for 
 utterance were manifested but by the restless play 
 of liis features. Then starting from his iautcuil, 
 he exclaimed —
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 79 
 
 *' Fran^oise Scarron and "would-be Queen of ''' 
 
 France ! I liave tlicc in my grasp, and not all thy 
 struggles shall free thee. Thy vices could not 
 hurt thee, but thy virtues shall; and the heart 
 that once beat with Calvinistic devotion shall 
 throb with compassion for a sect damned in the 
 eyes of Louis. Miserable Protestants! ye shall 
 suffer to satisfy my revenge ; yet I must cautiously 
 dissunulate, and unseen direct the vast power of 
 the intricate maclihiery, whose lesser wheels shall 
 bear the odium." 
 
 The advancing hour now remmded the mi- 
 nister of duties that must be attended to, and with- 
 draAving liis mind by a strong effort from the 
 subject which had engrossed it, he apphcd him- 
 self to the dry study of financial statements to be 
 submitted on the morrow to the king's consi- 
 deration. 
 
 At length he sought repose, but the indistinct 
 miu-murs which repeatedly broke from hishps, evin- 
 ced the feverish dreams under wliich he laboured. 
 It was with the haggard look of sleeplessness that 
 Louvois prepared on the morrow to attend the as-
 
 80 THE I'ASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 sembly which tlu'onged the antechamber, through 
 which Louis and Madame de Maintenon passed, 
 to hsten to the debates in council, at wliich he 
 insisted on her presence. Far different was the 
 scene now from that its walls had witnessed but 
 a few months before. The ostentatious display 
 of a vain magnificence was gone, and with it the 
 punctilious etiquette demanded by the insignifi- 
 cant queen of Louis. The brilliant exhibition of 
 wit and beauty, where talent, alas ! joined with 
 licentiousness to enthral the fancy and mislead 
 •the judgment, had ahke given place to the dul- 
 ness of the mornincf rendezvous, where the sole 
 object of the silent circle was to pay the tribute 
 of respect to the monarch, and satisfy their cu- 
 riosity respecting his companion. No less differ- 
 ent Avas the appearance of the anteroom. There, 
 where poets and courtiers had vied in adulation, 
 and pages and men-at-arms had glittered in fes- 
 tive or military attire, a body of priests, whose 
 dark dresses contrasted with the rich hangimrs, 
 or a few shabby and sad-looking figures with 
 poverty discernible in their faces, and with peti-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 81 
 
 tions in tlicir hands, now filled the apartment; 
 with the exception only of some minister whose 
 duty required attendance, or some needy appli- 
 cant for place, whose desire for emolument over- 
 came his disgust at the motley assembly around. 
 
 It was amongst these, tliat Louvois with a proud 
 and impatient air urged his way, gazing with un- 
 disguised contempt on the crowd, and stationed 
 himself at the furthest end of the room, beside the 
 door, whose opening was awaited with so many 
 anxious looks. 
 
 Leaning with his back against the wall, and his 
 arms folded upon his breast, the haughty minister 
 deigned not to acknowledge the presence of any 
 there, 'till his attention was arrested by the arrival 
 of one whose dress denoted his hi<]jh station in the 
 church. Rustling in the dignity of archiepiscopal 
 robes, short and corpulent in person, the new 
 comer took his place beside Louvois, who thus 
 addressed liim : 
 
 *' May I ask, most reverend prelate, what brings 
 you to this varied assembly, whom it pleases our 
 
 E 3
 
 82 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 new mistress to gaze on, as mementoes, I suppose, 
 of former days?" 
 
 " It is the business of the church. Count, and the 
 reports of certain mifitting innovations at St. Cyr, 
 which require early and immediate attention.'^ 
 
 " Ah !" said Louvois, " does she encom-age 
 apostacy from the church in a royal estabhsh- 
 ment?" 
 
 " Nay, not encourage, but she overlooks the 
 folly of suffering a vain and almost insane Avoman 
 to pervert the minds of her pupils by her pre- 
 tended prophecies and absurd ravings. Have 
 you not heard of the ynld opinions of the cele- 
 brated IMadame Guyon, Avho has imposed on La 
 Maintenon's strong mind, and captivated the va- 
 cillating Fenelon by her beauty and eloquence ?" 
 
 " No," said Louvois; " Avhat you tell me is 
 new, the disputes of the Janscnists and the rebel- 
 Hon of the Calvinists have been enough without 
 entering into the absurdities of new fanatics." 
 
 " The former," rejoined Harlai, " arc too in- 
 significant, but the latter are becoming seditious,
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 83 
 
 and require to be subdued by vigorous measures, 
 as their opinions arc daily gaining converts in 
 Germany and Poland." 
 
 *•' And quelled they shall be ! — the hated sect 
 whose rebeUion is intolerable at court, and whose 
 austere morahty is obnoxious in the eyes of 
 Rome !" added Louvois with a sneer. 
 
 " Yes !" rephed Harlai, " but they are powerful 
 and demand care. I am told that their resistance 
 in Piedmont has been surprising, and force has been 
 unavaihng to diive them from their fastnesses." 
 
 " What says Pere la Chaise to their doctrines?" 
 asked Louvois. 
 
 " He blames them; but being inclined- himself 
 to favoiu- dissent, and having defended the Janse- 
 nists he is wisely silent." 
 
 " Ah! he too dissentient; why, he is the 
 bosom friend and ad\nscr of both monarch and 
 mistress." 
 
 " Call her not by that ofTcnsive name, Lou- 
 vois; respect the sanctity of my vocation, which 
 forbids these earthly frailties. Truly we may 
 thank the confessor who induced our king to lay
 
 84 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 aside follies which were an offence to the holy 
 church of which" — 
 
 " Thou art so immaculate a support, most 
 reverend archbishop,"" interrupted Louvois, sar- 
 castically. 
 
 " Nay, my son, I have not been exempt from 
 the weakness of human nature, but — " 
 
 " Thou art desirous that others should be so; 
 and thinkest an old and jealous wife will be our 
 monarch's safeguard. But beware, beware Harlai, 
 the ambitious and sclf-rightous wife of Louis 
 may be more dangerous than the weak and erring- 
 mistress who might be guided by her confessor !" 
 At these words the folding-doors of the ante- 
 chamber were thrown open, and all eyes were 
 turned towards the female form which entered, 
 leanincf on the monarch's arm. Her fifjure was set 
 off to the utmost advantage by a tight dress of 
 leaf-coloured satin, the train of which swept the 
 floor in c'raceful folds, and added to the heiivht 
 which already exceeded the usual standard; the 
 only ornament was a resplendent brooch, which con- 
 fined the dress where the swan-like neck arose in
 
 THE ESCAPE or THE VAUDOIS. 85 
 
 elegant proportion. Her hair, braided on tlieliigli 
 forehead, which bore the impress of noble thoughts, 
 and fastened in a dark, luxuriant knot at the back 
 of the head, contrasted with the extreme pallour 
 of the countenance, which, but for the regularit}' 
 of feature and beauty of expression, would have 
 made one regret the loss of its pristine freshness. 
 
 With a composed demeanour and ahnost regal 
 arriage, INIadame de ]\Iaintenon entered the apart- 
 ment, her quick eye at a glance discerning its various 
 occupants. Courtesying to the Archbishop of 
 Paris, init dignified even in her submission, she 
 received his comphments, and promised an early 
 audience. 
 
 Then acknowledging the presence of his com- 
 panion by a severe look, which seemed to pierce 
 his inmost thoughts, she advanced into the crowd 
 that awaited her at the lower end of the room; 
 and there lier commanding expression yielding to 
 the softer one of compassion, she received the 
 multitude of petitions forced into her hands, and 
 with kind looks of encouraircment cousimed them 
 to an attendant page. She then passed on, the
 
 86 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 blessings of tlie poor and tlie prayers of tlic humble, 
 sootliing tlic bitter feelings excited by the view 
 of the proud and curious courtiers, whose scorn 
 she well knew was pointed at her; and as the door 
 of the state apartment closed on her retreating 
 figure, no disapproving murmur disturbed the cla- 
 morous applause which burst from the Hps of the 
 sorrowful and forlorn, who felt they had found in 
 her a hnk betw*een their hard lot and the impa- 
 rallcled luxuries of the great. 
 
 Tlie crowd dispersed, the poorer class return- 
 ing pleased and soothed to their gloomy dwell- 
 ings, and the proud minions of prosperity fol- 
 lowing their monarch to the ceremonious meeting 
 of the next apartment. 
 
 Concealing the asperity of his thoughts beneath 
 a bland but still sarcastic smile, Louvois joined 
 the courtiers, who tlironged on Louis's steps, and 
 bit liis Hps with vexation at the sounds of appro- 
 bation wliicli smote his ear.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUrOIS. 87 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The scene wliicli tlic presence-chamber pre- 
 sented, was singular enough. A court without a 
 queen; a queen without a coiu't. Yet there she 
 sat: in manners and appearance more majestic 
 than any of the royal dames who ever yet re- 
 ceived homage in that gorgeous apartment; 
 making dignity more dignified by the simplicity 
 of her manners, and honouring rather than re- 
 ceiving honoiu' from the station she occupied. 
 Tlic monarch, as affable in private Hfe as he was 
 magnificent in his public career, and with a manner 
 improved into seriousness by the late change in his 
 habits, stood near her ; and beside him, liis liivourite
 
 88 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 sister-in-law, Christina, the Bavarian clauphincss, 
 whose amiahihty and talents had overcome the 
 antipathy Louis generally testified for awkward- 
 ness of demeanour andcorpulency of person, which 
 in her verged upon grossness. 
 
 On the present occasion, alarmed at the ascend- 
 ancy which Madame de Maintenon was hourly 
 gaining, and jealous of the contrast afforded 
 by her quiet deportment, the dauphiness was 
 feverishly anxious to regain the favour which 
 she fancied she had lost; and mindful of the suc- 
 cess which had attended Montcspairs brilliant 
 salhes and pointed sarcasms, she forgot, in the 
 imitation, the ever ready bait which accompanied 
 them ; and bent on amusing the monarch, she aimed 
 at random the shafts of her ridicule, rendered 
 more bitter by her aversion, at the various par- 
 tics who now began to arrive. 
 
 " Behold, sire," she said, " the Duchess of 
 Richeheu, like a Dauphine Alp that has donned 
 an additional shade of blue, come to visit your 
 Majesty, but has forgotten to thaw beneath the 
 rays of your glory."
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 89 
 
 The monarch smiled; and dehghted at tho 
 smile, the princess continued. 
 
 " See, here is Racine, come from his musty 
 papers to make Assyrian kings and queens of us 
 all, and we shall fif^ure as Vashti and Aliasuerus 
 in the next representation," said she, casting a 
 glance at the proud features of Lladame de Main- 
 tenon, who stood conversing with the poet. 
 
 "There, at least, he Avill be appreciated; La 
 Marquise understands his corps de thtdtrer 
 
 The king felt the allusion to the memory of 
 Scarron, and a flush passed over his countenance, 
 but it was unobserved by the lady, and she ran on. 
 
 " Ah, here is the Duchcsse de Chevreuse; per- 
 haps your Majesty has not heard that during her 
 residence within the walls of St. Cyr, she has im- 
 bibed all of quietism but the manner. But pre- 
 serve me from the brandishing sword and pow- 
 dowcrcd peruke of her companion. Colonel dAu- 
 bignc, whose head has been so turned by his 
 lister's elevation, tliut he has Ibrgotten the very 
 position nature placed it in during Scarron's life- 
 time."
 
 90 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 Tliis pointed and ill-timed ■witticism was beyond 
 Louis' endurance, and in a severe tone he liinted 
 at the respect that was due to the brother of his 
 friend; then, too well bred to observe the con- 
 fusion his rebuke excited, the monarch turned to 
 receive the numerous presentations of that morn- 
 ing's levee. 
 
 First among them stood Madame de Saony 
 and her niece, who, be^vildered by the scene 
 around, clung embarrassed to the arm of her aunt. 
 The eyes of Louis rested with pleasure on her grace- 
 ful form, as he welcomed Madame de Saony on her 
 return; and when Anima bent Ioav to kiss the 
 royal hand, he inquired as he raised her, when 
 she arrived at Paris, and from whence. 
 
 The Baronne answering for her niece, said that 
 Mademoiselle de Solara had only lately left Pied- 
 mont, but had hastened to avail herself of the 
 permission to attend his court. 
 
 " Piedmont !" replied the prince, " 'Tis a rude 
 soil to produce so fair a flower, but it is an expi- 
 atory offering surely to our court, and I trust to 
 our holy church?"
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 91 
 
 Anima turned of a marble paleness as her aunt 
 assented, and even declared her voluntary de- 
 parture from her native land, a proof of her con- 
 viction of its follies. Her change of colom- was 
 not unnoticed by Louis, who, determined to crush 
 every symptom of dissent in his court, or least 
 shadow of sectarianism, which he hated, renewed, 
 and with more severity, his questions to herself. 
 Terrified and confused, Anima answered with 
 a blush, and a scarcely audible assent. And as 
 they passed on, conscience reminded her that in 
 that blush and that whisper, she had sacrificed 
 her faith to her Maker, to the fear of her king ! 
 
 Delighted to find that she had correctly esti- 
 mated her niece's character, and convinced that 
 the denial of her religion was her only path to 
 regal favour, IMadamc do Saony advanced, and 
 the scene became every moment more brilhant, 
 and to Anima more bewildering. Bands of 
 music poured forth their exhilarating strains, 
 rich dresses and ghttcring jewels added to tlie 
 gay picture, and Madame do Saony, surrounded 
 by friends of former days, would soon have for-
 
 92 THE PASTOPw CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 gotten in lively conversation, Kcr young charge, 
 but for the frequent encomiums on her beauty. 
 To Anima all seemed a wearying disappoint- 
 ment, one thought alone filled her heart and 
 blinded her observation — the remembrance of that 
 short conference with the king, in wliich she 
 felt she had tacitly abjured her comatry and her 
 faith ! — and greatly was she reheved, when ha\'ing 
 passed through the different rooms and greeted 
 nearly all their visitants, her aunt took her de- 
 parture; and she was released, to seek, m her 
 own apartment, the rest and refuge she so much 
 needed. 
 
 But hers was not the only mind in that throng, 
 writhing imder the constraint of wearing an 
 outward expression, little in unison with the 
 burning fcehngs within, that longed for release; 
 and few could have guessed there was an affi- 
 nity, on such a subject, between her and the 
 haughty minister, who, with c\'ery angry pas- 
 sion boiling in his breast, was also hurrying 
 from the scene Avhere he had with difliculty pre- 
 served an outward calm.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 93 
 
 Excusing liimself from the Baronnc's pressing 
 invitation, Louvois threw himself into his car- 
 riage, and desiring his attendants to convey him 
 speedily to his dwelling, he gave full scope to 
 his anxious meditations. 
 
 " Yes truly, she is lovely, that Yaudoisgirl, and 
 were not Louis reformed, might work miracles 
 in our court. But no ! that cannot he now ; yet she 
 might be one of my tools, her protestant persua- 
 sion and her eloquent eyes might do much to- 
 wards decoying my hated rival into the snare; 
 but it is clear that she is weak. The timid girl 
 whose faith and patriotism can be silenced by a 
 frown from Louis, is no coadjutor for Louvois! 
 There is no way but to persuade the pro- 
 testants of the Boulevards to pour their peti- 
 tions into Maintenon's compassionate cars, which 
 she will easily lend; and then Louis shall hear it, 
 and hurl her with indignation from her eleva- 
 tion. Harlai let out things this morning not to 
 be overlooked ; and little did she think as she so 
 proudly traversed tlie antechamber, that a mine 
 was already laid beneath her feet 1"
 
 94 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 The carriage stopped, and Louvois entering 
 his apartment, gave orders that lie should not be 
 disturljcd. Tlien carefully locking the door, he 
 took from a spacious wardrobe a dark and ample 
 cloak, which, thrown over his other garments, 
 completely disguised liis figure; and placing on 
 liis head a friar's hood which lay in another 
 corner, he gazed on the mirror opposite ; but the 
 expression it reflected, was so opposed to the 
 sacred character of the dress, that he flung it 
 aside, saying "nay, thou wilt not do for me; 
 begone, base counterfeit of virtues, thou rarely 
 coverest; and come, thou more open badge of 
 outward profession," at the same time sub- 
 stituting for the hood, a Spanish hat and plume; 
 and pulling it over his stern features, he 
 took from an escrutoire a bunch of keys, and 
 applying one to an invisible door in the pannel of 
 the wall, let himself out by a private staircase. 
 
 Tlie dusk of evening was darkening every 
 object, and, save where some white walled man- 
 sion stood out in the dulncss of the winter twi- 
 light, a confused prospect was before him.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS, 95 
 
 Louvois tlireaded Ms svaj tliroiigli tlae most 
 deserted quarters, and unlieeding eacli indistinct 
 siglit and sound tliat met his observation, lie tra- 
 versed every narrow court or alley, till he 
 reached a square in the very centre of the Bou- 
 levards, of low and ill-built houses. 
 
 ''Yes," said he to himself, " this surely must 
 be the place, where Ilarlai assured me that Pro- 
 testantism and Jansenism fester, and send out their 
 pestilential vapours to infect the piety of Paris." 
 
 " Reverend Archbishop !" he sarcastically added, 
 " surely thy pious footsteps have Hkewise trodden 
 these narrow courts, to win converts to thy doc- 
 trines, and force souls into apostacy. 'Tis whis- 
 pered, other shrines than those of devotion may 
 here be worsliipped ; and Harlai is surely too de- 
 vout to neglect any act of adoration. I'll enter here — 
 'tis dark and I am alone, but not unarmed ;" and 
 he grasped his dagger as he softly raised the latch 
 of the low door of a wretched looking habitation ; 
 buthearing voices ■within, he paused to Hsten to 
 their conversation. 
 
 By the checkered and uncertain glhnmcr of a
 
 96 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 small lamp, he could just disceni tlie tall and 
 well-sliaped form of a young woman, whose age 
 might be under twenty-five years, and whose 
 beauty, the chief character of which consisted in 
 the loftiness of its expression, was striking, even 
 in the very humble garments which were modestly 
 arranged over her fic^ure. 
 
 Beside her was a man, disguised like himself in 
 a large cloak, but whose profession v/as revealed by 
 the monkish cowl and shaveijhead. In a subdued 
 tone, he appeared to be urging some important 
 request, to which the woman with the voice of in- 
 dio-nation answered — 
 
 " Stop ! bad emissary of a worse villain, back to 
 
 thy master; tell him I had rather sec my poor 
 
 father wing his way to another world worn out 
 
 by misery and famine ; rather myself be shut up 
 
 in an inquisitorial dungeon, than redeem cither at 
 
 the expense of my virtue and my rchgion. Tarry 
 
 not, but begone !" 
 
 " Tush, foolish woman," repHed the figure in 
 
 disguise, " deemest thou not the sacrifice of thy 
 
 poor body, will be acceptable in the sight of the 
 
 Holy Virgin, to her ministers, and — "
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 97 
 
 "Monster!" interrupted she, "I acknowledge 
 not the tenets of your Satanic creed, the doctrines 
 of Antichrist." 
 
 " Weak woman," continued the priest, "hear 
 reason ; knowest thou not my master possesses the 
 royal ear; and dost thou not understand that a 
 word from him may change the destiny of thj 
 peo-ple?" 
 
 " Then," answered she, " in the name of Him, 
 v/hose minister he professes to be, why does he ., 
 not stop the torrent of blood, that cries from the 
 plains of Languedoc, and the mountains of 
 Cevennes, for vengeance on him and his com- 
 peers?" 
 
 " Fair maiden," said the priest, "that bloodshed 
 shall be stopped if thou wilt; and bethink thee, if in- 
 deed the protestant blood can claim a heavenly 
 vengeance, how wilt thou fare, who mightcst have 
 saved a nation ? Give but a favourable hearing to 
 my mission, and Ilarlaidc Chanvallon pledges him- 
 self to redeem thy people, and protect thy father." 
 " Wretch !" she exclaimed; " know that a pro- 
 testant would not purchase preservation at such a 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 price. Wliat is my life here, wliat even my 
 father's in comparison with the Hfe hereafter! 
 Sooner than be at peace with so polluted a church 
 as thine, my people would willingly embrace tor- 
 ture and starvation — Oh welcome death ! to re- 
 lieve us from such a world — " 
 
 She sunk on a stool beside her, and liid her 
 look of despair in her clasped hands. 
 
 The priest drew nigh, and grasping with a firm 
 clutch her delicate wrist, muttered — 
 
 " Be wise and submit, riches, honour, pardon 
 for thyself, thy father, and thy people are tliine. 
 Resist ! and those are at hand who will assist me 
 in forcing thee to obey my master's authority. I 
 give thee yet three minutes to decide ; and then 
 come with me thou must, and, willingly or not, 
 'tis one." 
 
 She struggled not, nor screamed, but with a 
 low and determined voice answered — 
 
 '• Said I not, death were better than dishonour? 
 And could not the willing spirit in a moment free 
 itself from this suffering clay? I despise thee, 
 ruffian, but I fear thee not, for as surely as divine
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 99 
 
 vengeance awaits thy master for this unwarrant- 
 able exertion of power, so will He in answer to 
 my prayer, dehver me from thy violence." — 
 
 " Yes, surely has he sent thee dehvcrance, 
 heroic woman !" cried a voice behind the door, 
 and disembarrassed of his cloak, armed with liis 
 ghttering dagger, Louvois stood between the 
 priest and his prey. 
 
 " Go, villain!" said the minister, " tell thy 
 master the poor and defenceless have a friend he 
 wots not of, to protect them, and defend their 
 cause even to the foot of Louis's throne. Begone, 
 nor attempt to molest me in my path. Those are 
 not wanting, who, should ought befal me, would 
 hunt out the cause, ay, at the end of years, and 
 crush thee hke the worm beneath their foot. 
 Speak not of what thou hast seen, and as thou 
 art •wise in keeping mine and thy master's secret, 
 so will I preserve thine. Trouble me not with 
 words, sir, and if thy master question thee, tell him 
 a bloodhoimd is on liis track whose scent hath 
 never failed." 
 
 Shrinking before the haughty bearing of the 
 
 F 2
 
 100 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 minister, and conscious of his high station, thovigh 
 ignorant of his person, the priest beheld at once 
 the uselessness of reply, and left the apartment. 
 
 " Who and what art thou," cried the girl, 
 " that alone in this city, where crime cries aloud to 
 Heaven, and whose rulers are steeped in vice, 
 preservest thy integrity, and dost respect the adhe- 
 rents to the true faith?" 
 
 By this time Louvois had recovered his usual 
 stern reserve, and with a chilling tone he repHed, 
 " Woman, my name is unimportant; chance 
 led me to tliy ahode, and indignation at yon 
 coward's villainy detained me, scarce expecting 
 to find beneath this roof the meeting-place of the 
 sect to which I perceive thou dost belong; I now 
 ask thee to direct me thither." 
 
 '^ Stranger, ere I involve their security by dis- 
 closing their abode, I must know thy purpose and 
 thy name?" 
 
 " My name, woman? It is in vain to ask mc : 
 suffice it to say, curiosity respecting thy sect, 
 perhaps a desire to benefit it, led me here." 
 
 " Thou wcrt sent to my rescue in the lioiir of
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 101 
 
 danger, and nobly didst thou fulfil thy mission, 
 therefore, I will trust thee; but remember, he 
 "vvho can protect the innocent will also punish the 
 guilty. Promise," she added, " by thy honour, 
 that my disclosure shall not draw down on us 
 the cruel emissaries of thy profligate king, or of 
 his hard-hearted minister." 
 
 " Safely, solemnly I promise," said Louvois. 
 
 " Then," rejoined the maiden, " here, in this 
 wretched hovel, are met the scanty remnant of a 
 true people — the few who remained, when the un- 
 just mandate of the ungodly Louvois di'ovc the 
 sad inhabitants of Languedoc and Cevennes to 
 seek forgetfulness of their miseries in another 
 laud. Here, they unite in close concealment, to 
 glean a scanty and insufficient subsistence ; here , 
 but for the help of one kind heart must they have 
 sunk beneath their miseric;?." 
 
 " Who mean you?" infjuired Louvois, — " Ma- 
 dame Hcrvaud, the rich linancier's wife ?" 
 
 " Yes, truly, she was our benefactress; and 
 doubtless tlie heart which delighted in the works
 
 102 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 of piety and love has found its reward in Para- 
 dise ; and I, wliat am I, that I should linger out 
 my wretched existence here. But I murmur not; 
 the lesson is bitter, bitter indeed at times, but 
 salutary. Scattered arc we, sir, on the face of the 
 earth ; its produce is denied to us, and still our 
 labour, even our virtue, is made a subject of barter 
 and luxury. No voice is lifted in defence of the Pro- 
 testants; but yet we have hope, for our cause is car- 
 ried to a liigh or tribunal — before the Iving of kings. 
 Supported by the sale of our silk works, my father 
 and I obtained a scanty but sufficient support, 
 and though poor, were happy till the unjust Lou- 
 vois persuaded the king to imbrue his hands in 
 blood, and tarnish his character by the revocation 
 of that edict by which liis grandfather had secured 
 our rights. Then came the sad tide of desola- 
 tion — the voice of pity was not heard amid the 
 loud festivities of Louis's palace ; and the groans 
 of the massacred Protestants, the shrieks of their 
 injured Avomen, penetrated not there; but they 
 rose to higher courts, and their echo will yet 
 be heard Avhen the persecutor and the persecuted
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 103 
 
 will alike meet to receive the guerdon of their 
 deeds ! 
 
 " Then it "was, that deprived of our trade and 
 our privileges, some of our sect collected in these 
 dark abodes, tliinking their squalidness would 
 conceal their wretched existence, but the eyes 
 of the charitable penetrated our refuge and re- 
 lieved our misery. She however is gone hence, and 
 none but the emissaries of vice have since visited 
 this last resort. You, sir, have witnessed what a 
 Protestant maiden has been exposed to, and you 
 may judge, if we should not shrink with horror 
 from a church wliich tolerates such sins." 
 
 She stopped, overcome by the recollection of 
 wliat she had gone through, and the breath which 
 struggled with rising sobs, choked and nearly con- 
 vulsed her. 
 
 " Wretched woman !" exclaimed Louvois; " be 
 cahn, be calm; why not abjure arehgion wliicli 
 exposes you to such suffering?" 
 
 " Because death," gasped the maiden, " were 
 better I" 
 
 " Art thou alone in tliis dismal dweUing ?
 
 104 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 is there none to protect thee? thou art too 
 young, too fair for such soHtude as this." 
 
 " My father yet hves, — thanks to Providence ! 
 far he alone knows hoAV long that protection 
 will be spared. Stranger, the air thou breathest 
 is nigh pestilential; a fever, the sad effects of 
 misery and starvation, exerts its power in these 
 crowded alleys, and more merciful than thy 
 monarch, silently and gently summons us from 
 thie scene of injustice." 
 
 Louvois shuddered as he gazed on the deathlike 
 gloom of that small chamber, then said, " And 
 dost thou not fear such a solitude, unbroken but 
 by the presence of a bedridden old man ?" 
 
 "Till to-night, I feared nought; and now that 
 I have been succoured in my need, my fear will 
 turn to confidence in Ilim to whom I prayed." 
 
 "But should the emissaries of that bad man 
 return, what wilt thou do? Beauty is a more 
 dangerous possession than gold, and he who seeks 
 after it, more hardened and determined than the 
 mercenary robber." 
 
 " There is a way, stranger, by which the vir-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 105 
 
 tuous are ever secure. 'Tis said, a lion will flee 
 from a maid in her purity, and tlius will I tri- 
 umpli even over the Archbishop of Paris." 
 
 " Say rather arch fiend," rejoined Louvois; 
 " but here you cannot remain, you must ilco 
 this abode, and seek one unknown to your pur- 
 suer," 
 
 *' It is impossible; it were death to my sufFer- 
 insr father." 
 
 " Behold, here is gold, this will procure the 
 necessary means to remove him. Nay, no thanks, 
 'tis little compared to what is in my power, if 
 thou wilt follow ray counsel. There is one who 
 rules the destiny of France : none else has power 
 at the court of France but she ; and she alone can 
 serve thee; this false old priest may boast of 
 his poAver to thee, and hold out the guerdon 
 of thy surrender; but 'tis a delusion. Knowest 
 thou not that La IMaintcnon holds imbounded 
 sway over her monarch's mind, and that one 
 word from her mouth can decide the late of 
 millions? go to her, pour into her cars the tale 
 of thy misery, implore her protection; and her 
 
 f3
 
 106 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR,' 
 
 heart, wliicli never refused compassion, -will guard 
 thee from the violence of thy persecutor, and per- 
 haps change thy people's fate." 
 
 " But how shall I reach her; the bloodtliirsty 
 Louvois stops the cry of misfortune from reach- 
 ing the ear of royalty; and the gates of Ver- 
 sailles are closed to the indigent." 
 
 " Woman, thou slanderest him; none can be 
 prevented from reaching the presence of Main- 
 tenon, the sick, the poor are her courtiers, and 
 soon, may I add the Protestants." 
 
 " Stranger," exclaimed the maiden, " do thou 
 protect me, do thou lead mc to her feet; fill the 
 measure of my obligation, and take mc to her 
 presence !" 
 
 " It is impossible," rejoined Louvois. "As thou 
 dost value thy hfe and that of thy father and thy 
 people, thou must promise secrecy ; only on such 
 terms can thy cause prosper at Versailles. Nay more, 
 thou must promise, by all that thou boldest holy, 
 that if ever chance should again unite our pre- 
 sence, thou wilt forget we ever met before. I ask it 
 of thee, for thine own sake, and in return for
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 107 
 
 the (Iced, wliercby I saved the honour thou 
 sayest is dearer to thee than hfe." 
 
 " Stranger ! by my protestant faith! by my 
 tortm-ed brethren nay more, by my hatred to 
 Louis and liis wicked minister, I swear to keep 
 thy secret." 
 
 "It is enough; know then that Fenelon, the 
 Abbe de St, Vallery, must first present thee to 
 La Maintenon, and then thou must seek a pri 
 vate audience from her; but beware of his dis- 
 covering the tenets thou dost profess, nor dis- 
 close them to any ears but hers. Thou wilt 
 find the abbe at St. Cyr. Awaken his charity, 
 trust in his real piety, and fail not to be at Ver- 
 sailles this day week." 
 
 A low groan from the adjoining room inter- 
 rupted the discourse. 
 
 " Mysterious stranger," said the maiden, " my 
 father calls, I must depart. May He who re- 
 wards virtue and punishes crime, bless and 
 preserve thee for thy charity to me this night. 
 I give thee all I can call mine, the prayers of
 
 108 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 a faitliful trust, and the blessings of a grateful 
 heart." 
 
 So saying, the maiden went out of the room, 
 and left the minister uncertain whether most to 
 resent her strictures on himself, or to prize the 
 soft balm of her gentle blessings. With slow and 
 cautious steps Louvols then returned to his 
 splendid hotel; but the scenes he had so lately 
 beheld, pressed with redoubled force on his mind, 
 when he sought repose on his luxurious couch. 
 
 Amidst the pressure of constant business 
 and the excitement of an unceasing ambition, 
 he had had no time to yield to softer temp- 
 tations, and despising the sins which had no 
 attractions for him, he could find no ex- 
 cuse for those who fell into tliclr snare. The 
 outrage which he had so lately witnessed, called 
 up therefore, an indignation in his bosom not 
 easily quelled. He thought of that proud and 
 bloated cluirchman; that sad, but heroic maiden, 
 whose strength of character he coidd especially 
 appreciate, and the remembrance of her blessings
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 109 
 
 on himself, penetrated and softened the hardness 
 of his disposition. 
 
 Ah ! who shall estimate the influence of one 
 approving look, one gentle prayer from hps Ave 
 admire, telhng ns we are not entirely condemned 
 nor undeserving. Like the incrusted ice "be- 
 neath the genial rays of the morning simbeam, 
 our sternness yields, and the heart warms Avith 
 hope beneath it ! 
 
 Regrets for the past, and an indistinct anticipation 
 of abetter future, awoke in Louvois' breast; but 
 the thoughts that rapidly succeeded each other, 
 seemed to render the air of the chamber oppres- 
 sive, and throwing open the casement, he wooed 
 the chilly air of night. 
 
 The city lay before him in midnight stillness, 
 uninterrupted by any sound; around were the 
 . splendid hotels of the rich ; no signs of the 
 squalid misery of its more distant quarters, and 
 the cold pale light of the horizon rose over the 
 spot where, sunk in repose, lay the monarch he 
 served, and the foe he detested. But purer,
 
 110 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 better feelings than "vvont, had risen in his breast; 
 and softened into a momentary benevolence, he 
 exclaimed, — 
 
 " Mysterious Being! who didst create tliis 
 fair universe, why dost thou suffer its beauty to 
 be marred by those with whom thou hast 
 peopled it? Why dost thou not exterminate 
 the sin wliich must be offensive to thy holiness, 
 •and leave the good to enjoy thy boimties im- 
 disturbed ? Why should thy worship be a cause 
 of bloodshed and destruction between thy crea- 
 tures, who pour forth their adoration and praise 
 to thee, heedless of torture? And, there again is a 
 dark problem; — their power of endurance; — their 
 wilhngness to seek misery for thy sake. And that 
 achino- void; — that craving at my heart for some- 
 tliing this world cannot give; what can it be? — 
 knowledge, philosophy, occupy the attention; 
 riches delude the sense; but each alike fail to fill 
 the heart. Friendship even is vain, and the un- 
 satisfied desire remains ! 
 
 " Proud woman, who hast reached the summit
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. Ill 
 
 of thy ambition ! Say, hast thou never felt this 
 want ? Is all happiness with thee ? Nay, me- 
 thinks I have seen on thy brow a shade that 
 spoke of trouble, and then it was not all hate I 
 felt for thee; and wert thou not an obstacle in 
 my path, whose power might hurl me from the 
 eminence I must attain, I could spare thee. But 
 no, the train is laid, and thou thyself must fire it.' 
 Tlie expression on the minister's face changed, 
 and closing the window he said, "Farewell, 
 thou chilly air, thou art too like my own sad 
 thouGihts; to-morrow's dawn must see another 
 light than this."
 
 112 THE PASTOFw CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 When Mademoiselle clc Solara returned from 
 the palace of Versailles, her aunt, alike compli- 
 mented her on her successful debut and rallied 
 her on her physical weakness, -which alone had pre- 
 vented her enjoying it. But it Avas not the sensa- 
 tion of fatigue only vrhich made Anima seek her 
 own apartment, and gladly lay aside her festive 
 robe and glittering ornaments, the gaiety of which 
 contrasted so painfully with her present fechngs. 
 And not until she was disencumbered from the 
 shining satin and varied wreaths of her tasteful 
 dress, did slie experience the first moment of real 
 satisfaction that day afforded her.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 113 
 
 In early youth the first disappointment of the 
 excited imagination is an afiliction, and the first 
 error, a crinic, whicli frightens us from our bet- 
 ter thoughts; and in the present instance the 
 former, assuming the disguise of the latter, was 
 exercising all its influence over the young and 
 not too powerful mind of Anima. 
 
 With vivid distinctness did the scene of the 
 morning* present itself to her fevered dreams, as 
 she beheld in her sleep the monarch so kind and 
 gracious to others, to her harsh and severe : again 
 sheheardthe words he had uttered, her aimt'srcply, 
 and her own falterinc^ but still inteUi^-ible assent; 
 then the splendid apartments, the joyous music, 
 and the motley crowd, all more gorgeous even 
 than the reality, passed before her. But rapidly, 
 the scene and the countenances which haunted 
 her altered with a thousand varied expressions, 
 till at length they settled in the fond simi- 
 litude of her once loved pastor; but blood 
 was on his silvery hair, and sorrow and reproach 
 disturbed the wonted serenity of his face; and with
 
 114 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 her eflforts to seek his forgiveness and tlirow her- 
 self in his arms, the sleeper awoke. 
 
 Ah ! -who that knows the bitterness of wak- 
 ing with the oppressive recollection of an error 
 that has been committed, or an affliction that has 
 befallen us, would not willingly exchange that feel- 
 ing for the burden of self-accusation or distress, 
 which, on the preceding evening, we had so 
 impatiently desired to lay down. 
 
 The past rose on the mind of Anima with 
 fresh clearness, and the gray dawn with its crim- 
 son streaks, visible through the parted curtains, 
 reminded her of its gorgeous hues upon her 
 native mountains, but brought with it no conso- 
 lation; while, more deeply coloured by her mid- 
 night dream, she beheld her fault, and felt that 
 she had now, indeed, passed the rubicon; that 
 she had denied and abjured her fluth, while the 
 forgotten friends of her youth seemed suddenly 
 boimd by a firmer tie than ever, a tie, which 
 reflection whispered, she herself had rent asunder 
 for ever.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 115 
 
 Various projects passed tlirougli lier "brain, of 
 fleeing from temptations wliich she felt were 
 too strong for her, and from friends who might 
 coerce her yet wavering incUnations; but each 
 ahke faded, and she found relief from the storm, 
 in a flood of unavailing tears. 
 
 But if Anima's couch had been distm-bed, no 
 less so had been that of her aunt by far difierent 
 meditations. Madame de Saony reviewed with 
 dehght the gay scene of the preceding day, anti- 
 cipated success for the future, and congratulated 
 herself on the accuracy of her calculation respect- 
 ing her niece ; but still one difficulty stood in her 
 path, in the force of those early impressions, the 
 strength of which she could ill estimate, and 
 wliich, unless speedily overcome, must for ever 
 prevent her from rising in Louis's favour. She 
 knew there must be no delay in giving the mo- 
 narch a proof that liis suspicions were unfounded, 
 and that it was no heretic she had ventured to 
 introduce into his court; but how to cfiect this, 
 unless by persuading Anima to attend mass, 
 wliich she bcHevcd was beyond her power, she
 
 116 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 knew not, and various schemes rose in her mind 
 and occupied her even to the late hour of her 
 breakfast. 
 
 She then rose and lingered over her toilet, 
 almost dreading the first meeting with her niece. 
 At length a sudden thought seemed to strike her, 
 and going to a richly ornamented bureau which 
 occupied a niche in her boudoir, she drew from 
 its crimson couch a ghttering cross, wlaich shone 
 with dazzling brilhancc as she raised it to the 
 light, and thus addressed it — 
 
 "Yes, beautiful bauble I more precious to me 
 for the memory thou dost bring, than for thine 
 own rich value — sole remembrance of the mother 
 I adored, it is no disrespect to her that prompts 
 me to consign thee to another mistress; and if, in 
 addition to the purpose for which I would now 
 use thee, thy splendour should aid in making con- 
 verts to the tenets which thou dost typify, I shall 
 not have profaned her gift, nor wilt thou have 
 disgraced thy profession. How often in child- 
 hood have I marvelled at thy brightness, and 
 \\'ishcd thou wcrt mine, and when at last I be-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 117 
 
 came thy possessor, the hour for prizing thee was 
 past, and thy beauty tarnished in my eyes, because 
 thou wert no longer hers. True symbol of her 
 faith — pure, bright, unperishing — how unworthy 
 thy present owner ! May the tears, wliich were 
 in vain to recall her spirit to its deserted home, 
 yet be avaihng to reunite us in another world !" 
 
 She wiped the fast falUng drops, and open- 
 ing a spring, which concealed a small recess 
 within the cross, took from it a tress of hair, the 
 darkness of wliich, like that of night, was yet 
 sprinkled with some silvery streaks, and then 
 continued — 
 
 " Dearer than the rich case whicli enshrined 
 thee, tliis tress must remain with me, and another 
 take its place. Yes ! I have it still, the long ringlet 
 wliich in our last evening together, Olivia severed 
 as in play and bade me, with an earnestness I 
 could not then understand, keep it for her sake. It 
 seems a sin to divide its luxuriant length, yet for 
 her child, the being dearer to her even than I could 
 be, I will do it, then bury it in thisglittering tomb !" 
 Again and again she pressed the dear memo-
 
 118 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 rial to lier lips, tlien •without trusting to another 
 glance clasped it in the case. 
 
 Waiting tiU she had effaced the traces of her 
 reg-ret, and could resume the usual livehness of her 
 tone, Madame de Saony, after a few moments 
 entered the room, where, rechning listlessly in 
 the deep fauteuil, and holding in her hand a 
 volume from wliich her thoughts had widely 
 strayed, Anima awaited her appearance. The 
 Baronne saw, but would not comment on the 
 ravages that the sleepless night had wrought, and 
 waited till both were refreshed by their repast, 
 before entering on a subject from which she un- 
 consciously shrunk; then, surmounting her repug- 
 nance, she began by complimenting Anima on 
 her success the preceding day, and in a more im- 
 pressive tone added ; " And now, dearest Anima ! 
 accept my thanks for your willing comphance 
 with my wishes, and my approbation of your 
 feminine and modest acquiescence at Versailles; 
 and then accept this trinket, S3mibol, not so much 
 of any particular creed, as of the Saviour's suffer- 
 ings we both adore, valued by your sainted mother,
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 119 
 
 and endeared to you, as an object of lier reverence 
 and her love. Nay, I know wliat you would re- 
 ply, and understand the meaning of those tears, 
 but wear it, not only for my sake, but for hers, 
 of whom it bears a yet tenderer memorial ; and 
 while you weep over the remembrance of what 
 you have lost, be cheered by the behcf, that 
 perhaps at this very moment she beholds you 
 with joy, uniting the memory of her with the 
 dawning rays of a rehgion she venerated till 
 death!" . 
 
 She drew the chain, which supported the mas- 
 sive ornament, round the slender neck of Made- 
 moiselle di Solara, and as she firmly clasped it, 
 felt as if she were rivetino: round her the fetters 
 of the church of Rome. And Anima also thought, 
 as she gazed on the precious lock of hair en- 
 shrined within the cross, and pressed it fondly to 
 
 1 
 
 her heart, that with it she Avas tightening a snare 
 she would never have courage to break through. 
 To express the contending fecUngs which strug- 
 gled witliin her bosom was beyond her power;
 
 120 THE PASTOR CUIEF; OK, 
 
 and she Imstily left the apartment, wretched, and 
 content to be so. 
 
 Days followed, and still the subject of rehgion 
 remained untouched. Her aunt treated her as. 
 an avowed Roman catholic, but carefully avoid- 
 ing any open allusion to it, gave her no opportunity 
 of refuting the imputation; audit was only in the 
 solitude of her chamber that she could pour forth, 
 in secret prayer, her luicertainties and regrets. 
 But it is not in our nature to bear the pressure 
 of care for long, unaided by some outward relief. 
 The minds of the strong fmd vent in action, and 
 rise from beneath its weight ; but the very young 
 or the very weak, yield hke the ductile wax, 
 which easily takes and as easily loses the impriiited 
 form; and Anima, with none to participate 
 in her secret troubles, began to w<;ary of them, and 
 gradually attended witli growing interest to the 
 \dsiters who thronged her aunt's liotcl. When 
 the time arrived for their next visit to Versailles, 
 she mechanically prepared to accompany her, and 
 as they again sought that festal chamber, the scene
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 121 
 
 seemed changed, and when kindlj welcomed by 
 Madame de Maintenon, whose fascination espe- 
 cially over the very young, seldom failed of suc- 
 cess, her fears vanished beneath the gentle influ- 
 ence, and for a moment her regrets fled with 
 them. 
 
 Struck by her beauty, the king observed her ; 
 
 and satisfied of the injustice of his former suspi- 
 cions by the brilliant symbol that hung beside 
 her, he addressed her with the courtesy which 
 pecuHarly characterized him, and left her not 
 imtil, elevated by the honour. Mademoiselle de 
 Solara confessed, even to herself, that she no 
 longer wished to forsake Versailles. 
 
 Meanwhile as the crowd moved on, and with 
 them Madame de Saony, she was left unpro- 
 tected and alone; perceiving her alarm, Madame 
 de Maintenon drew near, and with an attention 
 and grace few could withstand, conversed with 
 her till she had enlisted her young imagination 
 in her favour; and as that day drew to its close, 
 and the aunt and niece were once more within the 
 privacy of their apartments, it was with far dif- 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 ferent emotions they reviewed its events than on 
 the former occasion. Nor were Anima's new 
 feelings unretiirned, her innocence and beauty 
 had wrought their way into the heart of one who 
 was ever aHve to the fresh attractions of youth- 
 ful purity, and Madame de Maintenon invited, 
 even pressed her to visit her in private, and ap- 
 pointed an early day for her reception.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 123 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 It was with an agitation unsuspected by her who 
 caused it, that Anima prepared for her visit to the 
 boudoir of the Marquise, at an hour wliich, though 
 it seemed early to her, had long witnessed Madame 
 de Maintenon released from the duties of the toilet. 
 Having ended her long and strict devotional ex- 
 ercises she sat absorbed in the business of the 
 day, devoting to it an attention and perspicuity 
 of comprehension, few but herself could boast of 
 possessing. 
 
 Papers of importance were before her ; accounts 
 wherein the closest inspection could detect no flaw, 
 the items of which were principally acts of cha- 
 
 g2
 
 124 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR 
 
 rity; beside these, were large volumes of notes taken 
 from the parliamentary debates, for the use of him 
 whose convenience was her first care; letters all 
 read and answered. At a little distance from her 
 table stood a book-case containing those classic 
 authors, into whose regions of poetry and delight 
 few female minds had then resolution to pene- 
 trate; with the best modern pubhcations, whose 
 style amused her lighter hours, and gave poign- 
 ancy and elegance to the language Louis loved 
 to hear. 
 
 The expression of her eye was that of the deepest 
 thought, as she examined paper after paper, and 
 inscribed her observations on their margins. At 
 length pusliing the escrutoire from her, she ex- 
 claimed with the sigh of exhaustion, — 
 
 " Yes ! the world calls these employments hard, 
 but without them how wearisome would be my 
 existence. Oh, Louis ! but for thee, never could 
 I have endured the privations 1 bear in thy court. 
 For ever undervalued, misunderstood, thy pre- 
 sence alone illumines my misery ! 
 
 " Throne of France ! whose superb grandeur 1
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 125 
 
 might easily share, liow far inferior to the affec- 
 tions where I would reign triumphant unscanned 
 by human ohservation. The garb of royalty, its 
 pomp and magnificence, how contemptible does 
 it seem to me, and yet to charm His eye, I am con- 
 tent to wear it — ay, and bear with a smile, the 
 degradation of false-hearted flattery, more de- 
 pressing than even Louvois' undisguised hatred ! 
 Difficult station ! where would be thy charm, what 
 the reward for thy cares but for the support of 
 prayer. But forward — forward is the watchword ; 
 dull fears begone ; my path is lighted by the lamp 
 of conscience, — no benighted wanderer am I — 
 and I will obey her directions, follow where she 
 leads; and if I fail — then religion comfort me !" 
 
 A knock at the door disturbed her, and bid- 
 ding the stranger enter, Madame de Maintenon 
 on seeing him exclaimed, — 
 
 *' Ah ! is it thou d'Aublgne, my brother ? 
 Welcome indeed art thou !" 
 
 The brother and sister then sat in close converse 
 together. But who that noted the different ex- 
 pression of both countenances could guess that
 
 126 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 any link of sympathy united the two. The sis- 
 ter's brow — so open and pure, seemed as if false- 
 hood's shade had never rested there ; the brother's 
 — narrow, lowering and lit up by a bold look of 
 reckless animal courage alone. 
 
 His discourse assumed the earnest tone of per- 
 suasion ; hers, that of a cabn but steady dissent. 
 
 " Fran^oise," said he, " why do you constantly 
 neglect my requests; why refuse my just and 
 reasonable demands?" 
 
 " My brother, I have already told you, 'tis in 
 vain to urge my interference ; it cannot be — " 
 
 " But, sister, the favour I would have you ask 
 is so trifling, and when you know my embarrassed 
 circumstances, — " 
 
 " D'Aubigne,did not I obtain for you the rank 
 you hold ; has not my private purse supplied your 
 necessities ?" 
 
 " True; but the former was neither unearned 
 before, nor now a sinecure; and the latter paltry 
 sum — " 
 
 *• Was all I had to offer !" interrupted she. 
 
 " Nay," said d'Aubign^, " that I can scarcely
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 127 
 
 credit; generous to every one, Louis cannot be a 
 niggard to thee, and 'tis currently reported no 
 request of thine is ever denied." 
 
 " And thinkest thou, brother, I would take 
 advantage of his kindness to importune him on 
 such a subject, or that I would accept of the 
 liberahty so justly imputed to him?" 
 
 " K not for yourself, Frangoise, you might for 
 others; Montespan was more thoughtful of her 
 friends, more mindful of her own dues !" 
 
 " This to me, brother ! dost thou place me on 
 a level with Montespan?" said she, with a look 
 before which his eye quailed and fell. 
 
 " I know not what thou art, but an unkind 
 and ungenerous sister," retorted he confusedly. 
 " Have not I implored thee again and again to 
 obtain for me some place, however trifling, to 
 support my family and my " 
 
 " Vices, you should add," answered Madame 
 deMaintenon, with cold severity. " But brother, 
 I have done; you have received my answer. A 
 sister's affection, a friend's best advice you have 
 ever had from mc ; both, alas ! have been as value-
 
 128 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 less as lier honour, weighed, in thine estimation, 
 against the paltry endowment of Avealth ; and if 
 indeed a natural weakness for thy advantage ever 
 dwelt in my bosom, thou only, hast cancelled it 
 for ever. Never shall a request to increase my 
 own grandeur, or that of my relations, importune 
 the ears of Louis. Thy difficulties I compas- 
 sionate, though I reprobate their cause ; and to 
 alleviate them I offer thee all I can command, 
 and that is wrung from my own wants^from the 
 luxury of reheving worthier applicants." 
 
 D'Aubignd took the proffered pocket-book, and 
 cowering beneath the majestic look that accom- 
 panied the gift, kissed her hand and departed. 
 
 The bitter meditations this painful interview 
 gave rise to, were checked by the arrival of 
 another candidate for a private conference, and 
 the Abbe de St. Vallery presented himself and 
 obtained a most gracious reception. Although 
 she could not confide the cause of her present 
 agitation to him, Madame de Maintenon felt 
 soothed and relieved by the mildaiess of his 
 manner and the piety of his discourse. Of some
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 129 
 
 of her trials she felt slie could disembiirden her- 
 self to him, and confess the scruples which made 
 the errors many might have deemed venial, a 
 heavy source of regret to her. " Alas !" observed 
 she, " you Utile know the conflicting doubts that 
 oppress me, the uncertainties that^HSeset my 
 actions, or the constant self-reproach for my 
 weak compHancc with many a wish of the king's, 
 wliich my conscience condemns as wrong ; it is 
 tliis which is a far heavier pressure than the con- 
 stant business which occupies me, and too often 
 excludes my Maker from my thoughts. Still 
 one redeeming light is mine, the power of doing 
 good, and the influence I can exercise over 
 Louis, and thereby, in some measure, screen him 
 and others from the insidious attempts of the 
 ministers to exclude justice and mercy from 
 his councils." 
 
 "Madam," observed Fenelon, "such acts as 
 yours will not fail in promoting your peace both 
 here and hereafter ; but pardon me if I say, that 
 firmness in the exercise of these noble intentions 
 is wanting. Justice urges you to pursue the 
 
 G 3
 
 130 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 path, and there must he no delay in obeying 
 its mandates." 
 
 *' Father, you are right; yet did you know all 
 the various and conflicting trials of my situation, 
 you would pity, not blame me. At this mo- 
 ment a circumstance fills me with perplexity. 
 A few days ago, the Archbishop Harlai alarmed 
 me with the intelligence of a new creed having 
 sprung up at St. Cyr. You are aware of the 
 doctrines of Madame Guyon? To me, they con- 
 vey nothing that is unscriptural. Love for her 
 Saviour, and towards her fellow-creatures, car- 
 ried beyond the usual hmits, are its leading tenets ; 
 and for these I prized the opinions as much as I 
 admired the lovely foundress; and deep as is the 
 interest I take in my own institution, it is not 
 credible I should foster heresy within its walls. 
 Yet Harlai alarms me, tells me dissent is brew- 
 ing there, and would have me sacrifice, without 
 delay to his inquiries, the life and the writings of 
 the friend I have promised to protect. Honour 
 and affection forbid my abandoning her, and 
 yet the dread of displeasing Louis, and incurring
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 131 
 
 the anger of the holy church, bid me abjure her 
 cause." 
 
 "Madam; she has abandoned fortune and 
 friends for conscience' sake, and is by her own act 
 poor and defenceless, while Harlai de Chanvallon 
 is as relentless in liis persecutions as he is violent in 
 his prejudices. Bethink you; what will be her 
 fate, if you desert her?" 
 
 " But, F^nelon; the king knows it and is irri- 
 tated by the innovation; while the archbishop 
 declares tliis dissent is controversial to the articles 
 of our church." 
 
 "Madam, is it at variance with the doctrines 
 of the gospel ? Turn to that, and there at all 
 events read, that charity to the desolate, respect 
 for the humble in spirit, is acceptable to your 
 Maker. Reject Madame Guy on ; and in her youth 
 and innocence she falls into misery you can ill 
 estimate ; abandon her, and the errors she may 
 be thrown into rest on your conscience !" 
 
 " Father, these are harsh rebukes; and though 
 they touch my heart, they do not convince my 
 understanding. These heresies distract a church,
 
 132 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 wluch should be at unity with itself, and therefore 
 they should be crushed." 
 
 " Madam, the Almighty works in his own 
 vineyard by what tools he pleases ; and man must 
 not presume to interfere with His will. Think too, 
 that if the grosser temptations which beset the 
 humble reach not these gilded portals, others as 
 powerful are here, and piercing through the out- 
 ward profession, discover the motives of the zealots 
 who so warmly oppose the appearance of what 
 they term dissent. Is Harlai, who with restless 
 avidity seeks for each trace of nonconformity to 
 the articles of the church, so close an observer of 
 its other requisitions? Is Louvois, who would 
 steep a whole country in blood from Languedoc 
 to the utmost Hmits of the Alps, so devout and 
 so attentive to the dictates of conscience as the 
 rehgion he would so zealously defend, prescribes? 
 Can love to his Maker incite liim to persecute his 
 sincere, if mistaken worshippers? Alas! could 
 the despairing groans of the tortured protestants 
 reach the royal car, surely they would be stopped 
 from crying aloud to that Heaven which is not
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 133 
 
 closed against their supplications. Words, Madam, 
 
 are powerless to describe tlie scenes wBicli at tliis 
 
 moment disgrace our coimtry. I will not grieve 
 
 you by discribing tlie anguish of many a tortured 
 
 old man, of many an outraged maiden. But, 
 
 while Paris is descanting on the importance of a 
 
 few insignificant articles of its lukewarm faith, 
 
 the mountains of Ccvennes and the valleys of 
 
 Piedmont attest my words, and ask if there be 
 
 none to plead for them at the foot of Louis's 
 
 throne ; none, who for the sake of charity and 
 
 its bright reward, will cast away the dastardly 
 
 fear of man, and rescue them from destruction?" 
 
 " What would you have, Fcnelon? what do you 
 
 desire ?" 
 
 " Madam, that only which your conscience 
 and your religion dictate." 
 
 " It is impossible for me to interfere between 
 the king and his ministers." 
 
 " The trial were worth making," continued the 
 Abbe, " and if my words are unavaihng, turn to 
 the stronger argument of facts. Here, in the 
 monarch's own city, the most ruthless iniquity
 
 134 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 prevails, and even the great and the powerful of 
 his court think it no disgrace to imbrue their hands 
 in the polluted stream. A young and indigent 
 maiden, her sole possession, the dangerous gifts 
 of youth and beauty; her only defender, an aged 
 and bedi-idden father, claims that protection which 
 a queen of France owes to her subjects. That 
 title. Madam, you refuse to wear; but you dare 
 not reject its duties. Receive the sad orphan, 
 though she worship at a different sliiine from 
 your own, and let it not be said that the forms of 
 rehgion could be an excuse for turning from the 
 poor and destitute. Were the Samaritans re- 
 jected by our Lord ; and shall we turn from a 
 Protestant?" 
 
 With the ardour of enthusiasm Fenelon knelt 
 before his mistress; and she, the tear of pity glit- 
 terino- in her eye, the blush of hesitation mantling 
 her cheek, spoke the consent he required; and the 
 Abbe hastily rose to summon the protestant 
 maiden,who now came, in consequence of Louvois' 
 advice to implore Ins pity and protection.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 135 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 "Yes!" exclaimed Madame de Maintenon, 
 when once more alone; " like others, he also 
 thinks me paltry and weak. Ah, Fenelon ! thy 
 acts are generous, thy feelings noble, but are they 
 adapted to such a world as this? What is it he 
 would urge? — I sec it, — he wishes me to inter- 
 pose with the king in favour of these protestants, 
 whose persecution swells the list of Louvois' ini- 
 quities. He is right; such horrors cry aloud to 
 Heaven, and Louis is incapable of the cruelties 
 which are ascribed to his commands; yet I dare 
 not intrude on his counsels a theme so detestable 
 as heresy. One word would banish me from his 
 presence, for ever preclude any further exertion
 
 136 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 of influence. It is not that I fear tlie censure of 
 the world, or the loss of my high station ; but to 
 be bereaved of liis affection, and deprived of the 
 power of doing good. And yet, how inconsistently 
 I act ; Fen^lon has displeased the king, and I ad- 
 mit him to my privacy — the protestants are odious 
 to him, and I am about to take one of them under 
 my protection ! Oh, Louis ! thy presence, which 
 my memory loves to dwell on, I now dread to 
 meet, lest thou shouldst find this stranger in the 
 recesses of thy palace, the guest of thy bosom's 
 queen !" 
 
 The door opened, and Madame de Maintenon 
 started as the plain humble figure of our heroine 
 of the Boulevards entered. But never had her 
 heart closed against the unfortunate; and the 
 seal which misery had set on the features of the 
 visitor, adding to the interest of their beauty, 
 spoke in accents which banished all re- 
 membrance of self, and with the tenderest 
 commiseration, she inquired into the talc of dis- 
 tress before her. 
 
 " Victorine," said she, addressing the stranger
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 137 
 
 " thou sayest that persecution lias deprived thee 
 of every necessary, and that death threatens to 
 seize thy last earthly stay. Where, then, when 
 thy father's term of suffering is over, wilt thou 
 lay down the burden of thy sorrow, and find 
 refuge from thy pursuers?" 
 
 No lona^er in a state of excitement, as on the 
 night of her rescue by Louvois, the unchecked 
 tears rolled down Victorine's face, as she re- 
 plied, — 
 
 " Alas, madam ! I shall then be alone in a 
 world which frowns on my faith, and rejects me 
 from its compassion. My brethren in misfortune 
 share my poverty, and can afford me no relief. 
 Famine daily preys on our number, and I can 
 but await its summons with patience." 
 
 " But hast thou no hope of employment?" 
 
 " Who, madam, will employ a protestant ? 
 Those who are inclined to assist us are withheld 
 by fear of the king and his rapacious ministers; 
 and even the person who rescued me, from the 
 worst evil that a female can dread, enjoined the 
 strictest promises of secrecy in case I should ever
 
 138 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 discover his name. To leave my father, or to 
 move him is now impossible ; and I have scarcely 
 a hope of keeping the abode, procured by the 
 charity of strangers, secret from the observation 
 of the sinful assailant of my honour and my 
 defencelessness." 
 
 " But hast thou means of procuring food?" 
 " Divided with the sad companions of our fate, 
 the widow's cruse has failed, and ere I return 
 to our squaHd home, hunger will have already 
 attacked my aged parent. Food ! lady, is a sight 
 these eyes could not behold without weeping Hke 
 a child for pleasure." 
 
 What! thought the marchioness as she hs- 
 tened, are the fancied sorrows of the rich, 
 their unsatisfied desires compared to such want 
 as this? " Victorine, I can reheve thy need; 
 this," said she, oifering her money, " will yet 
 support thee for some days, and when it is ex- 
 hausted, return to me. Come, ere the hour of early 
 mass, and here while others arc steeped in forget- 
 fulness, shalt thou find pity and rehef Here 
 enter unobserved, thy admission secured by this
 
 o 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUD0I3. 139 
 
 signet, and now," she added, pressing the weep- 
 ing maiden's hand, " depart." 
 
 Victorine attempted to falter forth her thanks, 
 and wovild have knelt in gratitude, but Madame 
 de Maintenon forbade it, saying, — 
 
 "Nay, not to me, I am but the dispenser of 
 good which our common benefactor has entrusted 
 to my keeping, and thou must be gone. The 
 precincts of the court are no safe harbour for 
 unguarded beauty, and a strange faith. The 
 hour fast approaches when far other guests will 
 be here." 
 
 Thus saying, she conducted her to the door, 
 and closing it behind her, returned to the bu- 
 reau; and gazing on the empty purse, the con- 
 tents of which she had given to Victorine, ex- 
 claimed, — 
 
 " Ha! my brother, thou hast deprived me of 
 the power of replenishing it, and to how many 
 solicitations must I now remain deaf! Yet can I 
 not address Louis for a fresh supply? No, never 
 shall it be said that I, like those proud courte-
 
 140 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 zans, trespass for my private wants on the pub- 
 lic treasures." 
 
 She thought a wliile, then added: — " Yet the 
 j e wels he gave me are all mine , and though valueless 
 to me hut for his sake , are yet of great intrinsic worth ; 
 and from such a source I may indeed obtain the 
 assistance I require. She drew forth a case 
 of ghttering ornaments, and gazing on them 
 with interest, not with regret, selected the most 
 valuable for her purpose. Then, with an open 
 smiling brow, prepared for that morning's as- 
 sembly. 
 
 To none of the erucsts whothrono^ed Versailles 
 that morning did Madame de Maintenon show 
 such distinguished attention' "^s to Mademoiselle 
 di Solara; and from that moment the interest 
 she felt in her, ripened into attacliment, while 
 the mild and yielding disposition of Anima was 
 at once swayed by her influence. In every 
 thing Madame de Maintenon became the arbitress 
 of her judgment, and even in her rehgious opi- 
 nions she looked to her to lead the way ; and soon
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 141 
 
 a Roman Catholic In outward show as well as inward 
 weakness, the cross which once weighed heavily 
 on her heart, assumed the indentity in her eyes, 
 of that holy refuge of which it was the mere 
 symbol. 
 
 Madame de Saony was satisfied ; and now but 
 one circumstance was wanting to crown her wishes, 
 and rescue her niece from the convent; namely, 
 the offer of some distinguished marriage. She 
 had not long to wait. The young Marquis de 
 Pianezza had but lately returned from the Py- 
 renees, and the monarch's favour, his rich posses- 
 sions, and the laurels he had already reaped in 
 war, made him the object of universal attention. 
 These advantages were, however, counterba- 
 lanced by a manner so stern, and so cold and 
 haughty un address, that with the young and 
 inexperienced, who had not learned to look be- 
 yond outward appearance, he was not a favou- 
 rite. 
 
 The first evening of his arrival at court, the 
 
 monarch presented him to Mademoiselle de 
 
 Solara, but she received the introduction with a
 
 142 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 start and a blush wliich added to the beauty he 
 could not view with indifference. Anima was 
 too well versed in the liistory of the Picdmon- 
 tese valleys, not to know that liis father had been 
 the chief agent in the bloody massacre of 1655; 
 liis grandmother its cruel instigator. 
 
 Time and the frequent opportunities, Madame 
 de Saony did not fail to give him of increasing 
 the acquaintance, soon turned liis admiration into 
 a passion, which he at once declared; but Anima 
 received the distinction, which so many coveted, 
 with determined coldness, for she saw in liim the 
 descendant of the Vaudois' bitterest foe, and 
 shuddering as she remembered that his name was 
 graven on their annals in characters of blood, at 
 once resolved to reject an alhance, which seemed 
 sacrilege to her, though she dared not declare her 
 motives. 
 
 In vain did Madame de Saony extol the beauty 
 of his person, the splendour of his possessions, the 
 high favour he enjoyed at court, and the renown 
 his bravery had obtained in his own country as 
 well as in France. Anima remained insensible.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 143 
 
 and the Marquis became at lengtH offended at her 
 apathy. 
 
 Meantime the Abbess of la Vierge Sainte was 
 not forgetful of her claims on the youthful heir- 
 ess, whose wealth and high connections rendered 
 her a desirable acquisition to the convent, and she 
 wrote repeated and reproachful letters to her 
 sister for neglecting to fulfil their father's wishes, 
 and bring the expected novice to her care. 
 
 These letters Madame de Saony had evaded 
 for a considerable time, but she now dared no 
 longer put off the meeting which her sister so 
 earnestly pressed. Could she have flattered her- 
 self that Anima's aff^ections were engaged, she 
 would no longer have feared for her a visit to 
 the convent. She redoubled her efforts to fan 
 into existence a flame which, she suspected, 
 gratified vanity had already kindled; and, well 
 versed in the history of the heart, she tried to 
 rouse the suspicion of mortified pride, by repre- 
 senting the lover with coldness, and thus awaken 
 a false passion in her heart, which would closely
 
 144 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 resemble, if it covild not emulate, that true affec- 
 tion which he sought. 
 
 Still Anima's heart misgave her, and her Hps 
 refused to speak the sohcited assent. She sought 
 Madame de Maintenon, to whom she disclosed her 
 wavering thoughts, and from her wiser, purer 
 mind, received the advice she so much wanted, to 
 enable her to unravel those feehngs which were all 
 delusion; and,' when she returned to her aunt, it 
 was in the disturbed state which characterizes the 
 mind that sees the path of duty, and is yet too 
 weak to follow it. 
 
 Ill at ease^ and lowspirited, Anima gave way 
 to frequent .waywardness, and in return Madame 
 de Saony a,lternately chid or strove to flatter her 
 into better humour. These were the first fruits 
 of the seeds she had sown. Her niece's mind was 
 out of tune, and had lost its customary sweet- 
 ness. 
 
 Whilst in this mood, Anima suddenly expressed 
 a violent desire to visit the convent of La Viergo 
 Sainte ; nor did the Baronne refuse a request, the
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 145 
 
 fulfilment of which, she felt, ■would best work 
 its own punishment. 
 
 The appointed day arrived and Madame de 
 Saony and Anima set out on their excursion. 
 
 Spring was just beginning to show its first 
 signs of approach, the birds were chirping the 
 tale of love from every bough, peeping primroses 
 reared their delicate heads above the withered 
 leaves, whose masses concealed the earth beneath : 
 emblems of our immortal change, they rose from 
 corruption, perfected in pm'ity and loveliness. 
 
 Tliere is something in the cheerfulness of the 
 early spring, Avhich awakens a feehng of melan- 
 choly in our breasts. It is not regret, perhaps it 
 is a sting of self-reproach, occasioned when Ave 
 view the joyous innocence of that fair creation, 
 and compare it with our own dark selfishness 
 and care. This sadness, enhanced by the con- 
 sciousness of how little the fair scene around her 
 harmonized with the disquietude of her own 
 heart, oppressed Anima as she passed by the 
 bursting gi-oves, and through the perfumed 
 air. Nature seemed to her to be pouring forth 
 
 VOL. J. II
 
 146 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 the gratitude of universal joy, in a song of praise 
 to the Almighty IMaker, and to inquire if she was 
 less blessed than his other creatures, that her heart 
 shoiild be filled with fretfulness and gloom. 
 
 Tears bedewed her cheeks, but they sprung 
 from a better source than they had done for 
 months; and though sad, the reflections that came 
 with them were so soothing that she would gladly 
 have extended the drive. The thous-hts which 
 filled her heart with the warm glow of love to 
 her Creator, and admiration for his glorious 
 works, did not predispose her to view with plea- 
 sure the artificial and pompous symbols of his 
 power, or the cold tribute of praise, which were 
 poured forth at stated intervals, before his altars 
 in the convent of La Vierge. 
 
 At length they reached the massive building, 
 passed its ponderous gates, and stood before the 
 iron grating of the portal. Tlie dull tolling of a 
 bell announced the hoiir of mass; and the por- 
 tress, who admitted them to the parlour, informed 
 them that the whole community being engaged 
 in'praycr, the Abbess was not at present visible.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 147 
 
 Anima had now an opportunity of scanning 
 the apartment, the chilly neatness of which 
 told no tale of social meeting, or cheering occu- 
 pation. Beneath the latticed window, the gar- 
 den extended its formal lensjth; no hurstinsr 
 flower there interfered with the regularity of the 
 smooth gi-avel-wallv, the velvet lawn and the 
 close-cut holhes that bounded its limits, and con- 
 cealed the gloomier wall beyond. The luxuri- 
 ance of nature had been studiously excluded, 
 and her strong sounding call to ecstatic grati- 
 tude and praise, carefully silenced, within those 
 precincts. 
 
 As the aunt and niece sat silently observing 
 its aspect, the door opened, and the stately Abbess 
 entered. Cold, stern and still in manner; with 
 the fillet of white hnen binding the pale fore- 
 head, and encircHng the thin face, there was 
 somethmg forbidding in her appearance. With 
 rigid formality she accosted her sister, and re- 
 proached her for so long delaying her expected 
 \'isit. But unrepulscd, Lladame de Saony 
 warmly embraced her, and presented to her the 
 
 II 2
 
 148 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 niece, who slaixddered as she received tlic Abbess's 
 salute. 
 
 The conference between the sisters lasted long, 
 and Aninia was requested to visit, in the interim, 
 the dull, bleak garden. She accepted with dis- 
 like the proffered attendance of one of the nuns, 
 during the uniforn and cheerless promenade. 
 There, two by two, she beheld the sad sister- 
 hood walking: conversation excluded, hopes and 
 feelincfs for ever crushed ! How dull, how c;rie- 
 vous a contrast to the life she had been accus- 
 tomed to lead ! "Far better," thought she, as 
 she watched the slow procession, " to wed a man 
 I admire and fear, than dwell with beings I 
 should detest;" and glad to exchange the mono- 
 tony of her Avalk, even for the dreaded frown 
 and chiUing address of the Abbess, she returned 
 to the parlour, and as she sought refuge in close 
 contact with the Baronnc de Saony, forgot all 
 her differences in favour of the kinder cast of 
 her countenance, and the warmth of the affec- 
 tion she had experienced. 
 
 Suddenly the Abbess turned to her, and coldly
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 149 
 
 and severely expressed her expectation tliat slie 
 had come to remain with her, in comphance with 
 her grandfather's will, till the completion of the 
 year of noviciate would number her amongst the 
 sisterhood of the convent. 
 
 Startled and alarmed, Anima dared not answer ; 
 but drawing nearer to the Baronne, whispered 
 hurriedly, "Oh! tell her I am no longer free, 
 my hand is promised, my heart is engaged." 
 
 Madame de Saony smiled, and taking up the 
 words said, — 
 
 " Holy and beloved Abbess, Heaven has de- 
 creed another bridal for our niece than that you 
 propose, and she is no longer free to take the 
 veil you offer. Nor will you grieve when you 
 hear that, under her monarch's sanction, she 
 has determined to redeem her mother's error by 
 bestowing her hand on a pious and gallant offi- 
 cer, whose arms, Hkc those of his ancestors, 
 have been directed against heretics, and have 
 been an effectual retribution for their apostacy." 
 
 But the Abbess was far froni admitting the 
 vahdity of this plea. She became exceedingly
 
 150 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 angry, and refrained not from expressing, in the 
 strongest terms, her opinion of the course her 
 sister had pursued. 
 
 Altercation arose on both sides, nor ended till, 
 hastening her departure from a place she never 
 entered with pleasure, nor left with regret, Ma- 
 dame de Saony summoned her attendants, and 
 drawing Anima close to her side, hastily pre- 
 pared to retm'n, fearless of the darkening even- 
 ing or its chilly air; and only when seated in her 
 carriage, and on her road to Paris, did she give 
 vent to the feehngs which the interview had ex- 
 cited, and which spent themselves in warm ex- 
 pressions of affection to the niece whom she now 
 indeed felt she had rescued. " And so, dearest 
 Anima!" she exclaimed, "you prefer matrimony, 
 to imprisonment in those dreary walls ? Kiss 
 me, as a sign our differences are forgotten, and 
 your promise sealed to the Marquis of Pianczza." 
 The kiss was c:iven, the look of reconcihation ex- 
 changed, and both sunk back, silent and fatigued. 
 
 The sun had long set, the sky had assumed 
 a deep piu'ple hue, hghted only by a long.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF TUB VAUDOIS. 151 
 
 bright streak, tlie last remnant of tlie light 
 of day which ghttered at intervals through the 
 ■wood they passed, and at every openmg clis- 
 closed a view of the wide-spreading comitry 
 beyond bounding the horizon with a dark hne. 
 
 Anima gazed on it, and memory recalled the 
 last sunset she had witnessed in Angrogna, the 
 friends who had watched it with her ; and press- 
 ing her hands over her eyes, she gave the reins 
 to her imagination, and sought once more to 
 leaHze the past. 
 
 Her silence was not unobserved by IMadame 
 do Saony, but she was on her own part preoc- 
 cupied by the surroundhig objects. 
 
 Tlieir route lay through an unfrequented dis- 
 trict wliich was thickly Avoodcd, and she had 
 observed a horseman occasionally passing as if 
 dodging the carriage. 
 
 At that time Paris and its vicuiity was infested 
 by villains of every description, the scum of an 
 unoccupied, dissatisfied population ; and few peo- 
 ple ventured to traverse the streets, or trust 
 themselves alone in the suburbs at nightfall ; and
 
 152 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 Madame de Saony viewed with, no favourable 
 impression, the solitary traveller who seemed to 
 track her road. In vain she tried to lull her 
 fears and still the beating of her heart, which 
 she concealed from Anima. 
 
 They were ascending a liill clothed on each 
 side with dark stunted bushes, the long-tailed 
 horses with difficulty dragging the cumbrous ber- 
 line after them, when suddenly there was a cry, 
 and one of thepiqucurs who accompanied the car- 
 riacfe, as was usual at that time, rode to the side 
 of it, exclaiming, " Dcs voleurs ! — des assassins ! — 
 au plus vite ! — nous sommes perdus !" then putting 
 spurs to his horse, he fled, followed by his 
 companions ; and the Baronnc beheld herself and 
 Anima left unprotected to the mercy of their 
 assailants. One indeed remained, a young man 
 whom she had brought from Lancruedoc, and 
 who, far from deserting his post, urged the posti- 
 lions to make one effort to push on out of the 
 danger. "Allcz done, ventre a tcrrc, sacre — 
 poltrons !" lie cried, and riding to the foremost 
 horse, plunged his own spur into his reeking
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 153 
 
 side. The horse started forward, but a strong 
 hand grasped the bridle, and the terrified animal, 
 rearing upright on its haunches, fell back, and 
 effectually stopped all further progress. 
 
 All was now confusion; the postilions cried 
 for mercy ; Francois strove, by dealing powerful 
 blows with the butt end of his whip on either 
 side, to free the horses from the men who hung 
 upon them. Meanwhile a desperate-looking 
 figure had presented himself at Madame de 
 Saony's side, and crying " Lab ourse ou la vie I" 
 menaced her with a loaded pistol, while, with 
 trembling hands, she strove to comply with his 
 commands. 
 
 A similar call awaited the terrified Anima, 
 who, totally incapable of governing the expres- 
 sion of her fear, uttered shriek upon shriek, as 
 the rough form who had suddenly interrupted 
 her meditations laid liis grasp on her, and, ex- 
 asperated by her screams, strove to lift her from 
 the carriage. But Fran9ois saw, and with a 
 sudden spring seized him round the throat and 
 dragged him to the ground, and there for some 
 
 113
 
 154 THE PASTOE CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 moments, well matched in strength, they strug- 
 gled in the desperate contest of life or death. 
 But the robber was armed, and, aided by his 
 comrades, soon obtained the mastery over his op- 
 ponent. Overpowered, pressed to the groimd, 
 Trancois beheld the robber's knife gleaming be- 
 fore his throat, and knew there was no longer 
 hope for him. He closed liis eyes, and tried to 
 pray. Tliere was a flash, a 'report, a heavy 
 fall. Frangois looked up — the robber lay dead 
 beside him, his comrades were flying, and horse- 
 men were seen leaping through the thicket. 
 
 " Codardi, Frances!, morite !" cried a voice, 
 and the INIarquis di Pianezza galloped to the 
 spot. He had set out from Paris to meet Ma- 
 dame do Saony on her retm-n, and thus oppor- 
 tunely had come to her rescue. His followers 
 pursued the fugitives, while he hastened to ]\Ia- 
 demoiselle di Solara, who, pale as any marble 
 statue, lay on the ground beside the carriage, 
 and, raising her in his arms, recalled her with 
 difficulty to herself. 
 
 Some moments elapseci ere Anima could re
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 155 
 
 cognise lier deliverer and join In tlie profuse ex- 
 pressions witli which Madame de Saony testified 
 her gratitude; but when at length order was 
 restored, and they prepared to recommence their 
 journey under the protection of the marquis's 
 armed escort, she more than repaid his exertions 
 by the confiding lot)k wliich, by the glare of the 
 torches his attendants bore, he saw her fasten on 
 him. 
 
 He could not refuse the imploring gaze, with 
 ■which Anima seconded her aim t's request to liim, 
 to occupy the vacant seat in the bcrhne; and his 
 hopes rising in that dear vicinity, ere the drive 
 concluded he had again lugcd his suit to her, 
 and received from her quivering lips a favourable 
 answer. 
 
 Dehghtcd at his success, elated by the very 
 adventm'e which had overpowered her, Pianezza 
 forgot his usual sternness of manner, and, press- 
 ing her hand to his heart and lips, vowed to 
 guard the precious boon while life remained. 
 Nor did she withdraw it till they reached the 
 Hotel do Saony, and were welcomed by all the
 
 156 THE PASTOE CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 comforts of home after the dangers they had 
 passed — dangers from which he had rescued 
 them. The cheerful Hght cheered them as they 
 arrived, and La Baronne was fervently ejacu- 
 latins; her thanks, when alarmed bv a shriek 
 from Anima, who on alighting beheld her white 
 dress dabbled with blood ! — the blood of the rob- 
 ber whom the Marquis had slain in her defence ! 
 
 Alas! was it thus the bond of union was 
 _ sealed; thus the compact signed! 
 
 Shuddering, she sought her apartment ; the 
 omen haunted her through that night, and often, 
 alas I too often afterwards ! 
 
 But the impression w^as not then suffered to 
 remain; her aunt diligently strove to efface it, 
 nor left one moment of time unoccupied for 
 reflection, to startle Pianezza's promised bride. 
 And her conscience deceived, her mind amused, 
 Anima persuaded herself she was happy — de- 
 luded herself with the belief that she loved. 
 
 One feeling alone oppressed her with dread, 
 a dread she had never known before — that of 
 racctincj nirain Madame de Maintcnon.
 
 } 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 157 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Far different scenes were passing in the pa- 
 lace of Versailles, from those which occupied the 
 inmates of the Hotel de Saonv. Louvois had 
 not miscalculated the effect of his plans, nor the 
 power of the bait he had ofi'ered to his intended 
 victim; but, though the snare was laid, the prey 
 was not yet entrapped. Cautiously, meanwhile, he 
 instilled the poison into Louis's mind, which he 
 intended should destroy her influence. Her 
 daily drives ; her morning meetings with JNlu- 
 demoiselle di Solara, the Vaudois heiress of such 
 great wealth, were all duly reported, while tlie 
 hesitation of the latter to give her hand to tlic 
 Marquis di Pianezza, was adduced in support of
 
 158 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 his insinuations. Nor did Louvois fail to relate 
 the history of the Protestant maiden of the 
 Boulevards, garbled so as to serve his purpose, 
 and confirmed by the fact of her daily visits 
 to the palace, where, under the protection of 
 Fenelon, she received the charity of her bene- 
 factress. 
 
 Tlie monarch's mind, easily swayed by pre- 
 judice, was ever prone to brood over the sus- 
 picion of a fancied injury. Self-esteem from 
 his earhest youth had been his predominant pas- 
 sion; and the unparalleled success he had hi- 
 therto met with, both in war and love, had 
 not failed to increase its force. But now the 
 rosy clouds which adorned the rising sun of his 
 glory, were beginning to darken into gloom, as 
 it verged towards its dechne ; and soured, by 
 disappointment, at a change so unexpected, he 
 wanted an object on which to vent the unholy 
 feehngs it occasioned; and the Protestants of 
 Trance and Piedmont offered themselves as the 
 victims. On the former, his vengeance had 
 already been wreaked ; over the latter he still
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 159 
 
 held tlic scoiir2;e wliicli other hands were to 
 inflict. His anger became daily inflamed by the 
 reports which were made of the invincible cou- 
 rage and untiring patience of the unfortunate 
 Vaudois; and to the reigning Duke of Savoy, 
 Victor Amadous, he destined the ofEce of 
 executing his cruel designs against them. Many 
 saw and felt the impoHcy of this cruel persecu- 
 tion, but few ventured to remonstrate. One only, 
 nerved with courage at the instigation of Fenelon, 
 raised the voice of entreaty for mercy at liis 
 throne; but her accents wore unheeded, and 
 served but to add fuel to the Arc which was 
 smouldcrin2; ajrainst her in the monarch's breast. 
 The alteration of Louis's manner, his coldness 
 and severity, were not unnoticed by Madame dc 
 Maintcnon, and she bewailed in secret the dimi- 
 nution of liis aflcction. But still the cahu and 
 digniflcd empress of herself, she bore her grief in 
 silence, and remained the ever ready companion 
 of his gloomy moments — too happy when per- 
 mitted to sooth his cares, and too wise to intrude 
 upon him one complaint of her wrongs. Yet
 
 160 THE PASTOS CHIEF; OE, 
 
 she longed for the explanation she trembled 
 to ask, and, in her hours of anxiety she 
 turned to the only ray which could cheer their 
 darkness. Her service to her Maker, her love 
 for his sufiering creatures, formed a har- 
 bour for her troubled thoughts, and foremost 
 among these was the now wholly unprotected 
 Victorine, who daily received, from her hands, 
 the rehef which she and her ahnost famished 
 brethren required. Her father had been re- 
 leased from his sufferings, but the sHght protec- 
 tion he could afford his child was amply com- 
 pensated by the powerful support, which report 
 already declared, had been afforded her by the 
 monarch's consort, and which Avas an effectual 
 shield against any insult. 
 
 Nor was Madame de Maintenon's kindness less 
 magnanimously extended to Madame Guyon, 
 whose doctrines, containing much that is beau- 
 tiful, had drawn down upon her the disappro- 
 bation of the Archbishop of Paris, and who, but 
 for the support of her powerful friend, would 
 have been exposed to his threatened persecution.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 161 
 
 Unconscious that Louis was aware of the ex- 
 tent of her private charities, and fearful of med- 
 dling in public affairs, Madame de Maintenon 
 could not for a moment attribute his growing 
 neglect to the real cause, though the unwelcome 
 suspicion would sometmies flash upon her mind; 
 and she who Avas superior to every other weak- 
 ness, would have sacrificed the nearest and 
 dearest object to her dread of liis anger. 
 
 It was after some such reflections as these, that 
 the announcement of a visit from the kino; fiUed 
 her with an alarm, which rendered it difficult for 
 her to command the calmness of manner wliich 
 had acquired for her, from Louis, the playful 
 name of " Voire Sermite" and, with a boating 
 heart, and quivering lips, she saw him cuter her 
 boudoir, with the proud majesty of his regal de- 
 meanour, rendered more stern by the expression 
 of indiirnation. 
 
 He took the seat she offered; and, without no- 
 ticinQf the diirnificd submission of her standincr 
 
 o o o 
 
 position, began to upbraid her with severity, for 
 the many infractions of his will, of which he 
 supposed her guihy.
 
 162 
 
 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 Without pausing to give her the opportunity 
 of self defence, he accused her of introducing into 
 the institution "which was destined for the in- 
 struction of the children of his subjects, heretical 
 and seditious opinions ; of privately eucoiu'aging 
 and assistmg the rebel crew who opposed them- 
 selves to his rehgion and his arms ; of employing 
 the pubHc money, his too confiding generosity 
 had placed at her command, for im worthy pur- 
 poses; and last, and worse than all, of receiving 
 into her privacy the priest whom he suspected 
 and disapproved, and of bestowing on him the 
 confidence which he himsch' only had a right to 
 claim. 
 
 Long and silently Madame de Maintenon Hs- 
 tened ; fear at first forbade her answering, but 
 this vanished under the stronger sense of in- 
 justice. Too proud to justify herself from false 
 accusations, and too conscious of her real situa- 
 tion to forget the respect due to a monarch and a 
 husband, she patiently waited till he ceased, and 
 then quietly observed — 
 
 " Sire, it is not for me to refute charges, of 
 which a httlc reflection would convince you I am
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 163 
 
 innocent; but I am ready, this instant, to seek 
 again the seclusion from wluch you raised me." 
 
 The monarch, however, was in no mood to be 
 soothed by such a reply, and, conscious that he had 
 been in some degree imjust, he was only exaspe- 
 rated by her submission. He enumerated the bene- 
 fits and honours he had heaped on her, and setting 
 them in array against, what he termed, her in- 
 gratitude, told her that female influence was no 
 longer destined to stain the glory of France, and 
 she must seek another home, where she would be 
 deprived of the power she had abused, and the 
 favom'S she had sought for her own private pur- 
 poses; — he paused; she answered not. He re- 
 newed his reproaches, till, weary of her silence, 
 he commanded her to speak ; and then, in the deep 
 sorrowful tone of her rich voice, she rephed — 
 
 *' Sire, unused to such commands, yom' sub- 
 ject knows not how to answer. You spurn me 
 from you, — I submit ; thankful that the tics which 
 imite us are still a secret from the world. He, 
 before whom tliey were consecrated, well knows 
 the submission with wliich I prepare to obey your
 
 164 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 will, and leave a grandeur I never coveted: as 
 a prince, you liave commanded what, as a friend 
 and a husband, you might have obtained by the 
 simplest intimation of your wish; and, as a sub- 
 ject, I dare to reply, that you have offered me, 
 this morning, an insult and an injury." 
 
 Nerved with all the dignity of conscious in- 
 nocence, she gazed on him for a moment with a 
 look, beneath which he quailed. Still he continued 
 his invectives ; and ended by bidding her prepare 
 to retire to the shades of IMaintenon, there to re- 
 member in soHtude the friend who had presented 
 it, and whose love she had disappointed. 
 
 These cruel words she heard; and fixed her 
 eyes once more on him, who reminded her of the 
 love she had regarded as her only good on earth, 
 and the thought that she was losing all claim to 
 it, rushed tumultuously on her brain, and gave to 
 her expression a thrilling look of tenderness and 
 reproach. But she trusted not her voice to ex- 
 press the anguish with which her bosom laboured; 
 and, as lie prepared to depart, she still stood, 
 pale, proud, yet submissive, before him — the
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE YAUDOIS. 165 
 
 tears, of which she was scarcely conscious, coursing 
 in rapid succession clown her cheeks. The mo- 
 narch saw the touching sign, which attested, un- 
 bidden, the grief within; and, ere he reached the 
 door, turned to whisper, "Farewell; Fran^oise." 
 Tlae tone was that of brighter days ; the look, that 
 on which she loved to dwell ; and the sudden change 
 at once destroyed all self-command, and looking 
 on the countenance where once more beamed the 
 ray of affection, her heart melted within her, and 
 she sunk prostrate at his feet. 
 
 He raised, and soothed her, recalled her to 
 herself, and poured into her willing ear the rich 
 consolation which effaced the anguish she had 
 endured ; and the hours flew swiftly as he again 
 assured her of his love, acknowledged his injus- 
 tice, and witnessed the smiles he loved to receive. 
 
 She forffavchim, forijot her sufferings and the 
 stronger claims she was willing to sacrifice to his 
 desires; and when the mon\ent cauae m whicli 
 the monarch must depart, and the expectant 
 courtiers hoped to discover the issue of the long 
 conference they hud anxiously watched, she was
 
 166 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 ready to make wliatever promise was required; 
 and as he left tlie boudoir lie said, and not in. 
 vain : " Fran^olse, see that, ere the next moon 
 rise, the marriage of Mademoiselle di Solara and 
 Marquis di Pianezza he completed, and that the 
 convent of St. Cyr be rid of that obnoxious 
 Quietiste and her weak confessor." 
 
 Her assent was given ; the claims of the poor 
 and of the oppressed, if not sacrificed to the com- 
 mands of a monarch she feared, at least yielded 
 to the wishes of a husband whom she adored. 
 
 Aware that Louis expected immediate com- 
 phance with his wishes, Madame de INIalntenon 
 immediately prepared to alter her whole line of 
 conduct ; that night she wrote to Madame Guy on, 
 and requested her to withdraw from St. Cyr on 
 the ensuing day. The next heavy task was to 
 desert the friendless Victorlne, and the wretched 
 band whose sufferings, she felt, her momentary 
 reUef had only served to protract till a worse 
 period even than before had arrived, and with a 
 sigh she whispered to herself, 
 
 " Alas ! I dare no longer offer them the trifling
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 167 
 
 aid that rescued tliem from starvation or crime. 
 Hard sacrifice: required, not in obedience to a 
 husband's love, but to a monarch's caprice. But 
 Louis asked it with the tone of love, and I must 
 comply. Though Victorine may come here no 
 more, she shall not be without a friend." Again 
 she considered, and then resumed: "Yes! 
 Anima di Solara must be her guardian — must 
 bear her hence. And there as^ain is a bitter 
 pang. How shall I urge that poor girl to con- 
 sent to a marriage she dishkes^and which my 
 own judgment condemns. Hard, hard tasks has 
 he given me to perform !" 
 
 Many a sigh revealed, throughout that night, 
 the anxious thoughts which disturbed her repose ; 
 and "when the morning found her preparing to 
 receive the weekly assembly of visiters in the 
 state apartments, it was with the haggardlook, and 
 palHd hue of exhaustion. Once, and once only, 
 that deadly whiteness yielded to a crimson flusli : 
 it was as Fenelon approached, and she received 
 him with a forced and unnatural reserve. Tlic 
 only comfort that morning brought her, was when
 
 168 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 Madame de Saoiiy rcKevcd her worst appre- 
 hensions, by announcing that the marriage was 
 settled between her niece and the Marquis 
 di Pianezza ; and it was with unfeigned plea- 
 sure that she congratulated her, and beheld 
 Louis's look of approbation as he heard the news. 
 
 But the face of Louvois, hke the gloomy sea 
 before a coming storm, met her glance and dis- 
 turbed the pleasanter current of her feehngs. 
 That look revealed to her whence the shaft 
 which had wounded her had sped ; and she shud- 
 dered to think how true had been its aim. 
 
 With respect to INIademoiscllc di Solara, lier 
 satisfaction was short. Each subsequent inter- 
 view disclosed the artificial state of her young 
 friend's heart ; and Madame de Maintcnon sif^hed 
 to see her rushing on a fate which she feared 
 must wreck all her happiness, without daring to 
 speak to her one warning word. 
 
 Yet, Avitli the young bride, all seemed to go 
 smoothly. Tlie restless state of her mind ex- 
 cluded reflection; and the splendid preparations 
 for her bridal, the friends who flocked around to
 
 THE ESCArE OF THE VAUDOIS. 169 
 
 exalt her good fortune, and tlie stream of adu- 
 lation whicli even tlie monarch had deigned to 
 augment, all occupied her thoughts. Nor was it 
 till the very evening preceding the wedding day, 
 that any warning voice rose within her heart to 
 tell of the precipice on whose verge she stood ; 
 and when too late to retreat, a busy demon 
 seemed at her side whispering in the solitude of 
 the night, in " the voices of the dead, the tale 
 of other days," and raising the ghttcring veil, 
 which had disguised the reality, discovered it to 
 her in all its nakedness. 
 
 She strove in vain to silence tlic voice, or 
 di'own it in the many trivial objects wlii(^li, for 
 so many days, had excluded its sound. In vain 
 she gazed on her lover's picture, liis last gift, as 
 it hung before her, and tried to deceive herself 
 into the fancy that she loved it for the donor's 
 sake ; in vain she attempted to raise her voice, 
 as formerly, in prayer. Conscience stood by, 
 and warned her of a neglected Maker : forgotten 
 in the day of prosperity, and sacrificed to other 
 allurements. Still less could she lose in sleep 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 THE PASTOR CHIEr; OR, 
 
 the recollection wliicli liaunted her ; and Trhen 
 the morninfr dawned, and her aunt summoned 
 her to assxmie the bridal dress, no rest had visited 
 her aching" eyes. 
 
 Pale, quivering with fear and regret, at length 
 she appeared : her brow encircled with the orange 
 wreath : her form veiled by the deHcate draperies 
 of her Mechlin dress: the glittering diamonds, 
 the monarch's gift, sparkhng on her heaving 
 bosom and snowy arms — like^morning dewdrops 
 on the Hly's purity. 
 
 Lons Hues of admirinc; guests filled the church 
 of Notre Dame, as the Archbishop of Paris 
 read the nuptial service and dictated the falter- 
 ing accents, with which the Vaudois bride 
 pledged her faith, in a strange ritual, to the 
 persecutor of her country. 
 
 All Avondcred at her loveliness, and extolled 
 the splendour of the marriage ; but few sympa- 
 thized with the inward fecHngs which oppressed 
 her heart, and dimmed the brightness of every 
 external circumstance that surrounded her. 
 
 One, indeed, there was, whose prayers were
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 171 
 
 poured fortli in deep and fervent devotion for 
 the young bride, and who watclied Avitli almost 
 maternal solicitude her pallid cheek and ill-ex- 
 pressed sigh. 
 
 As Madame de Maintenon gazed on the group 
 before her, she recalled with sorrow to her mind, 
 with what different feehngs she herself had ap- 
 peared before that altar, and with what pure 
 feelinflfs of unselfish devotion she had twice 
 uttered those vows, which even thus had been 
 difScult to observe in their exact demands of 
 obedience, self-denial, and forbearance ; and she 
 trembled for the young bride before her ! 
 
 I 2
 
 172 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The streets of Paris were thronged with gazers, 
 as the bridal procession of the Marchioness di 
 Pianezza proceeded from the gates of Notre 
 Dame, and acclamations of applause rent the air 
 when the beautiful bride herself appeared ; but 
 they fell discordant on her ear. A heavy knell 
 was striking at her heart, which rose above every 
 other sound ; and while it seemed tolUncr for the 
 days that were passed, she felt that she was now 
 separated for ever from every dear and early cus- 
 tom, and that under the guidance of one almost a 
 stranger, or known only as the deadliest foe of her 
 country and her early rehgion, she was entering 
 on a path of Hfe ahke new and unpromising.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS, 173 
 
 She was to leave Paris the same day ; her at- 
 tendant, and now it seemed her only friend, was 
 Victorine, whom Louvois had raised from misery, 
 for the purpose of hurhng her benefactress from 
 her hiij-h station. But aware of the danfrer, 
 Madame de Maintenon had escaped it, and by 
 sending her protegee, under the care of Aniraa, 
 to a distance, had ensured her safety, and provided 
 her young friend with a companion, whose high 
 and steady principle she felt might be some safe- 
 guard to her among the many temptations which 
 would assail her. She took the precaution to 
 conceal from Victorine that her new mistress had 
 once professed, though now she had abjured, a 
 faith similar to her own, and enjoined on Anima 
 the stricted reserve on the subject; for, as she 
 watched the young bride at the altar, she thought 
 she perceived that the remembrance of her early 
 creed yet lurked in her heart, and that it needed 
 but little encouraQ-ement to burst forth again into 
 existence. 
 
 But where were now the friends, between whom
 
 174 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 and herself, Anima liad just placed an impassable 
 barrier? 
 
 We left tbem sorrowing for lier loss. We return 
 to them, -wlien tlie change had passed over her 
 heart and name, leaving a canker-worm for the 
 time, when the world should have bhghted their 
 fair flower, and a false creed should have usm-ped 
 the place of their simple worsliip. They were, 
 however, spared the bitter knowledge, which 
 would have yet increased the aggravated miseries 
 . they had endured since her departure, and they 
 still thought of her as of a lost Jamb who desired 
 to return to the fold. 
 
 It had been the office of the pastor of Angrogna, 
 during this period, to travel from valley to valley 
 and spread the sad news of expected persecution, 
 and to sound the inhabitants on the amount of 
 courage or of patience they possessed, to meet the 
 coming stonn. Almost everywhere he found 
 bitter fecHngs of indignation, and a bm-ning desire 
 to revenge their wrongs, and, in some instances, 
 a hopeless dejection, inchning them to lie down
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 175 
 
 and die, without one effort in self-defence. But 
 all were unanimous in refusing to comply with the 
 decree which required them to submit their cliild- 
 ren to Popish baptism. 
 
 Vainly did the pastor exhort them to await 
 patiently, and to resist in silent firmness the 
 cominir tide. Tears and lamentations were their 
 reply, and with the memory of the horrors their 
 ancestors had undergone, bloody tales of other 
 days ran from mouth to mouth and increased tha 
 general panic. Still the minister sped on his 
 coxu'se; but no longer, as heretofore, welcomed 
 with glad rejoicings and humble prayers for bless 
 infs on his weary way, but received with tears 
 and gloom, as the messenger of woe. 
 
 His daughter accompanied him, and tried to 
 sooth his anxiety, while she concealed the sorrow 
 wliich burned in her own bosom. 
 
 With liim she had regretted the loss of Anima, 
 
 and mourned the far heavier affliction wliich 
 
 threatened her coimtry;bvit the first had not been 
 
 . all bitterness, and watered by the very tears shed 
 
 for her friend's departure, a hope sprung up, un_
 
 176 THE PASTOn CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 acknowledged even to herself, of future bliss. It 
 was nurtured even by the daily recital of his re- 
 grets which Duraud poured into her faithful ear ; 
 and though in their long evening walks, Anima, 
 and the tale of Ms enduring love for her, formed 
 the theme of his discourse, bitter as was the sub- 
 ject to her, yet she loved even so to minister con- 
 solation to his wounded heart. 
 
 Meanwhile the orders of Savoy had been dis- 
 obeyed throughout the valleys, and already the 
 sad consequences were felt. The inhabitants 
 were commanded to leave their homes within 
 three days, and saw themselves compelled cither 
 to wander defenceless to a strange land, or to be 
 expelled at the point of the sword. Either way, 
 certain destruction awaited them. To obey, was 
 to meet starA'ation in their unknown path; for, 
 encumbered as they must be with the helpless 
 and infirm, how could they carry sufficient pro- 
 visions for their support, till they should reach a 
 spot where the inhabitants wovdd Ijc charitable 
 enough to shelter them from their enemies, and 
 provide them again with houses, in lieu of those
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 177 
 
 from which they were now unjustly expelled by 
 a prince whom they had served and obeyed. 
 
 But one method remained, and that was so 
 slender that many refused to adopt it, fearful of 
 exasperating still further the anger of their op- 
 pressor. This was to await his armies, sword in 
 hand, and defend, to the last drop of their blood, 
 the fastnesses which had protected their fore- 
 fathers. Should they succeed in this, they might 
 yet linger on, till their friends the Swiss should 
 send assistance; but for this, the strictest union 
 of thought and effort was requisite. Arnaud 
 used his most strenuous endeavours to induce 
 them to make the attempt; but his influence, 
 till now ever 'successful, seemed failing. Some 
 drew back in fear, while others paralyzed the 
 courage of their bolder brethren, l^y their en- 
 treaties that they woidd throw dovrn their arms, 
 and suppHcate as faithful subjects the mercy of 
 Savoy. The wiser saw the risk of such a scheme 
 with a prince who, deaf to every feeling of 
 honour, had never hesitated to violate the most 
 binding treaties; and they turned to tlic uunals 
 
 i3
 
 178 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 of past days to attest liow every breacli of faitli 
 to tlie too confiding Vaudois had been sanc- 
 tioned by tlie court of Rome. The time rapidly 
 drew on, and still hesitation and disunion marked 
 the pastor's hopes. 
 
 Once again they met in the spot consecrated 
 to their worship ; and, for the last time, Arnaud 
 poured forth the prayer, and explained the 
 Scripture to his kneehng flock ; but, as he con- 
 cluded, he addressed them in the following 
 words : 
 
 " In a few days, other sounds will echo 
 through these valleys, and other forms will people 
 them, Avhile we shall be toihng over the rugged 
 Alpine paths, and behold our childi'en stretch 
 forth their little hands for food we cannot give, 
 then sink under the agonies of starvation, till 
 death rcHevcs them. We shall see our wives 
 point to those valleys, where their dwclhngs yet 
 remain, and reproach us for our cowardice in 
 deserting them, and our folly in preferring the 
 lingering death which awaits us, to the bold, 
 and, it might be, successful attempt to rescue
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 179 
 
 them at tlie sacrifice of life: nay ! tlicy sliall 
 not say so. Our friends in Switzerland sliall not 
 raise the finger of scorn, as they point out the 
 spot where lay our mouldering bones, and tell 
 their children it is the grave of those, who quail- 
 ing before the tyrant's sword — trustless of the 
 Almighty's power, who for sixteen centuries had 
 preserved the remnant of his true church — fled 
 from the place he had assigned them, and, 
 leaving his altars to bo desecrated by the foe, 
 found the punishment of their faintheartedness 
 in the very path they had looked to for salva- 
 tion ! Nay ! my children. He wdio created this 
 glorious world for the abode of his creatures, 
 can defend us from our enemies ; or, if indeed 
 wc are to perisli, let it be in His cause ; that, 
 ■with our dying breath, may come a liopc that 
 another land will open to our view, where the 
 oppressor will no longer wield the sword of in- 
 justice. Vaudois Protestants of the early chm'ch ! 
 vindicate your right to the proud title; and re- 
 member, that He Avho strengthened the unarmed 
 champion of Israel, against the PhiHstinc in the
 
 180 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 pride of Ills power, will protect his chosen band 
 against the united armies of France and Savoy ! 
 Already the tide of war pours its devastating 
 waves into our valleys ; their troops defile 
 through the frontiers of Lucerne, and the clash 
 of their arms will ere long resound in our fast- 
 nesses. Men of Angrogna, — withstand the first 
 shock; be firm! — and if our brethren do but join 
 us, we may yet foil the unholy expectations of 
 our foes, and drive them from our land !" 
 
 A shout of universal assent followed this ex- 
 hortation, and then, kneeling with his flock, the 
 pastor uttered an earnest prayer, and the de- 
 voted band rose strengthened and comforted. 
 
 It is in the hour of danger that woman's 
 courage awakes; and when the stouter heart of 
 man is oppressed by diflicultics, her spirit rises, 
 and she looks calmly at the sorrows before wliich, 
 in brighter moments, she had quailed. 
 
 When in their lone parsonage that evening, 
 the father and child met, and he began to prc- 
 parp her to await the approaching storm vnth. 
 courage and resignation, Marie answered him
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 181 
 
 with a loftiness of tone, and a fearlessness of ex- 
 pression, that both surprised and inspired him. 
 
 "Father," she said, " dost thou think that I 
 dread the ■\var-cry a1)out to sound ? Dost thou 
 think the tales of horror with which these val- 
 leys abound, the sufferings and death of our 
 forefathers, appal me ? and that, to escape such 
 a fate, I could abjure my faith, and seek safety 
 in apostacy ? Nay, my father, thou dost not 
 think thus meanly of thy child ! Remember 
 that thou hast taught her to trust in other power 
 than that of man, and in that protection to feel 
 her safety, and to seek her guerdon beyond this 
 transitory scene, which her ancestors have bathed 
 with their tears and their blood ! She is ready 
 to meet death with an unllinching eye, ' behold- 
 ing in it but the portals to a brighter future, nor 
 trembling if it close with difficulty on this. 
 Perhaps you think that I shall grieve to leave 
 this native spot, consecrated by so many prayers, 
 and hallowed by my mother's grave ; but — I 
 leave it not, my lather. No ! no other clime shall
 
 182 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 rise to my view ; in Angrogna I will live, and 
 in Angrogna die : best, brightest hope to cheer 
 me on my path to that only other home I will 
 acknowledge." 
 
 Her eye shone with enthusiasm, and her father 
 folded her to his bosom in fond dehght, as she 
 resumed in a tone of earnest entreaty : 
 
 " My father, there is one thing I woidd ask — 
 it may be my last request ; oh ! do not refuse it. 
 Let me leave thcc, but for this one evening. 
 The people vacillate, they tremble and think 
 of yielding; and unless our cxliortations inspire 
 them with greater firmness, our cause is lost. 
 
 " A woman's courage will shame their faint- 
 heartedness; let me then, while thou art vi- 
 siting some, go amongst the rest, and ere the 
 morning sun dawns on the pennons of our foe, 
 our exertions will not have been in vain." 
 
 " My child, bethink thee," rejoined the pastor, 
 " separated from my side, should the war trumpet 
 soimd in our valley, what will become of thee ? 
 Should I fill, far from thee, and thou be con- 

 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 183 
 
 demned to tlic horrors of captivity, aggravated 
 by uncertainty, respecting my fate ; wliat wilt 
 tliou do?" 
 
 " Trust in Providence, fatlier, and die," said 
 the maiden, " Refuse me not my request. To stay 
 here tlu'ough the long night in inaction, wliilst 
 thou art incm-ring danger, and undergoing 
 fatigues, beyond thy strength, were torture more 
 than our oppressors can inflict. I would ask to 
 accompany thee ; but to visit all, nay half, thy 
 flock is impossible : the duty divided will be 
 quicker done. Oh ! let us not by untimely con- 
 siderations, for our own safety, suffer the sparks, 
 thy evening discourse kindled, to expire ere they 
 burst into a more permanent flame." 
 
 "But where is Durand?" asked her father. 
 " His very hfc seemed his hope of revenge — re- 
 sistance the very atmosphere he breathed — who 
 then, better than he, could inspire these peasants, 
 and assist our endeavours?" 
 
 " My iiither," replied she, with a crimson blush, 
 "you are right. Courage, determination, arc 
 liis very existence ; but he is gone to the valley
 
 184 THE PASTOll CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 of" Lucerne, to wake In its inhabitants the man- 
 liness he confidently relies on here. There hc_ 
 will stay till he succeeds ; and if words fail to in- 
 spire them, he will try the effect of example.^ 
 Again, father, I implore you, let me go also, 
 and perform the duty I am called tcx." 
 
 " My child ! — go — and be the Almighty's bless- 
 ino; with thee. ButTcre we leave this threshold 
 which may be drenched in blood, ere we revisjt 
 it, let me strain thee to my bosom, — last, — only 
 pledge of thy mother's love, and true memorial of 
 her virtue and faith. Marie, shouldst thou be 
 left sole inmate of this home, where she gave thee 
 breath, promise that death shall be more welcome 
 to thee tlian apostacy, its terrors less appalling 
 than Papal favours !" 
 
 Her heart heaved, her bosom swelled at these 
 words; but the feehngs they invoked were deeper 
 than the spring of tears. 
 
 " Father," she hoarsely replied, " we shall meet; 
 yes, we meet again — here or hereafter, 'tis one !" 
 
 "Marie, thou art right" — as he spoke, he gazed 
 on the carving over the cliimncy, where, accord-
 
 TUE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 185 
 
 ing to the customs of liis country, were engraved 
 several scripture texts, and as Marie's eyes followed 
 the direction in which he pointed, she read — 
 " Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy 
 laden and I will give you rest." 
 
 " There Marie is thy consolation ! when I am 
 gone, imprint it on thy heart, as thy Saviour's 
 and thy father's legacy." 
 
 They crossed the threshold of their natal dwell- 
 ing, and passed the grave where, safe from the 
 agitatiiig fears they endured, lay the wife, the 
 mother they liad so deeply mourned. The moon 
 was shining on the turf, no stone marked the 
 spot, but memory more faithful than the sculptor's 
 art had raised a monument there, which not even 
 time could efface. 
 
 They steeled their liearts against the softening 
 recollection it brought, and hurried to their task. 
 Once the pastor looked back; and as the low 
 roof and white walls of his loved dwcllinfr met 
 his eye, a tear rose there, which even the Chris- 
 tian's resiraation could not restrain. But as he
 
 186 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 gazed, hope again spriuig up, and lie felt, if in- 
 deed his flock stood firm, this precious spot might 
 still be Ms ! 
 
 Urgently did the father and daughter address 
 the inhabitants; and not in vain. His influence; 
 her fearlessness, who, on the eve of bloodshed 
 and danger, travelled alone and unappallcd from 
 house to house, calhng on men to smile at perils 
 wliich a woman feared not, and reproaching 
 them for their cowardice at deserting their 
 homes, roused an iinexpected enthusiasm. 
 
 Marie had scarcely left one dwclhng un visited, 
 and time had so imperceptibly stolen on, that 
 the night had nearly passed away, when she 
 stopped at the door of a cottage isolated from the 
 others ; but the dark and solitary path which led 
 to it had been imnoticed by her, and no hesita- 
 tion had marked her bearing till then, and then 
 she paused ere she lifted the latch. 
 
 " Onfroi," she cried, in an uncertain voice, 
 " Onfroi, may I enter ?" But there was no an- 
 swer, though she reiterated the request; and in 
 tender accents she then called to the Cretin : '
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 187 
 
 " Open, poor Pierre, and let a friend come 
 in; open tlie door, I say, for Marie Arnaud." 
 
 The Cretin was e^'idcntly witliin, for a low 
 and not inharmonious murmur, like a child's 
 attempt at song, betokened his presence ; but stiU 
 there was no response to her request, till a heavy 
 footstep sounded within, and Le Bouquetin him- 
 self undid the door. 
 
 The interior of the dwelHng was characteristic 
 of the habits of its owner. Its furniture was rude 
 and scanty. Its walls were hung -with imple- 
 ments of the chase, or, here and there, adorned 
 with its spoils. In one corner alone appeared 
 any attempt at comfort; there, lay a few trillcs 
 made of horn, ingenious play tilings, to amuse 
 the tedious hours of the Cretin's existence; and, 
 covered with a chamois hide, a low couch, wliich 
 formed liis bed, from which the idiot had now 
 risen, but had nestled down on the floor close be- 
 side it. 
 
 Onfroi Vigano appeared in his usual strange 
 garb; his rifle, which he had been cleaning, was
 
 188 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 in his hand ; and with a fierce tone of annoy- 
 ance at the intrusion, he asked, 
 
 " "Who art tliou, tliat comest to disturb me at 
 the hour when wise men sleep, and fools and 
 madmen alone keep watch ?" 
 
 He fixed liis piercing eyes upon her, and the 
 unsteady glances of their wild expression were 
 more unnatural and appalling even than the 
 fixed stare of the helpless idiot. But Marie 
 boldly answered, 
 
 " Onfroi, I come to ask thee to join the ge- 
 neral levee; to lift that strong arm in thine own, 
 and thy country's defence — whose fame, years 
 ago, was so nobly established in Lucerne and 
 Angrogna. The armies of Savoy are at hand, 
 once more ready to pour tlie torrent of persecu- 
 tion over these unhappy valleys ; and my father 
 and I are abroad to collect our band and invite 
 them to resistance while yet there is time." 
 
 " Ha !" cried Lc Bonquetin, " is it so, Marie? 
 Now, then, is the day of vengeance come; now 
 are my hopes fulfdled, and rivers of blood shall
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 189 
 
 wash out tlie dark stains of former days ! Now, 
 tlien, it is no longer a dream, tlie oft-repeated 
 vision of the niglit, wliicli beckons me on, whis- 
 pering that the hour is arrived and I must 
 gird myself as the champion of the Lord, to 
 avenge his slaughtered saints ! On, maiden ! 
 on ! In His name I prophesy success to our cause, 
 death to our foes, and will myself lead the way 
 to victory." 
 
 So saying, he began hastily to arm himself with 
 the long-barrelled rifle and the other warhkc 
 weapons which stood near. Frightened at the 
 ferocious manner of his uncle, more intelligible 
 than words to his darkened intellect, the poor 
 idiot crept gibbering to Onfroi's side, looking up 
 into his face with a piteous and beseeching ex- 
 pression, which showed that there, however 
 fiercely the storm might rage, he was accustomed 
 to find a certain refuge. 
 
 " Pierre !" added Lc Bouquetin, as he per- 
 ceived his approach, " my poor child, come to me, 
 come ; none shall hurt thee ! This rifle can de- 
 fend thy hfe while the spirit of him who be-
 
 190 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 queatlied it to me, the noble Giavanello, will in- 
 spire me with power to avenge his blood, and 
 that of those w^ho perished at Rora !" 
 
 He then strode from the cottage, dragging 
 with him the terrified idiot; and left Marie to 
 pursue her way to other hearths. She per- 
 suaded most of their owners to foUow her, and 
 then led them to the presbytery, where she 
 hoped to meet her father. 
 
 The red streaks of the rising sun were just 
 visible in the horizon, and the gray tints of 
 morning began to wear a rosier hue, when her 
 attentive car fancied it discerned the sound of 
 the hollow drum and shrill trumpet afar off. 
 Nor was she mistaken ; it was, indeed, the dis- 
 tant roll of musketry that she heard, dealing 
 death and desolation in Lucerne. 
 
 " They come ! they come !" she whispered to 
 herself " Now the close tug for life or death !" 
 But the sounds died away, and no voice having 
 echoed the thought of her heart, she fancied 
 herself deceived. 
 
 Was it fear that flushed her cheek, and lent
 
 THE ESCx^JPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 191 
 
 the brilliancy to her eye ? A tlirlll of agony, 
 indeed, drove through her bosom as she thought 
 of her father, and what she should do if he came 
 not ; but there was no time for hesitation ; she 
 must act, or all would be lost. She gazed but 
 once, with intensity ; the next moment she de- 
 scried his approaching figure, and turning to the 
 assembled crowd, said, " Behold your chief! — 
 he comes to lead you to victory! He who so 
 often pointed to you the path to Heaven, now 
 comes to lead you to the bourne Avliich alone 
 divides you from its attainment, or to the earthly 
 liberty you have so often sighed for. Brethren ! 
 Vaudois ! the foes, are here. Be rehgion your 
 watchword, and God your defender !" 
 
 Her eyes flashed as she spoke, and with- 
 out another word or look, she sped on the 
 wings of excitement to the pastor. " Father," 
 she cried, " they arc here — the armed troop. 
 I hear their war - sounds, Tlicy, too, arc 
 here, the devoted band, waiting but for you 
 to lead them — ready to lay down life for the 
 cause ! Sec, the stragglers I have collected on
 
 192 THE PASTOK CHIEF; OR, 
 
 all sides rushing to one point of defence, and 
 eager for revenge !" 
 
 " Vain hope, my child!" answered the pastor. 
 " Lucerne has given up the contest, and laid 
 down arms, on a promise of restituted rights; 
 and, deprived of their aid, our efforts would be 
 useless." 
 
 "No; not useless, my fxther; Ho whom we 
 trust will not fail us. Better, — yes, better to die 
 here, than to fall into their dreaded power. Hide 
 these sad news, and lead us to the foe. This re- 
 port may yet be false ; and then how s^hall we re- 
 ^ycnt our creduHty !" 
 
 " It is too true; a fuiritive brou^'ht the sad 
 tidings. A skirmish, indeed, took place ; but 
 scared at the overpowering numbers, they laid 
 down their arms, and demanded mercy." 
 
 " Mercy from Victor ?" cried Marie. " Sooner 
 the lamb ask mercy of the devouring wolf ! 
 Oh ! where, where was their wisdom ? where 
 their faith ? — And, oh ! where was Durand, who 
 swore to lead them to revenge ? 
 
 " Fallen, Marie, fallen in the first onset ; —
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 193 
 
 the brave young man redeemed his son, but lost 
 Hs Hfe." 
 
 " Hah !" shrieked Marie ; " then we will 
 follow his bright example. We, too, will defy 
 the steel he feared not; and, in another world 
 our spirits may meet without shame ! Now in- 
 deed, I say, on ! — on, my father ! I am right, 
 our victory was presaged by dreams : those mes- 
 sages from on high: and, while our band is 
 ready, urge them to the field !" 
 
 The pastor consented, and having commanded 
 his child to remain with the crowd of helpless 
 and terrified women in the deep fissures of the 
 rocks Avith which Angrogna abouiided, and 
 which seemed prepared by Providence for such 
 an hour, he awaited the arrival of his country- 
 men. The generality of these were stout moun- 
 taineers, men trained from infancy to athletic 
 exercises, whose activity, assisted, by l(jcal advan- 
 tages, might well make up for the want of mili- 
 tary science and arms. With the former, indeed, 
 Arnaud had gained some acquaintance, both 
 from early experience and literary research ; and 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 for tlie latter tlicy had their couteaus dc cliasse 
 and long rifles, of wliicli tlieir constant use in 
 sporting liad given them complete mastery. 
 Jackets of chamois hides; caps of the same mate- 
 rial; leathern belts holding the stout himting- 
 knife; horn pouch; and in some instances an old 
 pistol or two ; thick ankle-boots ; and tight leg- 
 gings, formed their equipment. 
 
 Thus prepared, they came with hearts beating 
 high with hope, pressed onward by the sense of 
 oppression, and excited by their faith in the 
 scriptural promises as apphcd to their own case. 
 Wild prophecies were added to these by the aged 
 seers, whose influence was great over a people 
 naturally imaginative, and imbued with venera- 
 tion for every thing that savoured of antiquity. 
 
 They were led by Le Bouquetin, who advanced 
 shouting triumphantly, " The Lord hath deli- 
 vered the enemy into our hands, and in his name 
 we will smite them hip and thigh !" 
 
 Tlicy sought the most advantageous post, 
 where, concealed in close ambuscade, they could 
 mark the advancing troops defile in regular war-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 195 
 
 like array, tlieir banners floating in the breeze, 
 and tlieir whole appearance denoting the order 
 of a well- disciplined army. Tliey did nor quail 
 as they leaned over the crag wliich had concealed 
 them, and hurled huge fragments of rocks in the 
 way of the troops to harass and obstruct their 
 progress, and give opportunity by the delay for 
 the determined aim of the unerring marksmen, 
 not one of whose rifles was levelled in vain. 
 
 And now there arose from the valleys a din of 
 confused sounds, which struck terror even into 
 the wild tenants of those regions: the chamois 
 fled terrified from its recess; the eagle rose from 
 her nest ; and nature seemed aghast at the violence 
 of man. There was the bursting of shells; the 
 peals, eclioing from rock to rock, of the field- 
 pieces, directed with Httle effect against the crags 
 whicli protected the Vaudois; and the shouts 
 and roll of the drums to encourage the troops to 
 push onward, amidst the steady dropping fire, 
 which told with precision from practised hunters. 
 
 At length, exasperated by a loss which as- 
 tonished them, some of the bolder leaders of the 
 
 K 2
 
 196 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 Frencli and Savoyard troops attempted to scale 
 the rocks, and return the fire. One, less per- 
 pendicular than the rest, and covered in part by 
 wild brambles, seemed to invite the skirmishers 
 to ascend; but there Le Bouquetin and Jean 
 Frache had stationed themselves, while the Cre- 
 tin, who, though insensible to all else, would not 
 be separated from his uncle's side, stood obedient 
 to his command; and, with the sagacity of mere 
 instinct, loaded and reloaded their spare pieces; 
 and one by one the adventiu'ous assailants dropped 
 beneath tlie sharp fire of their rifles. 
 
 Still, they succeeded in throwing some hand- 
 granades among the peasants, and these, ex- 
 ploding, added to the din; while the shrieks of 
 the expiring soldiers, and the wail of women, 
 who, from afar, Hfted up their voice of anguish 
 to the throne of Heaven, mingled Avitli the war- 
 cry which pierced the blue canopy above. 
 
 Long did that fight last, long in her agony of 
 suspense did Marie await its issue. She dared 
 not leave the spot to which her father's express 
 command confined her, but it was a racking sus-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 197 
 
 pense to know net liow the day fared ; to expect 
 every moment to learn tlieii defeat, and see a 
 troop of savage tyrants rush on their retreat, and 
 drag them forth to torture and misery, far worse 
 than death. Yet she bore that agony for many 
 a long hour: pouring forth the earnest prayer, 
 and sootliing the companions of her terror. 
 
 Each in that deadly strife had some deep cause 
 of interest; there, the wife thought of the hus- 
 band she adored; the weeping girl of the father, 
 or the lover, on whom she depended; and the 
 anxious mother clasped to her breast the helpless 
 tribe around her, and groaned as she remembered 
 one was not beside her ! 
 
 But in that hour of suffering — greater than 
 human nature could have borne with such forti- 
 tude — rehgion threw her light, and the momTiers 
 could listen to the lessons of divine hope, and 
 pious resignation, their pastor's daughter preached.
 
 198 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The cold winds of tlic early year were 
 wildly blowing through the valley 5f Angrogna ; 
 no vegetation reheved the dark hue of its craggy 
 walls, or softened the effect of the snow-capped 
 mountains, which reared their tops against the 
 cloudy sky of a February morning. The over- 
 lianging rocks frowned on the level ledge, wliich 
 a few nights before witnessed the Vaudois assem- 
 bled in worship, and on the rivulet, whose 
 swollen current now showed occasionally on its 
 roughened wave, a darkish streak, indicating that 
 deeds of blood had stained its waters. 
 
 Some soldiers Avcre scattered over the plain; 
 their bright uniform seemed as incongruous
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 199 
 
 "with tlie scene as tlie loud tones and execrations 
 ■ with ' wliich at intervals they broke the silence. 
 
 "Cap Dion! Camcrade," exclaimed one, 
 " these Barbets have left us tolerably provided 
 •with game; and had we but their bones to roast 
 it on, with an Aries sausage and a flask of 
 Roussillon for a finish, we should fare well" — 
 and he exposed some pieces of chamois and 
 dried apples, purloined from the neighbouring 
 cottaa'es. 
 
 " Ay," repHed liis companion, " but how long- 
 will this stuif, such as it is, last? 'tis said theu- 
 stores are scanty; and their tribute to Savoy 
 stripped them of every necessary ; our ammunition 
 is not much, and unless we find speedy sup- 
 pKcs— " 
 
 " Hush, fool; you don't tliink we shall remain 
 here long ? No, no ; we arc not to be left in these 
 gloomy defiles; so soon as the Barbets are de- 
 spatched, we rejoin the French." 
 
 "Ay! 'tis soon said," answered the other; 
 " but these Barbets arc leagued Avith the devil, 
 and arc tougher than his grandam; witness the
 
 200 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 execution tliej did some nights ago. They are as 
 hardy and as long-winded as their own wolves." 
 
 " May the devil, then, take his subjects to him- 
 self, or we will speedily send them to his king- 
 dom; methinks they may succeed in crushing 
 us beneath their missiles, but let us come to 
 fair play, hand to hand, and then we'll soon see 
 who will have the mastery — " 
 
 "Yes, when we catch them; but they have 
 as many doublings as the hare, and holes as the 
 fox, and what is more they turn and make their 
 teeth meet. Who would trust himself in these 
 narrow defiles, where one by one we must fall 
 into the snare of the evil spirits they invoke?" 
 
 " Evil spirits ! — ^you Jacques, who drink your- 
 self to sleep every night, and never confess, may 
 fear them ; but to the devil, say I, with the fears 
 he hatches." 
 
 "What!" cried Jacques, "would you risk 
 yourself in that dark wood where the Barbets' 
 ghosts roam by night, and where only three days 
 ago we heard such strange sounds, and saw such 
 a strange apparition, — half human, half child,
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 201 
 
 half man? The bare remembrance makes my 
 blood freeze !" 
 
 *' Ay, that would I," replied his comrade, 
 " and meet them gaily if they came." 
 
 " What ! the men you murdered, the girls 
 you " 
 
 "To the devil with your fears I Don't I con- 
 fess, and does not Father Ansclm absolve readily 
 all those peccadilloes against heretics? What need 
 I fear? Trust mc, Jacques, absolution is a fine 
 thing; we may sin in peace, nor be one jot the 
 worse body or soul !" 
 
 But how long, think you, we stay here?" 
 
 "Not long: our generals have retreated; wc 
 shall follow them. They calculate, there cannot 
 remain more than a dozen or two of these loup- 
 garous here, and starvation must soon destroy 
 them ; they dare not venture from their conceal- 
 ment in search of food." 
 
 " Were I the captain," observed Jacques, " I'd 
 blast the rocks and drive tliein.from the burrow, 
 and so finish the business and begone, 'Tis 
 
 K 3
 
 202 THE PASTOE CHIEF; OK, 
 
 mighty gloomy lierc, amidst lone rocks and 
 hamited demons." 
 
 "Yes! but lie has orders to spare powder, 
 and not to waste, on these poor wretches, what 
 were better worth the swaggering Dutch." 
 
 " Well, I wish 'twas over; here we have been 
 three weeks without action." 
 
 " Ay, and no pilfering, Jacques." 
 
 "Why, you must say, 'tisn't pleasant nor 
 natural to risk hfe for nothing ; here we stood 
 for thirty-eight hours in these beastly ravines, 
 to be picked off with their long barrels that 
 never miss, or be buried beneath the rocks 
 they cast on us, and had no reward. Now, after 
 standino; the whizzino; of cannon-shot before a 
 city's walls, a Httle plunder is refreshing." 
 
 "So it is," answered his comrade. " Here 
 Ave had nothing but a few Vaudois' carcasses, 
 lean and stringy enough ; and of these not half so 
 many as equalled our own loss; and since, only an 
 occasional hunt to keep us in practice, 
 
 " ]^ut that of last night," lie]continucd, "was fa-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 203 
 
 mous fun, wlieu we cauglit tliose inumLling preacli- 
 ers, "wliose blood even yet stains the rivulet." 
 
 " Sacristie !" said Jacques, " they died game 
 though; the devil a prayer did they vouchsafe to 
 us, nor did they wink an eyeUd before the flash of 
 the carabines : 'twoidd have been other guess-work, 
 I trow, in Father Anselm's greasy convent. But 
 heard you aught of the bout in Lucerne ?" 
 
 *' Not much ; at the first onset some fought as 
 savagely as wolves, and there was one fellow who 
 strove to lead the others, and worked wonders for 
 a time; but our troops were too strong for liim, 
 and 'tis said a blow from one of their mu:;kets 
 silenced liis mutinous bawling. I think they 
 called him Durcr or Dubourg; but however that 
 may be, the poor rebels soon humbled themselves 
 after the first volley — knelt for mercy, andbeheved 
 every prc^mise Don Gabriel made them. So he de- 
 coyed them to Fort la Tour, to hear them ratified, 
 and there caged them, to sing out their text, " Put 
 not your faith in princes ;" which they did 
 lustily, and baited the governor, till he ordered
 
 204 THE PASTOR CHIBF ; OE, 
 
 tliem irons, and dieted tliem on ditcli water and 
 mouldy bread." 
 
 " And good enough for the heretical dogs; 
 why not despatch them at once, and save the go- 
 vernment expense?" asked Jacques. 
 
 " Picket me, if I knoAv; they say the duke has 
 fits of compassion sometimes." 
 
 "Faith!" said Jacques, chuckhng, "how I 
 should like to see the Barbcs' faces grinning, 
 throuo-h the bars of La Tour ! it would be 
 some reward for the trouble they gave us to 
 return the compliment, and mark them down 
 now without risk, as they did us behind those 
 crags, but come — " 
 
 At this moment, a sliot broke the conference, 
 and ere the report of the rillc from whence it 
 came broke on his companion's car, Jacques fell 
 forward — his ribald speccli unlinished — hi? 
 voice for ever hushed in death. The bullet 
 had entered just above the eye, and piercing 
 the braJn, left him time but for one gurghng 
 groan as he fell. 
 
 " Ave Maria!" ejaculated his companion, cross-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 205 
 
 ing himself, and looking roimcl; " none but the 
 Devil could have fired that shot, no one could have 
 approached this plain unseen, and there is noplace 
 of concealment within reach of human shot ! But 
 'twere best to be prudent — alas! poor Jacques;" 
 and casting one mingled look of fear and regret, 
 the soldier retreated in double quick time. No 
 sooner had he disappeared than, first an arm 
 holding a rifle, then part of a figure, fero- 
 cious in aspect and gaunt with hunger, rose 
 above a rock, many yards distant from the spot, 
 and muttered — 
 
 " Ay, my good rifle ! well hast thou served my 
 turn, and triumphed in the cause of Trutli." 
 
 A long, low, hysteric laugh, unmeaning and 
 irrepressible in its sound, answered these words; 
 but the speaker was invisible. "Hush, Pierre! 
 be still!" said the niarksman; "or I may fail to 
 protect thee as before " 
 
 It was Le Bouquetin, witli the unhappy Cretin 
 whom he had contrived to shelter and to save 
 even till this hour, sharing with him every mor- 
 sel; and for the sake of the parent's memory,
 
 206 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 preserving tlie spark of life in the wretched "being 
 beside him, with a tenderness which strangely 
 contrasted with his otherwise rugged nature. He 
 vanished however, instantaneously, and all was 
 again still. 
 
 Several weeks elapsed, and silence reigned in 
 Angrogna undisturbed but by the mirth of the 
 soldiery, whose loud revelry rung through the 
 valleys where h3anns of praise had before re- 
 sounded. 
 
 The inhabitants of the adjoining districts of 
 Perousc and Pragcla, with the exception of a 
 few, had found in captivity the rcvv^ard of their 
 creduhty ; for their persecutor blushed not to 
 violate the promises with which they had lured 
 them into the snare; and believing the hated sect 
 to be entirely expelled, withdrew the troops pre- 
 paratory to distributing the vacant dwelHngs 
 among their own ibllowers. 
 
 Again, then, for a short period, the valleys 
 were quiet, and the retiring troops felt convinced 
 that the race was wholly extiipatcd; bcUcving 
 it impossible for any human beings to withstand,
 
 THE ESCAPE OP TIIE VAUDOIS. 207 
 
 imslieltered, the severity of tlie season. And if at 
 times stranrrc sounds issued from tlie rocks and 
 tangled woods, they imputed them to the agency 
 of the evil spirits, who, they supposed, still 
 haunted the dwelHngs of the heretics, in spite of 
 the exorcisms of the Romish priests; and they 
 gladly left these fancied unlialloAved scenes, to 
 join the rest of the army now ahout to assist 
 France against the allied forces, who threatened 
 to circumscribe her overweening power. 
 
 In those mountainous regions the early year 
 is a period of intense severity; and, in the 
 hurrying blast and drifted snow, the trembhng 
 peasant feels a prophetic fear of the avalanche, 
 whose dreaded power may in one short hour 
 sweep away his dearest treasures. 
 
 On the evcninf^ in question, the wind howled 
 fiercely tlirough the rocks, and the pale crescent 
 of the moon, rising behind a dense mass of clouds, 
 was soon obscured by the fast falling snow. The 
 chilly gloominess of the scene seemed indicative 
 of the presence indeed of supernatural appari- 
 tions; and two figures, who now crept stealthily
 
 208 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 along, muffled in concealing cloaks, helped to 
 verify tlie impression. 
 
 Slowly tliey approached, gazing at each other 
 with the suspicious eye of fear; their lean and 
 haggard forms more spectral than human ; but a 
 look 'of affection, shot across each countenance, as 
 they met, with a bright ray, which showed they 
 belonged to no region of darkness. 
 
 " Hist, Marie!" said the taller of the two, — 
 " discovery is death ! — didst not thou 'hear a 
 sound?" 
 
 " Nay, father; none but a Vaudois would 
 venture abroad on such a night; but avc are safe 
 in nature's alarms. Oh, father! my heart has 
 yearned for this hour; and death now would be 
 no hardship !" 
 
 She clasped her arms around him, and gazed 
 with intensity upon his lace. 
 
 Oh, holy filial love ! thou canst sweeten the 
 bitterest hour, and soften the deepest sorrow. 
 
 " Father," resumed Marie, " when last we 
 parted on that dread night, when the foe en- 
 tered our valley, I little thought to meet thee
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 209 
 
 again. Oh, those long hours of suspense 1 But, 
 thank God, for this blessed moment, compared to 
 which the past is nothing, Death has been busy 
 amongst us since we parted; and if thou hast 
 seen it wrcnchinc^ in sudden violence the life of 
 the strong and the brave, I too have watched it, 
 not less awfully summoning the helpless and the 
 weak. 
 
 " In that dreary cavern I have seen the bereaved 
 mother sigh forth her last breath, — the young 
 wife, deprived of the necessaries she required, 
 sink beside her new-born babe, and thank the 
 Almighty, with her latest powers, that both 
 were taken from the sad scene of their existence 
 Oh, my father ! what vshould we be at such 
 a time without the consciousness of His omni- 
 presence ? A starved and liclplcss band ; 
 how shall we await in patience tlie dread sum- 
 mons which daily diminishes our number? Our 
 last store is exhausted; and those who nobly 
 went forth in search of more have not re- 
 turned. Wild hcrljs and roots arc our only 
 subsistence; and when those fail, the lingering
 
 210 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 deatli of famine must be oiir portion. Say, is 
 there no escape?" 
 
 " None," said the father, " but to follow the 
 example of the other valleys: they laid down 
 their arms, and hvc — " 
 
 " Yes, but in captivity and dishonour, with 
 the daily prospect of a violent death. Such 
 were no escape." 
 
 " Then we must endure and die. The emis- 
 saries of the oppressor seem to be Avithdrawn, and 
 a bold attempt to descend into the valleys might 
 procure us food; but at the risk of discovering, 
 by our track, the retreat of our scanty remnant, 
 and thus exposing them to torture and death — " 
 
 " No, 'tis impossible. But, father, could not 
 we iiy to Switzerland? You know each secret 
 defile, and might lead us through undiscoverablc 
 paths." 
 
 "Aye, Marie, but amid crashing avalanches 
 and over unfathomed| precipices; through perils 
 such as tongue could not describe, nor our weak- 
 ened band endure." 
 
 " Let us but try, father. 'Tis but the choice
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 211 
 
 between tlie fury of man and that of the elements. 
 The latter are more merciful." 
 
 " Who shall support the weary steps of the 
 women, and revive their drooping spirits?" 
 
 " He who led the Israelites through the Red 
 Sea!" 
 
 " My cliild, that was a miracle we dare not 
 expect. See, already even thy eager spirit quails 
 before this hurrying blast, thy steps sink in the 
 yielding snow — thou canst not stand." 
 
 " Father! if wc stay wc die, useless to others, 
 a weary burden to ourselves. If we go, we may 
 rouse the generous hearts of the Swiss, and per- 
 haps stir them up to rescue our brethren in La 
 Tour." 
 
 " Vain hope ! the troops of Savoy and France 
 are too powerful for them to risk their displea- 
 sure on our behalf ?" 
 
 " But they arc Protestants !" was the proud 
 answer. 
 
 " Dost thou think, then, Marie, om* httle band 
 could stand the fatigues of traversing by night 
 such heights as mock the empire of the skies, and
 
 212 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 force tlieir way througli paths where e'en the 
 ckamois fears to tread ?" 
 
 " They ily from death, and worse than death. 
 If discovered, we have no mercy to expect; wit- 
 ness the sufferings of our too credulous brethren. 
 But tell me, were there no particulars of that 
 fatal skirmish, no news of the slain?" 
 
 " None, dearest Marie, but that there fell our 
 brave Durand. Ah ! thank God, that she whom 
 we grieved to lose, is spared the suffering of 
 knovring her lover's fate !" 
 
 " But he is not dead !" almost shrieked Marie. 
 " Firmly as my soul can trust in earthly things, 
 I beHcvc he lives, and will return !" 
 
 " Nay, had he lived, never could his country- 
 men have shown this fatal cowardice." 
 
 "My father ! never till I see the remains of what 
 once was Walter, will I mourn him dead. Yes, he 
 languishes in the dark horrors of an endless cap- 
 tivity; his arm is powerless to strike, his heart 
 oppressed with anguish. He no longer breathes 
 the pure air of Heaven; and he sighs to be at 
 rest. Shall we leave him in this misery, with-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 213 
 
 out one effort to deliver him ? Father, I be- 
 seech you, let us go to Switzerland." 
 
 She knelt in the deep snow, before him ; her 
 hair laying in dark folds about her, her clasped 
 hands recording the ur,<2;cnt desire which streamed 
 ■ forth from her eloquent eyes. 
 
 " Rise, my child, from this imbecoming pos- 
 tm'c, and hsten to reason." 
 
 " My lather, hear me ! With you, with our 
 sad companions, I go to Switzerland — or I go 
 alone : traverse unknown regions, regardless of 
 their dangers, with the prowling wolf for my 
 companion, the marmot for my bedfellow; and 
 when there, wring tears of compassion and pro- 
 mises of deliverance for my brethren in captivity. 
 Or, if I fill, then will I pici«c my way to 
 Holland, and kneehng at its prince's feet, tell 
 the tale of our wrongs. Father, we part ! 
 This act may be one of disobedience to thee; 
 but Heaven inspires mc, and by its holy vault 
 I go !" 
 
 Thus she urged the pastor, and in so doing only 
 expressed the wishes of her countrymen. The
 
 214 THE FASTOE, CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 dread of discovery, tlie gnawing pangs of hunger, 
 were more dreadful in tlieir eyes, than the un- 
 tried dangers of the Alpine path; and their best 
 chance of success, was in starting immediately, 
 ere the new inhabitants, who were to repeople the 
 valleys, should arrive, and cut off their retreat. But 
 it was the season most to be dreaded in that cli- 
 mate ; and they must meet its rigour, undefended 
 by adequate clothing or proper support ; and 
 divided from each other, seek, in small parties, 
 the most secret and inaccessible paths. Yet no 
 dissentient voice arose, and Arnaud feared to 
 oppose a desire wluch seemed to him a pro\'i- 
 dential means of preserving the scanty remnant 
 of what he firmly beheved to be the primitive 
 church ; and trusting in Divine protection, the 
 little flock set out, in number about threescore, 
 wholly imjirovlded for any contingency. 
 
 Tlierc, where yaAvned the unfathomable abyss, 
 or rose in perpendicular height the snowy Alp, 
 the husband urged his weary wife, and, tottering 
 beneath the weight of his helpless offspring, could 
 not afford her the aid wliicli might save her from 

 
 THE ESCAPE OF T^E VAUDOIS. 215 
 
 falling into certain destruction from tliat giddy 
 verge ; there, the mother heard her infant -wail 
 for food, with nothing to offer to its eager hands 
 but the wild berries she disputed with the birds; 
 there, the cliild, impelled by the strong love of life, 
 deserted the aged parent, whose cry of anguish 
 pierced the pinnacle of snow above, till tottering 
 on its base, the melting ruia overwhelmed him in its 
 fall. And in the clear and frosty sky they could yet 
 see in the far distance the blue smoke meathinfr 
 its airy shapes in the valleys below, and proclaim- 
 ing that others were gathering around the hearths 
 lately their own, while they, scattered hkc leaves 
 before the storm, friendless, homeless wanderers, 
 were going to seek in a strange land, a doubtful 
 charity at the hand of others ! 
 
 Yet, as the dusky red of the setting sun pro- 
 claimed the toils of each day done, and the dark- 
 ness of night about to veil its horrors; in the 
 pittiless blast, and the bedded snow, the protcstant 
 flock still knelt beneath the stormy sky, and 
 poured forth their gratitude for the life that yet 
 remained, and as if unmindful of individual suf-
 
 216 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 fering, prayed for their more miserable bretiiren 
 in captivity; then raising tlieir liymn of praise 
 drew from the inspiring sounds fresh firmness and 
 endurance to meet the coming danger. 
 
 Still in the most awful exhibition of his power, 
 presented by the elemental war around, the Vau- 
 dois preserved their faith, their trust in their 
 Creator's love; and confiding in their earthly 
 guide, his minister, pursued their way humbled 
 not terrified, before the evidence of their God ! 
 
 Arnaud still cheered and directed them, and his 
 heroic daughter smiled at her own sufferings, but 
 wept for those of others; and becoming a minister- 
 ing angel to their miseries, soon won from them an 
 afiTcction which made them dread peril or expo- 
 sure for her, more even than for themselves.
 
 THE ESa^JPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 217 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 It was the beginning of April ; when the birds 
 pour forth their full tide of song, and nature 
 offers up her rich incense to the great Giver of 
 every blessing, — the air redolent with hfe and 
 love, when the soft blue waters of the Lake Le- 
 man woo the shores with melodious murmurs, 
 and the heart is softened into kindness by the 
 profusion of enjoyment, that an unusual bustle per- 
 vaded the streets of Geneva. The labourer had 
 left his work, the craftsman his occupation, and 
 the jeweller his ghttering shop, to crowd round 
 the doors of the Stadthaus, and satisfy their 
 curiosity on some subject of apparently universal 
 interest. At first the tumultuous somids of the 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 eager multitude, precluded tlie possibility of find- 
 ing tlic object of tlioir search; but soon a groan 
 of indignation, and a cry of commiseration, 
 made it evident tliat tlicse were called forth by 
 some act of injustice, some tale of dark distress. 
 
 At length the crowd dividing, disclosed a 
 group of beings, whose emaciated appearance and 
 looks of anguish, scarcely left them a simiHtude 
 to the well-fed race who had gathered round 
 them. 
 
 Tlrough hanging in tatters, which barely an- 
 swered the purposes of decency, their clothing- 
 yet retained the marks of their national costume, 
 and attested the truth of their assertion. Their 
 number might exceed a dozen, and of these most 
 had sunk exhausted on the steps of the spacious 
 hall, where they demanded admittance. 
 
 Foremost of them was an old man, whose tall 
 figure seemed sinking under the extreme of ex- 
 haustion, and a girl by his side, whose tottering 
 frame, and drawn expression of want, revealed the 
 misery she had endured. In hoarse accents the 
 former strove to address the crowd, but his voice
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 219 
 
 falling, his companion took up tlie tale; and 
 when the doors opened, and, clad in the official 
 robes in which they had met to transact the public 
 business, tlie Syndics appeared, she addressed 
 them with an enthusiasm which even then lent 
 beauty to her haggard countenance. 
 
 " Protestants — rulers of a land where the 
 tyrant's sword dares not strike — the remnant of a 
 people, who, for upwards of two centuries have 
 resisted the persecutions of France and Savoy, 
 now stand before yovi ! Expelled from our native 
 land, driven forth in the season of snow and 
 storm, we have yet, by the help of our God, 
 triumphed over the dangers of our route; and 
 traversing the dark horrors of the mountain dis- 
 trict, by a circuitous and liidden path, have come 
 to ask mercy and protection from strangers to us in 
 aU but our faith; and as that holy bond teaches us to 
 expect forgiveness in heaven, so let it be a claim 
 on earth, for the famished Vaudols. IJchold 
 these sinking frames — these breathing skeletons ! 
 and think they were once men of strength 
 and power ; ay, and happy, like yourselves! 
 
 L 2
 
 220 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 Send us not away amid the horrors of the whirl- 
 wind and the storm, but take to your sheltering 
 bosom, the fast-expiring ray, of what was once the 
 light of Chiistianity !" 
 
 Collected for that last effort, her whole strength 
 was poured forth in the passionate entreaty; 
 but when she ceased, exhausted by her exertions, 
 Marie, fell prostrate at the Syndic's feet, the 
 arms she had raised in supphcation extended 
 upon the ground, her long hair shading the noble 
 proportions of her form. 
 
 The pitying Syndic raised her in his arms; 
 but a wild cry of alann burst from the lips of 
 her countrymen, as they saw her hfeless form ; and 
 even the kind promises and proffered attentions 
 of the Swiss were vain to pacify them, while they 
 believed their beloved dcHverer had expired. 
 
 At length the blood began again to steal 
 througli her veins, her eyes unclosed, and she 
 gazed on the companions of lier toils, sought her 
 father with anxious glances, and rejecting the 
 assistance of the surrounding group, with totter- 
 ing steps she reached his side. Then came the ex-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 221 
 
 pression of sympatliy in tlieir woes, indignation 
 at their oppressors, and closely urged offers of 
 friendship and protection; and the Vaudois felt 
 the sincerity of their simple friends, who feared 
 not to shelter them, though outlawed and perse- 
 cuted, friendless and forlorn. 
 
 Sweet to them was the balm of kindness, the 
 luxury of repose, after the sufferings they had 
 underirone: sweet, the soft air that blew so re- 
 freshingly over the dimpled lake, after the icy hor- 
 rors and howling winds of their moimtainous 
 journey; but with it, alas! came the remembrance 
 of those dear friends whom (sinking beneath 
 their miseries) they had been compelled to leave 
 alone on their frozen bed, to bleach in death, 
 unsheltered by any protection, unhonourcd by 
 one tributary tear; and the wild thought of re- 
 taliation rose in their bosoms. Then too came 
 the remembrance of the others of their band, 
 whose fate lay wrapped in the same dark un- 
 certainty as of those who, in Lucerne, had lain 
 down their arms to obtain tlie horrible im- 
 prisonment, in which perhaps they still dragged
 
 222 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 on existence. But faintly did the majority of 
 tliem feel, in comparison witli Marie Arnaud, who 
 deemed each toil had been in vain, till something 
 were done towards the rescue of the captives in 
 La Tour. It was her midnight dream, her 
 morning thought, and both ahke centred in one 
 dear remembrance ; and made her feel Hfe to be a 
 void, while Walter languished in captivity, and 
 its loss a trifling sacrifice, to save him. Still, no 
 opportunity opened for exertion, no plan was 
 thought of which promised success; and it was 
 only in the privacy of her own heart, that she 
 could indulge in her wild but favourite imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 Meanwhile, lodged in the house of one of the 
 Syndics, Arnaud and liis daughter were treated 
 with a respect and affection almost amounting to 
 veneration. The persecutions which the Vau- 
 dois had withstood under so many princes, had 
 adorned them in the eyes of other protestants 
 with the crown of martyi'dom ; and their undis- 
 puted claim to the title of the primitive church, had 
 given them a dignity superior to temporal power,
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 223 
 
 and wliicli being vested in tlieir minister, whose 
 far-famed piety and devotion, proclaimed liim 
 worthy of the appointment, made him an object 
 of the deepest attention to the people of Geneva* 
 The flagrant violation of every duty enjoined by 
 the right of nations and of humanity, also worked 
 powerfully in their favour, and stirred up a 
 strong desire to advocate their cause ; which was 
 maintained by the deep interest excited by their 
 appearance, especially by that of the aged pas- 
 tor and his daughter, who rarely separated from 
 each other, called forth an admiration for their 
 respective virtues, which ripened into the warmest 
 affection. 
 
 Not unmoved, had Ernest de Grafcnried, 
 nephew of the generous Syndic in whose house 
 they were received, beheld the virtue and love- 
 liness of Marie Arnaud; her never-failing assi- 
 duity to minister to her father's wishes, her 
 earnest devotion, her sclf-forgetfulness, and still 
 more that dangerous tear which trickled silently 
 down her cheek as she sat closely employed in
 
 224 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, I' 
 
 some feminine occupation, and indulged (as she 
 fancied unobserved) in lier dearest meditation. 
 
 In tlic prime of life, and higli in command at 
 Berne, the Count de Grafenried was deservedly 
 esteemed for his amiable qualities, and respected 
 for the situation he held. He frequently visited 
 his uncle at Geneva, and although withheld by in- 
 adequate age from sharing with him the honours 
 of the Syndicate, his own office of Banneret 
 entitled him to a place in council ; where his opi- 
 nions were sought and appreciated by liis seniors in 
 rank and years. The acknowledged heir of his 
 wealthy uncle's property in addition to his own, 
 every circumstance seemed to combine to gild 
 his existence. Nevertheless, Ernest de Grafen- 
 ried was restless in mind and spirit ; for the in- 
 active life his political avocations required, ill 
 suited a temper which had learned to love stir- 
 ring incidents. In his earlier days he had joined 
 the Dutch service, and had witnessed the ravages 
 of Louis XIV. in the Palatinate ; and the indig- 
 nation he had then felt, was revived by the
 
 THE ESCAPE Or THE VAUDOIS. 225 
 
 scene (now acting in the siglit of Europe) of the 
 barbarous persecution of the Protestant cause by 
 the French monarch and the Duke of Savoy, 
 and heightened by the sight of the interesting 
 sufferers before him. 
 
 The craving he had felt for fresh excitement, 
 was now but too readily satisfied, when, with his 
 whole soul moved with indignation in her cause, 
 he day by day watched the character of Marie — its 
 superiority, its rare and touching combination of 
 female tenderness and manly fortitude — and he felt 
 that such a companion was alone wanting to fill 
 the measure of his lot. 
 
 A mystery, however, hung over Marie's deep 
 dejection, which ho could not fathom; and while 
 it served to heighten his growing love, was calcu- 
 lated to repress any outward manifestation of 
 it on his part. 
 
 When, indeed, apart from her, Ernest consi- 
 dered their relative positions, and weighed the 
 many advantages he could offer, counterbalanced 
 as he acknowledged them to be by her unparal- 
 leled merits, hope rose in his breast, and he dcter- 
 
 L 3
 
 226 THE TASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 mined to delay no longer in wooing lier to share 
 liis station. But wlien thcj met again, there was 
 tliat in licr manner, which although unreserved 
 and open, checked him whenever he attempted 
 to address her, and seemed to freeze the expres- 
 sions which rose to his lips. 
 
 Anxiously he strove, with liis worthy imcle, to 
 anticipate her every wish and taste, and was more 
 than repaid by the smiles which sometimes 
 lighted her countenance as he pointed out to her 
 the beauties of his native land. He took her to 
 gaze on the placid loveliness of the lake — beside 
 whose shore the city lay in profoimd stillness — 
 its white waves gleaming in the trembling moon- 
 beam, or maldng the hght boat skim its surface; 
 and he Avould envy the evening air, she said she 
 loved, and the soft breeze, which fanned her cheek 
 and echoed the sigh she intrusted to its keeping; 
 but not even by the silent shores and murmuring 
 waters, dared he breathe the passion which con- 
 sumed him. 
 
 WHiile the heart of de Grafcnried was thus dis- 
 turbed, Marie's grew calmer as a more settled
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 227 
 
 purpose arose in lier breast. For two months, 
 she had borne in silence the grief which oppressed 
 her, unrevealed even to her father. For tAvo 
 months, had tried the friendship of her country- 
 men; and now confident of it, she began to 
 hope they might be induced to make some 
 effort in favour of the captive band in La Tour ; 
 and, certain that the influence of rehgious feel- 
 ing would be stronger than that of mere compas- 
 sion, she determined to persuade her father to 
 urge upon them as a duty to Heaven, that they 
 should attempt the dehverance of his country- 
 men. But on imparting her project to him, his 
 desponding feehngs raised an obstacle she was 
 ill prepared to meet. And wliile determined 
 herself to act, though uncertain by what 
 means, an opportmiity occm-red she little ex- 
 pected. 
 
 One evening, as she sat alone at her work, 
 her father having gone to visit an invalid of his 
 flock, the Comit entered, and apologizing for the 
 intrusion, asked if in any way he could add to 
 her comfort.
 
 228 THE PASTOR CHIEF; on, 
 
 She answered gratefully, warmly; but Le saw 
 tears still swam in her eyes, and with a tone of 
 deep Interest he resumed, — 
 
 " Can notliing, Mademoiselle Arnaud, recon- 
 cile you to your absence from home, nor lessen 
 the remembrance of your sorrows?" 
 
 She felt, in the tenderness of his manner the 
 presence of a friend, and though confiding in it, 
 hesitatingly repHed, — 
 
 " Nothing can ever quench these tears, while 
 there arc Vaudois suffering the horrors of cap- 
 tivity. While they linger out a wretched ex- 
 istence in chains, their friends cannot, must not, 
 admit the feeling of joy !" 
 
 " Pardon me. Mademoiselle, but is it wise thus 
 to nourish a grief, pernicious to yourself and use- 
 less to others?" 
 
 " Useless !" she exclaimed, starting up; "call 
 it not useless. No; did the Almighty miracu- 
 lously preserve the scanty remnant of his fol- 
 lowers from the hand of the oppressor, to forget 
 their country and their brethren in a foreign land; 
 and to smile while the dispensation he has in-
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 229 
 
 flicted still oppresses them ? Was it for this, our 
 forefathers preserved inviolate the precious de- 
 posit of their faith, and handed it down untar- 
 nished to posterity? The tears we shed over our 
 castigated flock are acceptable to our Almighty 
 Shepherd, and till they are delivered it is a duty 
 to weep !" 
 
 " But is there no way, Mademoiselle, in which 
 I can sooth the misery of these burning drops?'' 
 
 " Actions! sir, not words, can benefit us," 
 rephed Marie. 
 
 *' If, by shedding my life's blood in your coun- 
 trymen's cause, Marie, I could serve them, its 
 last drop should not be gi'udged !" 
 
 " And by shedding of blood, can their cause, 
 I fear, alone be redeemed, most noble friend ! I am 
 not selfish when I thus plead ; I do but urge a 
 Higher will ; I implore thee and thy colleagues to 
 use your poAvcr to rescue the helpless and ill 
 used. For thy own country's good I speak. 
 What must that land expect at her Creator's 
 hands, wliicli could forget his followers in another 
 clime, and leave them to endure persecution and
 
 230 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 captivity witliout extending one helping hand to 
 stop their sufferings? If discord should ever cast 
 her flaming torch o'er this now peaceful land ; or 
 if war should spread its bloody pennons over its 
 smihng vineyards, and the scai^ed inhabitants lift, 
 in the wild agony of despair, their eyes to Heaven, 
 with what bitter anguish will they then remem- 
 ber those, whom they clothed not when naked, 
 nor succom'ed when in want! with what hope 
 look up to Him whose followers they neglected 
 inthedimgeons of La Tour?— Listen," she added, 
 grasping liis hand, " there, in horrid damp caves, 
 the mother groans over her dying cliild, sees its 
 stiffened form sink beside her, and gazes on its 
 mouldering remains till the scream of madness 
 wakes her from her silent grief; there, the brave, 
 the powerful, are stretched on the torturing rack, 
 till the agonized frame forces from the parched 
 and unwilhng throat the dastard's cry of anguish, 
 and the soul escapes to Heaven, to receive the guer- 
 don of its constancy; and pitying angels weep, to 
 think how far worse the condition of that brother 
 who saw these sufferings, and passed by unheeding !
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 231 
 
 — Oh ! I implore tlice, let not tliat case be mine; 
 but think of some plan to save my brethren 
 in La Tour I" 
 
 She clasped her hands, and gazed on him with 
 a look of entreaty he could not resist; but there 
 was no weakness in her supphcation, and De 
 Grrafenried felt that the expression of liis own 
 deep passion would have been almost profa- 
 nation. 
 
 " Fear not, Mademoiselle, " he answered. 
 " The devotion and the sincerity of the Swiss 
 are not so weak that they can forget their Cre- 
 ator's cause, or the sufferings of their friends. 
 Their injuries shall not want consideration in 
 council, and I will be their most strenuous 
 advocate." 
 
 " The Almighty will shower down on you liis 
 richest blessings in return ; and though valueless, 
 my earnest prayers, my warmest gratitude, Avill 
 be yours." 
 
 " Oh INIarie ! call it not valueless — a reward 
 beyond my utmost exertions!" and he pressed 
 the hand he still held Avith fervour ; and that
 
 232 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 moment might have decided his fate; but Marie 
 continued. 
 
 "Oh, happiest moment I have known since I 
 have left Angrogna ! You promise, and I rely 
 on your promise, to forward some scheme of reHef 
 for our long-lost friends. When next we meet, 
 perhaps you will bring yet gladder tidings, and 
 I shall have greater cause to bless your name; 
 but now," she added, " we must part, my father 
 comes, and at this late hour he must not be dis- 
 turbed by subjects such as henceforth we shall 
 scarcely refrain from discussing." 
 
 Delighted at having obtained, as he beheved, 
 a path to her affections, Ernest retired, and the 
 moments seemed to lag till he could begin the 
 work she had enjoined; but he was not uncon- 
 scious of the difficulties of the measures, By'which 
 alone her desires could be effected. Wliile the 
 perfidy of Savoy inspired the Swiss with an in- 
 dignant desire to punish it; the power of its 
 court, backcdby the ponderous strength of France, 
 made them fearful of involving themselves in dis- 
 scnsion ; though on the other hand this appeal for
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 233 
 
 succour on tlie part of the injured Vaudols, at a 
 period when a strong feeling of cliivalry yet 
 reigned, was not one to be rejected. 
 
 As the youngest on the bench of councillors, 
 this feeling might yet more strongly move the 
 Count, Independently of any warmer motive, and 
 he advocated their cause with a warmth and elo- 
 quence which won many partisans to his side ; and 
 aided by the evidence which Arnaud most pa- 
 thetically gave of the patient submission of his 
 countrymen, and the fearful injuries they had 
 suifered, he awoke the wish in every member of 
 the council to take their part; and, after many 
 tedious debates on the best mode of proceeding, 
 they decided on sending to Turin a deputation 
 of the principal men of the city, accompanied by 
 Henri Arnaud, to implore the mercy of Victor 
 Amadeus in favour of his Aljiinc subjects. 
 
 It was resolved, that after describing their un- 
 shaken loyalty and humble submission, the depu- 
 ties should beseech liim to release the captives who 
 had surrendered to the promise oi" his generals, 
 and who had since languished for six months in
 
 234 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 all tlie liorrors of impiisonment ; and slaould these 
 representations prove useless, tliey should declare 
 their resolution to call on the Protestants of Hol- 
 land to assist them in punishing liis violated pro- 
 mises to the unhappy Vaudois. 
 
 The rejoicings with which the people received 
 the information, and the readiness with which the 
 other Cantons agreed to it, showed the generous 
 forgetfulness of individual danger, the noble spirit 
 to resist the yoke of t3a'anny and oppression, which 
 should characterize the sentiments of every free 
 people; and joyfidly were the preparations made 
 for the approaching departure of the embassy. 
 
 Proudly, de Grafcnried carried the news of his 
 success to Marie. He had earned a claim to her 
 regard, and it assisted loim in overcoming the ti- 
 midity with which he formerly approached her; 
 still he thought of delaying his bold request till 
 his efforts should be crowned, and the returning 
 deputation should bring a favourable answer to 
 their requests. But to part from her with his 
 tale of love untold was difficult, and perceiving 
 her fixed determination of accompanying her
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 235 
 
 fatlier, lie anxiously wished to join the party 
 also; but it was in vain, important duties detained 
 him, and up to the evening before the day on 
 which they were to set out, his plans were all 
 uncertain. The few hours which remained ere 
 perhaps he would see her again, returning brilliant 
 with success, he spent with Arnaud and herself. 
 The old man was deeply affected as he blessed 
 and thanked the Syndic and his nephew for all 
 their exertions, and a yet warmer fcchng influ- 
 enced the hope he expressed of meeting again 
 under happier circumstances. 
 
 Ernest, heard his words with fiHal respect; and 
 when he begged Marie to take one last view of 
 the summer sun, now tinging with its golden hues 
 the dimpled lake, and on her assent, drew her arm 
 within his own, he felt indeed he might look 
 forward to a happier meeting. 
 
 Marie, was softer and kinder on that evening ; 
 the hope of success, of again beholding the ob- 
 ject of her devoted affection, had melted and 
 subdued her heart, and it was almost with re-
 
 236 THE PASTOE CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 gret that she gazed on the smiling lake before 
 her, and thought she was about to leave its 
 borders. 
 
 And he, who lingered by her side, and felt 
 the soft influence of the balmy air, and the pres- 
 sure of her tender hand, could not withhold the 
 secret of his heart, and let her go from him, 
 ignorant of the weight which oppressed it. 
 
 " Marie," said he, "ere the autumnal leaves 
 are scattered on these now verdant shores, you 
 will have sought in the court of kings the ful- 
 filment of your wishes — the crown of our united 
 efforts, but Avill you have forgotten these lands, 
 and he who pointed out their beauty?" 
 
 "Forget you!" said she, "no, never; while 
 this mind can think, while this heart can beat, 
 the Vaiidols shall not forget you in their brightest 
 moment, or in their most fervent devotion." 
 
 " Marie," added he, in a lower tone, " there is 
 a fonder remembrance even than that, and such 
 would I claim from you." 
 
 The seriousness of his manner, his ardent
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 237 
 
 gaze, struck lier, and in a more tremulous voice 
 tlian was her wont, slie replied, — 
 
 " With earnest gratitude for all your kindness, 
 generous friend, I will ever remember you." 
 
 " Oh Marie ! not with gratitude — say with love, 
 I implore you; gratitude must be mine alone; 
 could you imagine the devotion with which I 
 have adored you, you would not bo so coy in 
 giving me the answer I have prayed for, and 
 worked to deserve." 
 
 There was a hopelessness in the look, with 
 which alone she answered his passionate address, 
 that struck chillingly on his heart, and with a 
 faltering voice he continued, — 
 
 " Give me not, I beseech you, that cold for- 
 bidding look ; and if, indeed, I have done wrong 
 in profaning the moments you have consecrated to 
 your lofty patriotic affections, by the expression 
 of less heavenly, though not less ardent feel- 
 ings, forgive me; and when the time arrives, 
 that free from such agitating thoughts, you re- 
 turn to Geneva, then let me pour forth un-
 
 238 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 chidden tlie devotion of my Heart, and hope to 
 meet a kinder return." 
 
 " Never !" she repHed, with a crimson blush, 
 and a scarcely audible voice ; but it smote with 
 an appalling sound on Grafenried's ear, and he 
 gazed at her with an expression of agony, which 
 well nigh unnerved her; till she forced herself 
 to repeat with dignity, "iVeutr; forgive me the 
 pain I inflict, but in kindness I repeat, never 
 can this heart be yours I" 
 
 "Never! — oh Marie! could you know the 
 pang of unrequited love, you would be more 
 merciful, you would not thus barbarously crush 
 with one word, hopes so long, so fondly nourished." 
 
 Again he gazed on her, and the deathhke 
 pallour his inadvertent words had called up to 
 her countenance, might in a calmer moment have 
 revealed the circumstance which in reahty blasted 
 all his hopes; But to tarry, after such a declara- 
 tion was impossible for either party, and in mourn- 
 ful silence they parted; she to seek the solitude 
 of her apartment, there to find that the measure
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 239 
 
 of her cup of sorrows was only now filled, by that 
 bitterest drop, to a generous heart, of inflicting a 
 wound on another — that other, one to whom she 
 owed her own and her countrymen's hopes of 
 preservation !
 
 240 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The palace of Victor Amadeus, at Turin, was 
 a specimen of tKe taste and elegance of Italian 
 architecture; and while the spectator wondered 
 at the strength of fortifications which in after days 
 baffled the ingenuity of a Vauban, he was no less 
 dclif^hted with the graceful proportions of the in- 
 terior and its galleries of art. 
 
 There, beneath porticoes which would have 
 graced the classic temples of Greece, marble 
 flirrhts of steps Icd to terraces where bloomed, in 
 costly vases, a thousand exotics, perfuming the 
 air, while the lover wooed his mistress with the 
 sweet evening serenade. There, might you see
 
 V 
 
 J 4 
 
 " THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 241 
 
 the broad river glittering in its serpentine course 
 tlirougli the fertilized plains, now joyous with the 
 ■vintage and the glad song of the peasants at their 
 clieer%l tasks ; and further off, the silvery peaks 
 of the Maritime Alps which concealed the valleys 
 Vhcre thcprotestant subjects of the Duke of 
 ^avoy-had hfted up in vain the prayer for mercy, 
 and now sighed in all the hopelessness of cap- 
 tivity. 
 
 Their prayers, their sighs, reached not tlic 
 ducal palace, where the sounds of festivity were 
 alone heard; and more fearful of his powerful 
 neighbour and ally, the King of France, than of 
 breach of faith to his devoted people Avho had 
 always obeyed and often essentially served him 
 against the bandit forces of the people of Mon- 
 dovi, Victor Amadous had not scrupled to let 
 loose the bloodhounds of war, in compliance 
 with Louis's request, and strip his subjects of 
 possessions he had no right to demand. In fact, 
 the crafty policy by which alone he retained a 
 territory, surrounded by hostile and rapacious 
 powers, had stifled every bettor sentiment in his 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 THE PASTOPw CHIEF; OR, 
 
 bosom; and the success wliicli had raised him 
 from an inferior prince to an important ally, 
 strengthened a passion for intrigue and self-in- 
 terest which deafened him to the cries of humanity, 
 and made the act of oppression -which depopu- 
 lated a country and exterminated a Avhole race 
 an easy task to him. 
 
 His talent in state affairs; his intrepidity in 
 war; his possession of the only accessible path 
 from France into Italy, in right of which lie ob- 
 tained the title of Jailer of the Alps, made him 
 an object of importance to Louis. 
 
 In the hope of receiving assistance from him 
 against the powers which had imited at the cele- 
 brated League of Augsburg, for the singular pur- 
 pose of checking the gigantic strides of his grow- 
 ing power, the French monarch sought to cement 
 their friendship by fonning an alhance between 
 the Duke of Burgundy and the young princess, 
 Mary of Savoy; and at this period frequent 
 embassies passed between the two courts. In 
 consequence of this communication, many who 
 found Versailles gloomy imdcr the restrictions
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 243 
 
 imposed by Madame de Maintcnon, gladly 
 availed themselves of tlie opportunity of ex- 
 changing that residence for the livehcr amuse- 
 ments and softer chmate of Tm-in; and amongst 
 these was Madame de Saony, to whom the ex- 
 pectation of meeting her niece was an additional 
 attraction. Tlie young Marcliioness had foimd 
 there, all that was calculated to fascinate a mind 
 in which the seeds of vanity had been most care- 
 fully sown. The elegance of her person and 
 manners, aided by the concomitants of high 
 rank and wealth, had made her the " cynosure 
 of neighbouring eyes" in those circles of dissipa- 
 tion in which she too readily joined. 
 
 At the conclusion of a day, whose fervent heat 
 excused the " dolcc far niente" of the Itahan's 
 existence, the beautiful Marchioness sat beneath 
 the marble portico of the ducal palace; her dress 
 of the darkest and richest hue, folded over, but not 
 conceahng, the exquisite shape of her ivory bosom, 
 — its only ornament the light drapery of a white 
 veil, which, falling amid tlie luxuriant tresses of 
 her hair, softened its sable shade, and gave addi- 
 
 M 2
 
 244 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 tional effect to tlie starry glances of the dark eyes, 
 wHch shone beneath the fringed curtain of their 
 lids and rested but with vacant gaze on the 
 plumed cavaher, who was pouring fourth at 
 her feet the passionate stanzas of a Venetian 
 canzonet. Other groups enUvened that eve- 
 ning scene, and wandered among the stately 
 pillars and costly statues, which were inter- 
 spersed throughout the gardens ; but none so 
 numerous or so gay as that Avhich thronged 
 round Anima's seat. There, tarried the proudest 
 courtiers, there, lingered the Duke, to swell the 
 tide of adulation offered to her; and, in that 
 heavenly chme, no chilly evening breeze drove 
 them from contemplating the silvery queen of 
 night, — the starlit poetry of the blue canopy 
 above ; but, enjoying all the luxury of the 
 midnight air, they lounged away the glitter- 
 ing hours, till called by the voice of music, 
 they exchanged those languishing delights for 
 the gay fandango, or more measured dance. 
 Thus night after night told Anima's existence, 
 from which care seemed banished, except, that
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 245 
 
 at times, memory would depict a long past 
 scene, and conscience plant a thorn ; but both 
 impressions were ahke momentary, and both 
 vanished in the brilUant present. Her husband 
 was with her, but too much occupied by state 
 affairs, and flattered by the private conferences 
 to which the Duke invited him, to note much her 
 mode of Hfe; and the occasional flash of jealous 
 Indignation, which her dissipation called forth, 
 was forgotten in more engrossing business. No 
 friend, no monitor stood by, to raise the v/arning 
 voice to the frail being that needed it so much ; 
 nor indeed till IMadamc de Saony arrived, was 
 any person there, who could aspire to the pri- 
 vilege of companionship with the beautiful Mar- 
 chioness. 
 
 It was at this moment that information ar- 
 rived of a deputation from Geneva, demandhig 
 an audience of the court, on the sul)ject of 
 the late disturbances in Piedmont ; and this ex- 
 cited an interest and curiosity which were in- 
 creased by the report that the Swiss embassy 
 was accompanied by some of the sufferers who
 
 246 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 had escaped from those unhappy valleys. Nu- 
 merous were the inquiries on all sides into every 
 particular relating to them; and, unconscious of 
 the pain they inflicted, the inquisitive throng 
 too often pressed the subject on Anima's unwill- 
 ing ear. 
 
 With a thousand false and exaggerated re- 
 ports, came the story of the ejection of her ear- 
 liest friends from their dearly -loved homes; and 
 ashamed of owning kindred with a people she 
 heard stigmatized as rebels and idiots, she list- 
 ened with a beating heart, and an eye schooled to 
 betray no inward emotion. 
 
 It surprised and hurt even Madame do Saony, 
 to witness the seeming insensibiHty with which 
 her niece heard the talc, she had expected would 
 have wrung her inmost soul. But she did not 
 follow her to the privacy of her own chamber, 
 and there see the burst of agony in which the 
 pent-up feelings found vent; nor did she notice 
 how, under each careful concealment, the canker- 
 worm was at work, feeding on the lustre of her 
 eye, and banishing the damask from her cheek.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 247 
 
 She knew not that Anima felt the change wliich 
 had passed over her heart, and blushed, with the 
 bitterness of shame, to think those friends were 
 nigh, to whom she dared not show herself as the 
 being they once gloried in. Pier marriage, her 
 apostacy, her whole existence now were unfit for 
 them to know. Meanwhile, she learnt that many 
 of the ladies of the court intended to be present 
 at the morning assembly, before wliich the 
 Vaudois were to appear ; and, ^vith a shudder of 
 anguish, the rellcction arose in her heart, that 
 she was self-excluded from an interview which 
 once would have been so dear to her; and she 
 even dreaded lest any one, ignorant of her 
 early connexions, should ask her to join them. 
 In fear she sought the seclusion of her own 
 apartment. But Madame de Saony, suspect- 
 ing her distress, and fancying it might arise 
 from a wish to behold again the friends of 
 her childhood, followed her, and in mistaken 
 kindness, offered to obtain for her a private 
 meeting with the Pastor; but Anima started
 
 r i ■■■ 
 
 248 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 at the bare proposal, and impatiently refused 
 the proffered intervention. 
 
 Not to Madame de Saony, could she have 
 disburdened herself of feelings she believed her 
 incapable of appreciating; and too proud, to 
 give way before her, to emotions which were 
 irrepressible, she begged her to depart and leave 
 her to the solitude and repose Avhich her health 
 required. 
 
 The aunt was obhged to retire, wondering at, 
 and deceived by the repugnance to seeing her 
 former friends, under which the ISIarchioness 
 veiled her real sentiments. 
 
 When alone, burning drops fell from Anima's 
 eyes, the anguish of a remorse, with which there 
 were none to sympathize or to understand, at first 
 overpowered her ; but a milder feehng came at last, 
 and softer tears coursed down her cheeks, as ima- 
 gination called back the hours, the prayers of 
 her youth. 
 
 Pure innocent enjoyments ! Could the magnifi- 
 cence which surrounded the gay and brilliant
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 249 
 
 scene before lier, make up for their loss ? Alas I 
 in that luxurious apartment, the envied and ad- 
 mired Marchioness di Pianezza shed tears, much 
 more bitter to her than the sad Vaudois had 
 wept, in their dreary Alpine path from the 
 homes, the treasures they had lost ! 
 
 A fresh mortification awaited Anima, in the 
 entrance of her attendant Victorme, who came 
 to sohcit permission to visit the protestant deputies, 
 unconscious of her mistress's early story; and 
 having been withheld till now, by Madame do 
 Maintenon's inj mictions, from telling her own, it 
 was not till an insurmountable desire to converse 
 with and perhaps to hear the prayers of her pecu- 
 liar worship, from tlic lips of those Avho shared 
 her faith, overcame her scruples, that she ventured 
 to disclose it. Now, however, she told the object 
 of her request, her tale of injuries, and the 
 patience and {ideUty with wliicli, in the face of 
 them, she had inaintiiined inviolate her adherence 
 to the doctrines of her church. Tlien, with tears 
 of anxiety, she asked as her most humble reward, 
 
 m3
 
 250 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 permission to visit tlie man wliose sanctity had 
 made Mm famous even among the followers of 
 other creeds. How humbled, how lessened did 
 Anima at this moment feel, and how wilhngly 
 would she have changed places with the poor, 
 defenceless, but still protestant girl, to whom she 
 gave her unhesitating consent ! 
 
 The Council-chamber that morning pre- 
 sented a most interesting scene; as well to the 
 foreign deputies, to whose simple habits the cus- 
 toms of the Itahan court were quite strange, as to 
 the splendid assembly \\(ho received them in it. 
 
 The usual forms of etiquette having passed; the 
 Duke H&tened from his throne, with profound 
 attention to the address delivered by the Swiss 
 ambassadors, in which they conjured his royal 
 highness to attend to their petitions in behalf of 
 the unhappy Vaudois, who, shut up in fort La 
 Tour, where they had been decoyed by false pro- 
 mises on the part of Don Gabriel of Savoy, were 
 languishing in captivity, and for whose sake they 
 were willino: to forego all the advantages of their
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 251 
 
 alliance, rather tlian be passive witnesses of tlie 
 unjust treatment they received. 
 
 Firmly, hut courteously, tliis address was 
 worded ; and when, in answer to its remonstrance, 
 Victor Amadous rose and exculpated his appa- 
 rently harsh measures towards the Vaudois, by 
 alleging that their heretic opinions, which sanc- 
 tioned every crime, and their rebelHous habits, 
 forced him to adopt them ; the ambassadors turned 
 to Henri Arnaud as the champion of liis people, 
 and bade liim defend their cause. 
 
 Amid a murmur, which showed how difficult 
 was deemed such an attempt, the venerable pastor 
 rose, and, with the impressive calmness of truth, 
 addressed the Duke. He spoke respectfully, of the 
 allegiance and fidchty liis flock had ever main- 
 tained to the house of Savoy, and declared how 
 they hud preserved the j)urity of their Christian 
 rehgion, without any mixture of human tradi- 
 tions, since first they had received the doctrines 
 of the gospel from the apostles themselves ;' he 
 showed how, even so early as the ninth century, 
 the primitive simpHcity of their luith was set
 
 252 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 forth in the writings of Claude, bishop of Turin; 
 while even their worst enemies, from the days of 
 the first inquisitor, Reynerus Sacco, down to 
 Claudis de Scissel, archbishop of Turin, in 1500, 
 bore testimony to the innocency of their Uves, 
 and the strictness of their morals. He adduced in 
 proof of the truth of that religion, the patience 
 with which they had borne the extremity of suf- 
 fering ; the obedient resignation with which they 
 had submitted to their oppressor's will ; the uni- 
 form sanctity of their lives — fruits which sprimg 
 from its holy seed alone. He then drew an af- 
 fecting picture of their grief, when the last severe 
 .edict which deprived them of the privilege of per- 
 forming the rites of their church was issued ; still 
 more their consternation, when they were threat- 
 •cned vnth. having their children torn from them, 
 unless sacrificed to the baptism of a church, whose 
 doctrines seemed unscriptural to them, and their 
 subsequent anguish at the sad consequences wliich 
 followed their resolute resistance to the unjust 
 decree; tlie abject humiUty with which some 
 obeyed his orders of immediate submission, and
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VArDOIS. 253 
 
 the reward they received in the cruelty with 
 which Don Gabriel punished their credulity by 
 plunging them into the horrid dungeons of La 
 Tour. 
 
 Tlien, with the vivid pencil of truth, he de- 
 scribed the sufferings his own Httle band had 
 endured when crossing, in all the rigour of winter, 
 the mountain regions, and detailed the kindness 
 with which at length they had been received by 
 their protestant friends at Geneva. The eloquent 
 speech concluded, by an earnest appeal to the 
 mercy of their prince, to receive his subjects 
 again into favour, to restore to them the dwell- 
 ings from which tlioy had been ejected, and 
 which their forefathers' brave defence for centu- 
 ries, had fully entitled them to possess. And 
 when the old man ceased speaking, not an eye 
 in that gay assembly refused their tribute of 
 sympathy to the tale he had so simply and allcc- 
 tingly told. The prince himself was touched, 
 and ended the debate witli expressions of favour 
 and kindness, which gave universal satisfaction;
 
 254 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 but, too much on his guard to commit liimself by 
 any promise he might afterwards repent, he 
 deferred till another day the important decision, 
 which was to seal the fate of the unhappy Vau- 
 dois.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 255 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Marie Arnaud liad not concealed from her 
 father, De Grafcnried's declaration of attachment ; 
 and the pang wliicli sometimes shot across her 
 bosom, as she thought of the devoted affection 
 she had so hastily liung from her, and the sorrow 
 she had thereby inflicted where her warmest 
 gratitude was due, was increased at beholding his 
 evident regret. Unconscious, that she had a deeper 
 motive for rejecting the suit than the objection to 
 enter into any alhance while persecution hung 
 oyer her people, Arnaud would fain have per- 
 suaded liis daughter to consent to a proposition 
 which would provide her with a powerful pro-
 
 256 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OK, 
 
 tector, when time in its closing limits, should ex- 
 clude him from fulfilling the tender duties of 
 paternal care, which even now, however dear to 
 him, teemed with difficulties. It was fortunate for 
 Marie, that the necessary arrangements for the 
 expected interview with Victor Amadeus en- 
 grossed so much time, that there was no leisure 
 for conversing on the theme from which she sen- 
 sitivelv shrunk: and in the sohtude of those hours 
 of her father's absence, she indulged in the anti- 
 cipation of moments when, once more restored to 
 the home and friends of her youth, her most 
 ardent wishes might be croAvned, and perhaps 
 even Anima's image effaced from the mind of the 
 restored Durand. 
 
 Hope built the charming edifice which imagina- 
 tion loved to crown ; and she only turned from the 
 cnchantin"" scene, when the vivid reaHties of the 
 present forcibly claimed her attention : and then, 
 if from her windows she saw the gay festas, or 
 tinselled processsions, which daily passed in honour 
 of the religion of the cormtry she was visitmg, 
 they had no charms for her. Shocked at their
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAU1X)IS. 257 
 
 diflfcrence from tlie customs in wliicli slie had been 
 bred, sbe viewed tliem with the eye of disappro- 
 bation, and asked herself as she gazed, — " Who 
 were the people which surrounded her ? and 
 what the rehgion they professed?" 
 
 Truth replied they were the oppressors of her 
 country, the persecutors of her race, from whoso 
 blood and tears they had wrung the produce they 
 were spenc'ing in luxury and dissipation ; whde 
 memory depicted the simple tenets and customs of 
 her own church, and contrasted them with tlie 
 symbols around her. She called to mind the pure 
 doctrines of the pious Bishop Claude, and shud- 
 dered at the votive garlands, the images he had 
 denounced as idolatrous, which passed her now in 
 triumphal procession. She longed like him, to raise 
 the voice of warning, and to bid them lay aside 
 their fallacious dcpendancc on their own works, 
 and accept the gospel promises of unconditional 
 forgiveness, of which he had so fearlessly preached. 
 Eight centuries indeed had passed, since the 
 holy father had denounced the errors of popery,
 
 258 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 but still liis influence remained over every Vaudois' 
 breast, and from infancy Marie had been taught 
 to cherish and revere liis memory. From these 
 reflections she turned, with eager curiosity, to hear 
 her father's account of what had passed on his 
 return from the coiirt, and with a heart beatmg 
 high with hope she learnt his reception had 
 been favourable, and his report had excited an 
 evident sympathy in his hearers. Wliilst thus 
 engaged, they were interrupted, by the announce- 
 ment of a female, requesting to speak with the 
 pastor, and on her admission they beheld, though 
 they kncAv it not, the attendant of their lost 
 Anima. Victorine apologized for her intrusion, 
 wliich she excused on the score of an irresistible 
 impulse to see those, whose faith and fate had been 
 so similar to her own ; and Amaud listened with 
 compassion to her tale of the French Protestants' 
 sufferings, and applauded the patience with which 
 both she and they had submitted to their sad 
 misfortunes. But Marie felt a yet stronger in- 
 terest in her visiter, the Hnk wliich unites two
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS, 259 
 
 sympathizing minds, wlicre all -witlaout is strange 
 and at variance witli tlicir best and fondest as- 
 pirations. 
 
 She gathered much, in their frequent subsequent 
 meetings, of the state and opinions of the court, 
 with regard to their pecuHar affairs, and much of 
 more private information of its modes and cus- 
 toms, of wliich she was wholly ignorant. Once 
 in their conversation, the name of Madame de 
 Saony was mentioned, and Marie immediately 
 remembering her relationship to Anima, sought 
 and obtained intelhgence wliich shehttle expected. 
 
 Her marriage, her apostacy, her residence in 
 Turin, were each in turn matter of fresh surprise 
 and regret. The first, indeed, she could forgive, 
 excusing it on the score offeehngs, the wannth of 
 which she only too well knew herself ; but her 
 change of faith, her light and dissipated life, still 
 more her unaccountable coldness, in making no 
 effort to see again the friends who were once so 
 dear, and were now close at hand, shocked and 
 wounded her, wliilc it almost surpassed her behcf. 
 But when Victorine went on to relate how in
 
 260 THE TASTOE CHIEF; OR, 
 
 secret the Marcliioness di Pianczza would bedew 
 her couch with tears ; how haunting regrets paled 
 her cheek and dimmed its beauty, a feeHng of 
 pity rose in her breast, and she resolved to spare 
 her father the sorrowful news of Anima's fall, and 
 trusted, with the hope peculiar to her own confiding 
 nature, that sparks of abetter fire yet smouldered in 
 the bosom of her friend, and might be roused into 
 existence. But while Marie, in solitary silence, was 
 musing over these things, reports had reached the 
 palace, of the beautiful companion Arnaud had 
 brought with him to Turin ; and with the curiosity 
 incidental to her sex, sharpened too in this instance 
 by the individual interest existing between the 
 strangers and her niece, Madame de Saony earn- 
 estly desired to sec them in private, though with- 
 held by the difficulty of arranguig a visit which, 
 on one hand might be intrusiA'c to Mademoiselle 
 Arnaud, on the other obnoxious to the Duke. 
 Determined, however, to gratify her wishes, and 
 aware of the power of youth and beauty over 
 Victor Amadous, she took an early opportunity 
 to descant on the personal merits, and the heroic
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 261 
 
 conduct of tlae daugliter of the aged pastor; and 
 she succeeded in exciting in him a desire to lift 
 the veil of mystery in which the stranger chose to 
 seclude herself. With the curiosity of Madame 
 de Saony, was mingled a S2:)irit of romance, which 
 moved her to aid, if possible, the cause which she 
 had heard so touchingly pleaded by the pastor of 
 the Alps ; and though she did not dare to intrude 
 the subject on her princely relative, who banished 
 all pohtical discussions from the gay circle of his 
 court, she flattered herself that a young and enthu- 
 siastic advocate Avould have more chance of suc- 
 cess, in one hour's private interview, than tlie wisest 
 and most eloquent statesman in tlie most proUx 
 debate. 
 
 With a woman's tact, she contrived to mould 
 the Didce's inclinations to her will; and then di- 
 rected them to the desired meeting. Aware 
 that the strictest secrecy was necessary, in taking 
 a step, which if known would be liable to the 
 most serious interpretations, he determined to 
 maintain a close incognito. 
 
 Accompanied by Madame de Saony, whose
 
 262 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 imaginary brotlier lie personated,' tliey assumed 
 a false name, and announced themselves to the 
 Arnauds as foreigners of high rank stapng at the 
 ducal palace. 
 
 It was on the evening of the day in which 
 Marie had made the discovery of Anima's de- 
 sertion, that the father and daughter awaited the 
 arrival of their unknown visiters ; and indulged in 
 the vain hope, that Anima herself might be the 
 person who so earnestly requested an interview, 
 and yet feared to send her name, lest the tale of 
 her apostacy should have reached their ears, and 
 they should refuse to acknowledge her again. 
 With such expectations, it was a disappointment 
 to see two entire strangers enter, which made 
 Marie wish she had refused to be present, and she 
 steeled herself against the winning softness of the 
 lady's manner, and the respectful but evident ad- 
 miration of her companion. Yet, when the 
 stranger said that the sympathy in their cause, 
 which the pastor's speech had excited the day 
 before, had led her to visit those who had suffer- 
 ed so accutcly, and when she expressed her hope
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 263 
 
 for their success, Marie felt grateful for tlie kind- 
 ness of her visiter, and her frankness of manner 
 returning, she forgot her usual caution, and entered 
 into conversation. She told the tale of all their 
 sorrows; and as her auditors gazed on her and ob- 
 served the tear that trembled in her eye, or the 
 simplicity with which she related deeds of cou- 
 rage, which would have exalted other women into 
 heroines for a crowd to gaze on, they felt how 
 far more impressively the recital fell from her 
 lips than even from the father's on the preceding 
 day. Even the iron policy of Victor, melted before 
 the eloquent language of that deep blue eye, and 
 of the evanescent blush that mantled on her check. 
 She turned to the stranger's supposed brother, 
 and added in softened accents, " Yet, if the heart of 
 Victor, could be open to his subjects' woes, if un- 
 surrounded by the hollow advice of courtiers, and 
 the wily intrigues of foreign statesmen, he would 
 listen to the heartfelt vows of their allegiance and 
 hear their agonized groans, he would protect his 
 people — lie would, he must protect, and strike off 
 the bonds of their captivity.
 
 264 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 " He who lives in the midst of luxury and fes- 
 tivity; who knows not the pang of hunger, nor the 
 sigh for the free air — his Creator's unlimited gift ; 
 lie who who has never experienced the misery of 
 sickness imattended, unrelieved by the merest ne- 
 cessaries, say, would he dare to condemn a nation 
 to such sufferings, and not tremble before the Al- 
 mighty Being, who seeth in secret, and whose 
 mysterious presence no mortal can escape? 
 
 " Has Victor no respect for his word as a knight 
 and a gentleman? Has he no child — no wife — 
 no sister, whose honour is dear to him, that he 
 shoidd forget how a husband — a brother — a father, 
 can feel, when he beholds tliose dearest objects of 
 affection torn from his arms, and can only pray 
 that theirs may be the lesser evils whicli a 
 damp dark dungeon threatens ? Oh Victor ! had 
 you but seen, as I liavc, the scanty remnant of a 
 people whose only crime was their devotion and 
 their faith, expelled from their homes, to wander in 
 strange lands, exposed to the soldiers' violence 
 and the murderer's ruthless grasp; liad you be- 
 held the helpless infant, and the shrieking mother.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 265 
 
 r 
 
 subjected to horrors sucli as you liave never even 
 imagined, the tear of compassion must have been 
 wrung from your heart ! 
 
 " Strangers !" resumed_Marie, after a pause, "ye 
 who witness my grief, say, are youjs the only hearts, 
 in this court of luxury, which beat with sym- 
 pathy for our unhappy case ; docs no kind friend 
 plead in our favour at Victor's throne, and is there 
 no hope that he will grant our prayer and release 
 our sad brethren ?" 
 
 " Yes," said the stranger, " there is hope; fear 
 not. Mademoiselle Arnaud, you have a powerful 
 mediator with Victor, but you wrong him," he 
 added, more earnestly; "you arc unjust to his 
 character; the deceptions practised against the 
 captives in La Tour, the persecution which your 
 valleys have endured, come not from him alone, 
 but from the court of France, whose prince is a 
 bigot, and a man of sin !" 
 
 " Ah, stranger, you may endeavour to excul- 
 pate the Duke, but in vain. Can a generous mind 
 sacrifice his principles to base fear ? Could he, 
 if possessed of one particle of rectitude, of mercy, 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 have sacrificed a nation "who obeyed and loved 
 him, to a prince whose power he dreaded? True 
 honour, true religion, acknowledges not such 
 votaries. Victor is now no longer deceived ; the 
 tale of our wrongs has reached his ears ; and if 
 he hesitates to do us justice, their voice will cry- 
 aloud to that Heaven, where the pohcy of princes 
 is no excuse, and where worldly success weighs 
 not in the scale of justice ! Unless ample and 
 speedy restitution of our rights is made, harder, 
 bitterer, will be his fate hereafter, than ours even 
 has been here !" 
 
 The stranojer sighed; and a2:ain soufi^ht to de- 
 fend the character of Victor Amadous ; described 
 the power of France, and attempted to justify 
 his conduct by the rebclHous disobedience of her 
 people, whose open violation of his laAvs demanded 
 punishment. , 
 
 "Alas!" said Marie, " what was their disobe- 
 dience ? They paid to his emissaries the tribute of 
 their possessions, wrung from their ungenerous soil, 
 the scanty support which barely sufficed to their own 
 necessities, nor grudged that tax to their prince ;
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 267 
 
 but when lie demanded more tlian tlieir life, more 
 than their blood, when he asked for the souls of 
 their precious little ones, their hearts revolted, 
 and they refused to acknowledge the right of 
 princes over what belongs to God! Then rose 
 their determination to protect their cliildren ; and 
 their reward was imprisonment and death. 
 
 " Unhappy stranger, you know not what you 
 attempt when you defend such awful iniquity as 
 this!" 
 
 No lighter subjects were broached in a con- 
 versation so engrossing to each party, except 
 indeed, when, touched by the loneliness of 
 Mademoiselle Arnaud's situation, the stranger 
 lady marvelled at her strict and voluntary 
 seclusion. 
 
 " Madame," replied Marie, " in a strange 
 land, the Vaudois must keep in silence, must 
 pray in solitude against the temptations of its 
 new customs. Our faith frowns on the levity 
 which characterizes other worship ; and the 
 near view we take of its sanctity, unfits us for 
 lighter considerations." 
 
 n2
 
 268 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 " But surely, Mademoiselle," observed the 
 stranger, " tlic Almighty requires not so com- 
 plete a sacrifice of the feelings natural to youth, 
 excludes not the cheerfulness of innocent gaiety, 
 foi'bids not happiness." 
 
 "Happiness, Madame," repHed Marie, "forbids 
 it ! Ah no, rehgion elevates and purifies happi- 
 ness from earthly dross; and if it raises us above 
 this world's desires, it is to open the delights of 
 Heaven ! Plow shall the mind that contem- 
 plates the ineffable love of its Creator, the 
 brightness of his glory, the majesty of his 
 power, bear to turn to the pomp and magnifi- 
 cence of earthly splendour, or take interest in 
 the petty objects wherein a meaner contempla- 
 tion centres its interests ? Religion refines the 
 source of our joys; and the devout mind opens 
 more easily to the blessings of social intercourse, 
 the tender sympathy of affection, Avhich absorbs 
 the remembrance of self in the love of our 
 fellow-creatures. No, ]\Iadame, that rehgion is 
 not harsh, nor exclusive of enjoyment, which 
 opens to our hearts a stream of love, and fits our
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 269 
 
 minds to appreciate the wonders of this glorious 
 creation, tlie ever-living witness of the power 
 and the benevolence of Him who called it into 
 existence. "What has the world left in such a 
 comparison ? — dull, cold, insensible if you will, 
 its pleasures unsatisfying, its hopes unreal. Who 
 that has known its feverish excitement, and can 
 compare it with the soul-stirring delights of 
 religion, would ihalt one moment between the 
 two ? The pleasures of the one," continued 
 Marie, "are, it is true, unknown to me; but 
 their delusive temptations have been described, 
 and I would not that they should pollute that 
 temple of my soul, which I have consecrated to 
 holier purposes." 
 
 " No, my Marie," exclaimed her flxther, " you 
 are right, the gaieties of Turin arc not for you, who, 
 nursed amidst the sublimest works of God, art yet 
 of purer eyes than to behold the ini(piities of 
 men ; and may He who thus made, preserve thee 
 from the world." 
 
 Tlic visiters at length prepared to depart. On 
 taking leave, Victor requested Marie's acceptance
 
 270 THE PASTOE CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 of a ring, not only to be valued in remembrance of 
 that interview, but as a pledge, -wliicli in any hour 
 of exigency might redeem the assistance of one, 
 who though unkno-svn to her, was not uninfluential 
 at the court of Savoy. Nor on such terms could she 
 refuse the proffered gift, but gratefully receiving 
 it, fastened it round her neck with a dear 
 memorial she never laid aside, — her mother's 
 hair ! The Duke was deeply affected. Uncon- 
 scious whom she was addressing, Marie had fear- 
 lessly depicted his conduct in its true light, and 
 unveiled its secret springs; and the remorse she 
 had awakened was more poignantly felt as he 
 dwelt on her perfections; she was so different to 
 any of her sex that he had ever seen, so uncon- 
 scious of her merit, so powerful and deep in her 
 feehng, and yet so gentle and retiring, that her 
 image d^velt on his mind ; and when the beauties 
 who thronged his court again met his eyes that 
 evening, they seemed to have lost half of their 
 charms, and ere he slept, a softer feehng of kind- 
 ness, a desire even to pardon her countrymen, 
 stole over his stern and self-seeking heart.
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 271 
 
 But with the • morningj alas ! came the argu- 
 ments of councillors, from whose hearts, state 
 expediency had banished pity, and despatches 
 from Louis, relating the advance of his enemies; 
 while in the tone of entreaty, wherewith he so 
 well knew how to veil his commands, he asked 
 permission to fill those valleys, from which his 
 cousin had so wisely expelled the heretics, with 
 his own troops. 
 
 By this stratagem Louis would gain the key to 
 the territories of Victor Amadeus, and obtain a 
 hold over him which would prevent all chance of 
 his withliolding the assistance he might want in 
 the approaching struggle. lie was also well 
 aware he had httlc cause to expect any refusal at 
 a moment, when hostile powers hovering round 
 Savoy, the protection and friendship of his power- 
 ful ally rose in value in the eyes of its prince. 
 
 With such weighty reasons in the scale against 
 the restoration of the protestant valleys, the cause 
 of the Vaudois became light as air ; and really 
 touched by the account of their sulTcrings, 
 though anxious to maintain his friendship witli
 
 272 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 the Swiss, Victor Amadeus dared not grant more 
 than half their petition, namely the release of the 
 captives from La Tour, and permission for them to 
 pass unmolested through his dominions, giving the 
 ambassadors at the same time hopes, but no pro- 
 mise of a future entire restitution of their rio-hts 
 
 o 
 
 With this inconclusive declaration the deputies 
 were obHged to appear satisfied ; for the amicable 
 expressions of the Duke towards their nation, the 
 favourable language to the Vaudois in which it 
 ■was couched, left no excuse for further remon- 
 strance. 
 
 Furnished with written documents to ensure 
 their brethren's immediate release, and promises of 
 ample forgiveness to all at a future period, Ar- 
 naud and his daughter, once more set out on their 
 journey with the Swiss ambassadors to Geneva, 
 there impatiently to await the arrival of their 
 countrymen.
 
 TBUE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 We must now return to tlic period wliicli pre- 
 ceded the flight of Arnaud and his flock to Ge- 
 neva, when Durand hud left Angrogna to endea- 
 vour to encourage the inhabitants of Lucerne to 
 resist the forces of Don Gabriel of Savoy, then 
 pressing on those valleys, Avhilc other troops under 
 Oatinat forced those of Peyrousc and St. Martin. 
 
 He f nuul tliat some preparations for defence 
 had been made ; the valleys were fortified with 
 intrcnchmcnts of turf and stone, and the inha- 
 bitants, to the number of two thousand, were al- 
 ready in array. 
 
 No strangers were among this corps ; but under 
 
 n3
 
 274 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 tlie direction of tlie elder and most considerable of 
 tlieir countrymen, tlicy awaited the enemy with a 
 resolution which with mihtary disciphne and 
 under able commanders might have been effective ; 
 but these were wanting, and the hours which in- 
 tervened between the completion of their prepa- 
 rations and the arrival of the shock, gave a fatal 
 opportunity for hesitation and doubt, productive 
 of sad effects in their councils. 
 
 When Durand arrived, disunion had crept in, 
 and jealousy divided the bonds which necessity 
 should have united. One head, one chief was 
 wanted to organize the whole. He saw and felt 
 the important deficiency : but it was too late to 
 remedy it, and with deep anxiety he awaited the 
 approaching crisis. 
 
 It came. The army of Don Gabriel, swelled 
 with the well-mounted and disciphncd militia of 
 Mondovi, Barges, and Bagnol, poured into the 
 plain of St. John, their glittering equipments 
 forming a striking contrast to the ill-organized and 
 scantily-clothed band they came to expel. 
 
 But the Vaudois had to fight for liberty and
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 275 
 
 life, and with a determined courag'c which, 
 required but judicious management to ensure 
 success, they collected their forces to meet the 
 shock in the open plain, instead of defending their 
 more sheltered passes. 
 
 The army of the Duke at once opened a terrific 
 battery upon them, wliich they were wholly un- 
 prepared to return, being quite unused to such a 
 mode of warfare. For a moment, however, they 
 stood firm, and then Durand, perceiving the use- 
 lessness of remaining exposed to such certain 
 destruction without the means of striking one 
 blow in self-defence, cried out, "To the heights, 
 to the heights;" and led them to some intrench- 
 ments higher up, which would afford some shelter 
 from the enemy's fire. 
 
 From tliis post they beheld the troops of Don 
 Gabriel advance at fuU speed, bm'iiing every 
 dwelling they passed. 
 
 The air was dense with the smoke of the can- 
 non, the horizon red with the glare of the fiamcs 
 bursting from their homes ; but moved to despera- 
 tion by the sight, the Vaudois kept their ground
 
 276 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 •with undaunted firmness and, closing their ranks, 
 presented an unbroken front to the enemy under 
 a dreadful cannonade. 
 
 For eight hours they maintained their post, 
 when their ammunition began to fail, and their 
 overtaxed strength to give way. 
 
 Durand felt that the only hope of repairing the 
 imprudence of their first disposition, was to retreat 
 to the fort of St. John, about two hundred paces 
 distant, and urged them to adopt this measure. 
 
 Slowly, and in sohd order they then retreated, 
 discharging their rlfies as they went, with fatal 
 precision at the foe ; and succeeded in gaining 
 the fort, having lost only five of their number. 
 
 Here, they awaited the enemy's attack with re- 
 newed hopes, the excitement of the moment fiUing 
 each heart with enthusiasm, while the roll of the 
 musketry, and the shouts of the assailants, seemed 
 to stimulate rather than depress their courage. 
 
 Tlie enemy, now within reach of the fort, opened 
 a raking fire upon it ; but the besieged, still un- 
 daunted were preparing to make a sudden onset, 
 when a ball struck their leader, and a confusion
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 277 
 
 ensued dxiring wlilcli tlic advantageous moment 
 passed away. 
 
 For a while, Durand remained insensible where 
 he fell ; but though severely, he was not fatally 
 wounded, and he soon rose again shouting, " On 
 Vaudois, on! Quit yourselves Hke men, and the 
 day is ours !" But in the interval of inaction which 
 elapsed, fatal tidings had been brought by some 
 stragglers to the fort, and his entreaties were an- 
 swered by the cry of " All is over I St. Martin 
 and Peyrouse have yielded to the French !' ' 
 
 A dreadful consternation prevailed at these 
 words, and the panic increased even as the foe 
 advanced; for the Lucernois remembered that 
 from these valleys a descent bore down on the 
 gorges of their own, through Avhich the French, 
 elated with victory and eager to revenge the mo- 
 mentary check which their allies had received, 
 might pour with irresistible fury. 
 
 The iutelhgence flew from mouth to mouth, in 
 the yet defended fort, gaining fresh horrors at 
 every recital. 
 
 In despair, the weapons of defence were laid
 
 278 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 aside, tlie trembling soldiers deserted tlieir post, 
 and tlieir cliiefs assembled to ponder over the 
 speediest mode of conveying proposals of treaty 
 to Don Gabriel, to secure conditions of mercy, 
 ere the arrival of fresh support to him should 
 render their position more critical. 
 
 Durand entreated them to tarry and make an- 
 other effort to defend themselves ere they yield- 
 ed; but in vain. They were deaf to his remon- 
 strances, angry at his expostidations ; and insisted 
 on despatching messengers, with such offers of 
 capitulation as could be hurriedly framed in the 
 hour of terror. Then succeeded moments of an- 
 guish, whose bitterness uncertain spirits only 
 know; and unavailing regrets at having acted 
 on the mere impulse, alternated with the wild hope 
 thatUt up the deeper gloom, as reason bade them 
 now expect the worst. 
 
 In silence, or with broken inarticulate sen- 
 tences, the chiefs were collected in that fortress 
 where, an hour before, the excitement of success 
 had silenced doubt and painted a brilhant future. 
 Sometimes, the clamour of dispute testified the
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 279 
 
 conflicting opinions that were entertained, and 
 gave fresh poignancy to those moments of sus- 
 pense, reminding them, that on their dcHbera- 
 tions hmig the Hves and hberties of those whom it 
 was their duty to defend, and whose ancestors 
 had never stained their rectitude by the abnega- 
 tion of their rights. 
 
 And. Durand! — he, who best knew, most 
 dreaded the cliaracter of the foe they had to 
 deal with; he, who had left all dearest and 
 nearest to him in the hour of danger, to assist 
 and support the men who had refused his coun- 
 sel, and "vvith whose fate his own was now ir- 
 revocably hnked, — what were his fecHngs ? 
 
 None knew; for, impenetrable in its expres- 
 sion, his face was turned towards tlie window 
 which commanded a view of tlie glorious orb, 
 now slowly sinking, amid gorgeous masses of 
 fiery clouds, in the lead-coloured liorizon be- 
 neath; and the attention he bestowed upon it 
 was apparently undisturbed by the confusion^ 
 around him. 
 
 At length the messengers returned, and with
 
 280 THE TASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 fearful anticipations, tlie council prepared to un- 
 fold the packet on which depended their own, 
 their wives', and their children's fate ! 
 
 Short as was the moment wliicli elapsed ere 
 the seal and enclosures of Don Gabriel's de- 
 spatch could be opened, it seemed to Unger on 
 the hearts of the expectant number gathered 
 there, until the elder of the party with a fal- 
 tering voice read the following words : 
 
 " Inhabitants of Lucerne, lay down your arms, 
 and throw yourselves on the clemency of his 
 Iloyal Highness Don Gabriel of Savoy; and be 
 assured that he will extend his favours and per- 
 sonal protection to yourselves, your Avives, and 
 little ones." 
 
 He ceased, and the acclamations which de- 
 clared how unexpected was the gracious answer, 
 I'ose unmingled Avith doubt or fear, and it was 
 Avith a look of triumph that the councillors 
 turned to Durand, as if to deprecate the opinion 
 he had given. Here were promises of pardon, 
 offers of mercy, on conditions none dreamt of 
 refusing, and a second shout showed how im-
 
 'to 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 281 
 
 plicltly the Vaudois trusted in tlie faitli of tlielr 
 prince. 
 
 Durand looked up, met their joyous look, and' 
 heard the exulting sounds with a serious, moiurn- 
 fid expression. The assent so unhesitatingly 
 given showed how vain would be any attempt to 
 cast the least doubt on offers, the veracity of Avhich 
 he had after all no right to asperse; but it was 
 with a cold shudder of dread, a suspicion new to 
 his nature, that lie prepared to accompany the 
 Lucemois to fulfil the ceremonies of submission, 
 at best, degrading in his eyes ; he had joined tliem, 
 however, for high and noble purposes, and his fate, 
 now irretricval)lv linked with theirs, he resolved 
 to meet unshrinlcingly. 
 
 From the windows of fort St. John, they be- 
 held the Savoyard troops slowly marching up 
 the valley. Banners waved in the air, bright 
 pennons on the breeze, Avhile triumphant music 
 ushered the conquerors of Lucerne into its peace- 
 ful hamlets. 
 
 Voluntarily, undoubtlngly, its rightful posses- 
 sors knelt, unarmed and unprotected, in meek sub-
 
 282 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 mission at tlie feet of their prince, to renew oaths 
 of allegiance to their sovereign which but for liim 
 had never been broken, and vow away all claims 
 to every thing but his forgiveness and support. 
 No false homage, no transitory submission was tliis. 
 The people of the valleys called on God to -witness 
 their oaths, and their rehgion forbade their asking 
 his inspection of promises they did not intend to 
 fulfil. 
 
 It was an affecting, heart-rending sight — that 
 devoted band, whose courage neither shot nor steel 
 had quelled, knechng in humiHty before the oiFers 
 of mercy ! And he, who accepted these vows ! was 
 humanity stifled in Ms breast ? Had his Maker's 
 image departed thence? that ho could listen un- 
 moved, and still maintain his plan of deep-laid 
 treachery to entrap these helpless victims into the 
 horrors of captivity or agonizing death? 
 
 Alas, for human nature ! Alas, for the his- 
 torian whom truth compels to record the dis- 
 graceful llxct ! Durand had riglitly judged the 
 duphcity of Don Gabriel, and the last vows of 
 the Lucernois, were the signal for their despair !
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 283 
 
 Graciously Don Gabriel smiled, as surrounded 
 by his military followers, he stood before the 
 Lucernois to receive their tendered allegiance. 
 But the -withering sneer of the countenance of the 
 Evil One, when he beheld our first parents undone 
 by his treacherous wiles, could best compare with 
 that which distorted his coimtenance, as a lurid 
 gleam from the thatched cottages around, and a 
 wild shriek of agony from the now surrounded 
 band, told how he respected the faith of nations, 
 and how he regarded the moral principle within I 
 
 Then began the ruthless violence of the 
 licensed massacre, then sounded the shrieks of 
 outraged women, the deep groan of powerless 
 and organized manhood, the loud prayer to 
 Heaven, the imprecation on man — ^but in vain; 
 the tyrant's hand was raised, nor tarried in its 
 ruthless violence till the morning light revealed 
 the razed villages, the desecrated hearths, and 
 the mutilated remains of those who were the 
 possessors. 
 
 All night raged the oppressor's cruelty, and 
 the soldier's thirst for blood; and rapine, murder,
 
 284 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 and blasphemy, polluted the atmosphere, over 
 which the blue vault of heaven still stretched in 
 undisturbed tranquilhtj. 
 
 Most of those who could have called that dis- 
 trict, now so wantonly devastated, their own, 
 had flillcn victims ; and happier than their com- 
 panions, had experienced in that brief night, 
 the alternations of hope and anguish, and then 
 the rest of death. A more wretched remnant 
 remained, burdened with an existence that 
 only held out to them a lengthened prospect of 
 torture to end in a captivity, the horror of which 
 far exceeded that of the most ac;onizin£r death. 
 
 A short distance from the plain of St. Jolin, 
 and the fort wc have seen so valiantly defended 
 and suddenly deserted, is a valley enriched by 
 cloud-capped mountains, where the river PeHce, 
 tumultuous and rapid, rushes over peaked and 
 rugged rocks, its waters deriving a darker hue 
 from the shadow of the steep banks which rise 
 in jagged points amidst the sparkling foam of 
 the waves. Tlie icy peaks of the heights above 
 reached with tlic skv, and deriving: a thousand 
 
 •p* ' CD
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 285 
 
 varying tints from every changing cloud, are 
 reflected in strono;er hues in its waters. 
 
 Few trees diversify the scene; but amid their 
 parted shade the turrets of a Fortress arc discern- 
 ible, which belonged in ancient days to a flimily 
 of note, who, while they fortified it with all the 
 necessary care of feudal times, had also embel- 
 lished it with the pomp of an age when castles 
 were few, and their possessors, lords over the 
 land. Baronial halls ; suites of gloomy galleries, 
 the size of Avhich was calculated for times when 
 families consisted not only of the main stem, but 
 of the adherent branches and their numerous 
 retainers; dark subterranean passages Avhich led 
 to dungeons of which the secret depths were a 
 source of sorrow to the good and terror to the 
 bad, characterized the castle of St. Jean de la 
 Tour; which, long deserted by its rightful owners, 
 had fallen into decay and become invested by 
 those talcs of the marvellous, which rendered 
 its gray walls and indistinct turrets an unwelcome 
 sight to the home-returning peasant. 
 
 Perhaps, indeed, could those walls have re-
 
 286 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 vealed all that had passed between them — have 
 Imbodicd the deep-breathed sigh of many a 
 soHtaiy captive, their history would have been 
 more terrific than the fictitious legends, wliich 
 the credulous Inhabitants of the vicinity trembled 
 and wept to hear; for there, had many of their 
 unbending forefathers expiated their firm adhe- 
 rence to their faith by long years of capti\T.ty, 
 under former persecutions of the tyrannic house 
 of Savoy. But years had now elapsed since 
 Fort la Tour, had been used in any way, and 
 its empty dungeons only waited for fresh inmates. 
 
 These were damp, dark, and subterranean; 
 the bat and the owl, with every creeping rep- 
 tile that shuns the light of day, had had undis- 
 turbed possession, unmindful of the mephitic 
 air, whose poisonous efiluvia no other creature 
 could brook. 
 
 The court of Savoy had, liowever, destined 
 fresh inhabitants for them, and they were to be 
 crowded, as well as every other prison in the 
 valleys, with the Vaudois who had refused to 
 abandon their abodes and their faith.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 287 
 
 Preceded by a file of troops, and fastened to- 
 gether by ropes, the remnant who survived the 
 horrors of the night of St. John, -were driven 
 rather than conducted through the defile which 
 led to the castle. The ribald j est, the blasphemous 
 imprecation, and too often the clash of many a sabre 
 stroke, as the victims were hurried alonsc with a 
 precipitation which caused many to lose their 
 footing and roll over the steep ravine which bor- 
 dered the narrow path, resomided through the 
 mountains, and told that the plan of treachery 
 was now about to be consummated by tlic incar- 
 ceration of the miserable wretches whom the sol- 
 diers forced along at the bayonet's point. 
 
 They reached those iron doors ; back flew, with 
 creaking sound, the ponderous hinges, and the 
 Vaudois turned to look their last, on the glorious 
 sky, the impressive scenery of their own dear 
 country. They left liberty, liomc, and all that 
 makes life dear, the mangled remains of their 
 relations still precious in death ; but no mer- 
 ciful pause was allowed, in wliicli they mi<Tht 
 raise their eyes above, and bid one hcart-wnmn-
 
 288 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 farewell to the scenes which, henceforth, memory 
 alone would restore. Huddled together, thrust 
 into those dark chambers of misery, the Vaudois 
 entered Fort la Tour, and knew, as they heard 
 the grating bolt and bar exclude them from light 
 and air, and all that gilds existence, that their fate 
 was sealed for ever in this world. 
 
 It would be vain to attempt to describe the 
 misery which followed, and to relate the shrieks of 
 despair, the gnashing of teeth in which the agony of 
 the deluded Vaudois found vent ; and yet it were 
 a light task compared to that which would await 
 the historian who should recite the horrors of the 
 captivity which ensued. The invention of fiends, 
 the fury of wild beasts in the fulfdment of the 
 mad impulse of their passions, could alone por- 
 tray the savage cruelty with which Victor per- 
 secuted his unhappy subjects. 
 
 Not only in the prison of La Tour were such 
 enormities perpetrated, but in that of Mn-abouc. 
 Lucerne, and Vachere. Only the most disgust- 
 ing food rcheved the necessities of hunger ; and 
 physical privation caused lingering and dreadful
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS, 289 
 
 diseases which, ending in death, produced fresh 
 pestilence from the mass of unburied bodies 
 which infected the air. 
 
 There the faint cry of agony, wliich severed 
 the soul from its tenement, was mingled with the 
 new born infxnt's mournful wail; and the mother's 
 shriek of anguish was imbittered by the reflection 
 that the child, whose existence under any other 
 circumstances would have banished the remem- 
 brance of suffering from her breast, had wakened 
 to sorrows more tremendous than her own. Even 
 the ties of domestic love were imbound by suf- 
 fering, and the heart was hardened by the ex- 
 tremity of its woe. Death — the cry for death, 
 resounded througli those vaults, and had no 
 terrors which could compare with those it would 
 release them from. But yet the Vaudois lay not 
 down " to curse God and die.'' To the last, an 
 enthusiastic belief, that a remnant would be saved, 
 to accomplish the prophecy of Scripture, which 
 it was part of their tenets to suppose related to 
 them, triumphed over famine, sickness, and pain. 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 Thoucii ig-norant of tlie fate of most of tlieir 
 brethren, they knew from the fresh captives 
 occasionally "brought to tlieir dmigeon, that aU 
 had not perished, but that some, refusing to lay 
 down their arms, had succeeded in their con- 
 cealment ; and they felt convinced, that the 
 same constancy, which had been so nobly proved 
 in the moment of danger, would also lead them 
 to remember their brethren in need, and devise 
 some strataixem for their rescue. But these were 
 mere unsupported visions, that cheered those 
 hours of misery in which even the little comfort 
 they might have derived from mutual support 
 was denied them, their guards separating in wan- 
 ton cruelty, parents from cliildren, and husl)aud 
 from wife, to add the fresh poignancy of suspense 
 to their sufferings. 
 
 Still were they not mistaken in their trust in 
 Him, whom in better moments they recognised as 
 the author of their sore dispensations ; and the 
 prayer of faith was heard rising triumphant from 
 those lacerated hearts, that a dchverer might be 
 raised for them ; and while every ray of earthly
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 291 
 
 hope seemed closed, their pastor had actually con- 
 quered greater difficulties than they had imagined, 
 and effected that remonstrance at the court of Savoy , 
 which was to bring them rescue from their woes. 
 
 Of 14,000 Vaudois inhabiting' the valleys, at 
 the beginning of the persecution, but only 3000 
 now remained to receive, in their prison, the edict 
 of the Duke of Savoy, which restored them to 
 liberty. That edict had been granted to the inter- 
 cessions of the Swiss, and the representations of 
 Henri Arnaud; and after an incarceration of two 
 years, the prison gates were thrown open, and their 
 wretched inmates restored once more to Hbcrty, 
 cast for pity on a wide world, where they could 
 no longer claim a country or a home. 
 
 In the depth of winter, when the rigours of the 
 climate rendered the attempt nearly impossible, 
 the miserable band of captives, weakened by dis- 
 ease, and wanting every necessary of life, were 
 driven from the prisons which, at such a season 
 altordcd almost a desirable shelter, to throw tliem- 
 sclvcs on the mercy of the elements, in search of 
 
 02
 
 292 THE TASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 some more liospitable land wlicre tliey miglit lie 
 down and die. 
 
 At five o'clock in the morning, witli scarcely 
 sufficient clothing to serve the pm-poses of de- 
 cency, the prisoners of Mondovi prepared for their 
 fearful journey, and were followed by those of the 
 other dungeons. Parties of men, women, and 
 children, worn with disease and gaunt with hunger, 
 trod those snow-capped mountains, where many 
 sunk down unable to make one further effort 
 in self-defence. The mother left her infant's 
 corpse, to stagger forwards but a few paces more, 
 ere she too expired : there, friend left friend for 
 ever on his icy couch, and the child saw the parent 
 droop, nor could tarry to receive his latest sigh. 
 Tlieir bones long whitened those plains, in 
 awful appeal to the God of justice and mercy; 
 and in after years, their path might be traced by 
 the skeletons, which remained to mark the spot 
 where persecution had doomed innocence to death. 
 Still they struggled on, divinely supported; and 
 though numbers died on that forced and almost
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 293 
 
 miraculous inarch, some survived its horrors, 
 headed by Durand, whose patient fortitude had 
 won the respect of all, and they reached Geneva 
 in the first months of the year 1689. 
 
 With many, strength endured but till then; 
 and sinking ere they entered the city, its environs 
 were strewed with their prostrate bodies. The 
 energy, wliich had supported them through misery 
 in its most fearful form, liiilcd at the return of 
 joy; and liberty brought death to them ! 
 
 Then, came a meeting no pen can describe, 
 when the more fortunate brethren who had escaped 
 from Angrogna hastened to greet the partners 
 of their creed, the friends they had longed to 
 embrace, or to hear the confirmation of their fears 
 in the history of their end. 
 
 They came forth to receive in their arms a fa- 
 mished and miserable crew, shadows of their for- 
 mer selves, whose appearance told a talc no words 
 were needed to confirm. But one there was outsped 
 the rest, whose eager gaze and outstretched arms, 
 showed how dear was the object of her search;
 
 294 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 and it was witli a scream of tliankssrivins:, a 
 look of delight, that revealed all that at ano- 
 ther time her woman's heart had died rather 
 than confess, that Marie Arnaud pressed to 
 her bosom the sinking and exhausted frame of 
 Walter Durand.
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 It was in tlic spring of 1687, tliat all wliich 
 remained of tlie once happy nation, who peopled 
 the valleys of Piedmont, arrived to throw them- 
 selves on the protection of their protestant brethren 
 in Geneva, and nobly did these exercise the duties 
 of generosity and benevolence to the unfortunate 
 claimants on their compassion. 
 
 We have seen lujw kindly they received the 
 party, who sought their capital under Arnaud, how 
 nobly they advocated their cause at the court of 
 Savoy, and at length cordially welcomed the suf- 
 ferers, whose restoration to Hberty was their work. 
 Ungrudgingly did they extend their hospitality
 
 296 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 and offer the homeless wanderers an asylum in 
 the villages of Berne, where they tried to soothe 
 by tender sympathy the bitter remembrance of 
 the past ; but neither the blessings of liberty nor 
 affection could chase from the hearts of the Vau- 
 dois the memory of home, and they pined with a 
 yearning, peculiar to their country, for the land 
 which gave them birth, and nourished the ardent 
 hope of returning there, by dwelling on those 
 passages of Scripture which they intcrj^reted as 
 relating to themselves, and pointing out their 
 church, as that "true one" which " should be 
 saved." 
 
 "With an enthusiasm thus supported, they dwelt 
 on the idea of repossessing their riglitful homes, 
 and revolved in their minds every stratagem by 
 which it might be effected. Spies were sent out 
 in disguise to reconnoitre the routes, and three 
 times did they concert plans for the fulfilment of 
 their desire which were rendered vain. Through 
 want of caution, their deliberations became known 
 to the envoys of Savoy, and to frustrate any at- 
 tempt on the valleys, Victor Amadeus surrounded
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS, 297 
 
 the nciglibourliood of St. Julien, Trcmblieres, 
 Larcy, and Belle Vue, witli guards reinforced by 
 fresli troops under the Count de Bernex and tlie 
 Marquis de Caudrees ; while indignant at the pre- 
 sumption of his persecuted subjects, and irritated 
 by the contrast the noble conduct of the Gene- 
 vese presented to his own, he vehemently accused 
 these of want of faith to himself in secretly encou- 
 raging rebelHon against his laws. 
 
 These imjust imputations roused the anger of 
 the Genevese. They felt they had in no degree 
 infringed on the fidelity they owed their allies, 
 by obeying the dictates of benevolence to their 
 unhappy dependants; but anxious to prove their 
 honesty, and fearful of the consequences of Vic- 
 tor's wrath, they began to doubt the policy of 
 still extending the hand of brotherhood to the 
 Vaudois. Added to this, they perceived that 
 in the feehngs of the latter, the love of their 
 country outweighed the claims of gratitude, and 
 threatened to weaken their promises of remain- 
 infj inactive. 
 
 Seeds of suspicion thus sown grew till dis- 
 
 o 3
 
 298 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 union was produced ; and after a period, the 
 council of Geneva came to a resolution to de- 
 clare to the Vaudois, that reasons of state forced 
 them to Avithdraw the protection they had ex- 
 tended, since the former had forfeited it by their 
 efforts to break through the conditions of restored 
 liberty. 
 
 They also announced to them that they must 
 fmd another asylum, where, by a more cheerful 
 compliance to the enforced commands of their 
 prince, they would ensure the continued sup- 
 port of new friends, whom they recommended 
 them to seek in the dominions of Brandenburg, 
 whither they were strongly urged to emigrate 
 without loss of time. 
 
 It was not till after much debate that the 
 council adopted this determination, nor with- 
 out strenuous opposition on the part of the 
 two do Grafenrieds. The elder, indeed, unin- 
 fluenced by tlic strong passion, which still in- 
 Fpired his nephew, although he advocated the 
 Vaudois cause, and enlarged on the claims of 
 a defenceless people on their generosity, was
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 299 
 
 not insensible to tlic impolicy of liarbouring 
 guests so distasteful to the powers whicli sur- 
 rounded liis country; and he laboured to restrain 
 the impetuosity of his nephew, who vainly ex- 
 erted that influence in their behalf which till 
 now had never failed. 
 
 The council remained firm in its decision; 
 and it was the pamful office of the Syndic de' 
 Grafenried to convey the intelligence to Arnaud 
 and his daughter; and at the same time he an- 
 nounced, that he no longer dared to offer his 
 own roof as an asylum, to wliich they had been 
 so hospitably welcomed. 
 
 With astonishment, notunmingled with a sense 
 of injury, the father and daughter listened to his 
 communication; and then Arnaud replied with 
 dignity— 
 
 " Most nobly, generous Syndic, you received us 
 in our adversity, nor can we suffer the prcscntrc- 
 verse to cancel the debt of former obligation ; but 
 ill indeed, would it become us to desire to remain 
 unwelcome burdens, on a liospitaHty we have no 
 right but that of cluistian fellowship to claim.
 
 300 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OE, 
 
 " We will depart, I and my flock; nor need we 
 fear because our confidence in man lias been mis- 
 placed, tliat God will desert us in tlie hour of need. 
 This night we leave your roof; the world indeed is 
 before us, and Providence above ! He will con- 
 duct our wandering footsteps to some place of 
 safety; meantime, accept our gratitude for past 
 favours, and in after years we never can forget the 
 memory of your benefits !" 
 
 The Syndic listened without answering. 
 
 Not thus suddenly, had he contemplated the 
 close of their connexion; not thus did lie dream 
 of dismissing them without some substantial token 
 of rcu'ard. At leno-th, he strove to sooth the 
 spirits he had involuntarily wounded: lie spoke 
 of symj)athy, and offered assistance, but both were 
 decHned, and he remained hesitating between duty 
 and incHiiation. 
 
 It was thus, that Ernest de Grafenried found 
 the party, and suspecting the cause of their con- 
 straint, lie vehemently addressed his uncle. 
 
 " Nay ! sir, not thus should the voice of cold 
 policy dictate to the hearts of Switzers, and stain
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 301 
 
 tlie 'scvitclncon of our noble house witli llie inir 
 putation of caprice or cowardice. Leave such 
 things to recreant Savoyard lords. This is their 
 home ! the home consecrated to them by friend- 
 ship, to which Providence first led them in the 
 hour of sorrow ; and shall it be said that princes 
 had the power to violate such a sanctuary? 
 
 " Forbid it Heaven ! — Arnaud," he added, tiu'u- 
 
 in^"- with an air of almost devotional respect to 
 
 the pastor, " consent to share with me my house 
 
 in Berne, and I will defend to the last the 
 
 rights and liberty of one so revered ; thankful for 
 
 the privilege, and proud to prove my worthiness 
 
 of it. Come with mc; and you will find, that my 
 
 friends may disown me, my enemies oppress me, 
 
 but the heart that beats, and the hand that bleeds 
 
 in the Vaudois cause will more than repay me for 
 
 any loss ! Marie," he continued, casting himself 
 
 at her feet, *' turn not coldly away, give mc a 
 
 right to figlit for thy people and thyscli", and thus 
 
 strengthened, this ann will do its devoir as did 
 
 my ancestors at Sempach against a nobler foe." 
 
 " Rise," interrupted the pastor, deeply affected;
 
 302 THE PASTOR CHIEF ; OR, 
 
 " yet, must not the cause of religion he pleaded 
 thus, nor any earthly passion be blended with the 
 motives of its defenders. No ! the time is not yet 
 ripe to wield the sword. Suffer us to depart. It 
 were better thus, and we will bear to other lands, 
 a hope which shall not be disappointed. That 
 hand, noble count, for which thou hast so gene- 
 rously sued, must not be bartered in the hour of 
 adversity, even for all thou hast to ofier; but God 
 send that it may, in happier hours, be the gucr-. 
 don of thy devoted love." 
 
 But Ernest would not thus be silenced; and, 
 turning to Marie, once more implored an answer 
 to his suit. 
 
 ralteriiigly she whispered,/ ' Not now — oh, press 
 me not now on such a subject! My thanks, my 
 veneration, all I have to oiler, except the return 
 you ash, is thine; nor deem it ingratitude that I 
 refuse what it would be sin in me to give !" 
 
 She withdrew the hand he had clasped in his, 
 nor trusting herself to utter one more word, left 
 the apartment confused and terrified at the words 
 wliich impulsively had burst from her lips. A
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS. 303 
 
 figure met her as she passed — It was Durand. 
 He too had learnt the ultimate decision of the 
 comicil, and burning mth indignation, was 
 ready to accuse the Swiss of the basest incon- 
 sistency. Unmindful of Marie's agitation, or 
 attributing it to the same cause as his own, he 
 now detained her to tell all he had witnessed, 
 all he had heard, and to extol the Coimt's 
 strenuous exertion in their cause, and then 
 added : " Ah Marie ! must the disinterested af- 
 fection that prompts the noble self-sacrifice Avith 
 wliich he contemns the loss of friends and every 
 worldly advantage for our sakes, go unrequited ? 
 nay, — turn not away, Marie ; De Grafenried's 
 siiit is no secret to me, your earliest friend ; nor 
 is it an undue exercise of such a privilege on 
 my part, to plead the cause of one, to whom our 
 country already owes so much, and may yet 
 owe much more." 
 
 But Marie broke from him, unable to cndm-c 
 these words, and covering her face, gave vent 
 in the privacy of her apartment to the fechngs 
 which crushed her heart.
 
 304 THE PASTOE CHIEF ; OE, 
 
 Meanwliile, Arnuud convoked tlie members of 
 his flock, who witli surprise and affliction had 
 received the tidings, that tlicy were anew de- 
 prived of a resting place ; and consulted with 
 them on the expediency of folloAving the plan re- 
 commended by the Swiss. 
 
 With one accord thcj refused to seek a coun- 
 try, whose language was unknov/n, whose people 
 were strangers, and whose distance was so 
 great from their own valleys. In vain did the 
 Gcnevesc, indignant at the obstinate rejection of 
 their advice, order them to depart. They asked 
 but a corner of ground in which to lie down and 
 die, and were refused ! 
 
 The Vaudois, however, were not of a race to 
 remain inactive or in despair. Their enthusiasm 
 excited in them the conviction, that they were 
 reserved for a greater end, and with rising energy 
 they sent deputies to the reigning prince of Wii'- 
 temberg, to relate their misery and to solicit that 
 support they had vainly depended on receiving in 
 the canton of Berne. Tlieir request was granted, 
 but attended by the hard condition that they
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 305 
 
 sliould separate into small bodies, and not again 
 congregate. 
 
 Situated as they were, these offers were equi- 
 valent to a rejection of their suit ; and at once, 
 giving up all hopes of resting there, they resolved 
 to implore permission of the inhabitants of Zurich 
 and SchaflQiauscn, to abide amongst them. Their 
 petitions were aided by the argmncnts of the 
 Bernois, who had been mucli affected at the reci- 
 tal of their woes, and were moved by the exhorta- 
 tions of their Banneret, to sympathize in their 
 misery. Their representations aroused the com- 
 passion of the English and Dutch, and largo sums 
 were forwarded to alleviate their sufferings. 
 
 Poverty, therefore, did not add its sting to their 
 misfortunes ; but a home, a country was denied to 
 them, except where their habits nn<l dispositions, 
 rendered their colonization well nigh impossible. 
 
 Their refusal was stigmatized as waywardness 
 and ingratitude; no allowance being made for a 
 people who could only enlist compassion for their 
 advocate ; and they were denounerd as objects 
 for anger, rather tlian relief Oppressed by their
 
 306 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OK, 
 
 enemies, deserted by former friends, tlicy were 
 at length driven to disperse tliemselves on the 
 frontiers of Wirtcmberg, and in the depopulated 
 parts of the Palatinate, which Prince William 
 of Neuburg wanted to recolonize. Here, for a 
 moment, they found resf : and the Vaudois were 
 pronounced by their inconstant friends to be once 
 more settled. Tliey were, however, stiU un- 
 satisfied. They yearned for their native val- 
 leys, and refused to recognise any abiding place, 
 but the one they faiicicd their Creator had as- 
 signed to them; and in the restlessness of an 
 anxiety which taught them to seek out extra- 
 neous help, they turned to the remembrance of 
 the generous supplies sent from Holland by its 
 hereditary prince, William of Orange; Avho was 
 already spoken of as wise and beneficent. 
 
 To him they despatched a mission for comfort 
 and advice; and inspired witii respect for the Pro- 
 testant faith, to which he was a devoted adherent, 
 he received their dcp\itics with aflabihty, ad- 
 mitted even their claims to the unfulfilled pro- 
 phecy, and recommended their keeping together
 
 THE ESCAPE OP THE VAUDOIS, 307 
 
 in order tlie better to fulfil the great end of preserv- 
 ino- tlie rio-lits of tlieir ancient cliurch ; and at the 
 same time he granted fresh sums of money to assist 
 them in the recovery of what they had lost. 
 
 To this advice, he added strong recommenda- 
 tions, that they should patiently await the proper 
 opportunity for displaying the courage, which 
 would undoubtedly be called for, to effect their 
 perilous rctiuTi. Comforted by this opinion, and 
 inspired with fresh hope, the Vaudois resolved to 
 wait quietly tiU a more favourable moment arrived, 
 in which they might again wander forth in quest 
 of a home ; and Providence assisted their views by 
 an occurrence, wliich to the eyes of distant ob- 
 servers appeared to aggravate the unhappiness of 
 their situation. 
 
 Hostihties between the Dukes of Orleans 
 and Neuburg occasioned the arrival of the French 
 troops in those territories assigned to the Vaudois ; 
 and they were in consequence hastily expelled 
 from their newly-acquired dwelling-places. 
 
 To flee into Germany, was to rush into greater 
 danger and expose themselves to the ferocity of
 
 308 THE PASTOR CHIEF; OR, 
 
 tlieir foes ; tlicir return to Switzerland seemed 
 denied ; and there appeared to be now no spot 
 left for their race to dwindle away in peace. 
 
 This fresh and unexpected disaster, however, 
 roused the compassion of their old friends, the 
 Gcnevese; who, forgetting their differences, once 
 more extended the arms of benevolence to them, 
 and induced the cantons of Berne and Zurich to 
 follow their example, and offer again an asylum 
 of charity to the Vaudois. 
 
 The misery, however, that they had ex- 
 perienced in their wanderings among strange 
 lands, their acquaintance with the vicissitudes 
 of fortune, had but increased their desire to 
 repossess their own valleys, exiled from which, 
 life itself was no boon ; and while every incident 
 of their days strengthened tliis determination, 
 surroundinix circumstances combined to render 
 its execution more possible. 
 
 Their friend and supporter, William of Orange, 
 by a fortunate revolution had come to the throne 
 of Eno-land: and he miii-ht now extend to them 
 the hand of protection. Their worst enemy, Louis
 
 THE ESCAPE OF THE VAUDOIS. 309 
 
 XIV., by espousing the cause of tlie detlironed 
 James of England, was likely to involve liimself 
 in a war with that country, which would engage 
 liis attention so exclusively as to withhold it from 
 their proceedings; and now, therefore, seemed 
 to them the propitious moment for an attempt, 
 which, though bold and adventurous, was one 
 in which they resolved to succeed or to perish. 
 
 Yet, taught by former failures, they determined, 
 this time on a cautious secrecy ; and therefore pre- 
 served their councils inviolate, that Savoy might 
 remain in ignorance, and Berne offer no obstacle 
 to their proceedings ; and so well did they suc- 
 ceed in this, that their whole force was collected 
 without any suspicions being raised of its inten- 
 tions. They had organized their plans in the 
 forest of Nions, and there, concealed every secret 
 meeting till all was ripe for action. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 C. WHITING, BEAUFOKT HOUSE, STRAND.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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